A Glitch in Time

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 8:

Cindy hurried to keep up with Ron, who was striding briskly back in the direction he had come. "Hold up a minute," she asked. "If it wasn't Wade you were talking to, who was it? It sounded like you thought it was him."

Ron nodded but didn't slow his pace. "I did. I was wrong."

"Then who was it? What's the big mystery?"

Ron thought about it while he walked, slowing down a bit as he did so. While as a rule he wasn't good at keeping secrets, this concerned Kim and he would rather lose an arm than do anything that might endanger her. On the other hand, Cindy had shown him during their last encounter that she was someone to be trusted. He looked at Rufus who was seated on his left shoulder. "Should I trust her? What do you think, Rufus?"

Rufus, who was just as clueless as Cindy but a good judge of character, gave Ron a thumb's up sign. "Uh-huh, uh-huh," he chirped.

Convinced, Ron set his luggage down and sat on one of the suitcases. "Okay. Here's the sitch. Wade is missing. I don't know how, or why, but he is. The person I spoke to wasn't Wade. It was…I dunno how to put it exactly…Cyber Wade."

Rather than making things clearer, this only succeeded in confusing Cindy more. "Huh?"

"Okay. Wade is like a total techno-junkie. He's on his computer all the time. Because of that, he programmed it to respond if he was ever away from it for more than twenty-four hours."

Cindy looked puzzled. And I thought Neutron was a geek, she thought. But all she said was, "Twenty-four hours? What about vacations and things?"

Ron shook his head. "You so don't know Wade. He like never, but never, even leaves his room – except virtually. If he's away from his computer for more than a day it's definitely a sign that something is very wrong."

"How wrong?" Cindy asked.

In reply Ron began counting off on his fingers. "Four horseman of the apocalypse wrong, sun coming up in the west wrong, Bueno Nacho canceling the naco wrong – well, you get the idea. So Wade programmed his system to respond in case something like that ever happened. And for something going that far south, the person he programmed it to contact was –"

"You?" Cindy didn't mean to sound dubious but it came through anyway.

"Well, no. Kim, actually. But here's where it gets even worse. Kim didn't answer the Kim-municator. And she always has it with her, even when she's at cheerleader practice." Ron began pacing and waving his arms. "And have you seen those outfits? I mean, where does she keep that thing? There aren't any pockets, and it's not like they're baggy enough to –"
"Earth to Stoppable," Cindy called out.

Ron stopped in his tracks. "What?"

"You've gone from reasoning to rambling in less than six seconds. Care to resynch?"

"And how," Rufus agreed.

"What?" Ron looked puzzled and then nodded. "Oh, right. Anyway, the point is that she never goes anywhere without the Kim-municator and she would never willingly flake on a call like that. That put Cyber Wade in full 911 mode. And that's when he called me. He wants me to get back to Middleton for further instructions."

Cindy nodded, understanding at least part of it now. "Why Middleton? Why not just tell you what to do over the phone?"

"I'm not exactly sure. But from what I understood of the message Wade had some kind of top-secret ace-in-the-hole project prepared just in case he and Kim both went missing. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I don't think he could have expected that I'd run into you. I think the real Wade would understand." He reached down and picked up his luggage again. "And now I have to get to the airport. There's a pet taxi with my name on it."

"Wait a minute." It was now Cindy's turn to think. If Jimmy was with Kim, and Kim really was in trouble, then it was almost certain that Jimmy was in dire straits as well. It was possible that she was crossing the line, but extreme circumstances required extreme measures. "Maybe I can help."

"You can?" Ron looked curiously at her. "How?"

"Remember the Strato XL?"

Ron nodded. "Yes. Did Jimmy say you could use it?"

Cindy looked embarrassed and hemmed and hawed a bit. "Well, not exactly," she fudged. "I mean, he did tell me to stay out of his lab, but he never specifically told me that I couldn't use the Strato if I really needed it and he didn't happen to be around at the time."

Ron seemed unimpressed. "Yea-a-ah," he finally responded. "You see, where I come from, we call that 'rationalizing'."

"Look, it's four hours to Middleton on a plane, not counting the time getting through the airport. The Strato could get us there in thirty minutes."

"Rationalizing," Ron repeated.

Cindy folded her arms defiantly. "Your girlfriend and Neutron are in serious trouble and I say this is the fastest way to help them. You got a problem with that?"

Ron thought about it and shook head. "Well, put that way, I guess not."

Rufus shook his head. "Rationalizing," he clucked.

It was not a particularly long walk from the Candy Bar to the clubhouse behind the Neutrons' house. As Ron watched in curiosity Cindy removed a small plastic case from her pocket and extracted what appeared to be several strands of hair, which she held in front of what Ron recognized as a scanner of some type. As they waited Ron heard a female (but clearly synthesized) voice say, "Analyzing" and saw a beam of light scan the follicles. "DNA match confirmed," the voice announced. "Welcome, Jimmy." The door to the clubhouse opened, permitting Cindy and Ron to enter.

"Do you do this often?" Ron asked while Cindy replaced the hair.

"No," Cindy replied evasively. "Why?"

"I was just wondering. It's an amazing coincidence that you had that hair with you. I mean, either you sneak into this place a lot…or…" He paused, giving Cindy an opening in which to respond.

"I do not sneak into this place a lot!" she objected vehemently. "It must be the other thing you were going to say."

"Well," Ron went on slowly, "the other thing I was going to say is that you must be pretty serious about Jimmy to carry a lock of his hair –"

"On second thought," Cindy interrupted with an unconvincing laugh, "maybe I do come in here more than I should. Yes, I guess 'a lot' could describe it. Yeah. Semantics. Always been a weak point of mine."

Ron and Rufus exchanged looks before Ron simply nodded. "Right."

With that Cindy and Ron dropped through the entry tube leading to Jimmy's lab and Ron looked about him with the same wonder that Kim had. As he stared, goggle-eyed, at the myriad gadgets and complex equipment Cindy headed to the Strato XL poised on its launching ramp. "Coming?" she called.

"This place is amazing," Ron called back. "I think that Wade might actually leave his room if he could just see this."

Cindy, who had seen the lab many times before, simply shrugged. "We're wasting time," she said, her voice edged with impatience. "Let's get moving." She climbed into the pilot's seat and began strapping herself in. Ron hurried over and took his place in the seat behind her.

"All set?" Cindy asked.

Ron buckled his seat belt. "Set."

"Okay, then." Cindy studied the controls, trying to remember the launch sequence that Wade had stepped her through some time back. "Okay. Atomic batteries to power." She snapped two switches in the center of the console up and was gratified to see twin power meters come to life. "Turbines to speed," she continued, pressing a button marked, "ENGINE START." A high-pitched whine grew in pitch as the needle on a meter labeled "TURBINE SPEED" swung to "NOMINA.L". The ramp elevated, pointing the rocket straight up, and Cindy gripped the joystick and thrust lever as she concentrated on the imminent launch. "Beginning countdown. Five…"

"Uh, Cindy?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"Not now, Ron. Four…"

"I really think -"

"Later. Three…"

"- that you should -"

"Quiet! Two…"

"- open the -"

"Will you please pipe down? One…"

"- launch door!"

"Blast off!" Cindy called, pulling down the thrust lever. The rocket surged forward up the ramp just as the meaning of Ron's words hit her. Unfortunately the rocket ship hit the closed door almost immediately after, shattering the barrier into splinters like a bullet through plate glass. Fortunately the nose and windscreen of the craft deflected the debris so that none of the fragments struck either Cindy or Ron, although their reflexes made them flinch a fraction of a second and several hundred feet in the air later. Cindy looked back at the ruined clubhouse roof and then at Ron. "If you say one word about women drivers…" she warned.

Ron shook his head. "Oh, no. No. Not me. Kim is actually a lot better driver than I am." In a somewhat quieter voice he added, "And technically you're a pilot right now, not a driver."

After the shaky start the flight to Middleton went smoothly. As Cindy had predicted the trip took somewhat less than half an hour with the engines wide open, including the time needed for Ron to orient himself and direct Cindy to his neighborhood. They made a safe, if slightly bumpy, landing in the Stoppable driveway and the two of them were just strong enough to carry the surprisingly light spacecraft into the garage.

"This really isn't necessary," Cindy grunted as she manhandled the rocket up the drive. "We could just activate the cloaking device."

"And have my dad hit it in the driveway with the car?" Ron gasped in reply. "I think not. Jimmy is going to be way cranked about his clubhouse as it is. And we may need this baby in one piece to get wherever Kim is."

Cindy had no good argument for that and together they managed to safely stow the Strato XL in the garage. As they lowered the garage door Ron paused and Cindy looked at him. "What?"

"I was just wondering. You'll remember to open this one before we take off again, won't you?"

Cindy gave him a vicious look. "Will you drop it already?"

"Okay, okay!" Ron protested. "Just remember that my dad won't be as understanding about his garage as Jimmy might be about his clubhouse."

Grumbling, Cindy followed Ron into the house and up to his room. She had been there only once before but it seemed much as she remembered it. The only obvious difference was a framed picture of Kim and Ron on the nightstand next to Ron's bed. She studied it as Ron activated the speakerphone and dialed.

Over the speaker Ron and Cindy could hear the connection being made. After several rings a voice answered, "Hello?"

"This is Ron Stoppable calling Wade."

"Wade isn't here right now," the voice replied.

"Then give me a message."

"Identify confirmed," the voice at the far end said. "Ron. You're in your room?"

"Affirmative."

"You're alone?"Ron looked at Cindy and shook his head, uncertain how to answer. The voice seemed to interpret his silence for it said. "Oh. Rufus is there, correct?"

"Yes," Ron answered truthfully, a note of relief in his voice. "I'm not alone. Rufus is here." For Cindy's benefit he put a finger in front of his lips.

Duh, Cindy thought impatiently.

"Understood.," the voice responded. "Listen carefully. Go to your closet."

"My closet?" Ron looked startled. "Why my closet?"

"Go to your closet."

Ron shrugged. "Okay. Going to the closet." He crossed to his closet and pulled open the door while Cindy watched in silence. "Now what?"

In answer the voice said, "There's a white box on the top shelf. Take it down and open it."

Puzzled, Ron did so. As with most closets there were a number of boxes of various sizes, shapes, and colors on the storage shelf. He could not recall having seen the white box he pulled down before, but it had not seemed out of place on the shelf. Laying the box on his bed he removed the top and stared at the contents, both curious and unimpressed. "A jogging suit?" he asked.

"No," the voice came back. "Not a jogging suit. An advanced tactical prototype I was working on for the government."

Ron's voice became suspicious. "Our government?"

"Yes. Our government. Put it on."

"What were they planning to use it for?"

There was a pause and the voice said, "I'm sorry. I'm only a simulation and my programmed responses are rather limited. I'm afraid I can't respond to that question."

"Okay, fine. What does the suit do?"

"The suit is a battle suit, similar to Kim's battle suit and the Centurion prototype you may remember," the voice answered. "Its purpose is to provide a tactical advantage in combat situations by directly accessing attack and defense responses programmed into it. Activate the suit by pressing the button at the top of the zipper."

"Programmed attack and defense responses?" Ron muttered as he pressed the button. "Couldn't you have made it a little more stylish? Like maybe a tuxedo?"

The voice was silent for a moment before stating, "I'm sorry. I'm only a simulation and my programmed responses are rather limited. I'm afraid I can't respond to that question."

"Okay, fine. Who programmed it?"

"The suit was programmed by me, using the parameters obtained from an individual with superior speed, agility, and reflexes under actual combat situations."

"Obtained from who?" He paused, thinking. "Or is it 'whom'?"

"I'm sorry. I'm only a simulation and my programmed responses are rather limited. I'm afraid I can't respond to that question." The voice over the speaker suddenly hardened. "Commence drill!"

"Say what now?" Ron asked, confused.

While Ron stood there, bewildered, a half dozen small flying disks emerged from the box lying on the bed and began an aggressive attack. Without really understanding what he was doing, Ron back-flipped out of the way of the menacing objects, skillfully avoiding the numerous rays that lanced downward at him. Seizing a CD lying on his desk he spun it towards one of the disks, striking it off center and deflecting it into the path of another disk. The two disks collided and fell to the floor, inert, while the CD caromed in another direction and deactivated another of the hovering objects. Without stopping to think, or even realizing what was happening, Ron dove forward, sweeping his leg around and taking out the remaining three in a great semicircular arc before landing lightly on his feet again.

Cindy, who had witnessed the whole thing, stood with her mouth agape. It had taken less than two seconds to end the encounter. The moves were very familiar, but she could not believe that it had been Ron who had performed them. Ron was just as stunned as the voice went on, "The parameters were obtained from someone with whom you are quite familiar."

Ron managed to find his voice at last. "I think I've just gone Kim-mando."

End of Chapter 8