LAP 29
Mighty Gazelle!

In the dead of night, a storefront window shatters and a masked man scampers from the building, a briefcase of expensive jewelry in tow. He hops into his escape car and hit the gas...

... but moves all of nine inches before being stopped by a towering, powerful cyborg. Mighty Gazelle to the rescue! He tosses the car aside and admires his handiwork, while a component inside of him beeps ominously. Come morning, he hits the police station and dumps the crook in their hands, leaving them to do the paperwork.

Clank has been keeping tabs on Gazelle's actions since he joined the Galaxy Police, and he can't help but admire the cyborg; he'd love to meet him sometime! He did save his life after all, it'd be cool if he remembered him. The others try to politely deter him, claiming Gazelle's got a busy schedule, but Clank isn't convinced - they want to hog the robot for themselves! When asked why they really don't want him to meet Gazelle, the Platoon find excuses to leave.

Ryu figures the kid will disobey them anyway, so he leads him to Stewart's lab where Gazelle is undergoing some routine maintenance. The doctor sings the officer's praises and Gazelle thanks the boy for saving his life before. They shake hands and decide to be friends, the two oblivious to their real relationship, before the cyborg returns to his duty. Ryu reminds Clank that Gazelle is a busy officer and shouldn't be bothered; Clank just think he's jealous.

On the Platoon's test track, Lucy and EAD are busy practising their racing skills; they're keen to assist Gazelle in his first upcoming race, because he'll be kicked out if he fails. Suddenly, a new machine appears on the track - a Dark Million robot racer!

Another one appears soon after, and the two begin shoving the Elegance Liberty and Great Star against the barriers, knocking them off of the track. They try to flee, but the robots are hot on their trail...

Mighty Gazelle to the rescue! His racer zooms onto the scene, scattering the two robots and sending them crashing into the rocks. "Just doing my job," he remarks, and drives off just as suddenly as he appeared.
Clank can't just keep his curiosity to himself, and is trawling the Galaxy Police's computer database to find info on Gazelle... but comes up with nothing. Ryu reminds him even if he is a member of the Galaxy Mobile Platoon, he shouldn't be snooping without permission, and halts his search. Clank leaves in a huff.

While preparing to take the Crazy Bear for a spin, Clash and Dr. Stewart find Clank asking them questions: if Gazelle is a cyborg, who is the human brain inside of him, and why is it kept such a secret? Dr. Stewart tells the boy he shouldn't be asking questions above his rank... before claiming he doesn't know the answer. Clash legs it to avoid being queried as well.

The mechanic is out on scout duty, eyeing out the upcoming race's track layout from a faraway mountain... when a Dark Soldier appears right in front of him! It tosses him to the ground so another can stomp his head in...

... but wouldn't you know, Mighty Gazelle is here just in the nick of time! He delivers sweet corkscrew kicks right to their faces, and Clash is safe once more. "Just doing my job!" the cyborg boasts, as he chases after the fleeing robots.

At Falcon House, Clank is regaled with talk of these rescues, and his respect for the cyborg is increased even further. Burt asks to know where they found such a capable officer, but Ryu kicks Jack in the shin before he can answer. While Clank puzzles over this, Ryu goes outside to take a call from Jody: some of their top-secret data has been stolen recently, and Mighty Gazelle is their number one suspect. Ryu doesn't want to believe it, none of the doctor's tests have found anything suspicious in him... but why else would Black Shadow release him so easily? Ryu agrees to keep a watch on him.

The next day, Ryu is using the computer to keep an eye on the cyborg, who's awaiting instructions in the police station. Reports come in of an emergency at Green Bridge, and Gazelle is the first one to rush out in response; Ryu follows suit, but Jack stops Clank from tagging along. The boy demands to know why Ryu spying on one of their own, but Jack gives him another vague non-answer.

Another Dark Soldier is roughing up the park, ploughing through benches and otherwise giving people a bad time. Gazelle arrives and blocks the robot's path, exiting his vehicle to arrest it personally... giving it ample time to just drive around him and escape just before the police arrive. Ryu witnessed the whole thing - why did he miss his opportunity?

This is reported back to Platoon HQ, and it turns out it runs deeper than they thought - of all the emergencies Gazelle had responded to, the only criminals he let escape were ones who worked for Dark Million!
Ryu returns to the station to find Clank waiting for him. The boy urges him to stop following Gazelle - it's making the cyborg upset! Orders are orders he replies, but the boy storms out, frustrated.

Gazelle meets up with Clank outside a burger joint and is told what's happening behind his back; they may believe he's a member of Dark Million, but Clank will always believe he's a good guy! Gazelle's component begins ticking again, and he decides to resolve this matter himself - he's going to Dark Million's headquarters! Ryu pulls up just after he leaves and is told where he's going, but Clank is adamant the cyborg is swell guy who'd mean no one no harm.

Ryu catches up and stops Gazelle on the highway, and asks him about his objective; does he even know where Dark Million is located? The cyborg answers: yes. Ryu continues to grill him on his real intentions, but the component inside Gazelle begins flashing red, and his speech degenerates into random keywords before he finally admits it: he was ordered to steal data from them, for the glory of Black Shadow!

The cyborg takes a swipe at him before driving back to the police station, Ryu in hot pursuit with backup on the way. A shootout takes place on the stairs leading to the station as Gazelle opens fire on them, blowing up two police cars. A voice comes crying out his name...

... it's Clank! The cyborg does not recognise him, but instead picks him up and uses him as a hostage, dropping and crushing his photo pendant as he charges into the station lobby. An entire wave of armed officers surround the cyborg, but a quick spray of laser fire sends them scattering...

... giving Clank time to free himself and dive into the elevator. Just before it stops at the Galaxy Mobile Platoon's floor, Gazelle bursts through the elevator floor! Clank stumbles out before the cyborg can get through, and the doors shut behind him.

Not for long, however - Gazelle blasts his way into the command room, opening fire anywhere he can while the Platoon members hide out of sight. Stewart and John Tanaka enter, oblivious to the commotion, but dive out of the way when the cyborg opens fire on them.

The Platoon are awaiting Ryu's return before they can make their move, but Clank appears before Gazelle to try to reach out to him; he's not a bad guy, surely! The cyborg takes aim and fire, but Ryu dives and grabs the boy out of the way in the nick of time, informing him this isn't the Gazelle he knows and loves anymore.

Not even the alleged might of EAD can stop the cyborg, earning a mean right hook for his troubles. As he takes aim on the fallen robot, Jody blasts him, giving Ryu, Jack and EAD a chance to restrain him. Dr. Stewart appears, telling Gazelle he'll give him another examination to see if any malicious programming has been placed inside him...

The cyborg's having none of that. He shakes his attackers loose, lifts a heavy cubicle wall and hurls it at them, trapping them long enough for him to make his escape. Ryu and Jack give chase, but the damage has been done. Their command centre is in ruins, and what they believed to be a trusted friend is now their enemy.

The Dragon Bird and Astro Robin pursue the Red Gazelle across the highway, but the cyborg's computer-assisted powers are too high-tech for them. He brakes suddenly to get behind them, then rams Jack's machine with precision accuracy to disable it... this is Ryu's fight now!

Unfortunately, the Red Gazelle rams the Dragon Bird into the barrier before boosting away, giving him no chance to catch up. Clank gives him an earful about this when he returns, upset about the robot's disappearance, but Ryu assures him the two will meet again, hopefully on more pleasant terms. In the meantime, he's repaired the boy's photo pendant, something which cheers him up.

Mighty Gazelle is back in the hands of Dark Million, undergoing repairs, but Black Shadow has accomplished all that he needed. Reviving Roy's brain was a gambit to get his paws on Dr. Stewart's medical technology, to create an organism of his own to fight against Captain Falcon. A containment pod arises from the ground, a figure shattering it from the inside, and out steps a clone of Captain Falcon...

Blood Falcon!

Burt's F-Zero Classroom: Burt answers several questions today.
Why does Burt have a scar on his face? That's a secret!
Does Burt have Captain Falcon's autograph? Of course!
Why can't I see the feet of Burt's puppet? You can now!
Does Burt know Black Shadow personally? Nope. "I'd tell you if I did!"

Ryu and Jack narrate the "next episode" preview pretending to be Captain Falcon and Blood Falcon, making silly voices and calling themselves "Captain Blood". It's very silly.