Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Just to remind everyone, before I get started on the next fanfic in my Spider-Nick series, I'm going to go through the events of the Jimmy Neutron movie first one chapter at a time.
Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
Rather than take the bus, Peni decided to walk home. She wasn't alone though. Libby and Cindy had decided to walk with her. Right now, they were discussing the incident that had recently occurred with Jimmy's malfunctioning Shrink Ray.
"And did you see the look on Neutron's face when his gadget sparked like a Fourth of July firecracker?" Cindy asked laughing.
"Yeah. And you just rubbed salt on the wound with that short joke." Libby added.
"Yeah." Peni chuckled nervously. "But… you girls do know that I'm short too, right?"
The girls halted their laughter and looked at each other for a few seconds before Cindy answered, "Well, yeah, but you're our friend, and we respect you. Nerdtron, on the other hand, is always going over the top with his inventions and making US seem little. At our last science fair, you should have seen what he cooked up!"
"I don't have to. His project's gilded and on display at the school science lab." Peni said rolling her eyes.
"Exactly. It's hard finding a kid who's cool and smart like you, Peni." Libby said. "That's why I wanna give ya this."
Libby reached into her backpack and pulled out a purple CD player. She passed it to Peni who examined it excitedly.
"Whoa. A CD player? Cool."
"Not only that," Libby said happily. "I took the liberty of putting together a mix of songs that I know you'll dig." She handed Peni a CD labeled, "Peni's Popping Tunes."
"Thanks." Peni said putting her new gifts in her backpack.
"So Peni, when are you and your dad going to be finished with that special project you mentioned?" Cindy asked. "The 'SP/dr', I think it's called?"
"It's about 99 percent done." Peni explained. "The real problem is, it has a faulty user interface. Without a second user to aid, the mech isn't at its full capacity."
"I see." Cindy said. "Have you attempted to use an AI to interface?"
"My uncle suggested that, but no go. Dad says they're more trouble than they're worth."
"Understandable. But that still means that since the mech is only a one-person craft, unless the person is, say, as small of an ant or, say, Neutron, you can't make it work the way you want it to."
"Exactly."
Libby looked at them oddly. "Um, I'm not a tech head like you two, but I'm guessing what you're talking about isn't really good?"
"Basically, unless we can figure out a way to make it appear like TWO minds are controlling my dad's mech while one is piloting, using the SP/dr mech will drain and cause the person using it to black out, which would be dangerous if any of the major functions like flight were used. So, yeah, it isn't good." Peni explained.
"Eesh. That really could bring down the vibe. Or bring you down in a bad way." Libby winced. "How you gonna solve that problem?"
"Not sure. So far, we keep hitting dead end after dead end," Peni sighed. She stopped walking however when she noticed a flier on a nearby store window. She immediately peeled it off to stare at it with big, sparkling, anime eyes. "Whoa! Retroland! Opening night! Tonight?!"
"Really?" Libby asked looking at the flyer with Cindy. "I totally forgot that it was opening tonight! Coolest theme park in the state!"
"State of the art rides. Petting zoo. This park has it all!" Cindy said excitedly.
"Sounds like the best!" Peni said before slowly fading her smile into a frown. "Wait. Tonight? Dang it. It's no good."
"Well, I can't go anyway." Cindy said with a small sigh before getting into a martial arts pose. "I have tai chi practice tonight, and I'm hoping to mix it up in a way that will help me achieve perfect balance."
"How about you, Libby?" Peni asked.
"I agreed to help," Libby shrugged. "But I wouldn't worry, Peni. I mean, you don't have anything tonight, right?"
"Well, no," Peni answered, "But I can't go. It's a school night. My dad would never let me go to a theme park on a school night."
Just then, the three girls heard the sound of wheels rolling towards them. They turned and saw Nick stopping his skateboard right in front of them, halting on a dime to flip his board up.
"What's with geniuses not even thinking about sneaking out?" Nick asked removing his helmet.
Cindy and Libby giggled goofily when Nick's hair flowed in the breeze. Peni just rolled her eyes.
"What are you talking about, Nick?" Peni asked.
"Come on, Peni. Just wait until your folks are asleep, sneak out of your bedroom window, have fun in Retroland for a couple of hours, and go back to your home. They'll never know. I offered the same advice to Neutron and his friends a couple blocks back."
"Yā kyōdai!" Peni exclaimed in Japanese. "Nick, I am not going to go behind my dad's back just to ride on a couple of thrill rides!"
"But what he won't know won't hurt him, Pen," Nick reasoned.
"Pen?" Peni thought to herself.
"Plus, you're smart enough to do well enough in school even if you did go out on a school night, so what's the real harm?" Nick continued. "Like I told Neutron and the others; anybody who matters is gonna be there, myself included. And you only have one childhood. Better make the most of it before you lose it. And what better way than at an amusement park?" He set his board down. "Think about it. And, hey, if you do show up, I'll be happy to share a ride with you." He winked at Peni, who just groaned softly at that.
After that, Nick put his helmet back on and rode all the way down the street, pulling some slick tricks. Cindy and Libby swooned and watched with drooling looks as he left.
"You two better stand up straight before you become hunchbacks." Peni snarked shaking her two friends awake.
"Did… that just happen?" Cindy asked in shock before turning to Peni and shaking her. "Nick Dean actually offered to ride a ride at Retroland with you?! I have never heard him say something like that to a girl before! And you're seriously not going to sneak out to do it?!"
"I'm smart enough not to listen to any plan set by Helmet Hair," Peni said, pushing Cindy off and crossing her arms.
"Girl, I don't get what your problem with Nick i.," Libby said, before getting a dreamy look and fanning herself. "That boy is as hot as a summer's day and as cool as the lemonade you drink during it." She then smirked at Peni. "Plus, you heard him. He actually complimented your smarts and called you 'Pen'! You can't say that didn't do something to you!"
"Look, Nick may act all cool and everything, but if you ask me, he's just a guy who thinks he can flatter and smolder his way out of being held back a grade. Not really someone I would go gaga over." Peni scoffed. Then she sighed. "Look, if I am going to Retroland tonight, it's either my way or no way. I mean, it's not like it's the end of the world."
Jimmy's satellite floated gracefully through the dark, quiet reaches of space. It continued its aimless journey until it was frozen by a green light that enveloped it. It was then pulled upward to the source of the light, a chicken-shaped spaceship leading a fleet of other ships that looked similar.
The ship was manned by several alien creatures with unusual forms. They were mainly green puddles of slime with eyeballs, but they floated in glass and metal, oval containers with robotic arms. The center of the command bridge was a fancy chair with another egg-like alien, but unlike the others, the metal on his shell was pure gold and he had a similar crown resting on top of his dome. In his hand, he held a small, pink, furry alien which cooed as he stroked it.
"Yes. The kingy loves his little Orthgot. Yes, he does. Yes, he does. Yes, he does,~" the being spoke to it cutely… before throwing it into the part of his shell resembling a mouth as it squeaked in terror. Once the creature was eaten, he patted the bottom part of his shell like it was his stomach while smiling with satisfaction and sadism. "Yes, he does."
"King Goobot, my lord." one of the guards said as he suddenly approached the king. He placed Jimmy's satellite down in front of him. "My king, it appears to be some type of alien transmission device."
King Goobot stared at the satellite before glaring up angrily at his guard. "Tell me, when did it become acceptable to approach my royal throne UNANNOUNCED?!"
"Oh, yes, of course." the guard stammered fearfully. "My king, I assure you…"
"SPACE HIM!"
With a push of a button, a suction tube reached out to the guard and sucked him out of the room. The next time anyone saw him, he was shot out into the darkness of outer space.
Right after that, another alien (one wearing fancy purple clothes) flew into the room at top speed, screaming "WAAAAAAIIIIT!" He seemed to be in such a hurry, so he couldn't control himself until tripped over the top of the throne and splatted into the front window.
"Oh, I missed it." he said before turning to King Goobot. "Can I space another?"
"No." Goobot answered already annoyed.
"Oh, please, brother!"
"I said no, Ooblar."
"Oh, please. Oh, please. Oh, please. Oh, please. Oh, please."
"I would love for that to stop." Goobot growled.
Ooblar did stop when he noticed the satellite. "Oh! What have we here?" He then cleared his throat. "As the king's royal assistant, I am the official checker of the new things to be checked."
Goobot merely sighed and looked like he wanted to space himself rather than hear his brother prattle on.
Ooblar flipped one of the switches on the toaster part of the satellite, and a slice of toast popped out. He was startled and floated back.
"It's all right! It's all right. I'll handle this." Ooblar said before speaking directly to the toast loudly and clearly. "Hello! What galaxy are you from?"
"Ooblar." Goobot groaned.
"Where is your leader?"
"Ooblar, stop it! It's toast."
"Oh." Ooblar said picking up the slice. "Hello, toast! I greatly admire your ship!"
"Oh, for Poultra's sake…" Goobot groaned some more as he slid his robotic hands down his face in exasperation. "It's just toast, you idiot! A slice of burned bread served to lower lifeforms for breakfast! It's nothing special!"
"But sire," Ooblar said, zooming up to him. "We don't know where this 'toast' came from. For all we know, it could be a trap set by one of our vicious rivals. Like the Brood, or the Kree, or…" He gasped. "Heaven forbid, the Skrulls! Why, just talking to this could get me killed!"
"Oh… Well, in that case, keep talking to it." Goobot said with a smirk. "Maybe they'll scramble you."
"That's why YOU'RE the king, sire." Ooblar said, blissfully unaware he'd just been insulted. "Rest assured, I'll unlock whatever trap may be in this strange device… AAHH!"
Ooblar smacked the satellite with his appendage and caused it to turn on. It opened up and a set of eggbeaters popped out and began spinning rapidly.
"I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT!" Ooblar screamed as he hid behind his brother's throne. "Already, it's brought out such hideous and deadly weapons! Only the accursed Skrulls could make something so vile!"
Suddenly, a robotic voice played from the device.
"Beginning transmission from Earth."
Just then, the front window screen began to display a video message of Jimmy Neutron from his bedroom. Goobot watched curious about what he was seeing.
Jimmy smiled and greeted in a friendly manner.
"Greetings from planet Earth. I'm Jimmy Neutron, and you're an alien lifeform."
"Oh, what a big head." Goobot commented.
"I welcome the opportunity for the mutual exchange of scientific knowledge and universal brotherhood." Goddard suddenly appeared on the screen sniffing at the camera. "This here is my dog, Goddard. And this that you're looking at is my room. That's where I sleep." He then pulled up a photo of his parents. "And this is my mom and dad, right here. Mom, Dad."
At that moment, Goobot's eyes widened. "FREEZE THAT IMAGE!"
His minions paused the video right where Jimmy showed off a photo of his parents, Hugh and Judy Neutron. Goobot floated up to the screen to get a closer look at the photo. He squinted his eyes making an eager and malicious note.
"They look… delicious. THE SEARCH IS OVER! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
With that, King Goobot redirected every last ship in his fleet to a set of coordinates left in Jimmy's message. They were on a direct route to Earth.
Peni paced around in her room thinking hard. She rehearsed her impending conversation in her head many times.
"Okay. Let's try that again… 'Hey, Dad. So… There's a theme park opening tonight. It's called Retroland. Supposedly, it's a big deal. I know it's a school night, but I was hoping that… maybe… you wouldn't mind it if I… I mean, I'm already really smart, so…'" Peni sighed. "I've been dragging this for too long."
Just then, there was a knock in her door. She opened it and saw her dad standing on the other side.
"Is everything okay, dear?" Renji asked. "I could hear you pacing around for twenty minutes. Either you're stumped on a homework problem—which I know is impossible—or you've got something else on your mind."
Peni sighed knowing she had to ask now or never. "You know me too well, Dad. Actually, can we talk?"
"Sure." Renji said stepping into his daughter's room. He then sat on the bed right next to her. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, there's a new theme park called Retroland. Grand opening is tonight, and…"
"Ah, I see," Renji said, pushing up his glasses. "Yeah, I actually read about that in the paper today. You want to go to Retroland tonight even though it's a school night, right? Well, Peni, as a father, I just can't give you permission to go. I'm sorry." And he seemed to be too.
"I figured." Peni sighed.
"That's not all bugging you though, is it? Renji asked.
Peni rubbed her arm and sighed. "It's just… I was talking with someone today and according to him, everybody who matters is going to be there and that I should make the most of my childhood while I still have it." She sighed again. "He… also said I was smart enough to not have to worry about being out on a school night and I can't help but wonder… What if he's kind of right? I mean, I am smart enough. Why should I focus on studying and all that if I already have the brainpower to handle anything thrown at me?"
"I get it, honey," Renji said gently. "You're a kid and you want to have fun while you can. Believe it or not, adults want to have fun too. I know I definitely would love to have more fun time in my life. The difference is, kids have more opportunities now to be better and we adults need to try our best to encourage that in you." He smiled. "You know, our talk earlier kinda reminded me of my days in college." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, old photograph which he showed his daughter. It showed a younger version of himself next to another man, a large African-American with a wiley smirk on his face.
"Who's that, Dad?" Peni asked.
"That's Kyle Brock, my old roommate in my old college, Pomona Tech."
Peni's eyes widened. "I didn't know you had a roommate."
"I… don't really talk about him much, I admit. Back in college, I guess you could say we were friends. Being a foreigner in a foreign land was always pretty rough, and especially so as a teenager. So to have a guy like Kyle around was good. We got along relatively well." He frowned. "...Except in the way we should use the brains we were given.
"See, I believed studying and honing my brain was the way to go, so I focused largely on my academics. Kyle? He believed a lot like your friend did. That being young, good looking and having a brain smart enough to figure out any problem meant that he could do whatever he wanted. He was always partying every chance he got, going out with a new girl every weekend. And all that time, he used his brain to keep passing tests and assignments. Eventually though, something happened that his brain wasn't able to solve because he misused it so much. Mistakes were made and…" He paused in silence for a moment before continuing. "Let's just say that I lost touch with him soon after. I can only wonder where he is now.
"My point is, being a genius can be hard. We have all this knowledge, and sometimes it can be troublesome. Sometimes, we find answers we don't want to find. Sometimes, it feels like it's just easier to take the more reckless path. But I know you, Peni. You're smart and strong enough to handle your beautiful brain better than I can handle mine." He ruffled her hair, which made her laugh. "With great power comes great responsibility. So… does that help?"
"A little." Peni answered moved by her father's words. "Still kinda bummed I can't go to Retroland tonight."
"I'll tell you what." Renji said. "Maybe we can all go to Retroland this weekend. Just you, me, Ben, and May. How does that sound?"
Peni smiled up at her dad. "Yeah. I'd like that. So… Since I can't go to Retroland tonight, can I at least work on the SP/dr unit in the shed?"
Renji rolled his eyes with a smile. "Okay. Just be sure to be in bed by 10."
"Amai! Thanks, Dad." Peni said racing out of her bedroom. Renji left a second after. He turned to his left and saw Ben and May standing beside him.
"I take it your talk went well?" Ben asked.
"Yeah. Your advice worked, Ben." Renji said.
"Was there a doubt?" his brother preened in a joking manner, making his wife and Renji shake their heads good naturedly.
"By the way, we should probably make plans to go to Retroland this weekend." Renji mentioned.
"I'll check our schedule," May said, "But I'm pretty sure we can go."
The sun began to set once Peni entered the shed. That's when she noticed a faint light from the other side of the room. She approached and saw a two-pronged device emitting electricity.
"Oh. Looks like Dad forgot to turn off the radio ionizer," Peni said, flipping a switch and shutting the electricity off. "Oh well. No harm, no foul. Time to get to work." She put in the CD, on the headphones, picked up a set of tools and started tinkering with the mech suit while singing the catchy electro tune that wafted through her ears to herself.
"Hold the door, you see a bad chic walkin'
I'm the type of girl that you don't come across often
Yeah, I'm seein' numbers 'cause you dealin' with a ten
And them other girls, they only wanna be my twin
Yeah, these sillies wanna be me, they snuffin' the sugar stevia
It ain't the same, believe me, they n-need a real sweetener
You know I bring the product, you talk about it, I got it
Got the vision in a pocket, got it good, paralyzing
They don't want it here
They don't want it here
They don't want it here
They don't want it here"
However, as all this happened, a certain unconscious spider finally woke up after being electrocuted by the ionizer. It woke up with its eyes swirling around. Once it stopped being dizzy, its many eyes widened as it found itself in a room it suddenly recognized.
It looked around suddenly curious and more aware of its surroundings. That's then it finally noticed the thoughts that were going on in its mind and realized something.
The spider had gotten smarter.
The spider then locked his multiple eyes on Peni (who was still bobbing her head in time and singing the song) and scuttled around to get a better look at this creature. He had seen humans before, but never like this. They were… fascinating.
Soon, darkness fell and stars filled the night sky. Renji looked outside his bedroom window and saw lights still flickering from the inside of the shed. He knew that Peni was still hard at work modifying the mech suit. He looked up at the clock, which read 9:00 p.m.
"I'll give her one more hour." Renji said to himself smiling proudly at his daughter.
Renji's attention was then drifted off thanks to a faint sound he heard. It sounded like the sound of bowls and dishes moving a tiny bit. He heard the sound again, and he followed it to the kitchen door. Cautiously, he stepped forward and opened it up. Once he got inside, he spotted a mysterious figure waiting for him in front of the fridge. The sight of the figure made Renji's eyes widen with shock and confusion.
"Who… or what are you?" Renji asked nervously. Those were his last words before getting abducted.
Peni Parker was in the zone while she was at work. She had a bag of chips next to her to snack on while she was tinkering with the SP/dr suit. In her ears, a new song was blaring through the headphones.
"It's the kids, baby
It's the kids, baby
It's the kids, come on
It's the kids, baby
Leave it up, leave it up to me
Leave it to the kids"
Unfortunately, she was so distracted by what she was doing and the music playing that she couldn't feel the ground shaking, or even notice the green lights coming from outside.
But the spider sure noticed. For a while, he had been watching Peni and been very impressed with her skills and genius. Not to mention seeing and watching her sing under her breath (with small dances here and there) was entertaining. However, upon seeing the green flashes, he curiously crawled up the wall and made it up to the windowsill. He looked out into the sky and looked terrified as he saw chicken-shaped spaceships hovering over the neighborhood! Their beaks opened up and blasted green beams at each of the houses. The spider squinted his many eyes and saw that the lights were pulling adults up to the ships. The spider was absolutely horrified at what he was seeing!
Once he saw that the green lights were pulling Uncle Ben and Aunt May up from their home, the spider finally decided to do something about it! He jumped from the window and headed over to Peni. He pulled on her shirt sleeve to try and get her attention, but she was still focused entirely on her work (plus, he wasn't that strong to begin with). He then tried to call out to her, only to let out squeaks. He then halted and slapped his head upon remembering not only did Peni have headphones on, but he couldn't talk like a human anyway.
With no other choice, the spider knew one way to break Peni's focus. He crawled up to Peni's hand with the girl still not noticing. He then sank his fangs down onto her hand biting her hard.
"OW!" Peni screamed, her concentration finally broken. Once she noticed the spider, she swung her hand around sending it flying across the table. It landed on its head falling unconscious immediately after.
After throwing the spider off her hand, Peni looked at the bite mark in her hand and saw it glowing faintly.
"Yikes! What kind of spider bite is…"
Finally, Peni noticed the green lights shining in from outside. She raced to the window and saw the chicken ships in the sky. She stared in disbelief as they flew overhead.
"Ittai nani…" Peni said. "I… I gotta call somebody!"
Peni looked and saw the landline attached to the wall. She took her first step forward when she suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of dizziness. She couldn't stand up straight and limped forward slowly. Her arms and legs started to feel heavy.
She didn't make it far before she suddenly collapsed and fell on the floor. She tried to get back up, but her body wouldn't move a muscle. She groaned softly as she finally closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
As Peni slept, the alien chicken ships abducted the last human adult in Retroville and pointed their ships upward. They ascended into the sky back out into space without any problem at all.
Retroville was now adult-free.