Hello again dear friends. Y'all are amazing. I hope life is treating you as well as it is treating me. Enjoy this next installment and stay fresh!

Also, I noticed that this story is now nearly 10 years old! (I started it on 09/24/10 and today is 09/20/20). Crazy huh?

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron. I don't even own this story. My brain is taking all the royalties.


"You're getting fatter," Sheen states as he walks into the workout room.

I open my eyes, my zen from my yoga session now disturbed. "Awww you noticed, thanks," I batted my eyelashes, "you sure know how to woo a woman."

He grunted and walked over to his regular machine. We had fallen into this mutual routine of meeting here in the morning. We would shoot the breeze briefly and then continue on our merry way.

Weeks have gone by. How many? I'm not sure. I've been trying to go by how long my hair is. The first day after I agreed to help him in his revenge mission I used his tools to shave my head so that my hair would come back in evenly. I rarely noticed it until I caught my reflection in the workout room, or if I itched my head. The lack of hair brought more attention to the wounds on my face and neck, but I tried not to focus too much on those.

Sheen was right though and I'm surprised he noticed. I had been eating and sleeping regularly and my skin wasn't so dry and malnourished anymore. I gradually was feeling strength return, and that felt powerful. I was nowhere near my goal weight, but the more I put on, the sooner I could start working out on the machines. And I was eager to start training and try to get up to a level of fighting I could use for our mission. The more I pushed, the more Sheen babied me, which I found strange since he was the one who wanted to pursue this cause in the beginning, not to mention tried to act all tough and evil in the beginning. There was definitely a soft side to him that I had a feeling would show itself sooner or later.

I spend a lot of my free time laying in my room, staring at the bunk above me. I try to remember my past, but when that aggravates my brain, my thoughts turn to a certain blue-eyed someone. I constantly wonder if he was looking for me or whether he had decided to return home. Our kiss replayed over and over in my mind and every time I could kick myself for ending it so quickly. My cheeks burn thinking about potential reunions between us. Will he be upset? Will he be happy? Or worse, will he be indifferent?

My thoughts surprise me endlessly, as I wonder why I feel such longing for a man I barely know. I try and try and try to remember anything of our childhood (since I've been told by many that we ran in the same crowd), but become frustrated and instead come up with scenarios in my head while I fall asleep. I imagine him being an oblivious little nerd while I….well, I can't really picture myself. Only him.

With each day that goes by I wonder what else I am forgetting. Without anyone telling me what I've forgotten I can just live in this fantasy world I've created. I work out, I nap, I eat, I strategize with Sheen, maybe have dinner with his crew. Sometimes I take late "night" walks around the ship and observe the vastness of the endless space through the windows. I've never seen so many stars in my life.

This evening I find myself wandering the halls once again, lost in the endless darkness. I walk past the room that Sheen first spoke to me in where there are semi-soft chairs. I see him sitting there, staring out the large window, a single light in the corner barely illuminating half the room. There's a screen with a fireplace, quiet crackles emit from it and the sound tugs at the corner of my mind, as if a memory is trying to pop up. He has a tumbler in his hand and he's slowly tilting it back and forth, lost in thought.

I should leave him be.

Or not.

I try to let my feet slap as I walk into the room, to alert him that I'm here.

He sighs and looks over his shoulder at me. He waves a hand and signals me to come and sit in the chair near him, also facing the large window. I sit and tuck my feet up underneath me, staring out at the speckled blackness of space. He holds the tumbler out for me, the bronze liquid lazily swirling inside.

I shake my head and signal "no thanks" to the glass. He shrugs and takes another sip.

"You never were one to drink with the group," he mumbles, "honestly I don't think I've ever seen you drink once."

I tilt my head to the side, thinking. A feeling bubbles up inside of me as if in confirmation. "I believe you're right." It's like opening dusty cardboard boxes in my brain, not from memory loss, but from putting them in that box myself at some point. "I think… it was because of my mom. I think she drank a lot and because of that I decided not to."

Sheen leans back farther in his chair, twirling the glass again. "Yeah, my old man did that. He got real loud whenever he had too much." He took another sip.

And we plunge into silence for a while.

The crackling of the fake fire and the dim light start to make my eyes sleepy. I suddenly wish I had a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa.

Suddenly, he breaks the silence. "Did she look well when you last saw her?"

I look at him. He's staring intensely out into the dark. "Who?"

"Libby," he murmurs quietly, barely audible.

I wrack my brain for who this Libby person is. He's talking about the lady who took care of you while on Jimmy's ship right?

"She looked well," I say, "Healthy and happy."

Silence passes.

"Beautiful really," I add.

Sheen grunts in agreement, "Gloriously beautiful. The most devastatingly beautiful creature on earth." Another sip.

My heart slows. It's enchanting listening him use such elegant and abrasive words to describe another person. I wonder if anyone has ever described me in that way. Or if anyone ever will.

"I wish I could remember more about her," I say, "you say we used to be friends, right?"

The corner of his mouth attempts to tug into half-hearted smile. "You two were attached at the hip all through middle school and high school. You only decided to head your separate ways when she went off to college. You both used to stir up so much trouble."

I scoffed, "I hardly doubt that. She seemed like such a sweet person I can't imagine that she would do anything to get into trouble."

He throws back his head laughing. I'm taken back by this burst of uncharacteristic joy so much that my pulse starts to race and my palms begin to tingle. But I gradually begin to ease up as his laughter softens into a quiet chuckle. I'm about to ask him what's so funny when he decides to fill me in.

"Oh she's sweet all right. But she can be as fierce as a mother bear when she puts her mind to it." He grins, looking at his glass, "It was damn attractive is what it was."

He was about to take a sip when I reach out and grab the glass without speaking. I bring the glass up to my lips, smelling the spice of the alcohol burn at my nose. I wasn't entirely one hundred percent sure I hadn't had any alcohol before, but this was foreign to me right here and now. And if it could make this bloodthirsty bitter man loosen up and start laughing, I wanted a part of this.

I threw back my head before I could second guess myself and felt the harsh liquid roll over my tongue. I shoved it to the back of my throat and swallowed. The burn coursed down my throat and I coughed before feeling the warmth settle in my chest and eventually my stomach. And suddenly, it was like nothing had happened.

Sheen raised an eyebrow at me as I handed the empty glass back to him.

He reached down to the floor where there was a larger bottle full of the amber liquid.

"Well," he said, drawing a sip from his now full glass, "things just got a whole lot more interesting."


"Vortex."

I turn around, trying to keep my breath steady. Did he see what I just did?

"What are you doing in my lab at this hour?" Jimmy said groggily as he rubbed his eyes. My heart pattered in response to seeing him in a wrinkly t-shirt and basketball shorts-so different from his normal put-together self. His hair was mussed and sticking in several different directions. He had obviously been sleeping…which he should still be doing given that it is 3 AM.

Calm yourself Cindy. He's no different than usual. He's just adorably cute from waking up is all.

Yeah, that's not helping me calm down.

My palms begin to itch.

"Couldn't sleep," I said nonchalantly, waving him away, "sorry I must have triggered the motion sensor." Which is a lie since I disabled that when I first got in. What else could have alerted him that someone was in his lab?

He steps closer to me, blinking slowly. I can tell he is still not "all there" by the glassy look in his eyes and the heavy lids that are begging to close. I can use this to my advantage. I put an itchy hand on his arm. He looks at it.

"Vortex?" he says, slightly suspicious. He should be…I never touch him intentionally. I'm always afraid I'm going to burn him, or worse….grab him and kiss him senseless. I try guiding him to the elevator up to the outside world.

"Don't worry Neutron. I was just grabbing my notebook that I left here earlier. I couldn't sleep so I thought I would work on my project." Please buy it. Please buy it. Please buy it.

We reach the elevator door. He turns to me, starting to become more awake. His sharp blue eyes hold my gaze steady and….Calm thyself Cynthia. All I want is for him to lean in and give me a reason to do the same. Instead he uses his mouth for something I would prefer not to do.

"You sure you're okay Cindy?" he asks. The use of my first name causes warm liquid to pour through my entire body. My palms are on fire and I have to check briefly to make sure they physically aren't. He's playing me like a fiddle and doesn't even realize it.

The elevator door opens. "Yeah, why do you ask?" I step in, letting my hand on his arm go. The warmth in my body immediately fades and suddenly everything feels too cold and dark. The reality is that I'm not okay. I've just signed my body away for the greater good of the Intelligence System. Earlier this morning I intercepted a message from them to Jimmy about his "deal" with them. In exchange for knowledge about other worldly physics loopholes, he was to experiment and lead to potential galactic weapons.

All of this, of course, finally came out when I confronted him about who the Intelligence System was, after I allowed the intercepted message to go through to him. He had reread the message multiple times before excusing himself to another part of the lab asking to be alone.

There was no way I was leaving him alone after getting a message like that. I cornered him and forced him to spill everything. He had several engineering projects that he had completed for them, hoping these would satisfy them. But all of the ones he had presented to them had gotten rejected. They wanted more elaborate and deadlier. If he didn't pay up in one year time they would be coming for him.

What they did not realize is that he had made me into a living breathing weapon. He had kept me secret.

I just knew that if they found out about me that their attention would be dropped from Neutron and he wouldn't be taken. It was at that moment I knew what to do.

I downloaded the current language and dialect from the message into the biochip implanted behind my right ear. I had asked Neutron to do this a few months ago as he received multiple calls a week from different countries and I had helped on a few of these calls. I wanted to be able to help him wherever he needed assistance.

And that's the reason I snuck in at 2:30 AM, disabled the alarms and security system, and contacted the Intelligence System. I offered up my life in exchange for his, stating I would go willingly if they allowed him to create less harmful things for their society. After nearly 20 minutes of arguing and counter-offers, we finally settled on an agreement. Neutron would still have a deadline for specific projects. In exchange I would come willingly and work for them and Neutron would have no idea about this until it happens. I would have scheduled times I could return to earth so that he would do "tune-ups" on me. I knew that if he found out, one of us may destroy the other.

The elevator moved us up and I felt my stomach drop slightly. At least when I teleported I was in control of the feeling of my molecules pulling apart, but this was not in my control and strangely made me uneasy. Neutron was silent until we reached the top and stepped out onto the grass. When I said goodnight he grabbed my hand to keep me from leaving. I looked up into his eyes, barely visible in the dusk of morning. The warmth in my body was back.

"You don't have your notebook with you," he noted.

The shame of my lie spread across my face. I didn't have words. I opened my mouth to try to spew out anything, absolutely anything to try to explain. But he slipped two of his fingers gently across my lips, so light that they were barely touching. My felt my knees go weak and my head started to spin. Forget explaining my lie, I just wanted him to kiss me, to hug me, ANYTHING emotional.

"It's okay Cindy," he said gently, his fingers staying a few seconds too long on my lips, before tracing my cheek and brushing a wisp of hair out of my face. "I trust you."


More weeks have gone by. My hair is now thick and about three inches long. It has finally stopped standing on end and is starting to lay flatter on my head with a part. I've continued to grow stronger daily and have upgraded from pushups and sit-ups and planks to actually using machines daily. Several hours per day are dedicated to sparring with Sheen or his other crewmates. It seems that even though my memory has faded, my muscle memory is still there. I'm constantly performing maneuvers without even thinking; just an instinct reaction that takes over and it's like I'm in the backseat while I watch someone else take control of my body.

I'm amazed that I am able to do this. It's like something out of a sci-fi number. Even Sheen was speechless watching me once. Just once though. The hardest thing is taking control at the last minute to make sure I don't hurt my opponent. There's a lot of past bitterness left in his body and it feels like if I keep it pent up too much longer then I won't be able to stop myself. I'm hoping that we just meet the Intelligence System before it gets that far.

Sheen has also cleared out an entire wing of his ship for me to practice with my intra-molecular fire. Using my power has been trickier than hand-to-hand combat. I have to think about my fire and it takes a great deal of concentration to will myself to create it. I've noticed that it's linked to emotions and so far the best results have been when I think about my time during torture. The rage that piles up in my feels as if my entire body is on fire and I use all the strength I have to concentrate it on my palms. This seems to be the one thing that I've had difficulties with, and this technique is not consistent enough yet. I know I need to get better at this before we can plan our attack. I just wish I could move it along faster.

Whiskey nights have become a weekly occurrence for us. It's the one time I cut loose and get to know Sheen, and sometimes the crew, better. We have talked endlessly about our plan to take down the Intelligence System and what's going to happen after it all goes down. We have talked about anything and everything, except forbidden topics we are too afraid to admit to ourselves. It hasn't helped my memory, and I didn't expect it to. Deep down I had hoped that maybe something could come tumbling out of my mouth and I would find it to be true, or maybe Sheen would say something about my past and it would be the key to unlock everything. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

But no matter, because I am enjoying the here and now. How many people could say that, having been through what I have?

This particular night has been looser than normal. I had a rough day getting my fire to even start and I was in a foul mood. My glass was half empty and I was starting to feel the warm halo over my head of haze.

"You know," I say staring at my hands, "I just wish these things would listen to me for once. I don't have control over my own mind. It's like a kick in the groin to not be able to control your body too."

Sheen throws back the rest of his glass and reaches for the larger bottle that Gillion had just brought in. "Honestly, I don't think you know what getting kicked in the groin is like."

I wave him off and look out into the vastness of space. "You know what I mean."

He had already had a bit more than me and was starting to hit his high. He raised his glass and pointed his index finger at me. His eyes were glassy and there was a wicked grin plastered on his face. "You said it's linked to emotion right? Well," he got up and stepped closer to me, leaning down into my personal space, "how about we get you riled up and see what happens?" On instinct I heel-kicked him in the stomach and he fell back into his chair laughing heartily.

I held up my middle finger where a very small blue flame was licking at my fingertip. "How about you stay in your chair." I took another sip. Whatever this Libby person had seen in him once upon a time, I didn't see it now.

"Aww take a joke Vortex," Sheen laughed, running his free hand through his hair. "I got you to use your fire didn't I?" He grinned at me like a child having earned a gold sticker.

A laugh escaped my lips at his ridiculousness. And immediately it stopped. I stared at him in horror. Did he just make me laugh? It happened without thinking. I don't think anyone had once made me laugh since I got rescued. And who knows how long it had been since I had laughed before that.

It had been….freeing.

"Ahh" Sheen said shaking his finger at me, "she does have emotion! Who would have thought!" I threw the pillow on my chair at him and he dodged it, another laugh escaping his lips.

After I had calmed down and was sitting thinking about the happiness that had bubbled up inside of me, Sheen spoke up again. "You know maybe you're going about it all wrong. The emotions that fuel the fire-thing. Maybe spite and revenge aren't the emotions you need."

I raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to shed any light on the subject. I didn't like the way he was grinning at me.

He studied me carefully before taking a long sip and meeting my eyes again. He waited until I was taking a sip to launch his assault. "Back in high school and college Neutron had the most catastrophic crush on you."

Fire liquid poured from my mouth as I choked at the burning in my nostrils and throat. I fell on my knees coughing, eyes watering, and feeling the warmth and itch of my palms soar to life. Sheen pounded me on the back laughing. He didn't wait for me to recover. "As much as I hate the guy now, back then we used to be pretty close. He told me so much stuff in confidence that I wouldn't even feel back telling you about now. He had it bad for you Vortex."

Still coughing, I attempted to wipe my burning tears from my cheeks and took a swipe at him with my other hand, trying to grab his shirt. "Lies," I said between coughs.

He avoided my reach and backed away laughing, whiskey sloshing in his glass. "Oh I'm telling the truth. Do you know how much turmoil he went through when you offered to be his experiment? He didn't want to perform all those tests on someone he loved. He was so lovestruck that he ultimately allowed you to be the one at the center of it all so that you wouldn't go off to college and out of his life. He's always been selfish when it comes to you." I was on my feet now and lunged at him, but he dodged and skirted away.

My head was pounding. "Stop," I said gruffly.

Please don't stop. I want to know.

The liquor had finally started its effect on me and I felt slightly less in control of my extremities.

He grinned. "And I'm confident that you felt mutual with him. I saw the way you looked at him. Longingly. Lustfully." He stalked closer to me and raised his glass, pointing at me again. "You two were always bickering and at each other's throats. All that pent up desire just needing to get out. I'd bet money that you two were making out every second of the day there towards the end. It's a pity you can't remember now."

My face flamed red, a new emotion I was not familiar with. I was about to open my mouth when I saw Sheen's eyes drift down to my hands. He casually brought his glass up to his lips and downed the rest of the glass.

I looked down and found my hands, wrists, and forearms were covered in electric blue flames. I stared at them in wonder as my entire body continued to roll with waves of heat from the things that Sheen had said. I hadn't even had to think about my fire and yet here it was, nearly out of my control.

I looked back up at Sheen, in awe. "You're welcome," he said warmly, still grinning that wicked smile.

"This-this," I held up my arms, "means nothing. Nothing of what you said is true and I have absolutely no idea why this is happening." I felt myself start to get hysterical and my heart start to race. Calm yourself Cindy.

He leaned against the wall, "Trust me Vortex, it's true. And I'm pretty sure there's something that happened before you came aboard that you are dying to tell me. Maybe you and Neutron picked up where you left off perhaps? I can tell you still have a thing for him."

The sensation of the kiss washed across my lips. I took in a shaky breath and willed my fire to retreat, which thankfully it did. I walked over to where my glass on the floor way, poured more whiskey for myself, and took a long drink, throwing my head back. The burn traced a trail from my tongue down to the pit of my stomach. I briefly wondered if I could breathe fire too.

"Good talk Sheen," I said, pouring one more glass and heading towards the door, "I suddenly have a headache. I'll see you in the morning." I didn't turn to look when he called after me.

"Don't burn the ship down thinking about him tonight!"

My face burned as I trudged back to my room, hoping no one would be in my path so that I didn't unintentionally burn them to a crisp. The fire in my fingertips kept flickering on and off and I was afraid I was haywire, as I had never seen it do this before. And the fact that I couldn't control it was terrifying.

I got to my door, hand on the knob, and that's when I felt a presence behind me. They were close enough that I could feel their breath bounce off the top of my head. A husky scent wafted over me and I felt myself jolt at the familiarity.

I turned and looked over my shoulder and up at him. His piercing blue eyes met mine. He reached around me and put his large warm hand on top of mine and twisted the knob, opening the door. I allowed him to lead me in, careful not to spill my drink. Hypnotized, I stood in the middle of my room, staring at him as he closed the door quietly. The fiber optics in the corner of my room detected movement and plunged my room into a hazy ice blue color. I had chosen it to match his eyes.

"How," I managed to whisper, "how are you here?"

Those eyes that were piercing into me now, full of an emotion I was unfamiliar with. He approached me. Every part of me was taking inventory of him. From his mussed hair, to the days of unshaved stubble on his face, to the three buttons undone at the top of his shirt to the ray-gun on his belt. I swallowed, knowing I could handle myself given that I had been training and from my knowledge of how he didn't have any, but….would I want to if it came to it?

He grabbed the glass from my hand and sniffed it, eyeing me curiously. With his other hand he brushed the side of my cheek to where my tears from earlier had dried, and finally lightly touched my short hair.

Jimmy finally spoke. "Sheen's right about me, you know." He took a drink from the glass and set it down on the nightstand next to us. His hand found its way to my cheek again and gently cradled it. I didn't flinch of pull away. Every nerve in my body was singing, not sure if I wanted this to slow down or not.

His face was inches from mine, closing in on centimeters. "So, the question is Cindy, is he also correct about you?"