Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron and all rights go their respective companies.
Chapter 1
The world was burning and the only thing they could do was run this time. No Goddard. No inventions. No Jimmy. Not even he could save them this time. The people he could save however were his friends. He could still save her.
"Goddard, increase the lab's defenses by 40%, divert power from the backup generator to compensate for the lack of power we have right now."
That will buy us enough time, he thought.
"Alright Jim, so what's the plan?" Libby asked, a little concerned there wasn't one. Panic enveloped her features when there came no response. He had a plan. Of course he did, right?
Normally this would have been the point in which she would chastise him in some fashion. Normally they would start a huge argument based upon the smallest little idiosyncrasy or general opinion about something.
Normally we wouldn't be running for our lives, she then added, but only in thought.
Jimmy worked tremendously to get his invention working, the one that could save them. He hadn't used it since...since Libby's party. All he needed was one minute. One exact minute. 60 seconds. 60,000 milliseconds and he could have done it.
The lab's defenses were depleted. The turrents and shield completely exhausted. The intruders broke in and only found teenage kids behind a locked door. A locked they would eventually open.
Jimmy finished the external wiring needed for calibration. "Alright, everyone in, now!" The door burst open with a huge explosion knocking the wind out of almost everyone. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she saw Libby being grabbed by one of the intruders. It wasn't even a second before Sheen tackled the intruder and Libby to the ground desperately trying to save her. Carl was caught in the explosion. It was ugly. Cindy looked on, mortified at his mangled body. She could make out his glasses next to his body, broken and shattered. But so was he. Jimmy noticed the portal of the Chrono Arch beginning to dwindle. He inspected it quickly and was horrified at the result, horrified, but determined. "Vortex, C-Cindy, you have to go through, we don't have any time." He shook her from her trance and she could only whisper.
"What about you?"
"The Chrono Arch took damage from the lack of power and the recent explosion. It will only be able to support the entry of one carbon-based lifeform before it collaspes."
"So t-that m-means?" she asked through sobs, already knowing the answer he was about to give.
"That means you go, and I stay." Even a genius couldn't hold back a tear or two at this current situation.
Jimmy was struck in the back by a foreign object. He gasped in pain but only had one more objective before he would enter that beckoning call to sleep. He pushed Cindy through the portal but not before saying one last thing.
"Make it count." and with that he kissed her cheek, both surprising and angering her.
"Jimmy, wait!" she had wanted to at least say good bye or return the kiss but now it was too late, her chance squandered.
She burst into tears. Her shoulders picking up and dropping with each sob. She only knew the fate of Jimmy and Carl. She thought her chest would explode from the pain brought on by thinking of Jimmy slowly bleed out. She then wept for the fall of the wise, true friend called Carl.
She wept for what seemed like hours, Her thoughts reeling back to the last moments she knew before she was thrust into another timeline. A man stood watching, deciding to let her cry for a little, and also unsure what to make of the situation. He then decided to comfort her, she was only a girl, and he reasoned she could do no harm. He walked up to her from behind and knelt down, as she was on her knees.
"Hey there, little one." he spoke in the softest voice he could muster.
She would swear she wouldn't have even heard the voice were it a decibel lower, she looked up, only to be met with the deepest ocean blue of eyes. Eyes she was convinced were now gone. "J-J-Jimmy?"
"The one and only. But I prefer James now if that's okay."
"Uh, s-sure J-James."
"It's pretty late."
"Huh?
"It's pretty late, you should get some rest, you look like you were hit by a truck."
He picked her up bridal style and carried her to a nearby couch. He set her down and sat on the other end of the couch. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.
"Jimmy how old are you?"
"I am 25 years old Cindy, and you seem to be, guessing by your body features, height, weight, and maturity of your voice, I'd say your 16."
She blushed deeply at the fact of him noticing her 'body features'. Thankfully her blush was obscured due to the dim lighting. "Are you asking me or telling me?"
"Telling, of course." he said with that smirk which give her butterflies in the pit of her stomach. That's when she truly looked at him, memorizing his face and recognizing all the things that made him look like Jimmy. She realized that he'd grown a beard, and when he picked her up he was about 6'0, and he had more of a spiky hairdo. But then she looked into those old familiar eyes. They seemed so friendly, but distant. Like he knew she shouldn't be here, and the fact that she was, meant something was very wrong. "Cindy, why are you here? Did I send you here?" he asked delicately.
She felt herself fighting back tears once again and could only whisper once again, "You got hurt..." her voice cracking.
"I see"
It was nearing midnight and Jimmy then got up to let her sleep. He was disturbed at his aforementioned death. But he figured it was for the best. That way he couldn't hurt anyone else. Not again anyway.
"James, can you stay here with me? I don't think I can take being alone again."
"Uh sure Cindy, anything for you, but we have a lot to talk about in the morning."
He stayed on the couch with her all night, his mind unable to rest from all the possible consequences of his own actions. Even different timelines of me seem to screw things up for me, for which he let out a small laugh.
Cindy was awoken by, laughter? She opened her eyes a little and saw James smiling and watching the huge televison mounted on the wall. He didn't see her awaken so she decided to grab his hand. She interlocked her fingers with his. Shock overcame his features first, but then a gentle smile crept to his lips. He smiled down at her, and shequickly went back to sleep. But not before she whispered a " I love you" and closed her eyes. Jimmy almost didn't hear it and he question his hearing for over an hour debating if intended for him to hear or whether she said it at all.
End Of Chapter 1
A/N: If you're reading this then if you would like a visual picture of what I imagine Jimmy to look like just search, 'Gideon Emrey AW' and that should give you a pretty good idea of what he looks like. As for Cindy I picture her to be none other than Chloe Grace Moretz, green eyes and all.
-Hyyerr
