Sorry, this really shouldn't have taken as long as it did.


Chapter Two: Agent Lima

School had been as good as it always was – which meant it was fundamentally awful and educationally worthless, but at least nothing had been set on fire. But now the day had come to an end, and Timmy was walking home with his friends. It was a beautiful afternoon, and he hummed to himself as Chester and AJ argued about who would win in a fight between the Crimson Chin and Crash Nebula.

Eventually they reached an intersection. The light was red, so Timmy stopped and turned around.

"Mind if I butt in?" he asked.

He continued before Chester and AJ could reply.

"So how about that 'end of the world' meltdown?" he asked.

"I know, right?" chuckled Chester, "Veronica's finally lost it. I mean, people getting thrown into the air or something? What's that even supposed to mean."

"She could be onto something," mused AJ, "It's not like we haven't dealt with aliens and monsters attacking this place before..."

"Yeah, but men in black?" sniffed Timmy, "Ridiculous!"

"Agent Dorian Fletcher," reminded AJ curtly.

Timmy's grin faltered for the briefest of moments.

"He was different," he replied, "He was a CIA agent. That's hardly a shady top-secret MiB sort of thing."

"He wore a black suit, he worked for the government..." began AJ.

"...and he's dead," replied Timmy firmly, "What else is there? MERF are incompetent, the GiW wear white, SHIELD fell apart – face it, AJ, there's no-one else who could possibly fit that description. Come on, we faced the end of the world, we kicked it's butt. We're gonna be fine."

"And if we're not?" asked AJ.

"What do you think's gonna happen?!" demanded Timmy, "You think some kind of agent is just gonna start abducting us off the streets?"

Quite suddenly, a black limousine skidded to a halt on the curb. The door flew open and a hand flung out, grabbing Timmy's collar and yanking him inside. The door slammed and the limo sped off.

Chester and AJ stared down the road as it disappeared into the distance.

"...okay, that was odd," breathed Chester.

"Doomsday prep time?" asked AJ.

"Doomsday prep time," nodded Chester.


Dib was headed for the front door, his backpack filled with enough supplies to last about a week on the road. He strode through the kitchen, attracting the attention of his dour sister, Gaz, who was knelt over her GameSlave, as always.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

"Swollen Eyeball!" shouted Dib, "Tear between universes, aliens, gravity going..."

He stammered a little, then made an exaggerated upwards movement with his arms while making a 'fwoop' noise.

"Shady government people," continued Dib, "Need to save world! Keep eye on Zim for me! 'Kay bye!"

He ran towards the front door.

Wait a minute.

He skidded to a halt.

"Wait, since when do you care where I'm going?" he asked.

"I don't," replied Gaz, "The less time you're here to annoy me, the better."

"...alright," nodded Dib, slightly suspiciously, "Bye then."

He walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Gaz raised an eyebrow. Then she did the unthinkable. She paused her game.

Getting to her feet, she walked over to the phone and quickly dialled a number.

"Agent Bravo."

"He's on the move," said Gaz.

There was a long pause.

"Good."


Timmy had found himself in an admittedly comfortable seat – right between Jimmy and Dani in fact. The three (along with Spongebob and Jenny, who were sat in seats along the side) were seated across from a dour-faced, brown-haired man in a black suit and tie – his slightly freckled skin seemed a little too pale, and Timmy couldn't see any evidence of his eyes behind his dark shades. He very much fit the description of the archetypal 'man in black.'

"Who are you?" demanded Timmy, "Why are we here."

"Don't worry, Timmy, he's gonna..." began Jimmy.

"Agent Lima, Majestic-12," said Lima, "We have a job for you."

"Majestic-what?" asked Timmy.

"Majestic-12," replied Jimmy, a grin crossing his face, "A top-secret US Government agency that researches alien life on Earth. I always thought they were a myth...but-but they're real and they want our help and..."

"Jimmy, are you fangirling?" asked Dani.

"I'm not fangirling," sniffed Jimmy, "I'm..."

"Mr. Neutron, please stop fangirling, we have business to discuss," interrupted Lima.

Jimmy pouted slightly and crossed his arms.

"We've been watching you for some time," said Lima, "Your altercations with Romulus and the Warlord greatly impressed us. We'd like to know if you want to go beyond."

"Beyond?" repeated Jenny, tilting her head, "How do you go beyond the apocalypse?"

"There are things happening as we speak that would turn your hair grey," replied Lima, "People are working in the darkness to end mankind and bring about..."

"...world domination, been there, done that," interrupted Dani.

"Not world domination," replied Lima, "Worse. These people aim for nothing less than the catastrophic destruction of society as we know it. They can't be reasoned with, they can't be dealt..."

"Yeah, I saw that one," said Timmy, "Something something world burn, how is that different to anything else we've dealt with?"

"Turner," hissed Jimmy, "Let him finish."

"There is a person, or something that can be roughly called a person," said Lima, "A person more powerful than even the Warlord. A person who cannot be reasoned with and cannot be destroyed. A person who has influenced humanity for millennia."

There was a long silence.

"Don't tell me the Man in the White Suit is back," groaned Jimmy.

"Or it could be Remus," shrugged Dani, "We still haven't worked out what Atkinson meant by..."

"It's neither," replied Lima, "His name is classified at the highest level. We can give you the name of one of his known followers – Vlad Masters."

There was a long silence.

"We believe the Syndicate is working for an enemy of the state," said Lima, "They are finding something for him, and if they are successful it will mean the end of life as we know it. You know their weaknesses, so we need you to stop them."

He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out an envelope.

"This is a shipping manifest we took from the post office in Amity Park," he explained, "It states that Vlad Masters received a shipment this morning – the contents of the package were not listed, but the return address was marked with the name of a very high-ranking agent of his adversary. We need you to take the package."

"And report back when we know what it is?" asked Jimmy.

"You catch on quickly, Mr. Neutron," nodded Lima, "Act tonight – intel suggests that Masters is leaving town tomorrow for a meeting on the West Coast. Tell no-one about us or your mission. Good luck."

He tapped the tinted window that separated them from the driver. The silhouette behind it nodded and the limo pulled over.

"Any questions?"

"Why should we listen to-" began Timmy.

"We're all aboard, Agent Lima!" said Jimmy enthusiastically, "You can count on us."

He opened the door and jumped out. The rest of the Nicktoons followed him, keen to get away from the strange government agent.

For a second, Timmy looked back – he could have sworn that he'd seen Lima smirk at him. Then the door slammed and the limo sped away, leaving them in a field outside town.

"...and he dumped us in the wilderness," grunted Timmy, "I like him already."

"Anyone else find that guy a bit...creepy?" asked Spongebob.

"Don't worry about it," beamed Jimmy, "Heck, Dealing with Majestic-12 could be our big break, guys!"

"I'm not sure I trust them, Jim," muttered Timmy warily.

"Oh, come on!" scoffed Jimmy, "They're government, Turner, they're on our side!"

"Fletcher was on our side," replied Timmy, "These guys...I dunno, whatever you say, Jim."

"Great!" exclaimed Jimmy, rubbing his hands together, "Let's get back to the lab – I've got a mission to plan!"


Agent Lima leant back in his chair and activated his earpiece.

"Bravo," he said, "Any word from our dear friend Gazlene?"

"The boy is on his way to Dimmsdale," replied Bravo, "We'll be moving our people on the ground up north. They'll act as a welcoming committee if the grab goes wrong."

"Excellent," nodded Lima, "I'll close the net. I'll see you at Mike Sierra tomorrow."

He deactivated his earpiece and smirked again.

"Showtime," he muttered.


AN: GUYS I THINK LIMA MIGHT NOT BE TRUSTWORTHY