Jimmy Neutron and other related charas © Paramount Pictures and Viacom International
'How Do You Like Me Now?' © Toby Keith
and Karen Vortex is MINE!!!
Dedication:
I would like to dedicate this chapter to my little brothers and fellow JN fans. T-Meister and Cheggy, come on down! These guys inspire me, show me things I'd never see otherwise- and annoy the patooties out of me. But ya gotta love 'em!
Author's Note:
Since no one seems to know what Cindy's mother's name is, I've decided to name her myself, along with Cindy's father. They'll be named after my aunt and uncle, although they aren't quite as bad as Mrs. and Mr. Vortex. Also, the previous two chapters have been run through a spell checker, as has this one. Just to let you know. And this is my longest chappie yet! 7 pages! YAY!!!
Shameless Plug:
I gots a web page! Oh, yeah! (dances crazily) Click here to go to it, or check my profile. It only has G-rated stuff, so it's safe for everyone. Check it out! NOW!!!
Now for a little response to my oh, so kind readers:
No worries, folks. I haven't given up yet! Just a little, erm...writer's block. And I've been on vacation. Dolly Wood ROX!!! (clears throat) I would like to point out that several parts of my story are ripped off of the movies and/or shows. You get to guess which parts. On with the show!
Karen could hardly hold her excitement in. It'd been months since she'd seen Cindy, and now she'd stay with her a whole summer! She squirmed anxiously, wishing all of this torturous riding was over and done with. Needing to vent some of her energy, lest she burst with it, she reached for the radio, turning it to a Country station.
"How do ya like me now? Now that I'm on my way, do you still think I'm crazy standing here today, I couldn't make you love me..."
Karen bobbed her head slightly to the music. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught her mother smiling hopefully. The implication of that sent pain searing through her heart.
She'd been awful to her parents, really awful. And she knew it. But they couldn't get divorced; this was the only way she could protest and be sure she was heard. Her violent reactions, though, scared even her.
Oh, sure, they say they don't love each other anymore. But you can't just fall out of love suddenly, in just a little while. Hey, as far as I know, it's impossible to fall out of love. Maybe if what you thought was love was really simply attraction... But my parents had been married for 16 years. If it'd been mere physical attraction, they would've divorced years ago.
Karen risked a quick glance at her mother. There were wrinkles around her eyes she hadn't ever noticed before, but she was still very, very beautiful. Why would Daddy divorce her? she asked herself. So many questions...and absolutely no answers.
Karen sighed, annoyed at her confusion and the fact she had no answers. Maybe one day, Daddy will explain it to me...
Cindy's eyes widened. "Is it, Nerdtron?" she demanded. Jimmy, unable to say anything out of shock and fear -though mostly shock- nodded.
Cindy, never loosening her grip, dragged Jimmy out of the booth. "And you can meet Tails with it?" she asked. Again, the boy genius merely nodded. She smiled somewhat dangerously. "Well, then, what're we waiting for?"
Jimmy gulped under the hand that grasped his shirt. "Uh...it isn't ready yet," he answered.
"What?!" Cindy shrieked. Libby straightened and went to pull her best friend away, but the girl forcefully shrugged her off. "When will it be finished?" the blonde girl asked dangerously.
Jimmy laughed nervously. "Uh...after Sheen gives me my pad back, I could fin-" Cindy let go of his shirt, and the boy fell to the ground. She turned and advanced on a confused and, quite frankly, scared Sheen. "Give me that," she hissed between her teeth. In his fear, Sheen stumbled and dropped the electronic doo-hickey, and Cindy snatched it up. She turned back to Jimmy, who flinched slightly, and held out the pad. "Finish it," she demanded, "and let me know as soon as you're done. Got it?"
Jimmy nodded quickly. "G-got it," he stammered. He grabbed his pad, and, with the help of Sheen and Libby, got to his feet.
Libby watched her friend warily. "C'mon, Cindy, let's get outta here. I think the sugar's going to your head." She gingerly took the blonde girl's arm and guided her to the door, shaking her head. Cindy looked back over her shoulder at the three boys and yelled, "Don't forget, Neutron!"
After the two girls walked out, Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief, staring at the swinging glass doors. What was that about? "I guess I better get working," he muttered, shaking his head. "Come on, guys. Let's go."
"To the lab!" Sheen yelled exuberantly, leading the way through the glass doors.
"OK, to the hovercraft, then to the lab!" Sheen hopped into the craft. "C'mon, guys! I wanna meet Ultra Lord again!" he exclaimed.
Jimmy rolled his eyes in mild amusement. Sheen's over enthusiasm always amused him. Except for the times when it was downright annoying. Which were quite often. "OK, OK, I'm coming."
Carl climbed in after Sheen. Turning to Jimmy, who had yet to get in, he asked, "Jim, can I please meet Lloyd?" He made big, pleading eyes. "Pretty please?"
Jimmy tried to avoid those eyes as he climbed into the driver's seat. But when he turned to start it up, there was Carl, with big, almost anime eyes. He sighed in defeat. Against those eyes, defeat was imminent. "Alright, Carl, you can meet Lloyd," he agreed, though somewhat reluctantly. Who could blame him? Come on: a talking llama?
"Yay!" Carl cheered. Jimmy simply shook his head, and glanced over at Sheen, who seemed to be deep in thought about something.
"What're you thinking about?" he asked, curious because Sheen, of course, rarely ever thought, let alone deeply.
Sheen took a deep breath, paused, and then spoke. "Jimmy, do you think Ultra Lord will want to play basketball?"
Jimmy stared at his friend in disbelief as long as he could while safely driving. He turned his attention back when they had a near collision with an annoyingly placed maple tree. That's what all that heavy thinking was about?
"THAT'S what all your thinking was about?!"
Sheen slowly backed away from Jimmy as much as he could without falling, all the while giving him a strange look. "Um...are you OK?" he asked, the look on his face saying plainly he doubted it.
The boy genius gritted his teeth. "I'm...fine, Sheen," he said, emphasizing 'fine'. He slowly shook his head again. Sheen still eyed him warily before drifting back into his daydream about Ultra Lord.
Jimmy mentally shook himself. It wouldn't do to lose his sanity over one of Sheen's crazy questions. I've been around him for three years with his questions. I can't lose it now!
He felt a small tap on his shoulder and, turning slightly, saw Carl. The pudgy pre-teen had a questioning look on his face.
"Jimmy," he began hesitantly. "I thought you said all game characters aren't real." His statement sounded more like a question.
Sheen plugged his ears, screaming obnoxiously. "La la la, I can't hear you!"
Ignoring his spiky haired friend, the big haired boy nodded at his other friend. "Yes, that's what I said."
Carl looked confused. "But then...how're you gonna get Lloyd out of the game if he isn't real?"
Jimmy grinned, the type of grin that told Carl that the explanation was likely to be more complicated than he thought.
"That's a very good question, Carl. You see, the Lloyd that we'll meet won't actually be a physical manifestation, like us. He'll simply be comprised of protons and contained energy."
A rather short explanation, but Carl looked even more confused. Jimmy sighed, deciding to put it into layman's terms, which were basically the only ones his decidedly un-genius friends could understand.
"He's going to be a hologram."
Carl's face brightened, and he nodded understandingly. "Oh."
Jimmy looked down as he turned onto his street. There was an unfamiliar car sitting in Cindy's driveway. A girl and a woman climbed out. The woman looked to be Suzy Vortex, Cindy's aunt who'd pretended to be the girl's mother for the parent/child picnic a few months ago. But as for the girl... She didn't look at all familiar.
Curious despite himself, Jimmy slowed the hover craft and watched as the chocolate haired teen twirled around the driveway, waving her arms in the air crazily and nearly tripping over her own feet.
Sheen became curious about what Jimmy was watching so he glanced over at the Vortex's house. Noticing Sheen's attention, Jimmy asked, "What's she doing?" Sheen watched for a few more seconds, and then answered, "It looks like the 'Dance of The Blue Girls' of Moriden 6 from Ultra Lord episode #647." That earned another eye roll from Jimmy.
The girl looked up then, presumably hearing Sheen. She seemed to recognize Jimmy, because she grinned and waved at him like Sheen would...without a stupid grin, though.
They flew on past his house, and Jimmy had to double back. By now, the girl and Suzy must've gone inside, for no sign of life stood (or twirled) in the driveway.
Carl danced around, oblivious to the outside world, wrapped up in the happiness of one who knew he (or she) would meet their favorite person (or fictional character). "Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd the Llama," he sang. "He's the one and only llama-sama!"
Jimmy rolled his eyes yet again at his friend's little ditty. Sometimes, Carl could act so immature...even for him.
He steered the hovercraft to his backyard, turned it off, and hopped out. Sheen and Carl hopped out after him, and the trio headed for the clubhouse. The boy genius plucked one from his thick hair and held it up to Vox's scanner.
"Identity clarified," Vox stated calmly. The mat under the trio's feet dropped, sending a screaming Carl, a whooping in delight Sheen, and a rather bored Jimmy sliding into the lab. All three landed hard on their derrieres with slight grunts of pain. Brushing off his trademark jeans, Jimmy sprang to his feet, ran to the control panel, and sat back in his chair. He turned to the screen, typing maniacally as soon as he sat, blocking out the outside world entirely. This, however, did not disturb Carl and Sheen, as they were, of course, used to their friend's total immersion in his work.
Sheen poked at Jimmy's girl-eating plant, not worried about getting bitten since he was a manly man (...right) He noticed some chewed up pictures of Cindy, with a few intact ones of Libby from a few years ago. Glancing cautiously over his shoulder at his friends, he snatched one up and silently tucked it in his back pocket, a secretive grin on his face.
Carl played quietly with Goddard. The mechanical pooch seemed more than happy to have someone to play with, since Jimmy was always working on something or other and the only person left to play with was Hugh. (EEEK!)
"I've got it!" Jimmy exclaimed, jumping out of his chair a doing a little jig. The boy laughed loudly, almost insanely, jumping back into his chair. "I've got it!" He turned back to the monitor, typing furiously. Sheen and Carl traded somewhat nervous glances.
"Here we go again," Carl sighed with uncharacteristic sageness.
Lynn Vortex showed Karen and Suzy to two comfortable chairs; they looked to Karen to be the only comfortable seats in the entire house. Karen's aunt perched on a stiff looking love seat, her hands folded in her lap. "Are you tired?" Lynn inquired politely.
Suzy stretched her arms out. "Not really," she replied. "We stopped every once in a while to stretch our legs."
Lynn nodded. "I haven't told Cynthia of your plans to stay this summer, so it will be a..." She noticeably hesitated before speaking the word. "...surprise."
Karen's freckled face broke into a grin. "Thanks, Aunt Lynn!" She jumped up and hugged the startled woman around the neck. "This is great! It'll be like a sleepover...only all summer long!" The teen practically bounced to the window to search for Cindy. A thought occurred to her then. She turned to her mother. "Mom, don't you think Cindy will get suspicious when she sees your car?"
Suzy cocked her head in thought. "Maybe," she agreed. "Lynn," she turned to her sister-in-law, "do you think we could park in your garage?"
Mrs. Vortex shook her head. "Absolutely not. Robert has piled his tools and Heaven knows what else in there until absolutely nothing else will fit."
Karen's shoulders slumped, but only for a second. "Do you think Mr. Neutron would let us park in his garage?" she asked hopefully.
Lynn's eyebrows raised until they disappeared into her hairline. Composing herself, she replied, "I seriously doubt it. Ducktron over there probably has his packed to the roof with wooden ducks." She shrugged. "But you could ask him."
Karen turned to her mother. "Could we? Please?"
Suzy hesitated, glancing to her sister-in-law for confirmation. "OK, Karen," she finally agreed, getting up from the luxurious chair. Her muscles demanded reprieve after the 6-hour drive, despite the frequent stops. But anything was worth it to see her daughter happy again. "We'll go ask."
"You might want to hurry," Lynn offered as Karen bolted for the door. "Cynthia should be here any minute."
Outside, Karen fairly skipped ahead to the Neutron house, her athletic mother actually having to catch up. Suzy couldn't recall seeing her daughter so happy and excited- at least, not since Harold announced he wanted a divorce.
It all comes back to that. Suzy looked at her daughter's face, creased into the smile she'd wanted to see for two long months. Because of her cousin... She sighed heavily, feeling the burden of her and Harold's decision. They had each promised to never reveal exactly why they were splitting to Karen, but Suzy wanted now more than ever to spill the secret. Maybe she'd see the gleam of understanding in her daughter's eyes...maybe Karen would smile more often.
You promised, a voice echoed. You promised you'd never tell. Suzy swallowed hard. Not now...she wouldn't tell Karen now. But when she comes home...I'll make Harold tell her himself.
---------
Libby cautiously watched her red-faced friend as they walked along the sidewalk. Cindy's outburst had not only shocked Jimmy and his friends, but Libby as well. Of course, she'd always figured her blonde friend could put on a good tantrum...but this? No way she'd ever guessed it'd actually happen.
"You can stop looking at me like that, Libby," Cindy snapped. "I'm not going to go off the deep end again."
Her companion blinked in surprise. "Sorry," Libby murmured, glancing at her friend again.
Cindy sighed heavily. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I snapped at you, I'm sorry I made a spectacle of my self at the Candy Bar, I'm sorry Jimmy saw me acting like that..." She stopped at her closest friend's muffled giggle. "What're you laughing at?" she demanded.
Libby's chocolate eyes twinkled in merriment as she paused alongside her friend. "Jimmy? Not Nerdtron or Pewtron? And you're sorry he saw you in a fit of fan girlishness?" She laughed out loud.
Cindy's cheeks turned even redder. "I-that-you know what I mean!" She huffed indignantly and stormed down the sidewalk toward her house. Libby, unable to walk in a straight line because of her giggles, called after her. "Aw, come on, Cindy! You know I was just kidding with you!"
Cindy pointedly ignored her as she stamped on up the sidewalk and to her front door. Her friend caught up with her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Cindy," she repeated solemnly. "I didn't mean to make you mad or anything."
Cindy's shoulders slumped. "It's all right, Libs." She smiled at her friend, just a tiny smile, but enough for Libby to know all was forgiven. "Would you like to come in? Mother might allow us to have one cookie and some milk."
Libby nodded, relieved she'd forgiven and forgotten. "Sure. Sounds good to me." She paused. "But don't have a sugar cookie."
Cindy's brow crinkled as she pushed open the door. "Why not?"
Libby put on her best teacher voice. "We don't want another sugar-induced scene, now do we?" she asked, wagging her finger. Cindy groaned and walked in. "Do you want me to lock you out?"
The two girls laughed and giggled all the way to the living room. Cindy calmed herself down enough to ask her mother, "May we have a cookie?"
Lynn sniffed at the thought of her daughter having cookies before supper. "You'll ruin your appetite."
"Just one. Please?" Cindy tried a little smile
Her mother started to argue, then gave a light shrug and nodded. "Go ahead. But you might want to set an extra one out."
Cindy and Libby traded confused glances as they thanked Mrs. Vortex and walked back to the kitchen. Cindy reached into the cabinet and pulled down a plate of home made cookies while Libby poured the milk.
"What do you think she meant by that?" Libby asked.
Cindy shrugged. "I don't know. She doesn't usually let me have a cookie this soon before supper, let alone tell me to set an extra one out." She pulled three cookies out and set them on another plate.
"Well, well. Hello, Cindy-Mindy." Cindy froze with her hand halfway from the plate. She slowly turned to see green eyes, almost identical to her own, sparkling at her. "K-Karen?" she stuttered.
Karen split into a huge smile as she slung an arm around her astonished cousin's shoulders. "Didn't expect to see me here, didja?" She turned her grin to Libby, who stood out of the way, staring at the two. "Hi! You must be Libby. Cindy talks about you all the time."
Libby smiled back. "Hi. Um, not to be rude or anything, but...who are you?"
Karen laughed. "Don't tell me Cindy didn't tell you about me! The name's Karen Vortex." She grinned wider at Libby. "And I'm Cind's cuz." She planted her hands on her hips and scrutinized Cindy. "Boy, you should've seen the look on your face! Aunt Lynn didn't tell you, did she?" she asked in a tone that indicated she doubted it.
Cindy gazed at her cousin bewilderedly. "Tell me what?"
Karen's grin grew until it nearly split her face in half. "I'm gonna stay with you guys this summer!"
Cindy gaped at her. "Y-you're staying?" she repeated. "For the summer?"
Karen nodded vigorously. "Yep!" She hugged her cousin again. "Isn't that great?"
Cindy winced slightly. Oh, no... Please, no...
Oh, no? What does she mean, oh, no? Well, you'll just have to wait for next chapter, now, won't you? (grins) But I'll give you a hint: Karen's a country gal, while Cindy's used to city living. Hey! Now that I think about it that sounds kind of like the Country Mouse and City Mouse doesn't it? Creepy. (shrugs) OK, R&R! If you want to comment on, praise (pleasepleaseplease!) or criticize my fic, feel free! But please, please don't blast me. After all, I'm trying! Just point out bleh spots and give an overall critique. R&R! R&R!!! (gets hit by a tomato) Alright, I'll leave you alone! Yeesh.
'Til later!
Kris
