Chapter Text
Jimmy Neutron leaned forward in his seat, fingers tapping away at the controls to his computer's viewscreen. Behind him, his two closest friends watched with mouths slightly agape and a degree of uncertainty in their eyes.
One of Jimmy's friends, a round boy hands were clasped together, fidgeting around while he leaned over Jimmy's shoulder. "Hey, uh, Jimmy... do you mind telling me what you brought us here for? 'Cause I forgot."
"Certainly, Carl," the boy genius replied. "Ever since summer started, I've been observing unknown dimensions in hopes of finding additional Earth variants, but-"
SCHLUUURP
"Sheen," Jimmy chided. The friend in question was right in the middle of gulping down a gallon-sized can of grape soda.
"Sorry, Jimmy. This giant-size Purple Flurp isn't gonna drink itself into the hospital."
Carl continued where he and Jim left off. "Uh, my guidance counselor said I'm a visual learner. Could you show me the version with the pretty pictures, please?"
"Sure thing." Turning his attention back to the computer, Jimmy pulled up a great collage of neatly lined up images. Each one contained its own bizarre landscape, with only a few bearing close resemblance to anything familiar. "Throughout my expeditions, I've catalogued 79 dimensions, but so far only three of them contain a version of Earth."
"There's Earth-1, where we all live." the monitor zoomed in on a shot of Retroville.
"Earth-2, the home of Timmy Turner," Jimmy announced before the screen went to a bird's eye view of Dimmsdale.
"And finally, Earth-3, where Danny Phantom lives." The screen displayed the skyscrapers of another city, somewhat similar to Dimmsdale but clearly unique in its own right. "If my hypothesis is correct, then there are an endless number of Earth variants out there in the multiverse. It's only a matter of me finding them."
Carl dug his nail into the surface of his nose. "All this talk of infinite dimenshommies is making me tired. Can I go home now?"
"Carl, we just got here."
"Alright. It'll only be here for a few more minutes. What about you, Sheen?"
Sheen's mouth remained somewhat open, while his pupils locked themselves into a cross-eyed stupor. "Sheen?"
Slowly but surely, he opened his jaw wide and began sucking air into his lungs in preparation for something massive.
It didn't take long for Jimmy to figure out what was happening. "No, Sheen, don't do it! A burp of that magnitude might cause the computer to malfunction!"
Sheen didn't respond. He couldn't respond.
Carl threw his arms around like a maniac. "He's gonna explode!"
There was nothing else the other two could do except watch in horror as Sheen prepared himself for the biggest belch of his life. Five, four, three, two, one...
Pfft
"Woah, did I just fart out of my nose? I gotta show that off to Libby tomorrow."
"Whew, that was close." Jimmy wiped sweat off his forehead before rising from his seat. "Next time, Sheen, don't bring a Purple Flurp into my lab."
Sheen flashed a nonchalant smile. "No problemo, Jim-woah-"
Sheen's foot gave way to an unknown object, causing him to fly forwards to Jimmy and his computer. A great glob of Flurp rushed out of the jug, splattering itself all over one of Jimmy's greatest inventions. Jimmy could only stare at Sheen in shock.
"Nooo!"
The computer console crackled with electricity. On the display screen, colors and shapes flashed by in rapid succession, giving vague glimpses of scenes far more unusual than anything shown before. Second by second, pixels began to recoalesce towards a final picture.
"Ugh... sorry, Jimmy," Sheen mumbled, "and I mean that, like... fifty-teen times more than the last time."
"Great. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day cleaning that up." Jimmy turned his attention to Carl, who was far more preoccupied with the image on the damaged monitor.
"Hey, Jim, I think you found another Earth," Carl murmured. True to his word, the computer's monitor showed a green and blue planet, complete with recognizable continents.
"Leaping leptons! The short-circuit must have provided a massive surge in processing power to my dimensional navigator! We've stumbled upon Earth-4!" Leaning towards the console, Jimmy once again began clacking away at the buttons.
The image zoomed in towards yet another city, far different from any the three friends had ever seen before. A sun shone on its grime-encrusted buildings, yet the scene looked as dark as any night.
"Fascinating... the negative energy readings in this universe are off the charts!"
Carl cowered back from the image, his hands held close to his chest. "Can I go home now? I'm starting to get a bit uncomfortable."
Sheen's reaction was of a different kind. "Don't be such a scaredy-cat, Carl. This place doesn't look too-woah, is that a giant cesspool?! Zoom in! Zoom in!"
"Not now, Sheen. I'm getting an unusual heat signature from one of the nearby buildings. Let me take a closer look..."
- - -
Deep within the slaughterhouse, Invader Zim gave twist after twist to the lid of a sinister vial. "Soon the whole supply of the filthy humans' precious meat will be nothing but poison! Delicious, delicious poison-"
"A-hah!"
Zim turned to face the source of the noise only to recoil in horror. "The Dib. The Dib! How did you find me, the unfindable Zim?"
"I got a bug on my suit!" Out of nowhere, Gir began scratching a grey dot on the back of his head. "It itches real bad."
"Oh."
"That's right, Zim! Now that I know what your evil plan is, I'll know exactly how to stop it!" A big, fat slice of baloney made its way out of Dib's pocket and into his hand. It wasn't long before he began to aim it at the planet's biggest threat.
"Aaauugh!" A mere instant after the lunchmeat made contact with Zim's skin, a horrible burning sensation gripped him with terror. "AAAAAH!" Taking a blind leap off from the metal platform, he didn't even notice his robotic assistant swallow the vial of poison in one gulp.
But in that moment, Dib's attention was turned towards something else.
Deep within the shadows, a nondescript janitor walked out in front of the two rivals. He wore a thick, comb-like mustache and a great deal of pure white hair. His weary expression hinted at his attitude towards their intrusion. "Y'all mind tellin' me what you two fellers are doin' after hours?"
"I'm trying to stop an alien from destroying the Earth! Please, you have to believe me-"
"Sure, whatever, boy. Next you'll be sayin' that giant lizards rule the world. Just get out of here before I call the cops."
Wait. Where is he, anyway? Dib looked around, but could only find himself, the janitor, and a little green dog waddling its way out the door. There was no doubt in his mind as to what came next.