"The Adventures of Professor Proton, Jr: The Proton Express…"

Summary: In my first longer Proton Jr tale, can Prof Proton Jr. aka mild-mannered Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Amy aka Amy F. Fowler save the world at Christmas…And can Proton Jr. keep that blond sob of an engineering genius Tom Swift, Jr. away from his girl?

Equally important…Should Cameragirl Penny allow this thing to appear on her acting credits or just accept that all hope of a professional career is gone and just enjoy while peddling her drugs?

Disclaimer: All is Chuck's…

Part XXXVI…

Suburo compartment, the Ocean Arrow…

"Have they made it?!" Amy anxiously.

"Hang on." Bud, working controls. "I'm trying to get a close up with the Megascope Space Prober. Give me just a…"

"Why aren't they answering?" she'd already turned to Swift, holding radiophone transmitter.

"Again…Ocean Arrow to Proton Express, come in, over." Swift told the mike. "I'm trying Amy but the ionic distortion is…Bud, try canceling out the ionic interference on the Prober by using eighty percent x-ray…"

"There!" Barclay pointed. A rather unfocused image of the craft, stretching out across the screen.

("Dang…" Leonard, holding clear wire for the ship model…

"Cut!" Howard, rolling eyes.

"What is it this time?"

Leonard sighed. "The little piece up front fell off again from the ship."

"Just do a close up on the rear and midsection. We need to get through this sometime today." Howard sighed.

"Yeah! Lets stop the excuses and get this scene in the can!" Bernadette yelled. "Hey, fumble-fingers! Try and hold this thing steady for thirty second, would ya?!"

"She is so mean." Leonard noted to Penny.

"Yeah…She scares me. And I'm a recovering bully." Shake of head. "And yeah, too scared even to stand up for you, my dearest."

"Hey! What did I say about sex breaks!" Bernadette hollered.

"Mr. Director, the set is yours." Demure smile, bow to Howard.

"I am definitely giving her name to Lukas." Mr. Jones, seated, to Wil. "We'd cut production time by half for the next film."

"I thought the series was finished, and I mean that in the fullest sense, with 'Rise'." Wil eyed him.

"We wanted you to think that." Mr. Jones smiled.

"But…" Wil blinked. Jones leaning over to whisper.

Oh my God… "Really? The whole three episodes?"

"Don't you think so?" stern eyeing.

"Oh, yeah…Only Jar-Jar not coming back could have made them any…" eyeing Jones' look.

"No…That's too horrible."

"Not if…" Jones whispers.

"Whoa…No. No way." Wil, listening intently.

"Way." Stern nod.

"Wait…How do you know all this, I mean no offense, Lord Vader…" hand on heart.

Jones, coy smile, waving in, whispering.

"You?" Wil blinked.

"Me."

"You know…" Wil bubbled. "I've always wanted to try screenwriting myself…I would love to run some ideas past you some time…But, really? Jar-Jar? I mean folks have kidded around about it but…"

"Mesa say…" Jones grinned. "It's always the one you don't suspect."

"Whoa…"

"Same for 'Dr. Who', by the way. My other project in the wings…We're scrapping everything in the last series. But Jodie will be back, as will…Missy. And…The True Doctor…" Jones smiled.

"Whoa…That really could save the show." Wil nodded.

"And who'd turn down free trips to Britain and getting paid for it?" Jones smiled.)

"Where are they?!" Amy peered.

"I think…" Bud paused, adjusting. "That…Yeah! There they are!" closing in.

"Well, there Sermek is…" he moved in close, Swift and Amy behind him. All eyeing Sermek's slowly waving outstretched arm. The other seeming firmly attached to the hull, while the rest of him dangled outward from the hull, in space.

"And there's one of the suits." He noted. Tom and Amy now jostling for a close spot. A view of one of the Fat Man suits more or less lying on the craft, an arm apparently locked against the hull.

"One of them's missing!" Amy, twisting hands.

"No, there's the other." Bud pointed to the image of a second suit, just coming over the hull from behind the craft, raised to a standing position, and as it slowly moved towards the other suit and into their view, they could see the feet firmly on the hull surface.

"That's gotta be Bernadette." He noted proudly.

"Why isn't the other getting up?" Amy anxiously. "Oh, I never should have let him go…!"

"I think he's holding the detector to the hull…" Swift peered. "Ok, the other's reached him, he's getting up." The other suit now being helped to stand erect by the walker while maintaining its grip on a large dark mass, presumably the detector unit.

"Yes!" Amy waving arms in triumph… "Go, Arthur go! Oh, come on, you've gotta get inside! Move your friggin' asses, you two!" she cried at screen, turning to Swift. "You said you had the interface key…" she began, insistent.

(Penny eyeing Leonard, Leonard, Penny. "She said she was fine with it. It's exactly what she's say to Sheldon if he were in a real life-and-death situation." He noted.

Hmmn…She glanced over at Amy who offered a triumphant thumbs-up. How was I? She mouthed.

Penny making ok sign, beaming. Then a sad look to Leonard…

"What?"

"I dunno…I just hate to see my bestie getting all grown up and cussin'." Sigh. "I guess I have this image of my innocent Amy all built up in my mind. Swathed safely in her cardigans and unaffected by this evil world…"

"You know she dresses better now on occasion, and she and Sheldon have sex regularly, and they are married." He noted. "And you curse like a sailor when the situation warrants."

"My bestie was such a good girl when she was little…r." sigh.

"Don't you ever change, Leonard." She eyed him anxiously. "The occasional 'damnit, Sheldon' is fine, of course." Chuckle. "Really, you look so cute when you get mad and try to cuss."

"Hey!" Bernadette came to them. "This is not the right time for another sex break! We got scenes to do while Howard has the light! And be careful of those uniforms until you return or buy 'em!"

"Things were so much easier-going on the 'Serial Apeist' sets." Penny whispered to Leonard as they watched Bernadette stalk off to yell at Barry and Lesley.)

An alarm blared…

"Sonar alert!" Swift rushed to the controls. "I can't get a fix but it's…"

The ship rocked violently as if struck…More alarms blaring…

"Hull breach…Engine compartment…Hull breach!" a female voice on intercom firmly.

"Bud!" Swift called him over, as Amy anxiously watched them and the screen…

Another violent lurch…

"Some kind of particle beam…" Bud noted, scanning the controls. "They hit the rotor section, it's flooding!"

"Hull breach! Hull breach!" the alarm voice intoned. "Initiate emergency shutdown, main reactor!"

"Wyckcliffe!" Swift frowned. "We've gotta shut down the main reactor!" turning to Bud.

"Done! Tom, we're taking on water and the rotors and the main repelatron assembly are out. I can't stabilize her!" Bud noted, as the ship suddenly heeled over, all three falling against the rear wall.

"Amy!" Swift called, grabbing at her as she lurched to the side with the next move of the ship…

("Wait?" Sheldon blinked. "Grabbing? At what?" he eyed the script before him.

"He's just trying to keep me from being hurt, Sheldon." Amy explained. "You'll see in a moment when we do the actual scene.

"Of course, it might be rather neat if perhaps…" she eyed Leonard.)

"Hull breach, forward section!" the alarm voice noted.

("Hey, if we ever do a 'Star Trek', you're the shoe-in for Main Computer." Leonard noted to a pleased Penny.

"Sleep with the screenwriter, get a plum part…" Raj frowned, watching from his seat. "And why can't a man be the voice of Main Computer sometime? It's rather blatant sexism, you know.")

Arturo's flooding as well…!" Swift cried. "We'll have to try emergency detach…Hit the…"

Sudden crunch and crash…

"We've struck the bottom!" Bud hollered.

Aboard the Wyckmarine, Bwarry gloating in his victory…

"So much for the gwreat Tom Swift and Arthuwr Pwroton, both vewry Juniowr! Scowre two for Wyckcliffe, zip fowr team Swift!"

"Bwarry, stop it! We've disabled them." Lesley pleaded. "That's enough."

"Enough?!" he turned to look at her. "Oh, wright. Youwr poowr boyfwriend. We mustn't let the little fellewr dwrown. So, I say, lets finish him quick and clean wright now!" he pulled back on the driving wheel of the sub and the Wyckmarine rose rapidly.

"Tommy…Awrtie…Whewre awre you?" he peered at the sub's viewscreen, trying to view the ocean floor beneath them. "Ah, dang…Too much slit and junk, I can't see clearly. Well, they must be down thewre, so lets give em a decent buwrial." He sighted the targeting screen of his particle ray on the mountain just before him rising above the ocean floor stretching over to the abyss where the Wyckmarine had stayed hidden until Bwarry had brought it up to fire as the Ocean Arrow passed over…

"Bwarry, stop!" Lesley tried as the particle beam struck the mountain side, triggering an avalanche to the floor below.

"You'll damage us as well!" her comment certified by a sudden shock wave from the collapse as huge and other rocks fell to the ocean seabed. The Wyckmarine spinning wildly.

"Bwarry!" as he struggled to get the ship under control, finally straightening her out.

"Oh, all wright, all wright. They'wre pwrobably dead anyway. And kudos to Tommy boy if he gets outta this one. Well, lets get to the main site and wait our pwrize." He beamed.

"And we should get wready to deal with our good Wrussian fwriends as well…"