Chapter 2.- Breakout.

Again, it was nighttime in Riverton.
A black car was driving silently to the Bradford Cybernetics Labs. All the few bystanders that were all along the way were waving at the driver of the vehicle, but the latter seemed to ignore the people, not because he was impolite, but because he was so immersed in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice the persons that waved at him.
Around fifteen minutes had passed since the famous Inspector Gadget had captured six bank robbers, each and every one of those minutes had passed completely in silence, the Gadget-Mobile knew that the inspector needed some time to make up his mind from the recent events, but he couldn't bare the silence anymore. Finally, the car had had enough of Gadget's attitude, so he stopped all of a sudden and glared at his owner.
- What's going on with you, G? - Gadget-Mobile asked with an annoyed tone in his voice.
- Nothing, it's just that I was thinking. - Gadget replied without looking at the glaring avatar on the console of his car.
- Thinking about what, may I ask?
- About everything, the accident, the surgery, Doctor Claw, the Robo-Gadget, Trenton, the Chief, Nathan, Brenda and Penny.
- What were you thinking?
- Well, the whole ordeal with the Robo-Gadget and Claw happened because of a single man who was jealous of Gerald Bradford's project, and now I'm thinking that the President made a mistake in labeling Riverton as the safest city of the world; with Claw here, who knows what could happen tomorrow.
- G, calm down, you're over-thinking things and overreacting at them. Claw is under lock and key in the maximum security cell of the Prison of Riverton, there's just no way he'll break out of there.
- Everyone thought that Iron Man was a person with a good heart, yet the one under the mask was Tony Stark. I mean, sure he's a good guy but he's too narcissistic and flamboyant.
- What's your point?
- My point is that everything is possible.
- Why are you suddenly so negative, Gadget?
- I don't know, I've had this weird feeling lately, like if something bad is going to happen.
- Forget about that, ok? Let's think positively and let's go to the Bradford Labs to get you checked up.
- Fine, but I'll still be concerned.
Gadget-Mobile huffed and re-ignited its engine, then he drove the rest of the way to the Bradford Labs.
Few minutes later, the Gadget-Mobile parked in the underground parking lot of the labs, then Gadget opened the door of his car and got out of it, receiving a scrutinising glare from the Gadget-Mobile, as he had gotten out of the car with the same pondering look in his face and his hand in his chin.
- When are you gonna stop thinking negatively, G? - The Gadget-Mobile wondered aloud.
Even though the Gadget-Mobile did nothing to lower his voice, his comment went unbeknownst to the cyborg.
Gadget walked through the corridors of the labs where he had received several unfruitful treatments to try to cure the glitches that had started four days after the fight with Doctor Claw.
"Why do I have this feeling? What does it even means? Maybe Gadget-Mobile's right, maybe I'm just overreacting and over-thinking things." Gadget wondered while he kept walking.
Few moments later, Gadget entered into the main lab of the research complex, and there he saw a red-haired scientist who wore a blue shirt under his lab coat. The scientist looked up from his computer in his direction and smiled at him, to them shake his hand.
- How's everything been going, Gadget? - Nathan Bradford asked while he smiled.
- Bad, just plain bad. - Gadget replied. - I'm still having gadgets with my glitches... I mean glidgets with my gatches... Agh! See? I'm all messed up!
- Darn it, I was really hoping to hear good news.
- Well, the good news is that even with my glitches, I managed to catch a bunch of bank robbers, the bad news is that every time that I try to activate the Gadget-Laser, the Gadget-Cannon will activate instead.
- Damn, it looks like Brenda was right, your glitches are just getting worse, but the problem is that I don't see how that could be happening.
- Just watch this. Go go Gadget-Toothbrush.
And, to Nathan's misfortune, some sort of cannon popped out of Gadget's hat, then it shot a sticky pinkish, gum-like substance at the scientist's chest.
- See? Bubblegum. - Gadget let out.
- I think now I know what the problem is, come here. - Nathan said.
Gadget walked over to Nathan and the latter said:
- Take off your shirt and coat, remove the skin panels of your chest and then lay on the examination table, I need to check your interface chips.
Gadget did as he was told and Nathan grabbed a magnifying glass to check the interface chips, which were right in front of Gadget's heart.
Nathan checked all three of the chips and finally sighed, then he put the magnifying glass on a nearby table and said:
- Just what I was afraid of, it seems that the energy transitioning system that we installed to replace your need for the Neural Network Impulsor has been messing up with your interface chips, which means that your glitches have been getting worse because your chips are starting to burn, that's causing a short circuit, which produces an error on the selection systems everytime you try to use any of your gadgets.
- Could you say it without all the scientific jibber-jabber? - Gadget asked.
- In essence, it means that your power grid burnt a chip that makes your systems malfunction, so when you try to use, let's say the Gadget-Laser, the order you give is mistaken for another, that's why you activate the Gadget-Cannon instead.
- Great, just great. - Gadget huffed. - Now what am I supposed to do?!
- It's ok, Gadget...
- No, it's not ok!
- Gadget, calm down, I know it's frustrating but I'm already working on something that will get rid of your glitches for good.
Nathan chuckled a bit, then he walked to his mainframe, typed some commands on it and turned the monitor to show Gadget some sort of anagram.
- This is the solution to your problems. - Nathan said with a grin.
- What's that? - Gadget asked.
- Let's just say that it's the new generation of the Neural Network Impulsor.
- Really?
- Yes, it's at least ten times better than the Gadget Chip, also I have to say that this chip was my father's last design, I modified it a bit and improved it.
- Well then, what will I do while you build that thing?
- Easy, just wait a bit more, Brenda and I already built the NEP, we just have to find a way to install it correctly on your body, in the meantime, I'll have to build another interface chip to replace the burnt one.
- So, how much time do you think I have to wait?
- Just a week more, Brenda and I have been working on the way to install it on you. As for the interface chip, it should be ready by Wednesday.
- Good, Trenton's constant rants are driving me crazy.
- He's just jealous of you.
- He says otherwise.
- Whatever, you can leave if you want, Gadget, we're done here.
- Great, see you tomorrow, Nathan.
Gadget screwed the skin panels of his chest again, then he put on his shirt, tie and coat and left Nathan's office, while he went back to his thoughts.
Five minutes later, Gadget had his hand on his chin again and he was entering into the Gadget-Mobile, who sighed heavily when he saw the cyborg's attitude.
- G, could you please stop thinking about bad things? - Gadget-Mobile asked.
- I can't do that, somehow my mind won't stop thinking about that. - Gadget replied.
- Have it your way, G, but don't let Penny know about it, she's way too worried about your glitches to have more concerns.
- Gadget-Mobile, I'm well aware that Penny is already too concerned with my problems, I wouldn't like to know that she gets more worried about me, she'll only know it if there's no other choice.
- Good, let's go home right now.
Gadget-Mobile turned on its engine, then he drove off to Gadget's home.
After other fifteen minutes, Gadget and the Gadget-Mobile had finally arrived home. Gadget-Mobile turned off the engine and went to sleep. Then Gadget sighed and got out of his car. Gadget entered to his house, he took off his hat and coat and hung them on the rack that was next to the door.
- Penny, Brenda, I'm home. - Gadget said.
A blond girl dashed from upstairs and hugged the cyborg tightly.
- Glad you're back, Uncle Gadget. - The blond girl said.
- Me too, Penny, how was school? Where's Brenda? - Gadget asked.
- Well, school was fine, and about Brenda, she's not at home, she said that she needed to stay a bit longer on the old labs to check some things.
- Drat, well, at least you're here. - Gadget said while he checked his watch. - Why are you still awake? You have school tomorrow.
- Um, Uncle Gadget, tomorrow's Saturday.
- Oh, right! Forgive your old uncle, sometimes I just forget everything not related to my job.
- And how was your day?
- Well, there were a bunch of criminals who thought that they were a match for me, now they'll be sleeping behind the bars for quite some time.
- Really? That's great, your glitches are finally gone!
Then Penny proceeded to hug her uncle, but this time, Gadget didn't hug her back. Penny raised her head and saw that her uncle was looking at the ground. Then then girl let go of her uncle.
- They aren't gone, are they? - Penny asked.
- *Sigh* No, but don't worry, Nathan has the solution for them.
- That's what you've been saying all this time, Uncle Gadget, what are you not telling me?
- Penny, please, stop worrying about me, I'll be fine.
- Uncle Gadget...
- No, this is not your problem, Penny, just don't worry about me, ok?
Penny looked down to the ground and she mumbled.
- Yes, Uncle Gadget.
- Don't be like that, Penny, it's just that I don't want to see you worried. - Gadget said with a warm smile while he put a hand on his niece's shoulder.
- I can't do that, Uncle Gadget. You're my only family. - Penny said with a sad look.
- Everything's gonna be ok, Penny.
Gadget knelt down and hugged his niece tightly and the girl responded the gesture.
The cyborg knew that he was lying, he had a feeling that things weren't going to be ok, but get even worse. He just couldn't shake that feeling but he also couldn't let Penny worry about something that could be just an overreaction.
Gadget let go of his niece and forced his trademark smile, then he ruffled Penny's hair and heard some barks. Gadget smiled for real and petted the beagle that had just gotten into the house after accompanying Gadget that night. Penny knelt down too and scratched Brain behind his ears.
- Hi, Brain! Did you have a good time? - Penny said while she petted her dog.
The beagle gave her a tired glance, and though Brain couldn't speak, Penny understood the dog completely.
- I see, go get some rest, Brain, you've definitely earned it for watching Uncle Gadget for me. - Penny said to the dog.
Brain barked happily and licked Penny in the face, making the girl giggle a bit. Then Gadget stood up and went to the kitchen.
- I'm gonna go cook dinner, why don't you take a shower while I get dinner ready, Penny? - Gadget said before he entered into the kitchen.
- Ok, Uncle Gadget! - Penny replied. - C'mon Brain!
Penny and Brain dashed upstairs and then Gadget stepped into the kitchen.
Once he was in the kitchen, Gadget sighed heavily again, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
And unfortunately, our dear cyborg was right.

(Meanwhile, on Riverton Prison)

A prison guard was whistling while he made his rounds on the maximum security cells of the Riverton Prison. Then he stopped in front of the cell with the highest security in the prison. Said cell contained the most dangerous criminal of Riverton, the once-successful businessman formerly known as Doctor Victor Scolex.
The guard glanced at the criminal now known as Doctor Claw, he saw him watching him from the shadows as usual. In the moment the guard met Claw's eyes, he remembered that most of the guards shared a secret, none of them had ever seen him move from his chair in the shadows since he was sentenced. They all had seen him reading an old newspaper every day, only hearing him whisper "I'll get you next time, Gadget."
Some of them thought it was nothing and just grew accustomed to hear him, the rest always felt uneasy if they caught him saying that. The guard and Claw stared at each other for some time, then the guard left and Claw stood up from his chair.
- It is time. - Claw whispered with a sinister grin.
Then the evil man walked to the bed and pulled out his beloved pincer, he eyed the object as if it were a valuable treasure, and then he put it on his robotic arm.
- Kramer, Sikes, it is time to escape. - Claw said through an earpiece.
Far from Claw's cell, two men, one scrawny and pathetic-looking with a brilliant mind, and the other big and strong but with a very low IQ, stood up and nodded, then they removed a carpet that covered a hole in the ground, which was big enough to allow Kramer and Sikes to escape with any difficulties. Kramer and Sikes smirked and then they jumped into the hole, making sure of covering it with the carpet again.
Back with Claw, the evil mastermind pulled out the newspaper that he had been reading for the last year, the one that announced the engagement of Doctor Brenda Bradford and Inspector Gadget. He took a glance at it and then he chuckled evilly.
Claw dropped the newspaper on the ground, making sure that the front page was clearly visible. Then he removed the carpet that covered the hole in his cell.
Claw jumped into the hole and started walking, not caring in the least that he hadn't covered his route of escape. It was all part of the plan he had schemed during his time in the Riverton Prison. He knew it'd be long before the guards noticed his absence. And even if they did manage to find out about his escape earlier, no one could stop him, not even his dreadfully hated rival, Inspector Gadget.
Or so he thought.
After walking for three minutes, he knew that he had already escaped from the prison, however, there were no signs of light, and he had bumped into another man.
- What the hell are you two still doing here?! - Claw asked with a hoarse voice.
- It seems that Sikes forgot to finish the escape tunnel, boss. - Kramer informed.
- You didn't tell me that I needed to do that! - Sikes said.
- I thought it was obvious!
- SILENCE! - Claw roared. - As usual, I'll have to take care of this.
Claw pushed Sikes and Kramer out of his way, then he smirked and dug his robotic arm on the ground above his head.
Nobody knew why, but now it was raining on Riverton. The climate had suddenly changed from a fresh summer night to a ferocious thunderstorm. And outside of the Riverton Prison, a metallic pincer erupted suddenly from the ground. The pincer made some snapping sounds and an evil laugh was heard.
After one year of captivity, Doctor Claw was free once again.
Again inside the prison, the guard had felt that something was afoot, and as such he had returned quickly to check Claw's cell. And he almost had a heart attack when he saw that Claw's cell was empty, except for the old newspaper that Claw read every day.
The guard immediately went to check Kramer and Sikes' cell, which was also empty.
The guard grabbed his walkie-talkie and turned it on, then he yelled:
- Attention guards! Emergency code Charlie-190! Claw has escaped! Repeat, Claw has escaped!
The alarms went off two seconds after the guard gave the alarm, and outside the prison, Claw was chuckling out loud as he made his way to his car.

(Minutes later)

Gadget was cooking dinner for him, his wife and his niece. And though Brenda wasn't there, he knew that when she got home, he could surprise her.
He still had the feeling that something bad was about to happen, but he discovered that when he focused to do other stuff, he could forget about that feeling for some time.
And right when he had finished, he saw an important news announcement on the tv.
- ... This is an important news announcement for the city of Riverton. We've just been informed that tonight, around 10:15 pm, the evil villain known as Doctor Claw has escaped, along with other two inmates from the Riverton Prison. The official reports are unclear but there are a few rumors that say that the three inmates escaped through a tunnel that they kept hidden using carpets. The police department asks the citizens to stay calmed and to stay away from a man with a vicious look and a metallic claw, as he's been labeled as extremely dangerous. In other news, there's an investigation underway to discover who was the dimwit that allowed Claw and his minions to have carpets in their cells... - Said the anchorman.
- Wowsers! I knew it! - Gadget said with a frown. - Sometimes I hate being right.
Gadget turned off the stove, then he took off his apron and dashed to the rack to grab his coat and his hat. Gadget put on his two items, and before he could exit his house, he heard someone dashing downstairs. The cyborg turned and saw Penny with a backpack over her shoulder.
- Where are you going? - Gadget asked.
- Let me go with you, please, Uncle Gadget! - Penny begged with big puppy eyes. - You need my help to catch Claw!
- This is the last time I let the tv with the volume so high. - Gadget mumbled to himself. - Listen, Penny, this is what I was afraid that would happen, so for now you'll be under constant vigilance and away from my case, you're one of the persons that matter me the most and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.
- But Uncle Gadget...!
- No buts, Penny, this is way too dangerous so you'll stay here and my word is final.
Gadget kissed his niece's head and then he opened the door.
- I'll see you in the morning. - Gadget said while he got out of his house.
Penny watched with tears in her eyes as the door closed, the blond girl threw her backpack and ran upstairs to her bedroom, slamming the door when she entered. Then she cried into her pillow until she fell asleep.

(Moments later)

The entire police department and all the press of Riverton had arrived at the Riverton Prison, the police had cordoned off the site and were impeding the reporters to get any more news about Claw's escape.
The cops were still pushing the reporters when Inspector Gadget arrived in the Gadget-Mobile. Almost immediately, like a moth to a light, the reporters went directly with Gadget, so to evade them, Gadget had to activate his GELs.
- Go go Gadget-Rollerblades. - Gadget said.
And just like it had happened some time ago, the order was confused and the Gadget-Extendo-Legs were activated, much to Gadget's relief.
The cyborg just gave a few paces and passed the cordon around the site were Claw escaped. Then Gadget walked over to Chief Quimby.
- Chief, what's the situation? - Gadget asked.
- Gadget, good lord that you're here. - Quimby said with a cigar in his mouth. - You should know better than anyone, Gadget, you're the expert when it comes to Claw.
- I wouldn't call expertise just following the right clues, Chief.
- Anyway, what could you tell us about the escape, Gadget?
The cyborg glanced at his surroundings and noticed a big hole in the ground.
- Well, it seems that he escaped through here. - Gadget said while he pointed at the hole.
- You don't say. - Quimby said sarcastically.
- Well, until now that's all I got, did anyone find anything helpful in his cell?
- We found this next to the hole he dug in it.
Quimby handed Gadget the old newspaper. Gadget eyes it and noticed that the paper was the same that announced his engagement with Brenda, then he saw that the photo of them in the front page was circled with a red mark that looked like dry blood. Gadget felt a shiver up his spine when he saw it, he knew that whatever that meant, it would be bad for everyone else, especially him and Brenda, but he knew that this would be the least of his worries with Claw out of jail and on the run.
- You think he still holds a grudge on me for sending him to prison? - Gadget asked to Quimby.
- Gadget, listen, stop the nonsense talking, the whole city is on the verge of anarchy now that Claw's free, you gotta capture him and soon before this gets out of hand! - Quimby said.
- Oh, I wouldn't worry about the anarchy out there, Chief. - Said a cold and hoarse voice.
Everyone in the area had heard the voice, so they all started searching for the owner, and they found him, right on top of the Riverton Prison. All the people present gasped when they noticed that the owner of the voice was no one else that the Infamous Doctor Claw.
- Go go Gadget-Taser! - Gadget said through his gritted teeth.
Unfortunately, the glitches were still going on Gadget's organism, so instead of the Gadget-Taser, the Gadget-Analyzer popped out from his hat, which made the cyborg sigh heavily.
- I hate being last year's model. - Gadget muttered while he put the Gadget-Analyzer back in his head.
- I wouldn't even bother trying to catch me, the real me is far away from here. - Claw said.
- What do you mean by that, Claw?! - Gadget demanded.
- It's simple, Gadget, this is merely a hologram, just made to mock in your face.
- You won't get away with whatever you've planned this time! I've caught you once, and I certainly can do it again!
- Last time you got lucky, Gadget! You didn't really defeat me!
- Tell that to your super-suit and your Robo-Gadget... Oh, wait, you can't, because I destroyed them both!
- Enough! You won't be so lucky this time, Gadget! I will strike three times, and if you don't stop me before the third, everything for your dear city and the world will be doomed. It's time for my revenge now! I'll get you this time, Gadget! Hahahahahaha!
The hologram disappeared and Gadget yelled:
- YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, CLAW! NEXT TIME!
Everyone around seemed really bewildered by Gadget's sudden outburst, and more so because the cyborg had just used his archnemesis' catchphrase. Meanwhile, Gadget was breathing heavily, he was angry and frustrated. Every time he confronted Claw, the evil mastermind seemed to be three steps ahead of him. But he didn't know that all his rage and frustration were going to disappear in just a few seconds.
Everyone was talking amongst themselves about what they had seen, and all of a sudden, the chatter was abruptly interrupted by a loud explosion, which apparently occurred on the west side of the city. They all watched as a black smoke cloud rose to the sky, signaling which place had exploded and making Gadget's heart skip a beat.
"Oh no! Brenda!" Gadget thought in complete despair.
The cyborg dashed to the Gadget-Mobile, not caring in the least if he had to push anyone out of his way, then he ignited the motor and sped off, praying to be wrong on what he was thinking.