Chapter 1 - Back Where I Belong

Several years have passed since Jimmy and his family moved to Derryville. Jimmy's parents were well set there with Hugh even being promoted. Jimmy however felt out of place that entire time. Not to say he didn't give it a chance, it just hasn't worked out for him. He attempted to make friends, but hardly anyone stuck with him. He'd present his inventions like before at first, but they've only led to more problems, so Jimmy would mostly just keep his inventions to himself and over the years grew more quiet. His inventions became nothing more than fun ways to entertain his mind as well as solve minor problems. Instead of standing out like he would in Retroville, he blended into the background. His clothes had his insignia in a bit more subtle way and he heavily trimmed down the hairdo he had before. His head was a lot more proportional to the rest of his body. He personally didn't mind keeping to himself. He found it pretty relaxing, but sometimes he'd wish for more, at least something similar to what he had back home.

As for visiting his friends and vice versa, he'd see them about a few times a year at most. When seeing them, he'd feel that spark that he had when lived there. Jimmy tried to make it at least once a month at first, but as they grew older, everyone became a lot more busy.

This would change, however. When he was a senior in high school, he applied for Retroville University and got scholarships to go with it. Despite being a bit more lonely and to himself, he would still excel in classes to the point where he could go wherever he wanted. Harvard crossed his mind but he didn't really know what he wanted to do, so he's hoping in returning to Retroville, he'd find that. Unsurprisingly, he'd get approved right away to go. Excited to see his friends again and to potentially reignite that passion of his, he made plans to head out once he graduated high school. Once he did, he said his goodbyes to his parents, packed everything up in the hypercube and powered his Strato XL to head to Retroville.

Jimmy managed to get a studio apartment not too far from the University. He moved everything in pretty decently. He sold most of his inventions to last him for the next few months until he found a job of his own. All he really has is a bed, a compact version of VOX, a desk, a chair and a TV with a game console attached to it. Once he unpacked his essentials, he placed the rocket in the hypercube and set off to surprise his friends with the jetpack backpack he's kept all these years. Way better than dealing with traffic.

Some onlookers noticed him flying in the sky. "No way! Is that-" One questioned.

"Yep, it's him alright," another spoke.

Jimmy searched all over town to find Carl and Sheen, but it was taking longer than expected. He checked their homes, but they weren't there, nor at any of their usual hangout spots. He was stumped until he saw a sign that said, Estevez and Son. Jimmy landed and walked inside the related building. It was in dated condition but it served as their office and supply space.

"Okay, we'll put you in for 9 o'clock wednesday. That sound good?" a voice with a slight accent came from the next room over. Jimmy recognized it immediately. "Alright, see you then with a fixed unit or your money back!" He then heard the sound of the phone hanging up. Jimmy then decided to play a joke to surprise him. He knocked on the door to get his attention. "Excuse me, can you help me with something?"

"Sorry dude, we're not accepting walk-ins at this time," Sheen rolled his eyes as he opened the door. "You can either call us or book an appointment online at-" He then turned to the person he was talking to. "JIMMY!" He pulled him into a tight hug which was met with Jimmy grunting in pain. "Been awhile! What brings you to this neck of the woods?!" Sheen had a buzz cut, was pretty tall, grew a little bit of muscle and sported an Ultralord tattoo on his right arm.

"Good to see you too!" Jimmy happily said. "Let's get Carl first and then I can update both of you!"

"Okay sure!" Sheen gave a thumbs up. "I just gotta take care of these calls for the next few hours and then I'll be off. I'll let 'em know to meet up at Retro Rewind Mall around 6. Sound good?"

"Yeah, sure it does!" Jimmy nodded and turned to leave. "I'll see you then!"

In the time between seeing Sheen and when Jimmy would see him again, he decided to browse the various streets which brought him back memories of his childhood. He'd pass by his old house which was repainted and the former lab was now just an ordinary shed. Those were the days Jimmy smiled to himself. Afterwards, he passed his elementary school, as well as the Candy Bar. I wonder why he didn't suggest hanging out here like usual. Eventually, he made his way to the mall just as the sun was about to set. Sheen shot him a text earlier to meet at the food court. Jimmy couldn't really find them anywhere so he decided to wait at a table. Once it was 6:10, he sent a text wondering where he and Carl were.

"BOOP!" A voice suddenly shouted next to his ear which caught Jimmy off guard to the point where he nearly flew off his chair. After he flinched, he turned to see who it was. It was none other than Carl Wheezer. He was almost Jimmy's height (so pretty average), but he got rid of a little bit of weight. Both he and Sheen were laughing at Jimmy's reaction.

"Well how am I supposed to react?!" Jimmy responded in a flustered fashion which only made them laugh further. "Anyone would- ah whatever! It's good to see you again!" Jimmy and Carl hugged.

"It's been a little bit. Hasn't it?" Carl said as he let go. "Last time I saw you was in high school."

"Technically high school was only three months ago," Jimmy said as he scratched his head.

"You know what I mean!"

"I know," Jimmy smiled. "It's great to see you guys."

"What does that make me?" a female voice chimed in. "Chopped liver?"

Jimmy looked up to see who it was. It took him a second to recognize that it was Libby. "It's-uh, great to see you too… Libby!"

"You almost didn't recognize me?" Libby acted sad. "I'm crushed."

Jimmy fell for it. "Hey! In my defense, you looked different the last time I saw you!" He said feeling flustered once more while waving his hands. There was merit to what he said though. Libby braided her hair that went down on both sides and let's just say growing up treated her very well, even only being a tad shorter than Sheen. "I didn't think you were coming either."

"Hey, I said I'd let 'em know," Sheen chuckled. "Figured I'd bring Libbycakes here with us." This was met with Libby rolling her eyes.

"In any case," Jimmy said as he put his fist out for a bump. "It's good to see you again."

Libby pulled him into a side hug. "Come on, we've known each other for how long now?"

"Roughly-"

"Good to see you again too." Libby cut him off. "Been a hot minute." She then let go.

"So what's up?" Libby asked.

"Where are you staying?" Sheen asked.

"Is your mom here too?" Carl asked.

"Okay to answer one at a time," Jimmy began as the four of them began to line up at one of the restaurants. "I'm starting college here to figure out what I want to do. In Derryville, it wasn't the same for me, so I'm hoping to get some answers here. That and I miss you guys."

"We miss you too!" All three of them said followed by Libby saying, "It was a lot more fun with you around!"

"As for where I'm staying, I found a studio to stay at while I'm at college. It's about a few minutes away from here," Jimmy continued while shrugging. "It's not a lot of space, but it'll do for now."

"Aw yeah!" Sheen responded feeling excited. "WE CAN GO THERE EVERY WEEKEND, WATCHING SHOWS AND PLAY GAMES ALL NIGHT AND-"

"Uh, sorry, I didn't intend on having people over that soon." Jimmy said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Or that often. Besides, couldn't we just do that at your place if you really wanted to?"

"Eh, mi padre doesn't like it when I stay up all night that loudly." Sheen sighed.

"I mean neither will my landlord."

Libby chuckled. "He just wants a good reason to get out of the house."

"That's fair." Jimmy understood. "As for you Carl, my mom is-" Carl lit up. "Still in Derryville. It's just me."

Carl sighed. "Ah well, I guess I should be glad that you're here at all."

"Yeah." Jimmy said sheepishly. "So what's new with you guys?"

"Well, since I graduated high school, I'm gonna start Retroville County Community College where I'm hoping to get a degree in Zoology." Carl proudly claimed.

"That's great Carl!" Jimmy gave a thumbs up. "I do have to ask, did llamas inspire this at all?"

Am I that predictable?! Carl thought to himself before admittingly reluctantly. "No… yes."

"Hey, this is good for you." Jimmy smiled before turning to Sheen who had just finished ordering his food.

"You can pretty much guess from where you saw me earlier." Sheen said quickly which caught a side jab from Libby. "I… dropped out of high school, so without much of a goal for me, padre suggested I join his business. So unless I find something else, I'll run it with him and eventually inherit his AC repair brand."

"Sounds like you got something going for you at least," Jimmy attempted to find the silver lining. "If you ever choose to continue school, I can help you though."

"Thanks," Sheen said before motioning to Libby.

"I'll be going to Retroville University to get a Bachelor's Degree in Music. I want to become an analyst for all things music!" She proudly stated as she got her food. Once everyone got their order, they returned to the table to eat.

"Hey, I'll see you at the university then. That's where I'm going!" Jimmy said feeling relieved he wasn't going to college entirely alone.

"No way!" Libby high fived Jimmy. "Now I know this will be a fun semester to look forward to!"

After they all ate, Sheen suggested they check out this store that opened up since Jimmy left. It was called Roll 20 Games and Gadgets. "I think you'll really like this!" Sheen said proudly.

"What is it?" Jimmy was curious.

"It's a place to pick up any kind of tabletop game and play it!" he explained. "Me personally, I enjoy a good dose of Dungeons and Dragons!"

"Yeah, believe it or not, he's a DM here!" Carl said. "He leads the game and Libby and I would play his games. Sometimes other people come too."

Libby tried not to laugh thinking back to it. "He's a bit of a regular here so the staff are pretty familiar with him. One time he was so loud, they contemplated kicking him out for that reason but they liked him otherwise, so they had the idea of adding rooms to play so we'd usually have a private room to play in!"

"Hey!" Sheen exclaimed. "That night, I planned a detailed puzzle and y'all just stormed through - especially Carl!"

"What did you expect me to do?!" Carl retorted, this was met with Jimmy laughing.

"I've missed this." Jimmy smiled. The others did the same. "Maybe I'll join a game later on if I can."

"You better!" Sheen said as he patted Jimmy's back. After a little bit of browsing in this store and some others, they all proceeded to part ways for the night. Jimmy said his goodbyes to Carl and Sheen in the parking lot. Libby was about to start her car when Jimmy went up to ask.

"Hey Libby," Jimmy went to ask her. "How's Vortex doing?" I'm honestly surprised she didn't show up. She was hardly mentioned either. He thought further.

"She's doing pretty good." Libby stated and then teased a tad bit. "Are you sad she didn't make it?"

"That's not it!" Jimmy denied the claim. "Just curious is all."

"Well there's nothing to worry about." She explained. "Cin's just in a taekwondo tournament out in Dallas for the weekend." She then winked. "She'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah alright." Jimmy then proceeded to take off with his jetpack. "See ya!"

Before he knew it, college was about to begin. And so he was walking around campus. He didn't have to be there for another twenty minutes, but it was a bit of a walk. He looked around seeing people get to classes, people talk about various career options at the stands, a few clubs, etc. So this is where I'll find answers for my future. He thought to himself. If the other night and this morning are anything to go by, I'm kind of excited.

Unbeknownst to him, he caught the eye of a certain somebody. She ran up behind him shouting "Neutron!" Next thing he knew he turned around and saw a familiar lady about his height. She had blond hair down to her neck, a slight bit of muscle, freckles on her cheeks and vibrant emerald colored eyes. She sported jeans and a green t-shirt. She had an excited smile on her face. "Looks like Libby was right about you coming back after all!"

"Oh hey," Jimmy started. It took him a second to realize it was Cindy. "I guess with you mentioning Libby's name, that makes you Vortex, right?"

"I mean there are other giveaways, but with a response like that, you've gotta be Neutron!" They both had a brief hug.

"Good to see you again!" They said simultaneously.

"I take it a lot's happened so you gotta catch me up." Cindy initiated.

"That makes two of us." They'd tell each other what's new in their lives on the way to class.