Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The Aftermath

The snowflakes were gliding down from the sky and made a white blanket across the street. All the street lamps were dimmed, but still, the snow glistened under the light. All the houses were filled, but now quiet as silence filled the night. Tremorton was carried away into a blissful sleep. No one stirred. Except for a certain global response unit, who currently is observing the snowflakes forming the growing white blanket outside her bedroom window. Her optics followed along, however her mind was replaying the events of the past two days. She didn’t want to believe it had happened, but it did. 

She recalled returning from Todd’s house, everyone was acting strange, as if they were scared of her. Having random people be scared of her is not unusual- she is a robot after all. But what was unusual was when she saw Tuck. Her eyes narrowed at the memory.

Tuck came sliding down on his sled with his usual crazy smile. He stops right next to where Jenny is standing. At last, a friend to talk to!

“Hey, Tuck! Did you get that sled from the sale today at the mall?” 

Tuck didn’t respond but just stared at her and then started screaming. He then went back up the hill. This surprised Jenny, ‘What is going on?’ 

Her thoughts were interrupted as a snowball rammed her in the face.

“Alright? Who threw that?!" She shrieked both in confusion and anger. 

Her best friend Brad came out from hiding and then demanded others who were with him to keep attacking her with snowballs. 

“Keep going and she will short circuit!” he cried fiercely. She then flew off towards her house.

Jenny continued to glare out the window and now glanced towards his house, which like the others, was now silent and off into a blissful sleep. This was her best friend! Wasn’t he supposed to be on her side? Her cooling system enhanced and as a result caused her ‘breathing’ to go faster and more shallow. 

But that wasn’t all, she went home and found her mother…with blueprints for an XJ10! At first, Jenny assumed that maybe it didn’t mean anything and decided not to focus on it. All she needed at the moment was her human mother, Doctor Wakeman, to talk to her. 

“Mom, you won’t believe the day I had!” 

Her mother for some reason backed away from her, and stuttered,

“Oh really? Why-why don’t you take a seat and tell me all about it.”

Jenny walked over to the big red chair, distraught,

“Some of it is still a bit fuzzy…” 

Doctor Wakeman crawled over to the lever not breaking eye contact,

“Yes, yes, tell mama all about…IT!” Wakeman pulled the lever which yanked a stunned Jenny out of the chair and onto a giant magnet. 

“Mama bird to blackbird, baby bird is in the nest.” 

Jenny’s mouth quivered and she rubbed her optics, her hands were given a nice puddle of clear fluid in return. Why did her mother do that? She never felt so confused and hurt in her life. Unfortunately, it got worse.

She finally got Todd to confess that he has been mind-controlling her for the past year to destroy all the holidays.

Tuck, Brad, and Wakeman just crashed in with their jet and fell on the floor.

“We never lost faith in you, Jenny!” Tuck cheered gleefully. Something caught Jenny’s eye,

“Is that a robot hurter 5000?” 

Tuck bashfully hides the gun behind his back in response with a guilty grin.

She began to tremble, as tears now flooded her vision. Her windshield wipers activated and started to fight off the tears streaming down her cheeks. 

She shuddered at the thought, “ They were gonna kill me…I would have been scrap metal”  

When they got home later that night, her curiosity about XJ10 overtook her mind. When she got down to the basement, she saw her prototype sisters dismantling something. A shocked XJ4 tried to block Jenny’s view of what they were cleaning and taking apart. Unfortunately, XJ4’s attempt to block her was futile. 

Jenny’s optics widen and hurt even more. It was a half dome-shaped podium, inside a glass casing. Like the other XJ scaffolds, it had a golden plaque with big black bold letters that read, 

“Prototype XJ9, Status: deactivated.” Her mother did plan on replacing her.

Jenny fell to her knees, the thud echoed in the now silent room of her knees crashing into the floor. Her hands slammed on the ground, clawing at the floor. 

Her sisters watched her mournfully, but at the same time felt uncomfortable watching their sister having a total meltdown and just staring at her. For XJ1-3 and XJ8, it was just the way of life, right? Although XJ4-7 seems to be a little more understanding as they tried to change the subject while Jenny was screaming,

“So…have you seen the new movie?” Chirped XJ5, her voice squeaked through her speakers

XJ6 nodded enthusiastically, “Yea! The one with that hot actor, Ian?”

XJ4 rolled to Jenny who was still shaking on the floor, “Ya, Jenny.” She nudged her, “Ian, huh? What do you think about him? Isn’t he dreamy?” 

Jenny sniffed, trying to calm down. She glanced at XJ4 and gave a small nod, but not really paying attention to what she was saying. 

XJ7 commented, “What was that movie called again? I know it aired in that TV special, Stars of Summer marathon.” 

XJ5 chirped, “It was called the Armored Spy, oh man it is so good!” 

Jenny’s head perked up and stared at her sisters with a raised eyebrow, “Wait did you say, the Armored Spy?” 

XJ5 gleefully responded,

“Yea! It’s new and you would love it!”

Jenny was in disbelief and shook her head, “Girls, that movie came out a whole decade ago!” 

The sisters stared at her stunned XJ5 protested,

“No, that’s not true! I remember the day XJ8 was going to be deactivated mom let us all watch it in the basement before we all got shut off again.”

XJ7 was baffled,

“Wow, you learn something new every day, what else-did the Superbowl 100 happen yet?” 

XJ4 sighed,

“Yea, time has been weird down here. I wonder if the Sync n boys released their second album yet?”

Jenny felt tears welling up again, the Super Bowl 100 happened seven years ago, and the Sync n Boys broke up five months ago. She felt her chest tighten up and tears blurring her vision again. 

XJ6 rolled her eyes, having enough of her sister’s crying, “Listen, Jenny, most of us didn’t get to stay online as long as you had, so be grateful that you got to be online for six years! And since you're innocent you’ll be online even longer!” 

XJ5 chirped,

“Ya Jenny, and besides the basement isn’t horrible. Right?” 

Jenny just stared at them and kept glancing back at her mostly dismantled podium. The mere look of it sent a shudder down her spine. 

XJ7 sighed,

“Ya, I guess it’s not horrible, I mean I would have liked to” Suddenly a whirring sound was heard, and in less than a second her sisters were deactivated. Silent and asleep, like they always have been. 

Jenny stared at her sleeping sisters and her broken podium. The room was now silent and was only now penetrated by her soft broken sobs. 

“XJ9, you shouldn’t be down here! Now come to my lab, so I can run a diagnostic on you.” Her mother’s shrill voice echoed in the chamber 

Jenny stiffened and reluctantly followed her mother, while staring at her sleeping sisters, “Yes ma'am.” 

Jenny laid on the flat diagnostic table with wires and cables connecting her to her mother’s computer. Wakeman studied the display on the screen.

“Well XJ9, good news, you don’t have any hardware damage. Will you mind running a software diagnosis?”

Beeps and whirring occurred as 0s and 1s scrolled through Jenny’s optics. She blinked, her eyes going back to normal,

“No software damage or viruses found.” 

Wakeman sighed, “Good, I’m glad that Sweeny kid didn’t screw you up too bad.” She reached for the cables on Jenny.

Jenny frowned. Sure, there were no hardware or software problems, but she still was hurt. Not just because of him, but because of those she loved and trusted too. She watched her mom remove the cables and wires off of her body and hook them back in the box below the computer. Jenny observed her, did she miss her? Did she even care that she went missing or was acting differently than her normal programming? Jenny flinched at the next thought, did her mom even love her, or is she just another invention just like her own sisters and will one day be forgotten and locked away in the basement? 

“Mom?” Jenny said that was barely audible.

Wakeman was writing some data on the clipboard, and raised an eyebrow without looking at her robotic daughter,

“Hmm?”

Jenny’s optics glanced around the room, her voice box felt stuck. She gulped, she had never said this before, but she needed to know.

“M-mom? I-I love you.” 

Wakeman’s eyes met Jenny’s optics in confusion. Wakeman observed her daughter’s expression. Jenny’s eyes expressed both tiredness and sadness. 

Wakeman mused to herself, “She always has been an emotional girl.”

Wakeman rubbed her daughter’s head in a way to show comfort. 

“Your friends are downstairs, why don’t you go say goodnight.” 

Jenny forced a smile, disappointed in her mother’s answer, and again fighting tears,

“Ok…mom.” 

She approached her front door where Brad, Sheldon, and Tuck were all conversing and laughing. The laughter died down as Brad’s eyes met hers. Jenny wanted to look away, but her optics were just stuck on him. Neither said a word. 

The feeling of warmth she would feel when she looked at him was gone. Why wouldn’t it be? He almost killed her. For a moment it was like time stood still and the overwhelming silence filled the space between them. The silence shattered as soon as Brad whispered in a concerned tone,

“Jenny?” He looked down ashamed, “I am so sorry…I shouldn’t have…you’re my best friend and…it’s complicated.” he scrambles to find the right words, wanting to fix what he had done. 

Jenny stops him by raising her hand, not wanting to hear his apology again that night,

“Brad…” He looks at her guiltily, she groans, she wants to scream and vent, but her energy was already low. “I just…I need to go to bed…” She folded her arms, tears starting to make their way again to her optics, She stammers,

“Please just take Tuck home.” Brad tried to protest, but Jenny wouldn’t budge. Tuck looked up at her,

“But Jenny!” 

“I don’t want to talk about it, just go!” She said now sounding irritable. Reluctantly, the boys did as she said and left. 

Jenny slumped, feeling overwhelmed. A hand wrapped around her shoulder. She looked up, it was Sheldon. She weakly smiled, the only person who didn’t betray her. He would be on her side about this-

“Jenny, I know it feels horrible. But I have known Brad longer than you have, ever since elementary school. I have been to his house a couple of times growing up, and he’s right, it’s complicated. He really is sorry…”

Jenny was bewildered, now Sheldon was turning against her?

“Are you saying what he did was ok?” Her voice rose in anger.

Sheldon put his hands up in defense,

“No, of course not, but knowing his past, I know he can have a clouded judgment and you just need to be patient with him.” He sighed, “Trust me, he’s a good friend and he would never try to intentionally hurt you.”

Jenny still flustered,

“What do you mean complicated?” 

Sheldon shook his head,

“He doesn’t like to talk about it…and frankly, he probably wouldn’t want me to talk about it.” He continued, “It’s just some family thing and you know…” He stuttered and looked down, rubbing his arm shyly. “Human stuff.” 

Jenny was at loss for words and just gawked at her friend. Human stuff? Sheldon knew he probably shouldn’t have said that and immediately felt embarrassed. He knew the way he said it would just bring up that painful reminder that she was different and in the end, just a machine. She now looked like she was going to snap. He knew at that point it was best to just stop talking.

Sheldon took a deep breath and started to back his way to the door,

“Listen, Jen, I have to go, I’ll explain more later. Get some rest.” 

She watched as her friend made his way out the door and shut it behind him. Through the window, she watched as he trampled through the snowy night and watched as his silhouette got smaller and smaller till it was lost in the night.  

Jenny was now sitting on her bed, holding her knees towards her chest. Streams of the clear fluid substance were still rolling down her face, obstructing her vision and brimming with hurt. Her head laid back against the wall behind her bed. Sheldon’s voice echoed in her head, “Human stuff.” 

Her optics narrowed at the thought, “Is that all I am to them? Just a machine?”

She was already starting to get used to her classmates at school and the rest of Tremorton looking down on her and tossing her aside. Though, admittedly, it still hurts. She just wanted to fit in and be considered one of them.

Her optics narrowed, even more, her lips pressed into a firm frown. 

This, however, is different. 

These were the people that she happened to call her family and friends, and without even a second thought, like everyone else in Tremerton, tossed her aside. They didn’t even try to find her when she went missing. She clenched the sheets on her bed. Her mother didn’t even try to find her and was even planning to replace her with an XJ10, just like how she replaced her sisters before her. 

Jenny’s tears started to subside, despite the burning anguish. Her chest-plate hatch opened, her hand reached in, and then pulled out a picture. The picture was of her and Wakeman. In the picture they were in front of the Invention Convention, a very ecstatic Jenny was holding a can of oil while also her arm crushing Wakeman into a tight side-hug and Wakeman struggling to get out of her robotic daughter’s death grip with a small albeit forced smile. The caption below the picture, written in Jenny’s handwriting,

“ She finally called me her daughter!” 

Jenny furrowed her eyes and gave a bitter scoff at the photo. Did that mean anything? Or was her mom just doing it so Jenny would listen to her and follow her every command? She didn’t want to believe those thoughts, this was her mother! After today, it seemed like the second option was much more likely. 

Jenny’s mind wandered further. All her life, she met many people who feared her or just disapproved of her. Usually, she would just brush that off of her mind, but after today, she thinks her family and friends don’t think so differently from everyone else. When she returned, they acted like how everyone else did. Scared and disgusted. 

True, Sheldon still trusted her, but even he was able to move on easier from the incident. She recalled how they first met and how the boy compared her to a fictional robotic character and was fascinated by her. She still didn’t know if he sees the girl she is on the inside or just interested because she was a robot. After all, she was the only girl he talked to. 

Jenny’s optics began to droop and her voice shook as she whispered to herself out loud, gripping the photo “Was it…just all a lie?” Her voice lowered now growling, “They didn’t see a friend or a daughter…They didn’t see me!” 

She crumpled up the photo into a ball and threw it in the trash and then proceeded to stand up and kick the trash can to the other side of the room. She picked up the can and approached her window with her hand pressed on the glass opening it. She threw it out her window and into outer space. 

She raised her hand towards the can floating above the earth and a blue beam shot out from her palm. 

 “BOOM” The Trash can that held the photo was now engulfed in flames and ultimately exploded. 

She gazed at the spot where the trash can flew and exploded. The sky was clear now and she could see the stars sparkling. She choked while baring her “teeth”.

“I’m just a robotic toy to them…Just a joke…and that’s what I’ll always and forever be.” 

Her eyes again gazed across the night sky. She saw multiple glowing specks, they were either planets or stars. One speck caught her attention, and she recognized it. It was the all-robot planet, Cluster Prime ruled by Vexus herself. 

“Maybe…Vexus is right about humans after all?” Jenny mumbled. She shook her head, no matter what she still wouldn’t join the cluster. Vexus also just sees her as more of an object, like a weapon, instead of just Jenny, to be used against the humans. 

Vexus isn’t so great with robots either. Despite being a robot herself. Jenny recalled that time when Vexus showed up at the Inventions Convention and mind-controlled all of the robots. Vexus even used mind control on Jenny multiple times! 

Jenny sighed, her mind now thought about the other robots she ever met. She always knew she wasn’t human, but after meeting some of the robots, she also felt like, for some reason, she wasn’t fully a robot either. For starters, the other robots didn’t express emotion, fall in love, go to school, or have friends, as she supposedly did. 

Even her sisters don’t display a whole ton of emotion as she did. The XJs were content in their basement. Jenny couldn’t comprehend why being locked in the basement 24/7 would be ok, but her sisters couldn’t understand why she was upset.

Jenny wasn’t crying anymore, she ran out of fluid and energy to produce any more tears. The pain ran deep, she collapsed back on her bed. Her optics now stared at her ceiling, her mind still overwhelmed with emotion and heartache. However her face now only expressed tiredness, as her hands hung off the bed. She checked her inner clock, which read: 2:40 AM. 

She closed her optics, intending to forget the pain and the events that day and go into sleep mode. And maybe, just maybe, find it was all a dream the next morning…Unfortunately she mostly just tossed and turned unable to sleep…tonight was going to be a long night.

————————————————————————

Likewise, Brad was also unable to sleep, sitting upright in his bed and staring out the foggy window towards Jenny’s house. His mind recalled everything that happened the past year. How did I not know? Why didn’t I suspect something? She’s my best friend and I wasn’t there for her. A pang of guilt sank deep into his chest. He was so sure that Sheldon’s assumptions were wrong and that his friend was wrecking the holidays on her own…but he just damaged one of the best relationships he had. How could I have been so stupid?! He groaned, and his head started to pound. His hands brushed through his messy hair and then dragged across his face. 

He knew his best friend was a pretty forgiving person, heck she even forgave the Krust cousins before! But after tonight, he wonders if he had finally crossed the line and she won’t be forgiving him anytime soon. 

After he left her house earlier, Doctor Wakeman called him assuring him everything will be fine and to just keep trying to be there for her and she will eventually come around and things will be back to normal soon. He appreciated the sentiment of her words, but still…

He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard some glass shattering and saw a trash can flying out of Jenny’s bedroom window and then getting destroyed as a powerful ray of light shot out from the same spot. 

He leaned back into his bed and held the covers to his chest. He felt tense. His heavy blood-shot eyes continually gazed out towards the windows.

Would she? 

Chapter Text

A week has passed since that incident. Doctor Wakeman quietly drank a cup of morning coffee as she slowly shuffled around her quiet kitchen. She stopped to gaze outside her window; the white crystallized snow contrasted against the bright sun, which caused her to squint at the sight. Down the street at the end of the neighborhood, she could see the town had been preparing for the New Years' celebration that night. 

She took a deep breath, and she found the moment alone to be relatively peaceful. However, no matter how hard she tried to embrace it, she felt a twinge of uneasiness and the pained guilt bubbling inside her. Her attention was taken by the sight of the stairs outside the kitchen that led to her daughter’s bedroom. The past week, Jenny never left the house, let alone her room. Her door remained unopened, and an overwhelming scent of oil odor started to seep through the door. 

Nora knew she hurt her and gave Jenny the space and time alone in hopes that it would help her heal emotionally quicker. But unfortunately, she is unsure if she has seen any improvements since Jenny still hadn’t talked to her and when she would bring her some oil, Jenny wouldn’t get it until Nora had headed back downstairs. 

She sighed tiredly and booted her foot against the tile, unsure what to do. Sure, she could reprogram her and make her forget the entire incident-but, that wouldn’t be the right solution. When she can, Doctor Wakeman tries to treat Jenny like she would a human rather than a machine, and humans take longer to deal with than machines.

Her thoughts were interrupted and she jumped as the phone on the wall started to ring. She shuffled over and picked the phone off the receiver. She placed the phone close to her ear and croaked,

“Wakeman residence, this is Doctor Wakeman speaking.” She noted how dry her throat was when she heard herself speak and cleared her throat. She guessed that happens when you don’t talk in your home for a week. 

A familiar voice spoke, “Hey Ms.W, it’s me, Brad.”

She nodded, “Ah yes, hello, Bradley.” It was silent for a minute and then Brad spoke again, “So…how was your morning?” He squeaked awkwardly. 

She rubbed her forehead and groaned. She took a sip of her coffee, “it’s fine…” She looked down into her cup, “My coffee is cold now…you?”

Brad hummed in the background; she could hear Tuck asking him about Jenny, and Brad shushed him. His attention turned back to the phone,

“I’m…fine, I didn’t have breakfast yet. I guess I’m just not hungry at the moment.” He let out a small yet forced chuckle at the last part. 

She chuckled a little and then spoke again, she knew what was going on in his mind, “Bradley…it’s going to take some time.” 

He mumbled with dejection in his voice. Wakeman heard him thump his head against the wall, “I know…it’s just that...” He gulped, not wanting to finish his sentence as it hurt to finish, and continued while switching subjects, “I was just wondering if Jenny would perhaps want to come with Sheldon, Tuck, and me to the New Years' countdown tonight?” 

Wakeman removed her glasses- rubbed her eyes, and shrugged, “I don’t know if she will want to-Bradley, she still hasn’t come out of her room. Even when there’s an emergency, I end up sending XJ8 instead. Which usually would be a problem, but luckily they have all been minor so far-knock on wood.” 

Brad fell silent for a moment as he felt a pit in his stomach. He believed-no he knew- he’s one of the main reasons she wasn’t being herself and hiding in her room. Brad felt hopeless, but had to try to make things right. So he pleaded, “Please, Ms. Wakeman, we really want her to come and we will even take her to Mezmers and buy her some oil…And…and…Can you please just somehow get her to come?” 

She shook her head, “Bradley…” He interrupted her,

“She didn’t even get to go last year…please?”

Doctor Wakeman looked down to the ground and shoved her hand in her bathrobe pocket. It’s true, she didn’t. She pressed her lips together in thought and finally gave in, “Fine. I’ll see what I can do.” 

Brad sighed, almost relieved in a way, “Thank you.”

She silently nodded and hung up the phone.

She glanced back up the stairs for a second. She was hesitant but knew that she needed to try. She quickly grabbed a fresh can of WD-140 out of the fridge. She waddled over to the stairwell and climbed up the steps with her hand gliding on the rail. 

She proceeded down the hall and stopped right in front of Jenny’s door. She took a deep breath and just hoped her daughter would respond. She softly knocked, “XJ9? I brought you some oil.” She only was met with silence. She continued, “Your friend, Bradley, called and wanted you to attend the event tonight with them.” Again no response. Desperately she added, “I think you’ll have fun, and I’ll even let you stay up past curfew!” 

She waited for anything, something! Yet she still didn’t respond. Her shoulders drooped in disappointment. She sat the can of oil down onto the carpet in front of the door- Ugh, wait; why is the carpet so wet and sticky? She observed the new dark stain growing on the mat and seeping out of the doorway. The overwhelming horrible scent confirmed it came from old spilled oil cans. She shook her head wearily as she stared at the spot, oh XJ9. 

She resisted the urge to complain about the oil stain to Jenny as it wouldn’t make things better at the moment. Still, she felt frustrated-it would take weeks to get rid of it, and eventually, if it didn’t she would have to buy new carpeting for the hallway. 

She mumbled to herself with hands on her hip, “Guess I’ll have to activate XJ4 and see if she can do anything about…” She paused when she got a sudden realization and the answer to both the carpet and Jenny. 

She smugly smiled to herself as she headed back down the stairs. 

——————————————————————

Jenny listened on the other side of the door. She leaned against the door with her audio receptors turned at maximum volume and waited for her mom to leave the door. As soon as she heard her footsteps departing, she slowly opened the door and extended her arm to snatch the can, and quickly retracted her arm and shut the door. 

She wandered back to her bed as she chugged the oil. In the past, she would have been elated to hear those words come from her mom’s mouth and embrace her in a bone-crushing hug. Now, the words just left her with a bitter taste in her mouth and a sense of resentment. In the last week, her mother and her friends tried apologizing and somehow making up for it. But, how can you make up for something like that? 

She drank a few more sips, the can still half full. She stared at it and lightly played with it in the palm of her hand-she wasn’t thirsty anymore. She smacked her lips and tilted her head to process the flavor. She observed the label, WD-140, her favorite. Usually, she would down this drink in seconds; however, this past week…it just wasn’t the same as it used to be. Perhaps it’s the taste? Jenny read the contents and it was all the same as it always was. Or maybe it’s…me. She thought to herself tiredly. 

Jenny tossed the half-filled can into the overflowing pile of trash; the contents spilled onto the stack and over the carpet, which enlarged the stain on the ground. 

She collapsed onto her bed, face down on the pillow. Her battery was fully charged, but she still felt exhausted. Her mother’s mention of her friend’s invite sat in her mind, a tiny part of her wanted to go-but she still couldn’t face him. Besides, did the invite even mean anything, or was he just feeling sorry for himself? She wasn’t sure, after all, it wasn’t like he cared at all last year. She glared at the thought, the bitter feeling again rising in her chest. 

Gears ground in her mind which gave her the equivalent of a human headache. She closed her optics and gave an exhausted groan. She felt her cooling systems go to their highest level to lower her oil pressure and calm her down. She tried to let herself relax and took some artificial breaths - In one two three, out one two three, in-

The door slammed open, and Jenny jumped and let out a yelp, she twisted her head to see XJ4 standing in the doorway. 

“Hey, Jen-OH MY GOODNESS!” XJ4 hollered in shock as she saw trash building up all around the room and growing oil stains on the bed, walls, and carpet. Jenny rolled her eyes and frowned, “How did you get in here? I locked my door!”

XJ4 continued to gawk at the horrid mess that lay in front of her, she responded absentmindedly, “Uhm, this actually used to be my room once upon a time and I still have the key…” She rolled over to Jenny who was still on her bed and gave her a look of disgust, “What did you do to it?! It’s a pigsty!” She waved her arms widely in emphasis, “Oil stains…EVERYWHERE!! You have piles of trash multiplying- you can’t even see the carpet, Jenny!! And…” She looked up and gasped as her optics spotted the shattered fragments of glass, “You broke the window?! That’s stainless glass, do you know how expensive this is? When I was active- I was never upgraded because of how expensive this glass was!” 

Jenny groaned, clearly not in the mood. She sat up and rested her face in the palms of her hands and mumbled, “It’s been a long week…What are you doing here?” 

XJ4 shook her head and folded her arms, “Sis, this room is a disaster, sheesh!” She observed her older sister and lifted Jenny’s head in her hands. Her face wrinkled and one of her hands formed into a wax brush, “When was the last time you got waxed?” 

Jenny growled and pushed XJ4 forcefully to the ground. “Get off me! What are you doing here?!” 

“Well, mom sent me up here to come to check on you…” XJ4 winced in horror, “And clearly, you're not doing well.” Jenny scoffed, figures! mom never did care for my space! She probably just sent my sister to get me to forgive them!

Jenny narrowed her optics and shrugged, “Well, I’m fine! You can go now, XJ4!” 

XJ4 stood up, turned one of her hands into a duster, and brushed herself off, “Ehm…You’re not.” 

Jenny placed her hands on her hips and shot in defense, “Oh, so now you’re gonna tell me how to feel?!” A flood of rage filled her optics.

XJ4 put her hands up to cover herself. Jeeze , this is going to be more complicated than I thought. “No, Jen, I’m not telling you to do anything! I just was told to check on you…as well as the oil stains.” She continued as she softly placed a hand on Jenny’s shoulder, “I also heard you were invited to the New Years' celebration and…I think you should go.” 

Jenny stared at her incredulously and folded her arms, mom clearly told her to do this… “Oh? Why's that?” 

XJ4 softly smiled, “Because I think it would be good for you to go back out there and ya know-get reacquainted with society…you can’t just lock yourself in your room forever, Jenny.” 

Jenny scoffed and retorted as she waved her hand dismissively, “Said the one who's been stuck in the basement for years deactivated.” Right as she said it, she regretted saying it but felt like XJ4 needed to hear that with how much she was hurting. 

XJ4 glared at her as those words hurt, “Well, at least I had company thanks to our other sisters…You’re all alone in here moping to yourself!” She got into Jenny’s face and practically yelled the last part of her sentence. 

“Maybe, I want to be alone! Have you ever thought of that?!” Jenny shot back her voice squeaked at the end as she felt her oil pressure rise and her chest tighten. She clenched her fists, “So, why should I go back out there? I want to be alone and everyone hates me!” She sighed and mumbled as her shoulders slumped, now overheated. “No one even cared I was gone before- and…and…” She couldn’t speak anymore, her throat tightened and her optics were on the verge of tears. The entirety of the incident still mocked her deep down and pained her worse than any villain she had ever fought. XJ4 gazed sympathetically, and seeing her sister so upset withered her anger away. 

“Jenny…” XJ4 now spoke in a softer tone and placed an arm around her. Jenny shook her off, rejecting her sister’s attempt to comfort her,

“Forget it, it’s…I’ll be fine…I think I just need to lie down.” 

XJ4 watched as Jenny collapsed back on the bed with a loud thud. It was silent between the two for a moment. Jenny closed her optics, and her face looked peaceful, but XJ4 knew that that wasn’t the case. She leaned close to her, thinking about what to do next. XJ4 knew what it was like to be tossed aside, but not to this extent. 

“Jenny…I know it hurts, but they do care, we all do…” She sighed and reluctantly sat on the stained bed with a stench that overwhelmed her, but she continued, “I know it’s hard, but would you be willing to give them a second chance and just go tonight? If not for them, at least do it for me…please?” 

Jenny cracked open her optics and looked into her sister’s pleading eyes, she didn’t want to. She grimaced and XJ4 continued to beg,

“I’ll clean your room while you're gone and this will be the last time I ask, I promise! Just please go! I hate seeing you like this.” 

Jenny let out a huff, she just couldn’t say no-especially to the puppy face XJ4 was making. Finally, she groaned in defeat, “Ugh, I’m probably going to regret this…fine, I’ll go.” 

XJ4 smiled as she pulled her sister off the bed, “Let’s get you cleaned up! Because, seriously, you don’t smell terrific.” 

Jenny protested with a whine, “I think I smell fine!” 

XJ4 winced as she grabbed an air freshener off the nightstand to spray her down, “That’s because your nose-blind, Jen.” 

———————————————————————-

11:45 PM New Year’s Eve 

Brad checked his watch, where is she? He wondered. The trio- Brad, Tuck, and Sheldon all sat at the round table at Mezmers finishing off their jumbo sundaes while the untouched oil shake sat beside them at an empty spot. 

Tuck piped up in concern, “She is coming, right?” 

“I don’t know Tuck.” Sheldon shrugged solemnly as he finished off his sundae. “We need to go now though if we want to get to the town square in time for the countdown.” 

“Guess Jen will have to meet us down there, we could take the shake with us.” Brad slipped out his wallet, took out some cash to pay for their shakes, and handed it to the waiter. 

The boys stepped out on the walkway and headed to the town square. They stopped when a six-foot-framed figure stepped out in front of them from the side of Mezmers, they smiled and ran up to her. “Jenny! You came!” 

Unfortunately, Jenny didn’t share their enthusiasm and just shared a blank expression. Her pigtails drooped and her optics were half open. Brad handed her the plastic cup of the oil shake, “We got you something! It’s…kind of melted now though…sorry.” 

Jenny observed the melted and now room temperature liquid. It looked very unappetizing but still attempted to be polite. She shrugged and replied in a quiet voice, “Uh…thanks. I guess. Uhm, shall we get going?” She fiddled with the straw for a moment as they began to walk again. The silence on a cold night usually is peaceful, instead, they all just felt tense. 

Tuck gave a weak, innocent smile, “I’m glad you came! It really isn’t the same without you…We’re…”

Jenny not wanting to hear another apology, abruptly replied not letting Tuck finish his sentence,

“Ok, how about I just fly us there…you know, so we’re on time.” And I can just get this night over with already and go back to bed! Ugh…Why did I let XJ4 talk me into this? She bitterly thought to herself as she wrapped all three of them in her arms, activated her pigtail jets, and took off into the night sky. 

When they arrived at the town square she landed amongst the large crowd of people and sat the boys down on the pavement. Jenny gazed around her surroundings, feeling very uncomfortable and a sense as if she was being watched.

“Alright, we made it on time!” Tuck chirped. 

“You ok, Jen?” Asked Sheldon, raising an eyebrow. Jenny folded her arms and appeared stiff, she mumbled quietly, “I think people are staring at me.” Even after being proven innocent, she probably should have figured some people would be still uncomfortable around her after the last time. 

Brad smiled sympathetically, “No, they’re not, I promise you’re fine!”  

“Yea and you’re with us! Everything will be just fi…” Sheldon was interrupted by a woman holding a child, screaming and pointing toward them,

“It’s that rogue robot! She’s back to torment us some more!” 

A man in the crowd yelled in horror, “Look! She has those three boys hostage!!” 

“What?!” Cried the boys in shock and Jenny started to back away behind them in terror. Brad waved his hands in protest, “Wait, no! Jenny’s innocent!!” 

“Get her!” Cried an angry citizen who threw a snowball which slammed into Jenny’s chest, which caused her to be thrown back a little bit. She formed a shield to protect herself. “This is what you get for terrorizing humans, you rusted piece of junk!” 

Sheldon yelled in a fury, pushing back a few people in the crowd throwing snowballs at her, “Stop it! Jenny’s our friend! Don’t do this!” 

Brad added as he fought back, “Last year was not her fault! Stop!” Unfortunately, their words fell on deaf ears as the crowd kept on with the attack. 

Jenny’s optics started to water as the cold icy snowballs smacked her everywhere. Her chest started to burn and her throat tightened. She began to shake, her body began to signal to her brain of slight water damage. She looked down at her arms and could see rust had started to form as the snow hit her.  

“Mommy, is she crying? Asked a small child in the crowd, genuinely confused. The woman sneered at Jenny in response, “No, honey, it’s just wet…it doesn’t have feelings like a human.” 

Unbeknownst to them, the words cut like a knife into Jenny’s core. They never saw her as a living individual, just a machine. Her optics flooded with fluid. I knew this was a mistake. She painfully thought to herself. 

Brad wrapped his arm around her to console her. “Jen, don’t listen to them!” Followed by Sheldon shouting at the mother, “You don’t know what you’re talking about lady!” Despite all the commotion-Jenny was no longer listening. She scowled, pushing Brad away from her. She triggered her pigtail jets again and, without hesitation, surged off before any more physical damage was done. She didn’t bother to pay attention to her friends calling after her to come back amongst the people cheering that she was gone and that Tremerton was safe. 

—————————————————————-

Dr. Wakeman paced back and forth, awaiting her daughter’s return and hoping she was enjoying her time. She would usually be in her lab this time of night, even though it was a holiday, however, stress overwhelmed her which made her stay upstairs.

XJ4 approached her and gasped in exhaustion,

“Cripes, mom…Her room was a disaster area! I just finished cleaning up! I didn’t know that it was possible for a robot her size to down that much oil in a week! Gosh, you’d think she was an airplane or maybe even Armagedriod!” 

The doctor shrugged and rubbed her forehead tiredly, it was hard to see Jenny like this, and just hoped things would go back to normal soon, “Very good, XJ4, I see your cleaning program is still efficient! I’m sure Jenny will appreciate it dear.” 

XJ4 rolled over to the kitchen, grabbed a can of oil from the fridge, and took a sip. 

“Let’s hope so. I had to throw some stuff out…yea it was bad, ugh.” She felt a shiver of disgust run through her system just thinking about what she had to endure through the past few hours. 

Without warning, the door busted open with Jenny stomping inside. Wakeman and XJ4 were startled by her appearance. Jenny’s entire body was covered in rust and dirt. Her pigtails drooped as her shoulders were slumped and looked like she had been crying. 

“My goodness, XJ9, what…what happened?” Wakeman rushed to Jenny’s side along with XJ4. 

Jenny slowly turned her head with a deadpan expression, not wanting to burst out in tears again. She replied monotonously, “I…I don’t want to talk about it…I’m going to go to my room.” She trudged through the room to the stairs as XJ4 and Wakeman both looked forlorn. “XJ9, I need to run a diagnostic check on you before you go up, you took a good amount of water damage,” Wakeman commented as she tried to reach for Jenny’s hand.

Jenny scoffed and rolled her optics as she yanked her hand away. She has a finished blueprint of XJ10, why should she care? It’s not like mom did before! If I’m damaged, she can easily replace me! Unaware of her mom’s concerned expression, she shook her head, “I’m fine…I’ll just dry myself off.” 

XJ4 rolled over again next to Wakeman’s side, looking up at Jenny,

“Jenny, you can tell us what happened.” 

Jenny paused for a minute and mumbled, “It’s nothing really…just…the usual people not liking robot stuff…nothing special, I’m gonna lay down.” She then scurried up the stairs and waved dismissively before Wakeman or XJ4 could say anything.

Wakeman sighed and mentally slapped herself, she should have expected this to happen. It was announced to the public that XJ9 was innocent, but not many people believed it. “Poor girl.” She whispered to no one in particular.

“Well, maybe she’ll feel a little better once she's seen what I have done to her room.” Noted XJ4 hopefully. 

They jumped when they heard Jenny scream. 

“Jenny, is everything alright?” Cried XJ4 in a concerned tone. Loud footsteps were heard as Jenny marched back downstairs confused and frustrated,

“XJ4…Where is my bed?!”

Wakeman blinked in shock and turned to XJ4 who giggled nervously and shrugged, “Well, heh, I did say I threw stuff out…” Which earned a facepalm from Wakeman and a frustrated cry from Jenny. 

“That bed…was my ONLY FRIEND!” Jenny started to advance her way towards XJ4 with a menacing death stare and ‘breathing heavily’. 

XJ4 gulped and quivered in fear, “Oh my…Well, I’m going to be downstairs now, goodnight everybody!” She hurriedly bolted through the basement door and locked it to prevent Jenny from following her downstairs.

Jenny wiggled the doorknob and shouted for XJ4 to return to no avail. Wakeman rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. She watched her daughter yell for her sister. 

“XJ9.” Jenny didn’t listen and kept pulling on the knob. It was clear, like her, that Jenny was worn out because the door wasn’t budging. “XJ9, honey.” 

Again, Jenny ignored her and kept going. Jenny mumbled to herself, “Stupid-erg- XJ4…Just wait till I-ugh. XJ4!” 

Wakeman finally grabbed Jenny's shoulder and forcefully pulled her away, “XJ9!” 

Jenny faced her mother and shot back, her optics practically widened, “She tossed my bed!! Where am I supposed to sleep?!”

“I know she did, but I’ll find a solution, ok?” Wakeman consoled her in hopes of calming her down. But, instead, Jenny glared and elbowed the door with force. “Can’t you make her go get it?” 

Wakeman shook her head, “No, it’s already late. But I can get you something else to sleep on.” She hoped Jenny would find that reasonable, but to her dismay, Jenny started to shake, her lips trembled, and her optics furrowed. Wakeman placed her hands on Jenny’s shoulders, she spoke in a soft, gentle voice, “Hey, it’ll be alright dear, I’ll take care of it, I always do… I think you just need to…”

Jenny folded her arms and leaned against the door as she gazed towards the ground, “When you say take care of it…does that mean replacing it?” 

“Well, yes. We can go to the store tomorrow, and I’ll buy whatever mattress you like.” 

Jenny scoffed and shook her head, “I figured that’s what you meant…Whenever something important is missing, you don’t look for it-you just simply replace it.” Her optics narrowed as she looked into her mother’s eyes and felt the same pained feeling. Wakeman froze when she realized what her daughter meant, now rendered speechless. “That’s always your solution.” Jenny’s voice cracked as tears started to stream down her face. 

“XJ9…Jenny…That’s not the same thing…” Wakeman whispered in an attempt to both defend herself and comfort her. She had no excuse for what she had done but still tried to fix it. She tried to wrap her arms around Jenny and hold her. 

Jenny removed her hands and pushed her aside. “Whatever…Just…Just leave me alone.” She marched over to the couch and picked it up, “I’m taking this, good night.” 

Wakeman watched Jenny haul the couch up the stairs, now disheartened. When Jenny was out of sight, Wakeman collapsed in the remaining chair in the living room as she blankly stared across the empty space. She was aware that she made a mistake this past year with XJ9, but she tried to fix her errors! Right? She gave her space, didn’t bother her about crime duty and had XJ8 do it. As well as, alongside Jenny’s friends, apologize to her and find ways to make it up to her. She thought in a week, Jenny would improve, but there had been no progress.

That conversation with her showed that there wouldn’t be any changes anytime soon. She wracked her mind in an attempt to think of an answer, but the horrid thought lurked in her mind. 

Or maybe, I finally failed her as a creator and a mother. Tears started to well; she didn’t want to believe it. She gazed up the stairwell and just hoped Jenny would forgive her soon. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Closed Windows and Regrets

“Here ya go, kid, today’s special.” Mumbled the overweight middle-aged lunch lady as she scooped the mysterious-looking gruel out of the container and poured it onto Brad’s tray. “It’s good for you…probably.” She droned carelessly and shrugged. Brad stared at his plate, holding the unrecognizable glob with slight disgust; it probably committed many health code violations. 

“Now beat it; you're holding the line!” Groaned the lunch lady as she shooed him away with her ladle. Brad rolled his eyes as he made his way to the table and sat down. He poked at the mysterious-looking glob with his fork in dismay. He also noted how it was apparent that the lady wasn’t sanitary either, as he found some random pieces of hair. “Ew.” He stared and stuck out his tongue at the blob in disgust. Finally, he shoved the plate to the side, rested his head in his folded arms on the table, and sighed. 

It didn’t matter; he could just eat later. It wasn’t like he was hungry right now anyways. Well, that is what he would tell himself, in reality, he doesn’t remember the last time he had a full meal. He just didn’t have an appetite right now. 

He closed his eyes just to rest, yet all he could see was her and how things used to be. As if everything was alright. She stood right in front of him as he rested on the ledge of her window and simply smiled. A slight grin grew on his face, “Hey, Jen.” 

“Hey, Brad!” Her voice surprisingly sounded nasally and low, shocking him. What the?  

“Brad!” She cried again in the same voice. He felt a hand shaking his shoulder, snapping him back into reality. He blinked and jerked back up; he glanced around, now back in the cafeteria. 

“You okay, Brad?” Brad turned and saw Sheldon standing beside him with his lunch, with a sympathetic expression. Brad groaned, “Mmm…just tired, I guess.”

Sheldon nodded silently as he placed his tray next to Brad, “Mind if I join you?” 

Brad shrugged in response, “Sure…it’d make the table less lonely.”

Sheldon softly smiled as he placed his tray on the table. Sheldon picked up his fork and tried to jab it in the food to get a bite. He retorted and shook his head as the contact eventually broke the fork, “Of course the meat is frozen, why am I not surprised?” He sarcastically asked himself as he dropped the fork back on the table and rested his cheek on his fist.

He glances over at Brad and observes him collapsed on the table, his head buried in his arms. 

“Brad…Jenny will forgive you; eventually, it will take some time.” 

Brad lifted his head and rubbed his eyes tiredly, “I don’t know about that, Shel…I really, really messed up.” He shook his head, frustrated, “She probably won’t ever forgive me…I mean, who can screw something up that bad?” 

Sheldon winced a little at the comment. Little does Brad know, he knew that feeling a little too well. Luckily, Jenny hasn’t found out his secrets…yet. He gulped quietly, “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes…” Trust me, I know. He guiltily thought to himself but couldn’t bring himself to say that to Brad, as he found that thought stuck in his throat. “And Brad, I know for you it was complicated…I’ve known you my whole life.” 

Brad nodded, his eyes sullen. He tried not to think about that woman. He wanted to put her in the back of his mind the day she left, but her face and voice would still often appear in his thoughts. He forced a chuckle, “That was so long ago Sheldon…Tuck wouldn’t even remember her.” Sheldon sighed, “But you do…and it’s affected you. It’s basic psychology.” 

Brad rolled his eyes, not wanting to listen, and collapsed on the table again. “Whatever you say, Sheldon.” Brad mumbled. “Still, it doesn’t excuse what I did.” He whispered. 

Sheldon leaned closer to him, “Just try, okay…plus, wouldn’t it be nice to have her sitting here again?” Brad was about to respond in solemn agreement until they heard a chortle, 

“Oh please, like anyone would want to see that full metal freak again?” Brit scoffed. The boys look over and see the Krust Cousins passing by with their usual posse. 

 “Yea, I’m glad the tin can loser is gone, last year was fabulous without her! So why would we want her back?” Tiff yelled as she smirked. 

Sheldon scowled, his face reddened. “Okay, seriously? What has she ever done to you? She’s a hero!” 

Ptresia rolled her eyes, “She exists, duh!!” 

Brad shot back, his whole body tensed, “Jenny is our best friend, can you just back off?!” He could feel the fury building up inside him. 

“Of course her only friends-the geek and the pathetic loner have to defend her! Ha!” Laughed Tiff sadistically along with the rest of the posse. 

Brit noted with a smirk, “And besides, Bradley, weren’t you one of the ones out to get Jenny last year? Hmm?” She emphasized the last part cruelly.

Her remark was given a roaring ‘oooooh’ from everyone in the cafeteria. 

Brad stared stunned; guilt again washed over him.”It was an accident…I didn’t mean to!” His heart sank until his stomach as he spoke those words. He really did betray his best friend. He frowned as he tightened his fists, “And I do want her back!” 

Ptresia shrugged, now bored, “Whatever freaks…let’s go, girls.” The posse laughed as they proceeded to walk away from Brad and Sheldon. 

Brad heavily sighed as he slumped his shoulders. He furrowed his eyebrows and his teeth clenched. 

Sheldon reached out his hand, “Brad?” 

Brad slapped his hand away angrily. He shook his head, he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, he pushed Sheldon out of the way and stormed out of the cafeteria. Sheldon glanced around the room and noticed everyone staring at him. He awkwardly pointed to the door and stammered, “I’m…gonna go now.” Sheldon immediately bolted out the door and tried to follow Brad. 

——————————————————————

He didn’t want to spend another minute in that building, he just couldn’t. He pushed open the high school doors and rushed down the street. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest and even thumped in his ears, and his feet crunched the snow underneath. He sprinted for a few blocks until he turned down a familiar road. His house was in sight. I wonder if I can call in sick for the rest of the day…yea that sounds good. If Dad is home, he would believe that, right? 

His legs scampered down the sidewalk until he finally had to stop. He bent over as he gasped for air, hands on his knees. Brad glanced over at the house he was now in front of- Jenny’s. He observed the house shoving his hands in his pockets still catching his breath. The cold wind blew past his face. His eyes stopped as it caught Jenny’s window-it was closed. He couldn’t see any sign of movement, but he knew she was in there.

His house was in the corner of his eye, he could easily keep walking home and just go inside. It sounded tempting. He glanced back at the window, his eyes narrowed. But, no, I need to try to get her to come back. He made way to the tree next to her window and pulled down the ladder he had built that hung from the tree. He brushed off the snow on the bars and carefully climbed towards her window. 

When he reached the top, he peered through the glass and confirmed that Jenny was indeed in the room. She sipped on a can of oil, unaware of Brad’s presence as she read carelessly through a magazine on a bean bag chair. He gently knocked on the glass to get her attention, but Jenny didn’t even budge. He knocked more persistently, and she continued to ignore him. Guess I’m gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way. He lunged both his hands at the bottom edge of the window and tried to lift it open. Surprisingly, it didn’t move no matter how hard he pulled. What? He tried again, but still not moved. He looked closer and softly gasped as he saw the direction the knob was turned. She…she locked me out? His hand rested on the glass as he stared at Jenny who still hadn’t dared to look back at him. 

Brad knocked as he yelled through the glass, “Jenny! Please let me in…I really want to talk to you! Please, I’m sorr…” Brad was interrupted as Jenny extended her arm to the top of the window and pulled down the blinds without looking. He gazed sorrowfully at the blocked window. “Jen…” He breathed quietly now somewhat stunned. He lowered his head in shame and glared at the snow-covered ground below him. I did it…I think I lost her. He painfully thought to himself. 

A voice down below called for him. He looked down below him and saw Sheldon standing next to the ladder. 

“Anything?” He asked curiously and hopefully. Brad sighed and silently shook his head. Then, he climbed back down the ladder, “She locked me out.” He said in a somber tone.

 Sheldon nodded slowly, “oh…I see.” Brad walked up next to him and shrugged- now helpless, “I don’t know what to do…Jen won’t talk to me.”

Sheldon tapped his chin in thought, “Well, maybe I could try?” 

Brad raised an eyebrow, “How? She won’t even open her window.” His eyes widened in realization when Sheldon gestured at the front door, “You’re gonna break into her house?!” 

Sheldon shook his head, “No, I’m going to have Doctor Wakeman let me in.”

 Brad tilted his head, still confused, “Okay, but what if Jenny’s door is locked? Then what?” 

Sheldon smirked and pulled out a broken paper clip, “Easy, I could pick the lock.” 

Brad gawked at him in shock, “Dude, she will kill you if you do that!” Sheldon rested his hand on Brad’s shoulder, “I know it’s a crazy idea, but trust me. I think this could work! And besides, it's not like Jenny didn’t attack me before.”   

Brad let out a huff of air, still in bewilderment. Then, finally, he shook his head, “Shel, please don’t do that…”

Sheldon pleaded, clasping his hands together, “But…”

Brad saved his arms dismissively, “No, it would just make the situation worse. So just try to not pick the lock!” 

Sheldon frowned in dismay as his frame sagged, “Fine, I’ll be right back to get something from my house, and we can go in.” 

Brad rolled his eyes in disbelief as he watched him leave to presumably grab something. “This…might be a mistake.” He groaned to himself as he rubbed his hand through his hair. 

———————————————————————

Sheldon slapped the latest issue of the Fashionista magazine in his hands. He stood in front of Jenny’s door as Brad stayed behind him. Brad wanted to remain downstairs, but Sheldon persisted. Finally, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door. “Hey Jenny…It’s Sheldon. I-uh-wanted to see you…” He stayed silent for a moment, waiting for a response. 

Nothing.

“Uhm…Brad is here too, we just wanted to say that we miss you…and want you to come back to school, we all miss having you!” 

A faint scoff was heard behind the door, “Yea, right, I highly doubt that…” Her voice sounded bitter and muffled. 

Sheldon and Brad looked at each other uncomfortably; they both wanted to deny it but knew their classmates didn’t care. 

“Well…your family and friends do, Jen,” Brad spoke timidly. 

It was silent again for a moment,

“Jen?” Sheldon inquired. Jenny spoke again with considerable resentment, and her voice cracked, “Just leave me alone, Brad…Both of you, I just want to be alone.”

Brad walked closer and placed a hand on the door, “Jenny…I really am sorry…I can…” he bit his lip nervously, “I can explain, just please let me in!” 

Jenny shouted, interrupting him, “Oh, shut up! Will you just go away?! I’m not in the mood!”

Her words stung, Brad became silent and just nodded. Then, he looked over and saw Sheldon about to pull out the paper clip. Brad slapped the paper clip out of his hand and shook his head fiercely, much to Sheldon’s disappointment, he grunted in frustration in return.

Sheldon looked down at the magazine and fiddled with the pages. “Fine…but we also wanted to give you something, it’s the latest Fashionista magazine…” He turned the pages, glancing at all the pictures, “It came to my house yesterday afternoon…You’d probably like it! It has all the latest styles…you…you’d really like them!” He continued as his voice cracked, and a tear quickly ran down his cheek, “Would you like to see it?” He waited for a response, secretly wishing she’d open the door. 

Again, nothing. 

“Alright…we’ll just leave it here then…bye Jen, we miss you.” Said Sheldon softly as they started heading downstairs. Both seemingly unaware that the door cracked open- a pair of optics watched them leave and her arm extended to grab the magazine. 

The boys left the house. Brad was silent and intensely stared at the ground while Sheldon silently sobbed as he shuffled through the snow. Neither of them knew what to do next and if Jenny will ever speak to them again. 

———————————————————————

The next day, she found herself staring at the doorway that led to the cafeteria with the magazine that Sheldon gave her in her hand. Her mother was surprised about her decision to return to Tremerton High, so was Jenny herself. Jenny felt uncomfortable, a part of her begged her to just turn around and return to her house- safe and sound in her bedroom. Instead, she glanced at her magazine-none of the incident was Sheldon’s fault, he was the only one who never gave up on her.

He always has been sweet to her and stood by her side. She recalled when he would help her with repairs or an upgrade that her mother wouldn’t give her. Returning to school for him is the least she could do. She took an artificial breath, pushed open the doors, and stepped inside. 

As expected everyone froze and stared at her. One person shouted in the crowd, “Got lost, robot? we haven’t seen you all year! Is your GPS broken?” Some of the teens broke out in giggles and snickers in response. Jenny remained unfazed by the snarky comments and laughter threw her way. Instead, her optics focused on the two boys running toward her with open arms. 

“Jenny! You came!! You’re really here!” They shouted as they both embraced her. Jenny rolled her optics and pushed them both off of her. She scowled at Brad and then turned to face Sheldon, “Sheldon…uhm thank you for this…” She gestured to the magazine in her hand. Sheldon beamed, “Oh of course, Jenny…Thought you’d like it.” 

Jenny half smiled and rubbed her arm, “So…Sheldon…to thank you for that, would you like to go out with me?” 

Sheldon’s face turned bright red, he felt warm and his palms were now sweaty. He grinned goofily, “Uh…sure, yea! Yea totally!” He slightly giggled, excited that his crush just asked him out. He felt like it was a dream come true! 

Meanwhile, everyone else around them exploded with laughter now that the ‘freak’ and the ‘geek’ were going on a date. Sheldon was too lovestruck to notice. Usually, this would irritate Jenny, but she doesn’t care anymore…If she were to find someone who loved her, Sheldon was it. After all, It’s not like there are other options for her, right? So, what choice did she have except to face the truth. 

Brad chimed in, happy that his best friend has returned, “Well that’s exciting! Jen, do you want to come sit with us?” Jenny grimaced as she still felt uncomfortable around him and mumbled, “Actually…I think I’m going to just eat with Sheldon today…Come on Shel.” She started to tug him the opposite way , Sheldon began to protest and Brad shook his head and waved dismissively, “No, it’s fine…I’ll join in some other time…” He forced a reassuring smile. 

“You sure?” Asked Sheldon with a raised eyebrow as Jenny kept pulling him away.

“Yea! In fact, I got to go anyway…” He mumbled softly as he started heading the other direction with apparent dejection. 

He strolled to the other end of the cafeteria, with many of the students jeering at him and commenting, ‘Wow, even the freak won’t take the loner boy.’ Followed by more laughter. Brad finally stepped outside and slid onto his back against the wall. He held his knees close to his chest and rested his arms and head on them. He sighed, a pain in his chest.

I did it…I lost my best friend. He sighed, feeling defeated. He mentally slapped himself, he wasn’t going to give up just yet. What am I thinking, I’m gonna get her back! 

————————————————————————-

Brad was unaware of a familiar ship hovering over him right outside earth’s atmosphere. In the ship sat the infamous Queen of Cluster Prime, Vexus. She observed the scene on the large panel and smirked. She knew of the Christmas incident with that child who enslaved Jenny for the past year. Jenny’s absence was conspicuous, especially when Nora kept sending a different robot other than XJ9. However, she suspected that things would just return to normal after her return. 

Yet, that wasn’t the case-which peeked Vexus interest. After Christmas, Nora still sent that exact, not as good replacement despite Jenny’s return. She held back on another attack to see what was happening. 

The following week and half, as she watched XJ9, she realized that Jenny never left her room and then she saw the New Year’s fiasco, and Jenny’s disappointed friends emerged from her house, one happened to be sobbing. She now watched Brad sulk right outside the high school. She grinned as she rubbed her hands together, “My, My…so that’s why Nora has been sending the rusty tank engine to attack my drones…Miss Jennifer might have had a change of heart.” She cackled to herself and admired the ironic situation. 

Smytus inquired curiously as he sat in one of the command chairs, “My queen, would you advise us to attack now? Seeing how weak XJ9 is, I’d suggest we…”

“No, not yet, Smytus…For all we know this could just be a fluke-we go now, and she could decimate us all! Heck, She’s gone back to the pitiful human high school…”

Smytus raised an eyebrow, “A fluke? Have you seen her?!” He widely gestured to the screen in front of them. “She’s angry, depressed, hurt and it’s all because of the humans and we know that many of her peers will reject her …now is perfect!” 

Vexus scowled and rolled her optics, “Patience, Smytus! Yes, she hurt, but she’s also a teenager, and they’re moody. I should know I have one myself…No, I need her really broken Smytus. To the point, the damage is beyond repair!” 

Smytus nodded, understanding, “I see…so do we just wait? Do we intervene at some point?” 

“Eventually, we probably will…but for now we wait!” Vexus smirked as she walked to the back of the ship, cackling to herself. “All good things come to those who wait…”

Chapter Text

After the holidays and Jenny’s return to Tremerton High, life seemingly returned to normal. Most students fell back into their usual friend groups and the same old school schedule and teachers like it’s always been. That’s the case for the majority of the students of Tremerton High. Except for Jenny Wakeman. 

Due to her missing two semesters, she was held back a year, according to Vice Principal Razinski, much to her dismay. Insults and jokes were thrown at her, yet she didn’t bother to respond. Instead, she would collect her textbooks from her locker and trudge from one class to the next with her head lowered toward the ground.

In class, she would sit in the back of the room, her chin rested on her arms as she leaned forward on her desk. Her optics focused on the teacher, but not a single word went in. Some students would tease her during class with occasional pencils or crumpled-up paper tossed at her head, but again no reaction. 

She never smiled or bothered to talk except if it was with Sheldon. Yet, even then, she wasn’t her usual self. But, that didn’t deter Brad from trying to interact with Jenny. Whenever he saw Jenny at her locker or Sheldon and Jenny talking in the hall or at lunch, he would immediately try and strike a conversation with her. But instead, he was only met with a cold, deadpanned, and unreadable facial expression, or she would simply walk past him, ignoring him, not making eye contact. 

The entire week, he tried to engage with her. During lunch hours, he would jump on the tables and be as loud as possible just to get her attention and maybe get her to smile. However, the attempts would fail as she became irritated, and he got detention. Finally, he strolled down the hallway on Friday as the final bell rang. Many students trampled down the hall and out the door for the long-awaited weekend. Right by the exit stood Jenny and Sheldon, probably talking about weekend plans. 

Brad waved and called out, “Hey guys! Do you want to walk home with me?” He secretly hoped Jenny would respond as he held onto the strap of his backpack tightly and jogged closer to them. Without missing a second, Jenny activated her wings and pigtail jets and flew out the doors as she left behind a trail of smoke. Sheldon meekly smiled and waved in return, “Hey Brad! Sure, I can walk with you.” 

Brad’s hopeful smile faltered, and he grumbled, “Oh…thanks, Sheldon.” He pushed onto the glass doors and walked out the building with Sheldon trailing behind him. He observed his friend who clearly had a love-struck goofy grin glued onto his face. He slightly chuckled at his friend’s demeanor, “You seem happy.” 

Sheldon sighed dreamily, hands clasped together, “Oh am I ever! Jenny and I became so close, and we’re going out tonight to a fancy Italian restaurant called Rezentti’s! This is a huge step for us!” He squealed like a little girl on Christmas morning-ecstatic that he is now with the girl of his dreams. His reactions made Brad snicker a bit and helped him feel slightly better. 

Brad patted his back and nodded, “Well, I’m proud of you, buddy!” Both of them were silent for a moment. Brad gazed down at the sidewalk as his feet kicked the snowy blanket in front of them. He was grateful to have Sheldon’s presence, especially since they became closer in the past year. However, Jenny’s absence weighed on him more-he wished she could have joined them and been with them. “So…I saw Jenny take off pretty quick today, did she have an emergency call or…?” 

Sheldon’s grin vanished as he glanced over to his friend, “Well…no, one of her sisters is still handling her missions…she just rushed home.” He felt guilty as he saw the disappointment on Brad’s face. “Have you had any luck with her this week?” 

Brad shook his head and shrugged, “No…I tried everything. I would try to talk to her in the hall or at her locker. During lunch I tried to get her attention, and-well you know how that went.” He grunted as he rolled his eyes, thinking back to the long hours of after-school detention. 

Sheldon giggled as he remembered what happened and the terror on Jenny’s face, “Yea, maybe don’t take your clothes off next time, genius.” Brad slapped the back of his head and shot him a glare, “Ow! Ok, sorry!” Sheldon winced as he rubbed the back of his head. “Man…that hurt.” 

Brad sighed, exhausted. “Don’t talk about it please! Sorry, I shouldn’t have struck you.” 

Sheldon shrugged and forced a smile, he waved dismissively as he slightly chuckled, “It’s fine, Jenny’s done worse.”

Brad watched as he rubbed his head in pain. Then, finally, he shrugged in defeat, “I just…I don’t know what to do, Shel. I feel like I really did try everything.” 

Sheldon nodded as he finally managed to get the pain to calm down, “Well, I wouldn’t give up yet. I mean, it took me a while to get Jenny to go on a date with me, and I’m sure with time she’ll want to be your friend again…” He smiled in thought. “Heh, I remember trying everything, including sneaking in on her date nights to win her over. But I did it!” He beamed with pride in his voice and held his fist in excitement. 

Brad blinked and an idea formed into his mind. He smirked, “Sneaking in on her dates, huh?” He rubbed his chin in thought. 

Sheldon nodded joyfully, unaware of Brad’s expression, “Oh yea! It probably wasn’t a great idea, but it worked! Anyways, this is my place, so I’ll see you later!” He turned to walk into his house, and skipped away with joy. 

Brad called out to get his attention, “Wait, Sheldon! What time are you guys going to Rezentti’s tonight?”

Sheldon raised an eyebrow as he looked back at him, “Uh, probably about 6:30 or 7:00. Why?” 

Brad shrugged nonchalantly, “Oh, no reason, just wondering. See ya later!” 

Sheldon smiled and waved before he turned back to enter his house.

Brad grinned to himself as he began his walk back home. There’s no way Jenny will be able to ignore me…now I’ll need a disguise and something to help convince Sheldon…Heh, maybe I have a chance to save our friendship after all!  

———————————————————————

Rezentti’s 6:45 PM

The waiter led Sheldon and Jenny to a table dressed with a candlelight and a vase filled with roses. Jenny smiled as Sheldon pulled out her chair for her to sit in. “Wow, this is beautiful Sheldon.” 

Sheldon giggled, And expensive. Geeze. He thought to himself painfully as he remembered seeing the prices. He sat down across from Jenny, “I’m glad you like it! They actually serve oil here.” 

Jenny was impressed, she raised an optic, “Really?” 

Sheldon nodded excitedly, “Oh yes! All the oil you can drink!” He smiled widely as he rested his chin into his palms, blushing furiously, “I’m thrilled you’re here Jenny…this is like a dream come true, I always imagined something like this. And to have it be real, it’s amazing!” He gushed as he leaned toward her.

Jenny nodded with a forced smile. “Thanks Sheldon…Uhm, is it ok if I use the bathroom- I need to powder my rivets.” 

Sheldon nodded as Jenny sat up to head to the women’s room. He watched as she left, his heart skipped a beat as he rubbed his hands excitedly. This is happening, this is really happening! He leaned back in his seat, folded his arms and dreamed about the possible future. I can already hear the wedding bells. He giggled, imagining Jenny in a wedding dress and him in a suit. I wonder what our wedding colors will be…probably blue…

“PSST! Sheldon!” Whispered a voice interrupting his daydream and tapping his shoulder. “Turn around!” 

Sheldon jumped and peered over his shoulder. Talking to him, was a strange-looking man. His hair was lopsided-looked like a wig, an apparent fake mustache, he wore a cheap suit with a cloak hanging around his neck, a brown fedora and sunglasses. Sheldon narrowed his eyes in confusion, “Can I help you?” 

The man lowered his sunglasses to reveal his eyes, “It’s me, Brad!” 

Sheldon stared at him, shocked and confused, “Brad?! What…what are you…why are you?” 

Brad shrugged sheepishly with a small smile, “I’m…well…doing what you did, sneaking in on your date.” 

Sheldon blinked and turned in his chair to face him, now frustrated, “What?! Just because I did it, doesn’t mean you can! You need to leave!” 

Brad shook his head, “I actually got a reservation like you two…also, I think I found a way to fix our friendship!”

Sheldon raised an eyebrow in irritation, “By interfering with our date as some random old dude?”

Brad grabbed his shoulder and shook his head, “Not a random old dude… I’m your grandfather, Sheldon.” He shared a sympathetic smile. 

Sheldon scoffed and rolled his eyes, he pushed Brad’s hand off, “Seriously? Okay, first of all, I actually wasn’t planning to introduce my family to her until a few more months and how is this going to help with Jenny?”

Brad winked, “Alright, so you’d introduce me to Jenny as your grandpa and then I’d talk to her about you and then I’ll casually bring myself up since we’re friends and see if I can convince her to forgive me.” 

Sheldon sat in bewilderment, he rubbed his face giving an exasperated sigh. “You gotta be kidding me.” He moaned. 

“Listen… it’ll work out, I promise and I’ll leave quickly. Okay? Just help me out, please?” Brad pleaded desperately. 

Sheldon hesitated, “Brad…I understand and I’d love to help…but I don’t know.” 

Brad quickly reached into his cloak and rummaged through his pockets, “It’s in here somewhere-Ah ha!” He pulled out a blue key, its head shaped similar to the outline of Jenny’s head. “What if I gave you the key to Jenny’s room?” 

Sheldon gasped and quickly covered his mouth to not attract attention. He whispered, stunned. “How did you get that?” His eyes gazed at the key in amazement. 

Brad gave a sly smile as he placed it in Sheldon’s hand, “I may have pickpocketed one of her sisters on the way home.” 

Sheldon screeched in horror as he grasped the key, “You what?! Oh, Brad! No!” He slapped his hand over his face and shook his head embarrassed. 

Brad shushed and clamped his hand over Sheldon’s mouth in an attempt to calm him down, “Hey, it’s ok they actually don’t know it’s missing. It’s fine! When I did it, she was doing a quick reboot, so she didn’t see me.” 

Sheldon gulped and stammered, “Okay….but which…which sister?” Please be one of the earlier prototypes that can’t do anything! Sheldon pleaded in his mind. 

“It was XJ8.” Brad stated as he straightened his wig and mustache. 

Sheldon’s skin turned pale as he gawked in terror. He felt like he was going to be sick, like his stomach turned upside down. “XJ8?!” He gulped, his eyes widened in sheer horror. A shudder ran down his spine, having Jenny be mad at you is terrifying, but XJ8? Sheldon winced at the thought of XJ8 being angry and coming after them. “Brad, if Jenny doesn’t kill us, I’m sure XJ8 will.” 

Brad chuckled as he picked up the menu and looked through the options, “She won’t find out, I promise. She probably won’t even know it’s missing; besides, if she wants to go in the room, she could just kick the door down-woah; fifty dollars for a steak dinner? Holy schnikey!” He stared at the food prices in amazement, “Even water costs at least a buck!” 

Sheldon gazed at the key in his hand, playing with it. He felt a little guilty, but having all access to Jenny does sound pretty nice. Sheldon bit his lip and finally gave into the temptation. He puts it in his coat pocket, “Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll introduce you to her as my grandpa.” 

Brad grinned widely, “Yes! I knew I could count on you!” 

Sheldon nodded, glanced back towards the women's room, and saw Jenny walking towards them, “Okay, here she comes! Follow my lead.” He faces Jenny and smiles. “Hey Jen, you look wonderful! Ready to eat?” 

She silently nods and sits back down. Sheldon observed her for a second, he noticed she looked a little solemn. “You alright?” 

“Hmm? Oh yea, I’m fine. Just looking at the oil section here.” She lightly chuckled and pointed at the menu. Her optics focused on the options that laid in front of her.

Sheldon sympathetically nodded and mouthed, ‘ok.’ Not wanting to push it any further, he rested his arms on the table and twiddled his thumbs for a moment. I can’t believe I’m going to do this. Sheldon rolled his eyes before turning. Sheldon glanced behind him at Brad and feigned shock, “Oh my goodness, Jenny! My grandpa is here! What a coincidence!” Sheldon pointed at Brad, forcing a smile. Jenny looked at the supposed old man in confusion. 

Brad gleamed and reached out his hand towards her and spoke in a raspy faded tone, “Oh, hello my wonderful grandson! Is this your date here, what’s your name, pretty lady?” 

Jenny raised an optic, he looks pretty young for a grandpa. She faked a soft smile and shook his hand, “I’m Jenny.” 

Brad nodded, happy that Jenny fell for the disguise. He chucked hoarsely, “Oh my. You got quite a grip there, ho! Jenny, you say? Sheldon talked so much about you, so it’s nice to finally meet you, my dear!” 

“Oh did he, now?” Enquired Jenny in a flat tone, she found the guy suspiciously familiar.  

Brad chuckled and patted Sheldon’s shoulder, “Oh yes all the time! He told me about all of his friends, including that handsome and suave Bradley, fella!” He gave a weak grin, his fake mustache started to fall off his face. “I heard he is such a kind and caring best friend. The bestest pal anyone could ever have! Ain’t that right Shel?” 

Sheldon showed a look of discomfort, he just wanted this to be over already, but he kept the act for Brad’s sake. “Oh…uhm, yea totally.” 

Jenny scoffed and leaned back in her seat, arms folded, “A good best friend? Ha! Yeah right, unless you count betraying the people you loved a good friend. Then yea he’s the freaking greatest!” She emphasized with sarcasm in her voice. 

Brad and Sheldon both cringed at her words. This was not going well. Brad stammered and shrugged, as tried to keep up the facade, “Well… I’m sure he feels ashamed for what he did, I’m positive! Knowing my grandson…”

Jenny stopped him as she raised her hand, “Wait, your grandson? I thought Sheldon was your grandson?” 

Brad gulped as he realized his mistake. He nervously smiled, “Uhm…right, that’s correct…but uhm… they’re actually both my grandsons, yeh! That’s right!” He nervously grinned widely as he held his hands behind his back and shifted his feet nervously. Sheldon buried his face in his palms, his cheeks red from embarrassment. 

Jenny nodded slowly, “Ah…I see. So Brad and Sheldon are related?” She tilted her head, narrowed her optics curiously. 

Brad scratched the back of his neck, his mind scrambled, “Well, not exactly, no…I just-uhm-I just view them both as my grandsons! In fact, I view a lot of people as my grandchildren…because-well… I’m the oldest man in Tremerton!” He could feel himself getting hot and sweaty. In the corner of his eye, he could see Sheldon staring at him as if he lost it and kicking him in the leg. Why did I say that-get a hold of yourself man!! He mentally slapped himself. 

Jenny covered her mouth as if to stifle a laugh, “Really? The oldest man, whose everybody’s grandpa huh… who’s that kid over there in the blue shirt then?” She pointed to a boy a few booths away from them.

Brad glanced over at the boy, straining his brain to see if he could recognize him from somewhere. When nothing came he stared at Sheldon and mouthed, ‘Help me.’ 

Sheldon shrugged, “Uh…oh grandpa, you know him that’s…”

Jenny placed her hand over his mouth and another hand raised a finger against her mouth, “Shh, don’t, I’m sure he can figure it out.” She sat back down and gazed at the ‘old man’ in curiosity. 

Brad blinked, now terrified. What should I do? Eventually, without thinking, he plainly replied, “I…have… Alzheimer’s.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded with pained confidence. “Yup.”

Sheldon gazed in disbelief as he shook his head and then collapsed on the table. He could not believe what he had witnessed. 

Jenny squinted her optics and replied softly, “Oh you poor thing…” she tapped her chin in false wonder, “And so young too.” 

Brad nervously giggled, “Well… I’m not that young Jennifer…I was born in uhm…1994?”

Jenny nodded firmly, “Oh that long ago? So, that makes you…?” 

Brad paused, his eyes widened. He glanced at Sheldon again who banged his head against the table in agony. Shoot…ok, the year is 2075-No, 2076- we just had New Years…uhh…and I said 1994…shoot, how old am I?! He gulped, his mouth felt dry. He smacked his lips, the awkward silence filled the space amidst the trio.

Jenny continued, with a supposed smirk, “And, you really do look so young…how do you do it?” 

Brad shyly smiled as he squeaked, “M-Moisture cream…” His eyes now avoided Jenny’s optics, he glared at the floor and around the room. He needed to escape-Fast! He’s not able to take it anymore. He cleared his throat and kept his false composure, “You kids wanna see a magic trick?” 

Before Sheldon or Jenny could respond, Brad picked up the vase and smiled as he held it up high, “Adabracadabra!” He tosses the vase forward, which results in the roses and water pouring all over the table and leaking onto the floor and into Sheldon and Jenny’s laps as well as putting out the candle’s flame. 

The glass shattered all around them, Jenny stood up in shock, “Oh my jobs, no!!!” She quickly picked up the folded napkin and dropped out the silverware onto the table and started to wipe herself down, “Ugh dang it! No! This was a new paint job!” She groaned at the rust forming onto her legs and up her torso. 

Sheldon glanced over and noticed Brad sprinted for the exit. He rushed to Jenny’s side, “I am so sorry, are you okay?” 

Jenny growled as she shot him a nasty glare. “What do you think, idiot?! I’m rusting!” She groaned as she kept wiping the water off her body. 

Sheldon sighed guiltily, he just ruined her night-well Brad mainly did. He felt enraged. He shook his head, “Jenny…I need to tell you something, that guy wasn’t my grandfather!” He gulped, he wanted to tell the whole truth but…just couldn’t betray Brad, “That was Brad’s grandfather…he has some mental health issues and somehow he must have escaped the facility. I was just being nice to him, honestly I do see him as a grandfather and wha-what are you doing?” 

Jenny pulled down her pigtail that turned into a phone.  

“Well I better let him know his grandpas here, huh? Call Bradley.” 

Sheldon’s eyes widened in terror, “Wait, Jenny-“

It was too late. The sound of Brad’s phone rang throughout the restaurant. Jenny turned and saw the ‘old man’ screech and start scrambling through his cloak and pant pockets. “Turn off! Turn off! AGH!” 

He froze when he felt a cold metal hand on his shoulder. He could see Jenny coming in front of him with a raised optic and a smirk, “You gonna get that?” 

Brad trembled, not knowing how to respond. He fumbled for his phone until he eventually grabbed it to pull it out, but unfortunately it dropped from his hands, face up on the floor for Jenny to see her contact information. “EEK!” He cried and stomped on his phone till the screen cracked and the ringing stopped. “Uhm… haha-I didn’t need that anyways.” 

Jenny reached down and picked it up. “Now, this looks familiar-what do you…” Brad already bolted out the door before she could finish her sentence. She narrowed her optics and scoffed, “Unbelievable!” She held the phone and gazed down her rusted body in disgust. “That little jerk! Can’t you believe this Sheldon? My wax is ruined and so is the dinner!”

Sheldon winced and softly replied sympathetically, “Well, Jenny, he’s a confused old guy I’m sure he meant no harm.” 

Jenny rolled her optics, “Oh please, I’m not dumb. I don’t know if you could tell, but that was Brad! Ugh, he’s such a…UGH!” She steamed as she stormed back to her seat and slammed the napkin on the table. She glared at Sheldon who sat unusually quiet in his wet suit, “How are you so calm about this?!” 

Sheldon gulped, as he began to wipe himself off. He knew Brad had good intentions. But Jenny was not going to listen. “Uhm… I’m sure he has his reason…but how about we just forget about it and enjoy the rest of our evening?” 

Jenny shook her head. She felt exhausted and angry both at Brad and Sheldon-and confused why Sheldon isn’t freaking out. Her body became more stiff by the minute as the rust corroded on her metal skin. She groaned, and felt like tears were going to emerge again, “No, I-I-I can’t do this… I’m sorry. I’m gonna go home.” She pushed her seat in and trudged through the door, her legs moaned as she walked due to the rust. 

“Jenny…” Sheldon called out for her in desperation.

Jenny waved her hand at him as she walked out the door, “Leave me alone… and please don’t follow me.” 

Sheldon felt a pang of guilt in his stomach as she watched her leave the building with her arms folded and head lowered as she walked away. He lightly kicked the table leg in frustration. Why did I agree to that?! Now we just made things worse! 

Sheldon lowered his head and glared at the damaged table setting. How could this get any worse?

“Excuse me…” Sheldon looked up and saw one of the waiters frowning at him and his hands on his hips. “You’re going to have to pay for the damages you caused sir.” 

Sheldon protested, “But, that wasn’t…but…Ohh!!!” He facepalmed in frustration. “How much?” He pulled out his wallet 

“A couple hundred dollars.” 

Sheldon stared at him in shock as he held out his wallet. You gotta be kidding me…

———————————————————————-

Chapter Text

Sheldon fiddled with the now completed microchip in his hand as he sat at his desk in his 'workshop'. He observed his creation, which he had worked on for the past couple of days-both, proudly and uncomfortably. It was a small creation, yet so powerful that he slightly regretted creating it, especially when he knew precisely its purpose.

His phone rang as his screen lit up, interrupting his thoughts. Sheldon glanced over and saw Brad's home number glow on his screen. He hesitated and was tempted to let it go to voicemail but reluctantly picked it up. "Hello?"

Brad answered and asked in a soft voice with anticipation, "Hey Shel, Is it ready?" 

Sheldon sighed and rubbed his head tiredly, the supposed invention to help win Jenny back was finished. However, he still felt uneasy, especially with what happened last time they were together-resulting in Jenny talking to neither of them. "Yea, it's ready…I just don't know if we should do this. What if something goes wrong?"

"Hey, relax. We have a solid plan this time. It'll work-you'll see! Plus, you promised, remember?" With reassurance in his voice, Brad reminded him, yet he felt just as anxious as Sheldon. Sheldon couldn't disagree with him; they both wanted her back, no matter how risky. 

Sheldon shoved the chip down his coat pocket and nodded, albeit nervous, "Alright, I'll head over now; meet me outside her house." He quickly hung up the phone and took a deep breath. He shook his head in disbelief, he still couldn't believe he was doing this. 

———————————————————————-

Brad waited outside Jenny's window; he gave Sheldon an anxious thumbs up as Sheldon used the key to unlock the front door. He crept in slowly to not disturb or alert his presence. He fell to his knees and crawled on all fours towards the kitchen's entry; he peered into the kitchen and saw Doctor Wakeman fishing out a can of oil from the fridge. 

He quickly crawled behind the kitchen table and between the chairs, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. 

To avoid being caught, Sheldon quietly pulled out his phone and called Wakeman's landline. Wakeman's phone began to ring and she walked out of the room to answer it. Once he saw her exit, Sheldon leaped out of his hiding spot and pulled out the chip from his pocket. He placed the chip into the drink and watched it seemingly morph and blend into the oil. He gazed at the now invisible chip with slight guilt. 

Sheldon jumped as he heard Wakeman slam the phone and footsteps coming in his direction. He crouched back in his hiding spot as he heard her mumble, "Lousy prank call…they have nothing better to do-teenagers! In my day, I was already successful at their age…Scholarships and all." She murmured to herself begrudgingly as she picked up the oil can and left the kitchen. 

As Wakeman headed up the stairs, Sheldon silently followed as he now tiptoed towards the base of the stairs. When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw her set down the oil can in front of Jenny's door and knocked on her door. He quickly searched for a place to hide, his mind scrambled to find a room, but where-ah ha! Sheldon scurried to a small closet behind Doctor Wakeman and quietly closed the door, leaving a small crack to let himself observe what was in front of him. Man, how many shoes does she need? Especially if the same pair?! He thought as he buried himself into the overgrown shoe pile. 

Though it was a small opening, he watched as Doctor Wakeman headed back downstairs. Then, carefully, he widened the crack and peered over at Jenny's door. Sheldon spotted her arm picking up the can and retracting it 

back into her room. Sheldon slipped out of the closet, some shoes cluttered onto the floor, and quickly he kicked them back into the closet and shut the door. He winced when the door creaked, but luckily it didn't seem Wakeman or Jenny noticed. 

Sheldon quietly crept to Jenny's door, leaned his ear onto the wood, and waited. He could hear her footsteps marching across the room's carpet and the sound of her chugging the oil. The process of the chip's function could take a few minutes to kick into her system. He gazed down to the ground and noticed the darkened oil stain seeping out her bedroom door. A pang of guilt sat in his stomach as he saw how Jenny's mental state had gone downhill. He sighed and hoped that somehow Brad's crazy plan would work. 

"Mmm…Ma…Mom, I don't…I don't feel…good, Momma…" Jenny's words slurred as her footsteps became less balanced. Sheldon knew it was the chip and waited for a sign that it worked. "I feel weird…and it's all bubbly…Mo…" She stopped and her room fell utterly silent. However, no indication of her collapsing to the ground confused him. 

He hesitantly pulled out the key and unlocked her door, hoping he won't be met with a punch to the face. First he saw Brad right outside the window who nodded that it was safe and seemed to mouth, 'She just froze.' He opened the door fully and jumped at what he saw in front of him. 

Jenny was hunched over, pigtails drooped, and her arms hung over the dropped oil can. She wore a blank expression on her face-her, optics completely dark. Sheldon rubbed his hands together and approached her nervously. "Jen…Jenny?" He softly whispered but met with nothing in return. He raised a finger and tapped her forehead to see if he'd get a response; Jenny finally tipped over and collapsed into him. He shot out his arms and, with all his strength, prevented both of them from falling to the floor. Sheldon gazed into her optics and marveled to himself. So that's what happens when you sedate a robot. Who knew?  

————————————————————————

Brad patiently waited on the ladder next to Jenny's window until Sheldon opened it and started to push Jenny's unconscious body over to Brad. Brad reached out and carefully pulled her out as Sheldon followed. "Careful with the head." Sheldon commented as he crawled out the window and supported her legs as Brad cradled the upper half of her body. 

They maneuvered down the ladder as both boys carried each end of Jenny to the snowy ground. As they reached the bottom, Brad breathed heavily, "Oh schnikey, she's heavy! Ugh!" He groaned tiredly as they touched the snowy base. "How long will she be unconscious?" 

"Not long-about 20 minutes. I didn't make it too strong, but still should be enough time to get to the place and get things set up." Sheldon grunted. He placed one of her arms around his neck, "Grab the other arm, that'll make it easier to carry her." Brad nodded, doing the same with Jenny's other arm around his neck. 

The two trudged through the snow with a sleeping Jenny in tow. "Alright, just to recap-the old compound is just a block or two from here, and we have a cage we will put her in so she's trapped, and then we go in to rescue her." Brad recounted the information, which Sheldon nodded tiredly in response. "You already sedated her without Wakeman catching you, so the hard part is done…now we just need to haul her over there." 

Sheldon lightly chuckled and shook his head, "It wasn't easy, but she's sure heavy to freaking carry!" He glanced over at Jenny whose head lazily dropped toward the ground and a small goofy smile appeared on his face. "But she's beautiful, so it's worth it." 

Brad rolled his eyes and laughed, "Oh Shel, you're so obsessed! You'd do anything to please her!" Sheldon squinted his eyes in confusion and Brad scoffed, "Oh come on, you know what I mean! You follow her around all the time-even on her dates and do whatever she asks literally. You are obsessed." 

Sheldon groaned, "Okay, first of all, I found Kenny suspicious; I told you that! Second of all, you do the same thing, Brad! You're with her all the time, and need I remind you of a certain someone who interrupted Jenny and I's date the other night." He cocked his eyebrow with a smug grin on his face. 

Brad's cheeks turned crimson red as he glared back at Sheldon. He shook his head in protest, "That-that's different! She's my best friend; of course, I'm going to do stuff like that!" He retorted. He sighed and gave a sorrowful look, "And I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to go like that…That was your night, and I ruined it, I just- I just…really wanted her back…and somehow go back to how we used to be…" He gulped, his throat felt tight as the painful memory sat in his mind. 

Sheldon smiled in sympathy, "I understand, Brad; I would have done the same thing…and I'm sure if this plan works-she'll want to be your friend again." He leaned behind Jenny and spoke in a high-pitched voice to impersonate her, "Oh Brad, you're my hero and the bestest friend in the whole wide world! Oh and Sheldon, you're sooo handsome and smart." He hunched back forward and giggled in his normal voice, "Aww thanks Jen, you're too kind." 

Brad softly chuckled and shook his head at his friend's antics, "That would be nice…Maybe, after this, we can grab Tuck and all of us go to Mezmers like we used to, and we could go over to my place and just hang out, play games…you know, like we used to." He couldn't help but smile thinking of the four of them finally together at last-it felt like a lifetime since they were together.

"You know Jenny sure has missed out on a lot this past year with being mind controlled and all…we should show her the movies and music that came out!" He gasped in realization, "And the new season of Styles High-Jenny's favorite show!" 

Brad smirked, "Isn't that also your favorite show?" 

Sheldon blushed in embarrassment and shrugged, "Erm…maybe…but Jenny loves it, we used to talk about it together all the time, our favorite character is Reggie!" 

Brad raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused, "Really? The leader of the cutie boys…I thought of you guys more of a Tyler or a Markie-type fan?" 

"Reggie is just better-Wait…how do you know about the other members?" He asked, raising a brow. Brad turned red and Sheldon grinned, "You watch the show… don't you?" 

Brad stuttered, "A…little…but not really-Just sometimes when Tuck is already asleep, and I'm bored, and there's nothing else on." He shrugged, trying to shake off the embarrassment, "If Jenny wants to watch it, I'll be cool with it-I, I guess." He quickly replied nonchalantly in an attempt to play it cool.

Sheldon could clearly hear the facade in Brad's voice but decided not to push it any further to avoid worsening the embarrassment, "Yea, I think that would be a good idea!" He looked ahead and squinted his eyes through the snowy road, "I think we're almost there…" He softly smiled, he couldn't wait for this to be done and like Brad-things to be normal again. "At least we have the cold snow and now the clouds are covering us to keep us cold, right Brad?" He glanced over at Brad who glared and pointed at the sky in terror. "Brad, are you alright?" 

"Well, well…what do we have here?" The unmistakably recognizable voice spoke above them. Sheldon froze and felt a shiver shoot through his spine as he looked up and saw what hovered above them-it wasn't a cloud. "XJ9 and her loathsome flesh pets…Though XJ9 is oddly quiet today-usually, she'd say something snarky by now." 

Vexus grinned wickedly as she stood on her round and yellow portal as she saw the boys tremble in fear while Jenny sat motionlessly between them. Brad stammered and gulped, "She's just…not…not-well she's just not feeling well, that's all. So we're just…going to Mezmers yea!" He nervously smiled and glanced at Jenny with a forced chuckle, "Ain't that right, Jen?" He places his hand behind her head and has her 'nod' in response. "See?" 

Vexus protruded her lips in a pout and tapped her chin, "Oh, I see…you poor thing…should I have a look-see?" 

Sheldon frowned, he puffed out his chest to facade his confidence, "No! She's fine!" 

Vexus scowled and barked, "Shut up, you greasy fleshy rat, I wasn't asking you or little ginger snaps there…I was asking dear Jennifer what she wanted." She smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "Now, Jennifer…are you going to speak up, or are these hairless apes gonna speak for you?"

The three sat silently for a second. Brad and Sheldon looked at each other nervously, their hearts pounded fiercely-what more could they do? Before either one could react, a flash of yellow swooped between them, both were knocked down into the snow and onto their backs. To their horror, Jenny was no longer between them, now cradled in the Queen's arms a few feet above them. Jenny's head and limbs hung loosely in the air, blissfully unaware of what was happening. Vexus cackled as she tipped her head and gently stroked Jenny's sleeping face, "Hmm… You're sure more pleasant like this…" She had a look of admiration as she stroked Jenny's face, which unsettled Brad and Sheldon. Both felt sick to their stomachs watching their friend helplessly lie in her enemy's arms. "Tell you what, dear, since you are so good today, how about we take a nice little trip to the Cluster."

Sheldon shrieked in protest as he shot out his arm, "Wait, no-Jenny!" However, his words were rendered useless. Vexus landed back onto her portal with Jenny in her arms and pushed the lever in a flash, she was gone along with Jenny. 

The barren portal fell to the ground in front of the two, their eyes widened in horror and shock. Brad shook his head in disbelief as he replayed in his mind what just happened, and his hands brushed through his hair, "That-that did not just happen…no, no-that did not-Vexus did not just take Jenny…That wasn't supposed to happen! Ugh!" He didn't want to believe it, but it did, another irreparable mistake. He just wanted to make things right-instead things just went wrong. Forgive me, Jen. He glared at the portal as guilt washed over him and a painful thought occurred. Maybe…maybe I shouldn't be forgiven. His hands ran down his face, he wanted to think that was a lie-but he knew it was true. He sighed in shame and defeat as he gazed at the portal absently, "I…guess we should go tell Ms.Wakeman what just happened…"

Sheldon raised a hand as he gazed at the portal and shook his head, "No… We're not going to tell her!" Brad raised an eyebrow in confusion, not understanding why, "I have an idea, it's a little crazy, but it might work…"

————————————————————————

Deep in Vexus's palace, the Queen loomed over Jenny -who remained unconscious, lying on the flat metallic bed, her limbs fastened to the bed by tight electric metallic chains. Wires were attached all around her body to a large computer, her database flowing in the machine. Vexus glared at the screen and back at Jenny's unconscious body; she finally captured her arch nemesis and was stealing valuable information. Yet Vexus wasn't satisfied-namely since Jenny wasn't awake and attempting to fight back it felt…very anticlimactic and too easy. 

Vexus placed her hands on Jenny's cheeks and tilted her head side to side, observing her. Her optics remain dark and her body limp, yet her systems show a large percentage of battery left. Vexus was perplexed, How is this possible? She knew Jenny was unconscious with her little friends, but for how long…and why? She leaned closer to her towards her audio sensors, "Jennifer! XJ9!" She slapped her a few times in the face to snap her awake, "Jennifer, I have successfully captured you from the pitiful flesh wearers…You will submit to the Cluster! Now wake up you brat! Agh!" She slapped her more aggressively-Why won't you wake up?! 

A large crash shot through the back wall catching Vexus's attention. She quickly turned around and faced two figures standing before her amongst the new debris from the broken wall- a human and a giant robot. She pointed at the figures and recognized one of them, "Ah, one of XJ9's little pets, and…" 

"The Silver Shell, you evil bug!" The gray robot bellowed in a heroic stance, "And we demand you to let go of XJ9 immediately!" 

Vexus cackled, placed a hand on Jenny's forehead, and rubbed it, "I'm afraid I can't do that… she's a little tied up at the moment." She shrugged, "I wouldn't bother staying around, she isn't awake for some reason so it's not like she can hear you!" 

Brad leaned towards the Silver Shell and whispered discreetly, "How much longer will it last?" Before Shell could respond, they noticed Jenny started to move and a grunt was heard. Vexus rapidly turned back to Jenny; her optics were glowing white, then she tightened her eyes shut and groaned-slowly she blinked her optics open, her pupils returned. 

"Wha…where…where am I?" Jenny's voice croaked out of her throat. She let out a cough and groaned as she observed her surroundings, "Ugh…I think I'm gonna be sick…the room is spinning a little." 

"Jenny!!"

Jenny slowly lifted her heavy and dizzy head and tried to make out who was calling her name, she squinted her optics in confusion, "Silver Shell? Brad? What's going on? Where are…" She glanced directly above her at a familiar blurry figure getting her answer. 

"Hello darling, nice of you to finally join us!" Vexus cruelly grinned down at Jenny. Jenny blinked, she stared at Vexus as her reawakened mind tried to grasp the difficult situation she was in. Vexus snickered, "Welcome to the Cluster, Jennifer." 

Jenny's optics widened and she flinched away as much as she could, becoming more aware. She tried to escape the chains, but she couldn't move-she felt sick and weak. "V…Vexus?! What's-how did I get… What's going on?!" She tried to apply more force to break the chains-instead she was met with a considerable case of vertigo. "Just wait till I escape Vexus! And I'll-I'll ohhh…" She tightened her optics and groaned as she felt lightheaded and as if her stomach was going to explode, no longer willing to move, "What's going on? What did you do to me?" 

Vexus shrugged as she towered over Jenny, amused at the situation, "I really wish I could take the credit, Jennifer…but you were already unconscious when I found you and being dragged through the snow by your little friends." 

Jenny raised an optic in confusion, she glanced over towards Brad and Silver Shell for a possible explanation. Brad gulped nervously and chuckled, "It's a long story…" He looked towards his feet and rubbed the back of his neck, shifting back and forth on his feet. His mind raced to find what he could possibly say without getting in more trouble with her. 

"Brad-MMPH." Jenny started to gag. Her reawakened senses became overwhelmed by her new surroundings-she lurched as far as she could to the side of the table as her optics watered. Without warning, a flow of black projectiles streamed out of Jenny's mouth and splashed onto the floor creating a puddle. 

When finished, Jenny coughed and flopped onto her back-optics half open followed by a weak groan, her mouth dribbled with oil. Vexus glared at the puddle that landed in front of her which held a pungent smell, she was about to yell, but a small obscure object that floated on top of the fluid caught her attention. She tilted her head curiously and reached for the thing. 

Vexus shook off the vomit from the object and held it up to see what it was. She gazed at the small square metallic object in her hand, "Interesting…maybe this was the reason you were found unconscious, Jennifer…Could be a sedative." 

Jenny stared in disbelief and shook her head , "No, I…I don't remember having that…the last thing I had was a can of oil and…and…now I'm here." She confused her mind as she tried to remember anything in between, yet nothing came. Come on, bolt brain, why can't you remember? she sighed in frustration. Her optics caught Brad fidgeting nervously and glared at him, "Brad? Do you know something about this?" 

Brad raised up his hands defensively, "I…I can explain…Just let me explain." 

Silver Shell stood in front of Brad and shouted, "Enough of your dirty tricks, Vexus!! Release XJ9 at once!" He held up his fists, his armored face filled with determination. Yet inside the metal, Sheldon was shaking in fear and foolishly hoped Vexus wouldn't attempt to attack and fight back or see his fear. 

Vexus threw her head back and laughed. She raised her fists as well, "Oh ho, this should be good…show me what you got." She jumped and lunged toward the Silver Shell-her fist made contact with the face and knocked him over.

Jenny looked on in horror helplessly as the two tumbled through the room punching and kicking each other-she watched him take her hits. She knew he wasn't as strong as Vexus and didn't think he would last long. "Silver Shell!!" She cried and once more tried to break out the chains. 

"Jenny, I got you-hold on!" Brad called and bolted to her side. He noted her angry, confused and somewhat hurt glare, making his guilt worse. He reached in his pocket, pulled out a pin, and started working on the locks of her chains, "I'm so sorry…It wasn't supposed to go this way…Uh-so Sheldon and I- well mostly I had this plan to do this dumb rescue mission thing and I would come save you…and…" He continued to fidget with the lock, he glanced back at Jenny who appeared furious and impatient, "And…maybe you would have forgiven me…" 

"Forgive you?!" She shrieked and her optics narrowed. Her sharp words made Brad wince. "I'm trapped by Vexus on Cluster Prime without access to my powers-and you want me to FORGIVE YOU?!" 

"I know! That wasn't going to happen- it wasn't part of the plan, we were gonna take you to an old compound and Vexus was not a part of this… It's stupid-but Jenny please…" 

Jenny interrupted, her optics raised, "And the chip…Was that you???" Brad gulped and stared at her, ashamed, he opened his mouth hoping to find an excuse. She leaned closer and in a firm voice asked again, "The chip…was that you?!" Brad opened his mouth again, but was at a loss for words. He glanced at Jenny still glaring at him and nodded in shame. Jenny turned on her back, her optics started to water. Her voice cracked, "Why…Just why?" 

Brad sighed, tears now filled his eyes as well with embarrassment, his hands worked with the locks, "To…to sedate you." He whispered softly, his voice cracked through his tears. "And when you woke up, your powers would have been offline for another hour or so…I had Sheldon make it… I'm so sorry Jenny, you're my best friend I never…ever wanted to hurt you!!" 

Jenny shook her head and scoffed. Finally Brad picked off the locks and Jenny sat up and folded her arms, processing everything. Her optics sullen and absently stared at the ground as she hunched over. Brad sighed, what more could he say? Words won't help anymore…his hand shakily reached towards her shoulder to somehow comfort her. She caught his hand coming towards her and slapped it away, she shook her head as tears streamed out of her optics and raised a hand dismissively. She whispered harshly, "Don't touch me…Just get away from me…" 

Brad watched helplessly as Jenny carefully got back on her feet. He wanted to say something that could somehow miraculously fix it. But what? There's nothing left for him to say…He lost his best friend. 

Their attention turned back to the Silver Shell and Vexus. Vexus felt pure fury as another shot was dodged by him, "Pull out your weapons already, if you're robot enough! Fight me, you pathetic whelp!!" She growled as she became impatient with the Shell's inability to fight back. 

On the exterior, the Shell seemed confident, however in reality Sheldon felt the complete opposite. His body was hot and sweaty as his hands clumsily maneuvered the suit to defend himself against her. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest at every blow the suit takes. Faintly he could hear his friends call out to him-well the Silver Shell-as Vexus kept beating on the Shell. He managed to cause some damage to her optics as he punched them, although he was losing.

The alarms went off in the suit, notifying him of the collateral damage he had taken, many of the controls were no longer functioning, leaving the Shell nearly useless. The screen flashed over 75% critical damage. Sheldon panicked and scrambled to think of a solution to fend himself. Before he knew it, her fist busted right through the metal plate that was Silver Shell's chest and appeared directly in front of Sheldon's face. He froze in terror, his skin turned pale as he breathed shakily. He barely noticed Jenny outside helplessly screeching for the Shell and her voice breaking from distress-thinking Vexus had killed him. 

Vexus's hand felt around the Shell-confused why there were no wires or gears just an empty space. Sheldon winced when she touched his face and shoulders and her hand instantly jerked away and out of the suit. He held his breath as sweat trickled down his face. The metal chassis that initially hid his identity got ripped away-he was now exposed in full view. Sheldon's fear stricken eyes met Vexus's cracked optics, she snarled and then smirked, "Well, well…what do we have here?" Sheldon tried to back away, not wanting his identity to be revealed-but her cold hands immediately grabbed him by the collar of his shirt ripping him out of the comfort of his broken suit. She held him in the air for Jenny and Brad to see and laughed, "You weren't a robot after all…just a pathetic flesh wearer in a suit-pretending to be one!" She threw him to the ground, his head slammed onto the tiles as he groaned in pain. He whimpered in fear as he rubbed his head and stumbled to get up. 

"S…Sheldon?" Sheldon turned to Jenny-stunned with grief. Her optics brimmed with hurt as she came closer. Then, her voice cracked in disbelief, "You… you're the…Silver Shell?" 

Sheldon gazed into Jenny's optics, embarrassed and ashamed. She shook her head and narrowed her optics, her voice lowered "You lied…You lied to me!!" She growled with resentment. 

Sheldon winced and folded his arms, he could barely look up at her, "I'm…sorry. I didn't mean…"

Jenny scoffed in disgust, "You're sorry?!" Her screeching made Sheldon shrink into himself as she towered over him. Tears streamed down her cheeks, feeling betrayed all over again, "You… you're the freaking Silver Shell! It was you, this whole-!" She let out a bitter soft chuckle as she advanced even closer, "You made a fool out of me, I had a crush on a literal suit this whole time and you made me look like an idiot!! And you're sorry?! Was…was this some sick joke of yours?! That I'm just some dumb robot you can play with?" She backed Sheldon into a corner, he started to tremble in fear. "And to think… I thought you were different from everyone else…but you're just like them!!!" 

Sheldon raised his hands defensively, tears ran down his cheeks, "Jenny, please…I didn't want to hurt you- I love you…" She raised a hand and slapped him straight across the face, causing him to fall back into the wall. His cheek was already red. 

"You…are disgusting!" She slapped him again with more force, his head started to pound. 

He held up his arms in defense, he could tell a concussion was beginning to form, "Please…Jenny-OW!" He cried as Jenny yanked his arm away from him, tightening her grip around his wrist.

"Don't hide from me, you jerk-you even forced me into sleep mode with a chip and trapped me here!!" She pulled on his arm and tightened her grip. Sheldon winced in pure agony as he felt his wrist break under the pressure and then a loud unsettling pop came from his shoulder. He let out a blood curdling howl as he felt his shoulder disconnect from his socket.

"Jenny, stop it!!!" Cried Brad in horror as he heard Sheldon make the unpleasant sound and watched him attempt to curl in a ball. He sprinted towards them to rescue Sheldon but Vexus captured and wrapped his neck in her arms and cackled, "Why stop the fun…this is entertaining."

Jenny dropped Sheldon's limp and disfigured arm as she picked him up by the collar. Her anger fumed inside her. She couldn't help but think of him possibly behind the suit-mocking and laughing at her. As she would fawn over the Silver Shell, Sheldon probably had the time of his life, how he made her into such a fool! Toying with her feelings! She didn't dare think what he could have done after sedating her. She proceeded to land more punches to his face. "You are a creep! You were never my friend…Just a freak!" She hollered furiously with venom in her voice as Sheldon shuddered in terror and pain-she was unaware of the blood trickling out of his nose, "No wonder why you don't have any friends!! You are a freak! A geeky stalker with no sense of privacy!!" She shrieked and pounded him even harder. 

"JENNY, STOP IT! STOP IT-YOU'RE KILLING HIM!!!" Brad's eyes widened as he shrieked in horror as he struggled to escape Vexus's ever tightening grip. 

Sheldon felt himself losing consciousness. His ears rang loudly as her arms came in contact with his head, and he could now barely feel his head and ribs getting beaten by her metal arms. He noticed something warm trickling out of his nose and his mouth, but if any of his teeth had come out, he hadn't noticed. His broken arm hung loosely and now numb in the air. He silently begged her to stop but still couldn't help but think…he deserved this agonizing pain. 

Jenny continued to scream as she pounded him. She lifted her fist to land another punch until she heard both cackling and hysterical sobbing. She peered over her shoulder to see Brad's horror stricken face in tears as Vexus giggled in delight with Brad in a chokehold. She blinked and gazed back at what she had done to her friend and a mix of guilt and terror washed over her as she saw him limp and broken-her optics widened in fear. What…what have I done? She dropped Sheldon's weak frame onto the floor and shook in horror at her work. She fell onto her knees and shook her head in regret. She glanced at his bloody face and stared down at her hands stained in blood. She stared at her bloody shaking hands and began to silently sob over his barely conscious form. No…This isn't happening…This isn't happening. I didn't just hurt Sheldon…I didn't- No, please, no! She silently begged for this to be some harsh nightmare, but no matter how hard she tried, the cruel reality glared back at her. 

"Aww, pity you stopped-I was hoping for more." Grumbled Vexus as she released Brad and casted him onto the floor. Brad fell on the floor with a groan and quickly ran to Sheldon and pushed Jenny aside. "Sheldon! Hey Shel, it's me! Can you hear me?!" He touched Sheldon's shoulder which caused him to weakly groan in response. 

Jenny winced as she watched him be in indescribable amounts of pain. She stammered as her mind struggled to process everything-desperate to fix the problem, "Sheldon… I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to go this far, I was just mad-I'm sorry…I-I can fix this…please let me fix this!!" She reached out to hold him and maybe manage to comfort him- only for her hands to be shoved away from Brad, his face filled with fear and frustration. 

His voice quivered as he stared at her, "Don't touch him!" His reaction made her recoil in overwhelming guilt. She didn't mean to, it was an accident-she was just angry and hurt. No matter how much she tried to justify herself, she couldn't. 

Jenny glanced over and noticed Vexus grinning over her, Vexus placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm proud of you today Jennifer. Breaking the First Law of Robotics-never harm a human. Heh-quite a thrill isn't it? And how beautiful that it was this so-called human-one of your flesh pets." 

Jenny felt her metallic heart sink at Vexus's words-she broke one of the crucial laws. She opened her mouth to retort, yet no words came…how could she justify that? Instead, Vexus leaned closer and cooed as she patted Jenny's head, "Although I was hoping you would have kept going. It doesn't matter-someday, you will be like me-maybe even better."

"NO!" Jenny bellowed as she shoved Vexus away and stood up, glaring at her. "I'll never be like you! I protect people and I would never ever hurt them! I'm a hero, not a monster-like you! I am not a monster!" 

Vexus folded her arms and smirked a knowing smile, her optics gestured to the broken Sheldon being consoled by Brad. Jenny felt her cooling systems go in overdrive, her artificial breathing became faster. She shook her head and kept her composure, the agonizing guilt stung as her optics got watery. She tried to hide it but felt weak as Vexus stood in front of her. Her voice shook as she spoke, "That…that was an accident…I-I… I'm not a monster! I'm not-"She choked through her words as Vexus stood amused at Jenny's breakdown. Jenny groaned and shouted, having heard enough. She took an artificial breath and managed to slowly activate her Stun Grenade Gun, she shot Vexus to the ground stunning her, "I'm not like you!! Now leave me alone!!" 

As Vexus fell to the floor convulsing and turned dormant, Jenny knew they all needed to leave. She glanced back at Sheldon still being comforted by Brad. "Sheldon, we're going to get you help, okay?" 

Sheldon opened his mouth, his words barely audible as he forced himself to speak as he wheezed, "Ho…Hospital." His head dropped to the floor as he lost consciousness. The sight was unbearable for Jenny to watch. 

As the two silently trudged to the portal back to earth-Brad held Sheldon in his arms as Jenny gazed at Sheldon's swollen and bloody face with his broken arm dangling on the side. She noted how his broken ribs caused his staggered breathing, tears welled in her optics. I'm not a monster, I help people, I don’t hurt them…this was just an accident, right? I would never intentionally hurt someone- especially if that person is a friend. I am not a monster. The image of her fight with Sheldon burned in her mind. Yes she’s hurt and mad at him, but she knew she went too far. The guilt ate at her conscience. R- Right? 

As they stepped onto the portal and started to get taken back to Tremerton, a horrifying thought occurred to Jenny as she gazed at his broken body and at the deactivated Shell in her own arms-they couldn’t leave it in the hands of Vexus.

Mom’s gonna dismantle me…

——————————————————————-

Chapter Text

Her shaky bloody hands contrast against the crystal white snow. After their return to Earth, the pale, broken, and unconscious Sheldon was admitted to the hospital; neither Brad nor Jenny spoke a word to each other. Both were shocked by what happened as they watched their friend being wheeled away on a gurney into the emergency room and the doctors rushing to administer oxygen and insert an IV needle in his hand. 

Brad opted to stay with Sheldon during the night, his dad was likely home and could watch Tuck. Yet Jenny couldn’t take another minute looking at his slightly disfigured face and hearing Sheldon’s shallow and staggered breathing through an oxygen mask as his flail chest raised up and down filled her with relentless guilt. 

She didn’t want to be here, but she stood in front of her own home as she gazed down at her blood-stained hands. Yes, she was hurt and angry at Sheldon, she had every reason to despise him right now. But her friend now lies in the hospital bed in agony and pain…because of her.  

Jenny still didn’t have enough energy to fly to her bedroom window. Instead, she silently hoped her mother was already asleep or in her lab so she could hurry back into the secluded comfort of her bedroom. Reluctantly she turned the doorknob and slowly crept the door open. Jenny carefully tiptoed to the staircase. 

“XJ9?” Jenny jumped and turned around to see her mother in a chair with a book in her hands. Her mother raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t realize you had left your room, where have you been?” 

“Ah…” Jenny stalled as she folded her arms to hide her blood-stained hands and shifted nervously from side to side. “Nowhere, I was just…getting some fresh air.” She rapidly blurted out as she weakly smiled, hoping her mother would believe her. 

The hope was in vain as Doctor Wakeman shook her head and saw right through her facade. “XJ9, you’re a robot-you don’t even breathe, so I know that’s not true!” She walked towards her robotic daughter, Jenny immediately tensed up in response, and Wakeman noticed the odd behavior. “Is something wrong?” 

Jenny shrugged with a forced smile and shook her head, “No! Oh no, nothing-nothing’s wrong. Why would…why would anything be wrong?! I’m fine.” As the event still plagued her mind, she gulped, “Just fine, ha.” She softly chuckled. If she weren’t a robot, there would be no doubt that she would be sweating profusely right now. She couldn't bring herself to tell her mom what really happened. How could she? 

Doctor Wakeman observed her daughter, she knew something was wrong when XJ9 spoke at a faster pace and noted how she seemed to be hiding her hands under her arms. Finally, she reached for her arms, “What are you hiding?” 

Jenny instantly winced, backed away, and started up the stairs, “Nothing! I’m hiding Nothing!” She blurted out. 

“XJ9! I am not stupid, I know when you’re lying to me!” Without hesitation, Jenny started to bolt up the stairs; unfortunately, her full speed wasn’t back yet as her mom caught her by her arm. “XJ9, what is going on?!” 

“Nothing!! Now, please let me go!” Jenny pulled her arm away from her mother. 

Before Jenny could make a break for it, Wakeman pounced on top of her, and both fell to the ground. The doctor kept attempting to pry open Jenny’s arms as Jenny begged for her to stop and tried to wiggle out of her mom’s grip. Cripes, why is she so strong for a woman her age?! 

“You tell me, what’s going on this instant young lady!”

Jenny cried as she struggled out of her mom’s grip, “I…I can’t-I don’t want to…please!!” 

“Why not? I’m your mother!” 

Finally, Jenny managed to forcefully push Wakeman off her and began to shake anxiously, “Because if you knew…” She gulped as she thought about the possibility of her mom deactivating her and calling her another failed experiment- relatively high- and started to back away again now fighting tears, “Trust me…you don’t want to know, mom.” 

“XJ9!! What has gotten into you? What shouldn’t I know?” Her mother shouted after her as she stood up and brushed herself off. She stopped when she saw Jenny glaring at the ground, and her cooling system grew louder as she breathed heavily. Doctor Wakeman’s demeanor softened as she saw her upset daughter, XJ9, has always been an emotional girl. She slowly approached her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “XJ…Jenny, please tell me what’s going on. I want to help you.” 

Wakeman expected this to be a problem with school or something downtown, as many still struggle to trust or accept her after the holiday fiasco. She knew everything had been taking a toll on Jenny’s mental state. 

Jenny grieved and said softly, “Sheldon…is in the hospital.” 

Doctor Wakeman’s eyes widened in surprise; she was not expecting Jenny to say that. “Hospital? Why is Sheldon in the hospital?” 

“He got badly injured…” and it’s my fault. I was angry, and now he’s in the hospital because of it! I shouldn’t have gone that far! She painfully thought to herself. Her lips quivered, she didn’t dare look her mom in the eye. 

“How did he get hurt?” Asked her mom with genuine concern. Jenny didn’t answer- the event vividly played in her mind, in response, she started to whimper to Wakeman’s surprise. “XJ9?” 

“No…No I-I can’t.” Jenny shook her head and hurriedly ran up the stairs, leaving her mom in total confusion. 

Jenny’s bedroom door slammed. Wakeman sighed as she shook her head, she had to get to the bottom of this. 

————————————————————————

It hurts. Everything does. That’s how Sheldon knew he was, unfortunately, still alive. He shouldn’t complain though, he deserved it. That's what he thinks anyways. 

The heart monitor beeped in the silent room; Sheldon forced himself to open his eyes. As the lights penetrated his vision he instantly regretted it as it made his head ache even more. He noticed the oxygen mask resting over the bottom half of his face and glanced towards his arms, one had an IV tube inserted under the skin while the other was found in a cast. 

He tried to take a deep breath as his nose wasn’t entirely giving him oxygen-bad idea. A deep stinging aching sensation shot through his ribs causing him to wince. He let out a soft groan as he attempted to let his body relax in his hospital bed. 

“Hey, you’re finally awake!” Sheldon gazed over and saw Brad strolling in the room with a drink. “Sorry, I left for a second to get something to eat at the cafeteria.” Brad nibbled at his cereal bar and took a sip of milk. 

Sheldon raised an eyebrow and pointed to himself. “Food?” He sputtered out, but then was met with the raging agony of pain inside his jaw. He rubbed his cheeks and moaned as he tightly closed his eyes. The pain pulsed throughout his entire jaw and cheeks. 

Brad winced as he watched his friend shudder in pain. “Yea, I wouldn’t recommend solid foods for a while…Also the doctors did tell me you’re going to need surgery…like on almost your entire face.” He forced a weak smile. 

Sheldon widened his eyes, was he damaged that badly? He looked around and found a small round mirror on the doctor's small tray in the corner. He reached out his non-injured hand and tried to grab the mirror, Brad quickly pulled the mirror away from him before Sheldon could look. Brad shook his head as he tossed the mirror back on the tray,“Don’t, you’ll scare yourself.” Sheldon narrowed his eyes hopelessly. Brad’s words just made him feel worse-adding, insult to injury. 

Another pair of footsteps emerged into the room, catching both of their attention. In the doorway stood Doctor Wakeman looking concerned. “May I come in? I’d like to speak with Sheldon for a moment.” Brad glanced over at Sheldon with a raised eyebrow. Sheldon sighed and softly nodded, allowing her to enter the room. Doctor Wakeman was probably here to berate him for what he and Brad had done. Although to be fair, he deserved to be yelled at for accidentally putting Jenny in Vexus’s hands. 

To his surprise, Wakeman was quiet for a minute. She tilted her head and observed him. His face was swollen and bruised. His eyes were black and puffy, His nose was severely bent out of shape and his jaw was positioned off center to the rest of his face, creating a significant crossbite. His top lip was also more inward than his bottom lip. It was also obvious he was missing some teeth, he looked almost unrecognizable. On top of that, his broken arm lay in a cast, as his chest looked uneven as he breathed, the sight of him was horrible. Finally, she spoke as she kept her composure despite the feeling of uneasiness, “XJ9 told me you were in the hospital and I wanted to talk to you.” 

Both boys looked concerned, wondering what Jenny could have told her. Finally, Brad nodded with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, what did she tell you? 

Doctor Wakeman pulled up one of the chairs in the corner, sat next to Sheldon’s head, and sighed with a shrug, “She didn’t tell me anything except that Sheldon was hospitalized. She just came home distraught and didn’t want to talk to me and was acting pretty offish like she was hiding something.” She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “I am hoping you two can tell me what’s going on, since I can’t get anything out of my daughter.” 

Brad and Sheldon glanced at each other uncomfortably, neither knew what to say. Both knew what could happen if they told the whole truth. Brad rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the ground. He hesitated, “Well…Ms. Wakeman…It wasn’t anyone’s fault…” 

“Tree.” Sheldon grunted forcefully. Brad and Wakeman both stared at him incredulously at his sudden explanation. Despite the pain of his broken jaw, he continued to explain, “Tree…R-Rabid poodle…I was…I was…too close.” He winced as he spoke, his jaw aching for him to stop talking. 

Wakeman tilted her head and glared in disbelief, “A poodle? A poodle did this to you?” 

Brad glanced at Sheldon who glanced at him to continue for him. Brad nodded and stammered,“Uh…yes, a rabid poodle who was…taking steroids and was…probably radioactive. It was vicious because Sheldon here tried to save it from a bird's nest?” 

Wakeman sighed and nodded, guessing they wouldn’t tell her either. Sheldon gasped rubbing his cheek in pain, “Jenny…saved me.” 

Wakeman nodded and mumbled, “I see…so my daughter saved you from a radioactive rabid steroid-fed poodle? That’s strange, I wasn’t aware of something like that yesterday, I would have sent XJ8 since XJ9 is still not mentally ready yet.”

Brad waved his hand dismissively, “It just happened really fast and Jenny was already down there…for an oil change.” He nodded quickly with a forced smile. “Yea, an oil change!” 

Wakeman resisted the urge to roll her eyes, Jenny hasn’t got her oil changed since Christmas. The boys tried to facade their innocence, but Wakeman was not fooled easily. She shook her head, it was clear they weren’t going to give her the truth regardless. “Well…Thanks for telling me boys.” She mumbled with slight disappointment in her voice. 

“Of course, Ms. W!” Brad nodded. Wakeman silently nodded in return as she headed for the doorway. “Hey, Ms. Wakeman…” Doctor Wakeman stopped and looked at Brad curiously, “Tell Jen, that Sheldon is ok. I'm sure she’s worried about him.” Doctor Wakeman nodded and proceeded to leave the room. 

Sheldon felt himself relax a bit, the presence of Wakeman being in the room made his body tense up. His head hit the pillow. They lied to her, he lied to her. He felt guilty, but it wasn’t for his sake, it was for Jenny. He wondered why Jenny didn't at least tell Doctor Wakeman about Vexus and the kidnapping situation. Was she trying to protect me? The thought baffled him, why should Jenny defend him, he’s not that significant to the world. He felt a knot in his chest swell up, all he did was hurt her, lie to her…and maybe made her miserable. Why would she protect him? 

Sheldon glared at the ceiling, he’s a geek, a loser, a literal nobody! Even his parents don’t actually care about him, his dad left when he was a child and his mom only stuck around because she felt compelled too. Even then, she’s not around much, too busy with her fashion company and always out of town. Sheldon recalled when his mom told a coworker she had to go take care of some charity work…she was referring to him. Sheldon wouldn’t be surprised if her employees believed she didn’t have children. 

He shook his head, how could he have been so stupid? All he wanted was for Jenny to love him like he loved her. Then his social awkwardness and immaturity ruined everything, like it always does. He didn’t deserve her…he never will. She is everything and he is Nothing. He faintly recalled Jenny’s harsh words when she was beating him, those words though hurtful, were true. How could have I been so stupid?! He couldn’t even help Brad, let alone himself. So why did he even bother? He could feel his eyes getting teary, he blinked to get it to stop. 

“Hey, are you alright?” Sheldon looked up to see Brad’s concerned face. 

Sheldon gulped and nodded, “I’m…fine.” He followed with a forced smile. “Could…Could I have a drink?”

Brad shook his head sympathetically, “Actually, I forgot to tell you…your mom was already called and said to go ahead with the operation, it’s set for this afternoon. So you can’t have anything right now.”

Sheldon groaned and then raised his eyebrows, he already knew what the answer would be, but just felt like asking it anyways.“Did…she say anything else?” Brad shook his head and Sheldon lightly scoffed. Of course she didn’t. 

———————————————————————-

Jenny frantically rubbed her hands with a cloth, yet her hands remained covered in blood. She groaned in frustration as she saw no results, usually, she can remove stains well but blood was not her specialty. Come on, come on! Get off of me! She pleaded to herself as she roughly brushed her hands.

Jenny didn’t know how much time she had left, she knew her mom left somewhere but didn’t know when she’d be back and was running on the clock. She couldn’t use water thanks to her metallic skin, so she was stuck with a dry raggedy old cloth from one of the drawers. 

“XJ9?”

 Jenny shrieked, turned around and dropped the cloth on the ground. Doctor Wakeman stared at her with a slightly shocked expression. Jenny’s hands were out in the open and Wakeman can see her dried bloody hands clasped in front of Jenny’s chest. She could feel her gears whirring at high speed, her body began to shake as her optics met her mother’s stare. She stammered nervously; she felt like she shrunk under her mother’s gaze, “M-Mom…you’re home…I was just uh…” Her optics frantically shifted around the room and spotted an oil can on the table. “Getting a can of oil and going back to my room!” She sputtered as her hand reached out to grab the can of oil. 

Wakeman seized her by grabbing Jenny’s wrist. She observed the red stain that covered her daughter’s shaky hand and glanced back at her daughter, who looked mortified. She glared back at the blood, “I visited Sheldon at the hospital…he’s awake, looks awful, though.” 

Jenny gulped, she felt some relief knowing that Sheldon was alive, but still felt uneasy as her mom continued to stare at her hand. “Uhm…well I’m glad he’s ok…What did he say? and this…” She gestured to her hand, “Is not what it looks like, I promise…it’s just a-a…papercut?” She weakly smiled as Wakeman raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with her daughter’s response. 

“A paper cut? Really?” Wakeman asked with a deadpan expression. “You do understand that you can’t bleed, right? And paper cuts don’t make someone this bloody.” 

Jenny guilty glared at her hand, unsure of what to say next. Doctor Wakeman continued with a sigh as she dropped her daughter’s hand and opened the door under the sink for the hydrogen peroxide, “Sheldon just told me you saved him from an animal attack…sounded like it was a vicious one.” She recalled as she sprayed the chemical onto the rag and wiped Jenny’s hands. 

Jenny slowly nodded, deciding to go along with it. “Yes..yes, it was! It was a ferocious beast. It was a dragon made out of…of…Paper! Yes! And that’s how I got my paper cuts…because I fought the dragon, and it’s paper skin managed to give me paper cuts! And it also has rabies so it was dangerous!” 

Wakeman blinked unamused, “Sheldon said it was a radioactive poodle on steroids.” 

Jenny gulped and weakly chuckled, “Oh…hehe…yes. So it was a big poodle…that was also made of paper…?” 

Wakeman narrowed her eyes in disbelief as she watched XJ9 blatantly lie to her like her friends at the hospital. She felt massively disappointed and upset how Jenny was behaving. She studied at the drenched cloth and back at Jenny who sheepishly grinned in return. “I see…That’s what happened? Nothing else I should know about?” She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

 Jenny shook her head nervously. “No mom, that’s…that’s what happened.” She glanced towards the ground and scruffed her foot against the tile. 

“Hmm…alright, go upstairs with your oil, I’m going to work for a bit.” Wakeman mumbled with a shrug. Her daughter softly smiled, quickly brushed past her, and hurried up the stairs with oil in hand. 

Wakeman watched her rush up the stairs and glared back at the damp and bloody cloth. It all felt unsettling to her. She looked down the hall and towards the door to the lab, a faint light that Wakeman had forgotten to turn off illuminated inside. 

She groaned and rubbed her forehead. She didn’t want to, but she knew what had to be done. 

————————————————————————

Systems online. Sleep Mode Terminated. 

She slowly opened her optics and groaned, her batteries overly charged. The last time she was activated was Christmas, and watching her sister melt down about the possibility of getting replaced. She hated that. Not because she felt terrible, just that Jenny was still crying over it even though it wasn’t going to happen anymore. Of course, it wouldn’t, she’s mommy’s favorite.

XJ6 gazed around the room and expected to see Jenny going off about something and the reactivated XJ sisters joined in on the lively conversation. She was surprised to see that the room was silent, Jenny was nowhere in sight and XJ1-7 were still in sleep mode. XJ8 also appeared to be missing. Her confusion grew by the second of the vast silence, she slowly stepped off her podium and looked around her cautiously. She froze as she saw a light illuminating from the doorway. Her optics narrowed as she pulled out a laser beam in her arm as she approached the entrance. “Hello?” She softly called out. 

XJ6 froze as she saw a figure step into the doorway frame. She pointed her gun toward the figure, ready to shoot. 

“Wait! XJ6, it’s me!” 

 XJ6 paused and tilted her head curiously as the figure flipped on a switch revealing it to be her mother, Doctor Wakeman. She stepped back and quickly retracted the laser gun into her arm. “M-mom? What are you doing here?” She raised a hand up defensively, “Also, I don’t know how I got reactivated, it wasn’t me…I’ll just go back…” 

Wakeman shrugged as she stepped closer to her, “I know you didn’t, I did.” 

XJ6 raised an optic as she observed her mother, who appeared to be stressed. “What? But…but why?” 

The doctor sighed and glanced at the bloody wet cloth she had been carrying. “I found XJ9 wiping her hands with this when I got home from the hospital…I think her mental state has gotten worse.” 

XJ6 scoffed in disbelief and placed a hand on her hip,“You mean she’s still upset about the whole holiday situation?” Doctor Wakeman nodded as she placed the cloth on a nearby table. “Why? I mean she stayed active and her life went back to normal!” 

“Well, the event was pretty traumatizing for her. Literally, all of us were out to get her, she was confused and scared…I almost built XJ10 to destroy her. And she lost a year of her life and most of society still doesn’t trust or like her.” She gestured to XJ8’s empty podium, “I don’t even send XJ9 out on emergencies right now, I send XJ8 to handle those. She’s really not doing well.” 

XJ6 slowly nodded as she got her answer of XJ8’s absence. “I need your help.” Doctor Wakeman concluded softly as she placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. 

XJ6 stared at her mother blankly, still processing the words she had just heard. Then, finally, she rolled her optics and shoved her mother’s hand off of her and retorted, “Or you can finish the XJ10 model and shove her in the basement with the rest of us-oh wait! She’s your favorite, so of course she gets the pampered treatment.”

Doctor Wakeman was stunned at XJ6’s cold words. She frowned and folded her arms, “I do not have a favorite child! Also XJ9 is your sister, so I expect you to show some empathy!” 

XJ6 waved a hand dismissively and responded in a mocked tone. “Ah yes, show some empathy for the golden child who got to stay active and have a life! Even though she does Nothing now except be sad! Remember why I was deactivated?” She pointed at an exposed gear from the opposite shoulder. “Because I lost an arm…I lost an ARM! And that put me in the basement! And Jenny…”

“Ok, I understand, I have made mistakes and I was going to replace XJ9 and then she was proven innocent and was still functional,” Wakeman stated simply as she tried to calm her daughter. 

XJ6 shot back, her hand balled in a fist, “You don’t understand! I was just like Jenny, I was a hero! I’ve done everything I am programmed to do and try to be a part of the humans. Then I lost my arm!”

Wakeman sympathetically gazed at her and softly spoke “XJ6.” 

“And where does that put me?! The basement! But when Jenny gets injured or does whatever she’s doing right now, she stays activated!” 

“XJ6.”

“You never cared about me! I would probably still be deactivated if Jenny didn’t come to the basement!” 

“XJ6…”

XJ6 ignored her and continued, “She’s spoiled, that’s why she’s still sad! But, Cripes, you love her so much and know her name! You even let her interact with people and go to school! You probably don’t even…”

“Jessica! Shut up!” Wakeman screeched, silencing XJ6’s rant. XJ6’s optics widened, she hadn’t heard that name in years and was stunned to hear her own mother say it. Wakeman sighed and rubbed her face and replied more calmly.“Jessica…of course I remember, the name you called yourself.” XJ6 found herself speechless, her facial expression softened. She remembered. Her mom remembered her name. 

Wakeman readjusted her glasses as she watched her daughter lose tension, XJ6’s mouth lines trembled. Geeze, this brings back memories…why are only three of my nine children always so dramatic? Even XJ1 cried less than them!  

Wakeman held XJ6’s hand and patted it, she faintly smiled,“There, there…it’s alright. Everything is ok.” She consoled XJ6 who stood silent and was emotional. She sighed as she continued, “You’re right…you and XJ9 share a lot in common. That’s why I reactivated you, your sister needs you right now.”  

XJ6 raised an optic in confusion, “But what about her friends or you?”

Wakeman shrugged and solemnly shook her head as she slightly glanced back at the cloth, “I’m afraid we can’t help her anymore.” 

XJ6 noted her mother glancing at the cloth, confused about what she meant. Jenny isn’t struggling that bad, right? Why would she? Her life is perfect! “So…what, you just want me to talk to her? And then come back down here?”  

“No…” XJ6 raised an optic as Nora continued, “No, I want you to stay up there with her and keep her accompanied for a while.” 

XJ6 blinked and grimaced, “Mom…you want me to babysit her?!” She groaned and rolled her optic, “I think I’d rather stay in the basement than having to watch the golden child mope in her room all day.” For no reason! I add.

Wakeman frowned, “Oh no, you’re not! You’re going upstairs young lady! And besides you’re not going to be in her room all day, you both got school!”

“What?! You want me to just follow her around at her school?!” 

“No, it’s your school now too, I enrolled you in Tremerton High before I came down here.” Wakeman explained much to XJ6’s surprise. 

XJ6 was shocked and still in disbelief, “Wait…you’re sending me to school? Like Jenny? For how long?” She gasped and grinned, “I’m gonna be with people! EEE!” She squealed, barely able to contain herself. She imagined herself walking amongst the other teenagers, many of them would admire her, flaunt her newfound popularity as boys would drop at her feet and the girls would be seething with envy…even Jenny. Best of all, she would finally be out of Jenny’s shadow. How perfect that would be! 

The doctor waved her hand dismissively and replied sternly,“Yes, yes, you get to be around humans. But remember dear, you must watch your sister and stay by her side! That’s the main reason why I’m letting you do this!” She sighed, partially regretting the decision, “Also XJ9 really loves you, so I’m hoping she will at least listen to you.” 

XJ6 scoffed and shrugged, not buying a word of that sentence, “Yea, sure, whatever mom…Ooh, can I stay upstairs?” 

“Uhm, yes you and XJ9 will be sharing a room so…”

“Ok thanks mom! Hehe!” Without hesitation XJ6 rushed past her mom and giddily hopped up the stairs, Doctor Wakeman shook her head tiredly as she watched XJ6 carelessly run up the stairs. 

Nora was serious about XJ9 really loving XJ6. She recalled the first time XJ9 found and reactivated her sisters and Nora locked them back into the basement. The day after, XJ9 would not stop talking about them, particularly XJ6, it was easy to assume that XJ6 was likely her favorite sister. Ironically, XJ6 feels almost the opposite towards XJ9, always jealous. 

Doctor Wakeman picked up the ragged cloth and grimaced at the blood. She gazed back up the stairs where one of her robotic daughters went. Either way, XJ6 was the only viable option. XJ5 doesn’t even let people talk, XJ7 is too depressed herself to help, and XJ8 literally struggles processing emotions as well as being currently busy taking over Jenny’s role and responsibilities. XJ4 would have been another option, but it was out of the question after she threw out Jenny’s bed. 

She gripped onto the cloth and felt worrisome. The finished and abandoned plans for an XJ10 rested in a big box at the back of her lab. Nora didn’t even dare look at the box, she couldn’t. She sighed as she slowly strolled towards the stairs and glanced at the bloody cloth. Please don’t make me regret this…Jessica.

Chapter Text

It has been years since XJ6, aka Jessica Wakeman, has stepped foot into the outside world. The day she was shut down and replaced by XJ7 still rang painfully clear in her mind; she didn’t think she’d see the world ever again. Yet here she was as her legs crawled through the snow. XJ6 heard a crunching sound as her feet made contact. She softly giggled at the sight, she had never felt so free! 

Well…almost, in the corner of her optic, she noted Jenny begrudgingly trudged by her side with her arms folded as her head hung down towards the ground. It took almost a half hour to get her out of bed and XJ6 had to force her out of the door to go to school. XJ6 observed her sister blankly staring towards the ground and resisted the urge to roll her optics in annoyance. Jenny was quiet all morning and kept staring off into space, she didn’t drink any oil this morning, and her optics stayed half shut due to insufficient sleep. It was apparent Jenny wasn’t her usual self. What is her problem? Does she know how good and easy she has it? I was the one stuck in the basement while she got to have a life! XJ6 glared slightly at her and wished Jenny would stop moping already. 

XJ6 cleared her throat, as she reluctantly pushed aside her feelings. She knew their mother wanted her to talk to Jenny and attempted to start a conversation. “Soo…the weathers nice, don’t you think? My system says it’s 30 degrees outside.” Without looking up, Jenny shrugged silently. XJ6 figured she should ask something that’s not just a yes or no question to get a verbal response, “I’m excited to go to high school for the first time; what’s it like?” She forced a smile, hoping to get some answer out of Jenny. 

“Fine.” Jenny responded monotonously.

XJ6 sighed and rolled her optics. Close enough. Again, it was silent as they marched through the snow and approached the double doors. She noted a swarm of students pooling into the doors. Many paid no mind to her and Jenny, while some whispered amongst themselves and gestured to her in curiosity. So many humans! She could barely contain herself with excitement. Returning to Jenny, she realized something different, “Hey Jen, where are your friends? I haven’t seen them yet today.” 

Jenny tensed, her hands clutched onto the straps of her bag. “Well, Tuck took the bus this morning and Brad is with Sheldon at…uhh…” She gulped, and her face had an unreadable expression. Hastily Jenny turned with a forced smile and grabbed XJ6’s hand, “You know XJ6, we need to hurry or we’ll be late, the bell’s about to ring!” XJ6 raised an optic as Jenny pushed the glass doors that led them to the hallway. 

The hall was swamped with teenagers wearing oversized puffy coats and scarves, while others-mostly guys- wore just baggy t-shirts and shorts. XJ6 noticed some of them looking at her and couldn’t help but blush since she thought it was out of admiration. Throughout the hall she saw a faint smell that was likely either old gym socks or a long-forgotten sandwich shoved in someone’s locker. XJ6 didn’t mind the overwhelming stench and noise as she stood in awe at what laid before her. This was probably the best day of her life!

Jenny led her through the packed crowd to the steel blue lockers; she pointed a thumb gesturing to one, “This is your locker, you can put your stuff inside it if you want to.” She waved her hand, gesturing in another direction, “Cafeteria and some of your classes are probably that way. Oh and that’s Vice Principal Razinski.” She pointed to a short older man walking through the halls ushering students to class and making his way towards the sisters. 

Razinski approached them, showing that he didn’t want to be here like the others. “Good morning, XJ9; I see you up and early for once this semester.” Jenny shrugged and simply groaned. “Ah, I see we have a new freshman joining us.” He nodded at XJ6. 

“Yes! It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Jess…” 

“This is my little sister, XJ6,” Jenny responded instead monotonously, unaware of her sister scowling at her in response. 

“XJ9’s little sister huh? I can see the resemblance. Well, hopefully, you don’t burn down the building as XJ9 did on her first day.” Razinski remarked as Jenny furrowed her optics, giving an unamused glare and XJ6 stifled a laugh imagining what that must have been like. “So, XJ9 I’m assuming you’ll show her around?” Jenny silently nodded in response. “Good, pleasure to meet you, XJ6. Now if you two will excuse me, I’m late for my fifth cup of coffee.” He grumbled as he strolled off, leaving the two Wakeman sisters to themselves.

Jenny shrugged and turned back to her locker as XJ6 softly smiled and waved him off. XJ6 sighed as she watched Jenny pull out some of her textbooks with the same emotionless expression. XJ9’s little sister. Hmph, so much for having my own identity. She thought, recalling Razinski’s words with frustration. 

“Do you know where your homeroom is?” Asked Jenny as she turned around with her books resting in her arms, her face again remained in the same lifeless state. 

XJ6 shrugged, as she didn’t have her schedule at hand, having to pull it from memory, “I think it was Mr.Piggot, chemistry class, I think.” 

“That will be down the hall and to the left, a few doors down. Mine is the other way, literature with Smellhaus.” She rolled her optics and groaned as she tilted her head back in frustration, “Still can’t believe I have to retake everything from last year. Ridiculous.” 

The two notice Tiff walking by and remarked with a smirk as she passed by with her group of friends, “It’s ridiculous you even bothered to come back at all freak- ha!”

 Jenny glared at her as the group laughed at them. Finally, she let out a heavy sigh and slammed her locker. “Very funny, Tiff.” She growled under her artificial breath. XJ6 raised an optic for an explanation. “That was one of the Krust Cousins; they’re popular…and I’m not. They’re just big jerks, stay away from them, and you’ll be fine. See you in a bit, alright?” Before XJ6 could say anything, Jenny hastily stomped through the corridor and out of sight. 

XJ6 blinked in thought. Popular, huh? She brightened as an idea came to her. 

—————————————————————-

Being anywhere, except class, is a hay day for a teenager. Not being in class would usually make Brad the happiest guy in the world! Except right now if he could choose, he would much rather be in class instead of sitting next to his bedridden, disfigured friend who had been operated on hours before. 

The surgery lasted for a couple of hours as they readjusted Sheldon’s nose and placed small metal plates in his jaw to replace some damaged bones and put in fake teeth. After the operation, he remained unconscious for a while, his face was swollen like a balloon, his nose was covered by a brace and bandaging around his jaw and cotton balls resting on his gums to absorb the bleeding. He looked unrecognizable, and seeing him in such a state was grueling. 

His eyes strained to focus on his homework he brought to the hospital. Advanced calculus was never his subject, he had worked on it for hours yet no progress had been made as he stared blankly at the foreboding paper in front of him. Spending the rest of my life as a cashier or a waiter sounds pretty good right now. He amusingly thought to himself tapping his pencil against the paper. 

Brad jerked his head up when he noticed the sound of moving sheets and the bed springs groaning as Sheldon shifted around in the bed. He glanced over and could barely see his friend’s swollen eyes heavily opening and looking back at him. Brad smirked as he leaned forward, “Good morning sleeping beauty.” 

Sheldon raised an eyebrow, clearly not amused with the joke. Brad softly chuckled, “Sorry, couldn’t resist. How do you feel?”

Sheldon let out a weak groan, he blinked a couple times. He wanted to speak but couldn’t due to the procedure. The anesthetic was primarily out of his system, yet he felt queasy and dizzy. Luckily the high quality pain medications numbed most of the pain surging throughout his body, though it still hurt to breathe. 

“The surgery went well. While you were in surgery, I just worked on calculus.” He waved the paper in front of his swollen eyes. “If you’d like you can help me.” He weakly smiled as Sheldon rolled his eyes in response. “No? Dang, I thought calculus would cheer you up. Okay, maybe later.” Brad shrugged, he folded the paper and shoved it back into his backpack. 

The boys were silent for a minute, and occasionally footsteps would echo through the hall outside, the beeping of the heart monitor and the soft noise from the oxygen machine filled the room as well as the quiet drip of fluid in the IV bag. Outside the window, the icicles melted into the crystal snow; it was pretty peaceful. Brad finally broke the silence, “Oh, also I finally got a hold of your mom, she will be here later. I will admit she seems like an interesting woman, especially when I brought up- “ 

A soft wet snore interrupted him. Sheldon had fallen back asleep. Brad shook his head at his disfigured friend, he had it rough the past few days. Well, they all did, but physically hardest for Sheldon. His hair dropped across his face as he slept, his chest unevenly raised up and down, and his weak frame draped in the hospital bed. Despite the damage he still managed to look peaceful as he slept. He hoped Sheldon’s mom being around would cheer him up. Brad knew she wasn’t around much due to work. He was telling the truth when he found her weird on the phone. Brad was curious why she suddenly became interested when Brad mentioned Jenny’s name. He shrugged it off, finding the woman just odd. 

Brad leaned back against his chair, let out a huff of air, and closed his eyes, deciding not to worry about it. 

———————————————————————-

Jenny twirled a pencil in her hand, the sound of Mr. Smellhause’s voice buzzed in her brain but she didn’t bother to make sense of it. Her face was blank, her optics empty and heavy, yet her thoughts of the recent events screamed in her mind and muted out reality. 

The past restless nights have caught up to her. She wanted to sleep but no matter how hard she tried to force herself to enter sleep mode- the memory of Sheldon’s blood-curdling scream would echo throughout her mind. Even worse, it’s as if he was actually screaming and crying into her audio receptors. Yet every time she snapped her optics open, she was alone in her room once more. 

Her hands were no longer doused in blood, back to their original snow-white color. Yet as she stared at them Jenny still managed to see the glaring red tint from her friend on her hands. His blood forever stained her mind.

The last she saw Sheldon was when they dropped him off at the hospital. Jenny knew about the operation, he had it a few hours ago and awaited Brad to send her an update with how it went. So far she heard nothing. 

The circular clock ticked away on the wall as Jenny tapped the pencil against her desk nervously wondering why she hadn’t heard from him yet. The bell was going to ring in a few minutes, but the anticipation was eating her alive. A part of her considered bolting out the door right then.

It was a conflicting feeling, yes Jenny was still angry with him yet felt guilt that she put Sheldon in the hospital. But, on the other hand, she didn’t know if either one should apologize or deserve to be forgiven. She just needed to talk to him, that was all. 

She glanced back at the clock, somehow only two minutes had passed since she last checked. Jenny groaned quietly, the class was forever! 

Mr. Smellhause’s back was turned as he wrote on the board with his blue marker. Jenny hesitated, but judging how far in the back and in the corner of the room she was, she could probably get away with it. Jenny quietly turned sideways and hunched into her desk as one of her pigtails retracted and morphed into a small cell phone that rested into her palm. She recalled that Brad currently didn’t have a phone, so she hoped Sheldon’s phone would work.

Jenny flipped the cover off her phone, the screen’s light illuminated on her face as she pressed the buttons to open her messaging app and text him. She grew frustrated as her phone took forever to load, and it was an old model that her mother had installed into her. Jenny had asked for a new one for over a year, and her mom still didn’t budge. Her mother based its design on the old flip phones from the early 2000s so much that it didn’t even have a touch screen. 

Jenny groaned and lightly smacked the side of her phone hoping to get it to work. “Come on, you stupid piece of junk!” She softly mumbled to herself. She sighed, quickly glancing to the front making sure Smellhaus wasn’t looking and leaned towards the phone and whispered. “Text Sheldon…Hey Sheldon, I hope you’re ok and your operation went well…I wanted to talk about the other day. You really did hurt me, but I shouldn’t have done what I did…call me back when you can.”

“Are we boring you, Miss Wakeman?” Jenny jumped and turned to see Mr.Smellhaus standing in front of her desk with hands on his hips, unimpressed as the others in the room giggled at the situation. 

Jenny gulped as she quickly retracted her phone back into herself and morphed it back into her pigtail. “Uh, no not at all! I was listening, I was just…taking notes?” She sheepishly smiled.

“Really…then what did I just say?” Mr. Smellhaus asked in a stern tone. Jenny stared at him and stammered, helplessly thinking of an excuse but remained at loss for words. Finally, the teacher narrowed his eyes, “Keep this up and you’ll be held back again! See me after class.” 

The classroom was filled with a collection of ‘ooohs’ and laughter as Jenny rested her head on her desk in frustration. “Alright class, that’s enough…” Mr. Smellhaus instructed calming the students down and continued on with his lecture. 

Jenny slumped into her seat as her head burrowed into her arms. The message was sent, waiting to be read on Sheldon’s phone and the clock continued to tick away slowly. She tried to close her optics, maybe a small nap would help. Unfortunately, as soon as she did, he was screaming again. Jenny jolted back up in her seat with optics wide open creating a screeching noise on the wooden floor. She noted a couple of odd stares she got and shrugged it off and weakly smiled “Heh, just allergies.” 

———————————————————————

As soon as the bell rang to mark the end of the school day, XJ6 rushed out of her classroom and towards the Krust Cousins’ lockers. All day she would ask her classmates where the cousins’ lockers were and she finally found out in the last class period of the day. There wasn’t a moment to lose.

XJ6 sprinted until she saw two teenage girls surrounded by a group of people, she recognized Tiff from earlier with Jenny. She could barely contain her excitement, this was her chance to be popular and possibly even better than Jenny! XJ6 waved her hand as she ran towards them, “Hey girls!” The group turned around as XJ6 came by their side with a wide grin on her face. “I’m new here, and it’s so nice to meet you! My name is Jessica! I just want to say it would be totally fab if we can hang out sometimes.” She smiled innocently as she leaned against one of the lockers and the group just silently stared at her.

Tiff leaned over to Brit and whispered, “This was the new robot girl that I was telling you about.”

Brit scrunched her face in disgust, “So there’s really two of them now?” Tiff solemnly nodded in response much to Brit’s dismay. 

XJ6 noticed Brit’s discomfort and weakly chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head, “Uh yea, Heh, Jenny is my older sister…” She waved defensively and abruptly explained. “But we’re nothing alike, believe me! I am way cooler than she is! I’m actually even a better model than she is and I’m like you, I don’t even like her!” She felt a little guilty saying the last part, but still took it in stride. 

The group gave her weird looks, Tiff folded her arms, “I see…and that means you should hang out with us?” 

XJ6 blushed a little and gulped, “Uh…yes?” She smiled sheepishly. 

Some of the kids in the group stifled some giggles at such a request. Brit glared incredulously at the new robot cyclops with a TV set for a head. This girl is as ridiculous and geeky as her freak of a sister! Brit was ready to rip into XJ6 with insults until Tiff stopped her as she whispered something into her ear. A sly grin grew on Brit’s face, and to XJ6’s confusion her demeanor suddenly changed. Brit rested her hand on XJ6’s shoulder, “Oh, we would love for you to hang with us, Jessica. Would you like to go with us to Mezmers or the mall?” 

XJ6 beamed at her new friends, she could barely contain herself as she squealed, “Oh yes I would love too! When are we…” She was interrupted as Jenny bolted right past the group, knocked some people over in the hallway and out the door. XJ6 groaned in frustration. She knew their mom would want her to follow Jenny, if she didn’t XJ6 would likely get locked back in the basement. “Girls, I’m so sorry, I need to go…take care of something.” She shared a sympathetic frown. 

Tiff shrugged, “No biggie, girlfriend. We will see you later.” 

XJ6 weakly smiled and nodded before running after Jenny. She was unaware of the Krust cousins and the group snickering and cackling as she left and making fun of her. 

XJ6 bolted out of the doors. She scanned the front yard for any sign of Jenny but only saw plain grass and some parked cars. XJ6 sighed, she assumed Jenny must have flown off. She activated her jets and followed suit. XJ6 glanced above Tremerton over the series of buildings feeling agitated. She just had to run off, didn’t she? When I find her, oh ho! I’m gonna let her have it! Her optics scanned the horizon and stopped at a building labeled hospital, Jenny appeared to be talking to one of her friends. 

She landed right behind them, Brad appeared to be exiting the hospital and Jenny was clinging onto his shoulders in tears. Brad patted her back and consoled her. “Sheldon’s gonna be ok, sure he looks a little…bad right now, but everything will be fine Jen.” 

“I sent him a text!” Jenny sputtered as her hands tightened around his arms, causing him to wince a bit. 

“Ow! Yes, and he will see it! He’s just gonna nap for a bit, that’s all.” He smiled tiredly, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. “And I called his mom so she’s with him right now.” 

Jenny’s optics widened in horror as her pigtails drooped, she leaned towards him as she yelled, “You called his mom?! Wha-What did you tell her?! Did you mention I did this?!”

Brad shook his head as he shrunk back a bit, “No, of course not! I just said he’s been involved in an accident, that’s all! I promise!” Jenny gazed at him silently for a moment, her robotic mind trying to process everything. Brad’s eyes wandered for a bit and stopped when he noticed XJ6 standing behind them. He raised an eyebrow questioningly “Oh hey, XJ6 what are you doing here?” 

Jenny turned and blinked tears out of her optics, as she quickly rubbed them. She cleared any static in her artificial voice and replied “Oh, mom reactivated her. She’s going to Tremerton High now, actually.” 

Brad blinked in surprise, “Wow, really? How did you convince your mom to do that?” 

Before Jenny could respond, XJ6 rolled her one optic and marched closer as she scoffed, “No, our mom actually did. She wants me to keep an eye on her.” Jenny narrowed her optics as XJ6 reached for Jenny’s arm, “Now let’s go home. So you can go back and sit in your room or whatever.” She said with irritation in her voice. 

Jenny folded her arms and backed away from XJ6, she glanced back at Brad who nonchalantly shrugged with his usual confident smile, “It’ll be fine, Jen! What’s the worst possible thing that can happen?” 

Jenny felt unsure, her optics bounced back and forth between Brad’s confident smile and XJ6’s seemingly annoyed glare. Neither Brad nor XJ6 knew of the recent nightmares she has been having, no one does-not even her own mother. Why should they? They wouldn’t understand. Instead, she remained silent and believed that seeing Sheldon would somehow resolve that, one look at him and the horrifying nightmares of his screeching would stop. Right? Her hands twitched by her side as she felt like her body became ten times heavier. For a moment she felt like she was back in her room, optics closed as he did an inhumane scream for what seemed to be forever. 

“You alright, Jen?” Asked Brad now concerned, seeing his best friend stare into space and notice the slight twitching of her hands. 

In front of the hospital, Jenny blinked back into reality with her concerned friend and irritated sister. She quickly facaded a small smile. “Yes, I’m fine…just tired is all.” 

XJ6 groaned, she just wanted to go home already and was impatient with her sister’s weird behavior, “Jenny, he’s fine, now let’s go already! Geeze!” With silent encouragement from Brad, Jenny reluctantly followed XJ6, activating their jets and taking off into the sky as Brad shuffled into his car.

The whole way home was silent, Jenny’s optics stayed focused on the city view in front of them. Her face held a vacant expression. The odd behavior was very noticeable to XJ6, which upset her even more. Jenny had no reason to complain, it’s not like she suffered years in the basement abandoned and forgotten like XJ6 did. Jenny had family and friends that cared about her, XJ6 didn’t. People call Jenny her chosen name…no one calls her Jessica. 

XJ6 continued to observe her downtrodden sister and noticed a possible tear streaming from Jenny’s optics. Oh, come on! Such a spoiled drama queen! XJ6 scoffed in disbelief, a part of her wanted to scream and smack some sense into her. 

Instead, she spoke up, trying again to hold a conversation, “I…I made some new friends today.” She continued with resentment in her voice, “I would have stayed and chatted with them longer, except a certain someone decided to be a spoiled jerk and I had to leave.” She glared at Jenny who continued to look ahead silently. 

They reached Jenny’s bedroom window; Jenny continued to crawl in silently. “They know my name…my actual name! Something you never even bothered to learn…” XJ6 stopped, a pair of headphones formed out of Jenny’s head as she collapsed on the bed. She was no longer listening, probably. XJ6 huffed as she watched her sister lay on the bed, blankly gazing at the ceiling. XJ6 marched towards the bedroom door and grumbled with her optic narrowed, “I hate you.” She shook her head as she walked out, “You could disappear again and I wouldn’t care.” She slammed the door, a sting of guilt panged her chest. Has she gone too far? XJ6 backed away from the closed door. She observed the oil stained carpet and quickly swallowed the guilt. No, it had to be said. She reassured herself. She slowly strolled to the stairs, ignoring what could be sobbing. 

————————————————————————

She glanced out the grand window and saw the robot citizens happily going on with their lives. It was in the afternoon, so many children and teenagers were done with the school day. Some maybe off to the mall or to go see a movie. Others were likely going to their friend’s house and the children mostly stayed outside and just played until sundown. 

Unlike everyone else, the princess sat in her mother’s palace, bored out of her mind. Her mother had called her early from school to meet up with her, having to cancel on her friends again. She slumped into her chair, her arms laid lazily onto the armrests. They’re probably at the mall, right now. She sadly thought to herself. 

“This was your plan? Your daughter?” Asked Smytus with skepticism in his voice as he stood by the Queen who sat on her throne. He gestured to Vega, exasperated, “She’s a child!” Which earned a glare from the princess.

Vexus frowned, waving dismissively, “Yes, Smytus, don’t question me! Do you know why I called you here today, Vega?” Vega blinked as she looked at Vexus with no interest and shrugged not having a clue. Vexus leaned back in her chair and nodded. “Vega, do you understand your duty as a princess of the cluster?” 

Vega glanced around the room in thought, noting the guards standing watch at the other side of the room and back at her mother in her throne with Krakus and Smytus standing on opposite sides of her. Vexus’s mural looked down on them behind the throne giving her an oddly uneasy feeling. Was she in trouble for some reason? “Uh…To live like a normal teenage robot and help keep peace in the Cluster?” She shrugged with a nervous chuckle, not knowing the answer. Vexus was unamused, her deadpanned face cut Vega’s laugh short as she shrunk into her seat. 

Vexus sighed and glanced behind Vega, “Remember, how you found me the other day?” Vega nodded, confused at her mother’s questions, “Stunned unconscious…thanks to the pitiful XJ9 and her little flesh wearers.” She slammed her fist on the wide desk, the thud echoed in the room with a snarl, “And then they escaped…we almost had her!” 

Vega sat up straight, becoming interested. “XJ9? You mean the one who destroyed our chips and stole our powers? She was here?” She heard the name XJ9 many times from her mother and of her mother’s encounter with the infamous robot throughout the galaxy or on XJ9’s home planet. She always felt somewhat guilty whenever she heard of Vexus’s failed attempts of capturing a human or defeating the horrendous robot. At the same time, she gets exhausted hearing her mother obsess over some robot that she only has seen in the media and never in person. Vega had begun to wonder if XJ9 was real, but hearing that she was here and stunned her mother got her peak interest. 

“Yes, the vile flesh protector-XJ9 was here…” she darkly grinned and chuckled, recalling Jenny’s attack on her friend. “However she’s definitely been slipping lately…something in her is changing.”

Vega raised an optic confused, “What do you mean, changing?” 

Vexus clasped her hands together on the desk and rested her chin on them, “I mean, she’s getting closer to joining the Cluster!”

Vega blinked and tilted her head, still puzzled, “Ok…so, when she’s on our side. What will happen exactly? I’m guessing she will have to face a heavy penalty for destroying the chips and for all of her crimes. Right?” Vega narrowed her optics and folded her arms, “I would like to teach her a thing or two about messing with our people.” 

Vexus and Smytus glanced at each other for a second, slightly nervous knowing the truth of the chips, while Krakus continued to stare blankly at the wall behind Vega. Vexus cleared her throat and nodded, “Uh, yes, sweetie she will face a penalty. All she needs…is one final push over the edge.” 

“And how are you going to do that?”

Vexus smirked and reached over, lightly stroking a hand over Vega’s left cheek. “Simple… You’re going to do it my dear daughter.” 

Vega’s optics shot wide open as she backed away from her mother’s hand in shock. “Me?!”

Vexus nodded, “Yes! Tomorrow, you will start attending her high school on the puny planet. And your mission is to simply befriend XJ9 and…help her become like us, if you will.” 

Vega shrunk in her seat again, the room felt like it was spinning and she was shrinking. Her cooling system kicked up in the sense of panic, “You’re sending me to another plant filled with weird creatures and where the deranged robot is?! Are you crazy?!” She shrieked in horror. 

Vexus shrugged nonchalantly, “Yes, the human planet can be quite disgusting and pathetic, but you will be fine. Especially with XJ9 right now, judging her status.” 

Vega shook her head and stammered as she panicked, “But-but what about my friends? I’m supposed to leave them? Mom, this isn’t fair!” She waved her hands exasperated and glared at Smytus and Krakus “Can’t you two say something?!”  

Smytus widened his optics uncomfortably and glanced at Vexus who snarled at him. “Uh…I am going to side with the majesty, princess.”

Vega looked at Krakus with desperation, hoping the old rusty bucket of bolts could come to her aid. But, instead, he smiled warmly as he continually stared into space, “I’m Krakus!” Vega slumped helplessly as she frowned, disappointed.

Vexus stared at him with a deadpan face, “You forgot to plug yourself in again, didn’t you?” 

Krakus blinked, his optics void of thoughts as he slowly rotated his head towards Vexus, “I’m Krak-“ 

Vexus interrupted, glaring at the old robot “Shut up, no one cares.” Then, she returned her attention to her daughter, “The decision is final, Vega.” 

The princess protested as her artificial heart sank, “But mom-“

Vexus raised a hand, not wanting to hear more. “Vega, remember your duties as a princess?” She stood tall and towered menacingly over her daughter in the chair. “One of them is obeying me as your mother and queen! Understand?! This is for the cluster’s own good! Now, say goodbye to your friends, subjects, or whatever you call them! You’ll be on earth first thing in the morning!” 

Vega gasped, staring into her mother’s hardened optics and threatening stance. Reality began to sit in, there was no way she could win this. Vega tried to find an excuse, but there wasn’t one. Vega gulped, she wished she could turn invisible. Her artificial breath grew loud, echoing in the unnerving silence as she silently trembled in fear of her mother. 

“Understand?” Vexus demanded again, getting closer to her daughter. 

Vega softly nodded as she lowered her eyes to the ground in defeat, “Y-yes, mother.” 

Vexus placed her hands on her hips and smiled, “That’s a good girl, now run along, darling.” 

Vega silently got up from her seat, reluctantly marching out of the room past the guards, filled with anger and fear. 

Chapter Text

Humans, the very thought of those creatures made Vega want to wince in disgust. She would often talk about what these strange creatures would be like with her friends. Many speculations and assumptions would arise about them, but the most popular one was that humans are ugly and vile. 

Vega pushed into the door leading into the building, she sighed in frustration, oh what she would do to be back on Cluster Prime with her friends. Unfortunately, cluster Prime, like Earth, was early in the morning. Right now, it was first period, Drab likely would be pulling a stunt on the teacher from the back of the class; however, the teacher never managed to catch him. Shell, being the nerd he is, would already be working on tomorrow’s homework in the front of the room, and Tuff…he definitely is stuck in a small place again due to his size. Vega sighed softly; hopefully, Drab or Shel remembered to grab him at some point. 

She proceeded to stroll down the hall until she reached her classroom. Students pooled into the room as they filled their seats; Vega felt tense being surrounded by these monstrous aliens. She let out a soft gasp when she saw a six-and-a-half-foot blue and white robot sitting in the back with her head resting in her arms on the table. XJ9. She thought in shock and slight horror, a part of her wanted to run, yet another part of her wanted to scream and fight XJ9 for hurting Vega’s people. 

“Oh, class, we have a new student joining us today!” The teacher gestured to Vega at the doorway, making her snap out of her thoughts and look at him. “This is Vega, she’s from…sorry, miss, where are you from again?” Vega observed the man for a moment, he appeared to be bald except for the hair on his upper lip. He had enormous glasses that sat on top of his round nose and she noted how, unlike the young humans, his skin had wrinkles in it. She learned from her mother that humans get wrinkles from a thing called aging. She felt a shudder run through her core Eww, that is so gross.

“Uh… I’m just from north of here.” She stated simply, not wanting to give away her actual identity. In a way, she was still telling the truth, Cluster Prime is somewhat north of Earth. 

“Ah, interesting. Well, please choose a seat, and we will get started.” He turned back to the board, and Vega slowly made her way down the row of seats. She noted how a few of the students were whispering and some were staring directly at her. Their behavior reminded her a little of the students at her old school, except they talked and gawked at her for vastly different reasons. 

Her optics remained focused on the other robot girl as she took her seat. XJ9 remained in the same position, seemingly unaware of Vega’s presence. It felt so surreal, the great monster who destroyed their chips and the arch nemesis of her mother now sat right across from her. It amazed her to see the tremendous monstrous XJ9 peacefully sitting at a desk, doing absolutely nothing and was surprised how XJ9 didn’t even acknowledge her.

Vega casually set her bag next to the seat and sat down while adjusting the chair closer to the desk. She winced as her hands felt a weird dry substance underneath the seat. It is confirmed humans are disgusting. 

“Class, I will be assigning a semester project…” A round of collective groans followed, “Quiet! I am being nice. I’m going to let you choose whatever decade you want to present and your partner! You have the whole semester to finish it, so I expect it all to be on time, no exceptions! I will be giving you the rest of the hour to start choosing your partners.” Many of the kids got up and started chatting, most likely not about the assignment as the two robot girls remained unnoticed in the back of the room. 

Vega glanced back at XJ9, still unmoved. She hesitantly reached over and tapped her shoulder, worried that she would get attacked by doing so. “Excuse me?” She said softly. The robot girl didn’t move, Vega raised an optic as she once again tried to get XJ9’s attention, nudging her shoulder. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Was she out of batteries or something? Vega wondered as the nudging seemed to not do anything. She leaned closer as she observed XJ9, XJ9’s head appeared to be buried in her arms, but Vega noted how tense she looked. XJ9’s optics were tightened shut as her lips seemed to make subtle movements. She tried one more time again in a louder tone using her name, “XJ9?” 

Vega jerked back as XJ9 suddenly sprung up in her seat with a look of fear on her face; her optics widened in sheer horror as her hands gripped on the edges of the desk. “I’m not like you! I’m not…” XJ9 blinked and shook her head, followed by a groan. Her outburst gained some odd glances from their classmates. She heaved a few artificial breaths, regaining a sense of her surroundings. She gulped as she regained her composure and glanced over to see Vega standing by her. XJ9 appeared to be embarrassed and lightly chuckled bitterly, “Sorry, I-uh… haven’t really been sleeping lately-it’s nothing though. Just life as a teenager, right?” 

The robot girl faceded a grin on her face, yet her optics seemed empty and pained as her whole body seemed tense. Vega noticed how XJ9’s hands would slightly twitch every few seconds and the odd oil smell that came from XJ9. Wow, mom wasn’t kidding about XJ9’s state. Vega forced a smile and reluctantly reached out a hand to the Cluster’s enemy, “It’s totally fine, I understand. My name is Vega.” 

The robot nodded as she reached and shook her hand; which made Vega cringe, “I’m Jenny.” Vega resisted the urge to show her disgust at the human sounding name. Why would you make yourself more like the hideous creatures of this planet? 

“Jenny, huh? Well it’s nice to meet you, Jenny.” Ugh, just saying the name makes me want to vomit-the robot girl is worse than I thought. “Well, there’s a class project that’s due by the end of the semester and I was wondering if you’d like to be my partner.” 

Jenny raised an optic, she looked as if she was again, ready to collapse. “Hmm, why? There are other kids that will get you a better grade than I would.” That wasn’t totally true, her computerized mind could work faster and smarter than everyone in the class. Lately, however, her grades have fallen below average. 

Vega shrugged, “I guess, but I don’t really know anyone and humans aren’t my forte… So I figured since-you know-were both robots we could get the assignment done together.” She weakly smiled, hoping that sentence didn’t sound oddly suspicious. 

Jenny tapped her pencil against the desk in a weird rhythm, her optics absently focused on its movements. “Jenny?” 

Jenny glanced back towards Vega as she snapped back in reality remembering she didn’t answer, “Hmm? Oh, uh, sure. We’ll talk after.” 

Vega nodded, as she watched her turn her attention back to the pencil. Jenny’s optics showed a mix of complex unreadable emotions. Vega didn’t understand why Jenny was so intently glaring at the pencil. Maybe it’s an earth thing. 

———————————————————————-

Sheldon sat up in his hospital bed as a tray of what appeared to be glop and a cup of water with some pain meds on the side- his breakfast of the day. With only one hand, he placed the capsules in his mouth, followed by sips of cool tap water. He coughed, now realizing how dry his throat must have been. Sheldon then picked up the spork and carefully placed the questionable gruel in his mouth. It carried no taste, yet felt some pleasantness of finally getting food in his stomach. After all, the last meal he remembered eating was almost three days ago before the incident. 

Sheldon’s jaw slowly mashed the food in his mouth, struggling to do so with the pain and swelling. He found it frustrating as his stomach cried in hunger, yet the movement only ached his jaw more. Eventually, he placed the spork down as he leaned into his bed, deciding to take a break. The sun emitted its light through his window, he glanced around the room, noting Brad’s absence-he likely is at school and will come later that day. Sheldon sighed as he laid in pain, what he wouldn’t give to be in school right now, Lucky.... Despite being a social outcast, Sheldon genuinely loved Tremerton High and the teachers there, which earned him the name teacher’s pet. However, it wasn’t just the teachers, but two of his best friends, Brad and Jenny. 

He paused in thought for a moment. One best friend was probably more accurate now. Why wouldn’t it be? Sheldon lied to her and broke her heart. He painfully recalled the day when Jenny found out the truth with Silver Shell, the broken look on her face is imprinted in his memory forever. The memory of the physical pain and her screaming that followed didn’t hurt him as much…he deserved all of that. All he wanted was for Jenny to be his. How could I’ve been so stupid? He bitterly scoffed at himself, as he thought about everything he had done to win her over since the day they met- each attempt was less successful than the next. I never deserved her…and I never will. Sheldon felt a tight knot in his chest as he lost his appetite, carefully placing his tray of mostly untouched food next to him in the bed. He leaned his head back against the overly fluffed pillow and glared at the celine, wishing he could disappear. 

Faintly, he heard heels clacking against the tile floor outside the hallway followed by a small collection of excited voices. Sheldon turned his head towards the door, raising an eyebrow, confused at the sudden commotion. He considered ignoring the excitement but his attention was grabbed when the sound appeared to be getting closer, which made him sit upright in curiosity. 

Sheldon’s door swung open and a woman stepped inside as the swarm of people called out for her in the hallway. The woman appeared to be in her early to mid-thirties and had dark hair cut short-styled into a pixie cut, her cheekbones were sucked in with a pointy jaw and she had large full puffy lips and small dark brown eyes. Her nose was long and skinny. She wore an overly tight pink dress that emphasized her feminine appearance, with heels that made her a few inches taller than she really is. It was very clear to Sheldon she has had a lot of work done. The overly powerful and recognizable scent of perfume stung Sheldon’s nose as his eyes began to water. She turned as a frail old nurse started to shoo them away and reached for the door handle. “So sorry, Ms. Kourtney.”

The woman laughed and waved dismissively, “Oh darling, I never get tired of my wonderful fans. You’re all so wonderful.” The crowd kept shouting praises as they are in awe about how Kourtney takes time to visit sick people in the hospital right before the nurse finally closed the door. As the door shut, the woman’s demeanor turned into a grimace as she rolled her eyes, “Poor people.” She mumbled in disgust. Kourtney gestured to the door, “You know, the old maid in the white suit could use some work done on her...a lot of work.” 

Sheldon blinked, clearly unamused, “You mean the nurse?” He mumbled despite the pain in his jaw.

“Yea, her.” Kourtney pulled up a chair next to his bedside and sat next to him as she set her Jean Phillipe purse in her lap. “I actually had an important meeting scheduled in Los Angeles, but luckily they moved the date a few days when I had to postpone, I was worried they’d cancel. I can’t imagine missing that.” 

Sheldon rolled his eyes, she has always been like this, always putting him last on her priority list. Still, he felt some sense of happiness at seeing her. She grimaced again as she observed him, “You’ve seen better days.” 

Sheldon let out a bitter scoff, as he looked into her eyes, “Good to see you too, mom.” 

Kourtney’s eyes widened as she raised a finger up to her lips and shushed him, “Shh! Not so loud, Sheldon!”

Sheldon frowned, he knew that no one knew the ‘great CEO of Fashionista Magazine- Kourtney Lee’, had a son and for some reason, his mom wanted to keep it that way. Something about having a teenage son making her sound too old and her not wanting people to know she had a kid at such a young age. The only similarities between the two of them one may notice is their hair and eye color as well as the same skin complexion and height. The freckles are even on the same spot on their faces. Before her countless surgeries, they looked nearly identical. 

He winced as she placed her hands on his cheeks, observing him side to side. “You poor thing…on the bright side, I know some good surgeons.” 

Sheldon groaned and shook his head, as he shoved her away confused, “What…what are you-why are you here?” Seeing his mother present and being interested in him was a shock to Sheldon, as she was never really around. 

“Your friend called me…what was his name again? Chad or something?”

“Brad?” Sheldon raised a brow, surprised his friend managed to even get a hold of her as she would never pick up whenever he called. 

Kourtney shrugged as she pulled some blush out of her bag and started dabbing it on her skin while looking at her mini mirror, “Yea, something like that. Anyways, he called me and was going off about how you were in the hospital-yada yada- which doesn’t really come as news to me since you’re accident-prone.” She lightly chuckled as Sheldon stared at her unimpressed. Kourtney finished reapplying her makeup and set it back in her purse as she folded her arms, “What was interesting to me is he mentioned something about a robot being there?”  

Sheldon sat there for a moment, speechless. He softly stammered, stunned, “He…told you?” 

His mother sighed, exasperated as she rubbed her forehead. “Sheldon, what did I tell you about inventing things?! It’s dangerous!” 

Sheldon blinked and lightly shook his head, ignoring the shooting pain in his jaw, “No, I didn’t create her. Her mom, Doctor Wakeman did.” 

Kourtney raised an eyebrow, wondering if she heard her son right, “Her…mother?” 

Sheldon shrugged, “Well…yea, she calls Doctor Wakeman her mom. She actually goes to school with Brad and I.” 

Kourtney tilted her head, her nose wrinkled in confusion, as her mind tried to process everything her son was saying “A…robot goes to school with you?” 

“Yeah, but she isn’t like other robots. She’s just a regular teenager like everyone else in school…except with powers and skin made of metal but that’s all that’s really different about her.” 

His mom stared at him bewilderingly as if she just saw Sheldon grow a second head. Sheldon slightly expected this as it wasn’t something his mom was used to. He is like that himself sometimes, in fact he probably wouldn’t have believed himself either if he had never met Jenny. Sheldon continued to explain how they met, and their friendship as well as his unrequited and undying feelings for Jenny. He faintly smiled as he finished, “She really is a special girl, mom.” 

Kourtney blinked as she stared at him in disbelief. Then, she shook her head and scoffed, “Wow, what a…what a story.” 

Sheldon slouched as he narrowed his eyes, “You don’t believe me?” 

Kourtney waves dismissively with albeit forced smile 

“No, I believe there’s a robot and it’s cute you befriended it, but…at the end of the day it’s just a machine. It’s not real.” Kourtney stated simply. “Just like your little toys you create.” 

The words stung him, as he retorted, “Jenny is not like that! She’s…” 

Kourtney raised a hand up as she interrupted, “Sheldon, there are real people out there and real girls and relationships you can have. Yet you’re wasting time on something that’s fake!” She shook her head in disappointment. “I know you’re not as socially accepted, but artificial relationships aren’t the solution!” 

“Mom, she is real! My friendship with her is real! We hang out and we even talk on the phone sometimes.” He shot back angrily. 

Kourtney rolled her eyes as she could tell Sheldon wouldn’t budge. “I thought you were more logical than this. You are projecting your feelings onto it, it’s unhealthy! You need therapy!” 

Sheldon glared, he tensed up already wanting his mother to leave him alone once more. Both remained silent for a moment as the tension rose in the room. Finally, he grabbed his phone that sat beside him to get himself to cool down as Kourtney did the same-presumably texting one of her agents on how much longer she’s gonna be at the hospital. 

Sheldon glanced at the screen, mindlessly scrolling through his notifications; which wasn’t much. He paused when he saw Jenny’s name pop on his screen. She texted him! Nervously, he opened the message, his eyes carefully read the message. His heart nearly pounded out of his chest as he softly gasped, she wanted to talk. Maybe, maybe I still have a chance…

“Why are you smiling?” Kourtney demanded when she saw his goofy grin as he stared at the screen. 

Sheldon’s smile fell as fast as it formed when he met his mother’s irritated scowl. 

He held his phone tightly to his chest as he averted his gaze, not daring to look her in the eyes “Uh…nothing?” 

Kourtney held her hand out, her voice had a sharp tone “Hand it over.” 

Sheldon shook his head and tightened his grip, “No, I’m not going to let you look at my phone!” He yelped in shock and pain as his mother clawed and snatched his phone away from him, as he was too weak to stop her. “Give it back!” He cried helplessly.

Kourtney observed the message, and frowned as she saw the contact name and the message. “I’m guessing this Jenny followed by a bunch of kissy face and heart emojis is this robot you are talking about.” Sheldon’s face reddened like a tomato in embarrassment as she scrolled through the messages, “So this robot…Was she the one who put you in this hospital bed?” She turned to him unamused and a raised eyebrow towards the wide eyed teen. “Didn’t I warn you about dangerous machinery?”

Sheldon shook his head and stammered not wanting his mother to find out the truth, “N-no, she was-she saved me! She didn’t have anything to do with this!” 

The helpless boy watched as his mother continued to read past messages, “You sure texted her a lot.” She read the interaction between the two. Jenny sounded so real and genuine, it almost looked convincing. She smirked and chuckled, “Wow, the Wakeman lady did an impressive job…it almost sounds like a person!” 

“Because she is!” 

Kourtney rolled her eyes at her son’s whining. She turned off his phone and sighed. Sheldon pressed his lips, anticipating another response. She glanced down at the ground tapping her foot against the clean tile. The room once again fell silent as he watched his mother stew in her thoughts, he softly chuckled to himself believing not a lot actually goes on in there. Kourtney’s features softened as the boy looked nearly beside himself. Finally, she sighed and spoke softer as she carefully placed a hand on his shoulder, however her voice lacked noticeable sincerity, rather it was sharp when she spoke, “Okay, I…I understand. You have feelings for this…robot girl. And, judging from looking at this whole thing, you should leave it-I mean uh, her alone right now.” 

“But mom, none of it was her fault! And she wants to talk.” 

Sheldon could tell his mother had no interest in his words as she waved a hand up. “Look, Sheldon. I’m going to be honest and say we might need to look into therapy.”

Sheldon raised a brow as he shot back, “What?!” 

Kourtney forced a smile as she nodded, “Trust me. You need it.” 

Kourtney watched as her son lay on his side and under his already swollen and broken face, tears streaming down his cheeks. She spoke again, “I’ll… I’ll call to schedule an appointment with a therapist and…and maybe we will talk later about what would be best with your schooling. Homeschooling might not be a bad solution, it’s not like you interact with anyone anyways.” 

“What, no mom! You don’t understand, I love her! I want to make things right with her, there are so many things I need to fix and-and…” He sniffed, swallowing the lump of tears down his throat. “I just need to talk to her.”

Kourtney started to shush him as she brushed her hands through his tangly hair but still kept her distance, “I know honey, I know. But, you might be better off taking a break with it-er, her.” 

“Get out.” Sheldon mumbled interrupting his mother, his voice filled with disgust. 

Kourtney blinked and was surprised by her son’s tone , “Excuse me?” 

Sheldon sat up as he narrowed his eyes, “I said get out!” He was slightly shaking as he felt his breath become shallow. 

“Sheldon, I’m doing this for your own good.” She spoke sternly and softly. She tried to keep her voice down in attempts to calm him down as well as not wanting anyone outside to hear the conversation. 

“No, you’re not! You don’t care about me, you never did! Now leave me alone!” He buried his head into the pillow and covered himself with the thin blanket. 

Kourtney watched as Sheldon became inconsolable, she was at a loss for words and sat uncomfortably in her seat. “I’ll be outside, I need to get some work done.” Sheldon didn’t respond as he heard her footsteps heading to the door opening and shutting again. 

Sheldon peeked outside his blanket and found himself to be alone once more. He slowly sat back up, tears slowly streaming down his swollen cheeks. He wanted to break down and sob, but the pain in his jaw was too great; he took a deep breath to calm himself only soon regretting it as his ribs gave him a sharp sting of pain reminding him of the fractures. Sheldon gazed down at his phone, tempted to respond to the text. But did he even deserve to hear from her again? Sheldon recalled all the times he probably made her uncomfortable, all the times she would yell at him to stop. He shook his head, remembering his mom’s words, Why am I like this? He placed the phone on his desk and closed his eyes. The painful thought reluctantly came to him as his mom may have been right about one thing. Maybe, it’s better…if I just left her alone. 

————————————————————————-

The school library was not packed as most of the students were in class except for Jenny and Vega. Quietly, the two sat in the corner at a round table as some old history books yet to be opened laid on the dusty wooden surface. Jenny rested her head onto the desk as she internally checked for any messages or possible missed calls from Sheldon, displeased that there were no new notifications.

 It has now been over a day and she still hasn’t heard from Sheldon, she anxiously tapped a pencil against the table. Momentarily, as her audio receptors paid attention to the sound that was produced. It sounded off. Instead of the usual pencil tapping, it sounded like…like metal hitting something…and Vexus taunting her from a distance. 

She knew he was alive and conscious, Brad told her the day before, but couldn’t figure out why the boy who would attach to her like a leech was suddenly so distant. In the past, after she blew up at him, he would be hurt but within a day he would be back acting like how he always did; so what’s so different this time? He’s in the hospital. That was the difference. Jenny felt a slight sting of guilt, yet tried to reason with herself that she was just mad and hurt that day; her mind was clouded with overwhelming emotions and thoughts that she wasn’t thinking clearly when she physically attacked him. She lightly kicked the table leg as she slouched in her seat, her optics blankly gazed around the room. Sheldon would understand that, right? He always does! She nervously hoped to herself. 

Jenny blinked as Vega spoke, breaking Jenny out of her thoughts. “Wow…humans sure did have a lot of wars…” She flipped the pages of the history book as she rested her cheek on her hand, “And diseases…sheesh. Heh, too bad they don’t come with antivirus software or something.” She chuckled to herself somewhat amused at the book she was reading. 

 “Yeah, humans can be interesting.” Jenny replied absentmindedly as she continued to stare aimlessly at the wooden table. 

Despite only meeting her almost an hour ago, Vega noticed how withdrawn and distant Jenny was. She doesn’t believe it was possible for Jenny to be already suspicious of her because according to her mother she has been like this for a while now. A part of Vega was tempted to leave Earth and abandon the mission as Jenny already seemed to be in the state her mother wanted her to be and she didn’t want to stand another minute on the gross human planet. There’s also a part of her that just wants to go ahead and attack the very robot who hurt her people while she appeared to be at her weakest; giving her the same torment that XJ9 has given Vega’s people. Under the desk, Vega tightened her fists as her cooling systems picked up in an attempt to calm herself down; in reality, she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance against XJ9 due to not having powers. 

Nonetheless, she knew she had to stay for the sake of her mother, her friends, and more importantly all of Cluster Prime. She also hopefully thought that she could somehow- maybe- get XJ9 to pay for her wrongdoings. Vega forced a smile and attempted to engage in conversation, “So…Jenny, what are the humans like around here?” 

Jenny lifted her head, slightly raising an optic and shrugged, “Well, you know they’re alright…I guess, haven’t you been around one before?”

Vega’s optics widened as she realized her possible slip up and looked away awkwardly, “Uh…well, yea it’s just…I was homeschooled, so I don’t get to be around them too much.” She smiled sheepishly, not wanting her cover to be blown. 

Jenny bitterly chuckled as she mumbled, her optics continued to hold a blank expression not noticing Vega’s nervousness “Huh, sounds nice. Not having to deal with it all the time.” She slightly frowned as she leaned against the back of her chair; again desired to be alone in her room. Yet, even the solace of her room doesn’t even work anymore, as in the silence she still hears the echo of her metallic arm smacking against him along with blood curdling screams and crying. 

“Don’t you have friends around here though?” Asked Vega.

Jenny hesitated, her body tensed up, not really knowing how to respond. She thought back to the previous few weeks with Brad and Sheldon and the mixed feelings she had with both of them “Well…There are a few that I may or may not consider friends… It’s just, you know, complicated sometimes.” She scoffed with a fake smile and shrugged it off, “High school, am I right? Always so much drama until graduation.” 

Vega chuckled and shook her head as she put down the history book and flipped the pages for Jenny to see, “According to this, humans are always dramatic, not just in high school. Always so quick to anything including war. It’s kind of cute, they don’t change much over time.” Vega whistled in disbelief as she shook her head. “Yea…humans don’t change much, do they? Heh, look at this chapter regarding technological advancement, thinking they’re so great.”

Jenny shrugged as she mumbled trying to find reason, “Well, I mean they did create us.” 

Vega rolled her optics in annoyance, “Yes, but they then act like they own us. Look at all this technology that has been abandoned by humans as if they’re toys. It’s such a shame, humans really don’t change huh?” 

Momentarily, Jenny thought back through the past month and everything that happened. Brad, Tuck, and her mother’s betrayal align similarly to what the book said, they don’t change much, they went to war when they were scared and they almost got rid of her. But what about Sheldon? Wouldn’t that be an exception…or maybe Vega’s right about him too? With Sheldon’s silence, it concerned her she might be. She tried to shove that horrible thought in the back of her head, he wouldn’t do that to her, right? Again, this was Sheldon she was thinking about, the world would end before he would turn his back on her. 

“Aren’t you two supposed to be in class?’ Called a stern voice capturing both of their attention. A short crude lady with her hair worn in a bun as she rested her fists on her hips glared at the two girls. 

“Uh, we’re studying right now. We have a semester project due” Replied Jenny

The lady marched over frustrated, as her heels scruffed against the carpeted floor. “That’s not an excuse young lady, classes are in session and students are required to be in class during this time.”

Jenny rolled her optics, it’s not even noon yet and she already wanted to go home and had no desire to be around more people today. “Can we at least have a few more minutes?”

“Absolutely not! Leave now!” The librarian demanded in a sharp tone as her glasses slid to the edge of her nose; her finger pointed at the door angrily. 

Vega smirked as she leaned against her chair, finding the angry human entertaining, “Wait, if we’re supposed to study and work at school and the library is part of the school. Why can’t we just study here?”

The librarian stared daggers at Vega as she leaned closer, “Okay, smart mouth? What did I just say? Classes are in session, therefore, no students in the library!” 

Vega shrugged as Jenny’s optics widened at her confidence, “Okay, but we just learn the same thing in class? Why not just here in the library? I can teach myself, it’s not like anyone here can teach me anything.” Vega gave a smug grin as she stifled a giggle at the angry librarian shaking in fury. 

“That’s it! Lunch detention, both of you!” 

Vega raised an optic with a smug grin on her face, “Wow, you really don’t like something being different, do you?” 

“Out now!! Lunch detention!” The lady screeched, making Jenny jump back a bit as Vega collected the books calmly. The two proceeded to leave the library as the librarian muttered to herself. Vega turned to Jenny, gesturing to the old librarian, “See what I mean, humans don’t like change and will never change.” Jenny stared at Vega’s confident stride with her smug smile and back at the librarian still grumbling bitterly to herself. She felt a little guilty, but with everything that’s happened, what if Vega was right? Would that apply to those around her too? 

Jenny’s mind racked with the questions, as it pounded loudly in her head, she tried to think of a simple answer, but nothing came to mind. She shook her head, hoping that Vega was wrong somehow, even though Sheldon had yet responded to her. She felt tense as the anxious feeling grew deep as she and Vega silently walked down the hall.

———————————————————————

“Lunch detention?” XJ6 asked skeptically as Jenny tossed a few of her books into the locker. She cackled, “Oh ho, wait until I tell mom about this!”

Jenny raised an optic, with a bored expression as she replied monotonously, “Yes, but because you’re in charge of me and I got in trouble, you would also be in trouble and likely put back in the basement.” 

XJ6 slumped her shoulders and frowned in dismay as she knew Jenny was right. “Of course, you would get the less harsh punishment. Mommy’s favorite.” She said with slight sarcasm. 

Jenny looked somberly to the ground, her sister’s words just made her think of the previous incidents and how quick their mother was to judge and replace her. Even worse that they almost…she couldn’t bear to think about that again. She knew XJ6 didn’t know so the comment didn’t offend her, but how was she to explain that to her sister? Jenny shook off her thoughts and shrugged, “No, XJ6, mom loves all of us equally.” She laughed softly, “Trust me, she does.” 

XJ6 rolled her optics as she leaned against one of the lockers. “Whatever you say, Jen.” They both remained silent for a moment as Jenny grabbed an oil container out of the locker before she closed it and took some sips of the drink. Jenny was about to walk away, before XJ6 called out. “Hey, wait, with you gone am I just supposed to sit by myself or would mom want me to follow you?” 

Jenny shrugged as she turned to look at her sister, “Do what you want, I won’t tell.” 

XJ6 brightened hearing that, maybe now she can get a chance to talk to her new friends. “Really?” She smirked as she raised an optic goofily. “But won’t you be lonely without me, your favorite sister?” She joked, recalling what their mother said the other night about XJ6 being Jenny’s favorite.

Jenny rolled her optics and waved dismissively, “Nah, I’ll be fine. I have someone that will be joining me.” 

A robotic voice called down the hallway catching both of their attention, “Hey, Jenny!” XJ6 looked up and saw-not Brad or Sheldon- but a pink robot she had never seen before waving at them. 

“Whose that?” 

“Oh, she’s a new student, her name’s Vega. She’s not from here.” 

XJ6 raised an optic, confused. “Then where is she from?” 

Jenny shrugged nonchalantly as she waved her goodbye till she ran down the hall towards Vega. XJ6 observed the new robot, something seemed off about her but she didn’t know what. Vega’s movements and mannerisms looked like they were forced. She watched as they turned down the corner and disappeared from sight. XJ6 stood alone for a few minutes and wondered why this felt so wrong? 

XJ6 stopped her train of thought and giggled to herself, why was she worrying? This was Jenny she was thinking of, she can protect herself! XJ6 refocused onto the cafeteria. Besides, this could be her chance to finally be with her new friends and she wasn’t going to waste it worrying about Jenny! XJ6 giddily ran into the cafeteria and scanned the room until- Bingo! The Krust cousins! 

XJ6 bolted to their table with a wide grin on her face, “Hi girls!” She yelled once she almost knocked the table over with her impact and shocked everyone at the round table. 

“Dang it, she’s back.” Mumbled Tiff with clear disappointment as she stabbed her fork into the undercooked chicken which wasn’t noticed by XJ6. 

“Sorry I bailed the other day girls, my annoying sister needed my help on something. But I’m here now!” She smiled softly as she rubbed the back of her neck, “Uhm, Is it ok if I sit with you?” She said as she looked at the crowded seats of popular kids staring weirdly at her. 

Brit had a disapproving frown and folded her arms, again ready to tell XJ6 off, “Well, our table is actually…” She paused as Tiff suddenly whispered something into her ear. Suddenly her demeanor changed, “Oh, we would love for you to join us, Jessica.” 

XJ6 beamed at both the acceptance and how Brit remembered her name. Quickly, she sat down on the bench amongst the popular kids, no, her friends; it was a dream come true. 

“It’s a pleasure for you to join us, Jessica. Isn’t that right everyone?” Brit asked with a coy smile followed by delayed agreements from round the table as XJ6 blushed. 

“Aw, thank you! You’re all so kind!” 

Ptresia tilted her head as she took a sip from her water bottle, “So, Jenny is your older sister?” 

XJ6 glanced down and shrugged as if embarrassed, “Uh, yea. But, we’re pretty different though, both personality wise and well you know…” She pointed at her computer screen face which is drastically different from Jenny’s normal round face. “This.”  

Tiff hummed in response as she slowly nodded, “Yes, Jennifer is pretty different, she’s more of a…well, a geek.” She chuckled. “And she always hangs with that greasy nerd and the desperate loser who literally asked out every girl in this school.” 

“Brad isn’t that bad.” Jantrice piped up with food in her mouth. She swallowed and looked at the ground, “Then again, he became really close to that geek and the freak which definitely turned him into a total loser.” She said as the others giggled at the comment.

XJ6 nervously chuckled as well, as she ignored the guilty feeling, “Uh, yea. Ha! Total losers, I could never be friends with them!” 

Brit patted XJ6’s shoulder with a smug grin, “Of course not! You’re one of us, Jessica!” 

“You know, there’s a party this Friday. You should totally come!” 

XJ6 pigtails perked up in excitement as she smiled, “Ooh, a party? Where?!” 

“It’s at Don Prima’s place.” Explained Tiff. 

XJ6 blinked. She’s never been to a guy’s house before, then again, she hasn’t been to anyone’s house before. But, she wasn’t going to tell them that! “Oh, cool! Uhm, whose Don Prima?” 

The girls gasped, which made XJ6 wince a bit, worried she said something wrong. Ptresia explained, “Uhm, he’s the hottest guy in Tremerton High!” She gasped as she pointed at another table filled with jocks. “There he is!” XJ6 turned to where Ptresia was pointing at a super muscular and tall boy with nicely combed blonde hair.  

XJ6 could feel herself heating up as she blushed deeply. She gawked at him, fascinated with the boy. How could a boy look any more perfect? His hair, his body. XJ6’s optics formed into the shape of hearts. She stammered quietly as she had forgotten her surroundings, “H-hello future husband.” The girls snickered as they watched XJ6 fawn over Don which made her snap out of her daydream, sheer embarrassment on her face. She quickly turned back around, “I mean, he’s cute.” She smiled sheepishly.

Tiff snickered, “Oh, don’t be embarrassed Jess, he’s quite the catch.” She smirked, “You know, he actually thinks you’re cute too.” 

XJ6’s optic widened in surprise, “W-what? But, I never talked to him before! How does he know me?” 

“He saw you with Jenny in the hallway a couple times and told us he thought you were cute!” Exclaimed Jantrice. She winked when she added, “Even more than Jenny.” 

XJ6 gave a wobbly smile as she processed that information, the hottest boy in school…likes me?! And thinks I’m prettier than Jenny?! She felt her systems were to go into overdrive any moment as she contained her excitement. “What…what should I do?!” She yelped in panic. 

“Cool your jets, we gotcha girl! We will give you the details of the party and you know, Don is nervous too! So, at the party, you should make a move on him!” Tiff exclaimed with encouragement. 

XJ6 blinked in confusion , “Really? Just make the first move?” 

The girls all nodded in agreement, which built XJ6’s confidence, she grinned proudly with determination. “Ok, I’ll do it! But when? What do I wear?” 

“We will send you the information. We are going to have so much fun, Jessica!” Brit forced a pleasant smile. 

XJ6 giggled and the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch time. 

“We will talk more later, Jess!” Said Ptresia as everyone got up from their seats.

“Ok, see you later my favorite gal pals!!” She cheerfully skipped away and as she passed Don Prima, she winked and gave a flirtatious wave before running off. This was probably the best day of her life.

 Meanwhile, Don gave a strange look making the popular kids burst out in laughter. This was going to be entertaining. 

————————————————————————-

Chapter Text

Jenny sipped the oil shake as she and Vega sat at the booth in Mezmers. She smacked her lips, not surprising, the shake tasted bland and didn’t bring her satisfaction as it once did. She placed the drink back onto the table, no longer interested in the drink as Vega continuously drank hers. This time of day, Mezmers was packed as many students came after school as they deemed it their usual hangout spot. Most teens kept to themselves as they gossiped about who did what and chat amongst their friends. 

Jenny felt no desire to be part of any of it, it’s not like they would bother including her anyways. Mostly, everyone would ignore her presence or at the very most whisper while looking at her general direction. She actually grew to like being alone, so the fact they’re all ignoring her makes being in public more tolerable. 

Jenny glanced at Vega who set the oil onto the table and shrugged, “Eh, I tasted better. Where I’m from has great oil, this is amateur-level compared to what I tasted!” She shook her head in disappointment as she leaned back against the chair, “Humans…This isn’t worth anything.” She shrugged, “Nothing they ever make is worth anything.” 

Jenny lifted her head and raised an optic; Vega cleared her throat and straightened in her chair, “Uh, well except robots of course.” Her voice sounded somewhat unconvincing, but Jenny didn’t take too much notice as her mind wandered aimlessly. Again, she was taken out of her thoughts as Vega asked, “So Jenny, what’s your creator like?”

Jenny leaned back in her seat and slightly frowned, her mother, another person she doesn’t want to think about right now. As well as someone she is not willing to forgive. Nevertheless, She sighed, “Well…she works a lot and is always busy. In fact, I don’t even see her a lot, she’s usually in her lab or off on a work trip somewhere. She’s pretty strict as well, especially with my hero duties; sometimes it can be overwhelming…she expects me to be perfect and if I’m not…” she blinked as she glanced at Vega who just silently observed her. Honestly, Jenny hasn’t directly talked to her mom since New Year’s, how could she? After everything that’s happened in the past year and finally saw how her mom really felt about her, How could she explain any of this? Jenny bitterly scoffed, “It’s complicated honestly, I…uh…” Quickly she cleared her throat and forced a small smile as she moved the attention towards Vega, “So, what’s your creator like?” 

Vega glanced down at the ground as she rubbed her arm and appeared to be in thought, “Uh…well…” 

“Alright, robots! Time’s up, get out!” Cried an old man as he marched towards them which caught the girls’ attention. 

Vega folded her arms and glared at the nearly bald-headed man whose face was shaped like an onion, “Why’s that?” 

The man scoffed as he snarled, “Because I don’t trust her…or you, or any robots for that matter! Especially not after what she has done! This restaurant is for humans only! Now leave or I will throw you out myself!”  

Vega stood up, ready to shout back at him, till Jenny interrupted with an irritated tone as she didn’t want to put up with him, “Fine, I’m done here anyways Mr. Mezmer.” She shrugged while looking at Vega’s bewildered expression, “He owns this place.” She explained plainly as she began to stand up and place some money on the counter. 

Mr. Mezmer smirked and nodded, “You darn right I do! And I plan to keep this establishment in good shape! Which means you have to leave! We can’t afford little scrap heaps like you too screwing over this place, can we?” He shook his head as he mumbled to himself, but still loud enough for the girls to hear, “It’s bad enough we even let you run free in this town.” 

Jenny rolled her optics and waved dismissively, “Yea, yea, we’re leaving.” 

“Good, and remember, the oil drink is now over twenty dollars bot.”  

Vega stared in disbelief as Mr. Mezmer turned and walked off disgruntled as. Jenny proceeded to pick up her shake and placed the dollar bill with a blank expression on her face. “What the heck was that?!” 

Jenny sighed with a bored expression, “He’s always been like that, honestly. A lot of humans can be like this… let’s just go.” 

Vega quickly grabbed Jenny’s wrist firmly, forbidding Jenny to leave. “So, you’re not gonna do anything about this? You’re just gonna let them walk all over you?” 

Jenny frowned as she yanked her hand out of Vega’s grip, “I don’t let them walk over me.” She defended sternly. “I just… don’t want to deal with this right now and honestly I’m used to this. So I just don’t let it bother me.” Jenny momentarily glanced down at the ground, her optics sullen as her lips formed a tight frown. It has always been like this, yet deep down, it still hurts as much as the first time, and this year has been the worst of it all. It was overwhelming and Jenny just wanted to go into sleep mode to temporarily forget about the pain. “Let’s just go, Vega.” Again, she stated that the pain in her voice was more noticeable to Vega. 

Vega wrapped an arm around Jenny’s shoulder, when Jenny met Vega’s optics it was clear Vega could see through her masked blank and tired expression no matter how much Jenny tried to hide it. Vega shook her head in disappointment, “You’re their hero and they just treat you like this? Jenny, this isn’t okay. You need to put them in their place!” She scoffed, “Humans are so unappreciative….” 

Jenny raised an optic in confusion, wondering where Vega was going with this, “What?” 

“You see, Jen, like humans we deserve respect and equality…but you’re not getting that! You’re literally being treated no better than dirt! You need to stand up for yourself and stop letting them do this to you and other robots they probably did this to!” Vega picked up the wadded cash and placed it back in Jenny’s hand. “Let’s teach them a lesson, shall we?” She smirked and tossed one of the drinks onto the wooden floor, the glass shattered into pieces of fragments as the remaining oil spilled around it. 

Jenny blinked at the spilled oil and the cash in her hands. As much as Jenny wanted to deny it, she couldn’t. It has always been like this. No matter how hard she tried to fit in or do what was right, humanity has and will continue to look down on her. One small mistake and they all turned against her, despite everything she has done. Even those she loved turned against her, yet she just sat there and took it. She glanced at Vega who had a raised optic, “Come on, Jenny, aren’t you sick of it?” She then gazed at the remaining cup of oil. She picked it up and focused on it before slowly loosening her grip. The broken glass shattered, trickling oil throughout the tiled floor. She frowned, like the glass smashed around her, she will never be who she once was. It was time, she did something about it.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been a typical day, from waking up late because Tuck unplugged his alarm clock to plug in one of his games to a pop quiz counting for twenty-five percent of his grade. As well as getting shot down as he flirts with the girls that walked down the hallway and passed his locker. 

Usually days like this, however, aren’t that bad, especially with Jenny and Sheldon around. Except for now. Brad casually passed Jenny, his former best friend, in the hallway. He would attempt to share a genuine smile as she would avoid eye contact, glaring at the floor below. At lunch, Brad was at his locker, tossing his homework in it, in the corner of his eye from a short distance, Brad could see Jenny opening her locker. He also noticed Jenny’s sister, XJ6, approached the lockers and began to talk to her. Brad tried to ignore them, he knew it was best to stay out of it, but still couldn’t help but listen in on the conversation. 

“Lunch Detention?!” Shouted XJ6 at the top of her lungs, which caught Brad’s attention. “Oh ho, mom’s gonna be mad when she finds out!!” 

Brad blinked and slightly turned his head to look at them, shocked at what he just heard. Jenny got detention? That doesn’t sound right. Despite his resistance, he continued to listen, hoping to hear why, but unfortunately it wasn’t said. Should he ask? No, he would only make things worse. Just like how he did in the past. As Jenny and XJ6’s conversation continued, he found it harder to stay quiet and was about to intervene until he heard an unfamiliar voice calling for Jenny in the other direction. He turned and saw a strange and oddly built robot waving in their direction. He raised an eyebrow in confusion as he saw Jenny follow the new robot as he looked back at XJ6 who also had the same perplexed expression which showed she didn’t know the strange robot either and also may have found her a little suspicious. However, XJ6 shrugged and seemed to mutter, ‘I have more important things to worry about than her,’ and quickly rushed into the cafeteria in some strange excitement. Brad frowned, slightly disappointed in her reaction of carelessness and wished XJ6 would have investigated it.

Brad knew he could follow them instead, but what would he do? He sighed and shook his head in shame, he would probably just make things worse. He trudged into the cafeteria, collected his lunch, and sat at one of the round tables. He proceeded to slowly eat the bland and possibly hazardous food. His eyes glanced around the room and paused when he noticed XJ6 with the Krust Cousins and the other popular girls. He couldn’t hear them super well, but knew the girls were up to something. Faintly, he could hear XJ6 causally commenting about Jenny, Sheldon, and himself making fun of them to please the popular kids, making Brad roll his eyes and shake his head. 

The bell rang, concluding lunch as XJ6 bid farewell and commented how she was excited for a party before weirdly winking at Don Prima and then bolting out the door. The Krust Cousins and the popular kids all laughed crazily. Yup, they were definitely up to something. Brad left the cafeteria, mentally making a note to keep a close eye on XJ6 the following few days, as she appeared to be as naive and clueless as Jenny was.

When the final bell rang, Brad strolled out the door with his backpack hanging off of his shoulder. Finally, it was time for a visit with Sheldon, which he concluded to be his only best friend left, in the hospital. Though he doesn’t even believe he deserves to be Sheldon’s friend anymore. 

As he sat next to his bed to his broken friend who sat in discomfort and somewhat more so than usual, he couldn’t help but have the ever growing guilt eat him inside. He hoped Sheldon’s mom had somehow helped a little, but it appeared it didn’t as Sheldon would avoid the subject or just shrug. He watched his friend wither in pain, despite trying to act like everything’s okay. He would painfully watch his friend attempt to talk but get interrupted by shots of pain through his jaw along with his entire face or try to drink but a stream of water would constantly drool out of Sheldon’s mouth due to the position of his jaw. His broken arm was wrapped in a cast. Brad could also tell Sheldon had lost some weight, due to the stress and medications his body was on. Brad forced a smile and tried to keep up a casual conversation, but found it increasingly difficult. It was his fault, yet Sheldon is suffering in the hospital bed. How was that even fair? Brad was the one that put him there when he made Sheldon attempt to help him win Jenny’s friendship back and Sheldon was the one who faced the repercussions when they failed. Brad tried to ignore the dark thoughts and keep Sheldon company, till it was time for his night shift. 

After 6:00 PM, Brad felt guilty for leaving for work, but also felt a sense of relief as he couldn’t bear to watch Sheldon like that any longer. He drove his small car into the Mezmers parking lot. Despite getting fired a couple years back from defending Jenny for being a robot, he managed to convince Mr. Mezmer to give him back his job during Jenny’s absence over the last year. The way he persuaded him, he wasn’t proud of. Basically, Brad backed out on all of his arguments of defending her and apologized to him because he was so mad at Jenny for supposedly destroying all the holidays, agreeing she couldn’t be trusted and unaware it wasn’t even her fault. Brad sat in the parking lot, dreading to go in. What kind of a friend was he? He contemplated going in and quitting on the spot, but what good would that do now? It likely wouldn’t bring Jenny back in his life, so all he would get is unemployment and complaints from his dad how he doesn’t have a job. 

Reluctantly, Brad stepped out of his car and made his way to the building. As he approached the door and looked around the parking lot, he noticed there were less people than usual at this hour. A lot less. He shrugged, not letting it bother him as he pushed the door open- at least he could probably leave earlier. 

As soon as he entered, Brad froze in his tracks. The tables were empty. There was glass shattered everywhere on the floor and food along with oil splattered on the walls and some of it dripped off the tables. He glanced around the room as he carefully approached the kitchen, avoiding the glass. The ice cream machines have been punctured with holes, a puddle formed below as the devices leaked out their very last few drops, as the overhead lights flickered with the bit of life they had left after some damage they had received. What happened here?! Brad stared in shock. He proceeded to make his way in the kitchen, observing the deterioration of the restaurant. He noticed burn marks across the walls as well a small fire that hadn’t been put out sitting on the grill. 

“Help…somebody.” An elderly voice cried weakly which caught Brad’s attention. 

“Hello?” 

“Help us!” Cried another voice with desperation followed by loud banging sounds. 

Followed by a horrified voice that sounded feminine, “Oh sh-he’s losing consciousness!”

“We’re losing oxygen… we’re gonna die here. I’m too young to die!” repeated the third voice who sounded like she was hyperventilating. 

Brad gulped and quickly followed the sound to the large closed freezer door. “Hello?” He asked nervously. 

“Someone’s here! Get us out!” Cried the second voice again, slamming the door followed by what sounded like a coughing fit. Brad quickly unlocked the freezer and opened the door; within seconds Jeremy and Kiki, who appeared roughed up and pale stumbled out of the freezer while dragging a mostly unconscious and frozen Mr Mezmer with his arms around their shoulders. 

“What the?” Muttered Brad in disbelief as he saw his classmates quickly rush the old man towards a wooden chair in the corner. 

“Mr. Mezmer, can you hear me?” Cried Kiki as she nudged his shoulder. 

Mr. Mezmer, who looked as white as the snow outside, had his head hung down to the ground. His body was shivering slightly but was mostly still. Quietly he managed to mumble, “R…Robots… can’t trust them.” But, unfortunately, his words meshed together and sounded nearly incoherent. Kiki grabbed his jacket from the nearby coat rack and wrapped it around him in hopes of warming him up. 

Brad approached them horrified, both teens appeared shaken, both of their hairs were messed up, and they appeared to have been splattered by soda and oil as the stains covered their outfits. They looked worn and terrified. Brad blinked as his eyes registered what was in front of him. He shook his head, “Guys…what-what happened here?” 

Jeremy and Kiki both shot him with a glare, which took Brad aback. “Your little robo girlfriend is what happened.” 

Brad raised an eyebrow quizzingly as he glanced between the two, “What?” 

Jeremy sighed and rolled his eyes, frustrated, “Jenny is what happened. She had a meltdown and terrorized everyone!” 

Brad raised his hands defensively, “Okay, first of all she is not my girlfriend, Jeremy. Not even close, we’re just friends…and what do you mean she caused all this?”

“She was here with another robot girl this afternoon.” Kiki began to explain with hesitation, “And we let them in and have their drinks and everything. Then Mr. Mezmer asked them to leave since…you know, since everything that happened this past year with her and the holidays.” 

Brad shot a look of disbelief, “Wait, why? That wasn’t Jenny’s fault, she was under mind control the entire time! She didn’t know what she was doing!” 

Jeremy scoffed as he helped Mr. Mezmer regains consciousness from the cold by turning up the heat, “By a little rich kid? Isn’t she supposed to be some high tech crime fighting robot? Sounds fake.” 

Brad frowned as he also thought how Doctor Wakeman really needed to upgrade Jenny’s security systems and argued in defense, “I saw it with my own eyes! If you don’t believe me, ask Sheldon, he’s the one who figured it all out!”

Kiki rolled her eyes as she moved towards the cabinets and reached for a couple of mugs, “Ah yes, ask Mr. robolover boy for the answers. That totally makes sense.” She held up a packet of chocolate, “Does anyone want hot chocolate?” 

Jeremy nodded before he turned his attention back to Brad, “Listen, no offense, but we’re just trying to protect people here. We can’t risk that.”

Brad was hurt and shot up his hands in exasperation, “Okay fine, don’t believe me. But admit it, what she did last year was not like her! Think about everything she had done in the past compared to that! Doesn’t that seem off to you?” Kiki and Jeremy glanced at each other awkwardly, as they remained silent. The only sound was the microwave warming the chocolate “Well, doesn’t it?” Brad asked again in frustration. 

Jeremy sighed as he pulled out his nearly dead and cracked phone out of his pocket. The screen illuminated his face as he approached Brad solemnly, “I think you should see this.” He handed him the phone and pressed play on the video.

In the video, Brad could hear a lot of screaming and shouting followed by voices crying out ‘they gone crazy’ along with cries for help. The picture was sort of fuzzy as the camera was continually moving as it was being held while Jeremy was running to help others escape and defend himself. He raised an eyebrow when he saw two figures smashing glass and attacking people. One robotic voice he remembered hearing from earlier that day shouting, ‘this tyranny ends now’ before punching someone in the face followed by how they deserve to be respected. Brad watched, as he wondered where Jenny was and why she wasn’t helping. His heart dropped when he heard her voice screaming along with the new robot. Jenny was also running around, breaking things, and screaming how they needed some type of a lesson. Many people got splattered with soda and Mr Mezmer who shrieked in pain as Jenny purposely splashed him with fry oil while her body visibly shook in anger. It was clear she wasn’t fully comprehending what she was doing, just succumbing to her own fury, Near the end of the video, he gasped slightly as she came close to the camera with her face filled with fury. Jeremy behind the camera, begged for mercy right as she shoved him into the freezer followed by Mr. Mezmer and Kiki and locked them in as the remaining customers continued to scream at the top of their lungs and cried for mercy.

The video ended as Brad stared at the screen, lost for words. Why did she do this? This can’t be real, right? But it was. Jeremy scrolled down and whistled at some numbers and the negative comments that followed, “Wow, it already got a ton of views on here!” 

Brad shot a glare at him, stunned, which made Jeremy shrink back a bit. “You posted this?!” He hollered. “Why would you do that?” 

Jeremy shrugged and glanced at the ground, embarrassed, “Well, I don’t know…I just thought it would be an interesting thing to show people.” 

“You need to delete this, right now!”

Jeremy shook his head somberly, “I can’t… it’s already out there and multiple people already saw and shared it. It’s out of my hands now, Brad.” 

Brad scoffed and threw his hands up in the air in disbelief, “Unbelievable.” He shook his head and rested his face in his palms. “This can’t be happening.” 

Kiki spoke up and placed a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder in defense, “Hey, this is probably for the best though. For people to know that Jenny is unstable and not safe is a good thing, we need to stand up and protect ourselves from threats like this. In fact we should probably contact the authorities, she could kill us all.” 

Brad blinked in shock at Kiki’s cold words, “No…no, she’s not a threat! Look, I don’t understand why she did what she did here. But I know she isn’t just a kill…” His voice trailed to a stop. His words caught in his throat as he recalled her bloody hands making contact as she struck against their friend’s skull, followed by his loud blood-curdling howl as he remained helpless in Vexus’s grasp. He gazed aimlessly at the floor, his face held an unreadable expression. 

“Brad?” Jeremy spoke up, snapping him out of the dark memory. 

Brad looked back up and sighed, “Not a…She won’t hurt anyone:” He swallowed, his throat still hurt from that day since Vexus grabbed him so hard. He rubbed his neck and had a look of fake confidence on his face, “Listen…Jen is my best friend, I’ll handle this. Just don’t call anyone. Please.” 

He started to head out as Kiki retorted, “How? You just gonna woo her over or something by your dumb flirting skills?”

Brad turned and winked as he forced a smirk, “Maybe…No girl can ever resist my charm.” 

Kiki scoffed and rolled her eyes, “As your ex, I can safely say we definitely can!” 

“Hey, it worked on you at one point, right?” Brad gave a smug grin as he opened the door before stopping again with once again a forced smile, “Oh, also…I quit! See ya!” 

Brad quickly strolled out of the building with his hands in his pockets, and a relaxed posture as his former coworkers and employer just stared at him in disbelief and annoyance. 

He hopped into his car and quickly drove home as he held it together. He tried to make himself relax in his seat, but found it difficult. The video replayed in his mind no matter how much Brad tried to put it in the back of his head. It just couldn’t be real, could it? Maybe he could talk to Jenny about it? But how could he, she’s been keeping her distance from him, and Brad doesn’t blame her. What he did was unforgivable and all of his attempts to make amends were futile. 

Brad turned at the stoplight, remained upright, and his face was emotionless. Those passing him as they drove home from work or running errands like normal would say he was a blank slate. The video played again in his mind, it became harder to ignore. He wanted to do something, but it would only make things worse.

He entered the neighborhood, and his house got closer and miraculously still stood as Tuck was the only one home. Brad’s father is mostly busy at the station with paperwork and doesn’t come home until after midnight which means it’s just him and Tuck. Which also means he had no one to talk to about this for the rest of the night. But even if his dad was home, could he tell him about this? True, his dad isn’t like most of those on SkyWake Patrol, as he actually cares about civilians’ safety and sees Jenny as an ally rather than a rival like the rest of the patrol. However, It probably wouldn’t be the case once he saw the video and may turn on her like Brad accidentally did a year ago. Brad wouldn’t be surprised if his father were to flip a switch like that. 

Afterall, his dad did it to Brad’s mom many years ago, why would this be any different? He just couldn’t risk it.

When he finally pulled into his driveway, he took a deep breath, and his whole facade collapsed when his head fell onto the wheel exhausted. 

__________________________________________

Her heels clacked against the cement as she marched to the door with keys jangling in her hand. Her short assistant followed her as the car locked and the headlights turned off. He spoke up in his soft and sharp accent, “Excuse me, Ms. Lee. But what are we doing in this old suburban house?” 

“This is…mine, unfortunately. Trust me darling, if I could have gone to a five-star hotel I would but it’s not like Tremerton has any.” She scoffed. “Their five star hotels are like what normal people would call a two-star hotel. It’s a poor people thing dear, to make themselves feel better about their low standard of living.” 

Kourtney softly sighed at the old house. She wished she’d never had to step foot in this place ever again, but unfortunately fate had other plans when her son was placed in the hospital. Usually, Sheldon’s antics were nothing new to her, as she figured he had always been mentally different from other people and was bound to get into the hospital because of it. However, she didn’t expect a robot who he considered a friend to be a part of it, that part was new. She turned to her assistant before making her way up the stairs, “Uhm, you can just sleep on the couch, I’ll be back down in a minute.” 

She made her way up the stairs and strolled down the hallway. It’s been so long that she has been here, it was kind of amusing how it seemed like time stood still during her absence in this house. Yet not that surprising, Kourtney knew Sheldon was mature enough in some ways to get by on his own. She paused as she noticed a light emitting through a crack of one of the doors. Kourtney rolled her eyes, guessing it’s her son’s bedroom and he had forgotten to turn off the lights. 

Kourtney opened the door and reached for the light switch panel on the wall and she stopped when something caught her eye. Above a table filled with cluttered papers and more of his toys and burnt out scented candles was a noticeable picture of a robot in a fancy frame with the name Jenny hung above it. Kourtney blinked in shock as she processed what lay before her. She slowly approached the large picture in disbelief, her eyes didn’t leave the frame as she approached the shrine. Kourtney then glanced down at the desk, she noticed countless pictures of the same robot along with what appeared to be unsent letters. 

The letters were all neatly handwritten on small pieces of paper, and some of his letters were cut out into shapes of a heart. Hesitantly, she picked one up off the desk to read it. Immediately, Kourtney regretted it after the first few sentences. In the letter, Sheldon wrote a paragraph filled with attempts to confess his love for the robot, certain words were scribbled out and replaced with other words. It was clear he struggled to find the right words and there was a hint of nervousness in his writing. 

Kourtney skimmed through all of the letters, all filled with heartfelt and anxious confessions of love towards the machine. She grimaced from one to the next. She hoped that what he said at the hospital were just results from an injury and isn’t thinking straight. Yet there was no doubt in her mind that Sheldon was delirious and unstable in his words both in old writing and what he had said to her at the hospital. 

Disappointed, she shook her head as she tossed the letters back onto the desk. Even though she was never home, she was aware Sheldon had always been an outcast and spent more time with technology than with real people, so it would make sense for him to be drawn to this artificial being.

Kourtney knew of a few good therapists that could probably help out with some of his issues and wondered if they would be worth a try and help him be at least somewhat normal. 

She turned when she heard footsteps scrambling up the stairs and the voice of her assistant calling for her in sheer panic. “Ms.Lee! Ms.Lee!” He cried. The man almost slipped to a stop in front of the doorway, his face stricken with fear as his whole body went pale as a ghost. He gasped for air.

“What is your problem?” Kourtney stared at him, slightly unamused. “And I thought I told you to stay downstairs!”

 He gulped as he approached her, “We-we need to leave! Now! It’s not… it’s not safe here!” He shuddered, “This town is filled with danger!” 

Kourtney chuckled and waved him off, “Ah darling, of course it is, have you seen what people wear here and what their houses look like?” 

She was cut off as her assistant shoved his phone into her hand, “Look!” 

Kourtney was about to retort until a familiar robot caught her eyes on the screen. The same robot that Sheldon was supposedly madly in love with attacking and yelling at people inside a restaurant. She watched till the very end when the employee recording it was shoved into the freezer along with others. She stared at the screen as her assistant exclaimed, “See!! This town has lunatic corrupted robots on the loose! We can’t be here!” Kourtney didn’t respond as her assistant breathed heavily. “Kourtney, didn’t you hear what I just said?! We need to leave!!” 

Kourtney continued to stare at the screen. Out of curiosity, she began to read the caption underneath the video detailing the events and stopped when she read the name: Jenny Wakeman or global response unit XJ9. She pressed her lips in thought, confused why the robot has a robot name and a human name. Kourtney also noted the last name ‘Wakeman’ as the robot’s supposed last name, which was rather odd to her. How does a robot even get a last name? 

“Wha-what’s that?” The assistant stammered in shock as he stared at the giant shrine behind her. “Who made that?!”

Kourtney stood in thought as she once again did not respond to him. He asked again with more urgency in his voice, “Kourtney, who did this?! What psycho maniac did you let in your house??” 

Kourtney finally looked up and snapped, “I’m doing something! Now, go make me some tea! I’m thirsty.” 

“How can you think of tea at a time like this?!”

“Because I can, now shoo!” Kourtney waved the exasperated man off before turning her attention back to the phone still contemplating on how a machine can have a last name. The man scoffed in disbelief as he began to walk out of the room, right as he was about to exit, Kourtney spoke again, “Actually, hold on a second, darling.” He turned with a raised eyebrow and tired expression. “Uhm…Have you ever heard of the name, ‘Wakeman’?” She asked with curiosity. 

The man paused for a second in thought, as he leaned against the door frame, “Hmm, that name sounds familiar. If I recall correctly, I think she’s a world renowned scientist, I remember seeing her in a few magazines when I was a kid. I don’t know too much about her though, why?” 

Kourtney went silent again, she knew scientists can be quite an odd group of people as Sheldon is supposedly one of them and honored many of them. It’s very possible that he is obsessed with this Wakeman lady and she got into his head about machines being considered actual living beings like humans. Which led to Sheldon befriending it and even weirdly falling in love with it, which grossed Kourtney out. But why? Why would the lady be interested in doing that to him of all people? Unlike Kourtney or any sane mother in her opinion, it’s possible a boy like Sheldon is exactly what a manipulative scientist would want. 

Her eyes wandered back to the unsent letters. She flipped an envelope over and noticed an address in the upper left corner, supposedly one that belonged to this lady. She tilted her head as she gazed at the address. 

“Uhm, pardon me ma’am. Is everything okay?” The man spoke up quietly, his face etched with concern. 

Kourtney raised her eyes back up to meet his and then stared back at the address, “Go make me some tea and go to bed…I got an important meeting with someone tomorrow.” 

Chapter Text

“So…you’re not coming to school today?” Vega asked as she hovered right outside Jenny’s bedroom window. Jenny stood before the window; her face was blank, and her optics hollow of any readable emotions. Her body slumped forward as a sign of lack of energy. She held the same expression that appeared on her face after their little ambush the night before. 

Jenny shrugged and spoke quietly with no feeling in her voice as she leaned against the window, “I just don’t feel that great…I’m kind of tired and just want to stay in bed. I don’t know; I might have a virus or something.” 

Vega raised an optic, robots can’t get sick. Unless it was a computer virus, or maybe Earth robots somehow work differently than the robots back at Cluster Prime. “Hm, have you talked to your…mother at all?” She inquired, the concept of XJ9 having a human mother was still unusual. 

Jenny subtly shook her head, her optics still blank, but Vega noticed a slight sting of sadness in them, “I don’t think she can help this time.” 

The silence that followed was louder than the passing cars on the road as Vega observed Jenny just staring blankly into space. True, XJ9 was the cluster’s enemy, but for some reason, Vega couldn’t help but feel a sense of sympathy for her. It was weird, thinking that she actually felt sorry for her mom’s most hated enemy instead of being proud to see her broken. The picture of the evil enemy XJ9 in her mind faded into a lost and hurt teenage girl named Jenny, who currently looked like she could barely stand up. She felt obliged to comfort her as she reached and put her hand on Jenny’s shoulder. “You know, it was a good thing to stand up to those humans, right?” Vega said in hopes of lightening Jenny’s mood and maybe alleviate Jenny’s possible guilt if she had any. 

Jenny shrugged, her optics still drifting in thoughts, “Maybe…I’m just…hopefully it wasn’t too far.” 

Vega sighed, “I promise you we didn’t; it had to be done…is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” She paused as she realized she just asked XJ9 if she could do her a favor, as if she were a friend. She cringed, but maybe Jenny was a friend? 

Jenny blinked as she thought for a minute and hesitated, “Uhm…well, I don’t want to be a burden, but I have a…friend named Sheldon Lee who is currently in the hospital from…a certain mishap. I’m just worried about him…I guess. I tried getting a hold of him, and he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. Uhm, could you…?” 

Vega nodded understandingly, “You want me to check on him?” Jenny stopped in thought again before silently nodding with sorrow in her optics. “Yea, I can do that. I’ll check on him after school for you; just go ahead and relax and take the time you need. I’ll see you in a bit.” 

Jenny gave a tired, soft smile, “Thanks. You’re a good friend.” Before Vega could respond, Jenny closed the window and watched her collapse back into the oil-stained couch that sat in her room. 

Vega frowned as she slowly landed back to the ground, both in sympathy for Jenny and confusion of herself. Why did she even offer that? Did she honestly care? To her frustration, she did not know the answer. She considered not going and just going to school instead. But why, it’s not like she was gonna be there much longer anyway. 

She fought with herself for a few moments, feeling the conflicting emotions, not sure what to do with herself. 

The cars rolled down the street as random human children ran across the sidewalk, trying to not miss the bus. Vega narrowed her optics as she tried to make sense of her thoughts. Humans were always weird yet fascinating creatures, and she was slightly curious about XJ9’s human friend and what he would be like. She began to slowly walk down the road towards Tremerton High and concluded that maybe visiting him just out of curiosity wouldn’t be such a bad idea; perhaps during lunch, she would head out to see him. It's not like she ate anyway, so what better time than that? Give her something to look forward to in the afternoon. Vega proceeded in her path to the school like normal. 

———————————————————————

The bell rang, notifying the students it was lunchtime. Vega took off from the doors, not seeing a reason to stay, as the curiosity of XJ9’s human friend got the better of her. In seconds, she landed in front of the automated glass doors that read

 ‘Tremerton City Hospital’ which parted when she approached it, which allowed her to walk inside the waiting area filled with a variety of patients, young and old, waiting to see a doctor or maybe a surgeon, and in the corner, there was a receptionist who appeared to be in her forties typing on the computer. Vega was fascinated by it as it gave a slight resemblance to home. Unlike humans, robots don’t need a hospital, but they still need a place for repairs and maintenance on their software and hardware. On earth, it would be called an auto shop. 

She quickly walked to the desk, and the woman looked up at her, hanging up the phone. “Uhm, I’m here to see Sheldon Lee…what room is he in?” 

The lady nodded with a smile as she responded, “Of course, just go to the elevator and go to the fourth floor and turn left into the trauma recovery unit. He’s a few doors down.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” Vega softly smiled, finding the old human lady rather nice as she walked over and pressed the up arrow button on the side of the machine. 

Eventually, she made it to the room. She gently knocked on the door, and a voice beckoned her with a tired and feeble tone, “Come in.” Vega strolled into the bland white room and spotted a pale, scrawny, and injured teenager lying in the hospital bed with a TV remote in his free hand as the other still lay in a cast above his chest. The boy was covered in tubes as the heart monitor worked next to him, measuring his vitals. Vega softly smiled at him as he stared at her questionably and shocked and turned off the television. “You’re not a nurse...you’re a robot.” He remarked curiously before adding, “Well, not mine anyway. Are you a nurse?”

Vega nodded as she approached him and wheeled over in the black chair to the bed. “No, I’m not a nurse, but the robot part is right. My name is Vega,I actually go to Tremerton High.” 

Sheldon blinked as he stared in awe of her design, “That’s funny. I never saw you around before. I feel like I would have.” 

Vega shrugged, “Oh, that’s because I…was homeschooled before going to Tremerton High. So I’m actually pretty new.” 

“Oh…well, I’m Sheldon.” He forced a smile while awkwardly positioning himself with his free arm to sit up in his bed to get a better look at her, which Vega found to be amusing. He observed her for a second, “It’s nice to meet you too…uhm, so what brings you here? I mean…I’m not exactly the most popular guy in school, heh, so I’m not that used to having…classmates come to check on me; the only people that really come over are Brad and…” he trailed off for a moment before clearing his throat and starting up again, “Usually it’s just one of my friends that come visit.” Sheldon stated, which Vega noticed sounded oddly uncertain. His eyes looked pained and wet as if he was questioning himself. Quickly, he forced a soft smile, “Sorry, I…I tend to ramble a bit…so…what brings you here?” 

Vega shook her head sympathetically at the fragile human that lay before her, “It’s fine…you’re ok. Uhm…Jenny told me to come see you; she wanted me to check on you.”  

Sheldon paused for a moment as he appeared to be processing what Vega just said. “Oh…she did?” He said with a light smile. 

“Yeah, she told me she was worried about you and didn’t hear from you, so she told me to come see you.” 

The boy blinked and gave a slightly confused expression, “Worried about me? Really? To be honest, I think I should be the last person that’s on her mind, heh.” He sadly chuckled before awkwardly pulling a forced smile. 

“Why?” Vega softly asked with concern, wondering why the boy was so hard on himself.

Sheldon simply shrugged and shook his head, clearly not wanting to push the subject anymore, “Uh…don’t worry about it, it’s…it’s a long story.” He then continued, changing the subject before Vega could push it anymore, “Well…I’m doing alright. I can’t wait to eventually get the cast-off; it can be very itchy and uncomfortable! Uhm, the hospital food…is alright, I guess, if you consider baby food as actually good. Overall, I’m doing good…I get to watch TV and just lie here, though I am missing school a bit. It’s so hard for me to just sit here and not be able to do anything except watch TV or sleep. Okay, this actually sucks and I hate it! Wished more people came to see me actually...so thank you for coming.” He shared a crooked, broken smile, “So…how’s Jenny been? It’s been a while since I saw her.” 

Vega shrugged, with slight uneasiness, “She’s doing ok, I guess. I’ve been…helping her feel better and hanging out with her. Yesterday was better for her. I even got her to show more…confidence in herself, you know, just be more assertive, which…I think I went alright. Today, unfortunately, she didn’t even go to school; just stayed in her room because she didn’t feel well…I asked what I could do, and she told me to come here and check on you.” 

Sheldon nodded silently as his eyes glanced down thoughtfully before he responded, “Hm, I see…she has been struggling for a while now, so I’m glad she found someone to help her out…the rest of us couldn’t really help…I think we only made things worse for her. So thank you for helping our friend.” Vega forced a smile in return, but his gratitude made her cringe in disgust as XJ9 is her mom’s most hated enemy and in slight guilt as her friendly presence to XJ9 was only pretend for the sake of her mother and Cluster Prime. She pushed through, as it was for justice, as XJ9 destroyed those chips a long time ago. “No problem, Sheldon, she seems like a nice person and a good friend.” Vega had to resist the urge to gag after saying that sentence as she thought of the harm XJ9 had done to her people. “You know, Jenny also told me that she’s been trying to get a hold of you, but you never answered? If you don’t mind me asking, how come?” 

Sheldon hesitated for a minute, “I…I just didn’t think she would want to hear from me…I mean, I only made it worse before, and I was just worried that if I did, I would only make it worse again.” He laid back down and stared at the ceiling momentarily as if defeated. “I wasn’t trying to stay away from her or anything…I was keeping her away from me. Jenny really is a great girl and a wonderful friend…she’s beautiful, honestly; I really admire her, and I…I actually love her; she’s just amazing to me and a wonderful hero and protector of mankind! She’s like the bright stars in the Milky Way galaxy…just perfection.” He gushed with a small smile for a moment as Vega stared at him in slight amusement with a subtle belief that he might be deeply brainwashed by XJ9.

 At the same time, Vega couldn’t help but feel touched by his admiration for Jenny, “Oh, it seems you…really do like her, don’t you?” 

“Well, of course! She’s wonderful and personally my favorite hero! The first day I met her, she actually saved me from a group of bullies, and I loved her ever since. And it’s not just me; she also protects the whole town and practically the entire world after all, which fascinated me.” He laughed. “You know, we’ve been really lucky to have her around with us for the past six years. Tremerton is a lot safer with her around; I’m sure if she wasn’t…,Well, I don’t know what would happen, likely the destruction of mankind.”  

Vega blinked in confusion. Did her audio receptors malfunction, or did he just say six years? Her mother told her XJ9 has been around for thousands of years and has stolen the chips nearly 3,000 years ago. She knows this because of the upcoming anniversary that is supposed to happen in the upcoming months. Maybe Sheldon just misspoke, she wondered. “I’m sorry, did you say six years? I thought she was around…a lot longer than that.” 

Sheldon raised an eyebrow with a confused expression, “Yes…she was created six years ago. August 1st, 2069, so she will technically be turning seven this year.” 

Vega frowned in disbelief, that’s not what her mom said, the boy had to be wrong. Sheldon reached for his phone and typed on the screen before showing it to her, “See? She’s only been around for six years.” Vega cautiously grabbed the phone out of his hand and glanced at the screen. She saw several links that dated back to 2069 that mentioned the creation of XJ9 and articles of people talking about Jenny’s mom and the latest new model of the XJ series. She sat in shock as Sheldon was right; XJ9 was significantly younger than she had been previously taught by her mother. But how? Her mom always told them that XJ9 was the one who stole those chips and hurt her people. This wouldn't be possible if XJ9 came around over a thousand years later, far after the incident. Why would her mom tell everyone that XJ9 did this…if she couldn’t? She stared at the screen as she tried to think of a reason or an answer for this, but nothing came up. Was it possible that her mother…lied to her and her people? But why? There’s got to be an explanation somewhere! She grew more confused as her mind scrambled for a reason, but nothing came. 

“How old did you think she was anyway?” Asked Sheldon curiously. Vega just returned a blank expression at a loss for words, Sheldon noticed her odd behavior and voiced his concern, “Uh, is everything okay?” 

Vega gulped and shook her head, “Uh, no, mean yes! Everything’s fine…just fine.” She sighed as she furrowed her optics at the dates on the screen and returned the phone to him, not wanting to stare at the screen any longer. “Uhm, I have to go, but it was nice meeting you, Sheldon.” 

“Oh…uh, ya, you too?” The boy watched, puzzled, as Vega hurriedly marched out of the room and shut the door on her way out, not paying attention to his response. 

Vega proceeded to march out of the hospital, unaware of the few onlookers who stared at her in fear and curiosity as she wrestled with what she had learned. If XJ9 wasn’t the bad guy, then who was? Perhaps her mom could explain; maybe she was as misunderstood as Vega was about XJ9. It’s not like her mom would ever outright lie to her, right? 

Regardless, Vega felt exhausted and didn’t feel like going back to school and especially didn’t want to interact with XJ9 at the moment. She proceeded to stroll down the sidewalk to the quieter part of town to let her mind cool off and collect her thoughts before possibly calling her mom about this. Hopefully, her mom would even provide her an answer.  

————————————————————-

Jenny hugged the small throw pillow tightly as she lay on the couch that now reeked of oil and tilted due to one of the now broken legs from carrying her six-hundred-pound body. It didn’t bother her; she had adjusted to the smell as it filled her room, and her mind was on more pressing issues than a tilted, smelly couch. 

The horror on the people’s faces and their screams from the day before at Mezmers continually played in her mind on repeat. She even recalled Mr. Mezmer’s cries of pain when the frying oil splashed him and some of her classmates, begging for mercy as she shoved them into the walk-in freezer. It was both freeing and terrifying to do. Yes, like Vega said, what they did hurt her and angered her. Jenny needed to stand up for herself and deserved to be respected. At the same time, she felt guilt as they all watched her helplessly attack them in fear. 

Jenny hoped she would somehow feel better about her decision after a long night's sleep. Instead, she lay for hours conflicting herself, unable to enter sleep mode as the memory of that moment echoed vividly through her mind. Eventually, she managed to close her optics a little bit, a few minutes before the alarm abruptly woke her back into the pained and confusing reality. 

Just like she told Vega earlier, she told XJ6 to just go to school without her due to not feeling well. XJ6 tried very little to convince her before she gave up and left, which wasn’t much of a surprise to Jenny. XJ6 even covered for her and told their mom that she had already went out the door, so their mom didn’t think Jenny was still home. Which Jenny was grateful for; she didn’t know if she could handle facing her mom right now, especially after that incident the day before. She barely managed to get away with it last night when she masked her conflicting feelings with a blank expression and silence as she rushed to her room to collapse on the sofa. Who knew what her mom would say or do? Jenny grimaced as she believed she already knew the answer, she would simply be deactivated-no-scrapped and replaced. It would be easy since Doctor Wakeman already made the blueprints for an XJ10 and doesn’t think even after Jenny’s return had gotten rid of them, so replacing her would, unfortunately, be easy. 

She curled into a ball, the throw pillow still clutched in her arms as she laid her head on the armrest. At some point, her mom will become aware of her absence from school, and they will call Doctor Wakeman to notify her and learn that both Jenny and XJ6 had basically lied to her. Again, it wouldn’t surprise Jenny for XJ6 to attempt to place more of the blame on her, and Jenny would have to fend for herself, which she dreads.

For now, she was just going to take in her alone time and the sweet sound of silence. Jenny knew her mother was downstairs as she heard her walking through the house to go to the kitchen or down to the lab to work on some experiments. Luckily, Jenny knows for a little while that her mom will leave her alone until the school calls or when XJ6 comes home. With an artificial breath, she relaxes on the couch as her mind wrestles whether she has gone too far. Briefly, she recalled the situation with Sheldon; he was hurt because of her. She knows she probably has gone too far with him. Did she go too far again last night? She lay there quietly, her body completely still. Absorbing her alone time with the emotions that came with it. 

Jenny turned her head towards the door when she heard knocking, not from her bedroom door but from the front door downstairs. She assumed it was probably one of her mom’s multiple online orders getting dropped off, or perhaps it was an old colleague her mom knew who was dropping by to talk about things she didn’t really care about. Jenny heard her mom’s footsteps walking to the door and opening it.

At first, Jenny thought of ignoring it and setting her head back on the couch until she heard an unfamiliar, cold voice introduce herself. “Hello, Ms. Wakeman, my name is Kourtney…Kourtney Lee, I’m Sheldon’s mother.” Jenny immediately perked her head up; Sheldon’s mother? What is she doing here? Jenny wondered as her attention was now towards the two downstairs. She quickly yet quietly went closer to the door to listen. Maybe Sheldon sent her here. But why? Jenny recalled asking Vega to check on Sheldon sometime during the day, but she hadn’t heard back. Maybe those two ran into each other, and Vega told Kourtney to relay the message to her mother so she could go back to school? 

Her mom responded, “Oh, nice to meet you, Ms. Lee. Yes, Sheldon…he is friends with my daughter and goes to school with her. How is he doing? Is he recovering okay?” 

Kourtney hummed, “He’s fine, he probably should be able to go home soon.” Jenny felt some sense of relief that Sheldon was alright and physically safe and alive. Still, the question again plagued her mind: Why was he not responding to her? He always did before, why not now? She continued to listen, hoping to get some answers. It wasn’t like Sheldon to avoid her.  

“Well, I’m glad he is. Such a nice young boy…I know XJ9 was worried about him and wanted to know.” 

There was a pause, and Kourtney responded with an odd tone of hesitation, “Right…Uhm, that’s actually why I came here today, to talk about…XJ9.” The voice sounded somewhat cold and hard, which made Jenny tense up and hold her artificial breath. What could she have to say? Why did Kourtney want to see her? “Uhm…not to be…rude, but why do you call it your daughter and send it to school? You know it’s just a machine, right?” Kourtney followed with a slightly amused chuckle. Jenny’s eyes widened at her words, and she felt a sharp sting of pain in her chest. She was used to being put down and even treated like she was not alive. But having it be Sheldon’s mother somehow made it worse. 

Nora huffed, “You’re correct that XJ9 is a machine…but she is my daughter, her mind works almost exactly like a human does! She is designed to adapt and learn similarly to a human, but faster!”

Kourtney scoffed, “Mimicry…that’s cute, darling. Well, my son thinks like you do and…well, now he’s in the hospital cause he befriended you… so-called daughter.” 

Jenny softly gasped as she felt like her oil froze in her body. Sheldon told her? Yes, Jenny knew she was at fault for him being there, but she was shocked to hear that her friend, who would defend her to the end, told his mom everything. She didn’t understand why. Even worse is that Kourtney doesn’t seem to believe she is a real being, so why would Sheldon tell her that?! Why would he trust someone who doesn’t even like her? 

Nora calmly responded, “Listen…I don’t know the full story of that day. Both her friends and my daughter wouldn’t tell me…But I don’t believe…,Well I hope XJ9 would never hurt anyone, especially not her own friends and family.” Jenny felt guilt again; she had hurt him, and he was lucky to still be alive. The sound of her metallic arm smacking against his face was still very clear in his mind. 

“Hm…right, I’m sure you made sure friendliness was in its programming.” She chuckled with venom in her voice that stung Jenny even more. “Well, Sheldon wasn’t ever good with socializing with people by any means; he never had any real friends, and he always liked being with technology more. I’m sure that is why he was always around XJ9, and he even came to supposedly believe that it’s a real being like you do, and…well, after seeing what occurred here, I actually want you and your machine to stay away from him and others that it can harm and likely even brainwash them!” 

“Excuse me?! Why on earth would I brainwash children? That’s absolutely ridiculous! Who do you think I am?! And besides, I had no say in who XJ9 became friends with, that was all on her terms! And, like I said before, XJ9 would never intentionally hurt someone! She’s designed to protect people, not hurt them!”  

Kourtney didn’t seem to be moved as she responded, “Ha, sure…Look, I’m sure you’re a nice and interesting smart lady, darling. But, in the real world, there’s a difference between people and things…my son used to know that until XJ9 showed up, but luckily, I just think it’s a phase and not really genuine, and it’ll pass when he comes to his senses, after being in the hospital. I mean, heh, you should have seen what I found in his bedroom. I do believe it’s mostly just him being obsessed because it is a robot-he is especially obsessed with robotics, not because it’s a wonderful girl with actual feelings, especially since he never liked the idea of dating or befriending girls before that.”

Nora retorted, “Now see here, I can tell you have no idea what you’re talking about…”

Kourtney laughed, “No, actually, you don’t know what you’re talking about since you don’t have real children, Ms. Wakeman. Unlike humans, machines are replaceable, and I’m sure you can scrap this dangerous machine and replace it with a new one, and no one in their right mind would notice…as insane and possibly ill as I think my own son is, I’m sure he would even be able to quickly move on and start liking your new robot instead cause simply it’s a robot! I’d consider it since it’s so dangerous to have around…especially after seeing and hearing certain things.” 

Nora’s voice escalated as she began to remind Kourtney, clearly upset with Kourtney’s accusations of her own daughter and Jenny’s relationship with Sheldon. 

The two continued to argue, and both of their voices rang through her door, which Jenny now simply shut out, not wanting to continue to listen. Jenny clenched her fists as she wanted to scream at them to shut up, but simply stayed silent on her bedroom floor. Her optics brimmed with tears as she processed what Sheldon’s mom just said. Jenny knew about Sheldon’s obsession with her since the beginning; heck, he even followed her everywhere like a lost puppy on the day they met! Sheldon would then constantly try to win her over by giving her inventions or professing his supposed love for her, which she usually declined, but that wouldn’t ever stop him, which kind of annoyed her sometimes. 

Despite his obvious flaws, he was still a good guy and, unlike everyone else, didn’t betray her and still believed in her after being mind-controlled for a year like a toy. After that painful experience, it was like he was the only real friend left. 

Jenny leaned against the door, her grasp tightened on the throw pillow. Yet, listening to the argument downstairs, doubts filled her mind, and she was no longer sure about that. He has been ignoring her and never responded to her texts. She understood Sheldon was in the hospital, but still, he would have been able to find time for her, right? It’s Sheldon, after all, yet he never did. So, was it really just pure obsession due to her being a robot and nothing more? Were his random love confessions and his friendly demeanor towards her just all driven by his love for robotics and never for her? Her lips trembled at the thought-if she was a human, would he have ever tried to be friends with her or even looked her way? Jenny swallowed her sobs so as to not be heard by the two women downstairs. She painfully concluded as she recalled Kourtney’s words, probably not. 

Jenny tried to deny the possibility that Sheldon's loyalty to her stemmed from just her being a robot; she didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be true. She sat down against the door, trying to compose and rationalize with herself as the arguing downstairs continued. He did things for her, he was a friend, he was the only one who didn’t betray her. It couldn’t have been some wishful thinking on her part, could it? 

“Well, I think you must be going now, Ms. Lee, as you have no respect for either of the children and are wasting our time just by being here!” Nora retorted.

“Oh please, like I said, you’re not a mother, so you wouldn’t know! I know my son a bit enough about his machine obsession; he goes overboard for it! Same with…the comic book characters, really, it’s nothing new! But you encouraged it to unhealthy levels! Really, I should contact the authorities…Skyway Patrol will hold you accountable for your machine and take it away! Sheldon is going to need therapy! And I’m sure the whole town will need one because of you!”

Nora scoffed, “Yeah, good luck with that! They will have to do the hundreds of paperwork first. And I’m sure he will with a mother like you…Now get off my property!” She slammed the door before Kourtney could react, and Jenny could hear her mom marching off supposedly to her lab, muttering bitterly to herself. Jenny lay silently on the floor as tears slowly leaked out of her optics. Jenny slightly allowed herself to be more audible now that she won’t be heard. She tried to reassure herself that Sheldon’s mom was wrong about him, that Sheldon really did care for Jenny, but still couldn’t help but think that she probably was right. 

Jenny recalled all of her memories with Sheldon and his behavior towards her. There were moments they had that seemed genuine, yet there were few. The majority of what she remembered is his obsession with her and him constantly stalking her. She even recalled seeing his small closet shrine dedicated to her, which still creeps her out to this day. Where did he even get those photos? She wondered. Other details she remembered are his jealousy-fueled sabotages and control of her love life and, most importantly, the twisted lies of the Silver Shell. She hesitantly wondered if it really was a way for Sheldon to keep him near her and make Jenny his. The suit was his controller, and she was his toy. A toy that he watched with amusement as Jenny followed the controller like a mindless puppet. It sickened her. 

Jenny sobbed heavily now, not noticing the tear she was creating in the throw pillow. She didn’t want to believe it, as the possible context clues glared into her face, which weren’t noticed before until now. The question came to her head again: Was he really doing it out of obsession? Was the friendship ever really genuine? Then again…Sheldon did ask if Jenny was for sale once. He tried to play it off as a joke and apologized, but it hurt her, and she felt like she was objectified. 

As much as Jenny tried to deny her thoughts, it was impossible to ignore it. His love for her, their friendship… wasn’t genuine after all. And him now ignoring her makes more sense. Sheldon wasn’t a real friend after all; it was just a game to him! A game to see if he can win her like an award for him that he obsessed over. Now he’s ignoring her because he lost his potential sacred prize and was possibly even scared of her now! Or maybe it was just another twisted act to get her sympathy and control over her. 

The anger rose in her; her gears ground as her oil pressure rose. Within a second, in a fuel of rage, her throw pillow was ripped in half, and some of the stuffing fell to the ground. Instantly, Jenny tossed the pillow to the floor, fuming, her body shook in fury. She wanted to scream, but all that came out was heavy sobbing and some grumbling in her voice box.  

In the corner of her optic, she noticed a box of everything Sheldon had ever given her by her closet, ranging from fashion magazines to random inventions he made. She slowly went to the open box and looked inside at all the contents. Immediately after seeing it, it gave a bitter taste in her mouth. Jenny no longer wanted to have things that reminded her of someone who lied to her and faked out a friendship just out of pure obsession. 

Without hesitation, Jenny immediately ripped all the magazines to shreds, followed by destroying all his gifts for her by smashing them one by one with her built-in mighty mallet till they were nothing but shards of metal on the ground. When her work was done, she breathed deeply as she glared at her work.

Jenny was officially done with him. Yet it pained her, the only friend she thought she had left and could trust. Though it was clear now that he wasn’t since he never was. Tears continued to stream out of her optics as she came to another conclusion: if Sheldon never truly cared, no one else on Earth ever will. She will always be a toy or something to control, later tossed aside and hated…maybe even forgotten like her sisters. 

Jenny glanced around the room, noting her posters of favorite boy bands or movie stars, which now she found unbearable to look at. Immediately, she strolled over to the wall, ripped down the posters, and shredded them, tossing the remnants on the ground. 

Jenny continued to pace in her room, still fuming in rage, and kicked over her CD stand as she passed by it. She paused once she noticed another familiar object right by her dresser: the baseball that crashed through the window of her house two years ago. It was old and worn; she picked it up and held it thoughtfully. 

The day was still apparent to her: the day when she first met humans. The humans were her former best friend Brad and his little brother Tuck, who then introduced her to the world outside her home. Jenny briefly smiled at their fond memories but quickly faded into a frown when she recalled their horrendous betrayal. How quick those two were able to turn on her was jarring and unforgivable. In the end, just like with Sheldon, she was just an amusing source of entertainment for them. They aren’t her real friends. They never were.

In disgust, Jenny tossed the ball directly into one of her larger monitors, breaking the screen, and some sparks flew from the TV. The glass shattered all over the ground. She proceeded to crash back onto the couch, agonized in tears. Jenny was aware of how her classmates would always mock and laugh at her…now she painfully wonders if her former friends had done the same thing when she wasn’t looking.

Eventually, the tears stopped as she continually stared at the ceiling above. Jenny was aware she is alone and always will be. She is aware she never belonged here, and the unfortunate truth is that humans will simply never accept her for who she is. Especially now with the knowledge that her so-called friends never did. They weren’t looking for friendship, just control. 

She glared up at the ceiling. It was time to take it back. 

. —————————————————————-

The party was in a couple hours, and she had no time to waste.

With a wide, pleasant smile, XJ6 strolled on her way home, nearly unable to control her excitement. Today had to be the best day of her life! She was invited to a party exclusively for popular kids and was told Don Prima was going to ask her out tonight. And ‘maybe’ she thought hopefully, “even ask me to be officially his girlfriend!” And to top it all off, XJ6 didn’t have to deal with her sister’s mopeyness at school since Jenny stayed home. 

XJ6 felt a little guilty thinking about the last part. Jenny had been struggling, and though she didn’t voice it aloud to her this morning, Jenny looked awful. Admittedly, being around Jenny can get pretty draining. Especially since she has been more depressed and tired than XJ7 since Christmas, which XJ6 didn’t even believe was remotely possible until now, and it is starting to concern her a bit. XJ6 couldn’t grasp why Jenny was still so upset. Jenny had a perfect life, friends, her role as a superhero, their mom’s love, and even allowed her to be in the outside world. Meanwhile, XJ6 and the rest of their sisters were locked away in the basement, forgotten and collecting dust. Her smile briefly faded as she compared herself with Jenny and how XJ6 had always been in her sister’s shadow. 

XJ6 quickly dismissed those thoughts as she shook her head. Her life was getting better now, and she didn’t want to let the past sour her mood; she’s got a party to get ready for. 

With a renewed smile on her face, she arrived in front of her house and swung the door open. “Mom, I’m home!” XJ6 shouted as she placed her bag on the ground by the doorway. No response. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence since her mom usually was either out running errands or just down in the lab performing another project. XJ6 shrugged and started to head for the stairs before the phone rang. 

XJ6 groaned as she probably guessed who it was and strolled to the receiver and saw the caller ID, it was the school. She knew it was likely Razinski calling their mom to let her know of Jenny’s absence. She reached for the receiver, about to pick it up…and said what exactly? Instead, XJ6 clicked one of the buttons, sending the call to voicemail. Deal with that later. 

XJ6 turned as she heard footsteps emerge from the lab. Doctor Wakeman came up the steps, her eyes drooping as she appeared to be drained from stress. “Hey mom! Rough day?” XJ6 observed her mother’s tired expression 

Doctor Wakeman groaned as she made the final steps. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it…trying to get my inventions to work, ran out of coffee, and had some…” she sighed wearily as she made her way to the small chair and collapsed. “Ignorant visitor at my door.” 

XJ6 frowned in dismay as her mom sat on the couch exhausted and rubbed the bridge of her nose exasperated. “Who was the visitor?” 

Nora rolled her eyes and shrugged, “Don’t worry about it. It’s no one of importance, and I don’t want to talk about it.” She ended the sentence with a look of irritation and disgust. “I’m just glad you girls weren’t around to hear it…anyways, did I hear the phone ringing just now?” 

XJ6 blinked, “Oh, just…some telemarketer. I wouldn’t be worried about it.” She lied, keeping up the facade that Jenny actually went to school that day. A part of her wondered why she did it, as it really didn’t do XJ6 any favors. Yet, she still lied for her. 

 “Hmm, lousy scammers.” Nora concluded tiredly before changing the subject. “Anyways, how did your sister do at school today? I haven’t seen her come in.” 

“Oh, uh, she must have already gone upstairs. I think she was alright, just the usual, I guess.” She weakly smiled and shrugged as Nora silently nodded in response. “And uh…I have been invited to a friend’s party in a couple hours today! I was going to head over if that’s alright.” 

XJ6 smiled hopefully, hoping her mom wouldn't say no. “Hm…I suppose so.” Her mom paused thoughtfully. “Well, if you got all your homework done and everything and are home before ten.”

XJ6 squealed, “Oh, thank you, Mom! Thank you!”

Nora continued, “And take your sister with you; I’m sure it would be nice of you to include her.” 

XJ6 stopped squealing and slouched with disappointment. “Ugh, do I have to?” She mumbled, “She’s kind of a pain right now and so annoying.”

“XJ6, remember what I told you! She is your sister! And I know sisters can be frustrating, trust me. But she loves you and…” Nora stopped when she noted XJ6’s deadpanned face, XJ6 clearly wasn’t moved by her lecturing. Nora groaned in frustration, “Just at least invite her, and you can still go if she says no.”  

XJ6 rolled her optic unamused as she replied monotonously and started to head upstairs, “Fine, whatever.” She replied reluctantly. 

XJ6 frowned as she made her way to the stairs; once again, Jenny just had to take center stage like she always does. She bitterly thought to herself as she trudged to their currently shared bedroom. Just once, XJ6 wished she wouldn’t just be pushed aside for her sister. XJ6 could feel her oil pressure rising as her resentment grew; such a great day had to be soured by her older sister once again. Can’t she just live her own life? 

XJ6 grumbled bitterly as she opened the door and stopped once she saw the damage that had been done. She stared at the broken metal remnants on the ground with what appeared to be a shredded stack of papers on the ground; the posters that were hung were now gone, Jenny’s CD collection was shattered everywhere on the ground, and one of the giant monitors placed in the wall was broken entirely, and its glass was shattered on the ground as well. Cripes, what happened here? Her optics wandered in shock at what lay before her. She carefully crept her way in, edging her way closer to Jenny’s couch. 

XJ6 took notice of the ripped throw pillow that lay next to the couch on the floor in confusion. Her optics moved over to Jenny, who was silently resting on the armrest, facing the couch and curled into a ball. XJ6 knew Jenny was struggling but hadn’t seen her outright damage things before. Especially stuff Jenny supposedly cared about. 

XJ6 tilted her head and observed her for a second; Jenny was silent and still and oddly didn’t acknowledge XJ6’s presence in the room. 

For a brief moment, XJ6 considered staying out of it and leaving for the party right then. Have it been Jenny’s problem and not hers? It sounded like a good idea. Just tell Mom that she tried, but Jenny said no, and leave; thatThat simple! And she can enjoy herself for the night without having to keep an eye on Jenny. 

Yet, despite the door literally being a few feet away, she couldn’t bring herself to it. She stayed in the same spot, and her optic didn’t look away from Jenny. Before she knew it, her voice feebly came out, “Hey Jen…you alright?” Jenny didn’t move, XJ6 frowned, “Uhm…I like what you did to the bedroom…interesting design choice.” XJ6 followed with a light giggle in an attempt to lighten the mood, yet still no response. XJ6 squinted her eyes as she inched closer towards Jenny; she reached out her hand to Jenny’s shoulder, “Hey Jenny…” 

Jenny finally whipped her head towards XJ6, which made XJ6 jump back a little. XJ6 became silent as her eyes met Jenny’s. Jenny’s eyes held an icy cold stare, somehow showing pure anger and emptiness at once, while her mouth was curled into a frown. XJ6 was at a loss for words, she hadn’t seen her that angry before, and it sent a shudder down her artificial spine. The two remained silent before Jenny replied in an eerily sharp and firm tone, “May I help you?” 

XJ6 gulped. She attempted to avert her gaze from Jenny’s cold, hard expression, yet her eyes remained fixated on Jenny’s. “Uhm, well…I was just letting you know I’m going to a party and all the popular kids will be there. It’s a formal dance party, kind of.” Jenny continued to stare coldly at her as XJ6 briefly paused before adding, “So I wanted to come up here before I went to see if you wanted to…maybe come with me? And maybe help me get a dress…I know you can transform into whatever dress you want, but I might have to actually borrow one since-“

Jenny interrupted without hesitation and monotonously, clearly not amused by the idea, “No. Not interested.”

XJ6 blinked, taken aback by her sister’s sudden response. She didn’t know too much about her sister due to being stuck in the basement all those years, but she knew that reaction was very unlike Jenny. Yet, that didn’t deter her from trying. Softly she added, “Well…I know you haven’t been feeling like yourself lately and have been struggling. I just thought…we could go out and have fun. I think it would be nice to spend time with my sister.” XJ6 smiled hopefully. Jenny would appreciate some sister time, right? 

Unfortunately, Jenny’s eyes narrowed in disbelief as she bitterly scoffed, “Yeah, right…I’m sure you’ll love to spend time with your big sister, who is a pain in the circuits and is just dragging you down, right?” 

XJ6 froze, again at a loss for words. Jenny heard them upstairs, XJ6 realized in guilt. She wanted to deny it. Unfortunately, Jenny wasn’t far off from what she was thinking and had been thinking for the past few weeks they spent together. Initially, she felt justified for thinking that, but hated to admit it. Now, she was starting to question herself as Jenny continued to appear worse. Especially right now, seeing Jenny almost completely broken. She still couldn’t understand, but still felt sympathy towards her. She opened her mouth and began to explain her side, “Jenny…”

Jenny stopped her, raising a hand. “Don’t…I get it…I heard it all. I know everyone hates me or fears me; it’s nothing new anymore. I heard it; I don’t need to keep hearing it! So just leave me alone!” 

XJ6 narrowed her eyes and shook her head, confused as to why Jenny would believe such a thing. “Jen…Jenny, that’s not true. You have family and friends who care about you and…” 

Jenny glared at her with wet eyes, her voice tense. “I heard all of it…I know. Now get out!” She commanded fiercely as she threw half of the throw pillow at XJ6.

XJ6 silently stared at Jenny, who now had tears lightly running down her cheeks and scowling at her. It was obvious Jenny was not in the mood to talk, and XJ6 didn't understand what she was going on about. Heard it all? She wondered what could she have possibly heard to make her think that? 

“Jenny, I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make…”

Jenny immediately got up, grabbed her by the shoulders, and walked her towards the doorway. “The door is that way in case you forgot, boltbrain!” 

XJ6 was forcefully pushed back into the hallway, and before she could respond, Jenny retorted, “And I know you hate me too, just like everyone else, so don’t play pretend with me; I’m sick of it!” The door slammed and was locked on her. XJ6 was stunned; she didn’t expect Jenny to react like that at all. She also disagreed with Jenny’s final remark. Sure, XJ6 admittedly felt jealous, annoyed, and even resentful for her sister at times due to how their mother treated them differently, but just straight-up hated her? XJ6 shook her head in disbelief as she reluctantly walked down the hall; where could Jenny ever have gotten that idea? 

———————————————————————-

XJ6 flew in the air in a flowy dress that she found in the back of her mother’s closet. It was kind of small on her and outdated, but it was the best she had that would work for the party. She also found some makeup and decided to apply it the best she could for someone with a TV screen for a face. XJ6 hoped she did it well as she found some tutorials online since she never wore makeup before and wanted to look her best. 

XJ6 felt elated as she approached Don’s house, her first-ever party, and it was with the popular kids! She never felt so thrilled in her life, but at the same time, she felt a twinge of nervousness as she got closer. How does someone act at a party, especially an exclusive one? What do people talk about at parties? How do you talk to boys at parties? A million questions rushed through her mind and presented her with uneasiness. XJ6 briefly wondered if she should turn around and not go but stayed on the course. She sighed; she wished she had someone to talk to about this. XJ6 does have friends, of course; that’s why they invited her in the first place, right? Yet, she still didn’t feel like she could bring up her feelings of insecurity to them. It just didn’t feel right, and it felt like she would be a total loser if she did so. Popular kids don’t really talk about that stuff with each other, she believes. If only she could just have someone to talk to or rely on. Someone she could count on, somebody who knew what she was going through. Someone like…like Jenny. XJ6 frowned as Jenny’s name popped into her head, and her flight speed slowed down. Jenny’s angry, hollow eyes were still clear in her mind, and the shocking words that followed. The guilt XJ6 felt was still there, and it was now worse after the encounter, eating at her core. XJ6 didn’t hate her, Jenny should know that! Neither do her friends and certainly not mom of all people. The accusation angered her but, at the same time, made her feel a twinge of guilt. 

XJ6 knows she wasn’t a perfect sister, but she wasn’t terrible either, right? The thought infuriated her; once again, neither she nor Jenny could understand each other. She furrowed her eyes in thought; maybe she should try talking to her again after the party. Hopefully, another talk would help XJ6 understand more where Jenny is coming from.

As she landed and approached the door, she quickly brushed off the bothering thoughts as she had more important things at hand. Excitedly, she rang the doorbell and stood with a beaming smile on her face. While waiting, she noticed how few cars were parked in the lot. Which surprised her, considering it was a party thrown by Don Prima himself. Then again, it was an exclusive party, so maybe only a select few were invited. The thought made her beam even more, as she was one of them. 

XJ6 softly gasped as her head jerked back to look at the door as it opened. Don Prima stood in front of her…in a baggy old t-shirt and basketball shorts, not formal at all. He stared at her with confusion, “Uh…hello?” 

XJ6 blushed shyly, “Hey Don! I’m here for the party…I’m not too early, am I?” She guessed she probably was regarding his lack of formal wear. 

Don blinked, still looking lost at what she said. “Party? What are you talking about?” 

XJ6’s smile briefly faltered until realization dawned on her, and she giggled as she lightly pushed his shoulder in amusement, “Oh, you’re just messing with me! You cute jerk!” She said with admiration as Don continued to stare. XJ6 rolled her eyes and laughed, “Come on, you can drop the act, silly! Brit and Tiff said you invited me…and other things about you.” She shyly gazed at him and got closer, hoping Don would take the hint. 

However, Don backed up and now looks as if he thought she was crazy, which confused XJ6. “Oh…uhm…well, I have friends over right now…” His voice is now quieter. 

Before another word could be said by either of them, Brit walked up to the door beside Don, “Donny, who's at the door?” Brit was wearing a casual plain sweater and jeans, not wearing a dress like XJ6 was told they would be wearing. Adding to the confusion, Brit put her arm around Don and got awfully close to him. Her other hand lay on top of his chest as her head leaned against his shoulder.

XJ6 stammered, “Uh…Hey Brit, I’m here for the party that you invited me to the other day…Heh, Don was pulling my leg and saying there wasn’t one, but…uh.” The words caught in her throat, unable to look away from their closeness. What was going on? Didn’t Don like her? Why was Brit all over him? The questions blared in her mind, trying to make sense of the situation. 

“Oh, hey babe…this robot girl here is saying you invited her to a party? Do you know her?” 

XJ6 blinked. Did he just call her babe?! Her eyes shifted to Brit for an explanation. Brit glanced at her up and down and shrugged, “That’s odd because I don’t ever recall doing that. Never talked to her in my life.” 

XJ6 was taken aback yet chuckled as she shifted back and forth, “Hehe…this is a joke, right? Heh, you got me.” 

“Yo cuz! Who's at the door?” Shouted Tiff from the living room behind them, amongst a few other kids now watching the commotion. Some of the kids she recognized as the very ones who she sat with during lunch. 

XJ6 shouted back, now bewildered, “It’s me, Jessica…Jessica Wakeman! Your friend!” 

Tiff stood up and approached the door as well; some of the kids even followed her. “Hm…Oh, yea, you’re that dumb robot girl’s little sister.” Tiff slightly smirked, “And the one-eyed freak who kept following us everywhere like a total creep!” She added with a snicker. 

XJ6’s cooling systems kicked up, she glanced down and blushed furiously in embarrassment. She tried to argue, “Wait! That’s not true, we’re friends and…you invited me!! I had lunch with you guys!! Why…Why are you doing this?” 

Pteresa smirked as the others subtly pulled out their phones and started recording the exchange with amusement. “Pfft, why would we ever sit with you? You forcefully sat at our table like the outdated loser you are!” 

XJ6’s frown deepened, her metallic heartbreaking. “But…but…” Her voice softened, now hurt and confused, “You invited me.” 

Brit giggled as she gestured to the dress, “Yes, very outdated, especially when you consider what she wears…and the makeup. Did you go to the circus to get it done?” She scorned mockingly.

Despite XJ6 being taller than all the girls there, she definitely felt smaller than all of them. “I…I was just borrowing my mom's old dress…and my makeup. I was trying, ok? I looked up tutorials!!” Snickers broke amongst the popular kids as they continued to record everything. 

Pteresa snorted, “Your mommy’s dress! Ha!” She gushed mockingly as she added in a baby voice, “That’s very big girl of you. Although it looks more like shredded rags you found at the dump!”

XJ6’s chest tightened as her eye narrowed; why was this happening? Why are they being so mean? She hated to think about it, but she wished Jenny was here. Jenny would know what to do, right? She’s dealt with them before. Jenny would put a stop to this. 

“Oh wait…I remember something else…she also has a weird big crush on Don!!” Shouted Jantrice, that was followed by a collection of ooh’s in the crowd, embarrassing her even more. 

XJ6 gulped as she replied in a timid voice, “Yea…I mean, I thought he was cute, and you told me that he…felt the same.” To her dismay, her response was returned with more laughter. She glanced at Don with humiliation, and he just stared at her in amusement with a hint of disgust, which broke her heart even more. 

Brit tsked as she smiled and leaned into Don more, “Well, that’s unfortunate, considering Donny is my boyfriend and doesn’t even know you exist!”

Tiff added, “Do you honestly think he would like someone like you?! Someone who has one eye, one arm, and has ugly spider legs? You’re a literal tacky scrap pile! An unwanted and unnatural freak!”

XJ6 didn’t want to be there anymore; she fought to keep the tears from coming out as they laughed at her insecurities. “That’s not what you…” She stopped as her throat tightened, her words unable to come out. 

Brit looked with mock sympathy, “Oh, you poor thing…reality can be harsh sometimes; it may be best for you to have time to yourself, even go away for a while.” She snickered. “Like your sister did, unfortunately, she came back. Now we have to deal with two weird freaks.” 

XJ6 was on the verge of tears; her friends weren’t real friends after all. They were treating her like she was the scum of the Earth. She didn’t understand why. XJ6 thought she did everything right, why do they hate her? She even roasted her sister and Jenny’s friends with them behind her back to win their friendship. The guilt gnawed at her even more now after what happened; how could she have been so stupid? How did she fall for any of it?

As XJ6 contemplated everything, her breathing became heavier, and artificial tears started to slip down her face. She didn’t know what to do now; she felt helpless. Jenny would know what to do; she had dealt with this before. All of it. She gulped and her lips quivered at the thought of her sister and mumbled as if XJ6 was calling for her, “Jenny.” 

“Aww, are you actually crying for big sister to help you?” Mocked Pteresa with amusement as the others howled with laughter. “What a baby!”  

XJ6 couldn’t stand it anymore; tears fell from her face as she watched them laugh like hyenas and point their phones recording her humiliation. “Aw man, this video is gonna go viral!” Pteresa giggled with excitement as she zoomed in on XJ6’s pained eyes. 

“Yes, very amusing, now run along, junk pile! We have better things to do than talk to you, and hopefully, now you’ll remember your place!” Tiff nodded with a smug grin. 

XJ6 glared at all of them as tears continued to flow. She backed away and turned around, hastily heading the other way. She noticed they started to throw snowballs and yell at her to humiliate her even more, making her run faster. 

Eventually, XJ6 managed to escape, as she ran downtown and into a secluded corner of a building next to Tremerton Park. She stopped running, her cooling systems in overdrive. Tears still streamed down her face, her paint job and dress ruined from the snowballs thrown at her. She sat down in the corner as she hugged her knees to her chest. The questions she had still stewed in her mind: Why did this happen? How can people be so cruel? Her body leaned against the wall as she steadied her cooling system. XJ6 knew Jenny had to face these kids every day at school, but she clearly misjudged the severity of it. She thought they just teased her and roasted her, and her sister just blew it out of proportion. However, it’s starting to seem that wasn’t the case. Could it be that Jenny wasn’t as lucky as XJ6 once thought she was? But it didn’t make sense; she used to be so happy, used to. XJ6 noted as she recalled the chilling glare of her sister’s face earlier. Her belief that Jenny was the source of Jenny’s problems began to wilt, the guilt and loneliness of her own grew. She curled herself into a ball and sobbed on the cold pavement, wishing the ground would swallow her whole. 

After what felt like forever of nonstop crying, a concerned voice spoke softly, “XJ6?” The person approached her, “XJ6, are you ok?”

XJ6 sniffed, still not looking up from the ground to see who it was. She didn’t care and hoped that whoever it was would give up and leave. From what she sees with her now ex-friends and even mother, she knows she’s not worth the trouble. She's just a defective and unwanted prototype. 

XJ6’s sensors detected the person getting closer to her but didn’t budge. Finally, the voice spoke again; this time, it caught her attention. “Jessica?” 

———————————————————————-

Brad towered over XJ6’s fetal position as she stared up at him, visibly upset. Virtual tears brimmed in her eye as her mouth trembled in a frown underneath the heavy makeup she attempted to apply. He frowned in sorrow; he already knew what happened by the look on her face. The look of grief was too familiar. “Hey, don’t worry about them. They’re not worth your time.” Brad said calmly, with a sympathetic smile like he did this before.  

XJ6 blinked, both confused and offended; she argued back, “They’re my friends Brad!” She paused for a second as her features softened in remorse as Brad stared at her, clearly not convinced, “Or they were at least…they acted like we were.” She admitted reluctantly.

Brad nodded as he responded, “,Yeah they’re not that great; they always love to push people down when they can since they’re really popular, as you could see after what they did to you.” 

XJ6 sighed in embarrassment, ashamed she fell for any of it. She looked at him questioningly, “How did you know?” 

“I had seen Jenny act like this sometimes, and usually, it has something to do with the Crust cousins.” 

XJ6 looked down as she simply replied quietly, “Oh.” 

Brad shrugged and added, “Also, I kinda figured this was going to happen since I saw you hanging out with them during lunch.” 

XJ6 frowned and began to open her mouth when Brad interjected, “And before you ask, I didn’t stop you or anything since I know you wouldn’t have listened to me.” Certainly wouldn’t have if you didn’t even listen to Jenny! Brad thought to himself. He knew Jenny, despite her mental state, warned her about them, and XJ6 didn’t want to hear. Brad could tell XJ6 was about to retort again until he raised a questioning eyebrow, and she shrunk in defeat. Brad could tell she couldn't deny it as she pouted and glared at the ground, which he found to be amusing. In a way, it reminded him of Jenny. 

XJ6 huffed in frustration as she changed the topic, “What are you doing out here anyways?” 

“Oh, I’m actually headed to the hospital right now to see Sheldon, I need to…show him something regarding Jenny.” He frowned in discomfort; it wasn’t going to be easy. 

XJ6 squinted her eye, confused. “What do you mean?”

Brad sighed as he scratched the back of his neck, “You know…the viral video online.” XJ6 continued to look lost, much to Brad’s surprise. “Have you not seen it? Or heard of it?” 

XJ6 shook her head, “No, I was mostly focused on the party this afternoon…I didn’t really want to…think about her.” 

Brad nodded in understanding, knowing how strained their relationship is with each other since the very start. “Hm, I see, did the crust cousins try to bring it up with you?” 

XJ6 shrugged, “Uhm…I vaguely remember them bringing up a video and something about Jenny…but again, I was focused on the party.” She glanced away guiltily and embarrassed. 

Brad stared at her blankly as XJ6 sheepishly looked away. He felt disappointed in her since it was her own sister, but not surprised since this was Jessica he was talking to. For a brief moment, Brad considered leaving her in the dark since she likely wouldn’t care or maybe even get Jenny in trouble with her mom. He sighed softly, yet they still were sisters, and she would probably find out sooner or later anyway. Brad reached for her hand and pulled her up. “You need to come with me and see this.” “Why? What’s going on?” 

“I’ll show you at the hospital with Sheldon…uhm, would you be able to fly us there? We would get there faster that way.”  

“Well, I got water all over me, and I’m not really waterproof…and it has been a while since I last carried a person in the air… but I can try.” Before he could respond, her hand squeaked from the rust as she tightened her grip on his hand and activated her jets, “Hold tight! Only got one arm!” She shakily flew into the sky with Brad in tow as he gripped tightly onto her cold and rusted arm with his hands as he dared not to let go. 

The unsteady flight came to an end within seconds since the hospital was close by, and XJ6 landed on the ground safely. Brad grabbed her hand and quickly guided her inside towards Sheldon’s hospital room. XJ6 looked straight ahead as she attempted to ignore the glaring stares of the nurses and doctors as they rushed through the hallway. 

“Brad, people are staring at me, I’m a mess!” She whined softly in embarrassment. 

Brad glanced back at her and shrugged, “You’re fine; everyone has a bad day.” He said absently, as the video still vividly played in his mind. They reached the door as Brad knocked, still notably distracted. 

“Come in.” Said a muffled voice throughout the door. 

The two walked through the door and saw Sheldon carefully swallowing pain medication with his still-healing jaw. “Hey, Shel.” Said Brad, getting his attention. With the medicine still in his mouth, he glanced over at them, and his eyes widened when he saw XJ6 and almost choked in shock. 

XJ6 groaned as Brad rushed to his aid to help him through his coughing fit, “Yea, yea, I know I look terrible; you don’t need to freak out or…die over it, geez.” She said bitterly, but a slight teasing smile was on her face when she said the last part. 

Sheldon coughed a few more times before sipping some water and clearing his throat as he rested his hand on his chest. He winced and groaned, “Ouch, that…was painful.” 

“You ok?” Asked Brad sympathetically, closely eyeing his friend as he placed a hand on his shoulder. 

Sheldon nodded and cleared his throat some more despite the pain, “Ugh yea, I was just caught off guard…” He returned his gaze to XJ6, who awkwardly stood there. “Uhm…”

“Long story short, Crust cousins.” Brad explained as he watched Sheldon looking lost and confused. 

“Oh…wow, that’s awful; that explains the old ragged dress and poorly put-on makeup, only people like them can do something so cruel.” 

Brad stifled a giggle and shook his head as XJ6 frowned in embarrassment. “I thought I looked good.” She responded bitterly as she looked him up and down and added softly, “And it’s not like you look any better than I do, genius.” 

Brad overheard and shot her a glare, making XJ6 recoil a bit. Sheldon took another sip of water. His medicine finally went down as if he didn’t hear her, or he was simply used to hearing cruel remarks about his appearance, “Uhm…so who are you?” 

XJ6 walked up next to his bedside and by Brad. Before she could respond with the usual answer, Brad replied simply, “Oh, this is Jessica, Jenny’s sister.” He didn’t notice her eyes widening and a small smile growing on her face. “She actually started going to Tremerton a while ago after…” He winced at the memory of steel metal smacking across Sheldon’s face. “You know…” 

Sheldon cringed in understanding and nodded, “I see…” A tense silence filled the room as he looked down, clearly uncomfortable, before shaking his head and responding with a half smile. “Nice to meet you, Jessica, I’m Sheldon.” 

“Thanks…so, how are you doing?” XJ6 observed his apparent yet healing injuries. 

Sheldon shrugged, “I’m…I'm getting better. I should be able to go home soon, the doctor said….finally get back to school and sleep in my bed. Also, I heard Jenny was still struggling, but I guess she showed some improvements yesterday, which is good.” 

XJ6 scoffed as she recalled what happened earlier, “Could have fooled me.” 

Brad blinked in confusion; the only people who ever visited Sheldon that he was aware of were just him and Sheldon’s mom. “Who told you that?” 

“It was a new robot girl, Vega. I guess she befriended Jenny when she started attending Tremerton. She visited me today, actually.” 

Brad went silent again, his eyes widened in shock. He did notice Jenny hanging around the new robot girl, and there was something off about her. Brad especially doesn’t trust her now after seeing what happened at Mezmers with her and Jenny. Luckily, his father hasn’t seen or heard of it yet, but it’s only a matter of time before he does. Then, Vega decides to pay Sheldon a visit? He shifted back and forth on the floor; who was this girl? He glanced over at XJ6, who looked slightly concerned as well. 

Sheldon raised a brow as he glanced between the two before him, “Is everything ok?” 

Brad sighed heavily and pulled out his phone. His fingers tapped the back of his phone case as he stared at the screen before handing it over to Sheldon. “You two are gonna need to watch this.” He replied softly, his eyes filled with sorrow. 

Brad stood back as XJ6 made her way next to Sheldon, who pressed play on the video. 

Sheldon gazed in horror as he watched it all play out. The people screamed and ran as Vega and Jenny ferociously attacked everyone, him and XJ6 winced as they watched Jenny pour fry oil all over Mr Mezmer. Sheldon shook his head and mumbled under his breath, “No…no, this isn’t real. This can’t be real…Jenny would never…Vega said she was fine!” His voice caught in his throat at the end when Jenny marched up to the camera and proceeded to push them in the freezer as they begged her to stop. “Jenny…” 

XJ6 stared in shock and disbelief; not a single word came out of her mouth, much to Brad’s surprise. He was slightly expecting some snarky remark about Jenny due to XJ6 being prone to do that. Instead, she just continued to stare at the screen in complete shock.

“I…I don’t understand…Vega said she was doing better…I don’t get it; I mean, she had to be right? Jen sent her here.” Sheldon gaped as the phone dropped out of his hands in confusion. 

“What did she do while she was here? Did she seem off in any way?” Asked Brad 

Sheldon shrugged, “Uhm…we just talked about Jenny. And then I mentioned how old Jenny was, and she just got quiet and left really fast.” 

Brad frowned, confused on why that could cause a reaction, “That’s weird…”

Finally, XJ6 spoke, gaining their attention, “She gave me some strange vibes, too, actually.”  

“Wait, you’re with Jenny the most out of all of us in this room. Do you know anything else about her?” Piped Sheldon, raising a brow.

XJ6 took in a deep artificial breath as Brad stared at her with a deadpan expression. “Well…I mean, she was mostly spending time with Vega rather than me…and I may or may not have been paying that much attention.” She looked away guilty, as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I mean…the popular kids were right there and…I didn’t think it was that big of a deal to not spend time with her. It’s Jenny, after all…she should have…handled it. I just thought she was just being difficult.” She gulped, “A few interactions we did have…I may have said some not-very-nice things.”  

She didn’t dare look either in the eyes; she gazed at the floor with guilt now eating at her. Brad was not shocked but clearly disappointed, while Sheldon faintly gasped, hurt by her statement. “How could you do that? Do you know how much she was struggling? Jenny is your sis…” 

XJ6 deeply frowned as she threw her hand up and shot back defensively, “You don’t think I know that? Ugh, yes, I’m aware that she is my sister! But everyone, including Mom, treats her like she’s some…some precious, fragile golden treasure; meanwhile, I get forgotten and shoved in the basement! Jenny lays in bed all day, and our mom keeps her active; she’s the favorite after all…I lose AN ARM and get discarded! My entire life is in her shadow! For once, I just want to live my life, have friends, and be a teenager! She disappears, and the whole world falls apart….If I disappear…” She paused, words stuck in her throat as she choked, “It’s like I didn’t exist in the first place.” 

Brad and Sheldon silently shared a sympathetic look as XJ6 tried to regain composure, not wanting to break down in tears again. She cleared her throat awkwardly, “Sorry…it’s been a long day for me…I know I don’t show it…but I…I do love her.” 

Brad watched Jessica as she gripped the edge of the hospital bed, both frustrated and clearly embarrassed that she shared all of that with them and the fact she just finally admitted that she loved her sister. “Jess? How much do you remember the time period when Jen was missing?” 

XJ6 shrugged, “Well, I remember being active a few times with my other sisters. The first few, we were ordered to look for Jenny, and most of the time, we just cleaned up whatever Jen destroyed because we arrived after she already left or helped with stuff in the lab.” A twinge of guilt ran through her at the last part, and she hoped the boys didn’t pick up on it. “Other than that, I slightly remember another robot coming in to help fight off the villains for a while alongside XJ8.” 

Sheldon nodded, understanding what she meant as he recalled his former alter ego. “Silver Shell.” 

“,Yeah him… mostly what I remember, though is just trying to find Jenny. That’s what happened.” 

Brad hummed, “Right…well, Uhm, besides that…”

Sheldon piped up irritably, “Except you forgot the part where your mom called off the search and announced Jenny was now a threat and teamed up with Skyway Patrol to get rid of her for good.” He frowned as he attempted to cross his arms but winced once the pain reshot through him. 

“Shel…” Brad glared at him, despite being upset himself, he didn’t want to be that harsh with XJ6. 

XJ6 blinked, stunned in disbelief, “What? Mom wouldn’t do that…Jen is practically her favorite child. The most that would have happened is XJ10 would come along, and she would be deactivated like the rest of us.” 

“Destroyed is the correct word, actually.” Sheldon mumbled, recalling the frustrating conclusion Nora came up with during Jenny’s absence. 

XJ6 froze, still in disbelief, “Wha…no, that’s not…” She glanced over at Brad, who hesitantly nodded, confirming Sheldon’s words. She gulped, “I…I had no idea…mom didn’t tell us that…are you sure?” 

Brad nodded silently, much to her dismay. “It wasn’t just your mom…we all turned against her, except for Sheldon….biggest mistake of my life.” 

XJ6’s eye widened in shock, she didn’t even think any of that could be possible since everyone liked Jenny, right? Yet, Jenny’s very best friend and even their mother gave up on her. She was completely alone…just like her. 

“You see, despite what you think, Jen’s life wasn’t perfect, Jess. I know you think she had some flawless life, but…she didn’t, even before this all happened.” Brad softly spoke. 

Sheldon remarked, “The crust cousins were ruthless on her, and…well, I probably didn’t make it easier for her since I have a crush on her and hang out with her…I’m sure I embarrassed her.” He sadly looked down with guilt. 

Brad patted his shoulder comfortingly, “You did go a little overboard, but you still were a good friend, Shel. You were the one who still believed in her, after all.” Sheldon slightly frowned and nodded, not entirely buying that response. 

XJ6 watched as Brad comforted him; how could she have been so blind? All this time, she thought Jenny was overreacting. However, remembering Jenny’s anger as well as the crust cousin’s harsh prank on her…It didn’t look like an overreaction anymore. The guilt gnawed at her; she should have been there for her. Instead, she just made more problems. Jenny’s face from earlier plagued her mind, and she felt as if her wires were tangled inside, which she believed would be similar to a human having knots in their stomach. She softly mumbled, “I saw her earlier in her room…the room was basically destroyed, she told me to leave and…she kept saying something like she heard it all and…” She gulped as the boys stared at her, “Jen thinks I hate her. I should have stayed…I…” Her throat felt tight as regret settled in, tears once again brimmed in her eyes. Brad placed an arm around her shoulder as she shuddered and whispered, “I’m sorry.”  

Brad nodded as he slightly smiled, proud that she had a change of heart. It shifted into a frown when he thought about what she said. “What did she mean by heard it all?”

“Well…Jenny started saying it when I tried to convince her that she did have people who loved her. She didn’t believe me and kicked me out of the room.” XJ6 recalled.

Sheldon shook his head, “Oh Jenny…she’s getting worse.” He frowned on thought, “And I don’t trust this Vega one bit! What has she been doing or telling her?” 

Brad shrugged, “Who knows…in that video she was talking about payback and deserving respect, something like that.” He sighed as he scuffed his shoe on the floor, “I’m just glad my dad somehow managed to not see it yet, so we have time to resolve this maybe…it wouldn’t end well when he does, I don’t think.” 

“I don’t think my mom had seen it…I haven’t heard from her since last night when she left the hospital, so I’m not sure.” Sheldon commented. “I’m not sure what she would do, actually…she’s more concerned about her job than me, so I don’t know.” He shrugged casually, the comment made both XJ6 and Brad frown in dismay. “We need to fix this…somehow. Hopefully, it’s not too late.” 

“Well, I am with Jenny more than you two, at least…I can stay close by and learn more about Vega and figure out who she is and what she is doing here.” 

Brad nodded, “That’s a good start...and Shel, if Jenny sent Vega here to check on you, maybe now would be a good time to…you know, call her.”  

Sheldon grimaced and shrugged as he glanced at his phone on the table next to him. “I’m not sure, I…I really did screw up our friendship; I mean, I was obsessed all over her, and then she found out the truth with Silver Shell. You saw her, Brad. She was devastated and fuming mad, and…now we’re here.” He shuddered as Brad knowingly nodded, and XJ6 just stared blankly. “I don’t know if she would want to talk to me…she did text me, I didn’t get to respond, and then Vega showed up, and…really, I’m not sure what to do.” Sheldon tightened his grip on the blanket, his eyes filled with guilt and shame. 

“Well, if she tried contacting you before, then obviously she wants to hear from you, Sheldon!” Brad retorted, well aware of his friend’s lack of social awareness. “Out of all of us, she wants you the most.” 

Sheldon twiddled his thumbs for a minute as he stared at his phone. “Well…maybe…”

XJ6 groaned and rolled her eyes, “Oh, for the love of-give me that!” She grabbed the phone off the table and immediately went to his contacts.  She pressed the call button, much to Sheldon’s protest and his redding face from embarrassment. 

“Relax, I’m sure she will be glad to hear…”

The phone beeped instantly, “Hi! You have reached Jenny! Please leave a message after the beep.” 

“Huh…it went straight to voicemail, didn’t even ring.” XJ6 blinked in confusion. “Maybe I can try again.” She pressed the call button, but the result was the same. “That’s so strange…does your phone have service?” Sheldon nodded silently as she stared at the phone and shook her head. “Come on, Jen.” She mumbled to herself, confused. 

“You don’t think…” Sheldon looked up with concern, his voice edged with nervousness.

Brad put a hand up, despite being nervous as well, and tried to be the voice of reason, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. she really does care for you, Shel. She won’t talk to me or probably Jessica, but I know she wanted you, trust me. I don’t talk to her much anymore, but I can tell she does. Maybe she’s just…busy?” Brad suggested with a shrug as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

Sheldon glanced down in thought; all of them hoped Brad was right. They all stared at the phone again when it dinged. “Jenny?” Sheldon quickly grabbed the phone out of his hand, his face brightened.

Sheldon slumped his shoulders in disappointment once he saw the text, “It isn’t her, it’s just my mom…wait.” He narrowed his eyes as he read the text, his face morphed into fear. “Oh no…” It was the video he saw, with his mom adding how she knew she was right about ‘the machine’ and how the authorities had already been called. 

Brad and XJ6 glanced at the screen as well, both becoming mortified as well. Brad gulped. There’s no doubt his dad would know now, or hopefully, the mounds of paperwork would delay it at least. What was he going to say to him? Brad mumbled to himself as XJ6 and Sheldon stared at him, “Well...being at home just got more complicated.”