When Henry Met Penny

by Model Builder

When the Jupiter 2 lands in Storybrooke, Mr. Gold sees the Robinson's ship and the remaining magic bean as his way back to the Enchanted Forest. But Dr. Smith has ideas of his own. And matters get even more complicated for the Robinsons and the Mills/Swan/Charming Charming families when Penny Robinson and Henry Mills discover that they have fallen in love with each other . . . .

5. Storybrooke, We have a problem

Chapter 5: Storybrooke, We have a problem . . . .

The Robinsons were about to get dressed for bed when they heard the familiar sound of the Jupiter 2's engines starting. They ran out of Granny's Bed and Breakfast just in time to see their ship lift-off into the night sky above Storybrooke. Minutes later, Regina arrived in her Mercedes, Emma in her Yellow Bug, and the Charmings in David's truck.

"What just happened?" said Regina. "I heard your ship take-off! Please tell me that Major West is not making a test flight!"

"I hope not," said Emma. "He will have no way to get back into Storybrooke once he leaves the protective bubble of spells that hide our town from the rest of this world!"

Before anyone could ask Emma what she meant, Major West came outside to join the others, and said, "John, I was asleep. Did I just hear the Jupiter 2 taking . . . ?"

"I'm afraid so, Don," said John shaking his head. "Who could have taken it?"

"John, look!" said Maureen, pointing to the Robot rolling down the street in their direction, waving its arms.

"DANGER! DANGER! WARNING! WARNING!" said the Robot as he came to a stop in front of them.

"Never mind that," said John. "What happened to the Jupiter 2? You were supposed to guard the ship to keep anyone unauthorized from going aboard!"

The Robot gave his report to Professor Robinson, telling them that Penny and Henry had attempted to get aboard the Jupiter 2. "I have insufficient data to report what transpired from the time Penny removed my power pack to when Will replaced it. Will then went aboard, and ordered me to come to you and make a full report."

Regina gasped and said, "Henry is on that thing?! Bring it back, now!"

"We can't do that, Regina," said Maureen. "We have no way to remotely control the Jupiter 2 from where we are."

"That's not too surprising," said Emma. "I mean, if the Robot had to come here physically to tell you what happened . . . ."

"Yeah," said Don nodding. "I'm beginning to see the advantages of your cellphones, now."

Maureen said, "Regina, you're a witch. Can you teleport us aboard the Jupiter 2?"

Regina shook her head. "Outside of Storybrooke, I have no magic. But that isn't our biggest problem, at the moment."

"What do you mean?" said John.

Regina said, "Now that the Jupiter 2 has left Storybrooke airspace, Henry and your children will not be able to reenter the town. This town is protected from the outside world by numerous concealment charms and spells. The best that they can do is land outside of the town. But they are sure to be spotted if they try that!"

"That is if they plan to come back at all," said John shaking his head. "I never would have imagined that Penny would have run away, much less take the Jupiter 2 to do it."

"Really?" said Mary-Margaret. "Your thirteen-year-old daughter knows how to fly your spaceship?"

John nodded. "We taught our kids how to take-off and land in case they had to do it in an emergency."

"Oh, John," said Maureen. "I can't believe that Penny and Henry stole our ship so they could be together! I can understand them trying to run-away, but they know how important our mission is for the people of Our Earth!"

Then John said, "Wait a minute, Maureen. Where is Dr. Smith?"

Without saying a word, Don ran inside of Granny's Bed and Breakfast, and came out again less than five minutes later. "Smith isn't in our room, John. His bed is unmade, and his things are gone! And he also knows how to fly the Jupiter 2."

"But that doesn't make any sense," said Maureen. "Dr. Smith wanted to stay in Storybrooke. Why would he have stolen the Jupiter 2?

Then Regina said, "Will everyone please excuse me for a moment?" She then vanished in a burst of blue smoke. She was back a few moments later in another burst of smoke. "I've just been to Gold's shop. It was closed, but the protection spells he has in place are no longer active. His shop has been cleaned out completely! And there is no sign of Belle or Killian!"

Emma said, "There's our answer. Dr. Smith wanted to remain here. So Mr. Gold must have forced Dr. Smith to take him out of Storybrooke in your ship. But where are they going, and why did he take our children with him?"

"No doubt," said Regina. "They are going to the Enchanted Forest. As for our son and Penny, I'm guessing that Mr. Gold wants to extract True Love Magic from them, as well as from any resulting . . . products of True Love."

Maureen did not like the sound of that. "So what do we do, now?"

Regina said, "If Dr. Smith, Henry, and your children were taken against their will; then they will no doubt attempt to overpower Mr. Gold to get back to Storybrooke. And we have to be ready to let them back in when they return."

"But how can they possibly do that?" said Judy. "Didn't you say that Mr. Gold is actually Rumpelstiltskin and that he is a very powerful sorcerer?"

"In Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest he is," said Emma. "But he has no power outside of Storybrooke. He may try to bluff. But Henry knows this, and he would certainly let Dr. Smith and your kids know, too."

"That makes sense," said John. "So how do we let them back in?"

"I need to get to my Vault," said Regina. There is an item there that can open a portal from the outside world to Storybrooke."

"The Snow Queen's Scroll," said David nodding.

"Well, well," said Regina. "It seems that you are not as big an idiot as I originally thought."

Mary-Margaret said, "We'll meet you at the road that leads outside of Storybrooke at the Town Line. There is a large field there that they can use to land on!"

"Then what are we waiting here for?" said Regina. "Let's roll!"

As the freezing tube closed around him, Mr. Gold banged his fists against the plastic, and said, "You'll pay for this, Dr. Zachery Smith! NO ONE BREAKS A DEAL WITH ME, DEARIE! NO ONE DOUBLE-CROSSES RUMPELSTILTSKIN THE DARK ONE!" Dr. Smith replied by activating the freezing tube, and Mr. Gold glowed briefly before freezing in place, his balled fists against the plastic, face contorted in a mask of petrified rage.

"BAH!" said Dr. Smith snorting with contempt. "Rumpelstiltskin the Dark One, in-deed!

"Now then, as for the three of you . . . ."

Penny and Henry moved closer to each other, Henry put a protective arm around Penny.

Will said, "D-Dr. Smith, I can't believe that you are doing this after all that we've been through, together!"

"Oh, William, William, William," said Dr. Smith shaking his head. "Don't be so naïve. Really, William, how do you think that I happened to be aboard the Jupiter 2 when we left Earth – Our Earth – back in 1997? Our 1997, that is."

"Y-you said that you were trapped aboard making last-minute adjustments," said Will. "B-but that wasn't the real reason, was it?"

Smith shook his head patronizingly. "Dear William, I was hired to sabotage the Jupiter 2 mission, and was paid quite handsomely to do so. Gambling debts, you see. Or rather, would have been paid handsomely, had I not been double-crossed by my . . . clients."

"Yeah," Henry said dryly, "Don't you just hate it when that happens?"

"Spare me your sarcasm, Your Majesty."

"But why do you want our ship?" said Penny. "Besides, you said that you did not want to continue on to Alpha Centauri with us? Why didn't you just let us leave while you stayed in Storybrooke?"

"Though you may find it hard to believe, Penny; that was my original plan," said Dr. Smith somewhat wistfully. "But, thanks to Mr. Gold, my plans had to be, shall we say, modified.

"It would seem, you see, that Mr. Gold had plans of his own for leaving Storybrooke; plans that he decided to revise upon our arrival here from Wonderland. The arrival of the Jupiter 2, or more to the point, the magic bean loaded into a probe rocket aboard the Jupiter 2 ready to be launched, convinced him that it was possible to return to the Enchanted Forest. Once there, he intended to continue with his plan to "free himself;" something about a dagger, if I remember correctly. And in addition, he wanted the technology of Our Earth to aid him, by giving him powers that his native world had absolutely no defense against.

"And that, dear children, is where I come into the picture. Mr. Gold needed one of us to pilot the Jupiter 2; to take off, fire the probe and fly through the portal, and then land safely once we were in the Enchanted Forest. He also needed the Jupiter 2 to transport various magical items that he wanted to bring back with him. Unfortunately, among those items were to be Penny and Prince Henry . . . .

"As for you, William . . . . Alas, dear child, you were never intended to be brought along. But, as you were aboard when we launched . . . ."

"Then let us go!" said Henry. "You don't need Penny, Will or me. Just drop us off outside of Storybrooke. My mom can get us back in! Then you can go wherever you want to go!"

Dr. Smith shook his head. "I am afraid that will not be possible, Prince Henry –"

"And stop calling me "Prince Henry!" Like I told Penny and Will, I'm fourth in line for the Throne of Storybrooke!" Then Henry added, "Please, Dr. Smith. Please let us go before you use the magic bean!"

"As I was about to say - before I was so rudely interrupted – that is not part of my plans. I have come too close to victory to be sidetracked now!"

"Where are you taking us?" said Penny. "Where are we going?"

Dr. Smith smiled in near rapture. "Somewhere wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! A place where I shall finally have the wealth, comfort and luxury that I truly deserve!"

Henry said, "Be sure to hold that image in your mind when you create the portal with the bean," said Henry evenly. "A place where you shall get what you truly deserve!"

Dr. Smith's expression sharpened and he pointed the laser pistol straight at Henry. "Oh, but aren't you a clever boy? No, I think not." Then Dr. Smith smiled. "But thank you for preventing me from almost making a fatal mistake! I shall be quite careful to instruct the bean to take me someplace where I may have the life that I want; not the life that I deserve! But I can't have such a life with the three of you tied about my neck like the proverbial albatross!"

Keeping the laser pointed at Henry, Dr. Smith moved slowly to an empty freezing tube, opening it once he could reach the controls. "And now, Prince Henry, would you be so kind as to step inside . . . ."

"NO, Dr. Smith!" said Penny. "That was the freezing tube my mom was in when we first left Earth! It's defective, remember? Mom almost died!"

"And she would have died, too, had it not been for me being aboard to resuscitate her! Funny how these things work out. However, if you are so concerned about your Fairy Tale Prince, then you may have this tube as your own, Penny dear!"

"No," said Henry. "I'll go in that one. If you must do this, please let Penny and Will have the tubes that we know work! I'll take my chances! Besides, it can't be any worse than being in Pandora's Box . . . ."

"How noble of you, Prince Henry," said Dr. Smith dryly. "How noble . . . ."

"Henry, no!" said Penny.

"Don't worry about me, Penny," said Henry evenly. "If anything happens to me when I come out of the tube; just kiss me, and True Love's Kiss will revive me!"

"Oh, how sickeningly-sweet!" said Dr. Smith. "Now, let's not take all day! Henry, get into the tube now, or I shall be forced to shoot Penny! Let's see your precious "True Love's Kiss" revive someone from a laser blast, you naïve Fairy Tale brat!"

But before Henry could take another step, Penny threw her arms around his neck, and the two teen lovers were locked in an embrace of farewell.

"Come on!" spat Dr. Smith. "I haven't got all day! Now get into the tube, Henry, or I shall be forced to incinerate the both of you –" Dr. Smith yelped like a wounded animal as the deck of the Jupiter 2 pitched violently below them. While Smith's attention was on Penny and Henry, Will Robinson had slowly moved towards the Astrogator Island and, taking control of the ship, put the Jupiter 2 thorough violent maneuvers, sending Smith, Penny and Henry flying.

Henry and Penny slid over to the acceleration couches by the main control panel as Dr. Smith slid against the airlock, losing his grip on the laser pistol he had trained on Henry and Penny just seconds before. Frantically, Dr. Smith looked about for the laser pistol. But Will saw it, first. Though it landed away from where Dr. Smith was and he could not immediately see it, he was still closer to it than anyone else.

Then Will put part 2 of his plan into effect. "Henry, get into the acceleration couch and hold on! Penny, I'm going to cut the artificial gravity! Help me get Smith into the freezing tube!"

"NO!" screamed Dr. Smith in near panic! "NOT WHEN I AM SO CLOSE TO VICTORY!" It was then that Dr. Smith saw where the laser pistol had landed. Smith lunged for it, only to find himself flying upward, striking the ceiling of the flight deck hard.

"Don't let go of the couch, Henry!" said Will. "Penny and I have had training for micro-gravity. You haven't!"

"Please stay where you are, Henry!" said Penny. "You'll just get hurt if you try to move around the cabin!"

The Robinson siblings moved gracefully over to Dr. Smith, who was still dazed from his encounter with the ceiling. They each took an arm, and pushed-off against the ceiling in the direction of the open freezing tube. But just as they were almost there, Dr. Smith regained his senses, pushed Will aside, and spun about, forcing Penny inside the open tube. The defective tube . . . .

"Hey, Smith!" said Henry as he pushed-off against the acceleration couch. "Let go of my fiancé!" But Dr. Smith, who also had micro-gravity training, deftly moved out of the boy's way. Instead of striking Dr. Smith, Henry Mills struck the rear bulkhead, bouncing off of it and into the elevator railing.

Though Henry's move was quite inelegant, it did put Dr. Smith off-balance enough to allow Penny to push herself out of the freezing tube. But Dr. Smith still had a firm grip on her slender wrist. And as Penny struggled to free herself from the villain's grasp, Dr. Smith began another attempt to force her inside the freezing tube.

"Hang on to the railing, Henry!" said Will with all the authority that he could muster as he pushed himself towards the other side of the ship. "And stay out of our way! I've got a plan!"

But Henry did not hear what Will had just said. Holding onto the elevator railing, Henry was thoroughly distracted when he realized that he had cut the back of his hand on the sharp corner of an avionics box. Though a minor wound, Henry realized that his blood was forming perfect, little spheres as it slowly oozed from the cut and floated just above his hand. "Really . . . ?"

Penny's cries for help snapped Henry out of his momentary distraction. Without thinking, Henry pushed himself off towards Dr. Smith. This time, he was successful; forcing Dr. Smith and Penny away from the open maw of the freezing tube. Upon impact, Dr. Smith, Penny and Henry all went in three separate directions; the former up to the ceiling and the latter two towards the main viewport. Unfortunately, it also meant that Will had to come up with another plan and quick, or Dr. Smith would once more have the advantage over the two Robinson children.

"I told you to stay where you were, Henry!" said Will.

"I had to save Penny!"

"Oh, you did save me!" said Penny as she pushed herself over to Henry. The two teens embraced in a freefall kiss.

But Will's eyes were on Dr. Smith who saw his lost laser pistol floating close to him, just out of arm's reach. "Oh, no you don't!" said Will as he pushed-off against the side of the airlock.

With nothing handy to push-off against, Dr. Smith began swimming wildly in an attempt to push against the atmosphere in the cabin to get to the laser before Will could get there first. As soon as he managed to grab it, Dr. Smith howled in triumph as he attempted to point it at Henry and Penny. Aiming carefully (he did not want to miss and burn a hole through the viewport that could make it blow out into space, taking him with it,) Dr. Smith prepared to fire when he suddenly felt something strike his head.

Dazed, the laser slipped from Dr. Smith's grasp. Vaguely realizing that he had been thrown against the deck, Dr. Smith attempted to push-off, but found that he couldn't. It was then that he realized far too late that Will Robinson had not been attempting to get to the laser pistol first. Will had gone over to the Astrogator, where he restored the artificial gravity, causing Dr. Smith to fall hard, striking his head on the corner of the Astrogator Island.

Will turned his attention to his sister and her boyfriend had landed on the deck, and said, "We gotta move now! We don't have a lot of time!" Without anyone saying another word, Penny and Henry grabbed Dr. Smith from the deck and shoved him into the open freezing tube as Will closed it around him.

Dr. Smith tried to force the tube open from the inside, but the tube was locked. As with Mr. Gold only moments before, Dr. Smith began to frantically pound on the tube. But in contrast to the look of pure rage on Mr. Gold's face, when the tube was activated, Dr. Smith's face was frozen in a mask of absolute terror.

"We did it!" said Will triumphantly. He then turned to Henry, and grudgingly added, "Not too bad for a micro-gravity first-timer, Henry!"

"Thanks, Will," said Henry sincerely.

"Oh, Henry!" said Penny as she hugged him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Henry. He kissed Penny, and said, "Moving in zero-gravity is a lot tougher than it looks."

Will was about to remind Henry that it is called, "micro-gravity," but instead said, "I told you to hold on to the railing, Henry! Penny and I had lots of training for moving around in micro-gravity! We appreciated the help, but you could have gotten seriously hurt! What were you thinking?"

"Well," said Henry. "I remember those pictures in Nicholas' magazine. I figured that if Kate Upton could do it, just how difficult can it be?"

"Who's Kate Upton?" said Penny.

"I think that she is one of this world's astronauts," said Will. "I overheard Nicholas and Bartholomew talk about her in the diner yesterday."

"Uh, she's not an astronaut," said Henry smiling. "But I'm sure that many astronauts wouldn't mind it if she was . . . ." Henry turned to Penny and added, "She's a swimsuit model."

Will looked puzzled. "But then why did Bartholomew tell Nicholas that Kate Upton has a lot of experience with defying gravity . . . ?"

Though Will Robinson's comment was almost as funny to Henry as his inadvertent Sheldon Cooper imitation at Granny's Diner the night before, something outside of the main viewport caught Henry's attention. "Uh, guys? We're about to run into the International Space Station!"

Without hesitation, Will went straight for the controls on the Astrogator and managed to pull up just in time to keep the Jupiter 2 from hitting the ISS's habitat modules as he flew between the solar panels. As he did this, Penny took Henry's hand, and brought him over to the acceleration couches in front of the ship's main control panel.

"There is enough room in this acceleration couch for both of us, Henry," said Penny as Will came over to the other acceleration couch and strapped himself in. Will gave his sister an obligatory eye-roll and then began to busy himself at the controls.

"We have to complete this orbit," said Will. "Then I think that I can get us back to where we were when we lifted-off."

"We won't be able to actually get back inside of Storybrooke without my moms' help," said Henry.

"Oh, no," said Penny as she studied the scanners on the control panel. "I think that whoever was in that space station must have spotted us! Radio traffic between the station and this world's version of Alpha Control is almost off the scale!"

"They still call it "NASA" here," Will nodded, and added, "My scope shows that we are being tracked on radar from several places on this Earth! We'll probably be followed by this Earth's military to where we land, if they won't already be waiting for us when we do!"

"Not if my moms and your family get to us, first!" said Henry as he squirmed to get to his cellphone in his back pocket. When he got it out, he hit speed-dial and both Regina and Emma answered before the second ring.

"HENRY!" said Regina and Emma simultaneously. "Are you alright?"

"Mom. Mom. Put me on speaker phone so everyone can hear!" A second later, Henry added, "Is everyone there? OK, listen . . . ." Henry told everyone what had just happened with Penny and Will adding in details here and there.

Will said, "Dad, mom; Dr. Smith admitted that he was aboard when we left Earth to sabotage the Jupiter 2! Boy, did I ever have him figured out wrong!"

"I knew it!" spat Don. "I just knew it!"

Professor Robinson nodded, and said, "You can tell me that you told me so as many times as you want to after Penny, Will and Henry are safely back with us in Storybrooke!"

"Did he say why he did it, Will?" said Maureen.

"Yeah," said Will. "For money to pay off gambling debts."

"For money?!" said Judy. "Oh, how could Dr. Smith be so . . . so heartless!"

"If you think that Dr. Smith is heartless now, Judy," said Regina dryly. "Then just wait until I get my hands on him . . . !"

"Regina!" admonished Emma. "We don't have time for this! We have to meet Henry and his friends when they land and get them back inside of Storybrooke with the Snow Queen's scroll!

"Henry, I'm texting you the coordinates for the road just outside of Storybrooke. We'll be waiting for you there when you land. What's your ETA?"

Henry read the coordinates off to Will, who then said, "Tell your moms that we'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"As soon as you land, open the hatch and let us aboard," said Regina. "I think we can get you and your ship back into Storybrooke, but everyone has to follow my instructions to the letter!"

Aboard the Jupiter 2, Will said, "We're about to reenter the atmosphere. I'm taking her in hot to stay ahead of our pursuers and to make them think that we are actually heading out to sea. So when we get to Maine, I'm going to decelerate pretty abruptly. The Jupiter 2's acceleration dampening fields should take most of it, but I won't kid you, Henry; without centrifuge training, it's going to be pretty harsh for you!"

"I'll be alright," said Henry. "Do what you have to do and get us safely back to Storybrooke!"

"Oh, Will," said Penny. "What do you think will happen to us if the people of this world get to us before our families do?"

"Well, sis," said Will dryly. "Does the name "Klaatu" mean anything to you?

"Alright, hang on everyone! I'm going to decelerate in three . . . two . . . one . . . NOW!"

Henry Mills felt himself thrown forward in the acceleration couch he shared with Penny like they were crash test dummies. The restraints holding them snapping tight; the way it felt in a car when his moms had to stop short, but worse. Then, just as quickly as it happened, it was over.

"I'm bringing the Jupiter 2 in for a landing, now," said Will. A few moments later, the three kids felt the landing gear make contact with the ground. "Touchdown! Penny, how close are the aircraft and trucks coming after us?"

But Penny was not looking at the monitors on the control panel. Instead, she pointed out the main viewport, and said, "Does that answer your question, Will?"

"Oh, no!" said Will. In the distance the approaching headlights of the trucks and helicopters were getting brighter and brighter. Worse, the three kids could hear the roar of jet fighters passing overhead. "Sounds like the natives are restless, tonight!"

Will Robinson unstrapped himself. "I'm going to open the hatch to let our families in! I hope that your moms know what they are doing, or we're all going to be in a lot of trouble!"

As Will ran for the ladder to the lower deck, Penny released the harness holding her and Henry in their couch. Both teens stood with their arms around each other as they watched the lights in the distance getting brighter and brighter as they came closer and closer . . . .

"I-I'm scared, Henry," said Penny.

"So am I," said Henry.

"What do you think will happen to us? What will they do to us?"

"Nothing!" said Henry smiling as he pointed out the viewport. "Look! Our families are here!"

Outside of the Jupiter 2, David brought his truck to a stop, running into the landing gear of the Robinson's ship with the bumper of his truck, as Regina had told him to do. Regina did the same with her Mercedes. Both cars bumpers bent when they struck the solid titanium landing gear, but both vehicles were firmly pressed against the spaceship. Seconds later, the Robinsons, Major West, and Regina, Emma, and the Charmings all scampered up the ladder from the lower level to the flight deck.

"EVERYBODY STAND BEHIND ME!" commanded Regina. "EVERYBODY LOOK AT THE SCROLL!"

Standing in front of the main viewport, Regina held the Snow Queen's Scroll up and untied the ribbon. Along with the others, Henry and Penny, still in each other's arms, focused on the scroll. Penny attempted to read the words, but soon realized that they were in what looked like ancient Viking Futhark Runes. Now the lights from the approaching vehicles lit the interior of the Jupiter 2 brightly. The roar of truck engines and the thup-thup of helicopter blades could now be heard outside, along with the screaming of jet fighters flying low overhead and the muffled shouting of military men taking up their positions around the Jupiter 2 . . . .

. . . . and then, the sounds were gone. The harsh, bright lights were replaced with a softer light. And when Regina lowered the scroll, they were back where they had started, in front of the Storybrooke Town Hall, the ship's interior illuminated by the gentle glow of the Town Hall's porch lights. The only sounds that could be heard outside were the sound of chirping crickets.

After everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, the Robinsons embraced Will and Penny in a group hug as Regina, Emma and the Charmings did likewise with Henry. Then Henry and Penny once again took each other's hand. All eyes were now on them, and they knew that they were in trouble. But they were prepared to face it together.

After what seemed like hours, Professor Robinson nodded, and said, "Alright, you two. What happened . . . ?"