Author's Note: Thanks to all for reading this story. I expect this will be my last fanfic, at least for some time. If you'd like to take a look at some excerpts from Jimmy Neutron scripts I co-wrote and submitted to Nickelodeon with fellow fan fiction authors Farley Drexel & linklover77, check out the link on my profile page. We worked in conjunction with Jimmy Neutron directors Mike Gasaway and Keith Alcorn to help create a fourth season of Jimmy Neutron. Though Nickelodeon passed on our proposal, we hold a slim hope that they might one day change their minds. Regardless of their decision, this was a great time in our lives and a project we all loved working on. We hope reading these script excerpts brings at least a few moments of joy to fellow fans of Jimmy Neutron.

As Cindy Vortex sat on the research room's grey concrete floor with her back against its green sofa, she stared at the boy across from her. James was similarly seated on the ground, leaning against a row of computer banks. In his grasp was a red ball, which of course was emblazoned with a gold atom. On his face was a peaceful smile; Cynthia could feel the same reflected on her own features.

As James squeezed the ball and scrunched his eyes in thought, Cindy picked up the half-empty mug of hot cocoa beside her. She let her mind drift back to two nights before, when she and James had sat on the grass high above. That night, she had felt nothing but peace between the two of them. Now, seated together in his lab and waiting for the computer to finish its simulations, that feeling had returned and multiplied into something even better. Joy, Cindy happily thought as the savory liquid crossed her lips.

In a few hours she would be back in her body. Perhaps she would be able to fix things with her mother. And, even though it was just silently, she could admit that she and Neutron were friends.

"I don't know," Jimmy admitted at last.

Cindy raised an eyebrow and set down her mug. "You really have no idea what you want to be when you grow up?"

Jimmy simply shook his head. "I want to build things," Jimmy began to explain while tossing the ball Cindy's way. "Going up to Yolkus, even though we nearly died…"

Jimmy's voice trailed off, and Cindy hoped that things could stay light between them for just one morning. I feel like I've aged ten years in two days, that tired thought flashed through her mind as she remembered the last two nights she and James had shared. Thankfully, Jimmy's voice perked back up.

"That was one of the most exhilarating things I've ever experienced," Jimmy summed up. "So I've given some thought to becoming a rocket scientist of sorts. But I want to go up there too. So add being an astronaut to the list. But what about chemistry and time travel and shrink rays? There's so much out there to discover," Jimmy eagerly explained. "I want to learn it all."

Cindy tried to think of a way to assure James that he could do it all, but he didn't give her the chance. "What about you, Vortex?" he asked. "Do you want to be a t'ai chi master? World class pianist? Or," James' eyes darted to the electrical manipulator plugged into the Encephalosynthesizer, "perhaps an engineer?"

Cindy deeply considered the question for a long moment. "I have no idea," she easily admitted. James smiled and sipped his own cocoa as she tossed the ball up and down. "But something tells me we have plenty of time to figure it out."

"No argument there," Jimmy agreed.

Cindy set the ball down and grabbed her own drink. Both kids sipped in tandem and caught each other's eyes before dropping their gazes. "You know what I keep thinking about?" Cindy asked after a moment.

"What?"

"Last night on the lake." Cindy noticed James tense up and shook her head. "I just meant, well, have you heard the rumors around town about that place?"

Disgust replaced James' embarrassment. "You mean about the supposed monster?"

Cindy nodded. "Uh-huh. I was thinking maybe we were lucky to survive our trip."

Jimmy shook his head. "Don't tell me you actually believe in that thing."

Cindy set her mug down and crossed her arms. "I try to keep an open mind. Are you that skeptical?"

"About things that are ridiculous," Jimmy snapped back. Cindy narrowed her eyes as James went on, "How could a giant reptilian monster possibly exist in a man-made freshwater ecosystem?"

Cindy cracked her neck and flipped one palm. "How could our parents have been abducted by a bunch of egg-like aliens and nearly be sacrificed to a three-eyed chicken god?"

The absurdity of that statement hung in the air as James awkwardly hmmed and hawed. "Well," he admitted after a moment, "I suppose I should concede to Clarke's first law."

"Clarke's what?" a confused Cindy asked.

"Clark's first law," Jimmy repeated. "By Arthur C. Clarke. He once said that 'When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.'"

Cindy grabbed the ball once more and tossed it to James. "I'd counter that you're missing one of those qualifications."

Jimmy considered her remark for just a moment before smiling. "A week ago, you'd have said I was missing both." Cindy felt her cheeks begin to warm and shook her head in a vain attempt to abolish the sensation. "At any rate, maybe we should head back to the lake once this switching bodies mess is over and see who's right."

Cindy met James' gaze and was shocked to find terror swirling in his green pupils. So there it goes, Cindy thought in disbelief. The last bricks of that wall smashed. For the first time, James had invited her to spend time together without the threat of death or the task of getting their bodies back motivating him. She began to ponder what her answer should be, but she couldn't stop herself from saying, "Maybe we should."

Both children smiled as a loud beep echoed throughout the lab. James and Cindy stared at the Encephalosynthesizer and its power modulator; both abruptly ceased humming and vibrating. From all around, VOX's cheery voice cried out, "Simulations complete."

Jimmy and Cindy shared one more glance before jumping to their feet. James reached the controls first and pulled up the list of raw data. Cindy quickly realized that the results were arranged in likelihood of success. Everything inside her crumbled and broke as she stared back at the first line.

Electromotive Force - 137.43 million volts; Electrical Current - 17,341.21 amperes; Likelihood of Successful Mind Transfer - 83.04%

"One in six," James mumbled. Cindy spun around and placed a trembling hand against her lips; she began to chew on one of her nails and forced her heart to stay calm as his voice droned on behind her. "One in six chance of failure."

"Define failure," Cindy quietly ordered.

A moment passed, then James answered. "I can't be certain; the simulations only checked if damage was present. They didn't quantify it. I'd assumed we would find a setting with complete success. But any brain damage would be…catastrophic."

Cindy nodded but kept chewing on her nail. One in six chance we die. Or at least lose who we are. It was taking everything Cindy had to form coherent thoughts. Is it worth it?

Jimmy gave Cindy no time to contemplate that query. "We can't use this." Cindy spun around and saw James staring hard at her. "I won't be responsible for you getting hurt. Or…"

His despondent tone hung in the air as Cindy felt her heart beat faster. Was this it, then? She would forever be stuck in Neutron's body? Never sleep in her own bed, never use her own name, never be whole? Her thoughts muddled, the blood in her veins chilled, and her chest splintered into pieces. Panic clouded all her senses until she abruptly thought, No.

You will not panic, Cindy told herself. You will not bow out, not now. You will fix this. She swallowed hard and felt her fingers tremble as she wondered how. Cindy spun around, saw James become lost in his own worries, and angrily shook her head. Think it through, she struggled to tell herself.

She shifted her gaze to Jimmy's mind reader, then the device she had created, and at last the monitor filled with lines of data. Encephalosynthesizer, electrical manipulator, model minds, they don't work together, her thoughts jumbled as she struggled to keep the fear at bay. You're stuck like this, Cindy swallowed hard and dug her nails hard into her palms, unless you find a way out. Those pieces don't work. The model minds broke. You'll be broken too. You used to be and you fixed it. Fix all this.

Cindy's gaze settled on the computer screen. Switch our minds back, find a way to transfer them. Transfer…exchange…download? Cindy stepped past James and felt her jaw drop as she stared up at the monitor. Model minds, made on a computer. Programmed by Jimmy. Transferred with the Encephalosynthesizer and electricity. Transferred randomly…why randomly?

"Neutron," she mumbled, "we made it too complicated."

"Huh?" James asked while slowly stepping beside her.

Cindy hesitated a long moment before shaking her head in disbelief. "We've been trying to get our minds back by bombarding the Encephalosynthesizer with electricity. We did that because it's what switched us in the first place. But that doesn't have to be the way we get back."

Cindy flicked her tongue over her lips and stared at James. "You've already proven you can create artificial minds on a computer. That means you can store and transfer them. So why not just treat our minds like data and download them into a computer?"

Cindy felt a surge of hope and pride as Jimmy's eyes lit up. "Then all we'd have to do," James went on, "is upload them back into our original bodies."

"Could you do that?" Cindy desperately asked.

Jimmy stared at his mind reader for a long moment before nodding. "The Encephalosynthesizer already reads and analyzes our mind's alpha brain waves. If I can expand its programming to read our subconscious as well, read all of our minds," Jimmy swallowed and began to smile, "plus have it transfer that data into my computer, it should work."

Cindy grinned back as Jimmy turned back to her. "I never thought I'd say this, Vortex, but you're a genius."

Four hours raced by as Jimmy and Cindy made the necessary changes to the Encephalosynthesizer. By the time they were done, the invention could read all aspects of the children's brains, not just their active thoughts. Instead of giving voice to what it analyzed, it was altered to download the data into Jimmy's computer. As the final screw was twisted into place, Jimmy stared valiantly at Cindy.

Part of him was ashamed for having wasted four days on a fruitless quest. Another portion of him felt utterly belittled at having Vortex be the one to figure a way out of their predicament. A much larger piece felt relief at the realization he would soon be back in his body. And lastly, one last segment of his mind was filled with utter pride at what he and Cindy had accomplished together.

"It's done," he succinctly offered while setting the screwdriver down. "But we'll need help using it."

Cindy glanced at Goddard, who was happily standing beside them on the workbench and panting. "Goddard can activate it and monitor the process, can't he?"

Jimmy considered this for a brief moment before shaking his head. "His lack of thumbs may prove a hindrance in an emergency. We'll want an actual person here to follow his instructions if anything goes wrong."

Cindy nodded and strolled over to the monitor with Jimmy in tow. "I'll call Libby, then."

"And I'll get Carl and Sheen," Jimmy added.

Cindy froze as she pulled up the phone function of Jimmy's computer. "No," Cindy simply said.

Jimmy stopped dialing and stared across the table in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Cindy took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "Look, I'm sorry I called them morons," she managed to say with a modicum of sincerity. "And," she thought back to the night before above the lake, "I know they're important to you. But I don't want them anywhere near anything that messes with my brain."

"They're my best friends," Jimmy shot back. "And they always help with my inventions."

"Carl thinks radar is called Mr. Bleep Bleep," Cindy tiredly explained. "And Sheen is…do I really need to explain?"

"But -" Jimmy tried to interject, but Cindy simply shook her head.

"I don't trust them with my brain." Cindy stared desperately at James and whispered, "Please."

Jimmy stared back at Cindy for a long moment before finally nodding. "Fine."

Cindy's features softened as she flashed Jimmy an appreciative smile. "Thank you." She typed Jimmy's number into the computer and waited until her friend picked up. "Libs? Our original plan didn't work, but Neutron and I figured how to get our minds back!"

"How?" Libby's eager voice chirped back.

Cindy grinned wider and quickly said, "We converted the Encephalosynthesizer from a mind-reader to a mind-transferrance device after ensuring it analyzes more than just our alpha brain waves!"

A long silence filled the line, followed by a quiet, "What?"

Cindy shook her head and James rolled his eyes as he leaned towards the computer. "Libby," James chimed in, "we're just about ready to commence the transfer. Can you get here right away?"

A pause long enough to warrant a nervous glance from Cindy took hold of the line. At last Libby answered, "Put Cindy back on, please."

Jimmy shot Cindy a quick glance, she appeared just as confused as he. "We're on speaker, so -"

"Cindy told me she made the electrical thingy. So I want to talk to her."

"Not to diminish Vortex's contributions to this project, but I -"

"Neutron," Libby seethed, "put Cindy back on."

"Libs," Cindy chimed in, "what's the problem?"

"My problem," Libby shot back, "is that I'm not talking to the doofus that is the cause of all this."

"I can still hear you!" Jimmy snapped.

"I know, we're on speaker!" Libby mocked in a crude imitation of Jimmy's voice.

Jimmy opened his mouth to snap back a cruel retort when Cindy thrust her palm at him. He clenched both hands into fists but let her speak. "Libs, let me just come and get you in the hover car. Neutron," she turned to face him, "can you get everything set up for us?"

Jimmy took in a deep and calming breath before nodding. Cindy offered a thankful half-grin back.

"Fine," Libby's voice replied. "I'll be ready."

The line went dead, and Cindy pushed herself away from the computer. "Sorry about that," Cindy apologized. "I don't know what got into her."

I do, Jimmy thought. He stared into Vortex's eyes and couldn't help but be amused by the eerie calm inside them. You'd have acted that way too a week ago.

Cindy's face suddenly fell as she stared at the door to the catwalk. "The hover car." She rubbed the back of her neck and faced Jimmy once more. "Would you mind if…" she offered a nervous half-smile and let her sentence hang unfinished.

Jimmy pulled the keys out of his pocket and stared at them for a short moment. "Just don't crash it." He offered them to Cindy but pulled back as she reached for them. "Seriously."

"I won't," Cindy promised. "Seriously." James offered the keys once more, and she said, "We'll be back soon," while grabbing them.

Jimmy nodded and watched her leave the research room. "Goddard," he called out and watched his loyal companion hobble towards him, "let's get things ready."

Boy and dog grabbed the Encephalosynthesizer off of the workbench and hooked it up to the computer. They then headed through the door to the catwalk and descended to the main area of the lab below. Jimmy grabbed his hypercube and sucked two chairs that resembled torture tables into it. Next he grabbed two steel helmets, each outfitted with seemingly randomly placed bulbs and buttons.

Once back in the Research Room, James and Goddard placed the two chairs in the middle of the room and connected the helmets to the Encephalosynthesizer. Jimmy's eyes shot first to the door, then the lab's main monitor. He quickly accessed the lab's security cameras, focused on the one aimed at the shed's entrance, and realized that the girls were not yet back.

"Ah-roo?" Goddard asked as Jimmy sat down at the computer.

"Nothing, boy," Jimmy assured his oldest friend. "Just…thinking is all."

That was perhaps the biggest understatement Jimmy had ever uttered. A million thoughts and questions were bounding and rebounding off of James' skull and threatened to drive him mad. Will this actually work? Am I going to be back in my body soon? What will it be like to hug Mom and Dad? To sleep in my own bed? Why did it sting so badly to hear Libby so mad? Why in the world did I trust Vortex with my hover car?

But the thought that haunted him most of all, that cried out above all the others, was, Are we actually going back to that lake?

James leaned back in his chair and nervously rubbed his hands together. As he thought back to the night before, to the time spent above Retroville Lake, pain and peace filled his being. Those opposite emotions did not clash inside him, instead they simply combined to form a bitter yet beautiful memory of him baring his soul above the churning waters below.

Such a memory gave birth to another, a similar moment that James had once thought would forever change things between him and Cindy. He shot one more glance over his shoulder, noted the door was still closed and that no footsteps could be heard on the catwalk beyond. James stared back at the monitor, realized how deeply he wanted to keep the progress made between him and Cindy, and sorrowfully shook his head.

As Jimmy attempted to access a hidden cache of documents on his computer, he thought, It always comes back to that cell. Jimmy moved his fingers from the mouse to the keyboard as a simple request flashed onscreen.

Enter primary password:

Jimmy quickly typed nosce_te_ipsum. He gingerly hit the enter key and waited until a second string of words flashed onscreen.

Primary password accepted. Input Secondary Password:

James hesitated one final moment before typing in veritas_vox_liberabit. A word document filled the screen, and James rubbed his hands together while leaning back in his chair. With a weary sigh, he silently read each line.

10/10/02

Typing the date above and staring at this nearly empty folder brings with it a palpable sorrow. I suppose that this journal is my greatest failure; I have only written three other entries in the nearly two years since my move to Retroville. Part of me deplores my inability to commit to this endeavor; the other part (that which Vortex might call my enormous ego) concedes that this at least ensures each article is meaningful.

How funny it is that Vortex should worm her way into this entry so quickly. I suppose I should start at the beginning, or at least the pertinent beginning. I am writing this record two days after returning to Earth from my first adventure into space. But the point of this piece is not to recap that adventure; I have already done so in great length (see video recording TT-0268-397). No, today's focus is solely on Cynthia Vortex.

I always considered Vortex to be little more than a thorn in my side. As I've expressed in my previous journal entries, there were fleeting moments where I thought of her as more than a rival or enemy. But those thoughts were few and far between; unconscious and unwelcome intrusions that never made a dent in my consistent view of Vortex as a blonde harpy. Due to the recent events on Yolkus, I was forced to give those thoughts deeper consideration.

I have conceded that things have irrevocably changed between us.

As briefly alluded to during my video summation of our journey, there was a time where all seemed lost. Our parents were due for slaughter, Goddard was to be disassembled, and all of us children were imprisoned. Save for me and Vortex, everyone was caught up in their petty squabbles (half of which seemed to involve debating the extent of my blame for our situation). Alone and in a separate cell, I admit it was my darkest moment. I was forced to come face to face with the truth that not only might I die, that not only might all my friends and family die, but that it was my fault.

I tried to stay quiet, but I don't doubt that my classmates heard my sobs. Yet it wasn't Carl or Sheen or even Nick who came to aid me. It was Vortex. When I first heard her voice through my barred window, I assumed she was coming to torment me. Yet all she did was try to comfort me, to let me know that I wasn't solely to blame for what had transpired. That not only did the rest of our friends need me…but that she did as well.

I'll never know quite how Vortex figured out exactly what I needed to hear. That question plagues me far less than wondering why she said those things. Part of me believes that she simply realized that I was of course necessary to remedy our situation and save our lives, that snapping me out of that trance was integral to saving her own skin. Even this admittedly cold evaluation bestows upon Cindy a depth of humility that I would normally refuse to grant her. After all, when had she ever admitted that I held any value before?

But truth be told, it is obvious there was more behind her words; that they were born not solely out of desperation and survival. When I saw her turn from me, place a hand to her heart, and quietly admit that she needed me…

I suppose a journal negates the need for denial. It was what I needed to hear, but looking back and contemplating how I felt in that moment…it was also what I wanted. To know that my greatest rival, the source of so much angst and fury, actually needed me…it's simply hard to put into words the feeling that gives. Peace, gratefulness, hope; these all fit. But the one word that I keep wanting to type, the one I try and fail to stop myself from thinking, is love.

I have just decided to instill a secondary password for this journal.

I no longer have any idea what to think or feel for Cindy Vortex. She can be cold and cruel, bitter and snippy. She has often made my life a living heck, but she is also the only person I can think of who gives me any challenge; who keeps me from feeling complacent. The only thing I know for certain is that when we return to school on Monday, things will be different. That thought is wholly alien and frightening, but not unwelcome. To not spend half my time thinking of ways to torture her, to perhaps have someone intelligent to bounce ideas off of, to have a friend who I know will have my back in the darkest hours…I cannot help but look to the future with pure, unadulterated hope.

I feel things are about to change for the better.

James cursed himself as he blinked away his tears. Goddard let out a worried cry, and Jimmy whispered, "I'm fine," while rubbing an arm over his eyes. I was certain that things would change before, Jimmy thought while exiting out of his journal and slowly rising from his chair. I was wrong.

Nothing had changed between him and Cindy after Yolkus. Within a few days of returning to Ms. Fowl's class they were arguing and fighting once more. Every ounce of hope, every dream of a brighter future had been dashed and extinguished.

Jimmy could admit that he did not want to lose what he and Cindy had gained over the past few days. But it seemed they had no choice. Though James was forever a skeptic, he could not deny that destiny seemed committed to keeping him and Cindy apart.

James prepared to nod in a final act of affirmation to this dreary future when he caught site of the Encephalosynthesizer. For a long moment his eyes stayed locked on this device, and he slowly remembered how sure he and Cindy had been that bombarding it with electricity would return them to their bodies.

We were wrong, Jimmy thought while picking the invention up. He cast a quick glance at the helmets the Encephalosynthesizer was attached to and cocked his head to the side. But we're still getting home.

James set the device down and quickly exited the research room. He leaned over the side of the catwalk and stared at the hundreds of inventions below. The time pincher had taken a dozen tries to perfect. His shrink ray had malfunctioned the first thirty times he'd tested it. The cheese ray had initially turned everything it was aimed at to yogurt. Yet he had given up on none of those inventions, and they now functioned perfectly.

James' lips briefly twitched upwards as he pushed himself away from the railing and crossed his arms. Was it really destiny keeping him and Cindy apart? Was fate that keen on destroying what could clearly be a powerful friendship? One he desperately needed…and wanted? Or were all their fights, all their failures, merely a step towards what might be his greatest achievement?

James tapped his fingers against his arms, considered these queries for a long moment, and finally nodded in affirmation. I've gone into space and traveled through time. I can make this work.

Libby was waiting patiently outside her home when Cindy set the hover car down in her driveway. Cindy settled on her best friend's sorrowful brown eyes, twin earthy orbs that were skeptically appraising the hover car. Cindy opened her mouth to invite her friend aboard, but Libby started towards the vehicle before she could say a word.

"I'm sorry," Libby apologized while hopping over the side and taking the back seat.

Cindy lifted their ride into the air and set back towards the lab. "I'm not really the one you need to apologize too," she gently shot back.

Cindy kept her eyes on the road, but she could perfectly picture Libby shaking her head in confusion as she asked, "Why were you defending him? You know he's the one that got you into this, right?"

"It's more complicated than that, Libs."

"Maybe I'm not a genius like you two," Libby began to retort before abruptly pausing. "Although it did take you both four days to figure out the way to switch minds back was to invent a machine that switches minds."

"That was," Cindy said with a slow shrug, "also more complicated than that."

"The point is," Libby went on, "your last week was miserable and just plain wrong because he tried to spy on your thoughts." She leaned forward and rested her head beside Cindy's. "How is that complicated?"

Cindy grit her teeth and slowly shook her head. "Yeah, Neutron messed with my head and switched our minds," Cindy agreed. "But he only did that because I played that trick on him on Monday."

"Okay. But you only made it seem like his brain yodeled because he cheated in gym class with those super fast shoes."

Cindy squeezed the steering while tight and watched the blood drain from her knuckles. "And he only made those shoes because I made fun of him for losing the race before that!" Cindy exasperatedly explained. "I hate him because he's a jerk, and he's a jerk because I hate him. It never ends and it never really makes sense!" Cindy furiously drummed her fingers against the wheel before jerking it to towards the sidewalk, earning her a few nasty honks from agitated drivers.

"Cind, what are you -" Libby tried to ask as Cindy parked the car in a nearby parking lot.

"Libs," Cindy whispered while yanking her hands off the wheel, "you have no idea how tired I am."

"Tired of what?' Libby asked, clearly desperate to understand.

"Of everything." Just one day. One easy day was all I wanted. "Do you have any idea how miserable I've been?"

Libby averted her eyes and slowly nodded. "Of course I do. I figured the one nice thing about this week was that you'd get away from your mom and -"

"It's not just her. Libby," Cindy's voice cracked and she swallowed hard, "all I ever did…all I've ever done, was hate. I hated my mom because I thought she hated me. I hated my dad for not being there. I hated everyone who ever beat me in t'ai-chi, I hated Carl and Sheen for being annoying, but most of all, I hated Neutron."

Cindy raised a trembling fist to her mouth, bit down on the damp skin, and closed her eyes. "I am tired of hate."

Libby tried to speak, but Cindy weakly rose a hand to ward off her words. "I told myself that I hated Neutron because he was an egotistical jerk."

Libby gently interjected, "But he is an egotistical jerk."

Cindy gave a hollow chuckle. "He can be. And I can be cruel and cold and scared. But that's not all I am," Cindy confidently said. "And that's not all Neutron is. Neither of us is perfect," Cindy desperately explained, "and hate gets us nowhere. So we're trying to move on. We're…" she let her voice trail off and watched Libby slowly pull back in disbelief.

"You're what?" Libby quietly asked. "Are you guys together?"

No, Cindy immediately thought. Of course not. But her mind started to wander and contemplate the question Libby had asked, the one that plagued her on sleepless nights. What might that be like?

Cindy shook that thought aside; it had no bearing on what she faced at that moment. It was just another question for her to consider after a good night's sleep in her own body.

"No," she finally answered. "We're just trying to be friends."

"That's just as crazy," Libby said with an amused huff. Both girls fell silent as they pulled their knees together and stared at the floor. "Look, Cind," Libby spoke at last. "You know I'll always have your back. I know Neutron's not a monster, and heck, we probably were too hard on the kid. But," she licked her lips and placed a hand on Cindy's knee, "do you really think you can be friends out here?" Libby motioned at the world around her.

"What do you mean?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah, you guys have been good in the lab," Libby went on, "when you had to work together to figure this thing out. But when that's done? When you're back in the real world, with the kids at school and not being forced to work together every night to get your bodies back?" Libby paused and stared sadly into her friends' blue eyes. "Do you really think it will be the same as it's been this week?"

Another question without an easy answer. Cindy wasn't surprised at all to feel her mind drift to the moment things always circled back to; to that lonely cell on Yolkus. She remembered the looming sense of dread after having all their hopes snatched away, the scratch of cold gravel against her legs skin, and the utter heartbreak she'd felt upon hearing the soft sounds of Jimmy's sobs. But more than anything, she remembered that single sentence that she'd thought would forever change everything between them.

Because there's a bunch of kids in here that need you, and I do too.

At the time, Cindy had thought this admission would shatter every wall that stood between them. Yet after returning to Earth, things had simply reverted to the way they were before. Was Libby right? Were she and James simply incapable of being anything more than eternal enemies?

Cindy closed her eyes at that thought and remembered the past two nights in James' backyard and over Retroville Lake. How can one moment on Yolkus compare to everything we've been through this week?

"Cindy?" Libby's quiet voice encroached on her thoughts. Cindy tried to cling to the questions plaguing her mind, then allowed them to fade away. She was too tired to search for answers anymore.

"Let's just get me back where I belong," she quietly pleaded. She stared down at the hover car's floor, then slowly turned back to the steering wheel. As she lifted the vehicle into the air and slowly brought it back to the lab, she felt Libby's hand on her shoulder and her voice in her ear.

"Whatever you want."

James was triple-checking the safety of Cindy's helmet when he heard the door to the Research Room slide open. He turned around to find Cindy and Libby strolling towards him. He offered a cautious smile to Cindy, who failed to return the gesture. She simply handed him the hover car keys and stared at the two tables they would soon be strapped to. Jimmy would have liked some time to ponder her absent grin, but Libby didn't give him the chance.

"I'm sorry, Neutron," she confidently apologized. "I still think it was messed up of you to use a mind-reader on my girl there," Libby grit her teeth and then slowly exhaled, "but I know you're trying to make it right."

Jimmy nodded and rubbed his arm. "Thanks. And I'm sorry too."

An awkward pause filled the lab until Cindy noisily picked the helmet off of her table. Libby and Jimmy faced her as she asked, "So, are we ready?"

Jimmy held out his palms, stared at the fingers and hands that weren't his, and slowly dropped them back to his side. "Yeah," he agreed. "We're ready."

"What do I need to do?" Libby asked.

Cindy pointed at a lone switch on a nearby computer bank. "Once we're strapped in, just throw that switch to start the process. Our minds will be downloaded into the computer and automatically be uploaded into our original bodies."

"That simple?" Libby asked.

"Bark ah-roo bark!" Goddard chirped while bounding to Libby's side.

"Goddard will let you know what to do if anything goes wrong," Jimmy translated. "But they shouldn't." The three children stared at each other for a quiet moment, and then Jimmy and Cindy lay on their tables. They strapped their legs and right arms in, then Jimmy explained, "We'll need you to get our left arms."

Libby took a few steps toward Jimmy stopped at the last moment. "Why?" she nervously asked.

"Electrical stimulation to the precentral gyrus can result in unintentional motor activity," he tried to explain.

"We might thrash around," Cindy clarified. Libby shot her a nervous glance, so she added, "We'll be unconscous; we won't feel a thing."

Libby swallowed hard and turned back to Jimmy. With a steely gaze, she whispered, "You better know what you're doing, Neutron."

"I do," Jimmy assured her. I really hope I do.

Libby tied James in first, then Cindy. She made sure both helmets were fastened to their heads, then strolled over to the switch. "Are you guys ready?"

Jimmy took in a deep breath and turned to his left. Cindy was staring back at him, and he locked eyes with the girl he hoped would stay his friend. "Are you?" he asked.

Cindy's lips twitched, but she gave a steady nod. "Yeah. I am."

Jimmy nodded back and faced Libby. "Do it."

She threw the switch, the lights in the lab dimmed, James' skull was infused with fire, and then everything went black.

At first, James found himself unable to form a coherent thought. A jumble of sounds and feelings swirled in his brain until he coalesced them into a single word. Darkness. James considered that word as it echoed around his skull, then realized it was impossible to peel his eyelids apart. Where am I? Before he could figure out the answer, Jimmy heard what sounded like a far-off voice. It was familiar yet foreign.

"You back in your heads?"

Jimmy scrunched his face and heard a pained growl resound from his throat. "Wh…what?" he mumbled.

"I said, are you two back in your heads?"

Heads. Back. Mind switcher. It all slowly came back to James and he forced his eyelids open. The light inside his lab was dim, but he still pulled back and narrowed his eyes to slits. Vortex. Her too. "Vor…Vortex?" he croaked out.

"Here," a weak voice cried out from beside him. Judging from her tone, Cindy's head was just as jumbled as his.

"Goddard," the familiar voice cried out, and Jimmy recognized it as Libby's, "are they okay?"

Jimmy still felt like he'd taken a hammer to the head, but his thoughts were coming faster. We switched minds. We're still alive. See if it worked. Jimmy blinked several times and lifted his head up. He watched Libby and Goddard study the readings on the monitor, then he turned to his left. Nothing but a wall greeted him. "Huh?" he weakly groaned.

"Over here, Neutron," Cindy's voice wheezed from his other side. Jimmy swiveled his head to the right and was amazed to see Cindy's body across from him.

It worked? Jimmy asked himself in amazement. He stared down at his legs and mumbled in disbelief, "I can't see my ankles."

"Wonderful," Cindy cried out. "Now can someone please unstrap us?"

For a half hour James ensured that their mind transfer was completely successful. Reflexes were tested, electroencephalograms were run, and a barrage of questions probing their mental function were answered. When Jimmy finally gave the all clear, Libby stared expectantly at Cindy as she moved towards the lab's exit. Cindy hesitated and cast Neutron an indecipherable stare. James nervously held her gaze until Libby's voice rang out.

"I'll give you guys a minute." Both he and Cindy watched the raven-haired girl step onto the catwalk and disappear behind the closing door.

James turned back to Cindy and stared into her now green eyes. "Well," he nervously began, "I'm glad this worked."

"Me too," Cindy agreed. She took a deep breath and offered, "Thank you, Neutron. For getting me back, for not ruining my life, and for…" Cindy closed her eyes and failed to finish her thought.

"Vortex?"

Cindy waited another long moment before opening her eyes and offering James a sorrowful smile. "For being my friend."

The corner of James' mouth twitched upward in pleasant disbelief.

"But now that we're back in our bodies," Cindy turned around and rubbed her arm, "I guess things have to go back to the way they were."

James' face fell as Cindy took a single step towards the door. He watched her suddenly freeze in place and rub both her hands together. So many questions passed through his mind; so many fears and doubts combated hopes and dreams. He thought back to his journal, to every moment he and Cindy had shared, to how all of his successes needed to first be failures. He made his decision as Cindy resumed her march and reached towards the door.

He swallowed hard and then confidently asked, "Why?"

Cindy froze once more and considered the question for a long moment. James' heart sunk until she turned around and, with a tiny smile, said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Jimmy."

James couldn't stop that last line from his journal form blasting through his mind. I feel things are about to change for the better. His friend left his lab, but not before he offered her a warm smile and a few last words.

"Same here, Cindy."