Heroes Don't Die, They Respawn

[Gizmo Gear]

From Gizmo’s perspective back in Central City, it all happened so fast. He saw his brother Gadget looking mortified about something and the next thing he knew his vision was spinning around and as he was back on the solid ground everything looked bigger to him. He then hears a thud and turns his eyes over to his fallen now headless body is when he realizes in horror what has happened to him. The last thing he remembers seeing was Gadget running away as a masked figure carrying a machete followed him. And then everything was going black.

He then finds himself in a strange void that is made up of several unrecognizable structures and buildings floating within it he looks up to see several strange gigantic beings in humanoid shapes staring down at him. One looks like the silhouette of a man with outer space within it and two suns for eyes. One appeared to be made out of clocks, calendars, and other tools used to measure time with a sundial for a face. One looked like a living planet complete with water, grass, and land with colossal trees for large horns. One appeared to be made completely out of bones of various creatures some bones Gizmo recognizes and other bones he does not. And in the center of them all is a completely white as if he was a marble statue, he was quite literally bullheaded wearing a blindfold with an infinity symbol emblazoned on it, and his horns have scales attached to them.

“You are not where you are supposed to be, but neither it is your time to die, though it seems it’s not our choice in the matter of whether to send you back or not. We cannot help you, but your destiny and fate were always in your own hands,” the center figure said.

Before Gizmo could say anything or even make out what was happening a hole opened below him as he was following down into the void below into a bright white light. As he was bracing himself for whatever was about to happen. He woke up in what appeared to be a hospital bed in a cold and sterile white room and besides the usual hospital stuff like a heart rate monitor, he saw a poster with a creature that looked just like him hanging from a branch with the message “Hang in there little buddy” and he doesn’t know how to feel about that. He found that his head was reattached to his body somehow and there were no stitches or anything and while feeling for it he felt something cold and metallic touch him. He then looked towards his left arm to see that it was replaced with a completely robotic one.

As he is moving the fingers of the robotic left arm he lets out a scream. The door opens and he sees a familiar face. A white-skinned aged balding humanoid with large pointy ears, glasses, a mustache and goatee combo, and is sitting in a hovering chair.

“Oh thank goodness you’re alright and awake, from that scream I was worried something went wrong with the procedure,” the man said.

“Dr.Cosmo?” Gizmo asked.

Dr.Cosmo is an ally of Gizmo and Gadget back home. He’s the lead scientist of H.O.P.E. the Heroic Operation Peace Enterprise. An organization that Gizmo and Gadget became a part of after making a name for themselves. Dr.Cosmo, like them, also has some family that the X Regime took from him, two brothers to be exact. Yet he never talks about them much.

“Yes, it is indeed me, when you two disappeared we followed the coordinates of where you went last and then ended up here in the Crossroads as well. While looking for you all, I ended up getting a job working with Syntech.” Dr. Cosmo said.

“We, who else managed to come here?” Gizmo asked.

“The whole crew did, Happy, Echo, Bell, and even Silk. They were on Nos’talgia, but I called them recently and they should be on their way here.” Dr. Cosmo said.

Gizmo was surprised to learn that so many of his new friends had come to the Crossroads as well. Yet there was someone more important to him missing. He looked around but his bed was the only one in the room. He then looked towards Dr. Cosmo with his pupils constricted and become slanted.

“Where is Gadget?” Gizmo said.

Dr. Cosmo then looks saddened, he looks like he doesn’t really want to explain to Gizmo but at the same time, he knows he has to. And is trying the best way to put it into words.

“Gadget’s injuries were…more severe than yours, but don’t worry Syntech has the technology to be able to get your brother back. It will just take some more time,” Dr. Cosmo said.

That at least alleviates his worries for his brother. Though from the sound of it, he didn’t seem to have escaped the one who killed him either. Did he even die or was it just that he fell unconscious? It’s hard to tell it felt like he did and he felt the areas of exposed skin where his neck was cut off. And then that is when he remembered the robot arm.

“Oh right that, well your left arm has been rendered inert after Clockwork Colossus got his arm ripped off during the battle of Central City, a side effect of being bonded to him I am guessing. Syntech managed to repair him and thought that would fix your arm as well but for some reason, it didn’t work and they were forced to replace it with a synthetic replica,” explained the doctor.

So CC was okay as well, that was good to know he felt bad about abandoning him like that. Still having a robotic arm is going to take a while to get used to. He started to move it around and stretch it just to test it out and began using several different finger gestures with it.

“Now what I want to know is how could you have thought to do something so reckless and leave involve your brother in all of this? I know that you were the reckless one but to sign up for something as dangerous as what you’ve been through. You’re lucky you even made it to Central City.” scolded the doctor.

Gizmo just held his head in shame and sat there in his bed silently.

“I am sorry I didn’t mean to”

“No, you were right I was stupid to have not read through the entire contract and I was even more stupid for bringing Gadget along. I just thought it’d be fun going around in a giant robot punching monsters, but then we learned about what the Unmade truly is and just how terrifying Darkseid’s forces are. If Megatron was bad enough I hate to think what Darkseid himself is like, he’s probably a bigger threat than Lord X would ever be,” Gizmo said.

Dr. Cosmo’s ears perked up upon hearing Lord X be mentioned which gave him a more worried and distressed look on his face.

“I had no idea things were so dire in the Crossroads or that you two had to go through such an ordeal. I was told parts of it but it sounds like you two went through a literal war,”

“A war that I no longer want any part in, I’ll let other people handle and worry about Darkseid and the Unmaking. I feel better just dealing with the smaller stuff that I am more familiar with. I still want to help people, and me and Gadget have to find the stuff that was stolen. And my adventuring days are not over, it’s just that there are some things that are not worth the thrill at all,” Gizmo said.

Then there is a knock at the door as a yellow-skinned man with a grin, a briefcase, a blue suit, brown hair, and wearing a red and white striped club tie in a half Windsor knot.

“I’m Lionel Hutz, attorney at law here today representing Syntech and here to give your gift package for helping to save-” he gets out a crumpled piece of paper and squints as he tries to read it “Opallion.”.

He then hands Gizmo a set of action figures that are modeled after him, Gadget, and even a scale model of the Clockwork Colossus that they can fit inside. Some of the accessories are some of Gadget’s inventions that they haven’t gotten back yet. Which is kind of unnerving.

“You made them fight giant monsters and you people are profiting off of their image through merchandise? Have you no shame?” Dr. Cosmo asked.

“I am just a third-party representative and not a member of Syntech, but no I do not have any. In fact, it doesn’t shame me to admit that most of the money used to sell these toys also paid for you and your brother’s expensive procedure, also you won’t be given any royalties and you can’t sue as per the contract, and waivers you signed. Now if you excuse me, I have a newly bought jacuzzi with my name literally on it,” Lionel Hutz answered.

Lionel Hutz slams the door as he leaves as he can be heard audibly running down the halls while Dr. Cosmo is shaking his head, Gizmo is distracted playing with his action figures. He always dreamed of having a toy of himself one day and now he finally has one. And now he and his brother have one too. Dr. Cosmo was just glad to see that Gizmo was happy about it at the very least. The phone on the wall of the room then begins ringing.

“Yes, really?! Already?! Amazing your science knows no bounds I was so worried after you told me what happened. Of course, I didn’t tell his brother he wouldn’t handle the news of what happened. He’s not awake yet, alright I’ll let him know that.” Cosmo said.

Cosmo hung up the phone as Gizmo was already up from his bed looking up at Cosmo.

“There’s something not telling me, what happened to Gadget at Central City?” Gizmo asked.

Dr.Cosmo looked around nervously before sighing. He knows Gizmo is a teenager and perhaps he’s old enough to handle this. He motions for Gizmo to sit down, as Gizmo sits in a nearby chair.

“We don’t exactly know how it happened, probably one of the Unmade or the same one that cut off your head must have gotten him. I am afraid your brother’s head was crushed by something. Luckily Syntech has the technology to be able to have your brother’s head be regenerated but I have no idea how it works or if he’ll even remember anything.” Dr. Cosmo explained.

Gizmo taking all of this in, looks down and begins to cry as he punches against the arm of the chair with his new robotic arm breaking it.

“Why did I not listen? Why don’t I ever listen?! He warned me we shouldn’t have gone! Yet I ignored him! It’s all my fault!” screamed Gizmo.

“No no it’s not entirely your fault Gizmo,” Dr.Cosmo assured.

“It kind of is,” said Lionel Hutz peeping through the door.

“I thought you just left.” Dr.Cosmo replied.

“Well I forgot to give you two my cards in case you ever need a lawy-”

Dr. Cosmo then shut the door with his telekinesis knocking out Lionel Hutz in the process.

“Look if anything it’s Syntech’s fault for letting two inexperienced young lads such as yourself do something far above what you can handle. You two are incredible when you put your hearts and minds to it. You already accomplished so much back home and managed to become a thorn in the side of the X Regime of all people. You two have the makings of great heroes.” Dr. Cosmo assured.

This made Gizmo feel a little better, even if it didn’t quell the guilt. He dreamt of being a hero since he was young though for a while he gave up on that dream and decided to become a Relic Hunter like his dad since that was what he viewed as the second coolest thing to be. That was until his village was attacked by the X Regime and his family was captured by them just because they wanted something his dad found in a Celesteon Ruins. He managed to save some of his family, a few of his sisters, but the rest including his mom and dad are probably still back in their universe.

It now just dawned on him he would probably never even see them again and that they wouldn’t be rescued. Sure there are other heroes back home but besides them, no one is crazy enough to take on the X Regime. The last thing they need to do while here is to find a way out of here somehow. And not just them but their friends too who followed them here. The Crossroads can’t be inescapable there must be a way out instead of it being a one-way trip here.

Not wanting to delay things any further he runs over to where Gadget is before he realizes that he doesn’t know which room he is in. So he turned to Dr. Cosmo who motioned to follow him as Gizmo did so as they walked around Lionel Hutz’s unconscious boy. Finally, they arrived in Gadget’s hospital room. After hearing about what happened to his head, he is surprised it is back to normal. It’s not bald, shrunken, or anything abnormal.

At the moment he’s still asleep, with a heart monitor checking his pulse. His heart rate is stable at the very least. Which is a first for Gadget in his case due to his anxiety. He looks so peaceful that it gives Gizmo some solace. He sits down to wait for a while. Dr. Cosmo floats over to another spot giving Gizmo some space. It took about thirty minutes for Gadget to begin to stir and roll in his sleep before getting up.

He then looks at Gizmo as Gizmo stares at him. The last thing Gadget remembered was running away after seeing Gizmo’s head cut off. And that he ran off and hid like the coward he is. And here was his brother, alive and well. As if he woke up from a terrible nightmare. He gets up and runs toward Gizmo, as his brother runs toward him.

The two brothers begin hugging each other and crying.

“I am sorry I signed up for that stupid thing when you warned me not to!” cried Gizmo.

“I am sorry for leaving your headless body to rot and do nothing to avenge you!” cried Gadget.

“I am sorry you got your head crushed!” Gizmo cried back.

Gadget stopped crying and had a confused expression on his face “My what?”.

“That doesn’t matter now, what matters is that you’re safe now,” Gizmo said.

Gadget then looks over to the action figures that Gizmo brought with him.

“Did they make toys of our likenesses? Like without our permission?” Gadget asked.

“Technically it is with permission because I signed the contract and skimmed over most of it,” Gizmo said.

Gadget could tell from the way Gizmo was acting that this was really his brother brought back from the dead. His recklessness, his optimism, his nonchalant attitude. The parts that frustrate him and also the parts he respects. There is no doubt about it.

“I am not surprised, but for once I don’t care, I am just happy you’re really back!” Gadget admitted.

After they finished hugging, and Gizmo was done giving Gadget head pats, Gadget finally noticed Dr. Cosmo in the room who was holding a napkin and crying while watching their reunion.

“Yeah the doctor and the others followed us here looking for us, the rest should be here any minute now,” Gizmo explained.

“All of them? How did they get here?” Gadget asked.

“Why with the Celestial Dolphin, of course, it seems the portal you fell into was large enough for us to fly inside it,” Dr.Cosmo explained.

Gizmo and Gadget looked at each other concerned.

“Uh Doctor, the size of the portal we went into was the size of a small cave, not large enough for a spaceship to enter,” Gizmo pointed out.

Upon hearing this Dr.Cosmo began to look disturbed by this revelation. Realizing the implications this could mean for their universe.

“This could be bad, if what you say is true then the portal to the Crossroads is expanding and growing larger. It might swallow up the whole planet of Gaiterra and transport it here along with everyone on it. It might even expand beyond the planet and start transporting other planets from your solar system into it,” Dr.Cosmo explained.

This definitely was a lot to take in. It didn’t seem like they were gone for long so if what Dr.Cosmo said is true then they will need to find a way to get home, they need to find a way to get their home back home. And that means there’s nothing stopping the X Regime from getting through too. As if the Crossroads didn’t have enough to deal with already. And from what they have seen the stuff that deal with is some messed up stuff that they’ll probably be seeing in their nightmares.

Speaking of nightmares, Gizmo remembered the weird dream he had when he woke up.

“Hey Dr.Cosmo, do you know anything about five weird giants on thrones living in a void?” Gizmo asked.

Dr.Cosmo looked at Gizmo confused, but Gadget was more surprised if anything before turning his eyes away from Gizmo. Obviously, he had the same dream too but didn’t want to say it.

“It’s just that there was this weird dream I had after I died but before I well…woke up…revived…whatever. And that there was this strange giant people. One was this lady who looked like a plant, a woman made of bones, a universe in the shape of a man, something that is made out of stuff that keeps track of time, and this horned dude with a blindfold and scales on his horns that looked like he was a statue.” Gizmo explained.

“Oh, that dream probably meant nothing and is probably just a side effect from the resurrection process, who knows what kind of drugs they pumped into you? And there’s no record of any beings like that to my knowledge, and they certainly don’t sound like Celesteons. Best not to worry about it,” Dr. Cosmo said.

A Dr. Cosmo left the room, Gadget then grabbed Gizmo’s arm.

“So you had the same dream too?” Gadget said.

“Yeah, I feel like there was more to it than what the doc said, but it’s probably best not to worry about it for now. If we ever have that dream again or constantly then we should be questioning things and looking for answers,” Gizmo said.

As they walked out of the room they noticed that a lot of the Syntech doctors and nurses were busy. Carrying various bodies of soldiers on stretchers to different rooms. Some with lost limbs or practically dying. Gizmo swears he recognizes a few of them during the fight on that island with the zombies that fought with them throughout that whole debacle. They probably got injured in Central City though at least this place can save them too hopefully.

“Hey, so you said Syntech helped with our procedure, does this mean they own this hospital too?” Gizmo asked.

“From what I’ve gathered by the time I’ve spent working with them, yes, Syntech has a presence throughout the entire Crossroads. Besides technology, they are also an excellent pharmaceutical company. While their technology is nowhere near as advanced as the Celesteons I argue they are still more advanced than we are back home. As we nowhere near have the capabilities of resurrection that they were able to perform on you and Gadget.” Dr.Cosmo said.

“I’d be impressed if it weren’t for the fact that I am still dealing with and processing that I just recently died,” Gadget said.

“Yeah, speaking of which how long were we dead?” Gizmo said.

“Why that’s the most incredible thing of all, it took only a week,” Dr. Cosmo said.

Gizmo and Gadget were absolutely flabbergasted at this as they both screamed out “A week!” in unison.

“Most of it was waiting for you two to reconstitute and wake up. I think they said something about your souls being forcibly returned to your bodies but that’s not very scientific now is it?” Dr. Cosmo said.

To think that they’ve been only gone for a week, it didn’t even feel that long, but it feels like it should have been longer than that. It felt like a month or two they were dealing with Kaiju with Clockwork Colossus and now here they are back on their feet, from dying mind you, in just a week’s time. It’s kind of terrifying from their perspective. Even Gizmo is freaked out by all of this.
He’s starting to wonder if the whole battle with Megatron and everything before that, but after they left Nos’talgia, was all one big dream.

Granted it would be better if it was a dream. After all, they are still shellshocked from the experience. And knowing that it was real and actually happened only makes it worse. This is why they are going to do what any teenager would do and repress and not talk about it. And just stay on Nos’talgia, where there’s no Unmade to deal with. The Unmade definitely made the spooky stuff from Uncanny Valley look like Halloween decorations by comparison, which they only know about because Earth is like a cultural trendsetter throughout different galaxies due to being so diverse.

They finally make it to the lobby and are surprised to see that their friends have all already arrived. You see when they were given a spaceship of their very own from H.O.P.E., due to not having licenses to drive one they needed a crew. And together they managed to bring together a gang of misfit teenagers to make said crew. A pilot, a navigator, a chef, and even a nurse. And been going around their solar system for a while.

First is Echo their Navigator, a black and white bespectacled bat-like alien girl with purple clothing. Despite her being very nearsighted she knows her way around space but also in general. Especially thanks to her natural echolocation. This is only enhanced through a device Gadget made called the Echo Locator which acts as both a communication device and sonar to detect objects in the immediate area that are not entirely noticeable. A device that unfortunately they lost when they got here.

Next is Happy the pilot of their ship the Celestial Dolphin, a black and white anthropomorphic penguin in pilot goggles and headgear and wears a green flower pattern shirt that makes him look like he’s on a Hawaiian vacation. He’s got quite the mouth on him, even more than Gizmo does. Often cracking jokes and providing color commentary on Gizmo and Gadget’s adventures. He might not be able to fly, but he is sure can fly a ship well. He is a runaway rich kid who left his posh life aside to live his dream of flying through space.

There’s Belle the Chef, a large beefy black and white cow-like alien dressed up like a cowgirl/farmer. Though she got bored with her farm life she decided to join Gizmo and Gadget cause it was a lot more interesting. Besides being a chef she often gives the brothers advice when it comes to facing different alien monsters and opponents. She is actually well knowledged in what makes each creature tick and also is a strong fighter in her own right.

Finally, there is Silk, the black and white anthropomorphic spider-esque alien who acts as the nurse of the ship with an appearance that can be described as “creepy cute”. Though her outward appearance got her to not be able to get a job as an intern at any hospital. Despite all of the research and training she’s done. Yet she’s happy to help the Celestial Dolphin crew making sure they stay healthy. She also provides doses of Nano Nurses, small nanomachines that can quickly repair injuries to someone and also improve the body to make them more durable as a result. Though unfortunately for Gizmo his fear of needles doesn’t make the process any easy and forces Silk to take drastic measures.

“I am so happy to see you al-yow!” Gizmo yelped.

As he then sees Silk beside him with a Nano Nurse injector in her hand.

“Sorry it’s been a while since your last dose and I had to have done it while you’re distracted,” she said.

Gadget then goes over to get his dose over with which he doesn’t mind as much as Gizmo does.

“We’ve been looking all over the solar system for you and we all ended up here as well, you guys have been gone for weeks,” Echo said.

Weeks, it’s really been only weeks since they’ve been in the Crossroads. Again it feels like it’s been much longer than that since they first got here. Either there is a time-dilation thing going on. Or they are just bad at keeping track of time. They have been awfully distracted lately. So they probably didn’t have the opportunity to check.

Belle comes in and puts Gizmo into a headlock to give him affectionate noogies.

“So the little pardners went and fought in a giant robot and we missed all of the fun,” Belle said.

“Trust Belle the fun didn’t last for long, it didn’t last long at all,” Gizmo said struggling and solemnly.

“Ah, come on, fighting giant monsters in a giant robot must have been one of your big dreams as a kid. There is no way you didn’t have some fun. How big were they? How many were there?” Happy asked.

“It’s none of your business!” Gizmo screamed out.

The whole room went silent as Belle let Gizmo go. They’ve never seen Gizmo like this before. It was very unnerving. Even Gadget was very concerned as it seemed that Gizmo might be even more traumatized than he was. Clearly, something happened there he doesn’t want to remember. Gizmo was holding himself in a corner looking away from everyone. Echo carefully approaches but keeps her distance.

“Gizmo, I don’t know what happened there, but you can’t keep it bottled up forever. Trauma grows worse by just bottling it up inside. So when you’re ready you can tell us, we’re more than just your crew, we’re your friends.” Echo said.

Gizmo was still not making eye contact, but he whispered a small “Okay.”

With that Echo let Gizmo have some space. Everyone left Gizmo and Gadget alone for a bit as Dr. Cosmo left with them. With no one around besides Gadget, Gizmo just began putting his hands on his face and sobbing loudly. Gadget then sat beside him and started gently patting him on the back just letting him let it all out.

“We witnessed so much death Gizmo, and we caused some of that death. Who knows how many of those Unmade people were once families, children, and so many innocent lives left into unrecognizable monsters and had to be put down like rabid animals? And what was it all for? Did we really save the planet or did we just postpone the inevitable?” Gizmo asked.

“I don’t know the answers to those questions but maybe it will give you solace that many other people who gave their lives fighting have the chance to come back alive as well just like we did. It doesn’t lessen their sacrifices or our sacrifices. This planet is still here so we must have contributed something to saving it otherwise we wouldn’t have been revived in the first place. It wasn’t all for naught,” Gadget reassured.

Gizmo wiped the snot and tears off of his face with his gloves.

“Why do you have to be the mature one despite being a year younger than me?” Gizmo asked.

“Well one of us has to, you’re not really the poster boy for maturity,” Gadget joked.

Gizmo then hugged Gadget tight as they laughed together. With that, they get up and go outside. As they enter outside they are met with a large hi-tech futuristic city with a beautiful blue sunny sky that reminds them of a city they would see back home. As they see their friends Happy puts his flippers up in the air.

“Welcome to the City of Hope, it was easy to find a parking space, unfortunately, the cops held us in for questioning just for being new in town,” Happy said.

“That’s messed up and also possibly racist,” Gizmo said.

“Yeah well it didn’t take too long for things to be straightened out we had to walk all the way here, luckily where we parked is not too far from the hospital,” Happy said.

And as they were walking Gizmo saw a sight for sore eyes. Their spaceship the Celestial Dolphin. Named for its literal dolphin-based build and appearance and the fact it makes swimming motions when flying through space. And finally, they can ride in it once more. As they boarded and got situated in and were flying off Gizmo looked out one of the windows to get one last view of Opealon. Seeing it from a different perspective it was rather beautiful.

As he saw the City of Hope situated on top of a floating island with other floating islands filled with lush greens over the sprawling ocean below it. The blues and greens reminded him a lot of his home planet Gaiterra. And it’s safe now, even if their contribution was small it’s safe now. Just as Gadget said that’s all that matters in the end. Still, now they have to leave it all behind and never look back.