Jimmy Neutron adjusted the small cardboard box in his grasp while heading down the corridor. His anxious frown morphed into a smile as soon as he spotted a waterfall braid peek around the opposite end of the hall.

"Cindy!" Jimmy eagerly shouted. Her back was to him as she breathed hard and yanked on an enormous steel handle. She managed a few backwards steps and awkwardly wielded a pallet jack around the corner. Jimmy grinned wider as he saw that she'd brought what he asked - four fifty-pound bags of flour.

Panting for breath, Cindy turned around and eyed her boyfriend. She puffed a few stray strands of hair off of her sweaty face and wheezed, "Hey."

Jimmy marched towards her, plopped his two-pound box atop the bags of flour, and helped grip the pallet jack. "I was hoping you'd get here first."

Cindy and Jimmy both tugged the device down the corridor towards Ms. Wolf's classroom. Cindy grumbled, "That's a miracle considering how heavy this is."

"Heavy, but also the most important thing we need. Who else would I trust with that?"

Cindy rolled her eyes but managed a smile as they stopped in front of the door. Jimmy balled his hand into a fist and gave three hard knocks.

"What?" Ms. Wolf's perturbed voice cried out. Jimmy and Cindy pushed open the door and maneuvered the flour inside as the teacher asked, "Blondie? Soft Serve? What the heck are you two doing here? I'm in the middle of class."

"Sorry, Ms. Wolf," Jimmy said while parking the pallet jack and wiping sweat from his brow. "But…" his voice trailed off as he finally got a glimpse of the scene before him.

At the front of the classroom stood Oleander, with iron weights duct taped across his body. He stood on the left side of the room, between Ms. Wolf's desk and her students. Across from Oleander rested a six-foot tall horseshoe magnet on wheels. Ms. Wolf waited behind the magnet, preparing to push it closer to Oleander.

As Jimmy blinked his confusion away, Cindy stepped forward. "I'm sorry, ma'am. But we need your classroom for an important mission. It's critical that we-"

"You heard the lady!" Ms. Wolf shouted while shoving the magnet aside. It rolled towards the dozen lab benches housing her pupils. Once it crossed an invisible threshold, Oleander flew through the air. He collided with the horseshoe, sending the whole device violently spinning. "Class is canceled!"

The room erupted into a frenzy of cheers followed by terrified screams as the magnet plowed through them.

"Thanks, Cindy!"

"Best president ever!"

"Medic!"

Jimmy simply watched as the kids began tying themselves into butt buddies and posses. Once the groups were formed, they hitched ropes to Oleander. The caravan led him and the magnet out of the classroom.

After the door was closed, Ms. Wolf took a seat behind her desk and plopped her feet atop the furniture. "If you two are baking something, why not use the cafeteria?"

Jimmy and Cindy began team-lifting the bags of flour onto the nearest lab bench. "We're not baking anything," Jimmy explained. "But you could say that we're…" He narrowed his eyes, flashed Ms. Wolf a dramatic half-smile, and huffed, "cooking up a trap for the Black Atom."

Balled up pieces of paper sailed through the air and careened into Jimmy's face. "Boo! Leave the jokes to Blondie."

Cindy let two more paper balls bounce off Jimmy's tired visage before turning to her teacher. "Ma'am?" Ms. Wolf stopped ripping pages from her weathered romantica paperback and faced the blonde. Cindy cleared her throat and plastered on a smile. "We've got a lot of people coming here and a ton of work to do. So would you mind if-"

Ms. Wolf glowered. "Are you seriously trying to kick me out of my apartment?"

Cindy shrugged and made her grin more saccharine.

"Stop doing that with your face. You're creepy." Ms. Wolf rolled her eyes and studied her torn paperback. "I'll give you an hour; I need to get a new book anyway. But keep an eye on Soft Serve. He's trouble."

"I can hear you," Jimmy grumbled.

"Will do," Cindy promised.

Ms. Wolf tossed her book in the trash can and marched towards the door. Just before leaving, she jabbed a finger Jimmy's way and snarled. "And don't touch my stuff!"

Once their teacher was gone, Cindy flashed her boyfriend a devilish smile. "Want a drink?" When Jimmy nodded, Cindy went behind the teacher's desk. She reached underneath it, grabbed a key taped to its underside, and unlocked Ms. Wolf's cellarette. While pouring them two rocks glasses of cranberry juice, Cindy asked, "So are you going to tell me what this plan of yours is?"

Jimmy accepted his drink and sat atop one of the workbenches that had escaped the magnet's wrath. "When everyone else gets here. But there is one thing you need to know first." He waited until Cindy had locked the cellarette back up and joined him on the table. After they clinked glasses and each took a bitter sip, Jimmy said, "For this trap to work, you have to be the bait."

Cindy raised her brow and calmly asked, "Me?" while swirling her juice.

Jimmy nodded. "I've been trying to think of an alternative, but the only way I see this working is if it's you who draws the Black Atom out. I've come up with ways to mitigate the danger, but you'll still be at risk. So if you're not comfortable with that, just let me know. I would never-"

Cindy held up a hand. "R.M.S. elected me president," Cindy explained. "That means I do whatever it takes to keep this place safe. If that means being bait," she shrugged, "so be it."

Jimmy sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you. Maybe I'll get close enough to the Black Atom to punch her!"

Jimmy started to protest that idea when the classroom door swung open. Bennett Stone strolled in. He narrowed his eyes at their relaxed postures and glasses of juice. "Hate to interrupt your break, but everyone's here."

"Good," Jimmy nodded and leaped off the desk. He watched as Bennett waved everyone forwards. Libby, Courtney, Ethan, Nick, Ike, and Yen all filed inside. Cindy gently nudged Jimmy's gut when Ethan strode through. Jimmy leaned towards her ear and whispered, "He's been cleared, and I need him."

Before Cindy could query this further, the room became awash with greetings and anxious murmurs. While Nick set a cardboard box down on a nearby lab bench, Yen closed and locked the classroom door. Jimmy cleared his throat once their workroom was sealed.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so I'll cut to the chase."

Yen pointed at the rocks glass in Jimmy's hand. "Do you have more juice?"

Bennett glared at his partner as Cindy lied, "That was the last of it."

Ike rolled his eyes. "We should have met at The Spitoon."

Courtney cringed. "Did you have to choose that name? It's disgusting."

Ike swiveled his aviators the girl's way. "Are you kidding me? It's the perfect name for a saloon."

Nick cocked his head in thought. "Never thought about it, but it is kind of gross."

Courtney smiled at the boy as Jimmy rubbed his brow. "Guys, focus," Jimmy pleaded. "You all know that I've been hunting the Black Atom. While I am still not certain of their identity," he fibbed, "I now know enough about them to set a trap."

Nick leaned against a nearby wall and casually crossed his arms. "What have you figured out?"

"For starters, the Black Atom's a girl," Jimmy answered.

Courtney cocked her head. "Really?"

"Really," Cindy answered.

Libby smiled and said, "That's awesome!"

Bennett bristled, "How is that awesome?"

Jimmy raised his voice as he went on. "She's young - a sixth grader at the most. She knows how to fight, almost certainly went to or currently attends Earhart Elementary, and has access to my invisibility spray. Lastly, I strongly suspect that she is a staunch ally of Retroville's LGBTQ students. This is key to our trap.

"I brought you all here because I'm certain none of you are behind the attacks. You also each have skills and connections that we need. Libby and Courtney," Jimmy faced the two girls, "you're the first part of the plan. I need you to make a schoolwide announcement. Say that you've heard through your sources that Cindy will soon give a speech in the auditorium."

Libby asked, "What's the speech about?"

Jimmy answered, "It's imperative that we tease the Black Atom with vague details. If we make things too obvious, she'll realize it's a trap. So say that all you know is Cindy will be discussing the Spring Fling. Also say that every member of Cindy's secret service has resigned in response to her intolerance. We'll leave it there and let The Black Atom put the puzzle pieces together."

Cindy asked, "Wait, what was that about my intolerance?"

Jimmy turned to Cindy. "Once Libby and Courtney finish their announcement, they'll air your speech in the auditorium. You're going to tell everyone that the hall monitors still don't know the Black Atom's identity, but they now believe that the suspect is an LGBTQ student. Because of this, you're banning all same-sex couples from the dance."

Cindy's eyes widened. "I don't want to do that."

Ethan asked, "What the heck, Jimmy?"

Jimmy swiveled his gaze between the two of them. "It's not true, obviously. It's just a lie to get the Black Atom to attack Cindy."

Nick said, "Dude, you are not selling this well."

As Jimmy pinched his nose, Yen said. "Let the kid finish."

"Thank you," Jimmy said.

Bennett chimed in, "Then we'll pick his plan apart."

Jimmy ignored that and went on, "Listen, I know this sounds awful. But one reason I want the news covering this is that once we subdue the Black Atom, Cindy can quickly get on back TV. Then she can let everyone know that everything she said about the dance was a lie."

The crowd stayed quiet, so Jimmy went on, "Believe me, I wish there was a way to do this that didn't involve putting Cindy in danger or making any listening kids feel like they're not welcome at the dance. But it's been well over an hour since Damien was attacked. The butt posses and buddies are slowing the Black Atom down, but she will eventually strike again."

Nick said, "Alright, I get how this lures the Black Atom out. But how do we stop her before she hurts Cindy?"

"That's part three of the plan," Jimmy eagerly nodded. He pointed towards the nearby bags of flour. "If we're going to catch her, we have to find a way to see her."

Ethan studied the sacks and said, "So we're going to cover her in flour? Are we just going to throw it at her?"

Ike offered, "We could hide in the ceiling over Cindy and dump it."

As Cindy continued to regret volunteering to be bait, Jimmy shook his head. "I considered that, but I doubt we'd have the reflexes to cover the Black Atom before she finished attacking Cindy. Besides, that would make a huge mess. Covering the whole auditorium in flour won't help us see what's going on. A more targeted approach is necessary. That's why we needed a few other things."

Jimmy motioned for them to wait a moment as he disappeared into Ms. Wolf's supply closet. He was back in a flash carrying two clear glass bottles. "Cindy brought the flour. The rest of you brought balloons from the Spitoon's grand opening."

Nick flipped his cardboard box upside down and dumped two dozen empty red balloons on a desk.

Cindy's left eye twitched. "You had seven people grab balloons and me get 200 pounds of flour?!"

Jimmy gulped and placed the glass bottles beside the balloons. "This is 100% pure ethanol." He then emptied the cardboard box that he'd brought onto another table. Dozens of circular chrome discs the size of a quarter spilled out. "I made these in the computer lab before coming here. These devices are touch activated. When you press this," he pointed at a tiny red button in the middle of the device, "it triggers a two second delay. After that, a five milliampere shock is delivered."

Cindy studied each of the items before her, then put the pieces together. "Wait. We're making bombs?"

Ike smiled wide. "Oh heck yeah."

As Ethan recoiled, Bennet glared at Jimmy. "Neutron, stop blowing things up in this school."

Jimmy held up his palms. "Calling these bombs is a colossal overstatement. With the small amount of ethanol I'm mixing in, the concussive force will be minimal. And that's why we're using balloons - no dangerous shrapnel. Even if you held one of these things when they go off, I don't think you could get a first degree burn."

Courtney stepped forward and studied the ingredients before her. "So, we combine the flour and ethanol in the balloons, then set them off with your electric shock thingy?"

Jimmy nodded. "That will create a roughly one-meter radius of flour that should stick to the Black Atom."

Libby asked, "And what? We just chuck these at Cindy when the Black Atom attacks her?"

Cindy's jaw dropped. "This doesn't sound like being bait, Jimmy. It sounds like you're setting me on fire!"

"No one is getting set on fire," Jimmy countered. "And you're close, Libs. We're going to make a ton of these flour bombs-"

Cindy's eyes widened. "You just said they weren't bombs!"

Jimmy tried to correct himself and racked his mind for a more calming synonym. "Think of them as flour...fireworks. Anyway, yes, everyone will have a some of these on their persons as backups. But I'm hoping that they won't be necessary. Our main line of defense will be a few explosives hidden in Cindy's podium." He turned to Cindy and said, "You'll have a small detonator on hand. When the Black Attacks you, press the detonator. That will should stun the Black Atom, make her visible, and allow the rest of us to subdue her."

Jimmy looked at Ike, Ethan, Nick, Bennett, and Yen. "That's why you're all here. You're the muscle. Some of you will guard the exits in case the Black Atom makes a break for it. The rest will be in the crowd near Cindy, ready to assist her. If for some reason the initial blast doesn't make her visible enough, you can use the extra flour explosives you'll each have to make her easier to spot."

Jimmy clapped his hands together and asked, "Any questions?"

Libby raised her hand first. "I don't think the Black Atom's going to risk attacking Cindy on camera. Even if her body is invisible, everyone would see her Striker mask."

Jimmy flashed a proud smile. "Good point, and that's why we need the flour. Trust me when I say the Black Atom is going to come watch Cindy's speech after seeing your broadcast. To be completely imperceptible amongst a crowd, she'll remove the Striker mask and use the invisibility spray on her face."

Nick asked, "Why hasn't she done that the whole time? Why bother with the mask?"

"Another good question," Jimmy said. "The invisibility spray is hard to see through. That's why she's relied on the Striker mask to guard her identity; the mask doesn't obstruct vision. She's likely been coating the mask with the spray while she trails her target, then wiping it off right before the attack.

"That brings us to one final note. The Black Atom being fully invisible does make Cindy's job very dangerous."

"That's fine," Cindy grumbled. "Seems like you've been going easy on me up until now."

Jimmy ignored the barb and turned towards his girlfriend. "We'll all keep an eye out, but the odds are we won't see the Black Atom before she attacks. That means you're going to have to press the detonator as soon as you're certain the Black Atom is touching you. And if you're not quick enough…"

Cindy sucked in a deep breath as Jimmy's voice trailed off. "I get an atomic wedgie live on the news."

Jimmy's gaze drifted to the floor. "Like I told you earlier, I know this is a big risk. If you're not comfortable with this, we can try to find another way."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "There's no time for that. You know I'm in."

Nick smiled. "So our whole plan rests on Cindy having near-mythical reflexes? I feel bad for the Black Atom."

Cindy flashed the boy an appreciative smile as Jimmy glanced away. "It seems like you all understand, so let's split up and get to work. Libby and Courtney," he faced the two girls, "craft a script and fake secret service statement that will draw the Black Atom in."

"Cindy," Jimmy faced the blonde beside him, "make a speech railing against minorities that sounds believable coming out of your mouth. But don't be too offensive. Really skirt the line."

Cindy gaped, "How the heck do I-"

Jimmy interjected, "Also figure out how to shake your secret service agents. I don't want to tell more people about this plan then necessary, so figure out a different way to lose them."

Before Cindy could protest further, Jimmy spun on Bennett and Yen. "As seasoned hall monitors, you two should be in charge of figuring out where the rest of us are stationed so the Black Atom can't get away. We need to be spread out near Cindy and the exits without being obvious." The two friends nodded, so Jimmy faced Ethan, Ike, and Nick.

"You three are with me. I'll show you how to make the explosives."

Jimmy sucked in a deep breath and clenched his hands into fists. "Let's move, everybody. It's time to entangle an atom."