The Adventures of Professor Proton, Jr.: "The Proton Express..."

The Adventures of Professor Proton, Jr.:"The Proton Express..." Part XXX...

"The Adventures of Professor Proton, Jr: The Proton Express..."

Summary: In my first longer Proton Jr tale, can Prof Proton Jr. aka mild-mannered Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Amy aka Amy F. Fowler save the world at Christmas...And can Proton Jr. keep that blond sob of an engineering genius Tom Swift, Jr. away from his girl?

Equally important...Should Cameragirl Penny allow this thing to appear on her acting credits or just accept that all hope of a professional career is gone and just enjoy while peddling her drugs?

Disclaimer: All is Chuck's...

Part XXX...

Aboard the Wyckmarine, Bwarry's personal two-person deep-diving submersible...Now about one hour from the landing perimeter and 9000 feet down, hugging the ocean floor as it approached the undersea abyss in which lay the Lost City of Gold...

"So, what's the plan, Bwarry?" Munson in her scuba suit seated in the front, to Bwarry likewise suited, in back at the main controls.

"We take hewr down into the canyon abyss ahead, to ouwr boy Swift's ancient underwater city and hide near the walls. Between them and our sonar baffle we should be undetectable." He noted, eyeing instruments.

"And when Swift grabs the ship, using whatever...We jump him?" she eyed him.

"Maybe...Unless ouwr faiwr wady in the Lewrmentov keeps him busy as pwromised." Bwarry, casually.

"You mean dead." She replied, flatly.

"Now, sis." He offered censorious tone. "The Commandewr is a wady of honowr when not acting as a slweepewr agent in the good ole US of A. She told us she was against wiolence, if possible." Slight sneer. "Just like us."

"But she's also determined to follow her orders...From her President and uncle." Munson sighed.

"Well...Maybe hewr 'distwraction' won't wrequiwe putting Swift and Pwroton in theiwr eawrly gwraves. Just shake em up a bit, some not quite lethal damage." Offhandedly.

"Bwarry?"

"Sis?"

"Did it matter to you when you killed that poor girl?" she asked, quietly.

"It bwroke my poowr widdle heawrt, Munsie." He noted. "But the wady knew what she was doing and it was hewr choice to take sides." Calmly. "I did what had to be done. We awre playing for all the mawrbles hewre, my deawr sis."

"You know it's likely war if Putinsky gets that cargo..." her voice sighed in his headphones.

"Yeah...Humanity doing what it's always done best." Bwarry, cynically. "I guess then we best see ouwr good buddy doesn't get his mits on it, eh?"

"Bwarry? You are committed to destroying that ship and its contents if we must?" Munson, anxiously.

"Of couwrse. If we must to save deawr ole Humanity fwrom its misewrable self... But lets hope good sense and cleawr thinking pwrevail, especially once we contwrol the cawrgo and explain ouwrselves. Sis? We have some deliwcate manuevewring hewre and I need you to focus on monitowring Swift and his seacoptewr...Suppose we put this debate on the back buwrnewr? You know we shawre the same goals." Calm tone. Grim stare at the back of her head.

"All right, Bwarry." Slightly eager tone... "It will be something to see it, if we can access it. The specimens and that ship..."

"It was meant to be accessed, it's a gift, aftewr all."

Though one poisoned, by yours truly...He did not say.

["OK...Cut and that's it for today, people!" Howard called. "You heard the Director!" Bernadette cried. "Lets wrap it for today! Hey! Winkle! Kripke! Keep it in your pants till ya get the scuba suits off! They cost to clean ya know!"

"Nice fowrebowrding thewre, Mwr. Scwreenwritewr." Barry eyed Leonard as they stored the Wyckmarine mock-up in a corner of the Cal Tech Physics storage facility serving as the launch bay of the Lermentov, the undersea canyon, Fearing Island's docking pen, and the Ocean Arrow set. "I get bwrothewr and sis awre coming to a pawrting of the ways?"

"Well..." Leonard, awkward smile. Penny regarding him with smile.

Ma darlin' lil' screenwriter...Who knew he had a flair for this? And so convenient if I ever do get professional again...Why some of my fellow thespians may assume I was Eve Hartingtoning him all the time, which of course is just...

Though of course his last two papers on superconductivity were so well written...

I mean that passage in his discussion section on how supercooled helium flow develops superconductivity is so elegant...

She blinked...My God...I'm actually starting to follow and appreciate his work?

"No, it's gwreat." Barry shrugged. "Wreally, I'm not cwriticizing." Sigh. "Just..."

"Barry." Lesley patted him. "I get it. And it's fine, really. But nothing too..." she wiggled fingers at Leonard. "Ok, Leonard? I mean I nearly was your wife." Teasing grin.

"Though maybe you should forget that when you croak me..." she winked.

"Make it gwreat, Hofstadtewr." Barry smiled at Lesley. "A noble if naïve chawractewr desewrves a gwreat and twragic end."

Barry...Lesley beamed as they strode off to their cars for the evening...

Penny eyeing Leonard.

"Yeah, fine." She grimaced. "I guess she's earnt it. What?" she eyed his perturbed stare.

"She...Or rather, he...Survived in the original story." Leonard noted. "You really think...? I mean Howard might object, being the big Swift story fan."

"Oh, yeah...Howard...Schmoward...The director in him'll go along. Kill her. With extreme prejudice and for Art's sake...Namely, your Art." Penny nodded. "But, for Barry's sake, nothing too..." she wiggled fingers.

"Hmmn...I guess it does have a certain..."

"Trust me..." Penny nodded. "And I've no reason but my respect for my Craft to want to give Lesley a great death screen." Stern look. "Just promise me..."

"I will always try to kill you off in the most tragic way I can." He nodded, beaming.

"Great, though I was thinking more along the lines of you keeping me your Muse." She frowned.

Geesh, woulda thought the first image that would spring to your mind would be me in Grecian robe things and the flowery crown thing, she noted to his blinking face.

...

Meanwhile, there was consternation aboard the Ocean Arrow...

"Bud!" Bernadette cried, turning to him.

"Arthur!" Amy cried into the intercom to the Suburo compartment. "Are you ok? The detector's gone!"

"Ladies! It's all right." Proton and Swift now in the Arturo compartment with them, the detector back in place. "Just a short-range experiment...Which naturally was successful." Arch look to Swift who grinned.

"Sermek! Can it!" Bernadette cried as the robot continued to flail arms...

"Warning! Dark matter pulse...!" Sermek halting in mid-sentence. "Hello, Tom Swift. Hello, Saturday morning cartoon boy." Addressing the two new arrivals.