Chapter X: Good Girl, Bad Girl

Everything was going wonderfully in the Entertainment Room. Libby was watching a live HD broadcast of Gray Star on the screen, while dancing to the music and setting the mood for the pillow fight that had broken out behind her. The girls were happy, each holding a glass of purple soda and stuffing themselves with elaborated snacks that Carl and Sheen were constantly bringing them.

"You didn't prepare this, right?" Britney asked Carl suspiciously as she took a canapé.

"Girl," Sheen interjected, "do you really think we'd make such cutesy food like this? Cupcakes, little sandwiches, and heart shaped hot cakes? NEVER! That's girl food! We boys make Ultra Lord Muffins and Robo-Fiend Sandwiches straight from the official Ultra Lord recipe book."

"And what's the difference?" she asked, annoyed.

"THEY'RE FOR MEN!" Sheen shouted and the girl rolled her eyes and joined the others.

They were enjoying themselves when Beautiful Gorgeous opened the doors. Libby turned off the music, and everyone quieted down instantly. She entered, her heels clicking in the silence of the room, and Cindy walked beside her. Both stood in the middle of the group, and Cindy began to speak:

"Friends, I know this is going to sound very strange to you. I'm not asking you to understand it, just to listen: we have nothing to do here."

The girls began to protest. Expressions of shock and disappointment filled the room. Beautiful Gorgeous silenced the uproar with a shot at the ceiling.

"Oh, people... Do you want to hear Cindy out?" the villain said, and everyone quieted down again.

Cindy took a deep breath, as if trying to convince herself of what she was about to say. Then she continued: "I know I said a lot of things before we came here, but that has changed. Jimmy Neutron doesn't need us, so we can leave now."

The uproar started again, and Libby took the opportunity to approach Cindy: "What is all this? What happened? And Jimmy? Didn't you go see Jimmy?"

"I haven't seen him in person," Cindy replied coldly to her friend, "but it doesn't matter anymore. Beautiful Gorgeous showed me a video where Neutron claimed he could manage on his own and that he didn't need… that he didn't need us, so this adventure ends now."

"Cindy! Wait! How do you know it's real?" Libby protested.

"He said it in his own words, Libby! The video was genuine, it wasn't edited or anything. She let it play, and I could see everything he thought of me. Apparently, he overheard what we said at the sleepover and started saying that I'd come to save him because I LIKED HIM, but that I was so stupid I probably couldn't pull it off, and that I… that I didn't matter to him at all."

"I can't believe it," said Libby, completely shocked. She noticed some tears running down Cindy's face, which Cindy quickly wiped away. She had rarely seen her cry and said, "Cin… was it really that bad?"

Cindy pulled her friend into a corner and started to cry.

"You have no idea," she said, wiping her tears away violently. She felt sadder and angrier; although she didn't really know what hurt more—Jimmy thinking she was incompetent or the fact that he already knew about her feelings for him and still didn't reciprocate them. Both were equally horrible for Cindy.

Forcing herself to stop crying, transforming all her sorrow into a desire for revenge, she said, "Libby… Beautiful Gorgeous invited me to be part of her plan… and I've already accepted. She's revealed it to me, and it's not so bad, really. She promised they won't hurt him, and that first thing in the morning, when it's all over, they'll send him back home. The important thing is that he'll finally get what he deserves."

"Cindy, what are you saying?" Libby asked her. "I understand that Neutron is an idiot, but that's no reason not to try to stop them from hurting him, and worse, for you to have decided to be part of this."

"I already told you they won't hurt him. And anyway, there's no turning back," said the blonde, pulling herself together, wiping her tears, and straightening her clothes.

"Cindy…"

Beautiful Gorgeous approached the pair of friends: "Well? How's everything going here? Ready to start the journey back? Except Cindy, of course…"

"Back?" Libby said. "No way! We're staying with Cindy," she declared, and then whispered to her friend, "Don't think for a second I'll leave you alone with this crazy woman."

The others gathered around them.

"Listen," Libby said in a commanding tone, "Cindy is going through a tough time. I don't want you to ask her anything; I'll clear up all your doubts. We're going to stay a while longer, and that's final. Now let me explain how everything's going to be, okay?"

"But aren't we going to rescue Jimmy?" one asked.

"Yes, that's what we came here for!" another said.

"Listen, I know this is hard to understand… but Jimmy Neutron has betrayed Cindy and, with her, all of us. We came here risking our lives, and he prefers to handle things on his own! And he said horrible things about her. Cindy has decided to stay, and we need to support her. Who's with me?" Libby finished, raising her hand. But none of the girls followed suit.

"I don't know, Libby… this all feels really weird," one said.

"Yeah, and honestly, I just want to go home," said another.

So, Libby, letting out a deep sigh, asked, "Then who wants to stay and keep playing in the Entertainment Room?"

"Me! Me!" the girls replied without hesitation. They all went back to what they were doing before Cindy arrived. Libby turned to her, saying, "We're with you."

"I already love these girls," said Beautiful Gorgeous in a cutesy tone, and then, returning to her usual bossy self, exclaimed, "All right, brats, stay here and don't break anything! I'm taking Cindy, who's too tired and needs to freshen up too."

"Freshen up?" Libby asked. "My best friend just had her heart broken! What she needs is a TOTAL MAKEOVER. And while we're at it, all of us."

Beautiful Gorgeous nodded with a smile and clapped her hands. At that moment, the walls of the Entertainment Room flipped to reveal enormous mirrors, and ninjas arrived with black fabrics in their hands. Carl and Sheen were dazzled and sat down to watch the spectacle unfolding before their eyes. Libby turned up the music, and soon, what had been the Entertainment Room turned into something like a fashion design workshop, where each ninja measured one of the girls and draped black fabrics with different patterns and textures over their pink camouflage outfits.

"This looks divine on you," one ninja said to Nissa while placing a wide-brimmed black hat on her head.

"What if we use this other fabric instead? How about a skirt, huh?" Britney asked the ninja who was trying to fashion a skirt out of black tulle.

All the girls were excited about the makeover, and Beautiful Gorgeous encouraged them even more with her words: "I'm glad you're enjoying this, girls. Look at you! You look amazing all in black, worthy of being part of Beautiful Gorgeous' team. You look strong and beautiful, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Especially not a man, especially not Jimmy Neutron," she said, glancing at Cindy, who, despite being part of the makeover, didn't look very enthusiastic.

Carl and Sheen were engrossed in watching the girls and all those fabrics moving around, almost dancing to Libby's music when Beautiful Gorgeous noticed them: "What are you staring at? Move, and bring the drinks, it's getting too hot in here!"

Carl and Sheen got up and, bumping into each other, clumsily went to the kitchen for the drinks.

"This eyeshadow really brings out your eyes," a ninja said to Amber as she took off her glasses and started applying makeup.

"And whose lipstick is this?" Libby asked, holding up a still-unopened red lipstick.

"Oh, that's mine, give it here," Beautiful Gorgeous replied, snatching it away. Then, turning to Cindy and using a tone that almost sounded sincere, she said:

"Cindy. This is the lipstick I've worn since I decided to become a villain… Well, not this specific one, of course, I mean the type and brand… anyway. Since I was little, my father raised me as a villain, but it wasn't until I was your age that I gave up my dreams of becoming a… Well, that doesn't matter now. When I reached your age, I decided that I wouldn't let anyone doubt me or my abilities and that I wouldn't let anyone humiliate or belittle me. I decided to stop thinking about others and start thinking only about myself. And that, dear Cindy, is what you're about to do now. So here, you've earned it."

Beautiful Gorgeous extended her hand to give Cindy the lipstick, and Cindy took it hesitantly. She looked at her friends, having fun like never before, remembered the plans she had for the sleepover, remembered that Jimmy was going to blow them up with a bomb, and then the image of his face on the screen came back to her, saying that she didn't matter to him. So, holding the lipstick in her hands, she said:

"I won't disappoint you".