Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or any related characters.
A Fall From Grace?
"Wow, not a single attack today." Jimmy said, slightly glad and slightly suspicious of the lack of danger.
"Yeah, but Libby doesn't look so good." Cindy said from the other side of the engine they were working on.
"Yeah I know." Jimmy shot back out of the corner of his mouth, glancing over at Sheen.
Libby was lying on the booth over in the corner, she was pale and clammy and cold sweat was dripping down her face, all in all, she looked pretty bad.
Sheen was bending over her, whispering something, she laughed through chattering teeth and Sheen smiled.
"What's wrong with her?" Carl asked in concern, he was sorting all of the food people were bringing back, although he wasn't eating it, he knew how important this was.
"I don't know, pass me that pile of stuff." Jimmy said from around a screwdriver clenched in his teeth. Carl picked up the box in question and laid it down next to Jimmy.
"Thanks." Jimmy said, spitting out the screwdriver and bending over the supplies, it was everything they had found in what was left of the sick bay.
"Let's see." He said, scanning through a book of illnesses.
"I think…I think she has blood poisoning." Jimmy said, ripping out the page.
"See look, a cold sweat, clammy skin, running a fever, pale complexion, pained movements, nausea, yeah, it's blood poisoning, she must have some bad cut that got infected." He and Cindy exchanged a look and walked over to Libby.
"Libby, do you have any bad cuts that have been hurting particularly?" Jimmy asked.
Libby nodded and pointed towards her arm. Cindy bent down and pulled up the sleeve. Jimmy winced at the purplish, crusted cut.
"Yep, blood poisoning." He said.
"Well, what do we need to treat it?" Sheen asked urgently.
"Either a broad range, specialized antibiotic or a massive dose of penicillin." Jimmy said.
Cindy rushed over to the box of med supplies and began pulling things out.
"Damn! No penicillin, what was the name of that antibiotic?"
"Azithromircin (That is a real antibiotic, although not one for blood poisoning)." Jimmy said, reading the name from his ripped piece of paper.
"None of that either." Cindy said frantically.
"Damn!" Jimmy swore. He straightened up and ran a hand through his hair frustratedly.
"We're going to have to find some, Cindy, Sheen, come on." Jimmy said, standing up and picking up a black, military issue semi-automatic shotgun.
Sheen and Cindy got up and followed him, snatching up weapons too.
"Where are we going?" Sheen asked.
"James, he'll probably have the rest of the med supplies and some Penicillin in his supplies."
"But where is he?" Cindy asked.
"He'll be in the bridge, there's an elevator that goes to the sixth level there, and he's a bit egotistical, he'll want to be in the highest, most important part of the ship."
Cindy smiled and muttered to Sheen. "Remind you of anyone?"
"I HEARD THAT!" Jimmy shouted.
"I know." Cindy said simply.
Jimmy chased her all the way to the bridge.
"All right, the bridge is right around this corner, there's a steel door on the left and a normal one on the right, knock on the normal door." Jimmy said, panting.
Cindy strode up and knocked hard on the wooden door. It swung open; a broad man in his thirties with a moustache, a short beard and salt and pepper sideburns was standing inside the small, empty chamber inside.
"We're here to see James." Jimmy told the man.
He appraised them, looking Jimmy up and down. "Why should I let you in?"
Jimmy sighed, the idiot was going to play bouncer with them, then fine.
Jimmy, strode forward and held out an arm, restraining Cindy.
"We want to see him." Jimmy repeated.
The man grunted but didn't move.
Cindy slipped away from Jimmy and pulled a gun from her jacket pocket.
She aimed the weapon right between the man's eyes and cocked it.
"Back off." He said. The man, displaying surprising agility, shot to the side and whipped out a Browning High Power handgun.
Sheen held up a crowbar and Jimmy leveled his shotgun, switching it off automatic and pulling back the slide.
The man lowered his gun and gestured them through, another thick, steel hatch waited and the man swiped a key hard in the slot, he turned the hatch and swung the door open.
Jimmy led the way inside. They had gutted the place of all electronics except one large, computer console that looked like it was ready for instant removal, the screen was on and a complex craft diagram was revolving on the screen. Multiple parts lined the walls and two engines, multiple computer banks and steering devices were in various stages of construction in the floor, the elevator in the corner was apparently working and people were going back and forth. James was sitting in the Captain's chair, reading some list on a notebook.
"Ah, Jimmy, I thought we would be seeing you, how's it going?' James asked kindly, rising from his chair.
"Not bad, you had any attacks yet? I mean, from the killer?" Jimmy asked.
"Hah! The killer, attack here! That's rich! Whoever they are, they're afraid to attack me." James said, breaking out into raucous peals of laughter.
"Why would the killer be afraid of you?" Jimmy challenged.
James straightened up and clapped his hands twice, everyone there pulled out some sort of gun. Now that James was standing up, Jimmy saw two shoulder holsters, a bandolier of grenades, extra clips of ammo and an assault rifle crossed with a long staff on his back.
"Oh." Jimmy said quietly.
"What's with the staff?" Cindy asked.
"This, oh." James said, pulling it over his shoulder, he twirled it experimentally. He started spinning it faster and faster until it was a black blur in his hands, than he darted forward and stopped with the staff tip next to Cindy's head. He pressed a button in the staff's center and a glowing laser blade erupted from the tip.
"It also works as a high-powered taser." He said, lowering the staff and shutting off the blade. "My own invention."
Sheen scowled and coughed significantly.
"Oh, yes, we need penicillin, a lot of it." Jimmy said.
"All right." He said, he walked over to a closet and pulled open the door.
"Sorry man, no penicillin, I've got this though, who got hurt that you need penicillin?" He said, holding up a small bottle.
"Someone, got blood poisoning." Jimmy said, wondering how much he should reveal.
"Than this might help, but it also might cause…a rare, but serious side effects." James said, tossing the bottle at him. Jimmy looked down at the unfamiliar brand name.
"What is this?" He asked.
"Oh, an antibiotic, it's not designed to treat blood poisoning but it has the same components as Azithromircin and would cure blood poisoning as a side effect, but as I said, it is the cause of, as the commercials say, a rare but serious side effect that is actually not that rare." James said, rummaging around in another closet.
"All right." Jimmy said.
Sheen and Cindy nodded and they turned to leave.
"Oh and Jimmy, take this, you'll probably need it." James said, throwing him a box, it was a long, dark, polished mahogany box with a gold latch on it and Jimmy nodded in thanks before they all left.
"That bastard." Jimmy swore as they reached the glass bridge that linked the Windjammer and the pool deck, it was suspended over the ocean and provided a terrifying view of the rocks and waves just below, with the knowledge that the only thing that was saving you from almost certain death on those rocks, or in the water, was a strip of steel and hard plastic mimicking glass walls.
"Hey, what's that, over there?" Cindy asked, pointing down at some shapes below.
Sheen pressed his eyes up against the glass, it looks like the killer, and he's got someone, and it looks like…Carl…" Sheen finished.
"Shit!" Jimmy screamed.
"None of out weapons can reach him! Check that box!" Cindy said urgently.
Jimmy nodded and fumbled for the latch. Flipping it open, he raised the lid, inside, on a bed of velvet, was a top-line sniper rifle with a starlight scope, a silencer and even a semi-automatic function (Which is actually surprisingly rare in sniper rifles).
"Well, that's far too coincidental for comfort, but I'll take it." Jimmy said. Cindy snatched the weapon out of his hands.
"I'm the better shot." Cindy said, holding out a hand to forestall any arguments.
Jimmy nodded grudgingly, watching Cindy raise the sniper rifle and bend her head over the stock, squinting into the scope, she watched as the two people appeared as heat blurs, She flicked a switch on the scope and the picture changed to a high-res image. She watched as the killer dragged Carl over to the pool, and stood him up against the ladder, Carl, bound and gagged, struggled and squirmed, but then shot stock still, petrified by the image before him.
The killer raised a long, jagged knife and Carl backed against the ladder, eyes widening in fear.
Cindy gritted her teeth and fired. She stumbled back, slamming into the wall with the recoil and watched as the glass in front of her shattered, it felt like every thing was happening in slow motion, the killer swung down with the knife, and then was lifted up in the air, blood spurted everywhere and the killer collapsed onto the floor, halfway in the pool.
Sheen whopped and punched the far glass wall in joy, the glass, weakened by the shot, shattered.
"AHH!" Sheen screamed as he tumbled out through the opening. He flailed wildly as he fell and managed to grab a support beam under the bridge.
Jimmy locked his feet in the wall and shot out his hand.
"GRAB MY HAND!" He shouted and Sheen gritted his teeth, pulling himself into the air in a wild, breakneck, leap, Sheen's fingers connected with Jimmy's and Jimmy grabbed them. As he started to pull his friend up, he felt his fingers slipping through Sheen's.
"NO!" Jimmy shouted as he felt Sheen's hand disappear in his. He watched his friend, an inch away, flailing wildly as he fell…
A/N: Does he die? Does he live? Find out next chapter! Please review!