Chapter Two: Remnants of Summer Vacation

AN: Hey everyone! I've unfortunately been pretty slow to make a second chapter and I apologize for that. I hope everyone's alright. Not to draw too much attention to it but with everything going on from late-May to mid-June, I've felt unmotivated. I did feel better eventually, though once I did, I took a trip to my home state to see some family and friends of mine. After that, I've been binge-watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I highly recommend for everyone to watch, if you haven't already. Speaking of which, I couldn't really imagine this story in Jimmy Neutron's 3D art style. I personally have been imagining these characters in a Last Airbender art style for this current story, so that the characters can still be expressive, but I can still tell a strong narrative. But that's just my preference. Anyone can imagine these characters however they'd like. Anyway, without further ado let's continue.

July 28th 2006 6:32pm

Redwood Forest, CA

The dosage from the N-Men packets that Sheen, Cindy and Libby used were depleted from their "fight". Jimmy, Carl and Nick took off their gear and everyone changed back into more casual clothes everyone was familiar with. The gang was camping on their own. This would normally be an issue, but at this point everyone's grown to trust and see what Jimmy was capable of. He did have to sign a waiver with Cindy's mother that if anything happened to her, they'd sue him. Everyone had split into small groups. Jimmy, Goddard and Sheen were getting the firewood, Cindy and Libby were putting up the tents and Carl and Nick were fishing.

"Hey Jimmy," Sheen asked as the three of them were walking and picking up some sticks along the way. "I've been wondering. Why haven't you or Carl used the N-Men powers like we did? I mean I can understand Nick since he didn't have any to begin with, but what about you guys?"

"That's a good question Sheen," Jimmy responded thoughtfully. "In Carl's case, I wanted to give him something that wasn't gonna give him stomach side-effects. Seeing how overly allergic he is to just about everything. And in my case…" His expression harbored a more somber tone. "I caused so much destruction in that form. I lost sight of who I was. I couldn't bring myself to do that again." Goddard whimpered remembering his transformation all those months ago.

Sheen patted Jimmy's shoulder. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, no one got too severely injured and everyone practically forgot about it a week later with all the other shenanigans, we've done together."

"...Yeah that is true." Jimmy said while his mind wandered to all the trouble he's done. Secretly, he blames himself deeply for it, and has gradually worked on keeping his adventures away from major cities. He then shook his head to take his mind off of it. "Anyway, how do you like the Ultralord color scheme I used for your suit?"

"IT WAS AWESOME!" Sheen said enthusiastically. "Do you think one day I'll be fighting crime across the galaxy?!"

This caused Jimmy to chuckle. Sure Sheen's not the brightest and his hyperactivity could be seen as annoying to some, but in some cases, he was the moral support of the group. He always managed to stay positive no matter what would happen. "Well with everything we've done so far as kids, it's not too far out of the realm of possibilities. Come on, let's head back to camp, I think we have enough firewood."

At another part of the area, Carl and Nick were fishing. They were kind of awkward with each other since Nick was a new addition to the group. Carl was kinda afraid of him due to how much he used to bully him and Nick was a tad apologetic. Over time they became friends, though they weren't that close. As Nick was waiting for a bite on his rod, he decided to ask Carl something. "Hey, I was wondering um… what made you er… like llamas so much to begin with?"

"Oh I er… it was a while back," Carl began timidly. "It was a show when I was a toddler and it was one of my first memories. It brings me to a peaceful time and helps calm me down when I'm stressed out. Why do you ask?"

Nick shrugged. "I didn't know what else to talk about. I'm still getting used to being with you all. And frankly, I don't know what else you like since you talk about llamas all the time."

"I like some other things too," Carl responded proudly. "I like hanging out with Sheen, Jimmy, his mom-." He was abruptly cut off with his rod being tugged at most likely by a fish. "It's… too… strong!"

"Let me at it!" Nick snatched the fishing rod eagerly which gave Carl a sigh of relief. "This one's tough to reel in!" The fish was eventually reeled in after another 20 seconds. It was a salmon that was 16 inches. "Whoa! This is enough for dinner! Come on let's head back to camp!" They both proceeded to walk back.

"Why the heck did Neutron decide for us to get camp set up after the game?" Cindy asked with a hint of annoyance. They were finished with Sheen's, Cindy's Libby's and Jimmy's tents. All that remains are Carl's and Nick's tents. "Would've made more sense to do this beforehand so we wouldn't be exhausted."

"It is what it is," Libby responded while putting Carl's tent together. "On the plus side, once all this is done, we'll have some tasty dinner over a nice fire with some campfire stories. It's great for bonding!"

"I take it you'll be huddling next to Ultra-dork, amiright?" Cindy smirked while nudged Libby's shoulder in a teasing manner.

"Hey! At least I can admit when I'm in love with someone," Libby retorted. "Meanwhile, you're STILL in denial after all this time,"

"Libby, not now!" Cindy said quietly all the while blushing. "You never know who'd hear."

"Fine," Libby began. "But this WILL be brought up at some point."

"Yeah… hopefullyfarawayfromnow," Cindy mumbled while tugging her ponytail. She then finished the tent for Nick. "All done with Nick's tent," she said with satisfaction and then proceeded to fist bump Libby for finishing Carl's tent. "Ya know, I can't believe he's a part of our group now, especially with all the things he did to Neutron and his friends."

Libby then said thoughtfully, "At the same token, you were the same way. In fact, I'd say you were the worst offender for awhile until recently."

"That may be true," Cindy then quipped. "Our debates have been 5% more civilized," The two of them broke into laughter. Around that time, Jimmy, Sheen and Goddard returned with the firewood while Nick and Carl returned with the fish soon after.

"Wow, looks like we got everything done around the same time," Jimmy said proudly.

"Although I'd say our group was a little faster, slowpokes," Cindy quipped again. If there was one thing many people knew about her, it was that she loved to get on Jimmy's nerves.

"OH REALLY?!" Jimmy challenged as he dropped the wood onto the firepit.

"And here we go," Libby said while rolling her eyes. Everyone else (spare Cindy and Jimmy had some expression of annoyance.

"Well, who won the race when we did track?!" Jimmy asked with his hands clenched.

"Well technically me, since you were too distracted," Cindy responded with a smirk. "And besides that's cheating since you had the speed shoes Nerdtron!"

"Alright then let's have a race from here to the lake, you and me right now Vortex!" Jimmy pointed to the lake. They were practically yelling at this point.

"OH IT'S ON!" Cindy shouted back. "THREE! TWO!-"

"FOR THE LOVE OF ULTRALORD GIVE IT A REST!" Sheen shouted with such impatience. Everyone stared at him in shock as Sheen was the last person to expect this from. Jimmy and Cindy both looked at each other for a moment.

"Yeah seriously, I'm starving," Libby said. Everyone got their camping chairs out, Goddard started the fire and the fish was being roasted over the fire by a device Jimmy had so that everyone could just relax while dinner was being made in a traditional fashion. The sun was about to set and with all the trees and a lake nearby, it was a sight to behold. "You know," Libby began. "I'm really sad this summer vacation is ending soon."

Nick then responded, "Yeah. This summer proved you guys were more than just the crazy freaks I took you all to be." This statement earned glares from the others. "Jokes aside, this was a fun set of trips and it was nice getting to know you all a little more."

"Yeah," Libby started. "Playing golf in the asteroid belt with the space pirates, seeing a Greystar performance in the hovercar, discovering Atlantis, traveling to the Middle Ages, going to Hawaii, going to the center of the Earth, and… watching all Ultralord episodes on a weekend."

"That was the best part!" Sheen exclaimed excitedly. "Don't lie, you all enjoyed it and got attached to the characters just like I have!"

"Even so," Carl responded, "It's not the best thing out there Sheen,"

Jimmy not wanting another argument to brew over this, quickly pushed the main subject back on course. "It was an action packed summer overall. However, I'm also excited to start sixth grade. I truly wonder how vastly different middle school is."

"It'll be a challenge," Cindy stated. "But I have a feeling a lot of good memories will come out of it, just like they have this summer. Besides, with everything we conquered last year, there's nothing we all can't handle together."

"Except claustrophobia," Carl responded.

"That's beside the point," Cindy said with a blank face for a moment then to replace it with a grin. "The point is, with all we've been through and with there being no signs of enemies in the past several months, things will be smooth sailing from here on out." That statement made Jimmy uncomfortable, though everyone else smiled. Dinner was finally cooked, though not everyone liked seafood. Jimmy did bring a set of spices for those who wanted the taste to change. Everyone started cutting slices and then eating eagerly since their last meal was when they were leaving Retroville.

Jimmy on the other hand ate much slower. Are my enemies up to something? It's not too far out of the question. "I'll be right back," he said, putting a plate that was barely touched, and then walked off into the woods. The sun was on the brink of setting at this point. Since he was alone now, his mind began to wander. Could they be planning something huge. There's no way any of them would just give up. Would they? Jimmy then sighed trying to clear his mind. After some time, he heard some footsteps coming his way.

"Hey Boy Wonder, you alright?" It was Nick who decided to check up on him. "It wasn't the salmon, was it?"

"No, the salmon was good. It's-," Jimmy was about to start but then realized that Nick is the least familiar with the villains so he figured that he wouldn't understand that much. "It's nothing, I'll be back with the others soon."

"Even though I've only just gotten to know you now, I can tell something's on your mind."

Jimmy then sighed again. "Being a genius has its burdens. One of them is that you'll have people that want to use my power for evil, or those that want to kill me out of jealousy. I've fought several of them periodically up until 3 weeks before summer began. It seemed as though they vanished."

"Hmm…" Nick thought of a response. "Maybe they realised how powerful you are and backed off."

He shook his head. "Not likely, they're probably planning something against me. They've done it before time and time again!"

"And time and time again you've shown them what you're capable of! So what if they're planning something? You'll find a way to achieve what comes next. You've always come out on top. So stop worrying about this and start having a good time with the rest of us!" Nick said while putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks for that. I'll be ready, but I won't waste my days being paranoid over it," Jimmy said. "I'm surprised you said this to me of all people."

Nick then took his hand off of Jimmy's shoulder and then responded. "Hey, you're a cool dude and I figured you needed a bro to bro talk with me. Speaking of which…" he said mischievously. "I've noticed you've had your eye on the blondie for quite awhile."

"Of course," Jimmy stated nonchalantly. "We've been rivals for the past year. We try to upstage each other." Nick then raised his eyebrow. "What?" Jimmy then realized what Nick meant and his face became the color of his shirt. "Oh… that's not what I meant."

"Hahaha! I'll leave it be for now," Nick then walked back with Jimmy in tow. "Your face says it all."

Jimmy would've argued with this but decided against it. A minute or two later, they were back at the campsite. Carl was in the midst of telling a story about why he has allergies to the sun during the summer solstice. Libby then politefully interrupted. "Great you guys are back!" Libby said excitedly. "I was thinking to remember this summer in later years, we could take a photo of all of us!"

Everyone agreed (though Carl was reluctant). Goddard would take the photo, though he can extend his neck to where he'd still be part of the photo. It was taken next to the lake where you can still see the campsite and the hovercar behind it. The photo turned out quite well. Left to right were Nick, Sheen, Libby, Cindy, Jimmy, Carl, and Goddard's head. The mechanical canine then printed a copy for each person.

"You know, you're right Cindy," Carl said. "This will be a memory we cherish forever! The Seven Amigops!"

"Yeah!" Sheen responded.

"Amigops?" Nick asked.

"Long story," Libby said.

Feel free to comment what you liked and didn't like. Copyright goes to respective owners. Took longer than expected. Hopefully the next chapter is sooner, but don't take my word for it. Anyway, please review!