Fairly Oddpareants and Jimmy Neutron copyright Viacom

Chapter 11: A Favor for a Favor

Written: 30 Dec 2005-8 Jan 2006

Posted: 8 Jan 2006

Maria forced herself to relax as she drove the client to the Baxter Estate. She hadn't reacted strongly when Vicky had slapped him. So why would she now?

"Are you feeling all right, miss?" Mr. Henderson said from the passenger seat.

"It's just a girl I know. It's nothing. Really."

"It doesn't look like nothing," he said, indicating Maria's clenched hands. "Maybe I should be the one who drives us there."

Maria breathed in deep and forced her hands to relax. "No, I'm fine. You needn't concern yourself about me."

"Actually, it wasn't you I was most concerned about."

Maria laughed bashfully. "Of course. But don't you worry, Mr. Henderson. I will get there safe and sound."

Mr. Henderson nodded. "I thank you. I'm new to this neighborhood and would never find a home without your help."

"Well… I'm just doing my job. Any certified RealEstate realtor would done have the same."

"Not to the extant that you have done."

Maria felt a blush coming. "That's nice of you to say."

"Especially after having trouble with your daughter."

"Excuse me? I don't have a daughter."

"Sorry. I just assumed…"

"If it was my daughter, I would have said so. If you must know, it's the babysitter."

"What seems to be the problem?"

She didn't know why, but she it seemed perfectly natural to share her life with this man. "She seemed to be awfully upset about something. I wish I knew what it was, though."

"Do you talk about anything in particular before she started crying?"

"Yes. We were talking about she used to inseparable from her baby sister."

"What would their names be?"

"Vicky and Tootie. Why?"

"Spain?"

"Uh-huh. Just why are you asking all these questions, Mr. Henderson?"

"Why I'm just a well-wisher who only hopes for the best for those two girls."

"Okay. But you got a hole burning in your pocket as well," Maria joked.

"Now that we're such good friends and all, would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Oh? What would it be?"

"I'm sorry that I haven't been totally honest with you." He paused. "I'm really looking for a new home."

"You're not?"

"As turns out, I can't even afford one."

"But how did you…?"

"Do you know of a place that I can stay? A hotel you can recommend perhaps?"

"That's nonsense. You can stay at our house."

Mr. Henderson bowed to her wishes. "It would my honor."

Maria didn't know why she invited the stranger, one proven to be dishonest at that, to stay at her house, but she thought nothing of more of it.

-OOO-

"Relax, guys. This should work now," Jimmy said as he tightened the last screw and closed the panel on the machine that looked like a big can with a knobby donut around it. Though Tootie didn't see why it would. Jimmy had been at this for hours and still hadn't made any progress. She wished that she could just wish herself home. But she couldn't. So she was stuck there.

Tootie was sitting next to Elmer on stools in Jimmy's lab, watching him working on getting them back to their universe.

Something came to her, but eluded her. It seemed to be… No, it couldn't be.

Could it?

Jimmy flipped the switch for the umpteenth time, clearly expecting to do something different else this time. Tootie wasn't surprised when it didn't. Maybe Jimmy Neutron just wasn't the right boy for the job. But if he wasn't, then who was?

The machine wasn't even any making any whirling noises or anything like it usually did. Apparently it did do something else. "Isn't that supposed to make some of whirly sounds?" Tootie asked timidly.

"Yes, Tootie. It is." Jimmy turned off the machine and opened up the panel again. "I don't understand it. There has to be some way to break through the inter-dimensional barrier. There's simply no way that this barrier is completely impervious to my attempts."

"Maybe you don't have enough power," Elmer suggested.

"No, power is not the power. According to these calculations, I need to use half of the power that this lab is capable of generating. It's getting all that power to where's it needed is the problem."

"Where's that?

"Where's what, Tootie?"

"Where you need all that power."

Jimmy looked up from his keyboard. "Oh yes. That. Well, Tootie, it's kind of hard to explain. You need understanding of higher mathematics to understand it."

"Can't you teach it to me?"

"I don't know. I guess I could give it give it a try. But wouldn't you much rather get home?"

Of course! How could she forget? She lowered her head, blushing. "You're right, Jimmy. But do you know anyone who could teach me?"

A second passed before Jimmy answered. "Yes."

Tootie swallowed. "Who is it?"

"Cindy."

"Oh. I didn't know."

"That's alright, Tootie." Jimmy pressed a button. And the machine started humming again. "I will get her back."

-OOO-

"Who are these people, Jimmy? And what are they doing in my room?"

"It's not your room, Cindy! It's mine. You're just borrowing it," Timmy reminded her. "They're Tootie's parents."

Cindy eyed them icily. "Where's Tootie? And what are you doing here?"

It was Mrs. Spain who answered while her husband who whimpered. "We don't know where our daughter is. Either of them. We just need help getting them back to us."

"Vicky more spiritual than physical," Mr. Spain said softly. Almost too softly for Timmy to hear.

"Do you have any clue as to what had happened to them?" Cindy had softened the edge to her voice.

"Vicky has sent Tootie away," Mr. Turner said.

"Away? Away to where?"

Mrs. Spain stared out of the window. "We don't know." She sighed. "I wonder if Vicky herself knows…"

The phone rang. Timmy and Cindy stared at each other. He shrugged off her stare and picked up the phone. "Yes?"

"Timmy," Trixie said without preamble, "I want you to get your butt down here at my house now."

"Why? What's this about?"

"I'll tell you when you get here." She cut off the line.

Timmy hung up. And looked up. "I'm sorry, guys. It looks like I have to go."

"Why?" Cindy asked. "Who was that on the phone?"

"It was Trixie. And she wants me to come over to her house."

"Whatever for?"

Timmy hemmed. "She didn't say."

"Then I'm going with you."

"Okay." Timmy could see no reason for Cindy not to.

-OOO-

Vicky stepped off the elevator, followed by Julius Casius, as she had learned was his name on the trip down. Which had taken far too long. The room she walked into was the largest one she had ever been in. She hadn't known that there were rooms this size. The circular chamber stretched half the distance between her house and the twerp's. A catwalk stretched out before her. Three more just like ran to each corner. In the center was a building three times the size of her house. She couldn't see a ceiling or a floor to the place. "What is this place?" she asked in awe.

"Never mind that." Casius bumped her forward. "You're here to see the Master."

"Ah. Right."

Vicky started forward. She had no fear of heights, so she walked down the catwalk with no hesitation. Which was good, as she wanted to give the right impression. She was no timid, little doe to be cowed. She was Vicky Spain, and no one was going to tell her what to do.

Or what she couldn't do.

When she had got halfway across the catwalk, a man walked out of the front door of the building. He wore a dark business suit and a pair of shades over his eyes. He looked like one of those Men in Black that UFO freaks keep talking about. Vicky shivered. Maybe those UFO nuts weren't wrong after all. Vicky felt a chill. Maybe they were going to zap me with something and make me forget all this, she thought. Maybe I shouldn't even be here.

It was too late for second thoughts now, so she girded herself up and strode the remaining distance to the suspended building.

The man in the black suit smiled when Vicky stepped onto the porch. But, due to the shades he was wearing, she couldn't tell if the smile went to his eyes or not. "Welcome to my humble abode, Vicky. What brings you by?"

"You know perfectly well what, punk. I want my sister back."

"Please. Call me Joshua. But, alas, I did not know. I asked Julius here not to tell me such things. I prefer to hear such things from the applicant herself. But, Vicky, we had ourselves a deal. You get rid of your sister in exchange for us finding the reason for so many strange things happening in your life."

"And did you?"

"Of course. We had only a day to work on the problem. Since you carried out your end of the bargain."

"You waited until I betrayed Tootie to you pigs to get started."

"Naturally. We aren't absolutely sure that you would keep your end of the deal until you actually did. We pick her up, and her friend, and they sent them on their way."

That took Vicky's breath away. "You got rid of the little dork, too?"

"Yes."

"But that wasn't part of the deal." Vicky narrowed her eyes. "How do I know that you won't send me away to some other universe?"

"Now, if we did that, how would we tell you our findings?"

"I don't care about that. I just want my sister back."

"I think she remembers." Julius spoke for the first time since the elevator.

"It seems that she has," Joshua agreed. He turned back to Vicky. "Now if you will into my parlor with me…"

"'Said the spider to the fly,'" Vicky quoted.

Joshua chuckled. "Not quite, my dear. Not quite." Not waiting for Vicky, he went back into the building. Seeing no other choice, Vicky followed him in. Julius did so, too.

"Julius already promised that you would send me to her if I did a favor."

Joshua stopped and gave Julius a glance. "Is this true, Julius?"

Julius nodded. "It is, Joshua."

"I see. And what would this favor be?"

Vicky nodded in agreement. She wondered what this favor could possibly be.

"It's simple, actually. I want her to sing a song."

"What? That's it?"

"Hardly." Julius sat down in a chair and motioned Vicky to do the same. She opted to remain standing. He assented to her choice. "There is something you should know about the favor that Julius asks of you."

"Oh really? What's that?"

"It's a particular song that he wants you to sing. And he's very particular about how it is to be sung. He has looking for a voice to compare to his wife he has lost to small pox all those years ago."

"Small pox? I thought that was eliminated."

"Not before the sixties, when they took a trip to India on a pilgrimage of sorts."

Vicky took another look at Julius. "He doesn't look that old."

"None of us do."

Huh, so it's a fraternity of old men who try to hold onto their youth. Even though it seemed to be successful, it was still pathetic. "How would I know if getting this song right? I never heard this lady before."

"You might be surprised about that."

"Huh?"

"Never mind that," Joshua said. "But don't you worry, Vicky. We do have recording equipment and recordings of Mrs. Casius's voice for you to practice your voice on. But, be forewarned, Vicky, if you disappoint Julius with your singing then you could never any dealings with us. Except to receive your answer via bank deposit boxes of course."

"Then I guess I'll take my time, huh?" Vicky's grin was crooked.

-OOO-

Timmy knocked on the door. And waited in silence for Trixie. He had somehow lost Cindy on the way here. He had come to realize that he wanted to talk to Trixie by himself. He had some things to tell.

And some things he wanted her to tell him.

"Guys," he asked his fairies, "do I look alright for a heart-to-heart confessional with Trixie?"

"I don't know, sport," Wanda said. "Perhaps a visit with her best friend could smooth things over."

"Maybe…"

-OOO-

Trixie perked up when she heard the doorbell. "That must be Timmy now."

"Don't take too long, Trixie. Your turn's next and I have a move planned that will knock your socks off," Veronica told her as Trixie stood up.

Trixie giggled. "And here I thought I was going to knock your socks off."

Veronica shook her head in mock pity. "Tried to warn her."

Trixie laughed as she went to answer the door.

When she got there, she slowly cracked open it. When she saw who it was, her mouth widened into a joyous smile and she flung open the door. "Timantha, you're back!"

She flung her arms around Timantha and gave her a great, big bear hug. Timantha stiffened herself before letting herself relax and embrace Trixie. The hugged for a minute or two before they let go of each other.

And then Trixie slapped Timantha. "How dare you stand me at my birthday party!"