systemcat: Oh, yeah it is. Gadget is very forgiving, but forgiving does not mean immediately trusting again without any other response.

Inspector Gadget belongs to Cookie Jar Entertainment.

Enjoy!

Assignment 9.9: Falling into Place

Saturday, July 12, 2087

Adventure Kingdom

In the basement tunnels beneath the auditorium, Kayla and Eli hurried down a flight of stairs. The tunnels were mostly for maintenance and to allow for workers to move from one place to another unseen. As such, they had a hash, stark quality that wasn't very inviting, but made it easy for them to move along in a hurry.

As a result, they made it up to the bomb without too much difficulty. "They're it is," Kayla said. She moved around the device, looking for the timer. "Alright, we've got fifteen minutes. Let's defuse this puppy."

She was about to rip into the timer when Eli caught her wrist. "Wait. Remember what William said: this thing isn't a normal bomb. We've got to get that chemical out before we try to defuse it."

"Alright," Kayla said with a nod. She scanned over the device. She then pointed to a glass orb filled with a blue liquid sitting in the center of the bomb. "I'm guessing it's that."

"So let's just-" Eli began, reaching over to the orb. However, he was cut off when a drone came out of nowhere and physically knocked him aside.

Kayla spun around in response and was just in time to see another drone come in and attempt to hit her. She was just able to move out of the way to avoid the blow, but the device cut between her and the bomb.

"Where did these things come from?" Kayla called out as the grabbed a gun from her belt and fired off a laser blast.

"They probably flew in while we were distracted," Eli called back. He was holding the drone at arm's length, keeping it back as it tried to cut at his face with a knife. Giving it a hard shove, he was able to get it far enough away from him to charge up a blow with his glove, which knocked it even farther back.

The two of them prepared to battle the drones hard. Eli charged up his gloves again, reaching a charge that, if the drone came within reach, he would be able to rip it to shreds. At the same time, Kayla charged up her weapon, ready to give her foe the fight of a life time.

Before the drones could attack, however, they hovered in the air for a moment, before blinking and falling to the ground. The duo wasn't about to take this for granted, but after waiting in vain for two minutes, they suspected their enemies weren't getting up again.

It was then that a voice echoed through the chamber. "Kayla! Eli! Are you down here?"

"We're here, Rheeci," Kayla called out. "We found the bomb, too."

Rheeci, Linc, Bridgette, and Will hurried out of the hallway they were in to join the other two. "Alright," Linc said, moving in front of the timer. "We're all here now. Between the six of us, we should be able to shut this thing down and in…eleven minutes and sixteen seconds."

"Dr. Bradford helped to design this system," Will said. "If I remember correctly, she said we need to get the chemical out first. We can do that by twisting the vial to the right to close it off, then moving left to get it out."

"Rheeci, you're the most careful one here," Kayla said. "You'd better get it out."

"Got it!" the other girl replied, giving a nervous smile before attending to the job.

It was slow going, but after a small struggle, they were rewarded with a click as the vial sealed shut. "There," Rheeci said, "now we just need to work it out."

As she worked, there came a call at the watch. "Guys, can you hear me?" Penny's voice could be clearly heard in the quiet chamber.

"We've got you, Penny," Bridgette replied, "but we've got countdown now. It's at eight minutes, and we're rushing to figure out what's next."

"Alright, I'll see if I can't help you," the blonde said. "How far have you gotten right now?"

"We've got the container almost out," Linc called, "but we're still going to have to figure out a way to defuse the bombs."

"There's no time," Penny replied. "Each bomb would need to be defused individually yet at the same time, and we don't have the leeway of trial and error. Is there some way to pick the bomb up and move it away?"

"There's a fork-lift right over there," Kayla said, pointing over to a corner.

"I've got it," Linc said, giving a smile. "One hot-wired forklift coming right up."

"Good work, you two," Penny replied. "Will, do you still have the computer book?"

"I've got it right here," the boy answered. He opened the book and started working with the controls. "What do you want me to do?"

"Take out the connection cables and connect them to the forklift's automatic guidance system, if there is one," she answered. "I'm about to use the computer in my pendant to connect up to the book. Once that's done, I can use DElPHI to get into the forklift and take it down a maintenance tunnel away from the park."

"I'm on it," the boy replied. He made it over to the forklift by the time Linc had gotten it hotwired and, and Will found, to his relief, that there was an automatic guidance system. Plugging the computer book in, he made sure the connection was set up. "Alright, Penny, you're free to go."

A symbol appeared on the screen showing that a download was happening, followed by the appearance of an asterisk. "I'm in, so you can disconnect and get away," Penny said, her voice clear over the vehicle's speaker system. "Rheeci, do you have the chemical out?"

"It's out and I've got it close," the other girl replied, wrapping her cardigan around the fragile vial as she spoke.

"Good," Penny replied. The forklift then hurried over to the bomb. "I'm taking this down a maintenance hallway that leads to a loading area that's about two miles away from the park. That should be far enough away to keep anyone from getting hurt. You guys are going to need to set up a force-field between that tunnel and where you guys are. To do that, you guys will need to hook the devices that have force-fields to the computer book. That'll strengthen the barrier."

"Got it," Eli said. He, Kayla, and Will hurried to the tunnel that the forklift had already disappeared down. Moving fast, they hooked the devices together and set up the barrier. The force-field appeared in a moment and completely shut off the entire area.

From there, all the seven could do was wait to hear what happened next.

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Heather was coming out of the park with her second load of escapees and some captured mobsters by the time Gadget and the Gadgetinis arrived. When the sound of helicopter blades could be heard in the distance, the redhead looked up and smiled. "I thought you'd get here pretty fast."

"Sorry we couldn't have been more help," Gadget replied with a small smile. The smile evaporated by the time he had landed. "Where are they? Is Penny safe?"

"To the best of our knowledge" Heather replied. "Brain's still in the park, looking for her, but I haven't heard anything yet. I've been focusing on getting out as many of the hostages as possible, but it's slow going."

"It would probably be best for us to make out way in," Digit suggested, and those around him nodded and moved to make their way into the building.

As they worked their way in, an odd feeling came over Fidget. "Doesn't this place seem pretty empty for having been overrun by terrorists?"

"That's what I thought, too," Heather responded. "When I first came in here, there was the occasional patrol, but it's almost like they've evaporated." She gave a laugh. "Even those were easy to deal with, since their weapons all pretty much self destructed for some reason."

"Still, they've got to be around here somewhere," Gadget said. "He wanted me to come here; he's bound to have something waiting."

"I'd better get back to getting the hostages out," Heather said. "Sunny, Rainy, you two come with me. If the guards are back with them, I may need the assistance."

"Good idea," the inspector responded. "I'll go look for Brain and see if he's caught onto Penny's location."

They split up to continue their jobs, but it wasn't five minutes after Gadget had moved out of eye-shot of the others that the entire park was shaken by an explosion. He was forced to stop and steady himself to keep from falling over. "Wowzers!" he said once the shock-wave had passed. "I've got to find Penny now!"

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When the shock of the explosion had passed, Penny glanced up. She had been able to pull out of the forklift before the explosion, so she was uninjured by a sudden exit. However, she was still feeling the effects of using DElPHI, so he had to take a moment to recover.

Once she had built up enough strength, she grabbed her pendant. The security cameras would, doubtlessly be messed up by the shock-wave, but her tech was more sturdily made. "Guys?" she said. "You still there?"

There was a moment of pause, but soon, Bridgette's voice came in over the pendant. "We're all here, Penny," she replied. "Pretty shaken up, but we're all good. The barrier stood, just like you said it would."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the blonde gave a smile. "Great. W.O.M.P. should be flooding in any time now, so we'll be home free soon. Over and out."

"See you soon!" the other girl replied.

The call now over, Penny turned to look for some way to pull herself up. Unfortunately, in the time she had taken to help the others, Masters had recovered from the blow, and he now sprang at her and grabbed her by the throat.

"I've had about enough of you," he sneered. "I might not be able to kill you, but I'm going to teach you a lesson, you little-"

Before he could finish his threat, something rushed in and gave a hard blow, forcing him to let go and knocking him onto his back. Whatever it was then landed hard on his chest, pinning him to the ground. The mobster prepared to go into a tirade at whatever it was, but when he opened his eyes, he was struck dumb by the sight of snarling dog.

Realizing who it was, Penny gave a laugh. "Good to see you, Brain," she said, giving the dog an approving nod. "You got here just in time."

Brain turned and gave his girl a concerned look, but then turned back to Masters and let out a threatening growl. The growl gave a clear message of You're not getting out of this.

"Penny, are you down here?" Gadget called, his voice piercing through the atmosphere unexpectedly.

"We're down here, Uncle Gadget!" she called out.

In a moment, he appeared at the doorway. "Penny!" he cried, rushing over to here and taking her into his arms. "I was worried about you!" He took a moment to look at her, and the sight of the bruises on her throat and shoulders caused his heart to stop. "He's hurt you. How did he hurt you?"

In response, Penny hugged him. "It's alright, Uncle," she replied. "I'm a bit bruised, but nothing worse. Thanks to you and Brain, I'm going to be alright."

Gadget bit his lip in frustration. His eyes passed between Penny and Masters, and it was clear he didn't want to drop the topic. However, he then sighed. "Alright," he said, relaxing and returning the embrace. "It's going to be alright."

He then stood up and scooped Penny into his arms. "Brain," he said, "please keep the suspect here. Someone will come to pick him up on a moment."

"So you're seriously leaving me here with the mutt?" Masters asked. He then shut his mouth hard when Brain let out another growl.

"I'd be careful about that," Penny called out. "Brain doesn't like being called a mutt."

It didn't take too long for them to find her wheelchair, which was still where it had been left that afternoon. By that time, the who park was swarming with police officers and W.O.M.P. agents, who were escorting the former hostages back to their friends and families outside.

The lone exception to the rule was the families of Penny's crew. All of them were gathered in an area away from the entrance where they couldn't be seen, and each has gathered in their groups. Will and Linc's parents were there, as was Mrs. Tomblin for Kayla. Rheeci, Will, and Bridgette's parents were also there, as were a number of siblings, both older and younger.

When they saw the Gadget clan come up, the kids broke away from their families. "Penny!" Kayla called out. "Are you alright?"

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Rheeci asked.

Penny laughed and waved her hand. "No worse than usual. I'll live."

At that moment, Chief Quimby and Agent Heather wandered over to join the group. "Penny," the chief said, "we have been having a hard time figuring out what went on in here, but we suspect you had something to do with it. We'll want a statement, but let me say in advance, good job, whatever it was you did."

"Thanks," Penny said, "but it wasn't just me. I just got the bomb away from the park last minute. It was all of us," she here motioned to the six teens standing next to her. "It was them who did most of the leg work. Without them, we all would have been doomed."

Quimby nodded, giving a small smile. "I might have expected that," he replied. "Now, I'm going to have to ask that everyone but Penelope, Elijah, Lincoln, Therese, Bridgette, William, Kayla, and their parents and guardians to step away. What's about to be discussed is confidential."

Hearing this statement, the younger of the siblings began to protest the declaration, but after a while, the older Tran kids were able to get the other to move away. In the end, only those who related to the discussion were left.

Once they were on their own, the seven began to explain what had happened when the park was taken over. Occasionally, the Chief or Heather would pipe in to state what W.O.M.P. was doing, but each of the kids was given the opportunity to tell their part of the story, giving the details on what happened. When they were finished, the teens paused to hear what the adults would say.

Elle Washington was the first to speak up. She gave a dry laugh before speaking. "I don't think anyone can say we liked that you kids took them on," she said, looking directly at her sons, "but I can say I am proud with how you were working to get help. I wish you could have complied for safety sake, but from the terrorists' response, it seems that they would have killed you either way because of the…the past." It was clear she didn't like the memory of her sons' crime fighting involvement. "The path you took was risky, but from what was happening, it doesn't seem like there was much else that could be done."

"I'm afraid there will be consequences, though," Quimby said with a sigh. "If you kids wouldn't mind stepping back for a moment, I'd like to have a word with the adults." He cast a nervous, apologetic glance at Gadget. "We'll be discussing and laying out new boundaries, with parents and guardians as active participant."

Gadget crossed his arms. "It's a start."

As the adults all turned to discuss what was to be done, Penny looked up at her friends. "You know," she said, her own tone becoming serious, "there's something we need to discuss, too."

There was a moment of awkward silence as everyone waited for someone else to start the conversation. When no one did, Penny sighed and decided to take the role herself. "We only survived today because we worked together," she stated. "Had any one of us been missing, we wouldn't have made it out. I want to have all of your help in the future, but if we're going to do that, we need to be able to work together."

There was a mumbling of agreement from the other six, but no one said anything clearly. The ball was still in Penny's hands.

"Bridgette," she said, turning her gaze on the redhead, "Kayla's told me a lot about your journalism skills. I think you could help us a lot with our work, and I do want to have your help. However, Will is my friend, and I will not be pressured into ostracizing him because of bad blood you two had when you were little. If you cannot let bygones be bygones, then there will be nothing I can ask of you."

Bridgette stiffened for a moment before sighing. She turned to Will and bit her lip. "I guess we can work together," she said. "It was a long time ago, and it was pretty cool of you to save me an' Linc back in that maze." She closed her eyes before holding out her hand. "I still don't trust you completely, but I'm willing to give you a chance to earn it."

"That's all I ask," Will said, giving a small smile. "I really am sorry for what happened, and I hope we can both just start over."

"And Will," Penny said, coming up to him and taking his hand, "please, don't be too hard on yourself. We all have things we are ashamed of in our pasts, and beating yourself up over it isn't going to do any good. All we can do is work to make our future better than our past, and it's easier to do so with some help."

The boy looked down, still not meeting her eyes but giving a smile. "I do like having some help."

"I'm sorry we acted so badly before," Rheeci added, going over and hugging Will, much to the boy's shock.

Eli nodded and patted Will's shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. We should have given you a chance."

"I suppose we all deserve a second change," Kayla said with a sigh. "Sorry about getting so snippy with you before, Billy."

"That's alright," the boy responded. "I kind of deserved it. Also, please don't call me Billy. I prefer William or Will."

"I guess there are just some things that instantly unite people," Linc said with a laugh. "I guess fighting for your survival is one of them."

With that, the kids began speaking causally of what had occurred. They did their best to distract themselves as they awaited what the parental response would be.

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M.A.D. Center #947

Amazon jungle, Brazil

"How is the project coming along?" Anna Reyas asked. She had just come into the lab of Nick Kramer, who had been fast asleep at his desk.

Seeing that the scientist was asleep, she went over to the cluttered desk, grabbed the largest book on it, and slammed it down with a bang. Immediately, Kramer's head shot right up. "I'm up!" he yelped.

"Yes, I can see that," Reyas replied with an eye roll.

Realizing who it was who was speaking to him, the scientist sprang to his feet. "M-Ms. Reyas!" he said, trying to force a smile. "W-what a surprise. What brings you here?"

"I have just received word that Dr. Claw's nephew has arrived," the lieutenant answered. "No doubt Dr. Claw will want to know how the robotics program is working."

"Oh, yeah, that," Kramer said, turning to try to gather his papers. "It's…uh…it's coming along."

"Coming along?" Reyas asked. "As in not finished?"

"I'm having a hard time in getting the units to respond the way we want them to," Nick clarified. "I can get typical robotic behaviors, but I can't get them to response with any amount of awareness. Maybe the adjustments we made to the base Gadgetinis model was too much of a change."

"Dr. Claw's not going to accept that answer, and neither do I," the woman said with a sneer. "Figure it out what's wrong and fix it."

"I'm trying, but it's hard to work when I'm being watched," he replied.

"Well, then you must always be under observation," Reyas responded sarcastically.

"Now that you mention it," Kramer said, "there are sometimes, when I'm all alone, that it feels like I'm being watched by something that's not human…"

"Just do your job!" the woman snapped.

"Ah, I see Defecto there's not living up to his potential." Reyas and Kramer turned to see Talon coming into the room. "Excuse me, Señora," the boy said with a bow, "but I presumed it would not be a problem if I invited myself in."

"There is no problem at all," Reyas replied. "It's just so hard to get any information from this idiot. Now, I suppose you bring word from Dr. Claw?"

"Indeed," the teen said with nod. "He has sent me and my team into deal with your rival cartel problems. There one other bit of business, first. How are your cybers coming along?"

"Oh! I've just about finished up work with them!" Kramer piped in, glad to have something positive to contribute. "Their mechanics are all settled in…"

He had trailed off because the other two individuals in the room had glared at him. The scientist now silenced, Reyas gave her answer. "Indeed, they are ready for anything. What does Claw require?"

"A jewel thief," Talon replied. "Preferably one who has quite a bit of experience.

"I have just the man," the lieutenant said with a smile. "Dr. Claw will not be disappointed."

The teen gave a laugh. "I hope not. It never turns out well when Claw is disappointed."

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M.A.D. Castle, ?

After his arrest, Masters had assumed that he was going to be brought right to prison. Much to his surprise, however, he had been taken from W.O.M.P. custody to that of a typical police officer who brought him to another car. The officer had assured the W.O.M.P. agent that he was on strict orders to handle the head of the terrorism outbreak, and that the criminal would be delivered to their custody once Homeland was finished with him. They paperwork must have checked out, because he was handed over without too much fuss.

The mobster figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't Homeland who had picked him up when they police car drove into a plane. That was several hours ago, and the plane had now landed within a castle, the handcuffs were taken off, and he was now being lead through the huge building.

It didn't take too much for Masters to guess that this was some M.A.D. base. It was big, full of a variety of agents and their Chimera, and had the feel of place where no one talked about what went on.

"So, Talon wants to see me, huh?" he asked one of his guards. When the man didn't respond, he went on. "Suits me just fine. I've got quite a bit I want to tell that little punk."

He was ushered to a doorway, which one of the guards motioned to. "Enter in here," the man said. "You will be addressed here and then sent back." Without another word, the guards left.

Masters entered the room, which was a large office. There was a desk with a large chair in the center of the room, and the chair was turned away from the doorway. The gangster had no doubt who was there.

"So, you finally want to talk to me, huh brat?" Masters spat out several names offensive to teens and Mexicans. "I was floundering in there!" he snapped after he had vented his spleen. "You left me high and dry, right after you failed at eliminating those vermin!" He spat out several choice words, along with descriptions of the teenager that would not be fit for print. "So, you think you can just bring me here and tell me what to do, huh, do you, you little twerp?! Well, you've got another thing coming!"

"I assure you," the person in the chair responded, and the voice was most certainly not Talon's, "I know exactly what it is within my power to do."

Masters turned a deathly pale when he realized who it was he had just spent three minutes swearing at. "D-Doctor Claw," he said, backing down quickly and giving an anxious laugh. "I really wasn't expecting to meet you."

"I am aware of that," the villain replied. He turned around to face the mobster, and a huge tom cat jumped up on the desk at the same time. "I had different, more important job for my nephew, so I chose to take on this little business for myself."

"Uh, so, uh, are you doing well?" Masters asked, his mind racing fast to think of something to say. He was growing more and more uncomfortable with every passing moment, and the way the Chimera cat was staring at him didn't help.

"There is no time for small talk right now," Claw responded. He began stroking the cat and his voice remained level, but that didn't make the atmosphere any less tense. "Right now, we are going to discuss your little performance at the park."

"Th-that wasn't my fault!" the thug sputtered out. "It was Talon! He didn't tell me enough about those kids to get my men ready, and then he was the one who failed to kill them!"

"Calm yourself," the overlord stated. "I am not angered with you for your failure to keep the park. Your little stunt did exactly what I wanted it to do. It kept W.O.M.P.'s eyes away from any communications that M.A.D. was preforming. Now that business is finished, so I don't need the park anymore."

"What's more," he went on, "this stunt gave me one more bit of information. I was able to gauge Penny Gadget's abilities in a situation where her actions were distinct from her uncle's. Though most of the actions were done by her minions, this proved at least she does well in choosing those who will be an asset of hers. We will have to keep a closer eye on those companions of hers."

"Oh, so that's all, huh?" Masters felt relief flooding him. "That's great to hear. Now, if you don't mind, I had better be getting back to-"

"Did I tell you that you could leave?" Claw asked.

The gangster immediately froze. "Well, no, but I assumed-"

"As long as you are within my organization, you will assume nothing." The overlord's voice never changed tone, but that didn't keep the malice from being very apparent. "I said that I was not angered with you because of your loss at the hands of Miss Gadget; I never said I was not upset with you." He then motioned to a seat near the desk. "Take a seat."

Masters' stomach sank as he looked at the chair, which put him at an uncomfortable closeness to the tom cat. "I'd rather stand."

"I don't remember asking," was the only response.

Realizing the position he was in, Maters took a breath and did as he was ordered. He still pressed himself as far back in the chair as he could, hoping this was enough to keep the cat away from him.

"You do realize how you greeted me today was not exactly what I was expecting, don't you?" Claw asked.

"He-heh, yeah, that," the mobster said, his mind racing for any excuse. "I didn't realize it was you."

Claw's voice lowered. "No, you thought you were going to be confronting my nephew. However, since Talon is one of my top-ranking captains, that still isn't a good sign. After all, if you feel that you have the right to verbally abuse a captain when you haven't even joined yet, what's going to be stopping you from trying to perform a coup later?"

"I would never-!" Maters started, but once again he was cut off.

"I have had men killed for much less than that." The crime boss lifted his hand, allowing the cat to get up and stalk closer to his victim. "I'm sure you have heard about my pet's specific abilities, haven't you?"

In response, the cat stretched out, unsheathing his claws. The clear liquid that leaked out of its claws made the intended impression.

Not even waiting for his victim to respond, Claw went on. "Fortunately for you, I need to send you back to W.O.M.P. If you were to turn up dead before then, things would look suspicious, and the last thing I need is an investigation. Thus, I'll give you this one order: make no mention of M.A.D. when you are asked about the previous events. You were on a power high after gaining those tools and you bit off more than you could chew. Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course!" Masters exclaimed. "You couldn't be clearer."

"Good," the overlord replied. "Now get out of my sight, before I change my mind." It was less than a moment before Claw was alone with the cat.

The tom strode up and made a disappointed mewling sound. Claw laughed as he stroked the Chimera. "Do not worry. That oaf will not have any chance of spilling any secrets. Mr. Monsaylan has assured me that he'll make sure his new cell mate will be silenced forever."

The cat made another sound, this time a sharper yowl. The man nodded in response to this sound. "Yes, it is about time for your feeding. Do not worry; I have just the prey for you…"

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Teen Scene Headquarters, Downtown Metro City

Even though it was still late at night, Jessie Harbain still sat at her desk. With all the events that had happened that day, interest in Penny Gadget had skyrocketed. Unfortunately for tabloids like the one she worked at, W.O.M.P. had blocked any and all attempts at interviews with the girl, so writing anything except what was already common knowledge was out of the question; a bleak outlook for a gossip rag like that one.

She was brooding so much over what she was going to write that she almost missed the sound of her cell phone. "Answer phone, speaker," she called out, not even bothering to turn her eyes away from her computer.

"Uh, hello?" The voice on the phone was that of a teenage boy, and not one that Harbain recognized. "Is this Teen Scene's Jessie Harbain?"

"This is she," the reporter replied. "I'm very busy right now. What is it you want?"

"I heard you'll pay good money for anonymous tips," the boy answered. "Is this true?"

Harbain gave a look of annoyance when she heard the question. It was often that she got this request, and more often than not, the tips were worthless. "It depends on what the info's on, and how juicy it is," she said. "Right now, kid, if it's not some dirt on Penny Gadget, you might as well go elsewhere."

"Uh, it is on Penny Gadget," the boy replied. "I was one of the hostages in the park today, and I noticed she was with six other kids. I go to school now with most of them, and I knew the other two from my elementary school. I can give you their names, if the price is right."

The reporter silently rolled her eyes. "Kid, any number of teens are going to be claim to be dating, best friends with, or lab partners with Penny. You've got to do better than that."

"What if I gave you a pic?" the boy asked.

"That would help a bit more, but I'd have to see if before I paid," Harbain answered.

"Go on social media and search for zillafan875," the boy answered. "It'll be the first pic you see."

Normally, the gossip writer would have ignored the instruction, but for lack if anything else to do, she followed the sight. There, she found the pic from earlier that morning. "Alright, there's Penny with three black kids, a redhead, an Asian girl, and some Latino kid in glasses, none of who are interesting, all standing in front of a fountain. Unless we're running the diversity issue, this isn't going to be pay worthy."

The boy's next question was entirely unexpected. "What if I told you the Mexican kid is a Scolex?"

"Did you say 'Scolex'?" Harbain repeated. "As in Irving 'Dr. Claw' Scolex?"

"And Talon Scolex's twin brother," the boy affirmed.

The reporter gave a smile at the information. She'd have to do more research into these kids before it would be story worthy, but this tip was suddenly looking much more valuable. "Give me your ChargeFriend account, and I'll give you $100 for the pic, $75 for everything you've got on the Scolex boy, and $25 each for what you've got on the others. Not going a dollar more."

"That'd be the easiest $300 I've ever made," the boy replied. "You've got yourself a deal."

To be continued…

Author's note: So a mission is finished, but a new can of worms is on the verge of being opened. Log in next time to see where our heroes lives will go! Hope to hear from you!-SilverWarriorWolf.

P.S.: the reference that Kramer made to something inhuman watching him has ties to R.A.G.E., a group from Systemcat's Iron and Steel fan comic. If you want to find out just what they were doing spying on a M.A.D. scientist, I suggest you check out her comic, which is available on both Comic Fury and Deviantart.