Sheen Rescue Squad...or...Welcome to Planet Sheen

Chapter 3-Ambush at Launch

After two days, everything was set. The rocket had all the fuel it would need for a trip away and a trip back. They had the exact amount of food Jimmy had calculated they would need for their journey (he had also recalculated, knowing Carl alone would eat more than the others). And all of Jimmy's inventions and various weapons were all safely stored inside his Hypercube.

The entire town had gathered to witness the launch. All of them were very excited, what with the fact that nothing exciting had happened in three months. So many people there were: Jimmy's entire class, Miss Fowl, Principal Willoughby, Sam, Corky(still chained by Sam), Betty Quinlan, General Abercrombie, Jet Fusion and Beautiful Gorgeous(in a straight jacket), Dean Kane, the space bandits, and the rest of the gang's parents.

Also in the crowd was a young news reporter who was on his first day on the job. Even now, he was saying in front of the camera, his voice full of excitement, "This is an exciting day for Retroville as the Sheen Rescue Squad is launching its mission to locate the missing boy Sheen Estevez, who until recently was presumed dead. The Sheen Rescue Squad is led by Jimmy Neutron and is comprised of Carl Wheezer, Cindy Vortex, Libby Folfax, and Nick Dean. We have no idea where these brave kids are going but help me cast them off by joining me in the countdown."

He said that last part very loudly so everyone in the crowd could hear him. And after giving the crowd one final wave of farewell, the Sheen Rescue Squad entered the confinements of their rocket. Once the door had closed, the crowd counted down, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two one."

Inside, Jimmy and the others heard the countdown. And so once they had reached one, Jimmy cried, "Blastoff!" He ignited the engines and the rocket roared to life. The people of Retroville all watched them soar into the sky, up and out of sight. When the rocket's vapor trail dissipated completely, they all walked away, all hoping the best for their youthful heroes.

Meanwhile, inside the rocket, Jimmy set course for the coordinates of Sheen's beacon. Once the coordinates were in the nav computer, he muttered to himself, but so the others could hear him, "Well that went off without a hitch. Now we can focus all our efforts to finding Sheen."

Little did any of them know however, that the broadcast had been intercepted by King Goobot. Now, he had assembled every single ship in his Yolkian navy, waiting for the right moment to strike down Jimmy Neutron once and for all.

The king sat on his throne, watching as the small rocket zoomed closer and closer to his death trap. "At last," he marvelled, "months of lying dormant above Earth to destroy Jimmy Neutron is about to pay off."

One of the Yolkians monitoring the rocket's approach reported, "Sir, they're approaching our destination."

King Goobot nodded his understanding. "Bring the ships to life," he ordered, "They won't be expecting us."

"Yes your highness."

It was then that Carl, who was on radar duty, kept glancing nervously back at Jimmy. It had been a long time since Jimmy had trusted him on radar duty. Last time, just before Sheen vanished without a trace, they had been exploring another galaxy's distant asteroid belt. It had been a disaster, particularly since he had gotten them eaten by a giant he worm he thought was a subway line. Anyway, this time, Carl was determined for it to be like a walk in the park.

So when Jimmy asked, "Carl, anything on the radar," he looked and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed, feeling relieved. All was right with the world of Carl Wheezer. 

He called back, "No, just the little red dot that you said was us." Suddenly, a large number of green dots appeared on the screen. Carl blinked, sure that his hadn't properly interpreted what he had seen. He opened his eyes again. Sure enough, the green dots were still there. He turned nervously to Jimmy, hoping he would make sense of it all. "Jimmy, what happens if a green dot appears on the screen?" 

Jimmy looked up at Carl, his expression like Carl had just asked him to explain his latest invention. His eyes shined with amusement. "It means," he told Carl, "they're more likely to hostile and attack us. I read that in the owner's manual."

Carl shuddered. Before Jimmy could ask him what was wrong, he said simply, "Well I think we're under attack. There's like a large number of green dots in front of our red dot."

Jimmy looked at Carl like a brick had hit his head. It seemed to take an hour for this to register in his brain. In actuality, it merely took a second. He had only time enough to say, "What?" before King Goobot's fleet moved into position.

Another moment later, Libby, being stationed by the communication's array, was picking a signal from one of the ships. And so when she told Jimmy, "Jimmy, we got a message," Jimmy replied with resignation for the worst, "Put it on screen." 

The worst came in the form of King Goobot. However, it had been easy to tell who was hailing by the exterior of the ships, what with them looking like giant chickens. Still, that didn't stop feeling a sense of dread. Strike that, a sense of annoyance. He glared up at the screen and asked, "I was afraid of this. What do you want?"

King Goobot smiled gloatingly, attempting to infuriate Jimmy. But he wasn't going to let that get the best of him. He simply allowed Goobot to say to him, "Oh, Jimmy, I thought your big head would give you the answer. I've been waiting for a chance to destroy you ever since I couldn't stop you when I formed the League of Villains. Now I have caught you unawares and you're defenseless."

Goobot was smiling now, but he had fallen right into Jimmy's hastily thought up counter-attack. It's always good to advantage of villains who talk too much. As he let his opponent ramble on, he pressed a red button. When Goobot was done, he said casually, "Not this ship. That's why I launched a good stock of my recently-made Sonic Torpedoes!" 

Goobot's smile vanished from his face. He looked as though he had endured being rejected from a Broadway production. "You did what?"

Jimmy just counted down, "Three, two one."

The missiles connected with the Yolkian fleet. While most were aimed at the ships' colossal cannons, there were several others went wild, colliding with several other parts of the ship. Jimmy didn't waste time admiring his work; instead, he took advantage of the fleet's disorientation and maneuvered the ship toward the asteroid belt and safety.

On King Goobot's ship, a navigation officer saw them escaping their seemingly impassable net. He turned to his king and shouted, "Sir, all the fleet's weapon systems are down and they're slipping past us into the asteroid belt!"

"Just follow them!" shouted King Goobot.

But just before entering the asteroid belt, Jimmy had pressed a blue button. Hailing King Goobot's flagship, he informed the king, "And I also forgot to mention I jettisoned a supply of Sonic Mines to disrupt your engine capacities. Incapacitation should be happening...NOW!" After the mines detonated, he ended the transmission with a simple, "Bye now," and blasting away into hyperspace.

The Yolkians were left far behind, with a now dysfunctional fleet. Another Yolkian said to King Goobot. "My king, the engines are down! We can't go after them!"

King Goobot, however, was smiling. "Maybe the main fleet can't but Neutron doesn't know about the massive load of shuttles in the our hangar bays...unless those have been destroyed too."

The Yolkian replied, "No sir, they're all intact. But they don't have lightspeed capability."

King Goobot waved a dismissive hand. "Maybe not, but we can still follow them. Last I checked they had sonic speed capability and we have their trail to follow. Order the fleet to move into the shuttles."

All around him, the other Ylokians caught on with their king. Being the genius that he was, Jimmy wouldn't be prepared for an unexpected pursuit. He looked at Goobot and returned his master's evil smile. "Yes my king."