Chapter VII: Who is Cindy Vortex?

It was past one in the morning. All the girls were sleeping in the back of the hoverboard, along with Goddard. Only a drowsy Libby remained awake, encouraging Cindy with songs to keep driving. Cindy was very tired, at times feeling like she couldn't go on, but Libby's singing motivated her, and some unknown force gave her the energy to continue.

"Cin, do you want me to drive?" asked Libby, rubbing her eyes with her fists.

"Thanks, but I'm fine, Libby. According to this, we're almost there," she said with a yawn.

"Cindy, you can put on the autopilot and nothing will happen, you know that, right?" asked Libby.

"No, Libs. I want to stay alert to everything happening around us. If their radar detects us, they could send missiles to shoot us down, and we need to be ready if that happens," said the blonde, yawning again. She then shook her head and returned to a focused attitude, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Wow, Cindy," said Libby, approaching her friend. "You really care about Jimmy, don't you?"

"What?!" exclaimed Cindy, who had been jolted awake by the question, blushing furiously and struggling to hide her smile. "Don't be ridiculous, Libby. I'm doing this so he can pay for the damage his constant heroics caused in my room tonight. Can you believe it? Neutron, kidnapped by a mobster? It's unbelievable…" She said, but by the end, she couldn't avoid feeling concerned thinking that right now, Jimmy might be hurt.

Meanwhile, in Beautiful Gprgeous's hideout, the ninjas had transferred Jimmy to a cell. They carried him between them, and since he was bound hand and foot, no matter how much he twisted, Jimmy couldn't escape their grasp.

"So Cindy Vortex is a girl from your class and the owner of the house we broke into… Oops!" said Beautiful Gorgeous, feigning concern as she walked beside the group. "And here I thought you were overly fond of the color pink, Neutron."

The ninjas laughed, and at the same time, they tossed him into the cell.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Jimmy. "Yes, it was not my bedroom, it was Cindy's, and knowing her, if she doesn't come to save me, she'll come seeking revenge for what you did to her."

"I don't think she will hate us for that. After all, that room was hideous," said the villain, and the ninjas nodded, murmuring. "Besides, if I have a problem with you, it's because you have an IQ of 210. How much trouble can a little girl give me? I don't even think she has the capability to make it here. But then, what were you doing there?"

"None of your business," replied Jimmy angrily, holding onto the bars and avoiding even looking at his captor.

"Oh, Jimmy. You can tell me, and maybe, after I've drained your brain, I'll be able to tell you again," said the villain with an evil smile.

"What are you going to do to me?!" asked Jimmy, worried.

"Just what you heard, Neutron" she said, raising her voice. "Since you're the guinea pig for this experiment (and since my father will surely take years to try to explain it to you due to his inability to finish sentences), I'll tell you. In a few moments, my father will emerge from prison through a series of tunnels he's been digging all this time. When he arrives, we'll connect your head and his to a new invention of his that will transfer all your knowledge to the old man's mind, which will finally solve his memory problem or whatever, and you, well, you'll be left worse off than a monkey in a barrel."

Beautiful Gorgeous finished her explanation with a maniacal and wicked laugh, making Jimmy feel even more disturbed.

"You can't do that!" Jimmy shouted.

"Oh, but I will!" she said. "But I'll tell you a secret… I have the power to delay or hasten your imminent end. So be good and cooperate, Neutron. Let's have some fun, and tell me, what were you doing at this girl's house?"

Jimmy was perturbed. His enormous brain was racing with thoughts, plans, ways to get out of there on his own… And so, completely distracted, he began to tell her his plan.

"I was going to… to… to play a prank. I was going to…"

"'To, to, to?' To what?" said the villain, mimicking him.

"To explode a stinky bomb at her sleepover," Jimmy finally said, absorbed in his thoughts.

Beautiful Gorgeous' eyes widened, and she said, "You were about to do something so cruel and still think she'll come to rescue you?" she asked with genuine disbelief, supported by the murmurs of the ninjas.

Jimmy, waking from his stupor at the word "rescue," realized the question and the great truth it held.

"Of course she will! I mean, well, I admit we don't get along, that she spends her time shouting at me and mocking me because we're theoretically enemies; but practically, in moments of danger, she has never hesitated to…"

The women interrupted Jimmy with an explosion of laughter, making him frown.

"Let me see if I understand," said Beautiful Gorgeous, wiping a tear from laughing. "You practically hate each other, and you hope she'll come and risk her life for you?"

Jimmy hesitated for a moment. It was true. But, well, in the end, they both were… were… what were they?

"Well, she's my… she's my…"

"Your girlfriend?" She asked mockingly, and all the ninjas laughed.

"NO!" Jimmy shouted. "She's not my… girlfriend…" he clarified, lowering his voice to a tone that seemed sad.

"Then what is she? Or why would she come to rescue you?" The villain continued her torturous questioning. Then, in a moment of epiphany, she weakly said, "Wait a minute, I see… You like her, don't you?"

Jimmy noticed Beautiful Gorgeous' twisted smile and realized that, to get back at him, she might hurt Cindy.

"No! Of course not! I do not like her!" Jimmy shouted.

"Really? You seem very agitated talking about her, for her to be just a mere classmate…"

"Agitated? Me? Not at all! She's the girl I care the least about on the face of the Earth. In fact, a meteorite could veer off its orbit and come millions of miles to crash directly into her house, and I wouldn't care in the slightest. If I think she might come to save me, it's because I KNOW THAT SHE LIKES ME. Although, on the other hand, you might be right, she could never find this place, because she's SO dumb that she even needs me to take her back home after school. So I guess I'll have to manage on my own."

Beautiful Gorgeous looked at him incredulously.

"Very well, Neutron. I suspected that guys like you can't feel anything for a girl," said the villain. "Alright, that's enough for now. We just have to wait for my father to arrive in the morning and finish with you. Let's get out of here," she said, and they began to leave; but one of the ninjas stopped her:

"Boss, we have news you might like. The raid went better than we expected, and we got something that might be useful to you. If you come with me to the Torture Chamber, I can show you."

"Excellent, excellent," said Beautiful Gorgeous. "By the way… I don't trust Neutron's words. Any updates on the surroundings?"

"Yes, Boss. Just a few minutes ago, our radars detected a vehicle heading here at high speed. We estimate it will enter our airspace in about half an hour. We await your orders to shoot it down."

"What?!" she shouted, and then quickly lowered her voice. "Didn't you just tell me that you took care of Neutron's friends?"

"Yes, Boss. And we made sure they didn't escape. That's why we don't know who might be coming in that craft."

"Hmmm… I think I have an idea of WHO it is…"