Aw, you guys are too good to me!
ignite444: Yes, you are that popular! Well, to me, anyway. The review you wrote for MBFSW, and those posts on the JN forum? Heck yeah, you're popular! Here; have a fruit chewy!

Lady Esca: Whew! That's a relief! I usually worry about keeping characters in check, but to tell the truth, I either didn't care that much about Mrs. Vortex, or she's just too easy to keep in check. Keep reading, please!

Prominence Flare: Don't worry. This one will be a little longer. (wink!)

Sassy08: (grinning) I'm so glad I made you laugh! This one's a little more serious, but I think you'll like it.

The CheezHead: I'll tell you the truth right now: I don't know SQUAT about New Jersey, so he won't be tackling any parkways, and there are no strip malls here. Sorry! I only made it New Jersey because it was random, or I was high on Dr. Pepper, or I'm just weird like that. (Maybe all the above.) Hee, hee! Thanks!

Everyone who appreciated the fact that he chipped her scrunchie: I'm glad y'all liked that! I didn't think it was gonna be that funny, but I guess it was! Yay! Someone actually thinks I'm funny besides my best friend! That's a first! I hope y'all like this chapter. This is where the drama (and the Ocs) start to kick in, but I hope you'll enjoy it.

ROLL FILM!

Chapter 3: The Predicament
Meanwhile in New Jersey, Cindy woke up in a white bed. She gasped and sat straight up. Where was she? Why was she iron-clad? (Her wrists were still bound in front of her.) Where was Libby? How did she get in this white short-sleeved dress that resembled a nurse's?

She got out of the bed and went to a white door with a window (like in mental institutions.). She couldn't reach the window, but she pounded on the door with her fists, yelling "Hey! What's the big idea here? If this is some kind of ransom thing, I'll--!"

The door opened and Cindy jumped back. A man in a white doctor's coat with black hair and glasses stood before her.

"Oh, good!" he said pleasantly, "You're awake, Ms. Vortex!" Then he wrote something on a clipboard as Cindy demanded, "Save the sugar, pops! Who are you, where am I, and what am I doing here—'Ms. Vortex?' How'd you know who I am?" The doctor-type man laughed heartily.

"My, my," he smiled nicely, "You do ask a lot of questions, young one. Come with me, and I'll answer all of them." It didn't appear to Cindy that she had much of a choice, so she glared at him and followed him down a hallway with wall windows that let them see other rooms filled with children no older (some were younger) than herself. The girls were all in white dresses like hers; the boys wore the same thing, with pants.

"You see, Ms. Vortex," the doctor explained as they stopped at each one, "Over the years we've invited youngsters like you to our institution where we help them improve their skills in their respective fields, and you seem to have a special knack for nuclear physics!" (Lame explanation, I know. And she is a child prodigy; I'm sure she has some level of expertise in this category.)

Cindy read beneath everything the doctor said, and suspected that "invited" and "help to improve" respectively meant "kidnapped" and "forced to do stuff for us." She also realized all those kids were brainwashed! With the look in their eyes, it wasn't hard to tell.

"And you 'invited' me here, because...?" Cindy asked.

"...Because you have brains that we can use, Ms. Vortex," the doctor said enthusiastically, "brains that can help us in further splitting the atom for the greater good."

"Wait a minute, doc," Cindy stopped and looked at him, "Wasn't atom-splitting used for...atomic bombs?" (I don't know what else it's used for; sue me.)

"Correct, my dear!" the fatherly doctor beamed, "You're even smarter than I thought!"

Suddenly, it was all too clear to her: These children were being used to build illegal weapons, and she was their next recruit! Cindy tore herself away from him in disgust!

"You brought me here to make nuclear weapons for you!" Cindy exclaimed, "Sorry, pal, but this just isn't gonna fly!"

She tore down the hall and was pursued by guards from some of the other rooms. The doctor just stood there.

'Keep running, Cindy,' the blonde told herself, 'don't look back! You have to get out of here!' She skidded at an intersecting hallway and ran down it to an elevator at the end. Cindy punched the down button with the side of her fist and fell against the wall of the elevator as the doors slid shut.

She lay against the wall, panting from effort and fear.

'I wish Jimmy would show up and save me,' she thought, (since he always does) 'Wait. He could be tracking me! He has before.' This gave her hope and assurance that her absence wasn't unnoticed by the boy genius. At the same time, however, she knew she didn't want to stay and be brainwashed by a demented doctor! She had to do something by herself. When the doors opened once again, Cindy tore down a strangely nice looking hall and slowed to a walk.

"What kind of freakshow laboratory is this?" she asked no one, "Chandeliers? Potted plants? Partially nude sculptures? Nice temperature? Where am I?" Then a needle stung her neck and she gave a small cry and slumped forward, caught from behind by a 12-year-old blonde in a doctor coat with her hair by her shoulders and blue eyes.

"Nice moves, toots," she said coolly, "but you're right where you need to be." She then turned as some other kids in white coats came up with a stretcher, led by a green-eyed, also 12-year-old, red-headed girl with a solemn face. (The kids in doctor coats are not brainwashed; they're the doctor's lackies, let's say.)

"Nice job, Tricie," she called her by her nickname less than appreciatively (her real name's Beatrice).

"No problem, Alex," she flipped her hair, "What's wrong with you?"

"Tricie," Alex said, "You know what we're doing is wrong. Aren't you tired of kidnapping child prodigies and exploiting their minds for warfare?"

"I would," Tricie guiltlessly twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, "if I didn't have a salary higher than a U.S. Senator."

"Oh!" Alex walked off with the stretcher in a huff. Tricie shrugged and went in the elevator with them.

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Author's Review:
When Alex walks off in a huff, she reminds me of Hermione from Harry Potter! XD

One thing I forgot to mention from the last chapter: The name for Cindy's location chip is "458/C." If you look at those numbers on your phone, you'll find the letters "I, L, U." Put 'em all together, and what does that spell! Only what we're all dying for Jimmy to tell her, that's all! If you know what it is, (and who doesn't?) tell me in your reviews! I got a real kick out of doing that! (knee slap)

Tricie's not really that important a character, nor are the rest of the kids, except Alex. She seems to be the only one with a conscience, as well as an impressive paycheck! HOLLA! Anyway, she comes to be a much more important character for the rest of the story. Readers, please tell me what you think, give me friendly critique, and gear up for a much weirder chapter! YAHOO! Let us get under way, baby! (Austin Powers clip; I listen to 93.1, the Point; one of those 80s, 90s, and now stations.) L8R, gators! (bowing)
-samuraistar