Time Fixers: Nicktoons of the Future

Episode 5: Mind Over Maxxer

Plot: Maxwell discovers he has the ability the read minds. While everyone sees it as a useful ability, Maxwell finds that he has trouble controlling it and inadvertently keeps reading everyone's minds and revealing their personal thoughts out loud, causing tension between the Nicktoons. Can SpongeTron help Maxwell stop himself from invading the minds of his friends?

Part 1

One day in Retroville, things were taking a daring turn as the Syndicate was trying to break into Nicktoon HQ to take Maxwell as hired by Eustace Strych. Mr. Crocker pounded on the door and shouted, "Open up, Neutron! We know you got a child with mental abilities in there!"

"That's not how you do it, Denzel." Plankton said as he waved to Calamitous. "Blow it down, Professor." On cue, Professor Calamitous's arm turned into a large cannon and was about to blast the door down until a large black shadow sprung up from in front of the doors.

"Nice try," a voice said as the shadow disappears into Darry Phantom, "But we have rules about breaking and entering."

The doors of HQ open as Tammy, Tommy, SpongeTron, and Maxwell come out. "Whatever it is you want you're not getting it!" Tammy shouted to the Syndicate.

"Like we would ever tell you children what we're doing." Mr. Crocker stated.

Maxwell then heard Mr. Crocker's voice, 'That Eustace Strych better pay us double for all the trouble we're going through just to get one kid.'

He then demanded to know, "What do you mean Eustace Strych sent you?!"

The Syndicate looked surprised. "Uh...nope! No way Strych sent us to capture you. It was all our entire plan," Plankton stated.

That's when Maxwell heard Plankton's voice, 'Though he promised me the Krabby Patty formula if we yank that device off the brat.'

Maxwell gasped in shock as he held his head, "You know about the device?"

They were surprised again by Maxwell's knowledge of their plan. "Alright, who said that?" Plankton asked his comrades.

The Nicktoons were prepared to fight them until he heard Calamitous's voice of frustration, 'I have to do everything myself.' and aimed his large cannon at the Nicktoons.

"Look out!" Maxwell warned, allowing the Nicktoons to dodge the blast from Calamitous just in time.

"Nicktoons Go!" Darry shouted.

They charged at the Syndicate with their weapons. Darry punched at Calamitous, who blocked his punch, and Tammy swung her jump rope at Crocker. Maxwell then heard Plankton again, 'Once I get inside that robot, I'll take him apart wire by wire.'

Maxwell quickly turned around and shouted, "SpongeTron, watch out! Plankton's sneaking up on you!"

SpongeTron's eyes widen in alert and he turned to see Plankton behind him, about to jump on him. "Eww," he said, kicking Plankton away. "Personal space."

As Calamitous tried to hold off Darry, he wondered, "How does he know our plans?"

"Because you're saying them out loud!" Maxwell yelled, "And that's pretty dumb!"

"Really?" Tommy asked. "I haven't heard them say anything."

"Yeah, they've kinda been silent during the fight," Tammy explained when Max heard her, 'Wow, it's like he's reading their minds or something.'

Maxwell was surprised by hearing her voice since he hadn't seen her move her mouth. But then he heard Crocker again, 'Let's see the little psychic boy get an A out of this bomb.' He turns to Crocker to see him throw an F-shaped bomb towards Maxwell. He put up a psychic shield, but the blast still knocked him back against a hard wall and he fell on the ground. The Nicktoons gasped in shock at seeing him hurt and rush over to him. Maxwell stared up from the ground before quietly passing out.

"I don't know what's going on, but let's split before the kid predicts more of our attacks," Plankton suggested to his team. The others agree as they ran off.

"Hey, come back here!" Darry yelled, but the Syndicate was already long gone.

"Oh no, is Max okay?" Tammy asked in worry.

SpongeTron walked toward Maxwell and scanned him with his eyes, "Doing a biological scan now. He got hit, but it's not fatal. Just knocked ou-" he froze when he picked up something on his scanners.

"Well, thank goodness," Tommy said in relief, "Let's bring him back in."

SpongeTron blinked as he snapped out of his daze and replied, "Uh…yeah…let's do that."

Later on, Maxwell began to regain consciousness again, only now he was lying on a sofa in HQ surrounded by the Nicktoons, Jimmy, and Cindy. Maxwell heard his friends talking; only they weren't moving their mouths.

'Wow, he's waking up!' Tammy's voice said in excitement, 'That means he's okay.'

'His head is as big as his dad's, so maybe that's why he survived the blast.' Tommy's voice said with a smug grin.

Darry held his forehead and looked distressed, 'Even if he is a jerk, I should've been more alert out there. Some leader I am."

Maxwell suddenly shot up and yelled, "UGH! Will you all stop talking out loud like that! It's really annoying!"

"Uh...we didn't say anything," Tommy shrugged.

"Yeah, I didn't even hear them say anything," SpongeTron agreed.

'Oh no, I wonder if something's wrong with him.' Tammy thought with a panicked look.

'I still think he's a jerk.' Darry thought with an annoyed look. 'Probably just looking for attention like my aunt thinks.'

'Poor baby. I hope he didn't get a concussion.' Cindy thought in concern until she scowled, 'How can Jimmy even think to make him a part of his Nickdweebs. Some genius, he hasn't even noticed I'm wearing a new perfume.'

"Stop that!" Maxwell shouted in anger. "How are you even talking without moving your lips anyway? Are you guys ventriloquists or something?"

"Haven't you heard us? We didn't say anything!" Tammy scolded when she realized, "Unless...Max, what color am I thinking right now?"

Maxwell blinked his eyes while saying, "Purple."

"Right! Now for something harder," Tammy then asked, "What am I thinking right now?"

"Uhh..." Maxwell wondered as he spoke up, "You stepped on Tommy's action figure this morning and you're wondering how you should break the news to him."

"You did WHAT?!" Tommy asked, in anger and shock while Tammy grinned nervously.

Jimmy then got in front of everyone and stared directly at Maxwell. 'Maxwell? Can you really hear everything I'm thinking right now?' Maxwell nodded when Jimmy smiled and exclaimed, "Holy Heisenberg! You must have gained the ability to read minds!"

"What?" Maxwell asked, baffled, "I thought I could just do telekinesis and talk to people in their heads."

"It seems that while the device is increasing your intelligence, it's granting you a new ability as well," Jimmy smiled when he thought, 'Intriguing. I wonder if I can take a few brain cells and study more on his PSI abilities...'

Maxwell backed away, "Nah-uh!" he cried out, "There's NO WAY you're gonna take something outta my head!"

"Wow, you really CAN read minds," Jimmy chuckled.

"Ooh! Ooh! Read my mind! Read my mind!" SpongeTron giggled as he leaned his head closer to Maxwell.

"Uhh...okay." Maxwell replied as he stared directly in front of SpongeTron to read his mind. However, while SpongeTron just stood there in excitement, Maxwell heard nothing. He scrunched his face up to try harder, but still he heard nothing. "Ugh..." he groaned, slouching over, "I can't do it."

'Ha!' Darry thought, smiling to himself. 'I knew that mind-reading thing wouldn't last.'

"I heard that!" Maxwell yelled, pointing a finger at Darry.

"Guess Maxwell's mind-reading powers only work on living organisms...and not robots," Cindy stated.

"Aww gee," SpongeTron groaned in disappointment. "And I really wanted to know what I was thinking."

"But this is still great." Tommy said excitedly. "With the way Max's mind-reading power worked against the Syndicate, we can know just what any villain is thinking of doing and beat them to it."

'I bet he won't see a headlock coming!' Maxwell heard Darry's thoughts and quickly moved out of the way, causing the teen to fall on the ground and miss grabbing him.

But Darry smiled as he lay on the ground. "Wow, it really does mean bad guys can't surprise us again."

"As impressive as this new ability is, I think you should be careful with it, Maxwell." Jimmy said cautiously. "It could be dangerous."

"What can be so dangerous about me knowing what people are thinking?" Maxwell asked carelessly.

"Knowing the thoughts of those around you can be overwhelming and may lead to disastrous results. So I suggest you learn to control it better and not use it unless for dire situations." He then walked out of the room as Maxwell crossed his arms in disappointment and heard Jimmy thinking, 'I wonder what that radiant scent is. Must be some new perfume Cindy's wearing.'

After Cindy left as well, Tammy told Maxwell, "I think your mind-reading powers are awesome, Max."

"Who cares what you think?" Maxwell replied, rolling his eyes.

When he walked away, he heard Tammy sadly thinking, 'I wish he cared a little bit.'

Darry scowled and crossed his arms, 'Guy thinks he's all hot now that he can read minds.'

'I wonder if he even cares about Neutron's warning.' Tommy thought to himself.

"NO, I DON'T" Maxwell shouted angrily, "Now stop thinking it!" and ran out of HQ.

The others glance at him when SpongeTron asked, "What's his problem?"

The next morning, Tommy knocked on the door to Fenton Works and Darry answered, "Hey Dar." Tommy greeted, "Is Max here? Tammy said he was coming here to work or something."

"He's in the backyard with Yuki." Darry pointed out.

The two went into the backyard to see a large tent set up with Maxwell sitting behind it with his legs crossed and eyes closed as if in deep thought.

Inside the tent, Yuki was wearing her "Madame Yuki" turban and was sitting at a table across from a boy. "You're...afraid...of failing your math test." Yuki said, looking at her crystal ball.

"That's right." the boy said in amazement. "But also..."

"But..." Yuki continued as if in deep thought, "It's also because you can't stop staring at a girl in front of you that you have a crush on."

The boy gasped in shock, "How did you know?"

"I AM Madame Yuki after all," Yuki explained, "So you have two options. One: you ask to transfer seats so you don't have anything to be distracted by... or two: ask the girl out on a study date."

The boy was unsure until he asked, "Which do you think I should do?"

Yuki pondered focused on her crystal ball. "Let me ask the spirits." she closed her eyes and thought in her head, 'Okay, give me the answers, Maxwell.'

Outside, Darry and Tommy watch as Maxwell was in deep thought, thinking in his head, 'He's hoping you'll go with the second option.'

Yuki opened her eyes and smiled at the boy, "Ask her out. You'll get a date and a good grade."

"YES!" he cheered. "Thank you!" he paid her money and ran off, happily.

Yuki smiled in satisfaction and walked out of the tent, counting her money. When she reached the boys, she told Maxwell. "Another satisfied customer." and handed him half the money.

"Are you using your psychic powers to help Yuki with her fortune telling?" Darry asked Maxwell.

"Well, practicing to con a person by mimicking the forces of the supernatural while giving direct advice to one by tapping into their minds is considered practice for my new found cognitive abilities," Maxwell explained when everyone glanced at him, "I...did it again, did I?"

"Who cares?" Yuki said in excitement. "My business has never been this good since I hired you."

"Plus I need some way to pay Mr. Turner the rent." Maxwell added to the two.

"Well, as long as working as Yuki's spiritual medium isn't totally weird for you." Tommy said with a shrug.

"Nah." Maxwell said, shaking his head. "I don't think she's really a witch like you do."

Yuki stopped counting her money and immediately glared at Tommy after hearing this, "You think I'm WHAT?!"

Tommy frantically waved his arms and tried to explain, "N-No! I didn't say that...or think it."

"He did, didn't he?" Darry asked Maxwell.

"Yeah, I read his mind before." Maxwell simply answered.

"I can't believe you!" Yuki shouted angrily to Tommy. "You think me liking voodoo and fortunetelling automatically makes me a witch?"

Darry had a nervous smile as he tried to settle things down, "Calm down, Yuki. I'm sure Tommy only meant it as a joke."

"Uh...yeah." Maxwell said as well before turning to Tommy, "Though I do agree with you thinking that you'd make a better leader than Scottie."

"Of course, so there's no need to-" Darry was saying contently until he realized what Maxwell said. "Wait," he glared angrily at Tommy, "You think I'm not a good leader?"

"Dude, not cool!" Tommy scowled at Maxwell as the young genius grinned sheepishly.

But Darry just continued to angrily scold him, "What, you think you can handle all the responsibilities of being leader better than I can?"

"You afraid I'm gonna cast on evil spell on you?" Yuki also asked, angrily.

Tommy shifted uncomfortably while Maxwell quietly slipped away and ran back into the house, bumping into Danny who was carrying a large box.

"Oh, hey Maxwell." Danny greeted. "I thought you were hanging out with Yuki."

"Uhhh, I was, but..." Maxwell said nervously, not wanting to explain the trouble he caused among his kids. "Hey, do you need any help with...whatever it is you're doing?"

"Jimmy just wanted me to bring him some extra supplies from Axion." Danny explained. "But sure, I can use the help."

Maxwell went with Danny to Nicktoon HQ and talked as they went inside, "Your new mind reading power sounds impressive," Danny told the blonde boy, "but isn't reading minds kinda like an invasion of privacy?" but then Maxwell heard him think, 'It makes me wish I had the ability to do that. I've always wondered what goes on in Sam's mind.'

"I guess I know what you mean, Mr. Fenton." Maxwell said. "I mean I just read your mind and found out that you really hate helping Mr. Turner make aquarium homes for homeless goldfish. If he ever found that out, it may cause dramatic tension."

Unfortunately, they stopped and noticed Timmy standing in the hallway ahead of them, having heard everything they said. Without saying a word, he glared furiously at Danny and stormed away. After reading Timmy's mind, Maxwell looked at Danny and sheepishly said, "Gee...I wonder what those words mean."

Danny narrows his eyes and bends down to Maxwell's height. "A word of advice, Maxwell," he explained, "There's stuff inside people's heads that shouldn't be revealed at all. So I suggest, no matter what you hear, keep it to yourself and DON'T tell them." He stands up and ran after Timmy, "Timmy, come back! It's not what it seems!"

Maxwell thought about what Danny said and quietly sulked down the hall until he reached the living room where Twitchy and Junior were watching Crash hop up and down on a trampoline. 'Only six more jumps and I'm gonna need the pogo stick. I better remind Twitchy.' Crash was thinking and then yelled, "Twitchy, hand me the pogo stick after the sixth jump!"

"Surething!" Twitchy said with a grin and thumb up, while Maxwell heard Twitchy think in a cynical voice, 'Why does he always think I'm gonna forget? He's just gonna fall off like he usually does.'

Junior turned around and noticed Maxwell, "Oh hey, Maxwell." he greeted. "Wanna help Crash set a pogo stick and trampoline record at the same time?"

Maxwell didn't answer and just read Junior's mind which strangely had him singing in a joyous voice, 'Rainbows la la la, jellyfishes la la la, seaponies la la la, krabby patties are my favorite la la la.'

He frowned and held his head, "Why is the inside of your mind so annoying?" he asked bitterly.

Twitchy was about to throw the pogo stick to Crash, but the moment he threw it, Twitchy had heard what Maxwell said. "Wait,youcanreadminds?!" he threw the pogo stick in the wrong direction, causing it to hit Crash in the face and knock him off the trampoline, knocking his helmet off.

"Uh...no. I didn't say that!" Maxwell lied in a frantic manner, "Oh, did Tammy just call me? Better be on my way!" He was about to hurry until Junior grabbed hold of him.

"Don't go, Maxwell." Junior pleaded. "You can tell us what we're all thinking. It'll be fun."

"No! Heshouldn't!" Twitchy said nervously as he held his head, 'If he's a mind reader, he might know I'm thinking about where I hide my nut cookies. OhnoI'mthinkingit!'

Crash then walked over without his helmet, revealing his red hair is longer and covers his whole head, having grown in the past year. "What the heck was that about, Twitch?" Crash asked in anger. "Y'all ruined the record!"

"Wow, your hair looks really nice." Maxwell noticed. "I can see why you go to the Bikini Bottom salon every week."

Crash stared in surprise, but Twitchy bursts out in laughter, "YOU go to the hair salon? Ha ha ha ha!"

"NO!" Crash yelled, embarrassed. "I mean, yes, I mean...I was only THINKIN' of goin' today."

"I guess that's how Maxwell knows since he read your mind." Junior said as he held Maxwell close, while the latter grinned sheepishly.

"You?" Crash asked, glaring at Maxwell. "You read my mind and found out my secret?!"

Before he can face Crash's wrath, Maxwell yelled, "Twitchy has food in his cheeks!" and ran off.

Crash's anger disappears and he points and laughs at his older brother, "So THAT'S where ya keep your nut cookies! Ha ah ah ah!" Twitchy blushed in embarrassment until he sent a death glare at where Maxwell once was.

Maxwell quickly went into another room and stood against the door, breathing heavily after having escaped another problem he got himself in. "Hey Maxwell." SpongeTron greeted since Maxwell was in his room. "You look exhausted."

"Sorry, I'm...just afraid I'll read your mind next." Maxwell said in distress as he held the sides of his head.

"Unfortunately, I'm a robot so you can't read my mind," SpongeTron said sadly.

"Consider yourself lucky," Maxwell snapped, "At least I can't read a dark secret from you that'll make people mad at me or mad at each other."

"Mad at who?" SpongeTron asked, not understanding what he meant.

Maxwell just groaned in frustration and stormed out of the room. SpongeTron looked back at Maxwell and rubs his chin, noting, "I'm starting to see the resemblance."

Later that night at the Turner residence, Maxwell and the Turners were having a family dinner. Unfortunately, Mrs. Turner isn't available due to a business trip. Maxwell placed an arm on the table while poking his food with a fork. "So how are you feeling, Dad?" Tammy asked him.

"Huh? Oh, I'm feeling just great!" Timmy answered with a smile, but looks to the side and frowns. Despite what he said, Maxwell can hear his thoughts, 'Great? More like stabbed in the back by my so-called friend. How can he think building aquariums for homeless goldfish is stupid?'

Wanda sees Timmy looking upset and assured, "Oh, cheer up, sweetie, I'm sure Danny didn't mean all that. Your idea to make homes for goldfish is brilliant after all" but Maxwell knows what she's really thinking: 'Unless you're homeless fairies disguised as goldfish. Otherwise, that idea does seem really stupid.' Maxwell turned to Cosmo, wondering what thoughts are in his head. However, all he can hear is nothing but elevator music.

"Well, I'm not feeling great." Tommy mentioned. "Darry and Yuki pretty much hate my guts right now since big-mouth here told them how I think Yuki knows witchcraft and that I would make a better Nicktoon leader."

Maxwell darted his head away and scowled. But Tammy told him, "Don't be so hard on him, Tommy. Max is just getting used to his new power."

"Tammy right." Poof added. "Poof think Tommy needs to be more patient."

Maxwell looked at Poof and heard his thoughts, 'Though Max's powers are starting to get a little out of control. Who knows what more problems among everybody it can cause. Maybe I should tell everyone this in complete sentences.' Maxwell's eyes widen as he listens to Poof's thoughts some more, 'At least Tammy and Tommy can grow up and experience puberty. I'm gonna be a fairy baby for another hundred years.'

Maxwell then pounded his fists on the table and yelled out in frustration, "Then why don't you stop acting like a baby and quit thinking about it?!"

Everyone was startled by this, but Poof's eyes water as he holds the sides of his head and cries out, "Poof, poof, poof!" and flies back upstairs.

"Maxwell, what did you do?" Tammy demanded to know.

"He's probably invading people's minds like he always does," Tommy glared.

"Well, maybe if you would stop thinking, I wouldn't have to hear it!" Maxwell retorted.

"Maxwell, you can't force people to stop their thoughts," Wanda explained, "Because people are always thinking where ever they go. Well, unless you're Cosmo." She pointed at her dimwitted husband.

"Think what?" Cosmo asked, clueless.

"You just need to learn to control your powers better." Tammy added.

"That's true." Timmy agreed. "You're around us most of the time, but imagine if you're around a whole group of thirty or forty people, all thinking things in their thoughts."

'It'll probably just give him more dirt to dig up on people.' Tommy dully thought as he leaned on the table.

But Maxwell leapt from his chair and snapped, "I don't need your guys' help. I can learn to control it just fine on my own." Then he marched upstairs to his room.

Timmy crossed his arms and asked, "Geez. Where did he get that attitude from?"

Tommy and Tammy glance at each other knowingly and said in unison, "You don't wanna know..."

We can only hope that Maxwell's brain doesn't get overloaded. Please leave a review and stick around for Part 2.