Chapter 2: Fear of the Unknown
There was only a few a minutes left before the town meeting was supposed to start. The boys had been roaming around the hall, waiting for the mayor to arrive.
"Jimmy do you really think this meeting has something to do with that monster?" Carl asked in fear.
"I don't know Carl," Jimmy sighed. "But if it is, at least maybe the mayor could allow me to find it without any police on my case." Jimmy said.
"What was that thing anyways?" Sheen asked out loud.
"It's hard to tell. But it looks like some kind of mutated animal. It's definitely no bear." Jimmy said looking at Goddard's screen. "Just by how fast it was moving once it left. It basically jumped clean over the fence-"
"Hold up." Sheen called out. "If that thing can easily jump over fences then why didn't it do that in the first place?"
"It looks like he might have been running from something." Jimmy explained.
"How do you know that? Carl asked.
"Because I had Goddard look over the neighborhood security cameras I set up before we got here." Jimmy said. "I found another video of that creature running before it crashed through our fence."
Goddard switched the footage with the one Jimmy was talking about and showed the boys the video of the beast running on the empty space that was behind their houses. Even though the quality of the video was slightly blurry, they could easily spot that it was running frantically while looking over it's shoulder. Which is what caused it to accidentally crash into Jimmy's back yard.
"Whoa. That things fast." Sheen said looking at the screen. Goddard switched back to the other video.
"And look at it when it stands up," Jimmy pointed out. Carl and Sheen look closely at the paused video. "You can see a long tail behind it."
"Jimmy it's kind of hard to see anything. It's so dark." Carl complained. Jimmy thought for a moment.
"Hmmm.. Goddard do you think you can be able to switch the camera to night vision?" Jimmy asked his dog.
"Bark! Bark!" Goddard said closing his screen. He made a few noises and opened up the screen again. This time it was night vision.
The boys looked at the screen and gasped for a moment. The first thing that had changed about this creature, was that it's eyes suddenly appeared as a very bright yellow color that illuminated the whole screen. It nearly covered it's entire face.
"Jimmy I gotta be honest with you. That looks like a giant wolf." Sheen suggested.
"We don't know for sure what it is yet Sheen. It must have escaped from a lab somewhere." Jimmy said in a deep thought. That had to be the only explanation.
"Well I wouldn't be surprised if this has anything to do with one of your stupid little experiments again! When are you gonna give it a rest Nerdtron?!" came Cindy's voice from the entrance of the hall.
"Shut up Vortex! You don't even know why they called this meeting. No one does." he answered back.
"Whatever the reason is, it's got your name written all over it." Cindy said putting her hands on her hips.
"Well I guess we'll find out won't we?" he spat. Cindy walked passed him. Making sure she shoved against his shoulder as she did. His jaws clenched tightly.
"Can you and Cindy go one day without hating eachother?" Sheen asked.
"She started it!" Jimmy said angrily.
"Everyone settle down! The meeting has now started!" the Mayor's voice rang out as he hit his hammer against the table repeatedly. Everyone turned around to face him.
"Now I'm all sure everyone is wondering why I called this meeting so I'll cut right to the chase. Last night the police station received a phone call from a resident who owns a cabin up in the woods not far from here. Apparently he kept hearing strange noises coming from his yard, so when he went to go investigate, he said he found a large creature eating one of his cats. He also said he tried to shoot at it with his gun, but only scared it off." The mayor said. Everyone one listened intently.
"This thing was last seen heading for Retroville. We also received phone calls after this encounter by other local residents who reported of almost being attacked or whose property was destroyed by it. So I would just like to know if anyone here has heard or seen anything suspicious. It might help lead to this creature's capture."
Jimmy raised his hand. "I have footage of this beast." Jimmy announced "It crashed into my backyard last night." Jimmy walked up to the stage and had Goddard project the video for everyone to see.
"What on God's name is this...abomination?" the mayor said out loud. Murmurs began to run among the crowd.
"I'm not sure sir. Have any labs nearby been testing with genetically mutated creatures?" Jimmy asked.
"Not that I know of Mr. Neutron. But if they did, we would have received a notice of it's disappearance. Does anyone know what on Earth we can do before this thing continues disrupting the peace within our town?" the mayor asked.
"Mr. Mayor, I believe that I may be able to find a way to capture this beast before it does any more harm. If I can just get some clearance from you, I'll be set and ready to get to work." Jimmy said.
"Hmmmm...you are pretty good at this stuff." the mayor pondered. "And you did stop that lake monster from terrorizing our people... Alright Neutron, you have yourself a deal! I here by declare that James Isaac Neutron is cleared to track down whatever this beast is and bring it to justice!" the mayor yelled out. "This meeting is now adjourned." the mayor slammed the hammer on to the table and everyone was dismissed.
Jimmy stepped down from the stage and met up with Carl and Sheen.
"What do we do now Jim?" Carl asked as the three of them walked out of the hall together.
"For now, the only thing I can do is search my yard for any clues or DNA. If I can just figure out what it could be, then maybe I can see what it needs to survive and there-for plot where it would be heading next." Jimmy explained. He scratched his head and sighed. There goes a normal Saturday.
"But I thought you said it wasn't an animal?" Sheen asked.
"I did. But the mayor said that no labs nearby have reported any of their experiments missing. So it can't be an experiment."
"Whatever it is, please find it Jimmy." Carl said with worry. "I don't wanna get eaten by any kind of monster. I'm too young to die."
"Don't worry Carl. As soon as I get to the lab, I'll upgrade my security system throughout the entire town. And I'll add some special sensors on our block incase it comes back." Jimmy assured his friend. Carl gave him a weak smile, but was still filled with fear.
The boys walked outside and found Cindy and Libby standing around. Now that Sheen and Libby had started going out a month ago, they were all forced to hang out with Cindy more than they were supposed to.
"So Freakbrain you mind telling me what the hell is that thing you unleashed?" Cindy asked with an annoyed tone.
"For the last time Vortex! It. Wasn't. Me!" he yelled angrily. "Whatever it is, I have to find it before it hurts anyone."
"If it wasn't you, then where do it come from?" Libby asked putting her arms around Sheen.
Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know yet. That's why I have to go home and find out."
"Do you want us to help you?" Sheen asked eagerly.
"No. I'm afraid that I'll have to do this on my own. This can be too dangerous for you guys." Jimmy answered.
"Oh here we go again. Mr. Smarty Pants here thinks that he can do this all by himself without help from anyone." Cindy said crossing her hands.
"Cindy this is too dangerous for you guys. I have to do it on my own." Jimmy explained.
"What's so dangerous about it? We're not even going after the monster yet. All we're doing is searching your yard for clues." Cindy said.
"First of all , there is no 'we' in this Vortex. I'm doing this alone whether you like it or not. If I feel that it's too dangerous for you guys, then you will not help me. It doesn't matter if it's just to get more intel on this thing." Jimmy said with a scowl.
"Your not gonna be able to figure this out on your own Neutron. Just let me help you. It'll be quicker." Cindy pleaded.
"No! I'm doing this on my own because this is too dangerous for any of you. That's my final answer." Jimmy said sternly.
"By the time you even figure out what this thing, it would have destroyed half the town already!" Cindy yelled.
"Well then I better get started." Jimmy said in a low tone. He turns to Carl and Sheen.
"Sorry guys. I guess we can't go to Retroland today. You want me to give you a ride back home?"
"Nah I'm good. I'll just hang out with Libby here." Sheen said winking at Libby who just rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay. What about you Carl?"
"I'll be fine. I'll just stay with Sheen an Libby." Carl answered
Jimmy avoided Cindy's gaze as she did the same.
"I better go. I'll call you guys later." Jimmy said after a long silence. Everyone nodded except for Cindy. He walked back to his hovercar and left. Carl, Sheen, and Libby all looked at eachother.
"Ummm. How about we all go hang out at the Candy Bar? Libby suggested.
"Yeah good idea." Sheen said giving his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.
"Fine by me." Carl said putting his thumbs up. Everyone looked at Cindy who was still looking down at the floor.
"Lighten up Cindy. If Jimmy doesn't want your help, it must be for a good reason." Libby said.
"That's not why. He just enjoys being that arrogant ass who thinks he can solve everything on his own. After all we have been through, he still doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle whatever he does and I'm sick of it!" she yelled in frustration.
"Don't get mad Vortex. That's just how he is. Plus why would you want to do anything as boring as finding DNA in his backyard. Just come with us to the Candy Bar." Sheen said.
"No I think I'll pass." Cindy said turning around. "I'll see you later Libs." And with that, she was gone. Everyone just shook their heads and rolled their eyes...
Jimmy had been to busy observing every inch of his mother's destroyed garden to hear that Cindy was calling out his name from behind him. She grew annoyed at the fact that he would always ignore her and walked over to where he was.
"Nerdtron are you deaf or something?" She yelled out. Jimmy snapped out of his concentration and looked at her.
"Cindy what are you doing here? I told you that I needed to be alone in order to figure this out." Jimmy said putting his eyes back on the garden.
"Obviously you haven't gotten anywhere in the past hour. All you've been doing is staring at your stupid garden!" Cindy yelled.
"Well maybe if you let me concentrate I can-" he paused. "Wait.. How do you know what I've been doing for the last hour?" Jimmy asked skeptically. "Were you spying on me?"
"Oh please! Don't flatter yourself! I kept an eye on you in order to prove that you can't do this on your own!" Cindy yelled.
"Yes I can! Look." Jimmy said pointing to one area of the garden that had been turned inside out. "I found paw prints over there, but that's not enough. I need a hair or spit or something to be able to track it down." Jimmy said.
"Then let me help you find it. There's nothing dangerous about just helping you find clues." Cindy said moving closer to examine the mess.
"It is dangerous. What if it comes back while we're looking? I can't risk it Vortex." Jimmy said.
"What does it matter to you? Since when do you ever care about my safety?" Cindy asked bitterly.
"I always have!" Jimmy spat. He paused for a moment after realizing what he just said. Cindy was also caught off guard by it.
"Uhhhh...what I meant was that...umm.. The safety of my friends matters a lot to me." he said nervously. Cindy's stunned expression suddenly turned into a warm hopeful smile.
"Jimmy did you just admit that you care about my safety?" she asked with a sweeter tone.
He hesitated for a moment before answering. "Well...y-yeah...why wouldn't I?" he said rubbing the back of his neck.
"I don't know I guess you never..really..show it." she finished off. "Out of all the things that we have been through together, you think that I can't handle something like this? We've been in worse situations."
Jimmy sighed and looked into her eyes. "Is that why you keep insisting on helping me with this? If I'm not letting you, it's not because I don't think you can handle it. It's because this is something that I didn't create. I know nothing about its habits or what it's capable of doing. I just don't want you to get hurt." He said sincerely. "And I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I just want everyone to be safe."
Cindy looked into his beautiful ocean blue eyes and knew that he was being truly honest with her.
"Well...I guess I'm.. Sorry too Nerdtron. But please at least let me look. I can protect myself. It's just looking. Don't be so paranoid." she said giving him a soft punch in his shoulder. He looked at her and sighed in defeat.
"Ok fine. Just be careful and keep a close eye on anything that may be a clue." Jimmy said. Cindy nodded and they both went on with the search...
Unfortunately after many hours of looking, Jimmy and Cindy finally decided to call it a day. She left him alone so that he may finish cleaning up whatever was left of his yard. Luckily, Goddard's lite speed clean up spared him the endless hours it would have taken him to repair everything.
"Now I need you to be honest with me Jimmy, this doesn't have to do with any of your experiments does it?" Mrs. Neutron asked her son at dinner.
"Mom I already told you that it wasn't me. And even if it was my experiment, it would have destroyed my lab as well. I swear I wasn't apart of it." Jimmy said for the millionth time that day.
"I hope you know what your doing Jimbo. This seems very dangerous son." Mr. Neutron said between bites of his meatloaf.
"To be honest with you dad, I really don't think I know what I'm doing. But I already told the mayor I can track it down and capture it. I can't let the town down." Jimmy said.
"That's a big burden for you to carry Jimmy. I know you want to help sweetie, but this isn't safe. What if you get hurt?" his mother asked in concern.
"Then at least I tried mom. I can't back down now. If I could just get a lead of some kind, I might be able to find it before it hurts anyone." Jimmy explained. It really was too much for him to handle. Especially since this wasn't even his mess to clean up. Note to self, don't forget to take mini vacation after this, he said to himself. After 14 years of playing hero, he believed he earned himself some time off from saving the world. Or saving the town for that matter. Maybe travel to some place far. Somewhere he can relax and be worry free for a while. But that will have to happen after he captures this thing of course.
Once he finished his dinner, Jimmy dismissed himself from the table and retreated into his room. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sooner this was over the better. He said to himself. Jimmy got up and walked over to his window and looked up at the sky. It was the full moon again. Gosh the moon looks so beautiful tonight. The moon would have been the perfect place for him to escape from reality. If it hadn't been for his younger brother Brobot who was currently occupying it as his home. There was no way he was risking running into him again. The whole point of leaving for a while was to escape his problems. Not to find new ones.
Goddard snuggled closer to Jimmy's leg and let out a whine. Jimmy looked down at his pet and smiled at him. He sat down by his computer and put Goddard on his lap. Goddard wagged his tail and licked his master on the cheek.
"Don't worry boy. I'm not leaving yet. I still gotta take care of this first and then I'll be off." Jimmy said scratching the back of Goddard's ear the way he likes it. Goddard let out another whimper.
"You know I'm not leaving forever. I'll just a be gone a few weeks. A month or so. I just need some time off. That's it. I'll be back before you know it." Jimmy assured his dog. Goddard still didn't seem convinced but he didn't press the matter any further.
Jimmy set him back down and walked over to his dresser. He removed his shirt and replaced it with a plain white one. Jimmy didn't bother changing his pants. For some reason he finds it quite comfortable sleeping with his jeans on. Before Jimmy turned off the lights of his room, he looked out the window again. This time, he looked across the street to Cindy's house. The way he always does before going to sleep. He looked at her window and noticed that her lights were still on. Will it made sense that she was still up. It was only 8 p.m on a Saturday night. Normally, Jimmy would have been out doing something by now, but today had been a long day for him and all he really felt like doing was crawling back into bed and never waking up. He took a closer look at her window with his telescope and saw her sitting in bed watching her TV.
Even though he felt like somewhat of a stalker, it soothed him to know that she was safe for the time being. He had to do this every night before going to bed or else he would just be tossing and turning the whole night until he finally checked up on her. After making so many enemies in the past, it was hard for him not to be paranoid about her safety. At any moment, one of his mortal enemies such as professor Calamitous or Eustace Stryche could easily kidnap her or do something worse.. He hated to think about it. He didn't know what he would do if anything ever happened to her because of him. Jimmy really did care about her. A lot more than he thinks. At least to know that she was safe in her room, made him feel better.
Jimmy sighed in relief and turned the lights off from his room. Goddard followed him to bed.
"Goddard don't forget to alert me if you detect any strange activity. You remembered to upgrade the security system right?" Jimmy asked. Goddard nodded his head and barked. Jimmy took this as a yes.
"Good boy." Jimmy said pulling the covers over him. "Goodnight."
It was only eleven thirty at night when Jimmy checked his clock in a haze. Goddard had been barking at him for a long time until he finally decided to through Jimmy off the bed in order to wake him up.
"Ughhhh... Goddard..w-what is it boy?"Jimmy croaked. He lifted himself off the floor while rubbing the throbbing pain on his left temple that occurred shortly after hitting one of the open drawers next to his bed.
Goddard barked at him frantically while opening up his chest to reveal one of the cameras that was set up across the street from a deli market. Jimmy looked closely at the screen and saw a familiar figure breaking through the window of the Deli. It began knocking every chair and table that was in it's way until it found the giant pieces of meat that was hung up deep inside of the kitchen. Since the camera was set up from across the market, Jimmy couldn't see any further. His eyes widened with both excitement and fear.
"Goddard is he still in there?!" Jimmy asked turning on the lights of his room and quickly putting on his shoes. Goddard nodded.
"This is perfect. If we make it there fast, we can catch him now. Let's go boy!" Jimmy yelled out running out the door. Goddard chased after his master...
End of Chapter 2
I hope everyone is enjoying this so far. Let's see if Jimmy will manage to catch this beast before it causes anymore damage. Read and review! Please.
