MAD Trapped

The boy crashed through the window head first, but his hat opened up to make way for a spring, thus he rebounded from the floor. The M.A.D. agents crowding in were slightly surprised, they didn't expect such an intruder, but opened fire anyway. Fortunately, Gadget was bouncing around the room, due to the springs on his head and legs, and the bullets missed him. He realized that this is beyond joke now. He had no firearm built in him, he racked his brain to find a way out of the situation.

"Go-go Gadget-laser!"

He wasn't able to aim with his left index finger while ricocheting around the walls, floor and ceiling (yet it's questionable if he would've wanted to hurt someone deliberatly even if he could draw a bead on), but the beam of concentrated, high-energy light caused panic to the henchmen, enough for them to disperse and look for cover.

The detective utilized Claw's momentary confusion by the unexpected noise. He kicked the thug in the mid-section. The man was taken by surprise (he was looking in the direction of the next room too), and the attack was so quick, he didn't even have time to collapse, the gun was snatched from his hand and he was knocked cold with a well aimed punch on the jaw. After getting hold of the gun, the detective's first thought was to shoot the control board. But – not being sure what devilish devices a short-circuited panel might activate – he changed his mind and just fired a warning shot instead.

"Freeze, Gordon!"

The criminal raised his hands. He was quick-witted: he knew well that the policeman can't shot him without a good reason. But reaching for the control panel could provide one: posing danger on him; so he must avoid it… yet. He just has to wait for his chance and lull his vigilance.

"You seriously think you can get out of here alive?" he asked on a challenging voice.

"Shut up!"

"I see. Obviously you don't think so and it makes you nervous."

He was right. The detective was nervous, and with a good reason. But not due to the shots alone in the next room. They could've been reassuring actually, meaning the police back-up is here. But he knew well that that's not the case. He was anxious, because there was a familiar voice mingled among the guns' rattling; it said 'Go-go Gadget…' again and again…

Mayhem ensued in the next room.

"Go-go Gadget-arms!… Go-go Gadget-watergun!… Go-go Gadget-copter!… Go-go Gadget-mallet!… Go-go Gadget-lasso!"

The boy knew that this isn't a game anymore. His life was at stake and he did his best to stay alive.

"Go-go Gadget-hacksaw!… Go-go Gadget-scissors!… Go-go Gadget-screwdriver!… Go-go Gadget-skis!… Go-go Gadget-coat!" he recited every gadget which came to his mind. But he survived on sheer luck so far, rather than because of his skills. The M.A.D. agents were ready to take on police S.W.A.T. in a fire fight, but they never expected such an opponent. Furthermore, they were dispersed all over the room by now and they had to cover themselves not only from the gadgets wreaking havoc, but from each other's bullets also.

"Go-go Gadget cigarette lighter!… Go-go Gadget-magnet!… Go-go Gadget-sail!… Go-go Gadget everything!"

A bouquet of flower appeared by the last command, and the random act of kindness surprised an agent so much, that he lowered his gun and one of the round-swinging extended arms knocked him out. One agent got one of the skis full in his face; one was trying to avoid suffocation, with the spring of the lad's leg winded around his throat; and an other was running around, attempting to recover his gun, attracted by the magnet on the boy's foot. One of them got tangled in the canvas of the sail; some were taking cover from the laser beam and the rotating copterblades; and two guys were exchanging punches with each other, quarrelling over some friendly fire. One henchman was soaking wet from the watergun, wrestling with his dripping, now twice-its-weight heavy overall; while another was trying to get within the jet of water to put out his clothes, which caught fire because of the cigarette lighter; and the third was busy covering his private parts, his clothes being cut away by the scissors. And while doing this, all were endeavouring to avoid one of their accomplice's shots, who was blinded by the flashlight and fired at everything he saw moving. Overriding even the rattling of the firearms, cries of pain and curses filled the room. One of the thugs being the lead vocalists of the latter; he was hopping around on one leg, favouring his left foot, treaded upon by somebody.

But the impetus was diminishing, the boy's bouncing slowed down; he posed an easy target. Yet Lady Luck was still on Gadget's side. The agents aimed at what they thought to be the biggest target: his torso, but it was just his inflated coat, and the bullets missed his body inside. The trenchcoat bursted, and the air streaming out accelerated him across the room once again, sweeping every henchmen off their feet in his way.

A pair of yellow eyes were watching the conversation closely. The cat was sitting on a cross-beam high above the room. He didn't quite grasp what the humans below were talking about, he was only interested in if they leave something edible behind for him maybe. He saw many of these people before, but these two were new faces. One acted inimically, even hurted a big guy, who used to make lots of delicious trash. The other, with the smooth, warm voice, was much more sympathic for the cat; even the ring, which he wore on his ringfinger, was resembling a feline face somewhat. He told about frying something, pointing at a button of the control board, but now they seemed to deviate from that subject. As a matter of fact, they were distracted from the board altogether, the sympathic man's finger was way-way far from that promising key.

The cat decided to take matters in his own paws: he stands to lose nothing, the humans will chase him away at the worst; many people did that before. He sneaked across the room and got to the top of the desk. The two men haven't noticed him at all, they were too busy keeping an eye on each other. The cat stepped on the key the baritone-voiced man pointed at. A buzzing sound, and the scent of burning flesh filled the room almost immediately.

The detective collapsed screaming in pain, he dropped the gun. He was surrounded by a color-changing aura, caused by the ray; his skin began charring visibly. Dr. Claw glanced at the control board, to find out the cause of his rescue coming out of the blue.

"Excellent!" he bursted into a hearty laughter seeing his saviour. Then he turned to the agonizing man. "Well detective, it didn't quite went according to plan, but I got you nevertheless. Let this be a lesson for anyone, who tries to interfere with my business!"

The detective had no strength nor intention to reply.

Gordon returned to the control board and firmly, but not violently swept aside the cat, who was still lying heavy on the button, hoping to obtain some food, especially that now he could smell the frying flesh.

"Enough, you… you mad cat!"

He pressed a button to turn off the ray-gun.

"That was the lowest setting. Do you want to feel level 2?"

The detective has fallen flat on the floor. His body was burned and aching all over; he barely had enough strength to writhe. But the lack of answer didn't bother Dr. Claw, of course. This was a rhetorical question, and he didn't expect any other reply than 'Yes, Dr. Claw!' on other occasions either; he never cared for the opinion of other people.

"Rest assured, I will finish you off soon" he continued. "But first, I let you watch the elimination of your family. A promise is a promise!" he added maliciously and accompanied it with a wicked laugh. His finger moved toward the button again…

"Eliminate him!" came the boss's order, when the man dropped down the chute. The agents waiting at the ready room grabbed him firmly, but then they were reluctant to execute the deed. Not as if they were afraid to kill, but none of them were willing to murder a man face to face with possible witnesses all around, if it's avoidable. They tried to shift the responsibility to one another.

"I have to check my gun, you kill him!…" "You are in charge, you do it!…" "Yes, I'm in charge, so I order you to do it!…" and so on.

The captive man was trembling in every limb. He knew there is no way out of this situation. The agents may delay with the execution, but they would never dare to refuse Dr. Claw's command; he will be killed eventually. Time passing with the dispute just made it worse for him; now he was just wishing to be over with the thing, quick and painless.

The squad leader's intercom buzzed.

"Intruder at the top floor. We need reinforcement!" rasped a voice from the speaker.

Most of the agents thronged toward the door; not so much to help their camerades, but rather to get away from the unconfortable task.

"Hey you, come back! You have a job to finish here!" their leader shouted after them. All his men presented their backs to him, neither wanting to refer the 'you' to himself.

Gadget's brother-in-law saw his chance! He tripped the squad commander from behind and run after the other agents, losing himself among them, thanks to his uniform. Once out of the room, he split from the others and headed for outside. The outer posts had no idea about the events occurred inside, that this agent has fallen out of grace with the boss, he got pass them easily with a simple lie regarding his mission, which requires him to leave the building. Once free, he fled into the night.

Dr. Claw's move toward the deadly button was interrupted again, this time by police whistle and flashing red-and-yellow lights.

"Stop in the name of the law!"

"What? What is this?" he twirled.

He saw the detective's younger brother enter the room, with the rotating beacon on his hat. He was blowing the whistle in his left ring-finger.

The lad's uncontrolled, wild ride through the air knocked down all agents brave enough to stay close to him (the boy's metal enforced body coming out on top from the collisions with bodies made of flesh and bone), while others opted for tactical retreat, namely running in confusion into safety. When he found himself the last man standing on the battlefield, he rushed to his brother's aid. He opened the door with the help of his Gadget-key in his left pinky; and when he suddenly saw the man, whom he instantly recognized as Dr. George Gordon by his brother's descriptions, the first thing came to his mind, was the above sentence, even though he wasn't a law enforcement officer.

Then he caught sight of the terribly burnt detective.

"Wowsers! Brother!" he exclaimed and run to his relative. But on the way he tumbled over the knocked out agent, who was just regaining his consciousness and trying to get on his feet again. The thug smacked his face against the floor, and they rolled into the corner, tangled up in each other.

Dr. Claw bursted into laughter when he saw the pathetic rescue attempt. His fingers were quick on the controls; he aimed the raygun on the pair and turned it to the highest setting. It will kill his agent too, but he didn't mind; it's just additional loss. But when he was about to activate the ray, he suddenly felt the floor being pulled from beneath his feet.

Seeing the danger lurking on his brother, the detective collected all his strength left, and while aching in all parts of his body, grabbed the criminal's legs. He wasn't able to reach high, but since Claw was taken by surprise, he still toppled over. As he fell, he knocked over his chair, which came on top of them.

In the corner, the thug was trying to land as many punches on his opponent as he could, while Gadget was trying to get away from him to help his brother.

"Go-go Gadget-mallet!" he said, but the appearing yoyo didn't improve the situation a shade; they just got more tangled up in the toy's string.

"I really should have my gadgets fixed" the lad made a mental note. He remarked this habitually, as his gadgets went crazy from time to time. Althought, it's not sure that it was the fault of the devices; it could've been the case that he didn't master their control one-hundred percent and his nerves sent out impulses to the false gadget, especially under pressure. But the truth never been revealed, as he never really had them checked. His parents took him to see Professor von Slickstein regularly, but when there, he always forgot to tell him about his malfunctioning gadgets.

Dr. Claw struck into the detective's face again and again. The poor man hardly felt the blows, his nerves have been burnt out by the raygun. And the criminal wasn't able to kick out from the grasp either, Gadget was hanging onto his legs, determined not to release them, like if his life depended on it. Actually, the detective has resigned to his lot, but he knew that his brother's life depends on it, and that gave him the ultimate persistance.

Because he was unable to get up, George Gordon reached up and tried to feel for the control board on top of the desk. When he thought he finally found the right key, he pressed it.

An unearthy scream filled the room. It came from two throats; the villain accidentally pressed multiple buttons, the gun's barrel was diverted and the beam hit his own legs and the unfortunate detective, who was still clinging onto them firmly.

Claw wasn't thinking clear anymore, he was trying to grab the desk frantically to pull out himself from the policeman's grip and away from the cannon's deadly ray. He held onto the handle of the bottom drawer, but when he tried to pull himself by it, only its content dumped onto the floor.

It was a pair of gauntlets he got from his father, as marks of his trade. Big Claw was just a plain hitman, more brawn than brain; while little George took his wit after his mother. He thought little of the gloves, just tossed them into the drawer, but now he was desperate and willing to try anything.

He put on one metal glove quickly and swung it toward his opponent. The sharp spikes around the wrist crashed into the detective's face. Gadget never thought that he is able to experience pain more intense than the one caused by the raygun, but he was wrong again. The blow didn't only shake his brain, the pointy spikes crushed his skull, and the metal felt like hot, glowing embers, when contacting his charred skin and raw nerve-receptors. With all his vitality drained, he fell back. He had no energy left to scream anymore.

But the criminal mastermind was still helpless. His legs were free from his adversary's gripe, but he couldn't move them, the glowing ray still held them tight. He felt the pain climbing higher and higher inside his body; but he was unable to get up or reach the control board to stop it. But then he remembered the new portable control device and stretched out for the top drawer. Probably he hasn't been able to reach it, if he were not wearing the gauntlet, but now he could just touch the handle with his fingertips. He managed to slide it out and the blue book fell on the floor. He opened the appliance and activated it. Indeed, it was a very sophisticated piece of equipment, he established a connection with the gun's circuits within seconds.

The accidentally appearing seltzer-bottle diverted the thug for a moment by spraying into his face and the boy had a chance to look around. He saw Claw typing on the computer-book and knew that no good may turn out of that.

"Wowsers! Go-go Gadget-hand!"

The yellow-gloved hand reached out, took the large book and retracted into the hat with it. The lad had his hands full protecting himself again, as the agent recovered from the 'shower' and resumed beating him.

Gordon was pounding the floor in rage and pain. His last hope was snatched right out of his hands. His plan has failed, he was bewildered. He looked around. He saw only one creature, who might be to his assistance.

"Cat, press the button!" he said, grasping at straws. He wasn't sure if the animal understands him or furthermore, do what he is told, but he was desperate. He was the most surprised, when the feline placed his paw upon a key.

"No, not that one! The one below it!"

The cat slid his paw onto the reqired button and leaned upon it. Gordon heaved a sigh of relief when the ray ceased. His legs were not functioning, he used his hands and arms to clamber up to his control board. The villain's mind focused on one thing: revenge! Despite the pain radiating from his legs, he rested upon his left arm and re-programmed the raygun by one hand, aiming it at the younger Gadget again. At the moment, he seemed to pose the bigger threat; his brother was lying on the floor moveless, maybe dead already. Yet Claw talked to him, his voice filled with anger and hatred:

"You will pay for this Gadget, you'll pay dearly! I will eliminate everyone you love, here and at your home!"

The criminal reached for the activating button…

The mallet finally emerged and did its job by sending the henchman into dreamland. The lad decided that now it's really time to arrest this Claw character:

"Go-go Gadget-handcuffs!"

The manacles shot out from his sleeve and snapped around the villain's wrist. With that done, Gadget tried to hurry to the aid of his brother, but the yoyo's cord still attached him to the thug. He fell over. That yanked Claw's hand before he could press the key to fire his gun, and since he was supported by his arm instead of his useless legs, he submerged under the desk again.

"Go-go Gadget-scissors!"

The yellow-gloved hand was quick with the rescue this time and cut off the string from around the two men.

But now Dr. Claw wasn't completely helpless: his enemy was still at the right spot, the ray didn't endanger him and he knew who he may rely upon.

"Press the button, cat!"

The white paw descended upon the key…

Brain has followed the cat's scent, which led him through an orifice beneath the pile of bricks. But once inside, the trail turned upward on the wall. The puppy wasn't able to climb after the cat, but the direction pointed that his chase disappeared through a hole just below the ceiling. His master entered… well, crashed into the warehouse on the top floor, so he decided to follow the lead toward the upper levels, but he noticed many unknown scents: lots of people have criss-crossed the room recently. He proceeded carefully, kept his big eyes and long ears wide open. He had to hide a couple of times to avoid being detected by the black clad men, who were patroling the building. Fortunately, they did their rounds disdainfully; they didn't expect anyone to penetrate so deep inside the building without being noticed. On the other hand, they unwillingly helped the dog get through locked doors: when he got to point where the way was blocked ahead of him, he gathered his courage and sneaked across gates at the heels of the patrol, before the doors would seal again.

He advanced slowly. He has lost the trail many times, and had to search around all over the rooms aimlessly, but he found it again in every case. Until at one point, a much more pleasant odor hit his nose: the scent of his new master! He gave up precaution and without bothering about the M.A.D. agents lying everywhere (some unconsciuos, some very shaken), he ran across the room, following the boy's tracks.

In the next room, he saw his old 'friend', who was told to press a button and was about to comply. The place was a mess and Brain had no time to fully comprehend the situation, but he instinctively knew that the grey cat must be stopped. Like a golden tornado, he flashed through the room, and swept the cat off his feet. They rolled across the table, wrestling with each other. But the cat had been engaged in many fights on the streets before, and the puppy wasn't a match for him. The golden fur was sullied by blood, running from several scratches, caused by the sharp claws. The puppy collected all his strength and swung his paw toward the face of his adversary. It was a lucky blow, he felt it land on a boney surface and he got free from the deadly hug. Something rolled on the floor clattering. Pain mingled into the cat's snarling, and in the next moment, he flashed one tooth less to his opponent.

The cat took a step forward, threateningly. He just feared his meal earlier, but now the canine has made him furious.

Now that they were separated, Brain had the chance to run away, but he didn't want to give his adversary a chance to complete his task, whatever it may be. Instead, he faced him bravely again.

Young Gadget noticed the new arrival to the scene.

"Wowsers, Brain! I told you to go to sleep! Bad dog!… Go-go Gadget-arm!"

The extending arm reached for the dog, but due to the struggling by the criminal cuffed to him, it knocked over the control board on the way. As buttons got pushed randomly, the device went haywire and the raygun emitted sparks. The machine was charged, but not fired, and now it overloaded. A screeching sound filled the air and pitched higher and higher menacingly. Everyone stiffened with fear in the room.

The irritating noise culminated in an explosion; the whole contraption was torn into pieces. Flying debries were scattered all over the place and laserbeams of all colors of the rainbow swept through the room in the next second. Everybody, people and animals alike, were looking for a shelter. As the detective was still unable to move, his brother threw himself upon him, in order to protect him with his own body. He had no idea about the effect of the rays, nor if his body can resist them, but he wanted to save him by any means. Fortunately, the beams avoided them. On the other hand, Dr. Claw wasn't so lucky; due to his paralyzed legs, he was unable to get to a safe place quick enough: he was hit by a couple of beams. The first one burned through the chain of the handcuffs, thus he got free from the lad, but an other flash hit him right on the throat. He was trying to crawl behind the table desperately, but now he fell flat on the floor.

The fireworks stopped, but the lurking danger wasn't over. The explosion and the high-energy rays took the better of the already damaged structure of the building; bricks started showering all over the place.

"Go-go Gadget-coat!" the boy said and pulled on his button. The coat half inflated, but air was streaming out on the bulletholes left by the M.A.D. agents' volley; yet it had enough left to cushion the fall of a couple of chunks of debris and prevent them crushing the Gadget brothers, saving their life for now.

George Gordon gathered his strength again and, using his arms, crept to the control board lying on the floor. He sincerely hoped that it still works, and pressed a button. Part of the wall opened up (or fell in, to be more exact) and a futuristic looking car rolled to him. He opened the door and crawled inside.

When the laserbeams ceased, the cat decided that he overstayed here already and went looking for a way out. Brain chased after him, dodging the blocks coming down around him. The cat fled, but when a huge piece of concrete fell right in front of him, almost flattening him, and blocked his way, he was cornered. He turned around to face his chaser and let out his claws menacingly.

But before they could clash, the M.A.D.-mobile stopped by them and a metal covered hand lifted the cat onto the passanger seat.

"Come with me, you mad-cat! You have saved me, I'll show you my gratitude."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, even the cat stopped sniggering, which he began due to rejoice at his escape from his opponent, only to resume a moment later. Where that funny voice came from? The laserbeam that hit his throat, must've damaged Dr. Claw's vocal chords; his pleasant baritone was gone, and now he spoke like a cartoon character, on a high, screeching voice.

But there was little time to think about that. The gauntleted hand switched on a large lever between the two seats. The car turned into an aircraft and accelerated toward the building's outside wall. The metal clad fingers pressed a button, and a pair of laser cannons on the front of the vehicle blasted a large hole on the wall. That was the last straw, that broke the camel's back – or the house's structure, in this case. The whole warehouse began collapsing.

"Go-go Gadget-arms and -hands!"

The boy twined his telescopic arms around his brother, one of the appearing yellow-gloved hand grabbed Brain's collar, and an other the agent, who was looking for an exit desperately.

"Go-go Gadget-lasso!"

His necktie shot out and caught the tail of the off-taking M.A.D.-mobile. The lad was dragged across the room, while he held his brother in his arms firmly. Brain and the black-clad man was fluttering after them. All four of them were yanked into the air.

Gadget was saved by the strength of his metal enhanced neck, which resisted being broken by the huge jerk of the flying machine, and fortunately the textile of the necktie snapped a couple of seconds later, before it would choke him. The quartett tumbled toward the ground.

"Go-go Gadget-umbrella!"

The command was in time this time and the pink umbrella didn't fail either, they floated down safely.

Policemen invaded the neighborhood, they were arresting the M.A.D. agents fleeing from the collapsing building in disorder. Only a huge pile of junk was left on the place of the already ruinous 1475 Harbour Road. A rescue team surrounded the Gadgets and began attending the detective's injuries. He wasn't bleeding, the beam cauterized the wounds. The heavily charred man wasn't able to move a limb; only his eyes were scanning his surroundings. Chief Quimby forced his way through the crowd gathered around the two men, and the detective beheld his boss. He opened his mouth with great effort, but his voice disobeyed him. Before the Chief could've said anything, the burnt man looked at his brother. By mobilizing his last reserves of strength and will, he reached for his hand and forced a last gasp of air through his throat:

"Take good care of… Penny!"

His eyes shut and the boy felt the grip give way on his hand.

"I will, brother! I swear!"

Paramedics lifted the detective into an ambulance van.

"I'm really sorry, my boy. I will make sure he gets the best treatment" Chief Quimby said, but Gadget didn't hear it anymore. Words were echoing in his head: 'I will eliminate everyone you love!'

"Go-go Gadget-copter!"

He grabbed his canine companion with one of his telescopic arms and took off to the night sky.