Chapter 5: Girl Behind the Gun
**The kids dart out from behind the
rock and sprint towards the relative safety of a pinkish rock pile.
Laserfire rains down on all sides of them, and they swerve to avoid
being hit. Without warning, the blasts abruptly stop and the kids
make the final dash to their destination. But before they can reach
it, there is a strange, high-pitched war cry and a figure jumps out
in front of them. Jimmy, Cindy, Carl, Sheen, and Libby careen to a
stop and find themselves staring down the barrel of a blaster weapon.
Behind it they catch a glimpse of green skin, a flash of purple eyes,
and the glint of fangs**
JIMMY: (jaw dropping) APRIL???
**The girl drops the weapon and staggers back**
APRIL: Jimmy? Jimmy Neutron? It is impossible. This cannot be happening…
**The kids find themselves looking at April the Gorlock, only much taller and somewhat shapelier than the last time that they met. She still wears the same outfit, complete with spiked shoulder pads and horned helmet**
CINDY: What? April the Gorlock? How on earth did you get here?
APRIL: (barely able to speak) Cindy…you’re…so YOUNG. So young. All of you. You’re not really you…It cannot…I must be hallucinating.
**She shakes her head violently**
APRIL: Wake up: they are not real. They are NOT real.
JIMMY: (laying a hand on her) I would say the same thing, except that we can’t all be having the same hallucination. April, this may be hard for you to believe, but we’ve come from an alternate universe.
APRIL: (shrinking from his touch) Don’t touch me!
JIMMY: Sorry, I didn’t mean…
APRIL: Don’t you ever touch me again!
JIMMY: (looking crushed) I’m sorry…
**April’s eyes clear, she takes a deep breath, and composes herself**
APRIL: Forgive me, I did not mean that. The shadows of the past do not so easily dissolve, that is all. But forgive me, I have gotten ahead of my self. Allow me to back up: did you say you were from an alternate universe? How did you come to be here?
CINDY: Need you ask? Neutron screwed up, as usual. Could there be any other reason?
JIMMY: (scowling at Cindy) For your information, we got pulled here after a teleportation accident. We’ve been wandering around ever since. At first I thought that the two universes would have nothing in common, but now I see that this universe cannot be too different from our own. After all, we know each other in both universes. The only variation seems to be the time difference.
APRIL: (gazing at him warily) I would not say that. If you are who I truly think you are, then our worlds are more different than you could possibly imagine.
LIBBY: What do ya mean? You know us, dontcha?
APRIL: I KNEW you, yes. But that was years ago. Things have changed so much since then.
JIMMY: In what way?
APRIL: I’m not sure if I should tell you. I have to first make sure that you can be trusted. But in the meantime, there is someone you should meet.
**Still watching them out of the corner of her eye, April flips open a panel on her sleeve and speaks into it**
APRIL: Aurora, you’d better get down here. You are not going to believe who I just met.
**A high-pitched voice answers irritably**
VOICE: This had better be good, April. I was in the middle of running a piloting simulation.
APRIL: Trust me, it will knock your shoes off.
VOICE: April, the expression is “knock your socks off.”
APRIL: Whatever. Just get down here.
**A humming sound buzzes faintly overhead, and a large gray ship materializes out of nowhere. It hovers for a moment, then slowly descends and alights on the ground, sending up a cloud of yellow dust**
CARL: (hacking) Cough! Cough!
CINDY: Wow, check out that ship Nerdtron! It certainly leaves your junky little rocket in the dust!
**April gives Cindy a faint smile, then her expression saddens and she shakes her head**
SHEEN: Ya, check it out! You know what this reminds me of?
LIBBY: Lemme guess: Ultralord.
SHEEN: Actually, I was gonna say my cousin Floyd’s RV, but now that you mention it, this does remind me of Ultralord! Wow Libs, you’re beautiful AND smart!
**The dust settles, and a door panel slides open on the fuselage of the ship. A ramp-way extends like a bridge to the ground, and a figure appears in the doorway. She slowly walks down the ramp, and the kids stare on in fascination. The young woman wears a silver mask over her face. It gleams in the sunlight, reflecting the surroundings like a mirror. Her suit is distinctly alien, with a blue-green, metallic surface webbed with silvery tubing. She carries two small weapons in holsters around her hips, and her long blonde hair is fastened in a high ponytail**
YOUNG WOMAN: Well April, what is so important that you dragged me all the way…
**She gasps and freezes in her tracks. The wind catches her hair and blows it in a wild arc around her face, but her expression is shielded from the children by her silver mask**
YOUNG WOMAN: Is…Is this some kind of a joke? Because so help me, if it is…
APRIL: I assure you, this is not a joke. You are truly seeing Jimmy, Cindy, Sheen, Carl, and Libby as you saw them ten years ago. These children have come from an alternate universe…a universe untouched by all the calamities we have witnessed.
YOUNG WOMAN: An alternate universe? You mean…they don’t know anything about us?
APRIL: Exactly. They are completely lost and alone. And best of all, HE does not know about them.
**The woman remains silent for a moment, then speaks in a hushed tone**
YOUNG WOMAN: Do you know what this means, April? If they help us, we could turn the tide of war.
APRIL: I know, but we must keep in mind that “if” is the key word here…I am not sure if we can trust them, Aurora. It might be another trick, like the holograms or clones.
JIMMY: (breaking in) All right, I’ve had enough of this cryptic talk. What are you two talking about? Calamities? War? Holograms and clones? And you, girl in the silver mask! Who are you anyway? Show us your face!
**The girl surprises them all by laughing**
YOUNG WOMAN: Neutron, you always were so domineering. But for old time’s sake I’ll humor you.
**She takes off the mask and lets it
drop to her feet. A second later, the kids’ eyes nearly bug out of
their heads**
