Into hiding (a sequel for Time and Again)

Chapter 9: I'll take the terminator

Talon's pov:

The terminator version of Inspector Gadget was standing in front of us with glowing red eyes. He stepped into the room, closed the door behind him and looked at us, unable to recognise even his own niece.

Suddenly, I heard a groan come from behind me. I whipped around to see Elizabeth, starting to sit up. Shocks still zapped here and there over spots on her body, but she didn't flinch.

She started chuckling. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" Her hair was starting to turn white from the roots to the tips, and her skin was overrun by burst veins and a glowing blueish colour consumed her body. She lifted her gaze, and her eyes were now an electric blue, glowing faintly.

She stood up and sparks zapped around her fingertips. "Indonesian blue spark fish. Apparently, its bite has a poison that gives the ability to absorb and control electric currents! What a lovely gift." She said and played with the sparks on her fingers.

Little did they know that these kind of confrontations usually lead to us playing a game. I leaned over to Penny. "I'll take electra over there."

Penny nodded. "I'll take the terminator." She replied. We both jumped up and took our positions against our opponents.

And so, the final fight began. I grabbed the steel shovel and came running towards Elizabeth, dodging the electric waves she sent flying my way. I whacked her with the shovel and she didn't even flinch.

My eyes widened when she reached out and shocked me square in the chest, and I felt the electricity travel through my whole body, almost like a numbing pain. I sunk to my knees and remained there.

When Elizabeth knew I was down, she focused her energy on knocking down Penny, who was currently fighting with terminator Gadget.

I knew there was no way I could beat her unless my body was in the exact same condition as hers. Ignoring the stinging pain of the electricity, I stumbled through to the other room and found the same fish that bit Elizabeth flopping on the floor.

I picked it up and forced its mouth open, stabbing the teeth into my shoulder. I yelped in pain as the poison started to take effect, turning my skin a sickly pale blue. Everything was starting to blur, and I felt a cold sweat forming all over my skin.

I threw the fish into whatever water was left in the tank and returned to the fighting. Elizabeth was still trying to get a hit on Penny, so I grabbed the electric gun and shot myself with it. By the time Elizabeth realised what I did, it was too late.

I was up, and I felt an overwhelming amount of energy flowing inside of me. The sparks flew over my fingertips and I've never felt more alive. "So... Who's first?" I asked and waited for the Queen of Spades to play her card.

Penny's pov:

They really didn't exaggerate how hard it was to stop a Terminator in the movies. I was getting nowhere with this, so I tried to map it out logically. I know I read the manual of the Gadget program a few years ago, and I tried to remember if there was something I could do about Terminator mode.

It isn't easy to remember things while you're fighting for your life. "Ok Penny, find a weakspot." I thought and rolled underneath him just as a hand went for my neck. I tried punching him in the face, resulting in a painful crack in my wrist.

I took a few steps back to examine the damage. My hand was limply dangling from my arm in a sickeningly odd angle, and I knew that my wrist was broken. "Stupid stupid stupid!" I hissed at myself through clenched teeth, grabbing my throbbing arm in an attempt to soothe it.

I bit back a pained scream and turned to face my opponent again. I allowed the logical side of me to take charge again, and I focused on strategies instead of the pain in my arm.

"Uncle Gadget is full of switches and buttons, you just have to find the right one." I spotted a red glowing button on his nape, and I quickly read the words beneath it.

"Emergency off-switch". Perfect. I tried to push it, but he already figured out what I was going to do, and he grabbed me mid-air. He had me by my neck and was hoisting me up.

"Talon! Shovel!" I yelled with the breath I still had left. Talon took the hint and threw me the shovel with an "aye aye!" and a punch to the jaw. Looks like that pirate instinct never left him...

I caught the shovel and hit his head with it. He dropped me, and I took the opportunity to run around him and slam the button on his neck with my good hand. I heard the whirring of his systems shut down, and he dropped to his knees.

"I'm sorry." I whispered an apology to him and went to help Talon. He was being strangled by Elizabeth, and he was struggling against her grasp.

Talon made eye-contact with me while I was sneaking up on Elizabeth, and that was his big mistake. "Penny no!" He yelled, but it was too late.

Elizabeth immediately took the hint, spun around and shocked me square in the chest. I screamed in agony as the waves of electricity consumed me in excruciating pain. She wouldn't stop shocking me, until Talon grabbed her in a headlock and snapped her neck, ending it once and for all.

After her hand dropped from my chest, I fell to the floor. My body jerked from the shock, and Talon looked around in panic. Since he was in exactly the same condition as Elizabeth (excluding the broken neck) he couldn't do anything that didn't involve shocking me, so he tried finding a material to lift me with. Unfortunately this was a room made of steel.

Suddenly, footsteps started approaching us, and all of the Alaskan branch of the agency came bursting through the door. They immediately rushed to me with a stretcher and gently put me on, and gave Talon a shock blanket.

Everything became blurry and confusing as they carried me away, and I saw Talon by my side. "I love you." I forced out before my vision disappeared and I blacked out.