COLORADO TRACKING STATION
7:26 AM
3 years can be an awfully long time.
Some things change, yet some remain the same.
Perhaps the feeling of deja vu, even bad deja vu, is almost comforting. Perhaps even a bad place is better than a new one, if it's familiar.
Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the opinion of General Ernest Abercrombie.
The moment he had been notified of a UFO that was distinctly not alien like cruising through his sky, he marched down to the control room with an air of authority.
"I don't understand it, General! It's not a commercial flight, one of ours…", a new operative questioned his screen, but Abercrombie simply narrowed his eyes in disgust.
"Rookie, there's only one person in this great country of ours with the means and the arrogance to carry something like this out."
Grabbing the radio, he sent out a contact transmission.
"Jimmy Neutron…"
And as it turned out, Abercrombie was right.
Streaking through the sky in a brilliant, small rocket, the blue paint just barely covering the grey base, was Jimmy Neutron. His brown swirly cowlick was even more unkempt than ever, his blue eyes pierced through the morning sky, far deeper than anyone could possibly imagine, thoughts and ideas rushing about every which way. He wore a lab coat over his beloved red t-shirt, a yellow atom barely popping out. One hand was on the controls, the other helped him chug down a Purple Flurp.
The radio began to crackle, a transmission coming in. Jimmy considered ghosting the General, but finally relented and took the call.
"You have reached the vicinity of Jimmy Neutron, Teen Genius. Please leave a message after your understandable fanboy squealing."
"Neutron. I've told you before, this airfield is off limits to the likes of you!"
"Oh, General, there's no one like me! Maybe that's why you got so confused that you made it so easy to break in here! Might I suggest a stronger password than "Not Password"?", Jimmy smirked to no one but himself.
"You know I stopped using that one!", Abercrombie barked, and pinched the bridge of his nose. The other operators in the room all looked uneasy. Some had heard of this "Neutron", bad things, terrifying things.
"Wasn't he a giant hulking menace once?"
"I read in the news once that he had an army of evil sentient pants that invaded Retroville!"
"My cousin got abducted by the Yolkians thanks to him, no?"
Abercrombie stared back, demanding silence. The officers all stopped talking, fear in their eyes still.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up again after your last scandal.", Abercrombie harshly whispered, a mixture of judgement and… Sympathy? In his voice.
For a moment, no words were spoken.
Then, a cocky voice choked out "Well, I'd love to hear all about that after I do your job for you. Lunch at your place or mine?"
"Neutron, you ground that rocket this instant!", the general shouted to no avail. He knew very well that Neutron had serious firepower on him at all times.
"Sorry, gotta blast!"
And with a sonic boom, the rocket fled the airbase and the atmosphere, reaching from here to the stars.
Jimmy almost floated up, but his belt kept him in place. His eyes closed as he felt the aura of space. Stars twinkled far off, no sounds could be heard, not even his rocket's steady ascent.
"It's funny, isn't it, Goddard?", Jimmy expressed, eyes still closed. "How can something so beautiful contain so much evil?"
Goddard barked in agreement, and with that, Jimmy began to steer towards the moon, its grey body the only point of true light that he could see.
The repulsers began to slow down, and carefully, the rocket landed on the surface of the moon, near a large crater that seemed especially deep.
"An actual safe landing. First time for anything, I guess.", Jimmy quipped, and got off the rocket. "Come on, Goddard. We have business to attend to."
The teen's short legs carrying that large head looked even more ridiculous than it once had, but Jimmy still carried himself super confidentially. One would think he thought himself to be the hottest student at Lindbergh High.
After a half minute's walk, Jimmy arrived at his destination: The Neutron Moon Base, a large, yellow base of operations, as large as an observatory, with two extra floors shaped like circular objects connected to the main base by steel wires, hanging in the air. A glass dome that defied gravity kept it all in place. It looked just like the atom on his shirt.
"Species detected. Human Being, Earth, Solar System. Password needed.", LUNA VOX, the A.I that controlled the base, scanned Jimmy with a red light before presenting a keypad.
"Hottest student at Lindbergh High.", Jimmy tapped quickly with a smirk. He then winked at LUNA VOX.
"Species identified. Subject: James Issac Neutron, Hottest student at Lindberg High. Welcome home, sir."
"More like a summer home, LUNA VOX.", Jimmy responded.
Stepping in, Jimmy found himself in a simple enough looking lobby. There was an old, green couch, a window, and a carpet. Underneath said carpet, however, was a long tube that had been built into a crater. It seemed dark and cold, and not very wide either.
"Bottom floor, teen geniuses and robot dogs department.", Jimmy whispered to himself, taking a step forwards and getting sucked down, down, down, past the shadowy rock, until he found himself in his underground lab deep inside the moon.
The room was large, almost absurdly so, fitting in hundreds of desks where hundreds of robots tinkered on hundreds of inventions. The whirring was non stop, as was the hiss of electronic sparks and the screwing in of bolts.
Jimmy took a momentary glance at the projects. "Shrink rays seem operable.", he took one, and aimed the orange remote at a statuette of King Goobot. It could barely be seen.
"Finally, a good view!", Jimmy responded, before smashing the statue to smithereens with his shoe. Moving onto the next booth, he picked up a laser gun.
"Can this melt skin?", Jimmy asked LUNA VOX, eyeing the contraption carefully.
"The skin of any species or robot it encounters."
"Yeah, but will it hurt?", Jimmy added, coldly.
"...Yes, Mr. Neutron."
"Then it's good enough for me. Ship it off into the armory."
Jimmy then walked up to one final booth, before he could resume the reason he came here.
"And what about… What about my battle suit?", he asked, a little doubt in his voice.
"The Neutron-alyzer 2000 is halfway to completion, but requires much work.", LUNA VOX answered mechanically.
"Then finish it already! I didn't build you to lounge around on your butt!", Jimmy shouted.
"Mr. Neutron, you programmed me to take things more carefully since…"
"Mention that, and I'll shut you down."
A silence reigned, until Jimmy sighed. "...Just… Just make sure it works."
"Request granted, Mr. Neutron. Will that be all?"
Jimmy shook his head, and with a heavy step, sat himself down on the large chair, a daunting keyboard in front of him with thousands of buttons galore.
"Wonder how many Carl and Sheen would push.", Jimmy couldn't help but think with a smile, but it quickly disappeared. "No time for such thoughts, Neutron. Just get on with it."
Tapping away, he entered a highly complicated 366 letter number combination and unlocked the base computer, flashing over and over in dark red "INBOX: 1".
Leaning back in his chair, Jimmy felt the weight of the visual in his chest. "The alert I got wasn't a false alarm, then. April responded to the message."
The Gorlock girl had been an ally of Jimmy's in the Intergalactic Showdown two years earlier, and after upgrading from space rock Email, Jimmy had found more advanced ways to contact her.
This, however, was no simple friendly Email to catch up or chat. Jimmy had contacted April on a matter of life or death.
"Inbox contains a recorded message from April the Gorlock. Shall I play it?", LUNA VOX asked.
"You shall.", Jimmy responded, holding his breath. He wasn't one to pray, but he silently did so in his mind. He had to know, he needed something concrete.
The screen crackled and fizzed until the image cleared and an armored green alien's face popped up on the screen. Her horns shone in the dark background of her screen.
"Jimmy, good to hear from you! Really, it's been a while, and I was getting worried."
"What's there to worry about?", Jimmy smirked, but he didn't sound that lighthearted as his joke implied.
"I'll admit, I was confused by how impersonal your message was until I realized how important this was. I had no idea so many people wanted to kill you!", April continued, not responding since it was pre made.
"What can I say, people can't get enough of the Neutron style."
"Anyway, I have looked everywhere I could, I have asked countless species, and I have hacked into secret frequencies, but I haven't even heard a mention of this "League of Villains"."
Jimmy frowned. His entire complexion changed. This trip had been a waste of time, when he could have gone back to the lab and made more perimeter checks, gone and tracked down Eustace Strych, only one of four members to quit the league.
Getting off his seat, he began to walk off, grumbling. "Should have known. Can't count on anyone, huh, Goddard?"
Suddenly, April's tone turned concerned. "Anyway, um… I wanted to ask if you were okay."
Jimmy froze, but didn't turn his head.
"I remember… Well, I did hear one thing. I think. Some of Calamitous' henchmen had nowhere to go, so they were in my town's bar, and… If it's true, I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that's like."
April shed a small tear, before continuing. "I know we aren't that close, despite our, well, seal of trust. But… If you need someone to talk to, you're not alone, you know that, right?"
Jimmy said nothing.
He clenched his fist.
Why didn't it hurt?
Why couldn't it hurt, just for a moment?
A moment wasn't worth a lifetime, but it would still be something.
"TRANSMISSION ENDED. Would you like to reply?", LUNA VOX announced.
The question hung in the air for a while.
Jimmy still didn't turn as he said "...No."
Sighing, he began to depart the lab. "Send the exact same draft to Zix, Travoltron, and Tee."
"Of course, Mr. Neutron."
Jimmy closed his eyes the entire time until he reached his rocket.
"Don't crash. Don't crash. Please, don't crash.", Jimmy muttered under his breath as he got into the ship.
The stars were replaced with the blinding sun, the unforgiving sky refused to account for Jimmy's wishes, and soon, the ship crash landed in a forest area outside of Retroville.
"Damn it! Damn it! God damn it, why can't you work, why, you stupid piece of junk, why, why, why?!", Jimmy cursed, tearing off the doors and throwing them to the side, before falling onto the ground and breathing heavily for a minute.
He knew, deep down, exactly why.
But he couldn't let the facts stay facts.
"Fix it, Neutron. Fix it. For once in your life, don't destroy it all.", Jimmy whispered harshly.
The crash had bruised his side a bit.
But it wasn't enough.
Perhaps it never would be.
Not until he could finally make up for his existence.
Not until he could finally fix the mess he had made of his world.
"And then in Ultra Lord episode 42069, Ultra Lord had to battle Robo-Fiend, who he thought was dead! Like, who would have thought he would come back?! And then he went "pew pew" and there were EXPLOSIONS and SCREAMS and…"
Libby Folfax, local keeper of the peace, shushed her boyfriend, local hyperactive Ultra Lord fanboy Sheen Estevez, her eyes barely staying open, as they rode the bus taking them to Lindbergh High. "Sheen, I know you love to talk to me about Ultra Lord, but you kept me up nearly all night about it, and I REALLY need a minute of quiet before we start high school, okay?"
Sheen nodded, though it was clear he was struggling to keep himself quiet. "All right, Libby!"
He then leaned over to whisper to Cindy Vortex, the second smartest student in Lindbergh High, who was a little anxious over her plans. "See, Cindy? I AM a good boyfriend! I can shut up! I know when to shut up! When someone tells me to shut up, I shut up!"
"Sheen?", Libby reminded gently, and Sheen nodded again and kept to himself, twiddling his thumbs. It was REALLY hard, but he refused to give up in the face of adversity. He kept himself busy by naming in order the writers for each episode of Ultra Lord.
Cindy smiled weakly at Sheen, for in truth, she slightly envied his relationship with Libbie. Sure, they had ups and downs, but there was a real amount of mutual care, not to mention they were actually dating, something she couldn't relate too.
"Oh, how could I be this dumb? Mom told me to stay focused!", Cindy berated herself, already hearing her mother's words of wisdom.
"Men are a distraction, Cindy! I barely understand your reliance on your… Strange friends, but you will never get into college early like this!", Ms. Vortex had said, a firm finger wagging at her daughter. "Eyes focused, chin up high, and don't slouch! Make me proud out there!"
Cindy wanted to. Oh, how badly did she want to. She had spent years being only the second smartest at school, thanks to Jimmy Neutron, and it had been eating her from inside.
Or, well, it had.
After a while, something changed in Cindy. Her perfectionist to a fault attitude, her pride, her desperate obsession with winning, had been replaced with an appreciation for things that were less glorious perhaps, but none less fulfilling.
Texting all through the night with Libby, who read her like an open book. Bantering with Sheen but never too harshly, and laughing genuinely for once. Picking out fashionable outfits with Carl, who always knew what fit on her best.
And of course, there was Jimmy Neutron.
Cindy sighed longingly, ignoring the pain in her chest. All the fights and the teasing and the death defying adventures they had shared… All had culminated in a strange year, where they weren't exactly dating, but they weren't exactly not dating. It was so undetermined and confusing and incomplete, and it nearly drove her mad. Cindy needed absolutes, yes and no answers, facts that made it easier to comprehend and plan.
She couldn't compartmentalize love. She couldn't analyze it.
They had kissed once or twice, in the heat of passion, when no one could see them, but mostly they had tried to spend five minutes together without fighting. Cindy had read and read and read about healthy relationships, and she knew theirs had a long way to go. But for a few magical moments, it had seemed like she just might be able to fix that. She was about to rouse up courage and ask Jimmy out.
And then the first day of summer had happened.
Cindy didn't know the details. Something BIG had happened, something only Jimmy could handle (or so he thought). He was being his cocky self again, and while he was kinda dashing, it did annoy Cindy to see him go off on his own once more.
But all that had dissipated when he had come back.
He had been cold, unresponsive. He barely moved at first. Then, without even looking back, he had left.
"Cindy…", Carl Wheezer, looking nervous but concerned, whispered quietly and motioned her to look at her tiny mirror. Cindy did, and saw tell tale tears. She was quick to wipe them, and gave a small grateful glance to the ginger boy. "Thanks.", she quietly replied.
Silence reigned on the bus again, but even without Cindy's momentary breakdown, all four friends couldn't ignore one nagging thought, hard as they had tried.
"...So… You guys think that… That maybe…", Sheen started, trying to hide how anxious he was. His knee bouncing didn't do a good job.
"Sheen, I think we shouldn't talk about it, just in case.", Carl replied, though he too was clearly anxious, constantly looking off to the side.
"Open communication is healthy, you guys.", Libby responded, though she almost sounded choked up. "We keep this all bottled up, and…"
"Sometimes it's good to ignore, Libby. It's a new school year, a fresh start. Maybe even for… For Jimmy.", Cindy finally mentioned his name, and all four teens shared worried glances.
"...A whole summer. I wish I knew what was bothering him so much.", Sheen said. "I'm, like, one of his best friends! I… I probably didn't notice, even though it was right in front of me.". He was speaking in a dismissive tone, clearly disappointed with himself.
"Now, now, Sheen, none of us know! Don't single yourself out.", Libby replied, though she felt partially at fault too. She was trying her best, yet all her friends were depressed.
"Yeah, besides, I'm the one Jimmy would vent too. If anyone is failing, it's me.", Carl retorted, sighing. "If I wasn't such an idiot, I could help him. What boy genius needs some fat, dumb…"
"Carl! Don't spiral!", Cindy scolded him, and Carl nodded, though he still felt guilty.
Cindy took a deep breath and composed herself. She was overwhelmed by the pounding of her heart. "Look, guys, it's been a hard summer for all of us, and all of us wish we could have done something. We all see him on TV, he doesn't seem like himself at all. But we are his friends, and we will stick by him until he's good and ready to talk it out."
Everyone couldn't help but agree with that. Cindy was a genius too, after all, and her words made sense, even if they didn't ease much of the guilt.
"Besides…", Cindy added, almost to herself. "He's had a whole summer to himself. That's a lot of time to introspect. Maybe he's going to start over on the first day of high school. Try new things… Maybe… Maybe if I can finally sort out our relationship..."
Carl put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled. "He likes you. Trust me, anytime Sheen and I teased him about it, he'd get all flustered! Just flip that hair of yours and he'll be mush in your hands, girlfriend!"
Cindy giggled at that, and Sheen chimed in. "Yeah, girl, one time, he was working on some thingamajig, I think it was some dimension thingy, and to mess with him, I told him you were right outside the lab. The look on his face when he slammed into my lifesize "Ultra Lord with blonde wig" cutout!"
Cindy laughed again, and Libby began to chuckle too as she recalled another moment. "For a genius, he can really be so dumb! Remember when he switched heads with a hamster?"
Everyone laughed at that, and as the laughter died down, everyone seemed just a little less scared.
"Jimmy always has his ups and downs. At the end of the day, he always learns his lesson. I bet everything will be just fine.", Cindy thought to herself, nervously excited at the prospect of finally daring to ask him out on a date.
But as it would turn out, things would NOT be fine.
"Welcome to your first call of the tenth grade.", a voice greeted the students, but the voice was almost bone chilling, like an unfamiliar footstep in the dark. "My name is Mr. Ammon, and I will be your homeroom and social studies teacher."
All the teens felt a compulsion to be as quiet as possible. There was something unnerving about this lanky, bald man, something that didn't come across as tough at first, but like someone weak trying to be imposing. In a way, that was scarier. What could make him so angry and frustrated?
The classroom looked nothing like Ms. Fowl's too. It was an overbearingly white room, white desks, white walls, even the teacher's board was white. One almost wanted to ask what was that all about, or any question really, but Mr. Ammon also spoke with such directness and assurance that everyone decided it was for the best if they were silent.
Mr. Ammon, after straightening his tie, placed a black binder down on the desk. It was large and heavy, full of information on the students and lesson plans. One certain section was marked in a bright red.
"Now, I am aware of the happenings in this town. I am aware that some of you could be tardy because of that. However, be aware that I do not care. If you are late, you will be treated like any student would. With a strike. Three strikes, and you'll get detention. And if you continue to misbehave, we will have to talk about it privately."
The students all nodded, a little scared now. In Retroville, a lot could make you late.
"Speaking of tardy students, I am not surprised to find a certain Mr. James Issac Neutron missing. Too good for this class, I presume? No need to finish it, I guess, since he already knows so much better.", Mr. Ammon coldly berated the still missing teen, who had just arrived outside the door to hear all that.
Opening the door, Jimmy stepped into the room, looking quietly angry, but still keeping a snarky expression. Jimmy's friends, seeing him after so long, couldn't help but gasp slightly. He didn't look that different, but he felt different.
Maybe too different.
"Ah, Mr. Neutron. Glad you could grace us with your presence."
Jimmy looked at the teacher and smirked. "I wish I could say the same."
"Talking back. I'll permit a little grumpiness thanks to vacation ending, but I won't take anymore, Neutron. You are already on one strike, and two more will result in detention. I hope you won't disappoint me.", Mr. Ammon responded strictly.
Cindy gulped. She could tell already that Jimmy was in no mood for all this, and she tried to signal him. "Jimmy, it's not worth it…"
Jimmy ignored her, after taking a quick glance at her and feeling his face warm up. He pointed at the teacher with annoyance. "Not sure you owe me anything but gratitude. I was a little held up, you know, protecting your planet, asshole."
"Strike two. I don't care if you were in a war, Neutron, you will not treat spending time with actual people like it's a prison sentence.", Mr. Ammon replied with as much resolution. It was like an unstoppable force butting heads with an immovable object.
Jimmy wanted to press on, he was so tired of people calling him out when he was working his butt off to help. But a mixture of guilt and tiredness prompted him to back down for now and sit at his desk, next to Cindy and Carl.
Cindy and Carl both looked cautiously at each other. Jimmy didn't even regard them. Still, no one expected it to be that easy, so no one got too worried yet.
"Well, now that we're done with that, let's get on with class, starting off with an examination of General Patton…"
After class had ended, Jimmy's friends cautiously approached him as he began to head for the next one.
After a long silence, Libby volunteered herself to take the plunge. "Hey, Jimmy… Long time no see…"
Jimmy barely even acknowledged her. He looked back, and resumed his march.
Libby shrugged back at the group. "That was a pretty clear way of telling us to back off."
"Give me a try. I bet if we pretend all is cool, he'll play along! At least for a little!", Sheen suggested, and he ran up to Jimmy with his phone.
"Hey, het, Jimmy! Did you see that new exhibit they have at the museum? Like, it's about mummies or some shit, anyway, really sciency, huh?", Sheen tried his best, but Jimmy kept on going.
"Wow. I was sure he'd like that, it was all nerdy and stuff!", Sheen commented, feeling down.
"Carl, maybe you wanna try?", Libby asked, but Carl shook his head. "I'll get too worried, he'll probably feel bad!"
"Yeah, well, maybe we DO need to approach it head on!", Cindy, seeing her friends get treated so shabbily, felt half guilty and half angry. Jimmy was never mean to his friends, and she didn't want to see him be like her. "If there's one thing that gets him talking, it's me. I'll get him to acknowledge us, whether he likes it or not."
"Cindy, wait, I'm not sure that's a good idea…", Libby tried to warn her, but Cindy was already off to talk to Jimmy. Carl and Sheen both seemed worried about what was coming. "I knew I should have gotten my ear plugs today.", Carl commented.
Taking three steps to reach him, Cindy tapped Jimmy on the shoulder in annoyance. "Hey, Neutron, we're still alive, ya know?"
THAT made Jimmy turn, his eyes reflecting fear at first, followed by longing. It had been so long since he had last seen her. Had she grown even more beautiful? There was such a strength to her… So much stronger than him… So much better…
Jimmy then glared, refusing to get drawn into a relationship again. "I don't have time for this, Vortex."
Cindy looked like she could snap. Carl, Sheen and Libby all winced audibly. "Oooh…"
Cindy tried to keep her temper in check, though her face was tomato red. "Really? You'd think after you totally avoided us all summer, that you'd have just a little bit to spare!"
"I don't even want to be here! I have more important things to do!", Jimmy snapped back. "Since when do you even want me around? Last time I checked, you despised me!"
"Oh, you're definitely making me despise you right now, Neutron!", Cindy almost growled, stepping even closer to stare him back. "We're your friends, remember?", she added, almost sadly. "You haven't seen us, seen me, for two months!"
Jimmy felt a pang of guilt in his heart. Carl, Sheen and Libby all stared back at him with sad agreement.
They had always had his back, even when things got tough, even when they got angry at him, they stayed by his side.
For a moment, Jimmy wondered if he should say anything. He almost wanted to say sorry.
But before he could choose, Mr. Ammon passed by them. "Shouting in the halls? That's detention for you, Mr. Neutron."
"What?!", Jimmy shouted back in reply, and received a glare from Mr. Ammon. "Be careful, or I'll make it two."
"Hey, hold on a second, I was shouting too!", Cindy retorted. Jimmy turned to her in surprise. Cindy would never take a hit to her record like that.
Cindy glared back, in a "see?" kind of way.
"Well, you can have detention too, Ms. Vortex. And the rest of you better be careful, or you'll all get it too.", Mr. Ammon declared, leading the kids to get on their way to class.
Jimmy and Cindy stared momentarily at each other with frustration. It seemed like they just couldn't get out of the ruts in their lives.
Why couldn't things just get better already?
And so, the first chapter of a big project ends! There will be much more to this seemingly standalone fic, and I am SO excited to share it with you all! Do please leave reviews and thoughts, and I'll see you soon!