Devil's Blood: An Inspector Gadget & Gadget Boy Adventure

Chapter 1:

- The Gadget Gang in Flight -

"Madam? Madam? Girl?," asked an airline stewardess leaning in towards Penny Heyward's plane seat.

"Third person, right? I have permission for him. He has papers." Penny answered, tired of explaining the companion sitting beside her half asleep with his head and forelegs in her lap.

"As you've told others who work with me. You sound so sure. Madam, who gave you authorization for this animal? He does not appear to be a service dog." The lady continued to question the 17 year old blond, mildly glaring about the line of conversation directed at her.

"HAPPY, know of them? Not the most known of multinational organizations but far from secret," the teen answered.

Not sure what to make of the answer. Emotion? Group? Company? The girl's snarky way of speaking to her made her wonder if it was some form of ruse or odd joke being played on her. As she tired to figure out how to respond, and wondering in that if she could use her native language of Finnish, sometimes useful on international flights. The girl being she assumed an American, on route to Sweden, she couldn't be sure. A man she could tell must have had a connection to her, interjected himself into her confrontation with the miffed passenger. "Her uncle beside me here has the pet's papers. If I got them out for you, would you mind looking them over and then passing them between your fellow flight attendants? She has been asked about him a few times before. I think you can understand this is getting a little old?"

Quickly scrapping her look of confusion at the sandy haired man. Him seated a row behind the girl with her dog, that the stewardess was sure didn't belong, she conceited to him and shook her head yes. Relived, the man leaned back into his seat and when noticing his companion by the window didn't have his attention, he poked him. John being oblivious was a little on rare side, Alan had noted with him. It didn't happen on the job, even though his logic made those who didn't know him well, wonder. No it happened when he was deep in thought. When something was bothering him.

"John, earth to John? Brain's papers? I need them." Alan Engenis asked his co-worker, sorted friend, and permanent bio-technology responsibility.

"I think I've been duped about this," The inspector answered, as he broke his attention away from the window to his work partner.

Wondering and feeling almost assured right on the matter, Alan asked him. "You know the paperwork is in line about Brain, John. I don't think you've been duped about it."

Giving the engineer an odd small smile about the misunderstanding for lack of information. Then grabbing a zippered binder from a pouch in front of him built into the seat ahead of him, John commented. "I meant that towards HAPPY's idea of a paid vacation. Alan, I should have seen right through that veil in the beginning. In fact I'm sure I did, I just didn't want to dwell on it at the time."

John after having unzipped the binder and finding the needed papers. After handing them to the still curious flight attendant. Which involved stretching across Alan and giving the woman a feeling of disbelief at witnessing the action. The tech replied, "does it bother you to be along others like yourself?"

Putting the binder back into it's seat pouch after zipping it back up. John answered, looking to the fellow HAPPY Agent at first before turning his attention back to the window. "How would you like to be treated like a token?"

"How are you a token if you're surrounded by other cyborgs, John?" Alan questioned him with a mild amount of concern.

With a light growl in his voice, the inspector answered. "Lets just drop this topic for now ok?"

Looking at his scowling friend and then to his confront zone, outside the plane at the open sky beyond the window. Alan sat back in his seat fully, commenting under his breath while he made himself comfortable. "You brought it up."

- Troop 603 -

"I can trust you all to work peacefully together right? Venture Scouts, I expect you to find everything on your Building List and bonus points if you see any plants or animals on your Eco List. Report back to the main grounds here by 6pm at the latest!" The Scout Leader shouted towards the boys in his care & command. Before blowing a whistle and waving a hand in the air in a wide ark indicating for them to move out.

"Us having to build our own shelters for the night, this should have started much earlier in the day." Grumbled Ryan, a new comer to Troop 603, as he followed after his partnered buddy at a distance. Ryan's walk at a relaxed pace, not out of fear of poison ivy which he normally feared encountering at any given moment while hiking in unfamiliar woods. It was because his heart wasn't in the activity. His old troop never did things like this and not for the first time being almost out of his teen years, he began again to consider leaving the Boy Scouts.

Chipper and swinging his head around as he moved forward, eager to find anything on either list. His builder's list being of main concern, Tommy commented without turning to face Ryan. "You know that detour to pick up the Daniels' kids on route to the site couldn't be helped. Besides do you think the Scout Master wouldn't have shown that good will? The only bad thing in that was something which he had no control over, the GPS blanking out. Otherwise we'd have gotten here faster."

As Tommy started feeling about and eyeing a fallen small tree in a molding state, Ryan retorted to him. "It's four pm, what do you think are our chances of finding any of the animals on our list are? Second, when do you think that snapped? I'm not so sure I'd trust it."

Positioning himself in a stance which he was sure would make his strength most effective against the small fallen tree still rooted mildly into the ground. While wrapping his arms on to it and baring his hands tightly to it's trunk, Tommy answered. "If we were truly and I mean truly in the middle of nowhere and needed shelter, we shouldn't be picky about luck. A long piece of timber is part of our Builder's List. Also a good number of nocturnal animals are on that Eco List."

Looking around him and not for fear of bad footing or rash inducing plants, Ryan stopped walking. Nothing at eye level or below that but in the air? He could hear something crashing through the treetops. Moments later he noticed what had been causing the noise. Birds, lots of them. Mostly all flying above the forest canopy but a few of them, and Ryan cracked to himself mentally, appeared to be drunk. Some of them for seemingly no reason at all were breaking off from their flock and plowing through the trees.

"Tom, Tommy do you see that? Hear that? What kind of bird?" Ryan broke off his questioning to his partner as he grabbed for his Eco List to check it's information.

Pausing from the task he'd been fixed on, that at this point he's almost finished. Tommy chimed in looking to the source of the sound as well. "Some migratory species, but I don't think any of the ones that would pass through Virginia at this time of the year are on our Eco List."

"I want to joke and say dodo birds here." Ryan replied, still watching the drunken birds crash through the treetops.

When Tommy returned to his work with the tree, finally breaking it completely free from the ground. Ryan saw something which worried him now about the birds' behavior beyond finding it strangely amusing. He saw one come through the canopy and crash on to the ground. "Tom," the younger man continued to speak as he started moving off towards where he saw the bird fall to. "Something isn't right, I want to check out one of the flying morons. The thing just hit the dirt."

Once placing his work prize in a place he felt happy with, Tommy backtracked to move after the other scout. When coming up on Ryan, he finally got a good view of the bird, the man had tracked down. A bird he couldn't identify lay sprawled on the ground, still alive from having decked into it. It was the size of a raven and some what looked like a raven with it's black feathers but it also had other shades of feathers to it. It's underside when that showed as it scuffled about in movement on the ground, when that side of the body was showing. The underside looked like a deeper shade of a robin's breast. Muddy red to pure red ran on the avian creature, chest to tail start. It's eyes Tommy didn't know what to make of those. They looked like those of a cloven animal, he'd never seen a bird with eyes like that nor had heard or read of any.

"What is it and second what could be wrong with it? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact it's still alive after the fall it took." Ryan said, while crouching near by it as it slowed down in it's movements, panting for air.

Cocking his head while keeping his attention fixed on the animal. Bending down too, to get a better view of the plumed beast, Thomas replied. "I don't know. Maybe it's an introduced species which shouldn't be in this part of North America and it's in some form of odd shock. I have no real explanation for the thing."

Puffing up it's feathers in what the nearly grown men could only assume was some form of defensive behavior. It let the feathers fall and spike out every few moments for a time. Then seemingly no longer acting in random movements. It started to do a type of short hopping walk away from the scouts. One wing spread out from it's body, stiffly holding it's shape with each jump taken.

"It may not be on our Eco List and damn I wish I had a digital camera on me or my smartphone. But just so maybe if our Scout Master can clear up what that thing is. I'm grabbing one of the feathers it left behind from it's crash spot." Tom said, while grabbing for a secondary that had fallen from one of it's wings.

Smoothing over the tip of the feather held in the other scout's hand, Ryan commented. "Tabin, you know if that strange raven thing doesn't belong around here, there could be bigger consequences than simple identification when the rest of the troop learns of it. Blog worthy or even environmental scientists worthy."

Pocketing the feather and getting back into a standing position then facing Ryan, Tommy replied. "Then this camping trip will turn out to be more memorable than expected. We should get back to our free shopping trip hike. I already have one of the main pieces of wood we need for our shelter."

- Team Atom's Arrow -

"Is everyone ok? Natalie? Marget? Mich?," Henry asked, into the darkness of their workspace.

Workspace that until a short time ago had been busy with normal business. One of HAPPY's team engineering labs, it's purpose to let Team Atom's Arrow, a weapons specialty group, design and sometimes test new projects in it's housing. It, along with miles of other underground and a little above ground property of HAPPY now was in ruin thanks to an earthquake.

"We're not to blame for this. The administration knows that right? It's their damn fault for even having installations here. Right near the damn San Andreas Fault!" Mich snapped, from somewhere off in the dimly lit space that only had breaks in it from minor roofing damage. Plus minuscule light sources too small to be of any form of effective lighting added also too dangerous to be considered for handling without proper measures taken. The claustrophobia he'd been able to with help suppress, returning with frightful vengeance. A condition he'd tried to bury in the back of his mind since from the start of working for HAPPY. That until now he had not thought about it in years. An earthquake? Materials that were mildly toxic with radioactive activity, likely now exposed to open air? Mich wanted now to scream after having said his two cents about their present predicament. His glasses having fallen off of him during the quake, aiding his terror.

Softer and not sounding as upset, realizing what Mich was going through, Marget then answered Henry's call. "Rescue teams should be here soon right? I mean yes, yes Mich I'm sure administration knew San Francisco might not be a good Hub City for our underground based operations. But they - they I'm sure tried to make these installations as stable as possible."

In the low lighting of rock gashed openings and the spotted dim glow of things best left unbothered, the weapons lab had those broken by a thin beam of concentrated light. It was a small beam as if made by a pen-light meant to locate keys or used if nothing better for illumination could be found for a purpose. It darted around the sparsely illuminated engineering lab and finally stopped it's movement only when it appeared to find something of interest. But more accurately someone, it had located Natalie.

She lay unconscious slumped down on to the floor of the lab. Blood coming off of her from an unseen injury beneath her from somewhere off her shoulder? Henry couldn't tell without coming over to her.

As he started to try and pick his way across the damaged lab to his colleague. The man holding the small pen-light, moved to join him in this movement to the woman. The engineer questioned this person whom he couldn't see well, holding the light. He also questioned mentally about how the light seemed to be being held.

"Whoever you are, the help is appreciated. But why use that kind of light at a time like this? I know the earthquake has caught everyone off guard, but where were you? Was there nothing better?"

The possessor of the insect sized light let out a short huff, sounded in frustration before replying. "It's built into me. I can't really help how bright it is. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir."

"Built? Built into you? How could that be?" Henry then broke off his rambling for lack of understanding the other person's response. It broke off because that's when Henry realized who he had to be dealing with. That would explain how a flashlight could be built into one's being.

"Inspector Gadget? I mean Inspector Heyward? I never thought of you coming here. Some criminal case given by our higher-ups?" Henry asked, the visiting company.

"Gadget? Cute naming idea for a cyborg. Um no, listen I'm not who you think I am. I'm also not here for any criminal." The dimly lit man said, feeling for a pulse in the neck of the woman against the wall. To then smoothly run one hand along her back to feel for where her injuries were.

"I don't deal with the normal criminal element. My work unlike yours isn't completely government supervised." The man continued on before then adding in more by saying, "I think she'll be ok. Although she does need attention to her wounds."

"Wait, you? Who are you?" Henry asked, his almost unseen associate in helping lift up his injured teammate.

"Crap, I don't think I can get us out through the hole I came in through." The cyborg commented to himself before sighing and adding, "we're going to need additional aid getting out."

"Help for our help. If I were dumb, I'd grab for that re-worked Com-Blaster we were fixing just before the quake hit. Create a larger hole." Marget commented, almost laughing as she starred out towards the stranger's pen-light. The only thing in the room she could focus on that didn't scare her.

A whistle or at least what sounded like the start of one came out of the unknown cyborg, sounding into the lab. What Henry guessed, actually meant directed out of the lab. "Your idea of dealing with a distressing situation is whistle into it?" He asked, surprised at what had just happened.

"Not really. No, I just called for my dog. He should be able to dig us out of this. Shove aside the debris to make a good sized exit hole for us." The man who'd entered the nearly enclosed lab. The one assumed by others to be Inspector Gadget said cheerfully, at the thought of his pet joining in to aid them in getting out.

- Two Goons -

Cement walls with no decoration of any kind. It gave Terry Skinie bad flashback memories of places he'd been held captive in the past. HAPPY's underground jail cells but in more recent recollections, normal jail. He was starting to have a hard time recalling how many of those he'd been thrown into over the years. His last visit giving him an odd sense of nostalgia having been arrested Pierre, the capital of his home state. Pierre might not have been where he'd first been led into a jail cell in handcuffs, but it was still part of the local turf of the Jackrabbits as it had been to Wall.

He scowled at it before turning his attention back to his best friend as Louis, eyes fixed on one of the old fashion analog security monitors, spoke up. "Damn that's a lot of money they've got. What suckers, I bet more MAD Agents are already on the inside of this place and they don't know it yet. Dumb legal dance around. If we were still with them, I'd say just take the offer flat out. No mucking about on the formalities."

Louis Largoe's suckers being the current government caretakers of the old US Army anti-ballistic missile system or ABM or as the Safeguard Program was more commonly called the 'Pyramid of North Dakota'. They didn't know they were dealing with MAD. Likely he knew his former employer had already found ways to secure the establishment minus the use of excessive money. This intrigued the intelligent former grunt of the criminal organization.

He knew the sorts of games MAD got forced to play from time to time. These dances always were done to try and avoid legal complexities down the line. Sure just about every aspect of what MAD did was illegal but if they could play nice in certain departments about acquiring what they needed, it paid off later if a court case had to happen.

Scratching his head, Terry commented his thoughts on the wealth being talked about as payment for the complex and land MAD wanted to have for it's new permanently based headquarters. "What I can't figure out is where they got it from? I mean you heard that rumor too that Bruce and birdman got caught right? So if they failed in Metro City, where could it have come from unless MAD concocted some new scheme to get it?"

Leaning back into his chair, Louis spoke up about what he felt had to have been one possible answer to his pal's question. "Those boats you guys acquired after I took off. Stolen I doubt not. Resale Terry, that would provide them with a lot of dough. I bet a lot of them are in other hands now."

Giving out a fast huff, the cyborg then gave a lite snapping back reply about his friend's hunch. "You generally can't sell stolen vehicles, Louis."

"Unless they've been given a good disguise, repaint, a little remodel. Remember that artsy trickster, Prentice Chagriffer? He could do such a thing," Louis retorted.

Moving forward in his chair now, Louis spotted a matter of interest on another one of the security monitor screens. Not a government employee or a MAD internal worker? Nah, this person didn't carry herself like that form of MAD Agent. Too predatory an air to her, and the clothes didn't speak of being conservative in nature. Most internal laborers happened to be that way considering most of them didn't work in the field. Further more she didn't come across to him as looking like she would have been a fellow grunt worker if he still worked for MAD. A Specialized Agent but a new one, possible danger.

Extending out the metal implanted claws of one hand, Terry started on an extra project he now felt inclined to do. Add some form of decorative touch to one of the walls of the security office. As he messed his index finger's talon around aimlessly while he attempted to figure out what to do artistically minus his old friend of spray paint, a tool he hadn't had the chance to use in years. Louis felt grateful the sound was off ever so much as it didn't quite match up to nails on a chalk board. Trying to persuade his friend's mind off changing the look of the room, Louis asked him a question. "How many of them do you think would side with us Rocket?"

It worked, much to the former grunt's relief. The red head stopped making marks on the wall to stop and think about the question. Taking on a pained look, Terry then said. "Only know of one. You know who. Don't know if," he had to pause on his words as the feel of a lump came into his throat. An act Terry was surprised he could manage given how abnormal his neck was compared to how it once was when it was purely natural. Forcing himself, he finished giving his reply. "Don't know if she's still alive. Bad snakes, lots of them."

The question had been meant to distract his friend but Louis had not intended to distract him with painful what if thoughts over a woman not seen in months. Turning back to look at the monitor he'd been watching, now not seeing his former partners in crime or even the complex staff, by way of it. He thought carefully about what next actions needed to be taken. One logical course of action seemed to present it's self best but work would be needed for it.

"I don't know where they've gone off to. Not on the working monitors anymore and those others, well you know I wish they were functional. Want to get a bite to eat?" Louis asked, with concern for other matters.

"Loma is the nearest place and it really don't have anything. Farm country, wish I could say something better for it." Terry responded, still sounding glum.

After taking in a deep breath, mouth closed, with hands placed on his upper legs. Louis thought for a moment before replying. "What about Cavalier?"

"Great fast food at almost 48 miles away, why not?"

"Well money as always for starters." Louis said, giving a small smile before adding. "But getting up that sort of bread should be easier than what we're itching for right here. Good practice and useful you know?"

Once Louis got up and patted one of Terry's shoulders, the taller man nodded his head in agreement before saying. "Being busy can help, yeah."