The Devil Comes Back to Retroville

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 10:

Cindy headed home, walking slowly, deep in thought. Only 12 hours remained before the meteor that Lou had told her about would strike, and Angelo had convinced her that Lou was not bluffing and the danger was very real. Cindy didn't know much about dark matter, but she knew that it was essentially invisible – hence the name. Only its intense gravitational field would give it away as its passing subtly altered the motions of other objects in and near its path. But unless someone was looking no one would sense its approach until it was far too late, and she was sure that no one was looking. She wasn't even sure that the observers watching for NEOs, or near-Earth objects, had the right equipment to detect what had to be detected. Only the deep space sensors in Jimmy's lab had a chance of finding the unseen killer on way to it deadly rendezvous.

But even if they spotted it, how could Jimmy possibly stop it? It was the fabled irresistible force moving towards the legendary immovable object. Could Jimmy stop something with the momentum of a supersonic mountain? Or literally move a planet out of the way? Could one of his brain blasts do even that?

Another thought that disturbed Cindy was whether Jimmy could even generate a brain blast. Lou had seemed convinced that he could not, and yesterday Jimmy had seemed to babble when he tried to recall the circumstances that created rain. Now, Cindy was convinced, Jimmy had been struggling to utilize the reasoning part his mind. Lou knew that by convincing Jimmy to balance out the two sides of his mind that he would neutralize the intelligence that could save them.

But Lou doesn't know everything.

Heart and free will, Angelo had told her, were the two great gifts that could beat Lou. So how to do it?

Lou had said she had three options. The first was to do nothing, but that was clearly not a choice. The meteor was on its way and something had to be done. The third option, to give in to Lou, was equally unacceptable. That left only the second option, which was to get Jimmy to help somehow. In his present state he might not be able to do anything about the meteor, but maybe… A thought occurred to her, almost astonishing in its simplicity. Maybe he could still reverse the process and return to normal, or whatever normal was for a boy with an IQ over 200. It has saved the town before and, as Lou had said, you can't beat the classics.

She suddenly became aware that she had walked several streets past her and Jimmy's block. Encouraged by the possible solution to her current dilemma she ran the entire way back to Jimmy's house and rang the doorbell. Ordinarily she would have stopped to bathe first, but there was no time for that. There was no telling how long finding a solution to the meteor might take. Jimmy's father answered the door.

"Well, hello, Cindy," he said pleasantly. "Are you selling more candy?"

"No, Mr. Neutron," Cindy answered, somewhat out of breath. "I –"

"It's not pie, is it? I'd be happy to buy some pie from you, especially if it's for a good cause like…umm…what cause are you selling pie for?"

"I'm not selling anything, Mr. Neutron. I just need to speak with Jimmy."

"Oh, I see," Hugh said, sounding disappointed. "Well, maybe Sugar Booger has another one baked by now. You can't get enough pie, you know. Come on in and I'll call Jimmy down. He should be finished with his third bath by now." He led Cindy into the living room, calling, "Oh, Jimmy! There's someone here to see you, son! And she's not selling candy or pie."

Jimmy appeared, scrubbed within an inch of his life, his hair neatly combed, and virtually reeking of dubious cologne. He does clean up pretty good, thought Cindy, but I have to admit Lou was right about his Dad's judgement of fragrances. Jimmy looked both flustered and pleased to see her.

"Hey, Cindy," he said. "I'm sorry. Did I get the time wrong? I thought that I was coming over this afternoon, but –"

Cindy cut him short. "I need to talk with you, Jimmy. Uh…" She looked at Jimmy's father.

Jimmy caught the hint. "Dad? Could you give us a moment?"

Hugh looked momentarily confused, but then seemed to catch on. "Gotcha, son," he said, leaning towards Jimmy and giving him a broad wink. "I was young once, too, you know. You don't have to draw me a picture." He walked away, still talking. "Unless it's pie or ducks. I can never get enough pictures of those. Or real pie or ducks are even better…" His voice gradually faded away as he moved to another part of the house..

Jimmy covered his face with his hand, totally embarrassed. "I'm sorry about that. Sometime parents can be so –"

Cindy interrupted him. "That's not important right now," she said. "There's a problem. A big one."

"It's not the stranger who's been following you, is it?" Jimmy asked, his voice filled with concern.

Despite the circumstances Cindy was touched by this demonstration that Jimmy really cared. How sweet, she thought, but then forced her mind back to the matter at hand. "No, it's not that. But thanks for asking. Jimmy, do you remember what dark matter is?"

"Uh…" Jimmy thought, his brow furrowed in concentration as he struggled to remember. "It's something like…no…wait…I can get this…really…just give me a moment…or two…"

Cindy watched Jimmy's inner struggle and her heart sank. "Never mind, Jimmy," she said gently. "We can get back to that later. 'What's more important is what happened yesterday."

Jimmy thought back. "Yesterday? Well, I remember walking home with you and talking." He looked up hopefully. "Was that it?" Cindy shook her head and Jimmy continued to think. Finally he shook his head. "I can't remember much else. It's like nothing else mattered enough to remember."

Cindy groaned to herself, and then had an idea. "Wait a minute! Goddard!"

"What about Goddard?"

"He might have some record of it. Could you call him here? Maybe he can get you to remember."

Jimmy nodded, looking confused. "Well…all right. Goddard! Here boy!" Seconds later they heard Goddard's footsteps in the upstairs hall, followed by Goddard himself coming down the stairs. He stopped in front of Jimmy, his tongue lolling out as Jimmy scratched his metallic head. "Hi Goddard! Are you a good boy?"

"Ask him about yesterday," Cindy said impatiently. "About changing your brain."

"Okay," Jimmy agreed. "Goddard! Replay anything about…" He looked at Cindy with a startled look on his face. "Changing my brain?"

"Just watch."

Goddard had opened his front hatch, exposing his video screen and showing the recorded events in Jimmy's lab from the previous day. Jimmy watched perplexed and disbelieving as he constructed the cerebral rebalancer, while Cindy listened dumbfounded to Jimmy's reflections on his life and relationships. When the recording ended with Jimmy waking from his transformation they both stood in silence, thinking about what they had just watched. At last Jimmy spoke.

"That was me?" he asked, not quite believing it.

Cindy nodded. "Can you fix the helmet to change things back to how they were?"

Jimmy thought. "I don't know. There wasn't much detail on what I was actually doing and I'm not sure I even remember how to use the tools or even how the circuits work." He looked down at the floor. "It's like…it's like it was someone else doing it all."

"Jimmy…" Jimmy looked up and saw the desperation in Cindy's face. "Jimmy, there's a meteor headed for Retroville. In less than 12 hours it's going to hit and wipe out everyone. You're the only one who can stop it. We need you back the way you were."

Jimmy looked miserably at her. "But I like the way I am now. Don't you?"

That was something Cindy hadn't thought about. If Jimmy managed to reverse the process and returned to how he had been, what would happen with them? But if he didn't, what would happen to Retroville? Or was the third choice really her only option? She sank down on the sofa, feeling lost once again. Jimmy couldn't miss the look of hopelessness on her face.

"What's the matter? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Just that there is another way," she said, speaking slowly so her voice wouldn't break. "It has to do with Lou." Cindy's thought churned slowly through her choices. Either way she would lose this Jimmy, but at least this way he could stay the way he wanted to be. Angelo had said that Jimmy could lose everything, but that it would be up to her. This must have been what he had meant. For Jimmy's happiness she would have to agree to Lou's terms. "I have to go, now Jimmy. I'll see you –" She broke off, realizing that she would not be seeing him again. "Take care, okay?" She stood and headed for the door.

Jimmy watched her go, not fully understanding what was happening. But some sense deeper than sight and stronger than reason told him that Cindy was about to do something desperate. All he could remember of the past day was that he'd been happy, and he knew that he didn't want to lose that happiness. But he knew also that whatever Cindy was planning had to be avoided at any cost. For her sake he had to find a way back. It was a question of his happiness or hers, and the choice would always be obvious.

He was still Jimmy Neutron.

For all Lou's subtlety and guile Jimmy's essence was a divine spark, a gift beyond Lou's comprehension and something he could never hope to touch.

He would do what was right.

It was who he was. It was what he did.

For an interminable second Jimmy teetered between who he was and who he wanted to be, as thoughts and feeling battled for control. Then, with a cry of torment from the confused turmoil in his mind, he collapsed and fell into welcome unconsciousness.

End of Part 10