Please forgive me if this is a terrible opening. It's really, really hot tonight.

This is recycling an idea from my Halloween oneshots, but it's going to play out differently, so if you read the 'shot the question, don't worry - you haven't been spoilt.

A Day In The Lab

By E350

Chapter One

Run.

Don't stop – not even for a second. They're after you. If they catch you, they'll bring you to him – the Man in the White Suit.

They might not be competent – what can you expect from hired goons? – but they're persistent, and you're wounded. Badly.

Duck into an alleyway. Jump onto a fire-escape. Climb as high as you can, and climb into an empty office. The lights are out, and the shadows are dark, but it doesn't matter – you can still see. And they can't see you.

Hunker down – wait for the 'police' to pass. Maybe tonight, you might sleep.

Tomorrow, you will find him.

To put it mildly, it was raining.

Rain bucketed down across the city of Retroville, the sound of thunder crackling overhead. No one dared to venture outside – they stayed inside, huddled wherever they could keep warm.

Unfortunately, this was the day Jimmy had promised to take the Nicktoons to Retroland.

Jimmy, Danny, Spongebob and Timmy sat in the main room of Jimmy's lab, watching the weather report. The weatherman was standing in front of a map of the state, looking grim.

"…weather stations have announced that massive storms are expected to continue for the rest of the week," he announced, "If this is the case, any plans you may have had for the foreseeable future to visit any amusement parks have been completely wrecked."

He immediately brightened up.

"And now back to Brad, with the latest on that devastating-"

Jimmy turned off the TV.

"Well, that sucks," groaned Danny, "What do we do now?"

"We could play a board game!" suggested Spongebob.

"Board games are boring," scoffed Timmy, "It's the twenty-first century! We have video games now!"

"We could just watch TV," shrugged Danny.

"It's eleven," reminded Timmy, "All that's on now are soaps and talk shows."

"Guys," Spongebob interrupted, "Jimmy's smiling."

Jimmy was glancing at a machine under a sheet in the corner, a wide grin on his face. It looked like he'd just had an idea.

"Guys," he said, "You see that over there?"

"Uh…yeah," Danny nodded, warily, "What is it."

Jimmy's grin widened even further. Timmy gulped.

"It's my latest invention…"

Jimmy had set up his invention on a table in the lab. It looked like a water cooler, complete with six foam cups.

The four Nicktoons were no longer alone. Jimmy had brought Carl down into the lab, and Tucker and Sandy had turned up not long after. Cosmo, Wanda and Poof floated above them.

"…are you sure we can't still go to Retroland?" asked Tucker, "I mean, I don't mind getting wet."

Jimmy ignored him.

"I've invented a little game," he said, "There are six of you, six cups and six serum mixtures inside the machine. I call it the Neutronic Tonic Holder."

"Okay," nodded Spongebob, "What do we do?"

"One of the mixtures is just purple flurp," explained Jimmy, "The others are serums I mixed a few nights ago and never tested. Whoever gets the flurp wins."

"…so you're using us as test subjects and disguising it as a game," deadpanned Timmy.

"You're absolutely right, Turner!" nodded Jimmy, brightly.

He turned to Cosmo and Wanda.

"Now, you guys…you know what I told you, right?"

Wanda nodded.

"What did you tell us?" asked Cosmo.

Wanda grabbed his arm and they poofed away.

"What was that?" asked Danny.

"It's a secret thing," replied Timmy, quickly.

Danny nodded, but looked unconvinced.

"So," said Sandy, "Who's up first?"

"That, my friend, is up to VOX to decide," replied Jimmy, pointing to the giant screen.

VOX was flipping through words on the screen – the names of the group. Eventually, it settled on one…

Yay! Tucker's in this! :P