Under The Bridge
Writing credits: John Nowak
Written: 1998
First released:
Title reference: An important flashback scene takes place under a bridge.
Part of series: First Nowakverse story, followed by Icarus and Sovereign.
Length: 31,356 words (the complete work); 24 chapters
Rating: PG (Dr. Indy: Some violence, intense situations in the PG level)
Contents
[hide]Synopsis
The Rescue Rangers are watched by an unseen nemesis who calls herself the Gray Mouse and who is looking for revenge on one of the Rangers. The danger in which they find themselves is revealed when they discover that a shipwreck rescue mission to which they are called was nothing but a trap—like the sinking rodent ship, they are attacked by a submarine. Soon they find themselves as targets in the vengeance plans of said Gray Mouse who is no-one else than Gadget's long-lost albino twin sister Widget. While she even tries to deal with Fat Cat to accomplish her plans, and while Monty's memories help the other Rangers find out the truth about the Hackwrench sisters' past, Gadget makes her own plans to turn everything around and have her own revenge on Widget with drastic measures. (Spoilers blanked)
Important Characters
Canonical
The Rescue Rangers
Original
Sarah Hackwrench (mentioned)
Devices
Canonical
The Ranger Plane
The Ranger Wing
Original
SRV Albacore
RMS Minuscule
The Darned Nearly Recoilless Rifle
The Ceiling Crawling Suctionmobile
The Exterminator
Trivia
Under The Bridge is still the only case of a Rescue Rangers fan fiction story which has been MSTed by the story's author himself. John Nowak wrote the MSTing together with Matt Plotecher.
Chapter 2 reveals that Widget stockpiled lots of Gadget plushies from Walt Disney World which she destroys as a surrogate for the real Gadget by crushing them in a hydraulic press. There isn't any explanation as to why these items exist in the Nowakverse in the first place.
Goofs
Gadget's father, Geegaw, is mentioned dying in "an air race accident", while in the next story, Icarus, he's told to have died in a crash during test flight. According to Mr. Nowak, it happened because he didn't intend to write "Icarus" while writing "Under the Bridge", and when he had to change the circumstances of Geegaw's death later, it was too late to change "Under the Bridge".
Awards
Plato Awards: Best Original Female Character for Widget Hackwrench
External Links
Under the Bridge at Dale's Rescue Ranger page
Under the Bridge at the Foxglove Feature
Russian translation of Under the Bridge by Gyrotank at the Russian CDRR Portal (web-page)
Russian translation of Under the Bridge by Gyrotank at the Russian CDRR Headquarters (.zip archive file with .pdf, 712 KB)
