Penny spluttered as she was instantly plunged back into water. But not the water of a swimming pool. This was salt water, and its force was colossal. She would have drowned...
... had not the Codex saved her. It responded automatically to environment, and instantly generated a virtual scuba-diving suit around her, and holographic flippers on her feet. Some strong swimming was needed, but she soon began to move around quite comfortably.
What about Talon? He had been wearing a Codex, too. But what about Gareth, and the other adults, and the children? They couldn't breathe underwater...
The world down here was fascinating. There were fish all around her, of all colours and shapes, and she couldn't name most of these species. There were rocks and plankton and corral. They must be almost at the bottom of the ocean... but which ocean...?
She flinched, as a shark came straight for her, its teeth bared. Thankfully, it bounced off her protective force-field, and the shock drove it away. Again, how could anyone have survived down here...?
She looked back. The rippling whirlpool was still there, amongst the ocean currents. She had better mark its place, if she were ever to get home. She gathered some small rocks and placed them together on the seabed to form an arrow, pointing the way out.
Then she swam on.
The world beneath the sea was growing lighter. She could see several light-sources, not too far away... Penny shaded her eyes to see.
She could make out the distant outline of a vast city. It was built entirely from stone, with towers and temples and palaces, though some of them lay in ruins. It reminded Penny of a long-ago family holiday in Greece, visiting ancient monuments. If anyone were alive down here, that was where they must be.
How to get there? She could do several lengths of the pool, but this would be a vast swim...
She jumped, as a jaunty car-horn sounded, and looked round.
A nifty little white car was coming towards her. Its wheels were invisible, and it had fins and a propeller, like a submarine. It stopped beside her, and the driver's window came down. The car must have a protective forcefield too, if the driver were human.
To her astonishment, Penny saw a dark-haired, good-looking man in early middle age. He was wearing full evening clothes, with a white tuxedo and a black bow-tie. When he spoke, he sounded English.
"Good evening. Can I give you a lift anywhere?"
Penny hesitated. Since her earliest years, Uncle Gadget had told her never to get into strange cars. On the other hand, there were sharks around, and the battery in this Codex couldn't last forever.
"Thank you!"
She swam over the top of the car, and the man opened the passenger door for her. She entered a luxurious vehicle with comfortable seats and champagne in a wine-cooler in the back.
"Much safer, with our local wildlife around," the man said. He extended a hand. "Pond. James Pond."
Penny thought back to her training.
"James Pond, the Underwater Spy? But you disappeared years ago! Everyone thought you were..."
James smiled. "Yes, I know."
He drove on, towards the city. Penny saw fish and corral go racing by.
"After my last mission, MI7 sent a ship to pick me up, but I was still... getting to know a young lady, in the life-raft. So I missed my ride home. I've made a new life for myself beneath the waves. Are you heading for Atlantis?"
Penny stared at the ruined buildings ahead.
"That's Atlantis? The lost city?"
"Charming little place. Excellent caviar, if you know the right places. Do you fancy supper, Miss..."
"Gadget. Penny Gadget." Penny thought. This man was in the same business as her. He could be a useful ally, despite his ridiculous clothes and possible wig. "I work for HQ in Metro City. I'm looking for some people who disappeared, including my hus... another one of our agents."
"Probably the city's the place to find them." James looked at a wristwatch that had almost as many gadgets as Penny's uncle. "We'll have to wait 'til morning, though. Time's observed, even by people who live underwater. I've got a little pad, on the outskirts of the city, if you'd care to use my guest room?"
Penny wasn't at all sure, but again, she decided to trust a fellow spy.
"OK. Thank you."
James drove them to a small, castle-like structure about a mile from the city. A secret trapdoor opened to receive the underwater car. Then they were able to get out, into a dry room, and an elevator took them up to a cosy bachelor pad with chic furniture and pictures of vintage cars on the walls. The rooms had glass roofs, showing the rippling waters and passing fish above.
James had a table set for two, with caviar and smoked salmon and lobster truffles. Penny was hungry, having had no appetite that evening, and, after a quick wrist-scan to check the food was OK, she tucked in. James was very charming company, though everything he said sounded as if it had a double meaning.
After the meal, he gave her some ancient parchments to look through.
"A little bedtime reading for you... these tell how the Minoans built the city... and here's how it sank beneath the waves. There's a lesson on climate change there, for all of us." He saw another parchment in the sheaf, and quickly removed it, placing it in the drawer of a nearby bureau. "Sorry... that's my... gas bill."
Penny looked through the ancient documents. They were fascinating... but a sleepless night was catching up with her. She yawned. James smiled.
"Let me show you to your room now."
It was a small guest room, with black walls, and black silk sheets on what Penny was pleased to see was a single bed. James was gentlemanly and stayed in the doorway.
"Night-night. Tomorrow I'll show you something of our fair city."
He shut the door. Then, quickly, he went across and placed his hand on a picture of the ancient city that hung on a wall. It slid aside to reveal a visi-screen. James activated it.
"Mission accomplished. I've still got it. I captured her."
"Who is she?" A harsh feminine voice was heard.
"Penny Gadget. Niece of the famous Inspector Gadget. I brought her home. Now she's safely tucked up in bed."
"What if she discovers our plan?"
"Fortunately, I was fast enough to stop her seeing the map."
"The map?" The voice rose to a yell. James turned down the volume. "You showed her the parchments? You tuxedoed idiot!"
"Darling, don't worry. She's quite safe here."
"Why is it, whenever there's a pretty girl around, you behave like a fool?"
"All right. When she's asleep, I'll remove her Codex. Then she can't leave here without drowning."
"Don't get squeamish on me, James. I read the MAD files on the Gadgets. That Penny is a meddlesome little miss. Deal with her. Now."
James took a deep breath.
"All right."
The visi-screen went blank.
James Pond went to another control panel, on the wall outside Penny's room. Then he pressed a big red button.
Inside the bedroom, the glass roof-panels parted, very slightly. A trickle of seawater began to run down into the room. It became a gush, and then a mighty torrent. It missed the bed, but the water level was beginning to rise, very slowly. The metal-framed door prevented it from spreading into the living area.
The water grew higher, and higher...
In the bed, Penny slept on.