Dreaming a Little Dream With Gadget
Written by: Kevin (KS) Sharbaugh

It was a beautiful day, so Gadget decided to do some inventing outside. Originally intending to do so in the park, she realized that humans, seeing a pile of what they would assume to be garbage, might take it upon themselves to pick it up and deposit it in the nearest waste receptacle... So she opted for the junkyard. Things were going just peachy for the little mouse, no annoying territorial junkyard rats and every time Gadget wanted a particular object, something that would fit her need was just within sight, no need to go burrowing into the junk piles... though that often had it's own rewards, but such finds often distracted her from the immediate project, not that it was always such a bad thing, only when it occurs during a case, though a case isn't the only occasion when she might be pressed for time...

For some reason, she felt like adding something ‘pretty' to her invention. Looking about, Gadget spotted a shiny gem-like object atop a nearby pile. Walking up to the base of the pile, intent on scaling it in pursuit of her treasure, she spotted something oddly familiar. "Golly," she remarked to herself, "That looks like Nimnul's Gigantico Gun." Gadget would have pondered the reason such a device would be right out in the open like that, but something frivolous awaited her, so she ascended the trash heap.

The climb seemed longer than she had anticipated when she sized up the pile visually, but she soon reached the summit. There, glinting in the sun, was her prize. Gadget picked up the round ruby colored object... It seemed smaller than it did when she spotted it form the ground, but all the better, it wouldn't be so garish that it would detract from her invention. She began to wonder how she could have spotted such a gem from the ground given how large the pile actually was. Wanting to make a quick estimate of the height of the pile, she peered back over her shoulder, only to realize she was closer to the edge than she'd remembered. The shock caused her to jump a little and the sudden shift in weight caused Gadget to lose her balance. Feeling herself begin to fall backwards, Gadget tucked the gem into her jumpsuit so she wouldn't lose it.

She tumbled down the junk pile. It actually seemed kind of fun, as long as she didn't linger on the danger she was in, something that was quickly remedied by closing her eyes. In fact, she felt weightless as when she was in space. No longer feeling the trash pile beneath her, she opened her eyes... and saw the Gigantico Gun flying up at her. BONK! Seeing nothing but brilliant flickering lights all around her, Gadget remarked, "Is this what Dale sees when Chip bonks him? No wonder he doesn't seem to mind it so much, it's actually kind of pretty." Just as Gadget was beginning to ponder, as she often did, about whether the constant impact of Chip's fist on Dale's head might have long-term detrimental effects, the lights stopped. Everything was dark. Am I blind? she wondered. She opened her eyes. Guess not, she figured as she saw the buildings of the city spread out before her.

Towering above the buildings of the city was a giant blond mouse in a blueish-lavender jumpsuit. "Golly! I have this sudden urge to smash buildings and roar," Gadget spouted, surveying the miniature city-scape. "RAAARRG!!" she bellowed, letting fly one of her enormous paws. A building crumbled to the ground. Hey, this is kind of fun! she thought as she stomped awkwardly through the city like a man in a cheap dinosaur costume, And what a great way to work out my frustration! "RAAARRG!!" Gadget bellowed some more.

As buildings tumbled down in large chunks, vast numbers of Japanese fled screaming through the streets. Two men stood amidst the fleeing crowds, looking towards the giant mouse. "Look, it is Gadzilla, awoken from her ancient slumber," one of the men stated with a lackluster voice, his mouth moving completely out of sync with his words.

"Yes," agreed his companion in an equally robotic tone, "She must have been angered by not being invited to the inventors symposium." Then both men suddenly threw up their arms and shouted as they were pummeled with Styrofoam blocks.

"Why does the military not do something?" pleaded a woman, standing amongst a group of men in lab coats.

"They cannot bring themselves to fire upon her," one of the scientists declared, lips still moving out of sync, voices still lacking emotion, "She is too adorable."

"Yes," another joined in, "Even as she destroys the city and kills thousands, she is just too cute."

While flailing her arms about, Gadget noticed something pressing against her in her jumpsuit and remembered having stuffed the ruby in there earlier. Putting her rampage on hold, she pulled it out. However, instead of being a red gem, it was actually a red jellybean... and much larger than she remembered. Holding it in both paws, she took a bite out of the shiny red candy. "Mmmm," Gadget delightedly commented as she chewed. She then returned to her rampage, leaving untold destruction in her wake... happily munching on her jellybean all the while.

"Can nothing save us from this giant jellybean munching monster mouse?" someone cried out.

"GAAAHH!!" Gadget screamed as she bolted upright in bed. Once she realized where she was, and what had happened, she shook her head, "I've got to stop watching those late night monster movies with Dale."