Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron, or anything associated with said franchise.
Author Apologies(s): PLEASE, read ANY AND ALL of the following BOLDED text! Wow. Well, first of all, it has been a long time. I am so very sorry for the ridiculously-late response/update. I was caught-up with real-life, for a while (Baseball, Track-And-Field, Graduation, College Finalizations, Etc.), and my FIRST thought was to keep-track-of, and respond to any and all of the outstanding message-conversations that I have on this here site—and update any and all of my existing FanFictions. However, just as I got back on this site, I realized something: I have been reviewing/revising/re-writing my FanFictions, BEFORE I upload/update them, but it was NEVER ANYWHERE CLOSE to how much I NEEDED To review/revise/re-write them! ...So, I STARTED reviewing, revising, and rewriting ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions, and just when I was about HALF-WAY through doing that (I Have OVER 200,00 WORDS Published/Posted On This Godforsaken Site! Do You Know How LOOOOOONG That Takes To Review/Revise/Rewrite?! VERY LONG!), and about to respond to any and all of my messages, when my life fell apart—literally.
Between psychotic breaks, episodic events, and metal crazes, (All Of Which Were Caused By My Life, That Just Happened To Turn Super-Sucky), I was, well, incapacitated.
You don't need an excuse. But, you do deserve one.
The good news (For EVERYONE) is the following. Writing my OWN ORIGINAL Books-Series (There Are FOUR, SEPARATE, UN-Related, Book-Series, And Hopefully, I Will Have A Literary Agent/Publishing-Deal, In A Year, OR Two! …On The SLIM Chances That Is DOES Actually Occur, Or Happen…), looking for agents, looking-into-querying, and FAN-FICTION have become my outlet! ...So, my depressing life will make for AWESOME FanFiction, with HAPPY undertones (But, My Stories/FanFictions Will STILL Have Character-Deaths [Well, SOME], Gore, Blood [NOT TOO Much, Though], Romance, And NO OOC-Ness, OR Mary-Sues, Mind-You!).
I have JUST finished-up reviewing/revising/rewriting my CURRENTLY-POSTED chapters of any and all Fan Fictions, and today is the day that I shall be updating ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions. And, also, today is also the day, that I will-be starting three NEW FanFictions, and they will be the LAST FanFictions that I will EVER start—unless, I decide to do a cross-over, between my DC-Comics-FanFiction, and my MARVEL-Comics-FanFiction (BOTH, The MARVEL-FanFiction, AND, The DC-Fan Fiction, Features A Teenage, Next-Gen-Hero-Team, So Having Them Team-Up In A Cross-Over Would Be Kind-Of Cool. …But, IF I Do That Cross-Over, Then That Definitely Would Be The LAST Fan Fiction That I EVER START!)! For a timeline of future updates you should know this: "I Will NOT Cancel ANY Of My FanFictions!" I WILL FINISH THEM ALL! …If you wish to have a better idea of how often updates will be coming, though, I have FOUR FanFictions that take precedent over my others, and as such, those four will probably be updated faster than others. You should all note, however, that I WILL be updating ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions! However, I am unsure, as to how long each update will take, so PLEASE HAVE PATIENCE! So, to keep-up with the updates, PLEASE, subscribe to me/my-story, favorite me/my-story, or message me and ask me to personally message you whenever I DO update, and I will HAPPILY do so!
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Accolades/Appreciation: Thanks for ANY/ALL of the reviews! I really appreciate them, and I take them all into account. Don't stop now, though! ONWARD!
IV. Friends and Foes
The boy sat silently still, awaiting the pain that was sure to come. He lucidly looked around the room, and he discerned any and all of the exits that the room held. There were none. He was trapped. The only exit that the room had was the door that he had previously entered through.
The blindingly bright white room was a very deep contrast to the dank, damp, dark cell that he had been used to living in for so long. The boy fidgeted slightly. The sturdy steel chair was cold and unforgiving against his back. He sighed, and his entire body shivered suddenly as he did so.
The door that lead to hallway beyond the white-walled room finally stirred, as it opened with a jarring jolt. The boy sat up straight, and his attention immediately focused on the being that walked through the door.
The boy skillfully scanned the newcomer, his experienced ember-colored eyes swiftly surveying the man in his entirety. The man that had entered the room was tall, thin, muscular, kempt, and he was clearly not human. Although he looked human, his actions told a different story. He wasn't human. But he acted like one. He was just as smug, sinister, and sure of himself as any human could have been.
The man sat down at the stainless steel table, directly across from the boy.
The man held a stack of files in his hands, and his hardened hands seemed to be misplaced, when compared to the rest of the man's lithe figure. But then the man closed the file and looked up.
The boy met the man's hardened hazel eyes, and he had to resist the urge to cringe. The boy realized that the man's hands fit him perfectly. They were the hands of a killer. This man looked little, logical, and lithe. But he was lethal. He was an oxymoron, a living deception. He was a deathtrap.
The man wore a striking suit, dressed in bold black and blood red. The colors were dark, dreadful, and dangerous—very dangerous. The colors suited the man well. The man smiled cynically, as he spoke, splitting the deafening silence with his viper-like, venomous voice.
"I would start with a question, but you would not answer me. So, instead, I will start with a statement—a fact." the man said suddenly, closing the file he was holding and setting the papers down on the table.
The boy looked up at the man across from him, his deranged dark hair and dangerously dark eyes silently stating that the man should have kept the boy's shackles on. The man chuckled mirthlessly.
"That fact is simple one. Violence is a virus. We are the cure." the man continued.
The boy did not move a muscle. But his mind raced at speeds he had previously thought impossible.
"You are a violent young man, a violent young human. You think that violence has its uses, but you are wrong. Violence has only one purpose. Violence is the only means, by which we can end violence. Violence is a virus, and violence is the cure. You are both a hindrance to the virus, and to the cure. I found this interesting, and as such, I decided to study you. I know many things, and what I do not know, I learn. So, I decided to learn about you." the man finished speaking.
The boy raised an eyebrow. "If you wanted to learn about violence, then all you had to do was ask." the boy spat back, vehemently. The man smiled.
"I have no need to ask anything of anyone, when the service is owed to me. And everything is owed to me." the man replied. The boy scoffed.
"Including a painful demise." the boy added.
The man laughed. "No, I owe my demise to the universe. It will happen, eventually. But when it does, I will have done what is necessary. I will have followed the rules. I will have eliminated the virus." the man said seriously.
The boy looked at him incredulously. "You, and your 'colleagues,' attack whole worlds. You kill people—billions of people. You kill innocents. You are no cure. You are a disease. You don't follow any rules. You break them. You break them all. You're calm, collected, and controlled. Control isn't fair, though. Chaos is unhampered, unchangeable, and uninhibited. Chaos is fair. I'm chaotic, and you're controlling. You make the rules. Then you break the rules. The rules are the only things tying me to this life, to this world. I like the rules. I have come to appreciate them. I used to hate them, but now they are all I have to live for. You break the rules, and I'm going to break you for that." the boy voiced venomously.
The man smiled sinisterly. "You are curious. I will learn much from you. I will enjoy dissecting you. You are unquestionable, but you are wrong. This universe is governed by rules. Rules were made to be broken, though. The ironic truth is, that by breaking the rules, we follow them. The rule of this universe is a simple one. The strong live, and the weak die. The universe sustains itself. The universe gives any and all of us life. We give it back. It is a cycle. The universe is always bettering itself. If it did not do this, then there would no point in its existence. The universe can only better itself, though, if it is populated with resilient beings, boundless beings, beings of strength. The weak must die for this to be accomplished. Violence is a weakness. It divides us. It destroys us. I destroy it. I am a being of strength. I do not tolerate weakness. So, I eliminate it. Humans are violent beings. They are illogical. They are logically illogical. I must study them, and you are the perfect specimen to do just that, 'Prisoner 313.' You, will be studied, and the important information that we will learn will be applied to any and all humans. You are your greatest ally, and your greatest enemy. You will kill yourself, 'Prisoner 313.'" the man readily replied, smiling one again.
"You are human, yet you want to destroy the humans. You are a traitor. Traitors break the rules. You are a traitor, yet you claim to follow the rules. You make no sense." the boy responded adamantly.
"Humans are a weakness. They are a weak species. You are a prime example. You, and your fellow Zorian soldiers fought us for years. Yet, you failed. You failed because you were weak. Weakness must be eliminated. Violence is virus, and humans are the perfect carriers for this deadly disease. They must be eliminated, and so they will be. Humans are weak. I am not weak; I am not human—not anymore. I no longer claim that pitiful race as my own. They have returned the favor, and as such, I am no traitor. I am simply a logically lethal man. I am 'The Cure.'" the man responded, as he lifted himself from his seat, and began to turn toward the exit. He was finished with the boy. He had said all that he needed to say.
Before he left the white-walled room, however, the man stopped short, and spoke over his shoulder. "I will learn how to kill you, boy. I always learn, and I always succeed. But, you must learn too. You must to learn to accept what you cannot change. You must learn your place, and your place is on the floor of your cell, 'Prisoner 313.'" the man said threateningly.
The boy clenched his fists. "My name is not 'Prisoner 313!' I have a name, and you will learn that, too!" the boy yelled back.
The man turned around. "And, why would I need to learn such a useless piece of information?" the man asked, seeming to find the boy's comment amusing.
"…Because you should know the name of your superiors." the boy replied, smirking triumphantly.
The man frowned and shook his head. "You have a lot to learn, Mr. Estevez." the man said, as he lunged across the table at the boy, and skillfully slammed him into the cold, concrete floor beneath him. The man forcefully pushed the boy's face into the floor, as he keenly kneeled on his back. "And, I will be happy to teach to you." the man said menacingly, as he pressed the boy's face harder into the floor.
The boy smiled. "Really? Because I'm a terrible student. I've never respected authority, and I've always rebelled." he replied.
The man sighed. "You will change. You will learn." he said, as he relented.
"I don't know many things. But, I do know how to kill. I use what I know to act. I don't know a lot, but I do act a lot." the boy said, smirking surely into the cold floor beneath him.
"You will kill. You will kill yourself. You are your greatest enemy, Mr. Estevez. You will change, and you will learn." the man said, easing himself off of the defeated boy, and straightening his suit.
The boy swiftly spun around, and skillfully swept the man's feet out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor. The boy then caught the man's throat a few moments before he hit the floor. The boy then forcefully flung the man into the opposite wall, and he crashed into it with a sinister sound. "I doubt it. Old habits die hard." the boy said, smirking at the man.
The man got to his feet, and he looked unamused. The boy assumed a fighting stance. The man sighed deeply, and he dusted himself off, while shaking his head. He swiftly, skillfully, lunged at the boy, and he deftly ducked under the boy's blows, as he lucidly launched himself up, impacting the boy under his chin with the back of his hand. The boy crashed backwards, unconscious.
"Yes, old habits die hard. …But, they do die." the man said, opening the door to the room, and silently signaling for the two guards outside to escort the boy back to his cell. They did so, without question.
Libby stood in the center of the training room of the dojo. She smiled triumphantly, as she saw the many familiar faces that lined the stands around her. The school watched the small square in the center of the room, anxiously, as they waited for the two fatal females to fight.
Libby walked around, collecting bets, and making light conversation, but she stopped short when she saw the next person that walked through the doors of the dojo. It was Carl Wheezer. His red, raggedy, hair was a bedraggled mess, and Carl himself looked exhausted, fatigued, and extremely emaciated. Carl had barely spoken since Jimmy and Sheen had left Retroville, both in their own ways. Carl had barely even eaten. He only ate when Libby brought food for him. He only talked when Cindy asked him to do so. He never smiled. He rarely ever came out of his house anymore.
Libby dropped the bucket that held the large amounts of cash that people were betting with, and she hurriedly hustled over to Carl. She reached his side, and he straightened up, revealing that he was actually a full head taller than Libby. Libby looked closer at his form, and she saw that he wasn't as emaciated as she had thought, but he was still scarily skinny.
She smiled warmly up at him. "Hey, Carl. Come out to watch the monsters fight?" Libby asked him jokingly. Carl nodded solemnly.
Libby sighed. He didn't smile. He never smiled. She smiled sincerely at him, and gestured to the stands, which were full of students. "You can sit up there. I'm taking bets. Want in? I'd split it evenly on both of them. No one knows that you can do that. Don't tell; it'll be our little secret." she said with mirth, chuckling slightly.
Carl shook his head, and he made his way over to the stands. Libby shook her head, and she went to retrieve the bucket of cash, only to find Butch digging through it.
Libby put her hands on her hips, and stared sinisterly at him. Butch looked up to face her, and he gulped slightly. He had just been beaten by Cindy Vortex. He didn't need to be beaten by her friend, as well. Libby rolled her eyes, and picked up the bucket, as she resumed her task of walking around and taking bets. She got to Nick, and he put five dollars in the bucket.
"Who are you putting that on?" Libby asked, and he gave her a noncommittal shrug.
"Two hot girls fighting to a bloody finish. No matter who loses, we win. Put the money on whoever you want. Or keep it, for all I care. It's worth it." he said, smirking at her. Libby rolled her eyes, as she continued on her way, collecting bets.
Libby finally finished her task, and she retreated to the back room, where Cindy and Betty were waiting.
"How much?" they asked in unison.
Libby held up a finger, as she counted the tallies, on her sheet of paper. She finally finished counting, and she responded to her friends. "I have $ 545.50 on Cindy, and $475.50 on Betty." she said in response.
Cindy smiled victoriously, and Betty scowled. "People don't know a winner when they see one." she said, sarcastically.
Cindy smirked at her friend. "Actually, they do. That's why I have more." she replied. Betty scowled again.
"Oh, well. It's a bigger payoff for the one who will win the bet, anyways." Betty said confidently.
Libby chuckled. "Can you blame them? After what Cin did to Butch today, I'm surprised that everyone didn't bet on her—no offense, Betty. I'm also surprised that Butch showed up." Libby commented. Cindy looked up at her friend.
"Butch came?" she asked warily. Libby nodded. Cindy sighed very deeply.
Betty chuckled. "Don't worry, Cin. He wants to keep his body in one piece. I'm positive that he won't start anything." Betty said, comfortingly. Cindy nodded.
"Okay, well, let's do this. They are waiting for a fight, after all." Libby said, ushering her friends out of the back room, and into the center training room.
Libby took her seat next to Carl, as the two girls entered the ring, and bowed to each other.
The stands of students erupted into massive applause. Cindy and Betty assumed their fighting stances, each one unique to their styles, and they slowly began to circle each other. Cindy motioned towards Betty, telling her to throw the first punch. Betty shook her head, and repeated Cindy's action. Cindy smirked. 'On three?' she mouthed to Betty. Betty smiled and nodded.
On the count of three, both girls charged at each other, furiously fighting to the finish. Betty delivered swift roundhouse kick to the head of her opponent, and Cindy blocked the attack, while grabbing Betty's raised foot with both of her hands. Cindy threw her body weight forward, and she fell on Betty, as Betty had her leg pinned parallel to her body, bending in the opposite direction that it was intended to bend.
Betty screamed, and she swiftly spun over, as she pinned Cindy beneath her, while she hammered Cindy's exposed side with a powerful punch. Cindy reeled back, and in that instance, Betty snapped her pinned leg out to its full length, and the moment that it hit the soft dojo floor, she powerfully propelled herself forward, using both feet. As Betty flew over Cindy's body, parallel to the ground, she launched past Cindy, and secured her ankles tightly around the blonde's neck, as she planted her hands on the floor, and flipped flawlessly forwards. Cindy was lying on her back before Betty's ankles had wrapped around her neck, and the moment that Betty flipped forwards, Cindy went with her, face first, and she hit the mat on the other side of Betty, face down, in front of her standing opponent. Betty didn't get to catch her breath.
Cindy threw all of her weight forward, as she spun skillfully away from Betty's fist, and Cindy swept Betty's feet out from under her. Cindy planted her hands in the ground, and she pushed off—hard. She launched herself upwards, and she caught Betty by surprise, as she grabbed Betty's throat just before she hit the ground.
Cindy spun under Betty's body, and she used her momentum to carry her, as she forcefully slammed Betty, throat first, into the dojo floor. As Betty fell, she quickly kicked Cindy's legs out from under her, and she followed her spin with a swift strike aimed at Cindy's chin. Betty's backhanded blow impacted Cindy under her chin, and she flew backwards, as Betty got to her feet.
Cindy recovered quickly, as Betty came charging at her once again. Cindy deftly ducked out of the way of a flurry of Betty's oncoming attacks, and she skillfully spun around Betty's body. With her back to Betty's back, Cindy quickly reached behind her, and she clasped her hands tightly around Betty's throat. Cindy pulled her hands up and over her head. Betty hit the floor, face first. Betty tried to get to her feet, but Cindy held her grip on her throat.
"Tap out." Cindy said.
"No!" came Betty's muffled reply from the floor. Cindy rolled her eyes, and she released her grip, as Betty launched to her feet once again. The two girls circled each other and they pounced once again.
Two hours later, both girls were beaten, bloody, and bruised all over. The fight ended in a draw. Everyone got their money back. Except Nick.
Libby shook her head, as she handed the girls two icepacks, as she sat back on her bed. They readily accepted them.
"You should have tapped out." Cindy said, through a swollen jaw.
Betty sighed. "There is just no pleasing you, is there?" Betty asked sarcastically, through bleeding lips, as the two girls erupted in laughter. Libby rolled her eyes. She needed new friends.
"Neutron, don't be an idiot. You are not dying in here." Eddie spat at his cousin. He was disgusted that he would even suggest such a thing.
Jimmy laughed. It was a mirthless, disdainful laugh. He was not laughing because he was amused. He was laughing because he was exhausted. "Eddie, for a genius, you're an idiot sometimes. I can barely lift my head, so walking is definitely not an option. You will have to leave me. Once you're out of here, they'll kill me. The only reason that I'm here, is so that they can have access to an organism with identical genes, and thus, have access to 'spare parts,' when they damage you in the program-progression. You are the greatest goal that they have. You are their weapon. I am just the toolbox, to tune you up." Jimmy said sorrowfully.
Eddie spat on the filthy floor of his dark cell. He turned to see his cousin through the strong steel bars that separated their cells. Jimmy had bags under his eyes, and his haphazard honey-colored hair looked dirty, dingy, and deranged. His bold blue eyes had lost their luster, and his defined physical physique looked like it had become the target of constant beatings, bashings, and bludgeoning. Jimmy looked like he was dead. He felt like he was dead. But Eddie knew better. It was difficult to kill Jimmy Neutron, and Eddie knew that.
Eddie scoffed, and his experienced eyes swiftly scanned his cousin, before he made his own conclusions. "Yes, you are here, so I may have 'spare parts,' but they don't want my 'spare parts,' to be lackluster, or low-grade. They cannot proceed with their 'program,' unless they have an adequate supply of 'spare parts.' The 'Repair-Room,' will rightfully restore you to full capacity, and when you are recovered, we will escape—by any means necessary." Eddie stated solemnly.
Jimmy sighed. "Eddie, I'm in no condition to—" Jimmy started, but his angry cousin cut him off adamantly.
"That is why you will get into that condition. They didn't just capture us, Neutron. They took us. They killed us. The old Jimmy is dead. He is buried right next to the person that I once was. I was killed on the day that they took us. But, I was also reborn on that day. I was reborn, because you saved my life. I owe you; it is only logical for me to repay you. Repaying you will build trust, and that will strengthen myself. That is the logical choice I have, because I need to be strong if I'm going to live. And I am going to live, because that is the entire point of life, the only logic I have left to follow. You and I are tied—tied by debt, a debt that will break us, only to help us rebuild ourselves. I owe you Neutron. And I hate owing people, so get your ass up, so I can repay that debt!" Eddie snapped. Jimmy chuckled.
"I missed the narcissistic, evil, demented asshole that you were, Eddie. It's good to have you back." Jimmy said, smiling slightly, and as he did so, he gestured to a careful carvings on the smooth concrete behind him. The carvings were a maze; they compromised a map, a route to an exit. These carvings marked each and every location that Eddie and Jimmy had been to during the past four years in the institution, during the "program." The carvings were fresh, and they were made by a genius, one who keep any and all of that information inside his head for four years, and then readily regurgitated it on a concrete wall. These carvings were made by Jimmy Neutron.
Eddie smirked. "Good to have you back, as well, whippy-dip." Eddie, smiling sadistically at the prospect of escaping—and cracking a few skulls along the way.
April slept silently next to her brother, who had, for the first time in many months, a smile on his face. April would have to repair all of the androids in the training room tomorrow, but tonight, she was content to simply let her brother have this small joy, this small victory, because he deserved it, and also because her large victory was coming soon as well.
As the two Gorlockians slept, their ship shot speedily towards their next intended target. It shot towards "The Cure."
A/N: Well, I hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. On a side-note, any and all of you, wonderful readers/reviewers, should surely check-out my profile, and see what other of my publicly posted FanFics might interest you! There may be a few. If you have read a book, then the chances are that I have read it as well, and if I have read it, then I'd love to talk about it! Message me, if any of you guys have any questions, or just want to chat, about ANYTHING. I'd love to hear from you! Well, stay tuned for the next update, and please click that subscribe/alert button, if you want the alerts for updates on this story, or simply message me, and ask me to message you every time I update, as I would be HAPPY to do so! So, please R&R, and stay tuned for the next update!