**10 minutes later, Cindy and Libby have finished changing and arrive in the cockpit, where Aurora and April are waiting for them. Aurora has switched on the autopilot and the ship hums through the void of space. When they enter, April bears her glinting fangs in a wide-toothed grin**
APRIL: Great outfits, girls! Excellent radiation control, and they’re very himp!
AURORA: It’s “hip,” April.
APRIL: Whatever.
**Libby gives a little twirl, admiring the way the light reflects off the blended gold, scarlet, and rose colors of her suit. Cindy runs her hands over the metallic straps on her forearms, admiring their sleek design**
CINDY: I couldn’t have picked a better one myself Libs! Great eye for style!
LIBBY: You know it, girl. And it’s a good thing I was there…you can’t fight evil dictators without a fashionable outfit, after all.
**Cindy gives a consenting nod, then begins tapping her foot impatiently**
CINDY: Hey, what the heck is taking the boys so long?
LIBBY: Ya. Aren’t boys supposed to get dressed faster ‘n girls?
AURORA: (twirling a strand of hair around her finger) Oh…they must be having some trouble getting Carl into his new outfit.
**She gives a low, rippling laugh, and Libby stifles a giggle of her own**
CINDY: What? What is so funny?
**Just then, the cockpit doors slide open, and Goddard scampers through. The girls await the boys’ entrance at full attention, but nobody appears**
AURORA: Hey, what’s keeping you guys? Aren’t afraid to give us a little fashion show, are you?
**All four of the girls laugh, and a bashful looking Jimmy enters the room**
JIMMY: (scratching his arm in embarrassment) Well, what do you think?
APRIL: Turn around once so we can see it.
**Jimmy gives a half turn, trying his best not to play it up, but without much success. The deep blue fabric ignites his eyes into two blue embers in his pale face. When he moves his arms, light reflects off the metal cuffs and glints over his admirers**
CINDY: (dazzled) Wow, Neutron, you look really…amazing…
**Libby, Aurora, and April all swivel and stare at her, and she stops in mid-sentence**
CINDY: ...amazing…amazingly ridiculous! It’s too bad they wasted such a nice outfit on you!
**Jimmy looks crestfallen**
LIBBY: Ugh! Cind…!
CINDY: What?
**Libby plants her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow**
LIBBY: Come on girl, now you’re just makin’ a bigger fool out of yourself. Quit beatin’ around the bush and say it!
CINDY: W-what? Just say what? There’s nothing to say!
LIBBY: Sure there is! So why don’t ya just do us all a favor and out with it? You know, I could always say if for you if ya want…
CINDY: (in a low voice) Back off, Libby.
LIBBY: (tapping her finger against her lips) Oh, I know! I seem to recall a term you used once that would work nicely…does the word “hunkmuffin” ring a bell?
CINDY: Libby!
**Just then, a voice echoes from the hallway**
SHEEN: Hunkmuffin? That must be my queue! Forget you Carl, I’m going out there!
**Sheen leaps heroically into the center of the room, posing dramatically to show off the raised Ultralord decal on the front of his multicolor orange suit**
SHEEN: Behold, weak and trembling subjects (and sweet Libby) it is I, the almighty Ultralord! Behold my awesome power and bow before me!
**They give him a blank stare**
LIBBY: You’ve been sniffin’ the magic markers again, haven’t ya Sheen.
SHEEN: No! Well, maybe…
CINDY: Hey, where the heck is Carl?
CARL: (from out in the hall) Carl isn’t here right now. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP!
JIMMY: (in a pleading voice) Please come out Carl! The sooner we get this whole thing over with the sooner we can have a serious discussion. I need to talk to Aurora about something…something important. So PLEASE come out. I promise I won’t laugh at you.
**There are some shuffling sounds in the hallway, followed by the clinking of metal chains. Carl plods into the room dejectedly, and everyone stares at him in surprise. He is dressed head to toe in black. Chains, paperclips, and metal links hang from his giant belt, his arms, and his legs, and a spiked collar bulges around his pudgy neck. His knee-high metal tipped boots make a clunking noise every time he takes a step, and a horned skull grins menacingly on the chest of the garment. Aurora slams her hand down on a button on the control panel, and all at once heavy metal music fills the cockpit. April falls over Aurora in a fit of laughter**
CINDY: Wow, talk about Goth gone wrong.
CARL: (looking down) You think I look stupid…
SHEEN: What are you talking about, dude? That outfit is the best! You look just like Darkman-Dong from Ultralord meets Godzilla: the special Japanese edition!
CINDY: (with a mocking smile) Do you come with subtitles?
**Aurora does her best to look serious, and barely manages to pull it off**
AURORA: You look great, Carl. That outfit brings out the best in you.
APRIL: That’s right. Aurora bought this outfit especially to give you confidence. This suit will frighten away any enemy you encounter. Of this I am sure! You look stunning!
** When April speaks, the effect is much more convincing, and Carl’s whole face lights up**
CARL: Really? You like it! Yay!
**He gives a little ballerina twirl, and it looks so odd juxtaposed with his outfit that it sends April into another laughing fit. Aurora’s smile fades into a scowl as she tosses a box at Jimmy**
AURORA: Here, this is for you. I hope you’re happy, cause it didn’t come cheap.
CINDY: What is it?
JIMMY: (eyes lighting up) The X500 Chemical Analysis Kit!
AURORA: I knew you’d put up a big fuss if I didn’t get it for you, so here it is. And if you don’t mind my asking, just what do you need it for?
JIMMY: Actually, that’s what I need to talk to you about. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, both before and while I was fixing the Desperado, and I’ve come to a conclusion.
AURORA: (to April) Uh-oh, he’s been thinking.
APRIL: And he’s come to a conclusion.
JIMMY: (angrily) This is serious! How we decide to act now could literally determine the fate of the galaxy itself, not to mention change the outcome of all our lives!
**Cindy suddenly feels the air rush from her lungs, and she steps forward next to him**
CINDY: Listen to what he says. Even if it sounds crazy at first…
**Jimmy is so shocked by her uncharacteristic support that he momentarily forgets what he was saying and stares at her in amazement. Cindy doesn’t meet his gaze, but instead takes a deep breath and looks at Aurora**
CINDY: Will you hear him out?
AURORA: Well, if he’s convinced YOU then it must be worth hearing. Go ahead, I’m all ears.
**Jimmy steps into the center of the room, and his focus alternates between Aurora and Cindy as he begins his argument**
JIMMY: I believe we are taking the wrong approach to this war. We are headed toward pain and loss if we try to plan a large-scale attack on my alternate self. One or all of us may be seriously injured or even die in the conflict. And selfish motivations aside, I don’t think killing the dictator is the only option. What if…what if there was an alternative solution?
**Aurora blinks a little but says nothing, so he continues**
JIMMY: I asked you to buy me the X500 Chemical Analysis Kit for a particular reason. With its equipment I will be able to specifically identify the ingredients that I would need for an antidote…an antidote that would counteract the effects of the Megalomanium.
**April’s eyes bug out in astonishment, and she slumps back into her seat with the heavy implication of these words. Aurora does not move. After a minute she speaks, and her voice trembles with each word**
AURORA: We…we can…save him?
JIMMY: Effectively, yes. Without the Megalomanium controlling his mind, he will revert to his former personality.
CINDY: Oh great, so he’ll be a goody-goody genius again?
JIMMY: Something like that. Of course, there’ll be no way to predict what the long-term effects of the Megalomanium will be. The antidote could make him very ill or even send him into a coma. Not to mention the emotional duress it would cause…could you imagine living every day with the knowledge that you were solely responsible for the pain and suffering of so many? I know it would tear me up inside.
LIBBY: Still…this could be what we’ve been lookin’ for. I think it’s worth a shot, whatta ‘bout the rest of you?
CARL: Jim, if we do this, we won’t have to do any fighting? We can just give it to him like medicine and he’ll be better?
JIMMY: It won’t be that easy. First we have to make the antidote, which could take me quite a while. Then, we have to find a way to get it to him. Chances are it won’t be easy to get into his base.
CINDY: Maybe if we…
APRIL: (jumping in) Now hold on just a second, here! We have not yet agreed upon any of this. The Gorlock High Council and all its allies have worked for years to build up the forces necessary for this war. Millions of people, some of whom are very powerful, seek revenge on the dictator. What are we to tell all of them? That a younger version of the dictator has told us to spare his life? Angry people cannot be so easily persuaded to release their hatred. No, it is too late for such a course of action. Far too late.
CINDY: But your plan will just make things spin even further out of control!
LIBBY: Besides, maybe alternate Jimmy could somehow make up for all the bad things he’s done once he’s cured!
APRIL: You do not understand the complexity of our situation, young one. And since when do you show such unconditional support of your archenemy, Cindy?
CINDY: I just happen to agree with him this time!
AURORA: You’re all crazy.
**She speaks in a low voice, her eyes peering out from under her heavy bangs with a threatening gleam**
AURORA: You expect me to let him off so easily? After all the things he’s done? He deserves what’s coming to him! He deserves to die!
**She jumps up and to everyone’s surprise, grabs Cindy’s arm and twists it behind her back. Cindy gives a yelp of pain, but then locks eyes with her future self in defiance. The girls are mirrors, their faces only inches apart**
AURORA: How could you possibly agree with him? You know what he’s done! How he’s treated us!
CINDY: (smiling) Look at you. It’s pathetic…attacking your younger self.
**Aurora’s stunned expression at these words transforms into rage, and she twists Cindy’s arm tighter**
CINDY: (whispering) Listen to me. Give Neutron a chance at this scheme. Think about it: if it doesn’t work, you’ll win out in the end anyway.
LIBBY: (laying a hand on her shoulder) Will killin’ him really bring you peace, Aurora?
**Aurora’s face crumples into an expression of such misery that they are forced to look away. She slumps down on her chair and covers her eyes**
AURORA: (barely audible) We’ll do it.
APRIL: We will???
AURORA: Yes. I can’t believe I’m saying it either. But I guess it was inevitable from the moment we found them. We can’t stop their involvement now. Besides, who better to fight Neutron than…well, Neutron? Fighting fire with fire…
APRIL: Fire burns, Aurora. I think you are letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment in this case.
AURORA: I’m tired of this life, April. It was glamorous for a while. Fame and power, notoriety even. But I’m not happy and neither are you. Let’s try something else. Besides, everyone’s so afraid of us that they won’t dare to oppose any plan we put forward. We’ll call the Council and our allies to a meeting on Planet Gorlock to make definite plans. In the meantime I want everyone to leave me alone.
**With this she breezes out of the room and disappears. The kids breathe a sigh of relief, and Jimmy slumps onto the floor**
JIMMY: I can’t believe we actually convinced her. We did it. YOU did it, Cindy.
**Libby puts an arm around her friend, who is studying the marks left by Aurora’s clawing grasp**
CINDY: It’s funny. It hurts SO bad. I guess self-induced pain is the worst kind, because you’ve got nobody to blame for it but yourself.
**There is a moment of silence over this remark**
APRIL: (sighing) Well, I suppose you want to start work on the antidote now. I will get you set up near the main reactor. Just try not to explode anything near the generators, all right?
**She leads Jimmy and Goddard out of the room, and he steals a curious glance back at Cindy. She doesn’t return it, but merely looks listlessly at the floor**
LIBBY: That was brave, girl. I know what you were tryin’ to say, an’ it wasn’t easy.
CINDY: You know what? I think I just realized something Libs.
LIBBY: What’s that?
SHEEN: I’ll tell you what I just realized. That chick has a grip of iron! Look at those marks…they’re freakish!
CINDY: You’re freakish, Ultradork. Even Goth-boy over there is less of a freak than you are.
CARL: (giving another ballerina jump) Thank you!
CINDY: Say, why don’t you boys go and bother Jimmy for a while? See if he has any work for you to do or something.
CARL: But…
CINDY: But nothing! Now get going!
**The boys mutter and stalk off after April and Jimmy, and Cindy turns to her friend**
CINDY: There’s something I want to
do. I think we should go see what’s inside Aurora’s room.