systemcat: It's going to take Harbain a bit to actually dig up enough dirt for an article, but when it comes out, yeah, it's going to be bad for all seven of them. Will was the one who initially caught her attention.

You're welcome. :) Didn't want to spoil everything for new readers.

IG and co. belong to Cookie Jar Entertainment.

Assignment 10.1: New Missions

Wednesday, July 23, 2087

W.O.M.P. HQ, Metro City

"Are you sure this is alright?" Gagdet asked. He and Heather were standing outside of a virtual reality chamber, where inside, Penny was hard at work with a boxing simulator. "It seems kind of dangerous."

"You need to relax, Gadget Boy," the young woman replied with a smile. "It's way safe. Safer than the way I learned, at least."

"Well, yeah, but why does Penny need boxing lessons?" The man peered in nervously as his niece faced her virtual opponent. "I never had them, and I turned out fine."

"Yes, but unlike you, she doesn't have a laser she can pull out of her thumb at a moment's notice." Heather glanced over at her partner. "What's with you? After the way you went ballistic at that meeting after W.O.M.P. intelligence hid that whole terrorist ordeal from you, I'd think you would have been happier that they were allowing Charm to utilize this tech for self-defense treatment."

"I don't like the idea of Penny getting into a fist fight, be it in a ring or against a M.A.D. agent," he answered, extending his neck to get a better view into the chamber as he spoke. "I promised her mother I'd keep her safe, and with all this, I…" He then trailed of, unable to find the words. "I just don't like her being in harm's way, that's all," he finally finished, retracting his neck so fast there was an audible click as it reached its proper length.

The redhead laughed and patted his shoulder. "Don't you worry," she said in a calming tone of voice. "This is only a precaution. Like the chief said, from now on, you have 100% say over everything related to her safety. No one's hiding anything, and she's not going into any missions that you don't give the O.K. on."

At that moment, Penny finished up her final match and hurried out of the virtual reality chamber. Grabbing a towel and water bottle, she took a long drink. "Man, I don't know how you do it," she said, casting a glance over at Heather. "Even without the getting hit in the face part, that wasn't easy."

"You did pretty good in there, kid," the older girl responded.

Hearing the praise, the blonde casted an unbelieving look. "I got knocked out six times in ten minutes," she replied with a snort.

Heather laughed at the response. "Just give it time, Charm. Rome wasn't built in a day."

"So, Uncle Gadget," Penny said, turning her attention to her relative. "What do you think of the VR chamber?"

"It's very well done," Gadget replied, swallowing the doubts he had previously been expressing. "Brenda and her students clearly worked hard on it. I am glad that you don't actually have to spar an opponent because of it."

"Ohhh!" a sickeningly sweet voice called out. "There they are now! Team Gadget! Team Gadget, over here!"

The trio turned to realize they were being approached by Mayor Wilson and her entourage. Chief Quimby was with them, too, and he had a look of exasperation on his face. "I'm sorry," he said as they approached the trio. "I told her that I could deliver the message, and that she really shouldn't be disturbing a training session."

"Oh, but they're not training," Wilson said, giving a dismissive wave. "Look, Pebby's not even in that big training-thingy over there."

"Uh, my name is Penny," the teen tried to pipe in, but the only people who paid attention to her were the ones who didn't need the correction.

"Now, Inspector, I have just the most exciting news for you and your team!" the mayor said, moving so close to Gadget that even he was somewhat uncomfortable with it. "The Metro City museum is going to be sending several valuable artifacts to the Museo Nacional de Antropología! Specifically, that pretty ruby bat we got from them two years ago! Isn't that so exciting?"

"I guess," Gadget replied, trying his best not to seem put off by the mayor's familiarity or confused by her commentary.

"Let me explain," Quimby. "Two years ago, after you were kidnapped by Freymore, the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City donated two artifacts from their museum to the Metro City Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology in Cambridge, England. They had a three-piece jewel carving that was discovered in a Mayan ruin in the mid-2030's. They are commonly called Los Príncipes de la Tierra, el Agua y la Atmósfera, or The Princes of Land, Water, and Air in English. We received El Príncipe de la Tierra y Atmósfera, which is a large ruby carved in the shape of a bat. Cambridge receive a sapphire otter, El Príncipe de el Agua y la Tierra, and Mexico City kept El Príncipe de la Atmósfera y el Agua, the emerald duck."

"So I'm guessing it's time to send the bat and the otter back, huh?" Heather asked.

"You got it!" Wilson flashed another of her sickeningly sweet smiles before pausing. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"Heather Connelly," Heather replied, holding out her hand. "I'm Inspector Gadget's partner. We met before the whole Freymore incident."

Hearing this, the mayor frowned. "You're his partner? I thought Pebby was."

"My name is Penny, and I'm his trainee, not his partner," Penny piped up in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Yes, yes, that's nice to know," Wilson said, patting the top of Penny's head before turning back to Gadget. "Now, that's where you come in. The Mexican government wants to have this big shin-dig to celebrate the return of the bat and the otter, so they also want to have the tip top of security, so they asked for you specifically! Isn't that just wonderful?"

"That is good," Heather said, "but why are you telling us? Shouldn't they have contacted W.O.M.P. directly if they wanted our assistance."

"Unfortunately, not everyone seems to understand that W.O.M.P. is an independent entity," Quimby replied with a sigh. "The Mexican government tried to contact General Sir directly, but the person in charge of making the connection didn't know who to contact and sent it to the mayor's office instead."

"Not that a little hiccup like that matters at all," Wilson said with a bright smile. "It's the perfect chance to show the voters how I'm willing for to reach out and make connections with other governments. So, inspector, I'll be dependent on you, Pebby, and Hallie to make a good impression!"

If looks could have killed, Wilson would have dropped dead from the glares Penny and Heather were shooting at her.

Before any answer about the mission could be given, however, they were interrupted by another voice. "Oh, Inspector Gadget! There you are!" The group turned to see Lana Lamour coming in. The actress gave a wave before moving over, showing Wilson out of the way and hooking her arm around Gadget's arm. "Oh, I'm so glad I caught you here," she said in a honey-sweet voice. "I hope you don't mind, but I have a teeny-tiny favor to ask you for."

"Miss Lamour, what are you doing in here?" Quimby asked, growing more and more frustrated by W.O.M.P.'s apparent lack of security protocols. "This building is for authorized personnel only."

In response, the blonde flashed a guest badge in the chief's face. "It's signed and everything," she said with a laugh. "Go ahead and look it up. It's all one hundred percent official."

Quimby clearly was not happy with the situation, but gave a nod. "Everything does appear to be in order," he admitted.

"Now, Johnny," she said, turning and batting her eyes at the inspector, "like I was saying, I have just a teensy-tiny favor to ask of you. You see, my cousin is a grad student at Metro City University, and she has recently come on some old K.A.O.S. technology. It's nothing major, just some old robotic, but her professor would be ever so grateful if you and your team went to check it out, staring tomorrow. You can handle that, now can't you?"

"Well, Ms. Lamour-" Gadget started, but he was cut off in a moment.

"I'm sorry, Laney," Wilson said, moving back in to show Lamour aside, "but he's already going on a good-will mission to Mexico for me."

"From what I heard, he hadn't decided on that silly-old Mexico trip," Lana replied, pushing back against the mayor. "Besides, you can't really expect Inspector Gadget to stoop to something as silly as security guard work."

"Tech repair is even sillier," Wilson retorted. She was trying to keep her mawkish tone of voice, but it was becoming clear that Lamour was getting to her. "Now, if you could just-"

"Alright, both of you, keep quiet!" Quimby snapped, cutting off the cat-fight before it could advance. He held up a communicator, showing the paperwork on it. "Apparently, W.O.M.P. has been contacted about both these missions and have approved both of them. Gadget, you have seniority, so you can decide which one you'll go on."

"They both sound very important," the inspector replied, touching his chin. After a moment of thought, he turned to his niece. "Penny, would you mind staying back here and checking up the tech at the university? Mechanics really aren't my thing."

"I'd be happy to," the girl replied with a smile. "I've been wanting to see the technological archeology department there for a while, anyways. Brain and the Gadgetinis can go with you to help with the protection."

"Oh, that would be a bit of a problem," Lana cut in. "You see, Dr. Spectrum, the head of the tech department, has insisted that a full W.O.M.P. agent come and investigate. A junior agent alone just wouldn't cut it."

"That's alright," Heather responded. "I'd be happy to stick around and going with Charm."

"Wonderful suggestion, Heather," Gadget replied with a bright grin. "I'll take the Officers and Brain with me to the museum."

Neither of the women who had been arguing looked too pleased with the solution, but at the same time, it didn't seem that they wanted to push the issue. "If that's what it must be," Wilson said, crossing her arms.

"I suppose it will do," Lana replied. There was then a buzz in her purse. Hearing the call, the actress grabbed her phone out of it and looked at the message. "Oh, well, look at that! I'd better be off." She gave a wave to the group before leaving. "Well, toodles. Be sure to mention me to Thelma later." With that, she hurried out.

"I'd better be going, too," Wilson said, straightening her suit jacket as she left. "Important business about the campaign, you know. Good luck, Inspector." Having said her piece, she turned and left, taking her train with her.

Once they were alone, the W.O.M.P. employees turned to each other. "I'm sorry, you three," the chief said with an apologetic sigh. "I really have no idea how they were able to barge in like that. I'll have to have a word with our security staff very soon."

"Don't feel bad, chief," Gadget replied. He had now recovered and straightened his coat and hat. "The missions been given and we all know what we're supposed to do. I had better tell the Officers and Brain to get ready for our mission. I assume you ladies will be able to handle the university."

"We'll get there by my bike," Heather said with a smile. "The side car should be able to handle the wheelchair."

"Wait, 'bike?'" Hearing this, Gadget's face fell. "As in motorcycle?"

"Yeah, you've seen it," the redhead replied with a nod.

"I'd rather leave the Gadgetmobile here," the cyber said with a frown. "Motorcycles can be dangerous."

"I'll be fine, Uncle," Penny responded, touching his arm to try to console him. "Like Heather said, there is the sidecar, and I'll wear a helmet."

"I'm not comfortable with the motorcycle, and that's my final say," Gadget said. He gave Penny a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you'd be careful, but it's not something I want to risk."

The girl opened her mouth as if she was about to argue, but she caught herself. "Alright, Uncle. If that's what makes you feel better."

"It does," he responded. He then turned to look at Heather. "We can take a cab once we reach Mexico, and I'll leave the keys with you."

The young woman shrugged. "Sounds good to me. It's several miles off my bike." She then turned to the chief. "So, shall we head out?"

"I'd say so," Quimby replied. "And we'd better book it, before someone else shows up to add anything else!"

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Deboir Enterprises, Main Headquarters, Metro City

Within his office, Deboir was pacing anxiously. Nearby, Heffernan and Almos were sitting at a break table, playing a round of poker. "Hey, can you give it a rest," Heffernan called to the politician. "You're making me dizzy."

"Easy for you to say," Debor snapped back. "You're not the one with campaign interests hanging on whether or not some ditzy actress can pull off a mission."

"I'd watch that mouth of yours, if I was you," Almos said, not even looking up from his cards. "Ms. Lamour is one of Dr. Claw's best agents for a reason. I wouldn't want to end up on her bad side."

"Oh, right, like I'm going to be worried about some small time Marylin Monroe impersonator," the politician said scornfully. "What's she going to do, stab me with her stiletto heel?"

"It wouldn't be the first time I've pulled that tactic, but I don't think I'd waste the effort on you." The men all looked up as Lana herself entered the room. She flashed a smirk at Deboir. "You I'd just have one of these two gentlemen deal with. I have bigger fish to fry, and they are quite keen about that portion of the job. Aren't you, boys?"

Neither of the men gave a verbal answer, but they didn't need to. The smiles they flashed at the idea was enough to prove her statement correct.

Seeing this, Deboir edged away from the two grunts. "So, Lana," he said, picking up a much more amiable tone, "I assume you were able to complete your goal, right? If something happens to that bat, it's horrible publicity for Wilson."

"Unfortunately, that bag was able to beat me to Gadget," the female agent replied. As spoke, she pulled a compact mirror out of her purse and started to apply some lipstick. "Gadget's going to Mexico."

Hearing this, Deboir groaned. "You mean you failed!"

"Not completely. You didn't let me finish." Lana finished up applying her makeup before tucking the mirror back into her purse. "Gadget's going to Mexico, but he's only taking the robots and that dog. The redhead and his niece will be staying behind. Handling him and those little accessories should be no problem for Carrillo, so you should have nothing to worry about."

The politician just wordlessly grumbled before going back to his desk.

The actress got up to leave, but before she could make it to the door, she paused. "Oh! I nearly forgot! Richard, did my package from Dr. Wildman come in yet?"

"It's right over there," Heffernan responded, pointing to a box sitting in the corner. "He said the NIMH-serum should have kicked in by now, so it'll be safe to touch."

"Wonderful!" She walked over to the box and opened it up. As soon as the box was opened, pulled a white ferret that was a little bit smaller than normal. "Hello, there," she cooed, grabbing another bag out of the box and placing the ferret in it. "You're going to be a big help to Mommy."

"What's that?" Deboir sneered upon seeing the animal. "You really think some rat that's been through a taffy-stretch is really going to be any use."

"Don't sneer at Snowflake," Lana warned. "He might not look like much, but he's a Chimera as much as anything else, and a NIMH-Chimera, too, so he can understand everything you say. Part ferret, part vampire bat, all an assassin's dream."

Deboir was about to scoff again, but a look in the Chimera's eyes caused him to freeze. The creature appeared to smile at him knowingly, and it opened it mouth, revealing extra-long and thick canines and incisors with a curve to them, doubtlessly the gift of its bat ancestry. The look of malice in the face caused the man to feel uneasy, so he slumped into a silence.

"Alright, boys, I've got to start training Snowflake, so I'll be leaving. Don't lock me out, alright?" With that, she pranced out of the room, leaving the men in utter silence.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Thursday, July 24, 2087

Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Mexico

"Here we are, Officers!" Gadget said. They had just arrived at the museum and were entering. "Remember, we're here to guard, not to mingle. Feel free to talk with the people at the Gala, but our purpose is to make sure no one snatches those jewels."

"You can count on us, Inspector!" Digit said as he and his brother gave a salute.

"Glad to hear it," the inspector replied with an approving nod. "You two will be staking out other areas of the museum as well. Brain, you're going to be with me tonight."

The dog gave a nod and a whuff of assent before turning his nose to the ground.

"Alright, then let's move out." Gadget moved into the museum, holding the door open for his assistants to enter in.

The gala had already started by the time they had arrived, so the whole place was already abuzz. People were everywhere, looking at museum exhibits, enjoying food, and generally chatting. As such, the whole place had a rather crowded feel it to.

Gadget looked around, trying to find the museum's curator, Edwardo Fernandes. He had been hoping the staff would be wearing name tags, but this did not appear to be the case. Instead, he and Brain wandered over to one of the conversing groups.

"Go-go Gadget Translator, code word: Spanish," Gadget whispered before approaching. When he heard the beep that signaled that the translator was working, he went up to the group. "Excuse me, but can any of you tell me where the museum's curator is? I need to speak with Mr. Fernandes as soon as possible."

The translator took a moment to register before it repeated his question. "Por desgracia, el comisario me dijo? Quiero hablar tanto como sea posible, el Sr. Fernández." it stated in a mechanical sounding voice.

The group looked at each other, completely confused by what was stated. Gadget, assuming they didn't hear what he said, repeated his question, but unfortunately that didn't help very much.

Thankfully, at that moment, he was approached by an older gentleman. "Inspector Gadget?" he asked.

"That would be me!" the detective replied with a smile.

"Lo," the translator stated.

The man looked confused for a moment before waving his hand. "I am Sr. Fernandes," he stated, holding out his hand. "I was hoping to see you here, Inspector. Also, I can speak English. There's no need for the translator."

"Alright then," Gadget responded with a nod. "Go-go Gadget Translator, codeword: off." There was a slight beep to signal that the device had turned off. "There. Now, Sr. Fernandes," the cyber said with a smile. "What is it you would like me and my men to do?"

…

It wasn't ten minutes after the Gadgetinis has went into the room to begin their mission that the two them were separated. The fact that they were only three feet tall did not help their situation, nor did the fact that there were multiple non-sentient robots wandering around with trays to gather dishes or offer food.

Thus, it was very soon that Fidget looked up and realized his brother was nowhere to be seen. He glanced around the room, trying to get his barings. "Digit," he called into his communicator. "Where are you?"

"Where am I?" his twin responded, a tone of annoyance in his voice. "I'm doing what we're supposed to be doing, staking out the museum."

"Alright, then," the orange bot asked. He froze for a moment as someone came over to him and handed him several glasses, but he recovered quickly. "So, where are you? You know, so I can join you."

"I'm in the Inca exhibit," Digit answered. "It's relatively empty at the moment so I thought it'd be a good place to start out."

"Inca exhibit, got it," Fidget repeated. He paused for a moment to take several plates from a woman who was passing. "I'll be there in a moment."

He searched the room to do find an actual dish-bot and drop off his load before hurrying off to join his twin. Thankfully, one was nearby, so he was able to make sure the dirty dishes were sent off and he could go off on his actual job.

It wasn't too hard for him to find a map, so he was able to head out on his rout pretty easily. As he was walking, however, he heard something that made him pause.

He was passing a janitor's closet when he heard voices coming from it. "Alright, remember, Data," a female voice with an English accent to it was saying, "we're supposed to watch them right now. We're not supposed to deal with them unless they interfere with Mum's mission."

"I know, Scooter," a second, younger woman's voice with the same accent responded. "I do wish we could have had a better meeting, though."

Hearing the two women, Fidget's interest was sparked. He turned and knocked on the door. "Hello? Is someone in there?"

There was no response, so the orange bot opened up the door. To his disappointment, there was no one there. Even a scan proved that the closet held no humans within. Supposing he had just heard something, he shut the door and turned back to joining Digit.

By the time he had made it to the exhibit, the blue twin had already set up an amount of security measures around the room. "There you are," Digit called out, hurrying to join his brother. "What kept you?"

"I thought I heard something," Fidget said.

"Really?" Digit gave a thoughtful frown. "Anything that might be a threat to the jewel statues?"

"I don't knight," the orange twin answered. "It was two British women calling themselves Data and Scooter talking about a mission in a janitor's closet. I knocked, but when I opened the door, there was no one there."

Digit processed the information and shook his head. "Disappearing British woman with strange names who were talking about a mission? That means nothing to me."

"Me neither," Fidget agreed.

"Well, we can keep it in mind for later," the blue bot responded. "Right now we need to focus on setting up protective measures for the jewel."

"Right, I'm on it!" his brother stated with a salute. With that, both turned back to continuing their mission.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Earlier that same day

Metro City University, Metro City

The bright afternoon sun reflected intensely off the polished white stone and glass of the university tech labs. It would have been near impossible to miss even if there weren't signs everywhere pointing out the destination. This was to the advantage of Penny and Heather, who were at that moment making their way from the visitor's parking center to the big building.

"So, Charm," Heather commented as they reached the building. "You mentioned earlier you wanted to check this place out. What interested you?"

"This place has made multiple important discoveries about the past and developed new inventions in the past decade," Penny responded as she pressed the button to open the door. "Dr. Spectrum, who the head of Technological Research and Development here, has been overseeing a lot of project that have been used in modern life. Lux-Tenebras was one of his inventions. I was hoping to eventually have a word with him."

"Considering that's who Lamour said was her cousin's professor is, I wouldn't be too surprised if we see him today," the older girl commented.

As they entered the large building, they were approached by a young woman who appeared to be around Heather's age. She was a tall woman with messy brown hair and glasses, and she was wearing a lanyard with a card on it, and had two in her hand. "Oh, are you Agent Connelly and Junior Agent Dollar?"

"That's us," Heather responded as they showed their badges.

"Oh, wonderful, wonderful," the woman said quickly, handing each of them a card. "I'm Thelma Botkin, one of Dr. Spectrum's grad student assistants. I trust my cousin told you why we asked you here."

"She told us you might have found some old K.A.O.S. tech and wanted us to verify it," Penny replied.

Hearing this, the brunette rolled her eyes. "That's Lana for you. I make what might be the technological archeology discovery of the decade, and she treats it like it some little treasure hunt."

"So this was something big?" Heather asked.

"Bigger than big!" Thelma exclaimed. "I believe I've found something that will touch on what we believed to be one of C.O.N.T.R.O.L.'s biggest urban legends. Have either of you ever heard of Hymie?"

Heather frowned and shook her head when she heard the question, but Penny brightened up immediately. "I heard of him. He was supposedly a K.A.O.S. robot who C.O.N.T.R.O.L. was able to bring over to their side. There was rumors he even helped Maxwell Smart on a few missions."

"That's the one!" Thelma said, giving a thumbs-up. "Great to see you're up on your homework. Now, I don't think what I found is Hymie, since I don't think C.O.N.T.R.O.L. would have been so careless as to lose him, but it's no secret that K.A.O.S. was furious about losing one of their more valuable pieces of technology. I suspect that this was an attempt at copying him, though it probably wasn't a success, since I found this guy caught in a wreck in the Sea of Okhotsk."

They moved into the lower levels, Penny and Thelma chatting eagerly about historical technology. Before long, they made it to an underground lab, and were greeted by an older man in a lab coat. "Ah, there you are, Thelma," the man said, giving a warm smile. "I see you brought the agents with you."

"Agent Connelly, Agent Dollar," Thelma said, motioning to the man, "this is Dr. Elvin Spectrum, head the head of this department."

"Pleased to meet the both of you," the doctor said, holding out his hand. When both girls had returned the greeting, he gave a small smile. "If you don't mind me asking, Agent Connelly, you wouldn't happen to be related to an Alan Connelly, would you?"

"He's my cousin," Heather answered. "Have you met him?"

"He took one of my courses as an undergraduate," the man replied with a laugh. "That young man left quite the impression, I can assure you."

"But that's not what you're here for." The doctor motioned for them to follow him. "Over here we have the robot, which we've taken to calling H-2. We've been taking scans to trying to figure out just how he works and how to replicate the design."

On the table lay an old, near decrepit robot's inner chassis. Once upon a time, a false skin would have covered the body to make it appear human, but that had long since deteriorated, leaving only a few patches left. The tech was partially rusted away, but the main computer system seemed to be covered up and preserved.

"The body itself doesn't appear to be in good shape," Penny said, looking over what was once the robot's torso, "but it looks like the processor's in good shape. Would you mind if I opened it up to get a look?"

Spectrum nodded and motioned for her to look inside. Touching the processor, Penny utilized a minute amount of energy from DElPHI to open it up. Once she had touched it, however, her expression changed. The blood drained from her face, and she immediately pulled back. "Dr. Spectrum, you need to call Dr. Brenda Bradford immediately."

Seeing the girl's expression, he nodded to Thelma to do as instructed. "Certainly," he said once she ran off, "but may I ask why?"

Penny had situated herself by the robot's side and was now stroking its hand in a comforting manner. "Dr. Spectrum," the teen said, and her voice was grave, "what you found isn't a replica of Hymie, this is Hymie, and he's still alive."

To be continued…

Author's note: Alright, this episode has dropped a lot of information, so I've got a few explanations and shout outs.

First of all, the NIMH serum is in fact the same serum from the book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. It's one of my favorite children's books ever, and I highly recommend it. In this universe, the NIMH serum is what causes intelligence in some Chimera. That's why Brain and MADcat can communicate somewhat with people; they're NIMH Chimera. Any Chimera not given the NIMH serum would just be a dumb animal.

Once again, shout out to GadgetMonster, who gave me permission to use some Go Go Gadgetinis characters. Once again, I'll give the mention that that series is more for an older audience than this series. There will be a bit more from that series though, so just hold on.

Finally, a bit more from Get Smart! How will this turn out? Come in next time to find out! Hope to hear from you!-SilverWarriorWolf.