Toon Wars Shorts

Feline Instincts

By Frozarburst

After receiving vital intelligence about a new Syndicate weapon, the leaders of the Toon Force, Jimmy Neutron and Timmy Turner, assign Nicole Watterson and her son Gumball to infiltrate a small research base located in the forests of Amity in hopes of disabling this mysterious device. They ride in the back hatch of the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle driven by Maddie through a torn, rugged path in the woods toward their target at nightfall.

Gumball: Why couldn't we just teleport to the base to fight these guys?

Maddie: Oh, dear, it wouldn't be smart to use something the Syndicate could track, now would it?

Nicole: Patience, Son. We'll have our chance soon. But first, how are you handling your powers now?

Gumball: Just great actually! I can do this!

Gumball snaps his fingers and emits tiny blue flames of ki from his fingertips, holding a somewhat nervous grin as Nicole looks at him worried.

Gumball still smiling: …?

Nicole: I don't think you've got to know them very well.

Gumball slouching back: Ugh… No. I haven't. I'm just a little sca…(Barely moves jaw) scaaar…

Nicole: Scared?

Gumball: To use them. Yes. That. I don't wanna end up losing like I did the first time I had powers, y'know?

Nicole holds Gumball's shoulder: That's why I'll teach you.

Gumball: You sure?

Nicole: Why wouldn't I? It's not like you've done anything to make me upset like the last 5 and a half years.

Gumball: True… Minus when I used your mascara to highlight my eyes.

Nicole: Say that again?

Gumball shifting his eyes: Nothing! Nothing at all.

Maddie: We've reached the location.

The van stops in the middle of the path to reach the open field in the middle of the dark woods where the moonlight is shining most. The hatch opens in the back, letting out Gumball and Nicole to get a clear view of the small, 3-story complex, grey in color with few long windows from the top and bottom near the main door. Satellites and antennas stretch out the building like a sore thumb, catching the heroes' attention almost immediately.

Gumball: Oh, that's why we can't teleport anywhere!

Maddie: Told you.

Nicole: It must be a very secure operation. There's two of the heavy Sambots in the front at the door, two turrets on the roof of the second floor, and spotlights. But mostly, the moonlight.

Gumball: A full moon too. This is starting to give me a sense of deja vu and I don't know why.

Maddie: I can't give you a map layout of the complex without the sensors picking us up. So please be careful.

Nicole nodding: Got it. (Turns to Gumball) Now is the time to get started on your first lesson.

Gumball: First lesson? Is there gonna be a test?

Nicole: There's always a test.

Gumball: Written or typed?

Nicole shaking her head: No, not like that. But we're skipping ahead of ourselves. (Points to satellite on second floor) See those satellites and antennas over there?

Gumball: All I see is the dish and several poles sticking out.

Nicole: Yep! That's them. Use your ki to sever the dish.

Gumball charging an energy ball with both hands: On it!

Nicole: Nonono! We don't wanna make it too big, or they'll definitely know we're here.

Gumball still holding the charge: Whaddya mean? You always do this.

Nicole: True, but only in close encounters like with Yuki. This is more stealthy.

Gumball: Oh, in that case…

Gumball barely shrinks the blue fireball in his hands to the size of a pea, aiming his pointer finger at where the transmission antennas are. He tries to point squarely at the satellite but fails to focus his target. In one shot, he severs one of the poles, which falls to the ground somewhat softly next to the right Sambot.

Left Sambot: Hm?

Right Sambot: What's that?

Gumball lowering his hand: Oops.

Nicole: Don't stop. (Kneels to Gumball and holds his finger) Try again, and focus your sight on the dish.

Gumball squints one eye with Nicole's hand holding his own, pointing his index finger again to shoot another tiny beam at the complex. Now severing the dish as needed. The roof of it crashes onto one of the Sambots, crushing it and alerting the other.

Sambot: Uh-oh. Our satellite has been severed. Requesting maintenance on level 2.

Gumball: Yes! Was that good?

Nicole: Yep! But it's not over yet. Ms. Fenton, are you able to pull up a map now?

Maddie: Already on it. The map is fully laid out.

Maddie projects the map from inside the van, showing 2 levels of laboratories, including the third floor acting as the command tower.

Maddie: Hm. There's not much inside like I thought.

Gumball: Save for that red blinking thing in the middle of it.

Nicole: That must be our target.

Maddie: I'll stay here and let you teach your son a few new tricks.

Nicole: Much appreciated!

Gumball: Wait, in there? I thought we were gonna draw em out or something.

Nicole: Nope. (Gets on all fours) We're going straight to them.

Nicole lifts Gumball and tucks him against her with one arm, getting into a sprint across the grass while the spotlights aim for the front toward the fallen dish. As striped maintenance droids with the same "evil" look on their faces roll out of the building, mother and son make a stop around the side of the complex next to a vent at ground level.

Gumball: What're we doing here? The front door's over there.

Nicole: If you wanna get shot at that is. The map said there was a vent system that can take us wherever we need to. Right here.

Gumball looking at the vent: ...I don't know if we can fit in there.

Nicole: We're cats, Gumball. You've done it before. (Zaps open vent)

First Nicole slips into the vent small enough that she has to lay on her stomach to enter. Gumball has an easier time falling in behind her, but now having to keep his ears down to avoid scraping them against the metal.

Nicole: Try to be extra quiet in here. Someone might hear us with even the faintest of sounds.

Gumball sneezing: ACHOO!

In the room beneath the two humanoid nekos, a Timmybot faces a Spongebot standing guard in a lab.

Timmybot: See? I told you we don't need noses.

Spongebot: Now I believe you. We're robots. We don't even have nostrils!

Nicole looking through the vent door: ...Wow.

Gumball: Hey, Mom. Isn't the weapon upstairs?

Nicole: It is. Just hope there isn't a fan nearby. Keep crawling.

A few minutes later, the two eventually get tired in the vent shafts from climbing and crawling through and reach a stopping point near their target. Underneath them, they see a round white chamber with a long, red and black laser that's barely finished, having its tubes and cables exposed outside its cylinder frame. Carefully, Nicole opens the vent door and peeks her head out, seeing several cameras pointing to the machine.

Nicole on her wrist communicator: Maddie, there's several cameras pointing at the superweapon.

Maddie: Hold on. (Types on truck computer) I'm no James, but I can try something to get around it… (Keeps typing) One second…

On the computer, with footage of the chamber available on a live feed, Maddie takes a screenshot of the room and pastes it over all the recordings, appearing as though nothing is happening.

Maddie: Ok. You can get down now.

Nicole: Thanks. (Hops down and lands lightly on her feet) There we go. This room isn't too big of a drop.

Gumball lands flat on his face when he descends from the ceiling vent despite the room being small enough for him to reach the ceiling with a table and a small stool.

Gumball: ...Ow.

Nicole: Now what's this supposed to be?

Gumball lifting his face near the cannon: It says it's a 'Syndicannon.'

Nicole: They're really trying on their naming departments, huh? Wonder how powerful it is.

Gumball: I don't see any specs or anything. And it doesn't look like those Toybots shaped like our buddies back home.

Nicole: I like how observant you're being, Gumball. This is clearly new, but it definitely seems as though they're not trying to hide it by how scary it is. This looks like a cannon someone would put in a ship. Not sit it by itself.

Gumball: Oh, like those blimps they once had!

Nicole: Exactly. Although, to be fair, they're still doing a lot of damage with the turrets they have. So I don't get why they need this.

Intercom: ATTENTION TROOPS. TESTING FOR THE SYNDICANNON PROTOTYPE WILL COMMENCE SOON. PLEASE ADVISE FOR POTENTIAL POWER SURGE.

Nicole and Gumball squeeing at each other: EEEEEE!

Outside the door, a Yokian in a white lab coat along with two other grey guard troops, accompanied by four Dannybots, stop when they receive a message from the higher ups. A Dannybot projects it with its beady red eyes.

Calamitous via a hologram: Have you completed the Syndicannon?

Yokian Scientist: Yes sir. The device is fully operational and ready to test fire.

Calamitous: Excellent! If it is a success, we can install it on our, um… Uh…

Vlad next to Calamitous: Battloons?

Calamtious: Y-yes! The Battloons. No one will suspect it when we send our newest line of combat models out to invade these worlds, and subjugate our neighboring universe. If I can only remember to build a hyperdrive and a cruiser instead of relying upon these slower cargo haulers.

Yokian Scientist nodding his eyes: Then let's get started.

When the communications end, Vlad and Crocker face each other at an undisclosed location in a dark room.

Vlad: That should be enough should our plan with this, Aku, fail. Which it will not.

Crocker: Better safe than sorry.

Back at the lab, as the Yokian Scientist is about to input a four-digit security code onto the keypad next to the twin doors, a large red blast from the Syndicannon zaps through the hatch and the walls, until it gets outside the building! The laser dissipates, but what's left is a gaping hole at the center of the complex's second floor and smoke billowing from it.

Nicole: (Coughs and looks outside) …?

Gumball: ...AWESOME!

Intercom: POWER SURGE DETEEEeeeeecteee….

Nicole: Do you know what this means?

Gumball: That we're gonna have to fight a bunch of bad guys?

Nicole: Well that, and we won't get in trouble for it because the Syndicate won't get word on our presence. So...

When two of the remaining Dannybots peek through the hole from the laser, Nicole and Gumball perform a jump kick next to each other, smashing into the attack robots' faces and landing on top of them! Once more, they spring into action. And the Yokians, turned into yolks from the laser, are left scattered among a pool of melted machines.

Yolk Scientist in a cheery tone: It really works! And OH NO! Intruders are here!

Yolk Guard: It's the cats from Elmore!

20 different Toybots modeled after select Nicktoons invade the hall the two Wattersons are in, setting their eyes for laser fire. They shoot yellow lasers at Nicole, who makes a front flip into the attackers and strikes two of them with both fists! She tears through their circuitry and kicks another robot's head into another one's chest! Seeing Gumball spectating, 4 of the Toybots stomp toward him, alerting Nicole.

Nicole: Gumball, look out!

One of the mechs punches down to the boy. But at the second it nearly reaches his blue hair, he hops backwards in surprise, more instinctively than by thought. His small leaps tend to puff small bursts of ki from his soles into the attack robots, knocking them back each time they attempt a strike at him. He rapidly shoots bolts of energy at them, dismantling their frames piece by piece! A Spongebot rotates its arms fastly to whack Gumball as he steps toward him and is slid under by the catboy who back kicks the robot into the floor, shutting it down with the ki burst from his feet again. He takes a deep sigh, exhausted from his sudden attack when several more of the Toybots surround he and his mother, who's in shock over her son's tremendous achievement.

Takbot: Freeze, kitties. We have you surrounded.

Nicole facing Gumball: You ready?

Gumball nodding: I sure am.

Both cats make a large rocket jump to the ceiling, smashing through it into the command tower. All the droids tilt their heads to face the hole before they are immediately crushed by a collapse in the foundation! From Maddie's point of view at the RV, the third floor falls in on the second with a wide, red explosion bursting between them! The wave flows across the forest without causing any fires or damages to the trees. Despite what appears to be a clear victory, hundreds of gunshots still continue to go off inside, and flashes of blue boom through the cracks and windows for an hour until there's nothing but dead silence. Eventually, Maddie decides to step out the vehicle and examine the damages of the complex, carefully stepping through the wreckage to reach Gumball and Nicole, tired and sat next to each other on top of a pile of scrap metal and a slab of the ceiling underneath a clear view of the night sky at midnight hours.

Maddie: Well now. You sure had your fun.

Gumball: Yeah. First time I really feel like I've done something with you, Mom. I'm sorry you keep having to get on my butt for doing stupid stuff.

Nicole: Gumball, if you hadn't done any of it, you wouldn't have learned from your mistakes. I've made several like you. It's only part of living. Your father taught me that.

Gumball: (Sits up) Dad did?! Gee, I'm starting to think I didn't know him enough either.

Nicole: Oh it's nothing he didn't tell you. He's just random.

Maddie: My husband and Ms. Neutron's are like that too, Gumball. I don't know whether it's just a father thing or not. But at any rate, they've helped to shape a good son. You should be very proud of yourself.

Gumball: Thanks. (Crosses legs) Just glad I could hang out with Ma this time.

Nicole crossing her legs: You and me both.

Maddie: I'll let Jimmy know this was a success. But what about the Syndicate's secret weapon?

Gumball: Oh that? It's crushed underneath the rubble. They were building it to blow up stuff with their balloons.

Maddie: That's odd… I thought they already had enough firepower. But I guess that's what happens when you're evil. You don't usually value what you have as much as what you can get. For you two on the other hand, I don't wanna tell you your business, but I think you could use a massage and a midnight snack.

Nicole looking back up to the sky: Definitely…

The End