In loving memory of Shi, my beloved husky (7/15/20)
Based on Toon Wars and the Amazing World of Gumball, in support of The Werecats by ShurikenMix
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A Fan-Made Story by Frozarburst…
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TOON WARS LEGACY
On the flaming streets of Elmore at dawn, civilians of every bit of the imagination scurry in random directions while bolts of energy blaze across the sky and from the intersections. Officers, living doughnuts or cardboard people with tiny pistols and tasers, shoot while making "PEW" noises from makeshift barricades made from fallen police vehicles. Behind them, much of the diverse populace make a run for the city hall at the end of the road.
Cardboard Officer: Keep moving! Single file!
One shot from the other side of the street goes right through one of the men's gaping mouths.
Doughnut Officer: HA! Jokes on you! I already have a hole in me. (Gets blasted in the eyes and falls over) AGH!
Those terrorizing the streets reveal themselves through the dust clouds and flames. Giant mechanical monstrosities with beady red eyes and blocky limbs march forward in a straight line. Their turbo lasers lock onto the nearest target, exploding the barricades. A full tank, having a cartoonishly placed robot head at the base of the brim, fires its barrage of three-barrel siege cannons in the air like hailfire. These missiles rain down from the sky to the surface, mere seconds from ending the life of the humanoid frog, Moonchild Corneille. Taking both arms and covering his face while bending, he screams, but is cut off when the missiles fail to reach him. A blue humanoid cat, now in an anime-esque art style, stands in front of him having blown the shots mid-travel.
Nicole: Get to cover!
Moonchild shaking: Y-yeah… Good idea! (Starts running away)
Yuki Yoshida, Nicole's rival and friend, comes spiraling from an explosion cloud nearby, flipping as though she were the one who caused it. The cloud woman lands perfectly on her red high heels with both hands in a chopping position.
Yuki: Nicole, I can't find my daughter. Where are your children?
Nicole: I don't know.
Gumball: Mom?
Over by the schoolyard of Elmore Junior HIgh, the little cat boy closely resembling his mother in a green sweater, walks over to both women with a trash can lid over his head as a shield.
Gumball: The heck did Darwin go? (Gets struck in the shield, still holding it) Urk…!
Nicole swatting an energy bolt: That's what I was hoping you wouldn't ask. Get back inside!
Gumball doesn't object and runs straight for the nearly empty school next to his mother. Yuki covers them and continues to swat away huge energy bolts from the robots on the other side. In the building, towards the upper floors, Nicole brings her child to his locker by shooting a hole in the ceiling to hop to the next level.
Nicole: Elmore isn't going to last much longer without us. I don't know where your brother or sister are, but I get the feeling it has to do with those invaders outside. (Opens locker) They already took Richard while I was dropping you off.
Gumball: You can't be serious! You're 2 against like 800 some robots with lasers!
Nicole: (Lifts Gumball by the dome) Sure sounds like a fair fight then.
Nicole sits her son in the locker and shuts the door, shooting a laser through the wall at the end of the hallway to hop out of. Inside, Gumball crosses his arms, annoyed that he can't go out and watch the action; equally upset that he can't find Darwin nor Anais. With nothing to do, he fiddles with his thumbs, sits in different positions in the incredibly tight space for hours believing his mother would eventually come to tell him she scared everyone away, like always. But instead, after what felt like an eternity, he hears a variety of voices outside.
Jimmy: Good job, Jenny! We thought we would never find this guy!
Danny: Is he in this classroom?
Jenny: No. I already checked in there. He's either underneath the floors...or maybe...
Without a moment's notice, the person outside gently opens the locker Gumball is in, shining the glow of the hallway's fluorescent light in his face. Months later, he finds himself in the middle of a roaring desert warzone, covering his face with his arm from a close blast in the hot red sand! He now resembles his mother even more, borrowing her anime-esque art style change but still wearing the same clothes as he always has. Next to him, two Cartoon Network heroes, K.O. and Ben Tennyson, make a bolt for the thick dust clouds, attempting to rush the droids in the front. Seconds later, they are both thrown back where they started when a triple barrel tank rolls in. It fires at Gumball, who swiftly dodges each explosive round with his feline instincts. He leaps for the hull of the machine to dig his claws in the nose of the cannon slicing it from the base of the center. He easily blows away the generator in the middle from the top down and hops off before it totally combusts! Gumball sticks a landing from a backflip, looking extra cocky as always while doing so. Unfortunately for him, another tank rolls in to shoot from behind, when in an instant, another crashes hard onto it from a huge fall! Nicole makes a heavy landing with her fist first on the ground before her son.
Nicole: (Smirks) Don't get cocky, Gumball. There's a lot more where that came from. (Leaps away)
Penny Fitzgerald, Gumball's golden shapeshifting girlfriend, takes the form of a wyvern to let him hop onto her back. They fly off at the speed of a jet into the skies, only 3 years later, to come descending back down for an airstrike! Gumball uses the ki from his palms and Penny's fire breath to bring havoc onto several more enemy robots, now resembling Bobert and a heavy trooper of some kind! They ride through the medieval streets of Rhybloflaven in the middle of a heavy siege, taking a detour through the forest path into another wave of enemies. This time some period after the fact in a large space port of some kind shaped like a giant gear performing the same maneuver. Past the well lit towers and support beams above, hundreds, near thousands of space vessels with a bulbous and long design fire endlessly at the Irken Armada circling them. Ghost Portals open from every direction spawning aliens and mysterious creatures against the Syndicate forces in a huge bid to end the war. One of the defense towers fires a shot at Penny that grazes her wing while more machines step up on the platforms across the surface to attack.
Robots shooting: FINISH THEM!
One of the drones has their head sliced clean off by Samurai Jack nearby! He, Wulf, and Cattus make a run for the defense tower when several missiles from the nearest cruiser come hurtling toward them! Using his Whirlwind Magisword, Cattus easily redirects the shots back at the enemy ship, causing massive damage to the side engines! The vessel comes slowly crashing into the turret towers in front of it! The blast leaves a hole exposed in the main base where the hangar with Nicole, Yuki, the cosmic Starfire, and scottish warrior Flora are fending against another horde of metal goons. Including ones with somewhat organic attachments. They wield chainsaw blades and dual cannons on their backs, charging at full speed to the heroes blocking their path. Flora easily cuts down two of them, while the rest are kicked and punched through by Yuki and Nicole. Starfire finishes those coming through the back by sending a volley of fire into their direction!
Gumball palming his hips: Looks like you didn't need us after all.
Nicole: To be honest…
Toon Goddess grinning wildly: I usually don't.
Gumball now finds himself choke held by his own mother; or rather a dark version of herself, purple, dressed like a queen in her original art style. Her pitch dark and white eyes zoom close to her son's, trying to alter the data that makes him who he is into something sinister like her. Underneath her clawed feet, she has Penny pinned against the remains of statues and other objects amidst a blood red sky. Surrounding them are people, scattered and bruised. Unable to stand up to fight back. It's until Gumball removes himself by kicking away that she lets go, briefly losing focus to revert back to her good self. She almost completely changes for a moment that is quickly short lived as the evil in her takes over. Only when Richard, crawling to her, injured beyond what he is capable of sustaining, simply apologizes for his many mistakes and stupidity, she calms down. The Toon Goddess side of her resists, trying to shoot Richard when she accidentally shoots Gumball down! The shock scares her enough that she splits herself into two beings! One Nicole, and the other the monstrous, glitched evil that was hiding inside her. Gumball isn't phased much, only knocked out for a while. He recovers, finding himself hours after the fight to comfort his depressed mother in an oozy dark area. Still in her divine attire but morally defeated.
Nicole: I'm sorry… I've been a terrible mother and I should've known it from the start. It's my fault for leaving you when you and the rest of us needed me most. I've allowed myself to kill so many people… (Covers face) I just wanted to end everyone's pain… (Uncovers face) I just wanted to end your pain…
Gumball: …?
Nicole crying: ...I'm sorry… (Covers face)
The oozy walls surrounding the two cats turn from purple to pitch black, appearing as though Nicole had completely isolated herself by now. Gumball, now completely unsure what to say, takes a good look at his mother's saddened face. The depth of her depression is taxing, even on him. Then he pauses, remembering all the times he had spent with her, usually ending with him and Darwin being in trouble or getting into a mixup. Even throughout the Toon Wars, he hadn't truly grasped how much pain his mother felt internally. Yet, despite all the pressure, he conjures up the words to put an end to it.
Gumball kneeling: Ok. Maybe you are a bit overpowered. Maybe you did wanna be a monster, so you could blow off some steam. And who can really blame you with Dad an' all? But then again, so did the rest of us. That shy other cat lady did it, chocolate-haired Einstein did it, and Big Sis did it twice! She was a bad guy once too. And, hey, if they could hold all that anger competing with yours to do good, and they could change, I think there's always a second chance for you too. Besides, you meant well. Everyone makes mistakes, and we know you wouldn't have done anything to hurt anyone if it wasn't for that virus thing. And the fact that you even said all that, not even asking for an 'Its ok,' well…props! You're the best Mom I was ever born and raised from!
Gumball wraps both arms around his mother and gives her a warm hug.
Gumball: I love you.
Nicole still crying: …Son… (Rests head against GB's chest)
Nicole doesn't have the energy to wrap her arms around her son's shoulders, but Gumball gently does it for her. She continues to sob, this time of tears of joy. Joy that is soon heightened when she witnesses him fused with Penny, who's transformed into a golden armor for him. They clash with a maniacal being with such divinity it shatters areas of the surface they fight on! One of these blows knocks them back and defuses them amidst a ruined Rhybloflaven and a completely warped sky. But almost an hour later, Gumball finds himself witnessing another feline, a purple one with dark hair, flaming blue eyes and a torn magenta dress, come ramming her fist straight into the madman's face! Not only does it completely obliterate the villain, it ends up shattering reality itself like specs of glass from windows! Everything goes completely white in Gumball's vision as he awakens in his bedroom next to Darwin, sleeping in his fishbowl. He rises from the sheets to turn off the alarm clock. As though on que, his step brother comes out the bowl to say goodmorning like nothing happened.
Darwin: Morning bro. You good? You look like you've seen a- (Gets hugged) …?
Gumball hugging tightly: ...
Darwin nervously backing off: ...Okaaaaaay… Must've been a pretty bad dream, huh?
Gumball wiping his tears with his arm: ...Yeah… (Nods) Totally, dude. (Giggles and smiles) A bad dream...
The Watterson
Episode 1 - The Prelude
At the buzzling city of Toon City, a crossover metropolis of cartoons from across the vast ever expanding Toonverse, is a large high-tech facility with a huge "T" symbol for the prominent protectors of the universe. The Toon Force. In it, many notable heroes, old and new, work to train to defend all worlds from such incredible threats years after their foundation at the wake of the devastating crossover war, the Toon Wars. To the right of the facility within one of the tall towers is Gumball Watterson in his future attire. But towering over him stands his mother, Nicole Watterson. Once a saleswoman, a part-time superhero turned war hero and cosmic being. Sporting a long light red dress skirt down to her bare feet and a fancier top half exposing her arms. Her style, like her son's, resembles anime yet cartoonish in unison. She smiles at her boy, raising her left hand above his cat ears.
Nicole: No one's training in the grand scheme of things is ever really complete when there's still so much to learn. But you, my son, have already reached maximum potential. There is no being in the universe who can stop you now. Rise.
Gumball rising back up: What is thy bidding, my Mother?
Nicole: I thought it was 'My Master.'
Gumball: Yeah, but I thought 'Mother' sounded more epic and suitable for you.
Nicole: Now that you've learned my skills and understood your own power, it's time for you to put them to the test by facing your greatest fear.
Gumball: You know me better than that, Mom. I can take anything you've got.
Nicole: We'll see about that. (Snaps fingers)
The lights cut off, flashing back on after a few seconds in a blank grey space patterned by digital wireframe. Quick observation is cut short when Gumball, now alone in the foreboding chamber, overhears a distinct electric hum from under his feet. The floor beneath him turns a flaming red, having him hop off a few feet away before it turns into a digitized form of lava. The raw magma spurts across the floor as a tall, menacing humanoid ascends from within. His name is the Toon God. A mad holy-looking figure with silver hair, two grey horns, a black outfit, and a blue skin tone borrowed straight from Watterson.
Toon God Copy: Gumball. This time, you WILL face cancelation. Permanently!
Gumball: (Covers face with one hand) Aw great… It's been, like, 5 years now and you still won't shut up about cartoons!
This demented copy of the madman lifts his pointer finger up to the pitch black sky, summoning a 3 story bricked apartment out of nothing. With the flick of his wrist, the construct comes rocketing straight for the young man beneath him. However, times have changed. Gumball leaps off his feet to the side of the tilted structure, making a sprint across it to the bottom turned upward toward the Toon God's duplicate. Gumball charges his right hand with a distinct purple energy, lunging his fist into his opponent's stomach! Easily, the fake deity bursts into scattered code from head to toe. But all the assets of his existence reemerge behind the young hero. Gumball, still confident in his abilities, keeps himself hovering in the air by using energy from his soles like rocket fuel. Not turning around, he kicks back, exploding the Toon God's left leg! More strange abilities present themselves when he respawns his missing limb. Much like the original supervillain, he could simply snap his fingers, think it, and immediately anything could happen at will. Even Nicole could do the same if comfortable enough.
Gumball: Should've thought this one through.
Toon God Copy preparing a punch: You'll die thinking.
The Toon God strikes a jab, but Gumball ducks underneath, takes his arm down and grabs hold of the man's face. With his energy, Gumball's eyes change from blue to black and white. His vision spills countless bits of information. From the type of compatibility the universe runs independently, to the corrupted, untapped code from the Toon God's sheer hatred. One of these programs, however, "Toon " was easy to erase. But only by 60%. Reacting quickly, the Toon God warps himself out of Gumball's hands and kicks him in the forehead, sending him several feet across the newly generated red meadow!
Toon God Copy: (Glitches) AZG̴̥͎͗͊̐͑Ṳ̵̢̢͗̓͘̚B̷̜̯̰̂T̸͔͒͘͝Ā̵̡̭͖̜͐͠N̶͔͚̉̊ͅȞ̴̢̙͉̅Ȋ̸̬̦̔B̸̠̗̆-d-NAGW̸̭͚̘͆̀͆̔ͅH̵̗͖̮̉̃̊͘A̶̛͈̜̓̓̑͜T̷̠̺̓͐ ̸̯͈͚͊͐H̵̝̩͕̑́̈͑ͅA̵̛̳̲̟̩͊̐v̷͕̙͑E̶͓̋̄̕̚ ̷̼̇Ỷ̷͖̟̳͂͘o̶̥̲͉̍́̉͝Û̸̙ ̶̳̪̑͠ḏ̸̜̘̗͘o̴̞̰̎Ñ̵̯͇̀È̶̝̤͒
Gumball: Not gonna give my secrets away to a freak. (Thinks to himself) Good thinking using Jack's meditation thing to get in his head, brain.
Gumball's Brain: You're welcome.
The warped copy of the mad deity takes a stance at the seams of the virtual meadow where Gumball meets him. With his fist, he swells it into human proportions to shove at his opponent, who easily hops over it onto his arm. Gumball sprints to the head of the man kicking him down then flipping behind him. Before he can shoot him while pinned, he is grabbed by the Toon God's hand teleported over to him.
Gumball trying to break out: Ngh…! Ok. This is a pickle. Now Penny!
Out of nowhere, a golden wyvern comes zooming into the Toon God, then transforming into a red ram that bashes into him! When he's distant, Penny shifts into her fairy-like form, now having deer ears along with the short antlers, a small tail, and paws resembling Gumball's original design.
Penny: He's down, Gumball!
Gumball: Grrrrrrrrreat! Couldn't have done it without you. Piece of cake!
Toon God Copy recovering: That is the reason why you fail, Watterson! You cannot do anything right by yourself no matter how hard you try! Always dependent on the weak ones. When you can, you turn everyone away. You're just like your mother was!
Gumball crossing his arms: Man, this guy's extra talkative all of a sudden. Time to do the honors.
Penny jets straight into Gumball, exploding into a ball of white light that morphs both fighters into a single being. Penball, the gold, orange armored superhero with fairy-like wings and a red center stands in preparation for one more attack. The Toon God recovers and makes an attempt at shooting point blank at the fusion with his lesser version of the original's erasure beam. A pitch black and greenish energy. Pinball merely yawns and shoots a smaller laser into the center of the beam, transforming it into disintegrating blocks of code and colliding squarely into the Toon God's upper half like a saw blade! By the time the attack is complete, the madman's duplicate is nothing but his legs and waist, with the rest of him completely gone from code deletion; preventing him from regenerating as well.
Penball: Looks like this dude...(Puts sunglasses on) didn't skip leg day.
Narrator: YEEEEAAAAAAAAAA-
Penny separating from Gumball: That was pretty nasty, Gumball.
Gumball: You didn't like my punchline?
Penny: No, that was funny. I mean, like, the way you took him down. Isn't that a little dark?
Gumball: Let's be real here. When has it not been? This guy corrupted millions and slaughtered them all at the same time. Not to mention those times Mom was far worse whenever she went full-on evil. (Aims ball of light) I think this guy losing his torso is pretty tame by comparison.
Gumball blasts the rest of the Toon God's duplicate's body into smoke, which Nicole calmly hovers through in an angelic fashion.
Nicole: Not bad. But I thought you'd have the courtesy to at least get rid of the whole thing. Not HALF of somebody.
Penny: See? Even she thinks that was personal.
Gumball: Hey, it's ok. I got a little carried away is all. I just hated to mess up...
Nicole: Mistakes are made only to help us learn and grow. Not every slip up spells death.
Gumball whispering: It does if you're Darwin…
Nicole: (Raises both ears) What was that?
Gumball: Nothing. Just a thought. Anyway, does this mean I passed?
Nicole: Of course. You did well, Gumball. I… (Gets teary eyed) I've never been more proud to have been your teacher.
Gumball: Hey hey hey. You're not just a teacher. You're my Ma- (Gets hugged tightly) AAGH!
Without a moment to react, GB is met with a warm hug tighter than he's used to, almost crushing his bones internally. He is lifted from the floor thanks to Nicole's height exceeding his own.
Penny blushing and grinning: Aaaaw.
Gumball still hugged: M-Mom, you're fracturing my ribcage...!
Nicole letting go: Oops.
Gumball: I'm gonna head back home so I don't miss out with Darwin. We were gonna go shoot some hoops at the park.
Nicole: Yes. You should. I'm pretty sure he and your father have been waiting to see you all week. I'd go back myself, but Yuki and I were gonna attempt a mass meditation to see if we can tap into these new powers I have. But the process could take days, maybe weeks before we're done.
Penny: Aren't you worried about reality being warped the more you tap into them?
Nicole: Oh definitely! That's one of our main goals. Trying to sustain all these abilities without messing with the natural order of existence. There really oughta be a council of deities to even things out.
Gumball: With ideas like that, I get the feeling our show creator is gonna be rolling in his house cause of how crazy it is.
Nicole patting Gumball's shoulder: Don't be like that, Gumball. We'll be fine. Just go back and spend some time with your brother and father, would you? I'm sure you'll enjoy your week as men of the house.
Gumball: (Sighs and smiles) …Ok. Com'on Penny. Let's take a detour through town.
Penny morphs into a wyvern and let's Gumball hop on her back for a ride. She spreads her wings and soars through the large open exit doors for the nearest hallway, jetting outward to the sky roof at the main center. Seeing them leave gives Nicole a moment to pause, worried about her son but nonetheless comfortable with him going without her, giving her a chance to smile. Outside, Penny swerves from side to side next to tall superstructures and monuments across the cartoon metropolis. A large blue and white blimp makes its trip from underneath them to the clouds with its rear turbines slanted downward. It's labeled with the Toon Force insignia as a sign of peace for its exit through the atmosphere, converting itself into a forward facing light cruiser.
Wyvern Penny: Wait. Men of the house...? Where's Anais?
Gumball: Oh, she's out with Clockwork. Remember, she's his new intern? Says she watches over space and stuff. (Crosses arms) Bad thing is, we rarely get to see her these days and she's only 9.
Wyvern Penny swaying past a billboard: You miss her, huh?
Gumball: What? (Smiles nervously) No. Not like that. She's independent. Totally doesn't need me.
Wyvern Penny: Gumball, you can stop trying to sound masculine. It's pretty toxic on you.
Gumball: OK, yeah. (Rests head on Penny's back) I do miss her.
Wyvern Penny: See? Nothing wrong with showing you care.
Penny brings herself down to the portal platforms where she and Gumball stop at the gate to Elmore, labeled with their cartoon's title "The Amazing World of Gumball."
Gumball hopping off Penny's back: I always care. Why do you think I don't tell anyone about all this since you know what?
Penny turning back to default: Look, hun, it's been 5 years since all that happened. The Toon God or anything like him isn't coming back. Or at least you can rest easy since when it DID happen, someone was there to stop it.
Gumball: Still…just hate for it to come home.
Penny: I think you're stressing yourself a lot, Gumball. (Rubs Gumball's shoulder) Here. Why don't you see your Dad? He'll take your mind off everything.
Gumball: He's a dummy.
Penny: A dummy - superhero -!
Somewhere in a dark, gloomy forest on an otherwise sunny afternoon, Gumball and Penny step foot back in Elmore near the sign that says, "Forest of Doom."
Gumball: Oh. We HAD to pop in the spot that has 'DOOM' written on it.
Penny spawning her wings: Just try to relax, dear. (Gives Gumball a kiss on the cheek) I'm gonna go see my sister. Have fun!
Penny takes off and Gumball is greeted by a creepy purple and red squirrel with big, greenish eyes hissing at him. He simply turns to face the creature and gives a mildly annoyed scowl.
Creepy Squirrel: ...What?
Gumball lifts a leg and begins a sprint out of the woods. But his run is scarily fast at the speed of a motorbike! On his journey, Julius the classic bomb headed character bullies the paper mache Teri by drawing an X on her forehead; her arm barely pinned by a small nail against a tree.
Julius writing on Teri: Ehahahahaha!
Teri: Stop, Julius! That's permanent ink!
Abruptly, the very force of Gumball's sprint passing by sends Julius face first into the mud in front of him! The nail on Teri meanwhile pops off allowing her to fly off into the breeze.
Teri: (Waves) Thanks Gumball!
Gumball running: Heh. Not bad for a run by.
On his way down the street, the flower petals on the living plant Leslie start popping out and flying away. Now in the main area of town, Gumball rushes down the side of nearby traffic being held up by busy LEGO looking construction workers and police trying to repair a collapsed building. The cops redirect the drivers to another lane leading down a roundabout that takes them back to the same exact street they're already on.
Dog Cop with a megaphone: WOOF WOOF WO-WOOF WOOF!
Green Lizard Woman in a van: Aw com'on!
Tattoo Artist on a motorcycle: Yeah man. We've been in circles for 3 hours!
Easily, Gumball hops atop the nearest white truck and charges a blue energy sphere with both hands. Again, he hops, but now at a greater height with a boost from his soles to the other side of the downed foundations. From there, he blasts a hole large enough for the traffic to pass through without any damages!
Earl the Hotdog saluting: Thanks Gumball!
The young man delivers another salute before continuing his journey on the same truck he landed on. He passes by several familiar places, including the bank, Cheap Mart, and the City Hall. Eventually, he reaches a Joyful Burger to stop by, stepping inside to greet Larry at the front counter.
Larry: Gumball! Back from your daily routine?
Gumball: You could say that. May I get a large fry?
Larry: Certainly. Oh, and have you heard from Steve lately? He hasn't returned my calls.
Gumball: His van broke down. Real broken up about it actually.
Larry: Heh. Wonder why he didn't just tell me. I'm the one who fixed his engine.
Gumball: Totally gonna leave him a message when I see him.
Larry getting fries: No no. I'll visit him myself. Not the first time I've had to come to his house.
Gumball: Gee. How often do you meet?
Larry sweating: Uuuh, that'll be $1.25. (Laughs while blushing) Ehehehehe…
Later, now across from the nearest highway, Gumball hitches a ride on the roof of an RV passing by a huge facility, the Rainbow Factory. He gets down from the vehicle before it gets down the street, accidentally landing face first into the concrete and going splat.
Gumball flattened: ...Ow.
Inside, busy, diverse employees are scrambling almost excitedly as they carry huge stacks of paper and binders. Through the bland looking hallways and rather crammed spaces from printers and ferns, even fern people simply standing around, Gumball eventually reaches a more open space with pigs in suits wandering with the dark cloud Mr. Yoshida. They surround Richard, Gumball's father. But unlike the past where he was chubby and overweight, this time he's chubby but mostly thanks to his abundant fur and somewhat anime-like aesthetic similar to Gumball's. His normal business shirt had been swelled to fit his size, having a distinct red "R" painted on it at the center of his chest.
Mr. Yoshida: And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we should continue to grant Mr. Watterson here corporate access!
Shareholder: Absolutely! (Shakes Richard's hand) Great to have you on board, Richard. We'll continue to fund the Sandwich Foundation for sure.
Richard: Sweet!
Gumball: Sandwich Foundation, Dad?
Richard: Oh! Gumball, didn't expect ya to be here. Gimme a sec.
Mr. Yoshida: I will let you speak to your dear son, Watterson. (Pats Richard's back) But thanks again for protecting my- I mean OUR shares. Y-yes.
The big boss walks away while Richard comes closer to his son.
Richard: (Gives Gumball a warm hug) I was wondering where you've been. (Lets go of GB) Still training with your mother, huh?
Gumball: We finished training a few minutes ago. Just ate lunch and all so, feeling pretty good. You can call me…(Puts fists on hips with a heroic background) MASTER WATTERSON! PROTECTOR OF THE TOONVERSE! (Stutters and loses background) Uh-er, I mean… (Raises fists) PROTECTOR OF ELMORE!
Walton: Heh. The Toonverse title doesn't sound half bad.
Behind Gumball is a man wearing almost exactly the same old clothes Richard wore. Only now he has a rainbow button on his left side. He is an average sized dark fured canine with a grey patch around his mouth; a pug in more specific terms. But with wide eyes like Gumball's and bare paws.
Richard: Oh, hey Walton! Have you ever met my son?
Gumball: Sup?
Walton: No I haven't. Nice to meet someone else famous around here though.
Gumball: I'm famous?
Walton: I mean, you've just announced you're a superhero. (Shrugs) I'd think you did a lot of cool things. Plus, you come from this guy.
Gumball: Gee, thanks man. Appreciate it.
Walton turning to Richard: I'm just gonna go tell Mr. Yoshida I put the old equipment in the 8th storage unit on the 12th floor. Don't know why he didn't ask me to trash 'em though. It's all a bunch of CD's and floppy discs.
Richard: Hey, don't toss 'em. It could be vintage like my VHS tapes...which I thought was...actual tape. Still got the job done though!
Walton turning to the exit: Heh. Sure got one funny pop, GB! (Waves out the door) Later, Rich!
Gumball: You're friends with that guy?
Richard: Absolutely! He works in the same spot as your Mom did. We met over lunch.
Gumball: Oh. (Whispers under his breath) Didn't really think you had any friends. Uuh, mind if we head home?
Richard: Good idea, son. (Takes hold of Gumball) I'll take you.
Instantly, Richard makes a titanic leap through the ceiling with his son in his hands, shooting up to the stratosphere before making a heavy landing in front of their house! All the cars in the neighborhood jump and the alarms go off.
Gumball: Ok. I didn't know you could do that too.
Richard: Who needs cars when ya got these big stompers and gravity?
Mr. Robinson in the distance: AH! MY CAR!
Richard shouting: HEY MR. ROBINSON! (Turns to Gumball) You might wanna talk to Darwin. He's been waiting to see you. Wouldn't stop trying to call you.
Gumball silently walks up the porch of his house to the front door, takes his gold key and opens it. On the couch, Darwin, the orange fish with legs, still looking almost exactly the same since childhood, watches a cartoon on the small TV at the center of the room.
Darwin turning around: Huh? (Sits up) GUMBALL! There you are, bro! I've been calling you for hours! Where've ya been? The gym?
Gumball: (Walks to the couch) Sometimes when I do, I have my phone on silent. (Shrugs) It's no biggie.
Darwin: You must be taking some pretty good classes if your muscle is THAT consistent.
Gumball: I know right? (Flexes biceps) Just look at these guns!
Gumball accidentally blasts two blue energy beams into the ceiling when he flexes his fists!
Gumball: Oops. My bad.
Darwin: That's awesome! But uh…we should probably fix that before Mom heads back.
Gumball: Nah, it's ok. She said she was, uh, having a girl's night with Ms. Yoshida.
Darwin: Girl's night? What is she thinking about leaving Mr. Dad?
Gumball appalled: Bro…!
Darwin: What? She's practically been absent for months! Years even.
Gumball: Well, to be fair, we never really connected all that much when we were little. Besides whenever she got mad. Plus, she needed me to help her find new clothes since, well, she's like WAY taller than I am now and it's intimidating. It's been a pretty rough day, so, how bout yours?
Darwin: All I did was compete with Tobias at the arcade for a few hours. (Looks sad) We both lost…
Gumball: How?
Darwin: Bobert.
Gumball: Oh…
Darwin: No way we can beat a living computer at Pacman. Figured with your sick skills, you'd beat him.
Gumball: Heheh! No. He'd kill me easily.
Darwin: Kill you?
Gumball: I-I mean beat me easily. What're you watching anyway?
Darwin blushing and scrambling for the remote: U-UH, nothin'! Nothin' at all! Just, uh, Car Robots and definitely not Ponies on the Run! (Spastically clicks the remote) Hehehehehehe...
Gumball taking a seat: Sheesh…
Darwin: Least we're not obligated to for Anais. Where is she?
Gumball: I'll be straight and say she's in an internship for a time lord.
Darwin: Whaaaaaaat? How come she didn't tell me?
Gumball crossing his legs: Cause she thought we'd start an episode and mess the whole thing up for her.
Darwin: …(Looks down at the floor) She's right.
Hours into the evening, Gumball sits alone atop the roof of the house, watching the sunset. Richard meets him there, using his paw hands to climb up.
Richard: You ok, sport? You vanished when Darwin fell asleep.
Gumball: Sorry Dad. I was just thinking about a bunch of stuff. Like that you still have powers.
Richard: I didn't think I had any till I got in the superhero business. Now I see why Nicole was so rough on me. She could twist my nonexistent neck, but she couldn't resist my charms… Good times…
Gumball: Doesn't she still get mad at you anyway? I mean, I thought it was law for Dads to be stu- I mean, annoying to their wife. (Nervously grits teeth) Sorry man…
Richard: None taken. (Sits on his stomach) And to answer your question, no. Not anymore. Universal Dad law was broken when the Toonverse was born. Now we have Dads who actually DO something and can act however they want! Like this. (Gets on knees) HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT ABOUT ME?! I'M TRYING TO BE BETTER! (Cries and covers face) I'M NOT STUPID ANYMORE! (Jumps back up smiling) That's what any father would say if they were in my pants now.
Gumball: ...You're one of a kind, Dad.
Richard: You're welcome! (Falls on back and pats stomach) Aaaaah… As much as we've been at home together, I'm pretty glad you've gone with your mother for a while. You've really helped her smile more when things were rough. I couldn't do it like you did.
Gumball: ...There's something I gotta confess.
Richard: Uh-oh. You didn't find out what I was really doing on the computer, did you?!
Gumball: U-uh, no…? It's something totally different.
Richard: Oh thank goodness...
Gumball: You haven't really seen the Toon Force around?
Richard: No. The only time I do is when your mother comes back with some friends. I thought there was another cat like you two who was purple and had a nice hat, and this other person with a nice, cuuuuurvy wippie dip.
Gumball: Bimm and Jimmy.
Richard: So THAT'S why I wanna meme 'em up so bad!
Gumball: Well the truth is...I didn't- (Gulps and sighs)...I didn't wanna say anything about all that to the rest of Elmore and Darwin cause I was scared to lose you guys like last time.
Richard: Lose us?
Gumball: Remember what I said one time about the Toon God and how Mom turned evil?
Richard: I thought she was before.
Gumball: Nah, I mean after all that. The time she was REALLY evil. Like dark, as in ultra violent. R-rating. The cartoon equivalent of a dark comic book, which is pretty much every modern book, but that's besides the point.
Richard: Oh, that.
Gumball: Yeah...that. You know just about as much as I do. But Darwin doesn't. He died then, and I was scared for Sis and you. I already knew Mom had plenty of beef with you back then for about 20-30 years of marriage, so I kinda figured you'd be a big target.
Richard: Oh, your mother and I made up that time, did we? My memory's still fuzzy.
Gumball: Yeah, but with someone as evil as the Toon God, world space entities, or whatever crazy stuff the writer thinks of next? Anyone of those could kill you guys! (Lays on back) I didn't wanna have anything repeat itself. Plus, I'm pretty sure if you kick the bucket again, there's no way you can come back because, A, the controls to reality were deleted as a safety measure. B, Mom's still trying to understand her powers. And C, you'd just come out as a ghost or some sorta googly creature if Carrie or Danny had to save you.
Richard turning to Gumball: Well son, I'm surprised at you cause y'know we worry about you too. Plus, Darwin was always there for you if you ever needed some sorta help in an episode. You're a grown up, but, even you can't do everything by yourself. Just look at me. It takes a village to get me not to mess up when I file taxes!
Gumball: Dad, you never filed anything in your life. Anais did it as brain food.
Richard: Exactly!
Gumball: But yeah. I get the picture. (Stands up) Family looks out for each other, so I'll try to be more open with my bro. (Smiles) Just couldn't have asked for a better ol' man to tell me that.
Richard: That's the spirit!
A minute later, Gumball returns to the living room from the back door of the backyard, walking to Darwin who's still asleep on the couch. He smiles, leans over to him and quietly says "Boo".
Darwin jumping up: AGH! CARRIE, DON'T DO THAT! IT'S CREEPY! (Sees Gumball) O-oh. Wrong person. My bad.
Gumball: Wait, Carrie visits here when I'm gone too?
Darwin: We've been dating.
Gumball: Oh yeah. That's right. Listen, uh...I've been thinking about somethings lately. And, I realize I haven't been entirely honest with you. Or just about anyone who lives in town besides Dad, Penny, and Bobert. And the truth is that-
Darwin: You're a superhero who fought in the Toon Wars.
Gumball lowering his ears: O_O...What?
Darwin: Yeah, I know. I thought it'd be funny if I played along.
Gumball: How did you even figure this out?
Darwin: Easy. Mr. Dad said something about it months ago.
Richard wandering in the room: Oh yeah… I did say it, did I? I said, 'Gumball is at work with your Mom and totally not out in another world with other cartoons. That'd be S.T.U.P.I.D.'
Gumball slouching: Daddy...I am disappoint.
Richard smiling: I know!
Darwin: But hey, it's ok bro. I get why you didn't wanna let me out there. Still wish I could though. I really miss hanging out with you in these adventures, y'know?
Gumball: Well… How bout I tell you a little more about the places I've been over some grub? I could really go for a pizza. On me.
Richard: GOOD! For as much as Mr. Yoshida paid me, I don't have enough to buy food.
Gumball: I thought you got enough to pay off all your debts.
Richard: Yes, but I don't have anything leftover. And not because I spent the rest. I ate them.
Doorbell: DING-DONG
Richard: Hm?
Gumball walking to the door: I didn't order anything yet.
Richard: Lemme handle this, Sons. I'll show you how a man greets himself.
Richard calmly opens the door, arms spread widely as though offering a warm hug.
Richard in a deep smooth voice: YEEEEEEEEEES?
Gumball and Darwin wide eyed: HUH?!
Most familiar to them already is Nicole standing idle in a different outfit and art style. Her original show design, but with a dark jumpsuit and grey wrist gauntlets.
Richard: Oh! Nicole, I didn't know you'd be back from your girl's night already. We were just about to grab some food.
Darwin: Dude. I don't think that's Ms. Mom.
Gumball: How can you tell?
Darwin: Uh, hello? The art style? The suit? The eyes?
Gumball: Eh. Not the first time she's had those.
Nicole (?): Our sources tell us you're the family of one of our sisters. Do you know where she is?
Gumball: Sister? Huh… Didn't know Mom had one.
Richard: (Ears flop straight up) Ooooh… I had no idea Nicole happened to have such a dazzling twin! (Whispers in her ear) Truth be told, she definitely did better. No, she's not here. She went on a business trip with her friend.
Nicole (?): Oh, that's cool. Scuse me for a sec. (Taps hidden wrist button and turns away) She's not here. Not even the rabbit girl. Just her son and the fat dude.
Communicator: Well, we've gotta take someone with our gene.
Nicole (?) looking at Gumball: …? I'll just take this guy.
Immediately, the twin of Nicole takes hold of two taser-looking weapons attached to her waist and shoots them at Richard's chest and stomach! He is blown into the table in front of the couch, breaking it into pieces when he makes a hard landing!
Darwin: What the…?!
Gumball: HEY!
Before he can react, Gumball is swiftly kicked in the forehead by the duplicate and immediately knocked into sleep! Darwin is then bopped in the head with the side of the twin's blaster! He falls on the side of his cheek, unconscious. But before closing his eyes, he sees the Nicole look-alike has a number on her left side. 41. She smiles and carries Gumball out with her away from the house, whistling on her way down the street.
End of Episode 1