Here's my latest updated fanfiction penny and the gadgetinis
Penny is on her most important mission ever but this time has a new partner who are going to take claw down once and for all.
Rated T
m.fanfiction.net/s/13310973/1/Penny-and-the-Gadgetinisposting it here as well give me your honest feedback.
P.S. Credit goes to Ellis97 and Gadget30thanniversary for helping me write this but now i need help finishing it.
Chapter 1: A new mission
Our story opens at WOMP Headquarters, where we see Inspector Gadget up with his usual antics with his tiny robot replicas, the Gadgetinis by his side. Just then, he received a secret call from Penny from his built in communicator.
"Fidget, what's going on?" Penny asked on the other end.
"The inspector is using his water hose to clean the Chief's antique clock." said Fidget. "However, I don't think he'll be only cleaning the clock."
"Why is he doing that?" Penny asked.
Fidget gulped, "Well, he..."
"GADGEEEEEEEEET!" Chief Quimby screamed through the water.
"Hang on Chief, I'm turning it off right now." said Gadget. "Gadget-Hose, stop!"
The hose retracted back into Gadget's sleeve and converted back to his hand.
"Ugh..." Penny sighed. "I'm going over there."
Penny ended the transmission and went outside to the secret entrance to WOMP Headquarters, which was cleverly disguised as a soda machine.
"My uncle can be such a klutz..." Penny mumbled to herself as she dug into her pocket.
She put a coin into the machine and an elevator opened up. As Penny descended into the secret lair, she strapped on her new power skates and helmet that she made. Just as the elevator stopped, she accidentally pulled the trigger on the skates.
Penny turned her head a fraction of seconds in the direction of Nozzaire's office, so she couldn't see she was going to skate right into someone else.
"AAAAHH!" She screamed.
A bunch of papers were launched in the air, a red tie slapped its owner's face, and Penny fell on her back. Just then, the fire propelling her roller skates was dangerously close to the other person's face, which was buried in papers.
"Oh, sorry..." She chuckled. "Still having a little trouble with my triggers."
She turned the roller-skates off and jumped back on her feet, but then got back down.
"Let me help you..." said the man.
She reached for the guy's hand and saw that he was about her age, and he seemed to have issues seeing anything, his eyes half-closed.
"Are you alright?" asked Penny.
"Sure, I just lost my glasses." said the man.
Penny rummaged over the papers and found the glasses, "Here they are."
"Oh, thank you." said the man.
The man put his glasses back in place, and Penny met his deep brown eyes now wide open.
"Sorry about that." She chuckled nervously.
The man smiled, "That's okay."
Penny and the guy started to clean up the mess that Penny accidentally caused by her rocket roller-skates.
"Say, I haven't seen you before..." said Penny.
"Oh, I wouldn't have thought so, I'm new here." He tapped the "Trainee" badge on his chest. "I'm Alec Howell, pleased to meet you."
Penny had a nervous giggle, "Well, I'm Penny Brown."
Alec gasped, "The niece of Inspector John Brown AKA Gadget?"
Penny rolled her eyes. She encountered that kind of reactions too many times to ignore that people were actually excited to meet the closest member of the famous Inspector Gadget.
-"Yes, the niece of Inspector Gadget." She deadpanned.
Alec gasped, "Penny Brown! I... I don't know what to say, I...I'm one of your biggest fans! I followed your work from the time your uncle worked for the police department, this is why I wanted to apply here.
Penny raised an eyebrow, "Wow. That's great."
Alec nodded, "Yeah. But what I never understood..."
"ALEC! WHERE IS THE MEGSTA FILE?!" a voice shouted.
"Oh, I gotta go!" Alec chuckled. "I'M COMING, BOSS!"
Alec ran so fast, that Penny thought he was going to lose his papers, but nothing fell off.
"Hey, wait!" She called out.
Alec stopped, "Yes?"
Penny hesitated and took a deep breath, "Do you think, I'll see you again sometime soon?"
"I hope so." said Alec. "Maybe you'll bump into me again?"
"I'll make sure to find a better way." Penny smiled
Alec smiled, "I've gotta go. See you soon!"
Penny watched him to see in which office he was going, but she shook her head: Why did she want to know that?
Her communicator screeched. It was Digit's face that appeared onscreen.
"Penny! Penny!" Digit chanted.
"Yes, Digit?" She replied.
"Your uncle and the chief left the office. What do we do?" asked Digit.
"Follow Uncle Gadget, I'm going to the rendezvous point." said Penny.
"I read you." said Digit. "Over and out."
Penny went through the WOMP headquarters at the speed of her power skates, took the vending machine elevator, arrived in front of her uncle's house and stopped there to trace her route:
"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes..." She said to herself.
Penny then went full speed, sliding down the safety rail on one foot. After a couple of flips and jumping a bunch of staircases, she landed on a beach. But when she got there, it was empty. She looked around: there was no one in sight.
"Just in the nick of time, Agent Brown." said a mysterious voice.
It was a man wearing a mask and a long coat showed up from behind a wall. Was it a man though? Penny couldn't really tell.
"Who are you?" asked Penny.
"Just trust me." said the man. "Here's your mission order, Agent Brown."
The man gave her a WOMP Mission Ball.
Penny just looked at it for a second, and the man vanished.
"Here'." said the man. "Here's your mission order, Agent Brown."
Penny just looked at it for a second, and the man vanished.
She shrugged, "I guess I should be already used to it."
She pushed the button activating the mission ball, and the face of the Chief appeared on it.
"Congratulations, Agent Brown." said the Chief. "You have been chosen for a mission of extreme importance."
"Mission?" Penny raised an eyebrow.
"Today the world is counting on you...to capture Doctor Claw." Chief Quimby continued.
Penny shrugged again, "Just that? Okay."
"Now you might be wondering: Why isn't WOMP giving this mission to your uncle?" said the chief.
"Because he always failed to do so?" She sarcastically commented.
"Well he currently is on another case." the chief continued. "So you will get the honors "
"Okay then." Penny nodded. "How am I supposed to do it?
A map showed up on the holographic screen:
"Our latest information points at The Mountain of Limbo as one of the most probable Doctor Claw's hideout." Chief Quimby explained. "It is the most dangerous place around, so you should get prepared well."
"Yes, thank you, Chief." Penny saluted.
"All the information you need is being transferred to your video watch." said the chief. "Make sure to memorize them all well, because you will not be able to consult them once you are there."
Penny nodded, after all, she always has had a great memory.
"Do not forget the usual G.R. protocol." Chief Quimby added.
"Of course not, Chief." Penny saluted.
The Chief nodded, "All that needs to be said is: Good luck Agent Brown!"
"Oh you're welcome," Penny replied.
"And by the way, this message will self destruct." said the Chief.
"Oh Crumbs." Penny deadpanned.
The message then exploded and left Penny all black with soot.
The "Good Riddance" protocol, best known as G.R., was a list of ways to get rid of any evidence of the support that contained a secret mission. It was only a few years old, but Agents like Penny had to memorize it whole to be accepted in WOMP and hope to be one day anything else than paper holders or printing machine heaters. In other words, what was waiting for this Alec, no matter how talented he had been proven to be.
"That's hardly fair," Penny thought.
She traced her route to go back home and fired her roller skates.
Soon enough, Penny arrived back home, where she saw one of the Gadgetinis waiting on the porch.
"Penny!" Fidget ran to her, a big smile on his robot face.
"Fidget!" Penny took her helmet off and patted his back. "So, what are you doing back here?"
Fidget shrugged, "Well, Digit is still after the inspector, I stayed here as you asked me to.
"Very well." said Penny. "Guess what, Fidget? We're going on a mission together!"
Fidget clapped, "Nice! I was looking forward to this! Where are we going?"
"I can't tell you that here." said Penny.
"Oh of course." Fidget rolled his eyes. "No matter, anywhere but near your uncle!"
Penny sighed, "I know what you think about him, and for once, I won't blame you."
"Really? Oh, thanks I guess..." Fidget said, uncertain.
"Well, we need to pack, it's not a regular mission." said Penny.
"Already on it!" Fidget saluted.
They went inside and started to prepare food, climbing material, flashlights, and automatic diving suits. Penny then opened her closet and lifted a hidden trapdoor to unveil...
"My Computer Book!" She exclaimed. "It should come in handy."
"How?" asked Fidget.
Okay, so what do we have...
The Computer Book showed all the information about the Mountain Of Limbo, and she read everything very attentively. There were all kinds of dangers to be aware, there...
Penny's Computer Book was her M.S.D. In other words, Most Secure Device. The one she registered as her trusted device on which WOMP could send her any sensitive information -for a limited time - without a risk. Obviously, if they knew this M.S.D. was that some old thing she used when she was a little girl, they wouldn't have accepted it.
"Okay, I got this." She turned it off and hid it back in the closet.
Fidget glanced at Penny, "Looks like we're off for a dangerous trip."
"You'll understand when we'll be there." said Penny.
They left the house, Fidget following her on his own implemented rocket boots.
As soon as they arrived at the seaside, and Penny's communicator rang. It was Digit, calling from wherever he was.
"I'm on a mission, Digit, what's going on?" She asked the blue robot.
Digit showed up on the screen, "Things are getting complicated here."
"What do you mean, "complicated"?" asked Penny.
"See for yourself..." said Digit.
The camera turned: Gadget was dancing on one foot, and showing about eighty percent of his load of gadgets out of his body.
Penny raised an eyebrow, "What's happening to him?"
Digit explained, "I think one of his brain processors failed, he is unable to..."
A big explosion resounded, and the connection was suddenly lost.
"Digit? Digit!" Penny tapped on the screen.
"What happened?" asked Fidget.
Penny sighed, "Uncle Gadget is in trouble and Digit is too. We must tell someone at WOMP, but that could reveal our position.
"I have an idea!" said Fidget. "I make enough distance between us, send the message and then get back here!"
"Good idea!" said Penny. "I'll be waiting here, be quick!"
Fidget left at full speed and disappeared at the horizon.
After five minutes, he came back, "Message sent!"
"Alright, we can move on." said Penny.
"Deactivate your communicator We can't afford to be disturbed now."
Fidget obeyed, and Penny did the same with her watch.
"We're good to go." said Penny.
She reprogrammed her roller skates and jumped on the water.
Fidget imitated her, and they sled along to their destination.
"So, can you tell me where we're going now?" He asked her.
"We're going to capture Doctor Claw." said Penny. "Remember?"
"Of course I remember, but where is he?" Fidget rephrased.
Penny shrugged, "Apparently, he's hiding in the Mountain of Limbo."
Fidget almost lost his balance out of terror, "The Mountain Of Limbo?! Isn't that..."
"The most dangerous place around." Penny nodded. "Yes, it is. You want to join Digit?"
Fidget shook his head, "Oh no! Anywhere but that!"
"Then Mountain of Limbo it is." Penny proclaimed.
They sled until a dark peak showed up in the middle of the ocean.
"Is it true that this mountain is originally an artificial structure created by some eminent aquatic fauna specialists?" asked Fidget.
"Yes, Fidget. It's been in use for ten years, then it's been abandoned because the government cut off the credits. Then a big company reconverted it in a giant offshore safe and added all sorts of autonomous security systems." Penny explained
.
Fidget nodded, "That's why it's so dangerous..."
"Most of the systems failed, but the most lethal ones are still active for what we know." Penny told the robot.
"Lethal?!" Fidget gasped.
"Lethal for humans, Fidget." Penny assured him.
"Oh yes right... I forget all the time." replied Fidget
Penny smiled. She never actually got to catch it, but that was the cutest thing about Fidget, forgetting he's actually a robot. In comparison, Digit was kind of boring and this was why she chose to send him to watch over her uncle, and take Fidget with her on this mission.
Chapter 2 - A puzzling Maze
After a while, Penny and Fidget finally arrived at the place.
"Here we are..." said Penny.
They deactivated their water sliding accessories and reprogrammed them. Penny put a foot on the mountain side, and strong claws popped out to grab on the rock.
Penny tasked her brain to remember the first trap: it was located approximately two feet before them, so she had to remind herself what it was.
"Bend down!" She whispered.
They fell flat on the mountain, dodging a laser beam.
Penny got up as soon as it missed, "Okay, we must go ahead before it comes back."
"What was that?!" Fidget whispered.
Penny walked up to the system, "It's some sort of laser system. It activated itself when it sensed an intrusion. It won't hurt us, but if it hits us, then every security system that's still working in here will activate all at once, and climbing this mountain will be just impossible.
"Oh, okay..." said Fidget.
"The mountain is still blind for now." said Penny.
"Blind?" asked Fidget.
"It has a whole camera surveillance system all over it, but it's deactivated for the moment." Penny explained. "They couldn't afford having it activated whenever a seagull decided to land on it, so they added the laser system to confirm the intruder alert."
After for what seemed like hours, they finally arrived at a hole in the mountain side. Penny thought twice: she couldn't turn her watch on, she knew it, because it would trigger a detection system, so she had to remember everything.
"There are holes covered in fake rock along the side from here." She said to the blue robot. "If we step on the fake rock, we fall in the hole and land in a prison cell."
"A prison cell?" asked Fidget.
"Yes, they were meant to be temporary detention rooms, so the police would have time to come." Penny explained. "But if we land in one of these, the police will never come, and if Doctor Claw actually hides here, we'll more likely die in there."
"Oh..." Fidget gulped.
"I know it's scary, but we have an opportunity to stop him from doing more wrong to this world." Penny assured him. "He's the last force of evil standing between Humanity and World Peace."
Fidget nodded, "I know."
Since WOMP got its hands on all the most powerful villains the Earth ever carried, Doctor Claw was Public Enemy Number One, and every Worldwide Organization was looking for him on every continent.
They left the hatch, and Penny turned to Fidget, "You're completely offline, right?"
Fidget confirmed, "I am."
"I think it's safe to use your heat scanners to unveil the fake rock, then." said Penny.
"I'm on it!" Fidget gave a thumbs up.
Fidget heat glasses popped in front of his eyes, and he looked around, "Oh I see it..."
Penny nodded, "Okay you open the road, I follow you."
"No problem!" the robot gave a thumbs up.
Fidget walked on, focusing on the heat variations. After a while, his glasses went back inside his hat.
"I think we passed this area, I see no fake rock around." He said.
"Good job, Fidget!" said Penny. "Now... What..."
Next, there was a bunch of popping spears. The whole area was stuffed with detection plates, so if they stepped on one of them, it would activate the deadly spears.
"Do you think you can detect detection plates?" Penny asked Fidget.
"They are usually designed to absorb the area's heat to hide better, so my heat scanners won't be very helpful here." Fidget explained. "But I can try a wave scanning, maybe this will show their approximate position."
"Approximate? We need precise coordinates!" Penny shouted.
"Hey, you gave Digit that upgrade a month ago. I, got a toasting thingy." Fidget pointed out as a Pop-Tart jumped out of his chest. "Besides, it's still broken."
"But I gave you those special programmable boots." Penny pointed out.
"They're just the replica of those you made for yourself!" Fidget retorted.
Penny smiled, "But Digit didn't get them, right?"
Fidget sighed, "True..."
"Once we get home, I'll take that toaster out of you and replace it with something more useful." said Penny.
"Thank you!" said Fidget. "Should I try the wave scan now?"
Penny nodded, "Yes, but don't use a high frequency, or we might get detected."
"On it!" Fidget gave a thumbs up.
He scanned for a little time and shook his head, "I have detected no variation."
"Not even the slightest?" asked Penny.
Fidget crossed his arms, "This is unusual. May I use a higher frequency?"
"Just slightly higher." said Penny.
Fidget nodded, thumbing up, "You got it boss!"
He scanned again, but nothing seemed to activate itself, "They emit no waves."
"No waves? How is that possible?" asked Penny.
"I don't know, maybe I need a higher frequency, but I detected a security system that would be triggered if I went up again." said Fidget.
"I know about that," Penny nodded. "What can we do...?"
Fidget popped his helicopter out of his hat, "What about this?"
"No!" Penny shook her head. "We need to stay low to the ground, or the surveillance cameras higher that way will see us."
"Oh, I didn't know about that." said Fidget and the helicopter went back in. "I have an other suggestion, though."
Penny shrugged, "Go ahead..."
"Well we can't step on the ground or fly above it, but..." He looked at his feet. "What if we tried to go under it?
Penny looked down and rubbed her chin, "Under it? You mean dig in the side of the mountain?"
"The Mountain of Limbo is an artificial structure, right?" said Fidget.
"Yes..." Penny nodded.
"Then it means it's only a hollow shape with an armature." said Fidget.
"That's brilliant!" Penny exclaimed. "We could carve the side, go under it and make our way through the armature, thus being totally undetectable by all the security systems and be able to see their precise location at the same time!"
"So, let's do this?" asked Fidget.
"Let's do this!" Penny pumped her fist.
Fidget's chest opened up, but a pop-tart jumped out of his chest. He blushed:
"Oops, wrong one..." He chuckled, but then the Pop-Tart just fell on the ground. "AAAHHHH! My Pop Tart!"
"It's going to trigger the security system!" Penny gasped. "Quick, carve the mountain!"
Fidget worked as fast as his soldering iron could, and they jumped in the hole.
"Pfew, that was close..." Penny sighed of relief. "But they know we're here, now."
"Sorry..." Fidget said, ashamed.
"No, it's my fault, I shouldn't have given you that stupid toaster, it never toasted anything right, anyways." Penny assured him.
Fidget smiled, amused. "Okay, I see the spikes from here. We need to get around these."
They started to climb across the armature.
"By the way, Penny, why can't we touch the spikes?" Fidget asked.
"They send deadly electrical shocks, duh." Penny deadpanned.
"Good thing I'm a robot." Fidget smiled sheepishly.
Penny shook her head, "They could roast all your processors if you touched them."
Fidget trembled, "Ge, t-t-thanks for your honesty...
"I only want you to be careful. I would never be able to make another you.
Fidget blushed again. Oh, Penny..."
"Let's move on." said Penny.
They swung between the metallic arms supporting the artificial flanks, and soon Penny stopped.
"Things are getting complicated." She said.
"What do you mean, 'complicated?'" asked Fidget.
"See for yourself." Penny pointed to what she was talking about.
Fidget turned around and right before them were two metallic arms directly in contact with the retracted spikes.
Penny loosened her grip on the one she was hanging from and landed on a structure just a bit lower.
"Phew, you scared me!" Fidget sighed of relief.
"Come down here, Fidget, we have to make progress from under the spikes!" said Penny.
"Here I come!" He dropped himself down and clanged on the complex surface.
"Perfect." Penny said as she caught him. "Let's go this way!"
They walked and jumped for a few minutes, then Penny bit her lip when she saw what was in front of her.
There was a wall. A giant literal wall, blocking the way all around the place.
"Rats! A dead end." She said.
Fidget looked around him, "Where do we go, then?"
"Well we're approximately under the next area, we can theoretically afford to surface." Penny explained. "I don't really know what's up there, and the surveillance cameras are now active."
"I could peek out." said Fidget.
Fidget's hat released a periscope that went right under the flank. It spun fast for a few seconds, and the flank opened, allowing it to rise higher.
"What do you see?" asked Penny.
"That's weird..." He said . "It looks like night fell.
Penny looked at her watch. "It's almost three, it can't be night. Let me see."
She took the control of the periscope and looked through it.
"I don't see anything." She said.
"So, what's up?" asked Fidget.
"I remember this trap." said Penny. "It's a changing crawl maze."
Fidget looked confused, "Changing crawl maze?"
"It's a maze programmed to modify itself as the intruder advances, and designed to allow to go through it only by crawling all along." Penny explained.
"That sounds really fun." said Fidget.
"I agree." Penny nodded. "But we can't avoid it, it runs all around the mountain. That's why this way is blocked."
"Why is it blocked down here?" asked Fidget. "Isn't the maze above the surface?"
"All the systems that allow the maze to change are located there." Penny explained. "It's a pretty heavy mess, so not very compact in other words."
Penny then climbed on Fidget.
"Hey!" the blue robot exclaimed.
"Sorry, I'm going up to the maze." Penny apologized. "I'll pull you out when I'm there."
"Okay." said Fidget.
She climbed straight up the periscope and pulled herself through the hole.
"Alright, I'm up." Penny said before grabbing the periscope. "Okay, I'm holding you! Retract the periscope!"
Fidget slowly went up.
"We have to go through this maze, now." said Penny. "Do you have any light?"
"I do!" Fidget confirmed, lighting his eyes up.
Penny grabbed her own flashlight, and they carefully crawled through the maze...
Chapter 3 - Through the Maze
Fidget was able to stand up, so he opened the route for Penny, both metaphorically and literally.
"Be careful, Fidget, some of these will trigger traps if they're damaged." said Penny.
"Don't worry, I'll perform a scan before even touching them." said Fidget.
"Good call." Penny gave a thumbs up.
Fidget scanned the whole place, "Let's see...okay! I've found the places we shouldn't touch. Just follow me."
As they kept going, Fidget drilling massive holes in the walls, very careful about not touching the side of the mountain. Penny warned him there were sensitive mechanisms all over the place, and they could get crushed if those mechanisms were altered in any way.
"We're making good progress." said Penny.
"It's easier not to follow the maze!" Fidget smiled.
Just then, there was some sort of ka-chunking sound.
Fidget froze, "What was that?!"
Just then, the maze started going through some sort of transformation.
"The maze is changing, and it's getting close!" Penny gasped. "Quick, drill!"
"You got it!" Fidget panicked.
Fidget started drilling a hole into the wall and the two through. Penny turned her flashlight to the wall and saw that something has already blocked the way.
"Wow, that was too close..." She sighed. "That thing would have crushed me if we stayed in there."
"Really?" asked Fidget.
"It popped out of the wall perpendicularly." Penny explained. "At best, I would have been cut in half."
Fidget looked grossed out. "And you call that at best?"
"I would have died quickly, that's why it would have been best." said Penny. "Let's go."
They moved as forward as possible, dodging the moving walls, Fidget finding less and less weak walls on his way.
"What are you doing, Fidget?" asked Penny. "We must keep going!"
Fidget wasn't moving.
Penny shook him, "Fidget!"
"Huh! Wh-what?!" He woke up.
"You stopped." Penny said ."Is something wrong?"
"Oh I..." Fidget groaned. "My battery...I was in autosave mode..."
"I almost forgot about that upgrade." said Penny.
She looked for some lug nuts in her bag, "Your artificial stomach can still provide energy to your battery."
Then, she found some nuts and bolts, then handed them to Fidget.
"Eat this." She said.
"Oh thank you, Penny..." said Fidget.
He put the bolts in his mouth, ate fast and burped.
"Excuse me." He chuckled.
"Do you feel better?" asked Penny.
Fidget's drill popped out of his belly. "Ready!"
He drilled the wall, and the light of the moon shone through.
"We did it, Fidget!" said Penny. "We can leave the maze!
They went through the hole, and Penny stood up.
"Ah, that feels a lot better, I've been crawling like a thousand years..." She said.
Fidget smiled. "And I have one more thing to make you feel even better."
"What is it, Fidget?" asked Penny.
He pointed behind him. "We're almost on top of the mountain."
As a matter of facts, it looked like it was only one mile away.
Penny smiled. "Neat! But we're not done, yet, this very small surface is also heavily trapped."
"Couldn't we fly up?" Fidget shrugged.
Penny thought. "Since we already triggered the surveillance system... I guess that's a valid route."
Fidget's helicopter showed up. "Great!"
He grabbed Penny by her arms and lifted her.
"Are you good?" He asked her.
"I'll be fine, Fidget, just fly to the top!" said Penny.
"Okay, here we go!" said Fidget.
Fidget flew peacefully for a few seconds, then something bleeped past his cheek.
"Hey, what was that?" He wondered.
"What?" Penny asked.
"I felt something touching my face!" said Fidget.
"Something?" Penny gasped. "Oh no, I knew it..."
"What?" asked Fidget.
A colony of strange bees showed up in the night.
"It's an anti-flight system!" Penny explained. "It recognized you as a flying object large enough to be anything else than a bird and launched a raid of explosive pocket rockets!"
"Explosive rockets?!" Fidget gasped.
Penny looked at her watch. "Don't worry, they're tiny, and their charge isn't enough to kill, they're designed to damage only. I'll do my best to destroy the more I can, try to dodge the rest!"
"Okay, Penny!" said Fidget.
Fidget then executed acrobatic dances to avoid as many rockets as possible, but they were sent in endless waves, and Penny could only target four at a time. Just then, one of the rockets just exploded against his helicopter.
"I can't fly, Penny!" He shouted. "We're gonna crash!"
"Don't worry, I got this!" said Penny.
She activated her boots and pointed her toes to the sky. The fire coming from the heels raged and slowed down the fall.
"Nice trick, Penny..." Fidget sighed of relief.
Penny looked up. "We're almost there. Come, Fidget, we must be quick!"
"I'm coming!" said Fidget.
They ran to the top.
"Are there any traps left?" asked Fidget.
"Only some rockets we'd better not wait for." said Penny.
Fidget ran faster until they arrived on top, and Penny turned around:
"Come here..." She said.
The rockets were flying right to them. Penny's watch beeped, and the rockets exploded against an invisible wall.
"Whoaaa... I didn't know you could do that..." said Fidget.
- It works only if I'm not moving. I need to upgrade that.
She knelled down on top. "There must be a trapdoor around here, somewhere..."
"Let me scan!" said Fidget.
After a few seconds, he nodded.
"It's right here!" He pointed to the door.
Penny followed his glance and found a seam in the ground:
"Okay, how do we open it?" She asked.
"Brutal force excluded, I suppose." Fidget shrugged.
"It's locked by a complex system, I need to hack it." said Penny.
She made her watch bleep a few minutes, and the trapdoor moved, but there was no handle.
"It must be a one-way opening system." Penny deduced.
"I think I can do it!" said Fidget.
Fidget threw a big magnet at the trapdoor, and he grabbed it to lift him and Penny up.
Penny smiled. "Nice job, Fidget!"
As soon as Penny jumped in, Fidget followed her, and they found themselves on top of a ladder in a very tight cylindrical space.
"This must go straight down to the former bank." said Penny.
"MAD's current hideout, I suppose." Fidget remarked.
Penny nodded. "If our sources are reliable, then yes."
They climbed down the ladder.
"Are there any traps on our way?" asked Fidget.
"No." Penny shook her head. "People who went beyond that point are supposed to be part of the authorized staff, because they have the codes to deactivate all the systems."
"That's a relief..." Fidget sighed.
They each put a foot on the ground. Penny rummaged over her memories to decide which way to go.
"But there could be a lot of MAD agents in here," said Penny. "So we must be careful and quie-"
Just then, there was some sort of rumbling sound.
"What is that?!" She looked around and then looked up. "Uncle Gadget?!"
He landed next to them, and his helicopter sprang back in his hat.
"Oh, Penny, you're here?" He asked his niece. "You need a withdraw too? I didn't know you had an account here..."
"Withdraw? Account?" Penny raised her eyebrows. "Uncle Gadget... You sure KNOW this bank has been closed for years, right?"
"Oh of course, I'm not stupid.: Gadget said. "But I received a message from my bank saying their new office is here!"
Penny almost face palmed. Obviously, that must have been a trap set by Doctor Claw, but she couldn't say that since he wouldn't listen to her anyways.
"Frankly, I'm glad they keep my money here, this place is very safe, there are tons of security systems on the way to the entrance." said Gadget.
"You climbed the mountain?" asked Penny. "You triggered all the security systems!"
"I think so." Gadget shrugged.
"Pssst! Penny!" Fidget whispered to Penny.
She kneeled down. "Yes, Fidget?"
Fidget whispered in her ear, "Now he's here and everyone inside knows we're here, what do we do?"
"Well, we must stay by his side to ensure his protection." Penny whispered. "Anyway, Doctor Claw is waiting for him, he probably set a precise place in the bank for them to meet. If we follow Uncle Gadget, he could lead us directly to Doctor Claw!"
"Understood!" Fidget nodded.
Penny gave her innocent child smile. "Say, Uncle Gadget, do you mind if we come with you? I need to...deposit some cash!"
"Well of course, Penny!" said Gadget Follow me!
Penny and Fidget exchanged a thumb up, and walked after the Inspector.
Chapter 4 - A Failed Mission
As Gadget was leading them through the corridors, Penny looked up at him.
"By the way, Uncle Gadget, where is Digit?" She asked.
"Home." said Gadget. "He said he needed some recovery."
"Recovery?" asked Penny.
"Yes, it's strange, I know, since robots can't get hurt or sick...
"Maybe he was talking about his system recovery." She insisted. "What happened during your mission, Uncle Gadget?"
"Oh Penny, you should know that I can't talk about that, even though you're an agent now." said Gadget.
"To Digit, Uncle Gadget, what happened to Digit?" Penny corrected her uncle.
"Ah..." said Gadget. "Well, I don't know, I found him in pieces."
"In PIECES?!" Fidget gasped.
The Inspector carried on. "Yes, all his body parts were all over the place, I had a tough time reassembling him, hehe...he reassembled Digit... Himself...Digit was trembling, probably picturing in his brain processor what Digit should look like by now."
"I'll fix him up when we're back home," Penny promised. "Don't worry."
"Okay, just make sure I won't see him before you do that..." said Fidget.
Penny patted his shoulder. "I'll remember that."
They walked until the Inspector reached a dead end.
He rubbed his chin. "Hmmm, that's odd. I could have sworn the mini-map on the invite was leading here."
"The invite?" asked Penny.
"Yes, it's their grand opening!" Gadget exclaimed. "They invited their most faithful clients!"
Penny raised an eyebrow. "Can I see the invite?"
"Sure..." said Gadget.
He handed her a piece of cardboard and she immediately recognized the MAD logo.
"Just as I thought..." She said.
"What is it, Penny?" asked Gadget.
She smiled. "Oh, nothing at all, Uncle Gadget, it's just I... Figured out we should have turned left when we last turned right."
The Inspector took the card back and frowned, "Oh really?"
"Yes, look, there's an office right here!" Penny pointed at something.
The Inspector smiled, blushing in blatant embarrassment. "Oh you're right! I've never been here before, so I got lost a bit. Well, we get there, then..."
They turned around and stepped back until they found the "correct" path: Penny knew her Uncle had perfectly followed the directions, but that was a trap, and if they had stayed there, they would have been captured.
"What do we do, Penny?" asked Fidget. "How do we find Doctor Claw without being caught?"
Penny shrugged. "We must find the head office, or the safe, Doctor Claw should be in there."
"The Head office?" The Inspector cackled. "It's right there, Penny!"
"I must have missed that." She replied.
"I'll talk to the head, he must know where the party takes place!" said Gadget.
Penny nodded. "Good idea, Doctor Claw could be hiding in this office."
"Good evening, dear Director!" said Gadget. "I have been invited to your grand opening, I am..."
"Inspector Gadget..." a growling voice confirmed. "...I have been waiting for you..."
"Watch out, Uncle Gadget!" shouted Penny.
She jumped on her uncle, preventing him from being crushed by a falling piece of ceiling.
"Hey! What's with you?" She asked.
The Inspector protested. "There, Penny, these aren't appropriate manners in public!"
The growling voice laughed/ "Hahahaaa... So your precious niece is here too, Gadget...I won't have to set a surprise especially for her, then...how convenient for me..."
"Uncle Gadget, this is really serious!" Penny panicked. "That man is Doctor Claw!
"That is ridiculous, Penny, this man is the Director of the Bank!" Gadget retorted. "Look at his seat, there's the same logo than on the invite."
"This is the MAD logo, Uncle Gadget! Don't you recognize it?" asked Penny.
Gadget tried to talk. "You're not on a mission here, Penny, you..."
As a matter of fact, I AM on a mission, and my mission is to capture Doctor Claw!" Penny barked.
The Inspector waved his finger. "Tsk tsk tsk Penny, you know you shouldn't tell anyone what mission you're on."
"Ha, ha,ha, ha.." Claw snickered. "...so you, little girl, have been sent by WOMP to capture me?"
"I am NOT a little girl!" Penny snapped.
She jumped on the desk and forced the seat to rotate to reveal its occupant.
"Did you really think I was hiding in the most obvious place of this mountain?" Claw laughed.
There only was a voice transmitter on the seat. Penny hardly refrained herself from throwing it away in rage: it could tell her where the transmission came from.
"This is a very safe place, even the director is hiding." said Gadget. "We have no time, we must find him!"
"You will never get out of this office!" Claw gloated. "Farewell, Browns!"
Just then, there was some kind of hissing noise.
Penny looked up. "Gas! I have no idea what kind it is, but we have to get out of here!"
But the door was now locked. Penny put a compact oxygen mask on her face.
"Drill a hole, Fidget!" She said.
Fidget let his drill out. "I'm on it!"
He drilled a hole into the floor.
"Officer!" Gadget exclaimed. "You're altering the property of-"
Gadget fell down the hole.
Fidget retracted his drill. "Let's go!"
Penny grabbed her uncle and dragged him through the hole. They got far enough to be safe from the gas, whatever it was, and Penny looked at her uncle.
"I'm collecting a sample of his breath... " She said. "Fidget, you have the upgrade of your sample analyzer, right?"
"Yes!" Fidget nodded.
Penny put another mask on the Inspector's face and kept it like that a few seconds.
She then handed Fidget the mask. "Go for it!"
Fidget put the mask on his own face and breathed in. "Okay, I get the whole sample..."
"Why are you coughing?" asked Penny.
Fidget shrugged. "This stuff is pretty high...wanna try?"
"Huh, no thanks..." said Penny. "What do you have?"
"My analyzer is a little wonky with this stuff..." He coughed. "It's sleeping gas combined with nitrous oxide, nothing dangerous."
Penny thought twice. "It's not deadly...why?"
"Maybe Claw wants him alive to kill him with his own hands?" suggested Fidget.
"That makes sense." said Penny. "How long will this last?"
"Judging by the saturation in sleeping gas, about thirty minutes." Fidget deduced.
"Start a countdown for this, we're going to find Doctor Claw." Penny proclaimed.
Fidget grabbed her pants. "But! The nitrous oxide will last longer than that!"
"That's not a big problem." said Penny. "Help me take Uncle Gadget to a safe place, we need the coast all clear to keep up with the mission."
They dragged the Inspector to an empty office, put him in a closet and left.
"He's safe for now, Doctor Claw doesn't know where he is." said Penny.
Fidget nodded. "Okay, so what's next?"
Penny showed the transmitter. "Doctor Claw doesn't know it, but I deactivated the microphone to make him think his plan worked. Now we can trace the place where he hides thanks to this."
"Neat!" said Fidget. "I'll follow you!"
They ran through the halls. They didn't have much time before Dr. Claw sent his agents and found out his plan failed. If the gas was meant to work for an half hour, then the agents were already on their way to the head office.
In a few minutes, the MAD Agents would find the office empty, then Doctor Claw would certainly flee the mountain, and Penny would fail on a mission for the first time!
She couldn't allow that, after over one hundred and fifty-six successful missions, and this one was the most important ever.
"We're close!" Penny panicked. "My watch is flashing like crazy!"
They reached a door, and Penny raised an eyebrow. "The janitor's closet? Of course. Doctor Claw said he wasn't in the most obvious place, and THIS, is the least obvious."
They busted into the closet.
"Hands up, Doctor Claw, in the name of all that is honest and law abiding, you're under arrest!" Penny showed her badge. "Now, show me your face and accept the judgment you deserve!"
"You got me cornered..." said Claw. "The least I can do, is to honor you by a glance at my face..."
The seat moved, but something exploded in the distance.
"What was that?" Doctor Claw looked around.
Just then, the ground started quaking.
"What is happening?!" Fidget shouted.
Penny tried to talk. "I don't know-AAAAHHHH!"
The ground quaked more, making Penny fall down.
"Ha,ha, ha,ha, that was unexpected..." Claw laughed.
Penny lifted her head. "Oh no! He's escaping!"
She jumped on the desk, but Doctor Claw had already ejected himself out of the mountain in a flying capsule at an incredible speed.
Penny watched it leaving and disappearing in the sunset:
"NOOO!" She shouted.
Just then, the door had exploded, leaving a cloud of smoke.
"Whoever you are, I warn you, I'm not in the mood!" barked Penny, then she saw who it was. "Uncle Gadget?"
"Careful, Penny, he's still high on the nitrous oxide!" said Fidget.
"And a person remembers what happens when on this gas, right?" asked Penny.
- Right.
Penny shoved her fists in her pockets, "That's too bad."
"I can sedate him if you want." said Fidget.
"Really? How?" asked Penny.
"Like this." Fidget approached the inspector and sprayed some gas.
Gadget fell down and Fidget smiled.
"Phew, thank you Fidget." Penny sighed of relief. "If he started talking, I don't know how long I would have stood it before punching him real hard."
"You're welcome." Fidget smiled.
"How did you do that?" asked Penny.
"I had a bit of the gas in store, I used my water spray to dispense it." Fidget explained. "I'm very sorry, Penny... I know you never failed before, even when you weren't an Agent..."
"It's not your fault, Fidget, you've been the best..." Penny sighed. "If only the gas had worked just a bit more..."
Fidget frowned, "Rise up, Penny, we're not done yet!"
"It's over, Fidget..." Penny said. "Doctor Claw escaped, and the General is going to put me back at the scanner..."
"That won't happen, Penny, cause we still have this." Fidget showed her a transmitter.
Penny looked at her watch: it was flashing slower and slower, which meant the signal was getting further.
"You're right!" Penny exclaimed. "Let's follow him before the signal gets too far!"
They stood up, and Fidget activated his back plane.
"Thanks for choosing Air Fidget, we embark immediately!" He grabbed her and flew right through the hole the capsule took to leave.
Penny looked at her watch, "It's this way, Fidget, quick!"
"I'm on it!" Fidget gave a thumbs up.
The back plane fired, propelling them through the sky. The watch was slowly flashing, but still, the signal wasn't lost.
"Faster, Fidget, faster!" said Penny.
The fight wasn't over, she WOULD get Doctor Claw and bring him to the WOMP!
"Faster, we're losing him!" Penny shouted.
"I can't risk breaking my engines!" said Fidget.
"I know their technical limits, trust me!" Penny exclaimed.
Fidget turned, firing his plane as hard as he could.
Penny exulted. "I see him!"
The capsule was still flying, that was perfect.
:I can catch up with him!" Fidget assured.
He fired harder, and they got past the capsule.
"Fidget, Interception Mode!" Penny exclaimed.
Fidget's eyes flashed green and he volte-faced and revealed his load of dissuasive weapons. The capsule then stopped in front of them and stayed in hovering.
"He surrendered?" Fidget wondered.
Penny raised an eyebrow. "Take me closer, Fidget, I want to open that capsule."
Fidget obeyed, and Penny manipulated her watch to force the opening.
"I should have known!" She said as she saw that the capsule was empty, and a red led was flashing on the seat. "It was a trick! He surely joined a flying vehicle half-course and left this for us to chase!"
"What do we do, now?" asked Fidget. "What do we do?"
"Get back to WOMP, announce my failure and be sent back to paperwork forever..." Penny sighed. "Take me back home, Fidget..."
Fidget turned around and flew away from the capsule.
"You know, we probably should confiscate this." He said. "After all, it's evidence. Doctor Claw was in there.
"You're right!" said Penny. "Let's bring it with us! Maybe everything isn't lost after al-"
Just then, the capsule blew up and Penny froze in shock.
"He knew we would...the capsule was rigged..." She sadly said. "Just take me home...I need a few hours to be ready for my demise..."
"Understood." Fidget nodded.
And they left, Fidget flying away, unaware that the Mountain of Limbo was now a pile of ashes...
Chapter 5: Mission Redux New Partner
Penny and Gadget both arrived at WOMP Headquarters together, heading down the elevator to WOMP.
Penny turned to her uncle with an insane glare.
"YOU IDIOT! YOU LET CLAW ESCAPE! YOU NEVER LISTEN TO MY IDEAS YOU DELIBERATELY SCREWED UP MY MISSION IT'S A WONDER IF YOUR GADGETS WORK AT ALL" She snapped at her uncle.
As soon as they got off the elevator, Penny furiously walked away and then bumps into Alec.
Penny what happened replies Alec. My idiot of an uncle happened just as I was about to arrest dr. Claw at the mountain of Limbo he screws it up
And this is how it happened Digit and I made it to the mountain but then my uncle messed up my mission by letting Dr. Claw escape.
"...and that's what happened." Penny sadly concluded.
"That is so unfair." said Alec. "It was your only failure after one year of excellent service, you went all the way to capture Doctor Claw, he tricked you, none of our best Agents ever got that close to him, and you get back to paperwork because you couldn't get him? Plus, it wasn't even your fault!"
"I know, Alec..." Penny sighed. "But what could I do? I can't report that an inspector officially screwed up a simple Agent's mission. Who would believe that anyway? I could even get fired from WOMP for such words!"
"You're right, Alec." Penny nodded. "That is so unfair."
"You uncle might be a respected inspector here, but if you allow me to think out loud, he's also the perfect example of blatant incompetence." said Alec.
"GADGEEEEEET!" somebody shouted.
Alec's thumb pointed towards the scream, "...and the only other person smart enough to see this is Chief Quimby.
"You're right, Alec." Penny nodded.
"Last time I heard that scream, you bumped right into me." Alec pointed out.
"Yes, I remember." She sighed. "Thanks for cheering me up, but I really reached the lowest point, here..."
"Oh I'm sorry!" said Alec. "I didn't mean...
"No, you're right, this IS the lowest point." Penny shook her head. "Even the janitor has a better salary than us, and no one yells at him all the time."
The printer bleeped.
"My file is all done, I must go." Penny turned towards the printer.
Penny opened the lid and tried to gather the papers without success.
"Mind if I help?" asked Alec.
Penny stepped back, and Alec made his joints creak.
He rummaged over the papers and piled them up perfectly.
"Here you go!" He said.
"How in the world do you do that?" asked Penny.
"I have an acute dexterity, this is probably why my boss hasn't fired me yet." Alec replied.
"You're too modest." Penny giggled.
"ALEC!" Someone shouted.
"Why do you think he constantly yells at me like that?" Alec sighed. "Hegwen has no patience and no idea how slow this machine is! I've gotta go! See ya!"
"Bye Alec." Penny waved goodbye, then looked at her papers and raised an eyebrow. "He even put them in order... How does he do that?"
She grabbed the papers.
"PENNY!" shouted Chief Quimby.
Penny rushed upstairs and blasted through the chief's office.
I'm here, Chief, I'm here!" She saluted.
She saw that the chief was all tied up in a lake of honey. Penny put the papers down somewhere safe and helped him out.
"I'm terribly sorry, Chief Quimby..." She said.
"No need for apologies, Penny, you're not guilty in all this." Chief Quimby got up. "Just as you weren't in your mission."
"You... You know about that?" asked Penny.
"Of course I know." Chief Quimby nodded. "Gadget showed up and everything went wrong, isn't it what happened?"
Penny shrugged. "I haven't filed this in my Official Mission Report."
"Gadget just came by to tell me about the great party his bank threw yesterday to celebrate its grand opening...in the Mountain of Limbo!" Chief Quimby slammed a newspaper on his desk.
Penny raised an eyebrow. "The Mountain of Limbo has been destroyed?
The Chief nodded. "Vaporized, exploded, turned into ashes, there's literally nothing left of it! And this is blamed on the MAD organization, of course. But we both know who caused this. Gadget did this. Am I right?"
"Well, he was on nitrous oxide, so he got a little wonky." said Penny.
"We both know what disasters he can do in his normal state, so on some laughing gas...
"Okay, it might have been him." said Penny. "Are you thinking about something?"
"I want to make sure Gadget was there and caused this, and eventually get you reintegrated for the side proof he interfered in your mission." said Chief Quimby.
Penny couldn't believe it. "You would do that?"
"Listen, Penny...they made you my assistant because you are Gadget's niece, and also our best agent here." Chief Quimby continued. "I actually am happy about this decision, because you understand me, and you're a hard worker...but let's be serious, you don't deserve that menace, Gadget. So, what I propose here, is that you get back to the Mountain of Limbo."
Penny shrugged. "Well, I don't mind, but I'm not an agent anymore, I'm not supposed to go on a mission."
"The General was online before your uncle came here. He demanded that an investigation was performed in the Mountain of Limbo, and he let me choose two people to conduct it.
"Two people?" Penny raised an eyebrow:
The Chief nodded, "The General said the mountain was even more dangerous now it's blown up. He wants to make sure someone would be there just in case."
"So you chose me?" asked Penny.
"Exactly." I trust you more than anyone to lead this mission to a success.
"Thank you, chief." Penny saluted.
"You're welcome, Penny." Chief Quimby nodded.
"Who did you choose to go with me?" asked Penny.
"Well, after checking a long list of names, I came across a young man... His dexterity and sense of tidiness make his superior's happiness. And his superior is known to be hard to satisfy." Chief Quimby grabbed a paper and showed it to Penny.
"Alec?!" She gasped as she saw the picture. "You chose him?"
The Chief nodded:
"He has great potential, and I know great potential when I see it."
He went to his chair and sat down. "I am the one who got you out of the paper mess."
"Y... You? I didn't know about that..." Penny stammered.
"I didn't think it would be relevant to tell you, but you need to believe in you right now." said Chief Quimby.
Penny took a deep breath. "You believed in me, and you trust me again. I won't disappoint you."
"I know, Penny." Chief Quimby said as started to call someone on his phone. "Hegwen! Send me your assistant right now! Yes my office, you nuthead! I want to see him NOW!"
In no time at all, Alec arrived in Chief Quimby's office.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Alec gulped.
"Ah, Alec..." Chief Quimby said calmly. "Come in, boy, don't be afraid, I'm far less dangerous than a certain cyborg..."
Alec stepped inside the office and stood straight.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" He asked.
"Relax here, boy." Said Chief Quimby. "If you are here, it's for your very first special mission."
"My first mission?" Alec gasped.
"Yes." Chief Quimby nodded. "Now listen, Penny here will lead you in this mission."
"P...Penny...?" Alec gasped.
"Is that an issue for you?" asked Nozzaire.
Alec shook his head. "Absolutely not, chief!"
"Very well, then." Chief Quimby cleared his throat. "Penny will debrief you, she already knows about the mission. Dismissed!"
"Yes,Chief! I won't disappoint you!" Alec saluted.
"You'll find him back at the cafeteria for lunch." said Nozzaire. "Go to the D Aisle to debrief."
"Understood, Chief!" Penny saluted.
"Just one more thing!" Quimby added. "As you told me, Gadget was on drugs when he was at the mountain?
"Doctor Claw sprayed a mix of sleeping gas and nitrogenous oxygen to capture him." Penny replied.
"I see." Chief Quimby nodded. "Then, if we make the clear proof he was there and responsible for all this, he won't be blamed for anything anyway."
Penny shrugged. "You don't seem pleased about that."
"I was hoping I could get him fired for leading a capital mission to a failure and destroying a precious piece of security artwork." Quimby grumbled.
"Sorry." Penny shrugged.
When lunch came, Penny looked for Alec and found him in a corner of the cafeteria, alone.
"Hi, Alec." She waved to him.
Alec looked up. "Oh, hi, Penny."
"Follow me." said Penny.
Alec left the table and took his meal with him. They walked all the way to the Aisle D and found themselves alone. Aisle D was closed for renovations, and the workers were all eating outside at the moment. This was the best place and time of the day to debrief a special mission.
"Let's sit here." Penny said, sitting on the large marble stairs.
"So, what's the mission?" asked Alec.
Penny grabbed her fork. "We're going to the Mountain of Limbo."
"Really?!" Alec gasped.
"The General wants to investigate about the explosion that happened there." Penny explained. "Chief Quimby chose us to do this and make the proof it was my uncle's doing. Find me after work at the South-East secret entrance, we'll get ready for this."
"Understood." Alec said as he looked down at their meals. "Now how about eating?"
"Request accepted, partner!" Penny nodded. Penny tell me about your life growing up. said Alec "ok well my parents names are James and Andrea Brown and she is a field agent while he is a scientist for WOMP who mysteriously disappeared without a clue as to their whereabouts the only thing we know for certain is that MAD has them but don't quote me on that." alright Penny
Soon enough, they had finished their lunch, aware they had very little time before getting back to work.
"That was nice, Alec." said Penny. "Thank you."
"I usually eat alone." Alec blushed.
"I can see that." Penny remarked. "See you at the scanner!"
They left the D Aisle and went back to their superiors' offices.
"Okay chief, we are ready for our mission." said Penny.
"Good." Chief Quimby said as he grabbed a pile of papers and handed them to her. "I need you to scan these.
"Sure thing, sir." said Penny.
"Be careful with those." said Chief Quimby. "It's important O.M.R. from our terrain agents that need to be read by the other Worldwide Organizations' Leaders as soon as possible, so no one touches it, understood? I trust you."
"I understand, sir." Penny nodded.
Penny went downstairs with the file and walked to the scanner. As she was carefully squeezing the papers, someone popped in front of her. It was Gadget.
"Hi, Penny!" said the inspector. "I'm on my way to Chief Quimby's office! But I can help you with those papers."
"No, no, it's fine, I can handle it..." Penny assured him. "These are sensitive documents, I can't let anyone touch them! Not even you."
- No one is more concerned about protocol than I am, Penny, but I am an inspector, I am allowed to handle sensitive documents.
Penny tried to explain, "They're from a higher instance, and you know thi-"
"Don't be ridiculous now, Penny." Gadget said as he grabbed the papers from her hands and turned around. "Let's do this!"
Penny ran after him as he was dropping about the half of the file, and they eventually arrived at the scanner with the documents all safe and sound.
She tried to stop him. "Okay, I can do this, now, you can..."
"I'm doing this for you as well, Penny." Gadget replied as he put the papers on the scanner and started.
Everything was going well, until the machine began making some funny noises.
"Hmm, something seems to be not working..." Gadget said as he bent over.
You shouldn't touch it, Uncle Gadget!" Penny warned him. "I know this. It sounds like..."
"Everyone knows it, it's a classical paper jam sound." Gadget proclaimed.
Penny face palmed. "It's a scanner!"
"I got this!" Gadget assured her.
"Get out of this scanner, Uncle Gadget!" Penny shouted.
Gadget still didn't listen and kept fiddling with the machine.
"GET OUT!" Penny shouted again.
Gadget left the insides of the scanner, covered in grease.
"All done, and good as new!" He said as he retreated.
"How did he get all covered in grease?" She shrugged and grabbed her papers. "No matter, at least it seems to be wor-"
Just then, the papers flew in the air and fell all over the place.
"Spoke too soon." Penny sighed, trying to gather them.
"What happened, here?" Alec just rushed in.
"My uncle wanted to fix the scanner." Penny responded.
Alec looked up at the scanner. "Well, that's just great, this one was the fastest scanner we had."
"Yeah, I know..." Penny sighed.
"Let me help you gather these..." He said.
"No!" Penny shook her head. "These are O.M.R files, you can't touch them!"
"Oh, okay, I didn't know, sorry." Alec blushed.
"At least they haven't been damaged by the explosion." Penny said as she grabbed all the papers and piled them as neatly as she could. "You said this was the fastest scanner?"
"Yes, but we have two antique ones somewhere else." Alec nodded.
"Mind to lead me there?" asked Penny.
"Sure thing." Alec nodded. "Follow me."
They walked all the way to the G Aisle and entered a dark room, and Alec patted an old machine:
"Let me introduce the good old GITSY." He said. "She's slow but she has never broken down. "We named her as a tribute to Gitsy Minsky, the most reputed paper worker of the WOMP."
"Is she retired?" asked Penny.
"Judging by her birth date, she's probably dead right now." Alec looked at Minsky's file. "But we was the best nonetheless."
Penny started to scan the papers. "Thank you, Alec."
"You're welcome." Alec nodded.
They waited for what seemed to be hours.
"So, ready for the mission?" Penny asked Alec.
"I'm freaking out, to be honest, but I'm also very excited!" Alec said.
"Yes, I know this feeling." Penny smiled. "I got the same on my first mission."
Just then, the GITSY growled very loud.
"Wow, what's going on?" asked Penny.
"She's done!" Alec patted the scanner.
- Is that noise normal?!
- Absolutely.
Penny opened the scanner to take the papers back. "Well, thanks again, see you at the mission."
"You know it!" Alec winked.
Penny left the G Aisle and went all the way back to Chief Quimby's office.
"The transmission of the documents have been a bit slow, Penny..." He remarked. "Is there something wrong with the scanner?"
"I only used the Gitzy, sir." Penny said.
"That old thing in the G Aisle? Why?" asked Chief Quimby.
"The other scanner had an accident." Penny grinned.
The Chief nodded and understood
"Say no more, I got the picture." Chief Quimby nodded. "Thank you for your steady work, Penny, I will miss you as an assistant, but I'll be happy for you to be back at your real place."
"Thank you, sir." Penny bowed.
"I have nothing left for you right now." said Chief Quimby. "I'll call you back if I need your services. Dismissed!"
"Very well, Chief!" Penny saluted.
She left the office and went to the assistants' room.
"Hi, Penny!" said one of the agents.
"Hi, Donnie." Penny smiled.
"Hey, wanna go out tonight?" asked Donnie. "I heard they play this great movie at the theater for a premiere..."
"Sorry, Donnie, but I'm busy tonight." Penny shook her head:
"You always say that!" Donnie crossed his arms. "Even before being an agent, you were always too busy for anything!
"I have work to do, Donnie, I'm an inventor, I always work on something." said Penny.
"I haven't seen you in a year, Penny, I only would like to spend some time with you now you're one of us." said Donnie."
"She's just not interested, Donnie!" Sheila intervened. "Go away!"
"Thanks, Sheila, but I can handle this." Penny crossed her arms.
"Is it true, Penny?" asked Donnie. "You're not interested?"
"You're a nice guy, Donnie, but I don't think we would ever understand each other." said Penny.
"You didn't even give me a chance to know you!" Donnie retorted.
- You're pretty much allergic to technology Donnie, and I build robots. I don't think we are compatible.
"You'll never give me a chance." Donnie growled.
Donnie left the assistants' room, clapping his shoes as loud as his anger was commanding him to.
"Well, that's done at least." Sheila commented.
"He's so annoying." Penny rolled her eyes.
"Tell me about that." Sheila agreed. "Before you, he was on my back. First I was relieved, but then I felt sorry for you."
"How long had he been stalking you?" asked Penny.
"Two years..." Sheila sighed.
"And you never said anything?" asked Penny.
"Donnie got his seat paid." His father is an influential businessman, he's untouchable.
"That sucks." Penny pouted.
"You handled him great." said Sheila. "But I doubt he'll give up on you so easily. But just out of curiosity, are you actually busy tonight?
"I am." Penny nodded.
"Oh, do you see that? And what are you up to, if I may ask?" Sheila smiled maliciously.
"Hi there!" Alec saluted, stepping in.
Penny smiled and got close to Alec. "I'm going out with Him.
"Hooo I see..." Sheila made her Kawaii face: "Good choice, Penny. Have fun!"
"What is she talking about?" Alec asked Penny.
"It's a long story." Penny shrugged. "I'm glad you're here, that conversation was getting annoying."
"I have a few minutes to spare." Do you play chess?
Penny smiled. "That's a lovely idea."
"Okay, I have it just here...
He looked in his personal locker and grabbed a tablet he put on the little table. He turned it on, swiped on the screen a few times, and a holographic set of chess popped out of it.
"White or black?" He asked.
As soon as the game was over, Penny finally brought the last piece of a regular file on Quimby's desk.
"Here it is, Chief!" She said.
"Nice job, Penny." said Chief Quimby. "You can leave, now, it's time to go home."
"Thank you, Chief." Penny nodded. "Have a nice evening."
"You too, Penny." Chief Quimby nodded.
She left the office and rushed to the South-East secret entrance, where she found Alec, who was looking highly unsure about what he was doing in that precise location of WOMP.
"Penny... I was waiting for you." He said nervously.
"I had some extra work." said Penny. "Come with me..."
Penny led Alec to the secret entrance, and they took the elevator to the surface.
"Where are we going, Penny?" He asked.
The elevator opened up and they soon enough, ended up back at Penny's house.
"To my house." Penny replied.
Alec freaked out and was about to faint. "By your house?! You're actually taking me to your place?!"
"Yes, what's wrong...?" She asked.
"N...nothing..." He stammered. "It was just...unexpected.
Penny shrugged. "You don't have the required equipment for this mission, I have some spare. I think the best thing to do is to share it with you."
"Oh, thanks..." Alec smiled.
She led him inside and they went up the stairs. She opened the door to her room and approached Fidget and Digit.
"Hi guys, I'm back home!" She said.
"Penny!" The two robots rushed to her in relation and surprise.
"Hey, say, who's this guy?" asked Digit.
"I guess I should make the introductions, right..." Penny chuckled. "This is Alec, my partner, we're on a mission tonight to recapture Claw at the mountain."
"I thought you weren't an Agent anymore?" asked Fidget.
"Fidget! Digit growled.
"Oh I know you," Alec pointed to the Gadgetinis. "You are Fidget, and you are, Digit. Pleased to meet you."
"THIS is a man who knows how to talk to robots." Fidget shook Alec's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Alec!"
Alec turned to Digit. "And you are the serious guy, aren't you?"
"I can be fun too." Digit retorted.
"No you can't!" Fidget corrected.
"We should get ready for the mission." Penny reminded Alec, opening her closet.
Alec nodded, and they sorted out the equipment together which included multi vision sunglasses, a standard issue WOMP skintight jumpsuit for her fingerless gloves high heeled boots, and an earpiece and for her partner Alec he had a black jumpsuit,shoes,fingerless gloves and an earpiece The gadgets for the mission which were invented by Penny include modified smartphones which include decryption software and a camera, dart guns that knock the mad agents out instead of killing them and leaving them for WOMP to pick up and also a grappling hook concealed in a wristwatch and for recon a mini drone disguised as a robot cat.
"With all the equipment sorted we can head for the mountain!" said Penny.
"Let's go!" Alec nodded.
Unbeknownst to our heroes two shadowy figures appear out of the darkness to reveal themselves a woman with shoulder length Blonde hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes wearing a standard issue WOMP skintight jumpsuit equipped with a 9mm pistol in it's holster and a man with Brown Hair and Light Brown eyes with a mustache wearing a lab coat, grey button up shirt brown pants and black shoes and blue tie James and Andrea Brown her parents. Andrea touches her ear to activate her earpiece"Chief do you read The plan worked and we will reveal ourselves when ready" said Andrea "Yes" said Chief Quimby "Proceed with the plan."
Author's Note: