A week later, Gadget and the others were at the mall; of course, the Inspector was in Santa's lap, reading off his wish list. "...and I'd like five cases of oil, 159 micro-pulleys, a new rheostat, three new trenchcoats in winter colors-" continued Gadget.
"Come on, Uncle Gadget," urged Penny. "The mall's gonna close!"
"Not to mention that the other people are getting impatient." LJ chimed in as he rejoined Penny after getting some things for his family members.
"Evie, this is taking forever." Henry complained to his big sister.
"I know, Henry, I know." Evie sighed and patted him on the head as they also waited in line.
"And here on page 47, I've listed the optional items." Gadget soon continued to read from his rather lengthy wish list while sitting on the jolly old man's lap.
"Gadget, it's me." Santa soon said, sounding very different all of a sudden.
"Of course it's you, Santa, and I've always believed in you!" Gadget replied, sounding a bit oblivious.
"Gadget, it's me." Santa repeated, trying to sound urgent.
"No question about it, Santa!" Gadget replied, still not quite getting it.
"I guess at least he still has the child-like wonder that Mal missed out on as a kid." Henry commented to himself.
"Yeah, no denying that." LJ agreed.
Santa groaned as he took out a phone and began dialing a number.
Inspector Gadget perked up as soon as he heard the ringing noise. "Excuse me, Santa; it's the top-secret gadget phone." he insisted as he stepped to the side.
Also in line were a red-headed bespectacled girl and her smaller, brown-haired sister.
"Great, now we can go take our turn." said the small girl.
"Better hurry, Moose," said the redhead. "Although... that guy in the trenchcoat sounds oddly familiar..." she muttered.
"Peppie, you're scaring me." The brown-haired girl muttered, sounding very husky and masculine for her age and gender.
"Duty calls," Gadget said as he answered his phone. "Inspector Gadget here."
"Do you know who this is?" A familiar voice demanded.
"Chief?" Gadget smiled hopefully.
"I'm right next to you!" The voice said firmly.
"You're where?" Gadget asked out of confusion.
"Right here in the Santa suit!" The voice said before showing that it was Santa who was calling him.
Gadget then brought his head over to see the man next to him. "No need for the phone, Chief. I'm right here!" he then told the other man.
"I know, now get off the phone!" Santa demanded as he lowered his beard to show he wasn't just any old Mall Santa, but he was actually Chief Quimby who was the boss of Inspector Gadget for those who didn't know.
"But where's the real Santa?" asked Gadget.
"He could be in trouble," said Chief Quimby as he handed Gadget a note. "Your assignment will explain."
Gadget's eyes traced over the note as he read. "'Suspicious activity at the North Pole, and increased attacks against Inspector Gadget suggest M.A.D. plot by Dr. Claw against the real Santa Claus'," he read. "'Caution: this message will self-destruct'. That's strange... I haven't seen any M.A.D. agents around lately!"
Penny, Brain, and LJ overheard this as they came over to Gadget as he started to spring into action.
"Don't worry, Chief! Inspector Gadget is always on duty!" The bionic man proclaimed once he stood up. "I'll get to the bottom of this and don't worry about this message, Chief. I never litter." he then added before crumpling up the note and went to toss it in the trash, but missed the lid as it soon bounced off of there and landed on Chief Quimby's pipe.
"Oh, no!" Chief Quimby complained only to explode suddenly. "Why me?"
"Sorry, LJ, but it looks like I gotta help out Uncle Gadget now." Penny soon said to her new friend.
"Don't be sorry," LJ responded. "I'll come with! Just excuse me for a second, don't want the presents getting messed up!"
"Well, all right," Penny nodded. "Brain and I will wait for you, though I'm not too sure about Uncle Gadget."
LJ went over to Henry and Evie. "Could you two look after these for me?" he asked. "I'm going to handle some business and I don't want these to get broken or damaged."
"Oh, yeah, sure," Evie replied as she kept a hold of LJ's presents. "Be careful out there."
"You're going on an adventure? I wanna go too!" Henry piped up hopefully. "I never get to do anything~"
"I mean... if you wanted to come with me, you could." LJ suggested.
"Really?" Henry beamed. "Could I do that?"
"Oh, I don't know, Henry..." Evie replied softly. "LJ's been really experienced with adventures, especially that summer we spent with Donald Duck."
"I'll look out for him, I promise." LJ told Evie.
"Well..." Evie paused thoughtfully before seeing cute puppy dog eyes and pouts from LJ and Henry. "...all right," she then gave in and smiled a little bit. "As long as you two look after each other."
"We will, Evie," Henry promised his big sister. "This is gonna be a lot of fun."
"I sure hope so," Evie said with a small smile. "I'll keep an eye on your presents too, LJ."
"Thanks," LJ nodded as he hugged her. "C'mon then, let's go!"
Henry then stepped over to follow LJ and Penny after Inspector Gadget.
Evie smiled and soon went to go stand in line somewhere else where Audrey and the Dee Dee twins were, rolling their eyes at the three of them.
"This emerald Christmas tree sweater would look so nice on you, Dee Dee."
"And this crimson Rudolph sweater would be amazing on you too, Dee Dee."
"Clones... Why did it have to be clones?" Evie rolled her eyes at the Dee Dee twins.
"You two get those and I'll be wearing this cute pink and white candy cane pashmina sweater." Audrey grinned at her best friends as she took out her own cute sweater to buy.
"Excellent choice, Audrey." Both Dee Dees approved their best friend of her fashion choice.
"Henry is so lucky right now." Evie muttered to herself as LJ, Penny, and Henry headed outside to go on a plane that was headed straight for The North Pole.
"Looks like we've gotta spend Christmas at the North Pole, with Santa and his elves," Penny smiled as the plane soared through the skies. "Tough break, huh, Brain?"
"Wow!" Brain muttered in response as he glanced out.
"There it is, Inspector!" exclaimed LJ. "We're over the North Pole!"
"Wow..." Henry whispered in amazement once he saw The North Pole up close. "I can't believe I'm really here. There's Santa's village too!" he then added.
"So it is, young Henry," Gadget replied as he stretched his head out the window in his own amazement. "All is calm, all is bright. This shouldn't take long." he then added before they retreated into his car.
Once inside, LJ, Henry, and Penny buckled up as Brain sat next to Gadget at the front seat.
"Go, Go, Gadget Autopilot!" Gadget soon summoned once they sat comfortably.
"Better buckle up, gang," advised the Gadgetmobile's voice.
"You can drop us here!" said Gadget, and the drop doors opened up underneath the Gadgetmobile, sending them all falling! "That's NOT what I meant!" he exclaimed.
"Good thing I said buckle up, huh?" asked Gadgetmobile.
"Uh, Mr. Inspector? Is there something you can do to stop us from crashing?" Henry asked nervously.
"Why, certainly!" Gadget replied. "Go, Go, Gadget Plane!" he then announced which sent him out of the Gadgetmobile and a helicopter propeller appeared out of his head. "Not GadgetCopter! Gadget Plane! Gadget Plane!" he then ranted.
The hat then took its hand out and sent a paper airplane out of the hat.
"That's not what I had in mind..." Gadget grumbled in annoyance.
Penny and Brain began to yowl and cry out for help as it looked like they were about to crash without Gadget's help.
"No need to worry, guys!" responded Gadgetmobile. "I gotcha covered. GO-GO, GADGET-MOBILE!"
Immediately, a pair of glider-like wings emerged from the sides of the Gadgetmobile, and its jet-thrusters flew them down to safety.
"Go-Go-Gadgetmobile-Skis!" exclaimed Gadgetmobile, and his tires shifted into skis, which let him glide effortlessly over the snow.
"Go-Go-Gadget Parachute!" Gadget exclaimed, and immediately, the parachute sprang from his hat, allowing him to glide down. "Too slow... I'll freeze on the way down. Go-Go-GadgetCopter!"
Once again, the familiar blades of the Gadget-Copter sprang from the inspector's cap, and began whirring once more...
"Perfect!" grinned Gadget, until the GadgetCopter ended up pulling the parachute into its blades, causing the works to get all tangled and banged-up. "Well... almost." he gulped, before gravity kicked in and the inspector began falling towards the ground once again.
"LJ, are we gonna crash?!" Henry asked, sounding very nervous and scared right now.
"Of course not," LJ said. "Besides, Gadgetmobile has our backs, remember?"
"I don't know if I'll get used to a talking car," Henry remarked. "It's both really cool and really weird at the same time."
"You bet I do, li'l buddy!" Gadgetmobile replied. "Besides, it's a Disney movie!" he then added with a subtle wink.
"Uh, no, it's not." Henry told him.
"Oh... Well, ya know what I mean," Gadgetmobile said. "I won't let any harm come to you guys since you're Penny's special guests." Just then, he opened his roof—and in fell Inspector Gadget!
"Uncle Gadget, are you okay?" asked Penny.
"I'm fine, Penny, except for this lump in my seat." Gadget responded as he pulled out Brain, who'd been flattened into a pancake.
"You okay there, Brain?" Henry asked the dog.
Brain howled and whimpered, looking a little dizzy in response.
"He'll be okay." LJ replied.
"Oh, look, you guys!" Penny pointed out in excitement. "It's Santa's village!"
"Wow... It's a Christmas dream come true." LJ smiled.
"Can we look around?" Henry asked hopefully.
"Now patience, children," Gadget advised as the Gadgetmobile came to a stop before he stepped outside first. "First I must get to the bottom of this." he then added before suddenly falling in through the snow.
"Looks like the snow's a lot deeper than we thought." Henry remarked.
"Wowsers! Go-Go-Gadget-Legs!" exclaimed Gadget, and suddenly he sprang up from the snow, propelled by springy-legs. "If you get my drift."
Penny and Brain chuckled at this, while LJ just smiled.
And so, they ran off to Santa's Workshop.
"Everything seems to be running smoothly, Penny. I'll just present my credentials to the big guy in the red suit, take a quick tour, and then it's home for Christmas." Gadget said on the way inside while Brain and the kids looked around in wide wonder.
The elves were shown to be roaming around with the presents made to be sent out to kids all over the world.
Up in the watchtower, Claw let out a furious growl. "Gadget? HERE?!" he rumbled.
Suddenly, Gadget craned his telescopic neck up to one of the windows. "Excuse me, old fellow." he called as he knocked on the window.
MAD Cat saw him, and let out a screech!
"Inspector Gadget here; I'll only take a moment of your busy schedule!" Gadget explained as his hat hand flashed his police badge.
"Ah, Gadget... you're always welcome at the North Pole." Dr. Claw rasped as he pressed a button on the dashboard, which caused a steam whistle to blow loudly.
At once, all the elves stopped moving, and their eyes turned into spirals.
Gadget soon sprung himself upward more as he smiled hopefully, meeting "Santa Claus" in person.
"To what do we owe this honor?" Dr. Claw asked innocently as he shook hands with Gadget in greeting.
"Where have I heard that voice before?" Gadget asked himself, scratching his head out of confusion until he smiled and "figured it out". "Of course! Late at night in my chimney. Well, Santa, my niece and her new friends have a silly idea that the notorious Dr. Claw has infiltrated the North Pole." he then explained as he reached out to pet MADCat who was "cleverly disguised" as a reindeer.
"Ho, Ho, Ho." Dr. Claw replied in his usual dark voice.
"My feelings exactly!" Gadget smiled obliviously.
Mad Cat hissed and soon shredded against Gadget with his claws, seeming to be rather agitated.
"Wowzers! Cute little reindeer," Gadget remarked at that. "It does cat impressions too!"
Meanwhile, Penny, Henry, LJ, and Brain began to explore the rest of Santa's workshop.
"Hi! I bet you have some great Santa stories, Mr. Elf," Penny greeted one of the elves, but he didn't seem to answer her. "Maybe not."
"Maybe he has brain freeze or something?" Henry guessed.
"No, if he did, he'd be screaming," LJ responded. "I've had a Frosty Freezy Freeze once and that gave me brain freeze!"
Brain stood in front of the elf. "Boo! Boo! Boo!" he shouted before pulling his cheeks and twisting his nose and ears, but the elf didn't even move! This caused the dog to shrug in response.
"Nice talking to you," Penny shrugged as she pulled them away. "There's something weird going on here, guys." she whispered.
"Tell us something we don't know." LJ replied.
"We gotta figure out what it could be." Henry added as they stepped away from the mindless drones in Santa's workshop.
"Hopefully we can find a clue or something." Penny nodded at that.
There seemed to be flashing red lights coming from behind one door as they walked by it.
"Whoa... wonder what's behind this door?" asked LJ as he doubled back to take a peek behind it.
"Oh, LJ, maybe we shouldn't," Henry advised his new friend. "It might be dangerous or forbidden if we go through this door without permission."
"But what if there's something crucial back there?" LJ asked. "It could serve as an important factor in figuring out what's going on at the North Pole!"
Henry looked around. "All right, but we better make it quick." he then suggested.
LJ nodded as he opened the door. "Hello? Anyone in here?" he soon called out.
Billy and Talon turned around.
"Someone's coming." Billy alerted while Peter appeared to be busy with a certain device in the room.
"Then go stall 'em," Peter retorted as he kept working. "I'm still working here."
Billy and Talon soon jumped out and glared at LJ and Henry.
"Uh... hi?" Henry blinked.
"Sorry, but you're not supposed to be here," Talon smirked. "You better get out of the way before you get hurt."
"Right, sure..." LJ responded. "You look oddly familiar." he added, pretending to be fooled.
"You're gonna recognize me as the guy who puts his foot up your butt if you don't get out of here." Talon glared at LJ.
"Or what?" Henry retorted before looking over. "What're you guys doing anyway?"
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Peter hissed as he faced Henry, nearly looking green and angry in the face after using a device that he found in the forbidden room that was only for Santa Claus' entrance.
"Okay, now I know something's going on!" LJ retorted. "And for that matter, you guys aren't elves! Spill, ya creeps!"
"You can't tell me what to do," Peter glared as he stomped over and looked down into LJ's eyes. "Nobody tells me what to do and gets away with it."
"Who do you think you are anyway?" LJ glared back as he stayed as brave as he could.
"I'm many things, except for your friend," Peter smirked. "Besides, this is big kid business and that means no half-pint half-wits allowed, so GET OUT!" he then added before kicking LJ and Henry out of the room in an aggressive way.
"Stinkin' mouthy little creep..." LJ muttered. "C'mon, Henry. We better go let Penny know!"
"That's right, leave," Peter smirked darkly. "Leave and try to ask for help if you think you'll survive."
"Survive what?" Henry wondered.
"Also what's there to be afraid of?" LJ added. "The elves won't hurt us."
"That's what you think~" Peter chuckled grimly. "Go ahead and run along and see what happens, meanwhile, Christmas will belong to us and not you~"
"This isn't over, Peter Pinhead," LJ grunted as he took Henry by the hand and headed off. "Not by a long shot."
"We'll see about that," Peter smirked. "See you around."
Billy and Talon looked over and watched as LJ and Henry got away pretty easily.
"Peter! Do you know what you just did?" Billy asked.
"I know," Peter smirked. "We're leaving them at the mercy of the elves."
"Why are you so happy then?" Talon asked. "I know Uncle Claw's controlling the elves, but how much damage could they do?"
"I once heard a story about a special group of elves who are unlike any others," Peter explained with a smirk. "They won't be able to get out of this workshop alive if they know what's good for them."
Talon rolled his eyes as he continued busying himself.
Meanwhile, LJ and Henry were looking for Penny.
"I think she was around here last time we saw her." Henry told LJ on the way over to find Penny and Brain.
"Good idea, Henroid." LJ nodded as they looked together.
Penny was eventually shown to be alone once she realized something. "Dr. Claw!" she then gasped, looking up where her uncle was when he thought he was talking to Jolly Old St. Nick.
"Penny!" LJ and Henry called out as they found the blonde girl and came over to see her.
"LJ! Henry!" Penny exclaimed. "That's not Santa, it's really Dr. Claw!"
"That would explain why we saw Talon and Billy mucking about in one of the important rooms!" LJ responded.
"In an important room?" Penny wondered.
"We don't know what it was for, but we can tell it's something bad," Henry explained. "Also, they even threatened to make elves go after us."
"Penny, we'd better stay close while we investigate further." advised LJ.
"I don't doubt that," responded Penny. "Talon's pretty crafty when he wants to be, and I'm worried about what they might have planned for Uncle Gadget."
"This can only end so well." Henry sighed to himself in concern.
Gadget soon stepped over with his spring legs, smiling at the youngsters. "There you are, Penny." he then said to his niece.
"Uncle Gadget!" Penny whispered loudly as she had to tell him something.
"When I go investigate, you kids go to The Elf Commissary for some sugarplum soup." Gadget suggested to them.
"Sugarplum Soup?" Henry winced. "That doesn't sound too appetizing."
"Yeah, no kidding," LJ responded. "Inspector, I don't mean to impose, but-"
Suddenly, Gadget was hooked by a crane's arm, and pulled into the air by his jacket. "Wowsers!" he exclaimed. "What a novel tour...!"
"Brain, you follow Uncle Gadget," instructed Penny. "We're gonna find out what's going on."
The dog gave a quick salute to his human friend, and took off.
"Guys, you're with me." Penny told LJ and Henry.
"Right!" LJ and Henry replied as they went the other way while Brain went one way.
"I must examine these fine toys," Gadget suggested to himself as he continued to dangle in the air. "Go-Go Gadget magnifying glass!"
A hand soon came out from his hat to bring out his magnifying glass.
Gadget was soon lifted up much higher than he was before and then landed on a passing by bicycle on a conveyor belt. "On the first phase inspection, Good Santa showed to me, a mountain bike with Gadget training wheels~" he then started to suddenly sing.
Brain was soon dressed like a doll as he came onto the belt and tried to stop the inspector only to be suddenly run over.
"On the second phase inspection, Good Santa showed to me~" sang Gadget before an elf emptied a vat full of dolls onto him. "~Dolls with extra arms, and a 10-speed Gadget exer-cycle!~" As he pedaled out of the pile, the bicycle was now missing its front wheel!
Suddenly, other toys lunged out and began to tackle Gadget as they seemed to show up out of nowhere.
"On the third phase inspection, Good Santa showed to me~" Gadget then sang during the toy ambush until he got them off and Brain was now in front of him in a ninja costume. "Toy ninja pigs, Dolls with extra arms, and an exer-cycle Gadget rickshaw~"
Brain then came in front of the bike, leaning on the wheelless spot as they continued down the conveyor belt.
The ninja pigs then tried to come back only to miss Gadget and Brain just in time.
"On the fourth phase inspection, Good Sana showed to me~" Gadget continued to sing until he and Brain rode right into a bunch of kites, but they luckily missed too while Brain blew them a raspberry. "A kite with an anchor, Dolls with extra arms, toy ninja pigs, and an airborne Gadget unicycle~" he then added as he and Brain collided against the toys, turning the "rickshaw" into a unicycle until he crashed into a bunch of drums.
Four shadowed figures were shown in the distance before running toward where LJ, Henry, and Penny would be in the meantime.
"On the fifth phase inspection, Good Santa showed to me~" went Gadget, now having a snare drum on his head. "Drums, without drumsticks!~ A kite with an anchor, toy ninja pigs, dolls with extra arms... one yule log? Yike!" he exclaimed as he was bombarded with toys, and tripped over the yule log. "And a jet-propelled Inspector Gadget! Wowzers!~ Quite an innovative toy line you've got here, Santa!" he then called as he landed on the assembly line, which was heading towards a very large inner part. "But what about the inner workings?"
Suddenly, the upper jaw clamped down on him and pulled him inside.
"I'm really getting the inside dope!" Gadget called from within the machine.
Dr. Claw chuckled wickedly as he watched from his chair. "You are the inside dope, Gadget." he sneered.
Gadget was then sent down the conveyor belt before getting instantly flattened by a steamroller and then squeezed through a tube while the elves mindlessly watched. "Good 'ol North Pole knowhow! I'm really impressed!" he then remarked before he was picked up by a claw until he pulled a rip cord on his jacket, inflating himself back to normal in a comedic way. "Everything seems to be in tip-top shape, though I haven't inspected YOUR living quarters."
"Be my guest, Inspector~" Dr. Claw replied before pulling a lever, sending him down an open vent before the elves closed it back up again.
"Wowzers!" Gadget yelped as he was sent through a room that looked like a snowy dungeon.
Brain looked down through the grate in concern for his master.