A/N: Titled because I wanted to title it. So there. I know it's been slightly more than two weeks since I updated, but I hope that this chapter is good enough to compensate. If it isn't, then I apologize.
Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue. Simple as that.
Chapter Four: What Have You Done
Jimmy awoke feeling oddly warm and comforted, though he couldn't ascertain why immediately. Something soft had perched on his lap, but, wait, hadn't he gone to sleep in a bed last night? Yet, there it was, snuggled against him with its warm air on his cheek and the gentle rise and fall of a chest beside his. Jimmy blinked and, like that, his brain jump-started. The delicate creature on his lap was none other than Cindy Vortex in her most docile form. He bit back a chuckle. If he wasn't so afraid of how a caged tiger rose, he might find this amusing.
Cindy had ensconced herself in his arms and Jimmy removed them. They had cramped during the night; he must have rested them on his keyboard, shut his eyes, and then drifted off, with Cindy's arms around his neck. He must have been truly exhausted not to notice her position. The monitor in front of him blinked a red warning message and he groaned. In order to properly trace what had happened to produce the error, he would have to be closer to the keyboard, but Cindy impeded his progress. Still, he was loath to dispel her.
The sound of robotic laughter wrenched Jimmy's attention away and he discovered Goddard trotting up to his master. The dog barked and wagged his tail, but Jimmy knew better. There was a wolfish grin on his face.
"What are you laughing at, boy?" Jimmy said and shifted Cindy's weight to one leg. She slumped, still fast asleep, and nestled her head in the crook of his neck.
"Are you quite comfortable, master?" Goddard said and even though they were only words on a green screen, the dog was mocking him.
"She fell asleep that way," Jimmy said defensively and the dog snickered.
"Uh-huh," Goddard said.
"She did! I did nothing to encourage it!" Jimmy cried.
"Mmm-hmm," Goddard shot back. He barked again and nuzzled Cindy's hand. Cindy whined and drew her arms tighter around Jimmy. Jimmy groaned and looked at Goddard, who had frozen and pretended to be the epitome of innocence. Jimmy wasn't buying it.
"You're just loving every second of this, aren't you?" Jimmy said and Goddard yipped.
"I'm recording it for posterity," Goddard replied and grinned. Jimmy glared and lunged, but Goddard produced a metal hand to push Jimmy back into the chair.
"Hasten not or you'll awaken Sleeping Beauty and turn her into the Beast," Goddard said and Jimmy grimaced. He brought his hands up to her arms around his neck and gently extracted them. She moaned, tossing her head, and Jimmy got a face full of her blonde hair. While it was surprisingly supple and luxurious, it wasn't exactly what he had intended to taste first thing in the morning.
Goddard sat on his haunches and watched Cindy curiously.
"C'mon, Vortex, get up," Jimmy murmured and Cindy shifted in his lap. She nuzzled his cheek and Jimmy reddened. He pried her fingers loose and rested them against her hips. Then, he pushed her to one side of the chair. Her eyelids fluttered and she exhaled sharply. He waited a minute, and, sure enough, she awoke. It didn't take long for the dopey expression to vanish and her true personality to shine forth. Jimmy only wished he'd have been able to brace for impact.
"Neutron! What the hell is your problem?" Cindy snapped and Jimmy held his now stinging cheek. You could always count on Cindy to wake you up with a slap across the face.
"Not to state the obvious, Vortex, but you fell asleep in my arms," Jimmy retorted. "I did not accost you from your bed nor did I sequester you last night. You came to me after your mother called and then demanded I track her phone number."
Cindy groaned and rubbed her eyes. Her blonde hair was tussled and she gawked at him for a second. Jimmy pushed her off the chair and, bereft of what he considered normal functioning in the morning, she fell on her butt. She scoffed and, after a few seconds, rose to her feet again. Jimmy stared blankly. Apparently, not everyone's brain functioned well after just waking up. Maybe it was an anomaly specific to him.
"Fine," she said. She scrutinized the lab and he heartily expected the next three words (technically four, considering the contraction) to be "I'm going home". Another minute passed with no sign of those words and he frowned.
"Don't you have some place else to be?" Jimmy asked pointedly. "Home, perhaps?"
"I'm not going back there," Cindy said bluntly. Jimmy frowned. The expression on her face was nothing short of desperate. She turned back to him and stared at him. Her hands were on her hips and Jimmy flushed, remembering where they had been when he awoke not ten minutes ago.
"I'm staying here," she said.
"What? But you can't," Jimmy protested. "This is my laboratory. My sanctuary. You have a home."
Cindy shook her head and then rested on a table nearby. She looked beyond him and Jimmy scowled. He had no time to investigate Cindy's problems when he had to trace the source of the error that had compromised his system last night. He would contend with her later. Perhaps when she had fully awoken, she would realize the folly of her demand.
He spun the chair around and Cindy shifted to rest her arms on its top. Jimmy tried to ignore her, but the fragrant shampoo she had used last night made that difficult. He could smell the apples and his heart raced. He had an insane urge to bury his face in her hair and inhale deeply. What was it with girls and smelling nice? They were so distracting.
"Do you mind?" Jimmy snapped. "I have business to attend to that doesn't involve you."
"I think it does," Cindy sneered back and flicked the top of his hair. He blinked and swiveled his head to gape at her.
"What are you doing?" Jimmy said quietly, guarded.
"Your hair goes down when you're depressed," she said. Jimmy caught her finger the next time she flicked the tip and he held it a second too long. His heart skipped another beat and he exhaled shakily. He had spent the last two years searching for his father and in that time, had nearly forgotten how strong his attraction to Cindy was. Perhaps he should have returned her home after she fell asleep last night instead of permitting himself to cradle her the way he had.
"That's interesting," Jimmy said sarcastically. "Now get out. You're encumbering my research."
"Huh," she said and left her position to trace the mouse near his right hand. He glared and she maneuvered the cursor to click on the specific error message Jimmy would have investigated before Cindy interfered. He opened his mouth to snap at her when she double clicked to produce the entire warning message.
"The tracker was rerouted before it was terminated. Everything in that specific area has been placed off limits," Cindy said and Jimmy glared.
"I can read and analyze on my own, thank you," he snapped. "Now, if you're done pestering me, Cindy, get out of my laboratory."
"No," Cindy retorted.
"Vortex," Jimmy growled and Cindy thrust her face close to his.
"Neutron," she countered and his heart raced. She leaned forward and Jimmy found himself doing the same. Too close…
Sasha groaned and rubbed her eyes. Like her daughter, she had a difficult time rousing herself out of bed and being cognizant of her surroundings. She needed coffee. Without it, she would probably kill something within the next ten minutes. She looked at Hugh, who was snoring and muttering about ducks in his sleep. Not even people she loved were immune.
She put on her slippers and shuffled into the kitchen. Daylight streamed through the living room window. The living room was really just a 23-inch TV atop wooden shelving with a couch and a love seat flanking it on either side. It was against the left side and, beyond it, was the small collection of ducks that Hugh had accrued in England. Duck figurines, duck carvings, you name it, rested atop a few bookcases filled with old records. If Sasha was going to erase her past, she wanted to start a few decades back.
The kitchen was to her right and she turned, groggy. The coffee pot rested on its maker near the fridge. Sasha grimaced. When she had shut the drawer with the Hypno Ray in it, she had banged the wire protruding from its center by accident. She couldn't afford to break the Hypno Ray and lose control of Hugh. Plus, she doubted that its original inventor would fix the object, no questions asked, and let her continue on with her lie.
Pressing a red button on the coffee maker, she listened to it hum and watched warm liquid trickle in to join the nearly empty container. She smiled and, once that was settled, grabbed a mug from the cabinet overhead. A duck had been plastered on its sides and she grimaced, replacing it with a saner one. She knew she should have put her foot down somewhere when it came to Hugh's obsession. If she weren't careful, ducks would overrun her and quack her out of house and home. She didn't know how Judy stood it.
Once the coffee was prepared, she poured herself a cup and inhaled the caffeine-y goodness. Hugh padded into the kitchen and blinked, gawking at her. She sipped, sedate, and patted the chair beside her.
"Where am I? Where's Judy?" he said and frowned. "What are you doing here?"
Sasha sighed and placed the mug down. She retrieved the hypno ray and squeezed the trigger. The ray's disk span, but Hugh had turned his head. He stared at their apartment and confusion spread across his face. He took a step back and gaped at her.
"Where's Jimbo? Where am I?" he repeated and Sasha advanced. He retreated, backing into the sofa.
"Never mind them," Sasha said and Hugh turned his head again. Sasha growled and advanced. He fell over the sofa and Sasha lorded over him with the hypno ray.
"That's Jimmy's. Why do you have it?" Hugh said and pushed off the floor. He straightened out and Sasha carefully circled the couch rather than repeat his mistake and trip over it.
"Look at the circle, Hugh," Sasha snapped. "Don't think about Judy or Jimmy. Look at the circle. Retroville doesn't exist. Just the circle. Pretty circle."
Hugh whacked her arm away and her grip on the hypno ray loosened. She growled and squeezed the trigger harder. Hugh ducked and glared, hands on his hips.
"Oh, no, you're not getting me with that thing," he snapped and Sasha snarled, thrusting it at his chest.
"You're going to be hypnotized whether you like it or not," she snapped. Hugh knocked it away and it flew precariously close to the open window. She stared, stunned for a second. How close she had come…if she lost the hypno ray, with Hugh in this state, she would lose more than just hypnosis…she would lose everything she had worked for…
"What's going on here? Have you been controlling my mind with one of those hypno ray dealies?" Hugh said and Sasha abruptly returned to her senses. She snatched the device off the floor at the same time Hugh dove for it. Victorious, she held it above her head and pointed it at Hugh. Before she could squeeze the trigger, Hugh whacked it away and it flew through the window and at the fire escape. Rattle, rattle, rattle and when she looked over, it fell through the space between the stairs and the small platform. She swallowed hard and watched as it crashed, smashing to bits.
"No…" she breathed.
"I demand to know what's going on," Hugh snapped.
"Shit…" Sasha muttered. Somehow, that word didn't feel strong enough to convey the wrongness of what had just transpired. More like "the sky is falling, Chicken Little".