Three days after the traumatizing event with The Joker, Bruce Wayne sat quietly in his chair, brooding in his dimly lit den. Living on the edge of town, in Wayne Manor, Bruce fondly remembered when his father first bought the house and how joyous he was to share it with his wife and son. But since their deaths, the house remained empty, bringing on shadows of loneliness to the billionaire's heart. Bruce had long since been lonely and after last night's events, it just worsened his condition further. Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's loyal butler and surrogate father, entered the room with soup and a glass of water.

"I do wish you wouldn't spend so much time in the dark, sir" Alfred stated. "It will do damage to your eyes."

"I'm not hungry, Alfred" Bruce stated miserably.

"Oh come now, Master Bruce. You have to eat something, why you haven't eaten anything in two days."

"What have I done?" Bruce muttered softly.

"Sir?"

"I almost destroyed an innocent life, Alfred. Just because I let The Joker get to me….Innocent lives are depending on me. Look how many more will pay if this keeps up. Even when I was a youth, my father always said I needed to learn self-control…I guess I just never had it. Now, look where it's led me…."

"That's rubbish. Everyone makes mistakes; you've made them many times before, why can't you let this one go?"

"Because I know, it'll happen again." Bruce sighed, "As long as I'm Batman, everything close to me withers away and dies. I am the night, Alfred. I became the night. One day, I'll go down. I know that. I chose this life. My decision. But I can't let anyone else pay for my mistakes."

Bruce sat up and began to walk to his fireplace, leaning against it.

"Sometimes old friend, I have to wonder, am I really doing any good out there? Perhaps I should heed that advice I left rotting in the dust all these years and….move on with my life…I never did."

"I'm sure. But right now you might want to hang on to that notion" Alfred replied, hinting towards the window, "You have a call."

Bruce glanced out the window and saw the bat-signal flashing in the sky.

Around that same time, a plane leaving from Metro City had just landed in Gotham City. And who should emerge from the passenger loading bridge, but Inspector Gadget himself, after accidentally tripping down the stairs and knocking over the rest of the passengers and their luggage.

"They sure make these steps slippery" Gadget complained, "I'd better make a note to call the airport about this. It's a real safety hazard! Go, Go, Gadget Pen!"

He pulls out his pointer finger and a ball-point pen appears in its place. He begins to write on a notepad.

"Call Airport." he wrote down, "That should do it."

Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town near Gotham Docks, M.A.D.'s infamous leader, Dr. Claw, observed Gadget on his computer monitor as he was exiting Gotham's airport. He chuckled slightly while stroking his pet, M.A.D. Cat.

"So, Gadget," he hissed. "Here you are again, attempting to thwart my plans. If only you knew what I have in store for you this time! HAHAHAHA!"

Tapping a button on his console, a M.A.D. Agent appeared on the screen dressed as a taxi cab driver.

"Gadget has arrived. Give him a little tour of the city" Claw instructed, "But make sure he doesn't last through the trip."

"Just leave it to me, Boss" he replied.

"And send a message to the others to proceed with tonight's operation. I want no mistakes."

"Yes, Dr. Claw!"

With that, his face faded from Claw's monitor screen.

"Many times in the past has Gadget foiled my plans for power and world domination" Claw chuckled to M.A.D. Cat. "But this time! This time I will not fail!"

He laughed maliciously, with M.A.D. Cat snickering along with him.

"Excuse me, are you Inspector Gadget?" the M.A.D. taxi driver asked.

"Why yes. Yes, I am" replied Gadget.

"Hop in. I'll take you for a ride around the city. Here, I'll get your bags."

"Sightseeing, eh? I really shouldn't. I'm on assignment and I have to meet with the Mayor –

"These are special orders from the Mayor himself…to…to…make you feel welcome. A…A welcome party, so to speak" stuttered the agent.

"Well, I guess a short ride will be alright. I had no idea this town was so generous" Gadget said as he climbed into the taxi.

After placing his bags into the back, the agent resumed his driving seat and activated what appeared to be the taximeter, only it started at "5:00" and it was counting backwards.

"Excuse me, but aren't taximeters supposed to tally forwards instead of backwards?" Gadget demanded.

"Uh…This is a new system…recently installed. It tells us how long we have until we arrive at our location."

(After buying the agent's ploy, the cab took off out of the airport, making a right at Englehart and Paur Avenue before disappearing out of sight. At the same time, Penny emerged from the same plane that Gadget had exited, but she didn't see any trace of her uncle anywhere.

"I don't see Uncle Gadget anywhere. Better use search mode" Penny said as she opened her computer book.

Tapping a few buttons, she pinpointed his location, revealing an image of him in a taxi heading down Gotham's financial area.

"Well, he's in a taxi, so I guess he's okay for now. Meanwhile, I'll bet Dr. Claw still has a few tricks up his sleeve. But if there should be any M.A.D. activity functioning in this town, it should be broadcasted on police scanners and radios."

She presses a button on her wristwatch, revealing a mini antenna, trying to locate radio waves and signals.

"My wristwatch should then be able to pick up any signal broadcasted within a 15-mile radius. Now all I have to do is wait…Not my favorite thing to do" Penny admitted.

Shifting back to Gadget's predicament in the taxi cab, they had just gone down a few streets and several blocks as the timer now reached 20 seconds when suddenly –

"Oh, there's my hotel!" Gadget cried out. "Go, Go, Gadget Arm!

His arm extended to the front seat and pulled the emergency brake, stopping the car instantaneously.

"Thanks for the ride" Gadget said while grabbing his bags from the trunk "But I think I can take it from here. Goodnight."

"Huh?"

The agent then notices the taximeter counting down from five seconds.

"OH NO!"

BOOM! The vehicle exploded with him inside, sending debris everywhere. Gadget heard the explosion and turned around suddenly.

"Oh, what a mess! I hope you have insurance, my good man!"