Chapter 12: Prepping Time!
September 16th, 2006, 4pm
Outskirts of Mora, Sweden
Jimmy's hover car had just made its landing on the plains. In the hover car were none other than Jimmy, Carl and Goddard. It was a nice and sunny day with only a few small clouds in the sky. The three of them had exited the hover car and walked towards a small log cabin. It was about 4 times the size of Jimmy's clubhouse which was no bigger than a shed. Carl was walking behind Jimmy, acting nervous about meeting Elke and her family. Just as they were about to walk to the door, Jimmy looked at Carl sternly. This was their first conversation all day, so there was some mild tension, so Jimmy wasted no more time and looked Carl directly in the eye, "I don't want any business of being your 'dim-witted assistant', take the blame for your actions, nor will I let you use my inventions without asking. Doing so will have severe consequences and will not be tolerated. Is that clear Carl?" (See Carl Wheezer: Boy Genius)
"Yes Jim," Carl said as he was sweating nervously. "Crystal clear."
"Okay, now let's say hi and tell her the truth."
"Okay." They both went to the door and Jimmy gestured to Carl to knock on the door. A few seconds passed before Elke answered the door.
"Carl?!" Elke immediately pulled him into a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Good to see you today," she spoke with her thick accent. "And dim-witted assistant, good to see you too," she said with a smile while shaking his hand.
"Uh, about that…" Carl said nervously while scratching the back of his head. "You know how I said I wasn't very smart? Well this is Jimmy Neutron, an amazing scientist and my best friend."
"Ohhh! That makes lot of sense!" Elke responded.
"So, I'm sorry I lied about who me and my friends were, and I'm sorry I treated you that way Jimmy," Carl said sadly while looking down in shame. About a dozen seconds passed before Elke first spoke. "I lied about who I was too, so you're forgiven."
Jimmy then looked Carl in the eyes again, staring intently for a few more seconds until his stern expression softened with a smile. "I forgive you Carl. If you promise not to do it again, we'll let bygones be bygones."
"I promise!" Carl instantly answered and crossed his heart with his pinky.
"Good, now that that's settled…" Jimmy looked back at the hovercar, where Goddard was looking from a distance nervously. "You can come out now boy!"
"OOOH!" Elke was in awe as the robotic dog leapt from the hover car and ran towards the trio.
"This is my dog, Goddard," Jimmy said as Goddard showed his bells and whistles. "I made him when I was three and gradually modified him since then. Currently, he's able to do eleven million and seven things. Ranging from something as mundane as giving life advice…"
"WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE," Goddard's screen typed out.
"... to playing dead." A split second later, Goddard's structural body exploded into multiple pieces resulting in Elke holding onto Carl while gasping. This gave Jimmy a slight chuckle. "Don't worry, he's completely fine. Watch this: Goddard, recall!" In a matter of seconds, the many pieces linked back together as if he never exploded, almost like a rewind effect. "You see, as long as his core memory is intact, he can explode and revert as many times as physically impossible."
"Interesting…" Elke said. "But please, no more explosions. How about we see the family?"
1:20pm
Retroville, TX
"They're probably planning something against me. They've done it time and time again!"
Jimmy's words have echoed in the back of Nick's mind ever since the attack on the moon. And though it seemed like a victory, it felt like there was more to it than that. So he decided to gather Cindy, Libby, Sheen and Betty for a bit of a training session. He considered inviting the rest of the class, but decided against it, since they probably weren't interested.
"So why did ya call us here Nick?" Sheen wondered as he was standing alongside the others across from Nick.
"Given what's happened on the moon recently, we still need to go further in training. I'd wait for Jimmy and Carl to arrive, but we don't have time to lose. We did decently on the moon, but we can't soften up just yet."
"You're sounding a little like Jimmy right now." Libby said concerned for him.
"I remember him saying something about how the villains always come back, and on the moon, he was proven right."
"He's right," Betty said, "We- I especially need to get stronger if we are to stand a chance against whatever may face us in the future."
"Neutron trusted us with the N-Men packets and any other gadgets to aid us in training combat over summer. We should take advantage of them," Cindy suggested.
"That's what I was getting to." Nick started to explain. "From what Carl's told me, Jimmy has more villains than he could handle on his own. We need to be there to help him, in case any of them come back. So with my teleportation, Sheen's incredible speed, Betty's dual wielded fencing, Libby's invisibility and shield, Cindy's flight and super strength, as well as Carl's supersonic burps, if used right can be proven useful. So we need to hone these skills, if we are to stand a chance against anyone that may pose a threat. That's why I asked you all to wear your suits and have whatever you need to be ready."
"WE'RE GONNA BE SUPERHEROES!" Sheen said excitedly.
"You know what they say, 'With great power comes great responsibility,'" Betty quipped.
"Never heard that one before," Cindy side glanced with a sarcastic expression, to which Betty ignored.
"Think fast!" Nick teleported as he was about to throw a punch to Cindy. Cindy managed to block right as he teleported in arms distance. She responded by throwing a kick to which Nick teleported out of the way and accidentally kicked Betty in the shins.
"My mistake," Cindy scratched the back of her head.
Betty responded with the activation of her laser blades. They were a glowing pink color that looked similar to Jimmy's power siphon. Thankfully, Betty's blades have the safety on, so no burns or stabs will happen in this mode, but if presented the opportunity, she could still whack someone with them. "No need to apologize." Betty began to chuckle. "After all, we did gather here to spar, so TAKE THIS!" She took a swing at Cindy, although she easily dodged and blocked the second blade.
"If that's how you wanna play 'Miss Perfect,' let's see how well you do in combat!" Cindy started to throw punches to non-vital areas. Betty would block and/or dodge a few but some would hit her. On the other hand, when Betty did have the chance to hit the opponent, Cindy would block and dodge most, but every now and then, Betty would surprise her with a kick to the stomach after Cindy narrowly dodged one of the blades.
Meanwhile, Nick teleported to attack Libby, but was instantly blocked by Sheen. "I'm not letting you lay a finger on her!" Libby took this opportunity to take a dose of the N-Men packet given to her. Nick noticed this and knocked Sheen off balance before teleporting to Libby, but she already disappeared.
Following that, Sheen was about to get up, but noticed his N-Men packet was 5 feet away from him on his left, so he had to reach it first. Nick caught wind and kept Sheen on the ground. For a few seconds, Sheen tried to grab the packet, but to no avail.
"I guess that power of yours is a crutch?" Nick quipped.
"I could say the same to you," Libby said, still invisible. She tackled Nick and then jumped off of him, before reappearing and placing a force field around him, leaving Nick pinned to the ground preventing any physical movement. Seizing the opportunity, Sheen got up and grabbed the N-Men packet and took his dose.
"Thanks Libbycakes," Sheen said with a thumbs up as his power was activated.
"First off, what did I say about the names?" Libby said with a sigh.
"Sorry, force of habit," Sheen shrugged.
"Second…" Libby pointed one arm toward Sheen and a force field started to activate around him. "This is a free-for-all, so don't think I'm gonna hold back." Sheen instantly dodged. He then ran a safe distance away, due to him remembering what happened on the moon. I hesitated to attack an evil version of her, and now the real her is attacking me?! Sheen thought as he kept running around. This is just like Ultralord episode 137 where Ultralady's evil double fought Ultralord in disg- wait no. This is a simple sparring session. So it's more like 23 when they both started training. Just gotta dodge and land hit-n-runs…
"Well I still can take care of-" Libby looked at the force field, and Nick was no longer inside. "Stupid teleportation…" she said as she lowered her arm and the force field disappeared.
"Where to next?" Sheen said to himself. Suddenly Nick teleported in front, but Sheen instantly reacted and blocked his punch. "So we're doing this again, huh?" They both were dodging, blocking and throwing punches at a lightning fast rate, between Sheen's speed and Nick's teleportation. Jumping from one part of the park to the next, though being cautious as to avoid getting too close to anyone.
"Well I underestimated you," Cindy said, still in her fight with Betty, while they both were starting to wear out. "But there's just one thing…" She said as she grabbed her N-Men packet and took a dose to activate her powers. "I was just warming up." Betty then threw a swing with one of her blades and Cindy blocked and did a simple push of a hand to Betty's chest knocking her back near the edge of the park. Betty kept flying back until she briefly turned off the safety for her right blade and aimed it at the ground pushing in until stopping her fall. She then turned the safety back on and nearly collapsed on the ground. "You win Cindy," Betty yelled in her direction. Cindy was now hovering ten feet from her. "I give up."
"Heh, sorry I was so rough." Cindy gloated. "Maybe once you're stronger, you'd be a good match."
"I may not be as strong or as smart as you…" Betty started as she looked at the tree next to her. "But you're right about one thing."
"And that is?" Cindy wondered.
"Underestimating me!" Betty turned the safety off for her left blade and chopped the tree clean from the stump, causing it to fall in Cindy's direction. She managed to throw a punch to the tree which made the tree break into several pieces. Just when she thought she was in the clear, Betty attacked from behind and tackled Cindy to the ground. At first she tried to resist, but then noticed the blade next to her neck and she didn't know if the safety was on or off. "Do… you… wanna… call it a draw?"
Cindy now realizing how tired she is reluctantly said so. "Sure, you're more of a challenge than I gave you credit for." Betty then laid down next to her.
Meanwhile, Sheen and Nick were still fighting each other with Libby paying close attention on when to make a move. She was currently invisible, so they couldn't see her. Eventually, she got close to them, as they threw a hit, and just before they could separate, Libby used a forcefield while they weren't looking to cover both of them. Nick teleported, but Sheen was stuck. Nick then teleported back to throw a hit towards Libby, but Libby managed to throw the force field that Sheen was in from a distance and it hit Nick, knocking the both of them down. Nick then smirked. "Not bad. Looks like you're the only one left standing. You win today."
"HEEEEEYYYY!" A voice called out. The five of them looked to see it was none other than Mayor Quador looking not too happy as he walked towards them. "What are you doing to this beautiful landscape?!" The others look around and see a torn tree, various dirt in places where grass should be, Captain Betty sneaking away from the fountain, and a couple twonkies rolling about.
"We weren't hurting anyone," Sheen retorted. "No harm, no foul."
"We're sorry about the mess," Nick interjected. "I guess we got carried away."
"And now you five are banned from this park!" the mayor spoke. "We will call your parents and sort things out!"
"But the Fall Festival is this week. We had plans to go!" Cindy said. "Please, we'll do whatever it takes for you to let us in."
The mayor was about to speak, but then he pondered for a moment or two. "Very well," he reluctantly said. "You guys may continue to use this park. You are kids after all…"
"Alright!" Sheen said, raising his hand in the air.
"However," Sheen's enthusiasm left as soon as it came. "You five will undo this mess by Wednesday evening, if you want to go to the Fall Festival this coming weekend. I want this place to look exactly as you left it if not better. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes sir," The five of them said in unison in a monotone.
"Very good," Quador spoke. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a meeting to head to with Shimatzu, so ciao!" The five of them started to clean things up with their powers. All they knew was that it would be an exhausting few days before they would get to celebrate. However, not too far in the distance, on a skyscraper, there was Yoo-Yee with some binoculars staring right at the five of them.
"So the "chosen one" still resides here", He whispered to himself. "He was responsible for outcasting me from Shangri-Llama, and it seems as though he and his friends have gotten stronger since. Soon, it will be time to return him a favor and reclaim my rightful title." (See Crouching Jimmy, Hidden Sheen)
"Patience child," The deep voice in Yoo-Yee's transceiver said. "We need to plan this carefully. The last thing we need are slip-ups. You shall remain out of sight until things are set in motion. You will get your chance to upstage him after words. Is that understood?"
Yoo-Yee sighed as he spoke back into it. "Crystal clear." He then walked to the far end and jumped off the building as he flew off. "Once I get my chance, one they call Sheen, I will defeat you and your friends and take my rightful place as the 'chosen one'. Just you wait…"
To Be Continued...
