Growing Pains

by Ivanwright

Life, and it's trials. A complex story of Jennifer Wakmen and her friends as they deal with their developing lives. Complicated by the discovery of a deactivated android, the rise of an old adversary, return of lost friends, and Jennifer's own development.

1. Typical Day

CHAPTER I

A Typical Day

"Normality is the mask we all must don, to shield us, from the every encroaching social monster."

R.D.M

Tremorton High School

It was just another day at Tremorton High. The sun was shining bright overhead, only a single, small cloud challenged it's warm rays, drifting lazily by. The weather was nice, far too nice to be wasted at school. A fact that Bradly Carbunkle and Jennifer Wakeman were discussing as they made their way to school, "So, what do you say? Skateboarding after school?" Brad pushed open the school door as he spoke, Jenny followed him in.

"Well, the weather is nice...Which skate park?" She asked.

"The one down by the mall of course!" Before Jenny could reply, she noticed Brittany and Tiffany Crust, better known as the Crust cousins, in her peripheral vision. Once again the duo were perched atop the social latter, peering down at Brad and Jenny as they walked through the front door. Surrounded by their faithful, the two simply rolled their eyes and headed to class along with their group. It Monday. The day most students dread, except for Jenny. She doesn't care for Mondays anymore than the other students but, it did usually mean that Britt and Tiff where in a funk about the start of the school week, or still hung over from one of Don Prima's weekend extravaganzas. Either way, it generally meant no cruel jokes for her.

"Thank Jobs! I don't think I could take it today, not after the weekend I've had." Jenny processed to herself.

"Skateboarding after school Jen! Be there!" Brad said as he raced the bell to class.

"Oh, I'll be there!" She shot back coyly, walking to class herself. She barley manged step inside and grab a seat before the bell rang. As if he had planned to do so, a disgruntled Mr. Smelhuase stepped in at the exact moment the bell ended.

"Alright now class, page 86. You have 5 minutes to review the chapter before your pop quiz." A unanimous moan filled the classroom.

"Mahn, leave it ta Smelhuase ta make a Mondy worse..." Tiff said quietly to herself. Britt simply moaned in agreement as she stared blankly at her textbook.

"Yeah...typical Monday..." Jenny thought as she slowly opened her textbook.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on as Mondays do. Lunch time finally arrived. Jenny took a seat at her usual table. No, need to stand in line when you bring your own oil. It wasn't long before she was joined by Brad and a ever enthusiastic Sheldon, "Hey Jenny!" Said Sheldon, taking a seat right beside her.

"Hey Sheldon..." She replied in her usual tone, "Hey Brad." She said slightly more enthusiastic.

"Hey Jen, so hows this Monday been treating you?" Brad asked as he sat down.

"Fine other than boring me to death...Oh, pop quiz from Smelhuase. Page 86." She informed them.

"Thanks for the heads up I got him 5th hour." Brad replied, "So, you ready to get your metal but kicked skateboarding after school!" Brad said while giving her a competitive stare yet, still wearing that trademark smile.

"Bring it on Brad! I downloaded every episode of the Tony Squawk show! There's noway your beating me!" She said, matching his stare and smile from across the table.

"Oh yeah? Well I've been practicing." He said, sounding very confident, "Just wait until you see the new an improved Bradster on a board!"

This brought a giggle out from Jenny, "Same old Brad..." She thought.

"Hey, your going skateboarding?" Sheldon chimed in, mouth half full of food, "M-Mind if I tag along?..." He asked, hopefully, with a slight grin.

"Hmmmm...I never would have pegged you for a skater Sheldon." Brad said with a look of quizzical interest. Sheldon swallowed hard under Brads stare.

"W-Well, not really but, it's all just a matter of physics and gravity, besides..." He slightly paused as he looked up at Jenny, "I'm sure you could show me a few moves, right Jenny?" He said with a wide grin an hopeful eyes.

"Same old Sheldon..." Jenny thought as she rolled her eyes, "Fine...but this doesn't mean-" (SMACK) She was interrupted by her chest splitting open and her monitor flying out, hitting Sheldon squarely in the face.

"X-J9. Do you read me?" Mrs. Wakeman asked in a rather calm voice. Normally, Jenny would protest to her mother calling her X-J9, but this time, she was actually thankful for the interruption. Sheldon rubbed his now red nose with a frown.

"Mom, what's going on?" Asked Jenny.

"Oh, nothing to important dear. I was just curious...are you detecting anything...unusual?" Mrs. Wakeman asked. Jenny's pigtails quickly turned into dual parabolic dishes, and her monitor screen switched to show the Earth and the immediate space around it.

"Nothing on my radar." Jenny replied.

"Interesting..." Mrs. Wakeman said tapping her chin with a pen, "I just finished updating my near earth threat monitor's detection grid telemetry. I am now detecting a small object orbiting around the moon..." Mrs. Wakeman paused mid sentence and picked up a notepad. She read softly to herself as she jotted down some notes, the three teens could still hear her, "Must..update..XJ-10...detection...Systems." the boys winced in shock at what Jenny's mother had just said in front of her own daughter, but Jenny acted as though she even didn't care, "Where was I...? Ah,yes. The object is far to small to be direct threat to the Earth, but it is emitting a small amount of radiation. I don't know what it is, but I would like you to check on it regardless."

"OK, mom." Jenny said as she retracted her dish's an turned off her monitor.

Sheldon was first to react, grabbing his hair, "XJ10! YOUR BEING REPLACED!" He practically screamed.

"Whoa, Jen noway! Your moms just going to like, build another daughter an lock you up like your sisters! She can't do that!" Brad said.

"My moms a scientist first, Brad. Her data shows a steady increase in criminal technology, I'm keeping up but, if the current trend continues, then by the time XJ-10 is finished, so will my "Global Defense" days... " She said, "Sigh...The truth is the world has caught up with the mighty XJ-9. "

"Don't say that! There's gotta be a way to talk her out of it! What would I do with out you?" Exclaimed Sheldon.

"I'm sure you'll like XJ-10..." She said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"What about all our adventures together, huh? All the times you've saved us! Not to mention the world!" Brad added, "Doesn't that mean anything?"

"My moms' the worlds foremost robotics scientist. She has to develop new technology to stay on top or she'll lose all of her funding." Jenny replied.

"Your moms loaded! That's no excuse to just replace you! Your the greatest hero ever! The nerve of her! Why I arda-" Sheldon was cut short by a motion of Jenny's hand.

"Guys, moms been working on this for 6 months now. I know its sad to say but...a lot has changed in the past 1 year, 10 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, more robots like YK9 and the Silver Shell are popping up, drawing the attention of companies, and their money." She said rather bluntly, "With how fast technology is developing, she has to update her designs to stay on top...Not to mention the fact that gangs are getting bolder as weapon designs improve...My design can't keep up forever..."She spoke the words sadly as she lowered her head, "We need the funding just to pay the electric bill from me charging every night and have you seen the price of oil these days?!" She exclaimed, "The new model will use less oil and energy all while pretty much being better in every way than me..." Jenny spoke her last sentence rather sadly.

"That doesn't matter!" said Sheldon, "There is no replacing you Jenny! Why, your the most amazing robot ever! I just don't know-" Once again he was cut short.

"Look, I spent all weekend with her going over my systems deficiency's and XJ-10's design...She's...Going to be amazing..." Jenny said solemnly.

"That's harsh." Said Brad, "I cant believe your mom would do that. I mean, I get shes a scientist an all, but damn...Jen no matter what-" He too was cut short.

"Brad, Sheldon please stop... She's nearing completion and if you guys really are my friends then you'll drop it and help me enjoy the time I have left...The funding isn't enough to keep two robots active all the time." The two boys starred at Jenny as she spoke, Jenny just starred at her oil can. Sheldon looked as lost in this world as the day he met her, even Brads trademark smile was gone, now replaced with a slight look of aggravation.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Brad sternly asked, "We're your friends Jen, an we deserved to know."

"I know and I'm sorry... It's just...I've been putting it out of my C.P.U. and I didn't want you guys worrying about me. I came to accept it...After all, that's what happened to my sisters. One by one they were replaced by newer more, efficient models and now, its my turn..." She said, "I just wanted to live my life normally until then..." The rest of lunch was a long stint of silence. Even the student body's usual noise level seemed lower. Brad chased his food around his plate with his fork, occasionally taking a small bite. Sheldon sat quietly staring at his unblinking, he had eaten a few bites but suddenly, didn't feel like eating anymore. Jenny lightly sipped her oil and spoke again, "I will always cherish the memories I have with you guys..." She said softly, "But what I need from you now is to help me make the next couple of months the best ever!" RING! The bell sounded after her sentence, "So, get ready for that but kicking I'm going to serve up later!" She said as she stood with a sudden smile, narrowing her eyes.

Brad, picking up on the sudden smile, replied, "Download whatever you want Jen, there is no replacement for skill! See you there!" He had to force his smile but, he knew she needed it. As Jenny and Brad went there separate ways, Sheldon sat motionlessly, still starring at his plate of half eaten food.

"Its my fault...partly anyway..." He thought to himself as he finally stood to put away his tray and ambled towards class, "She said robots like the Silver Shell, I'm the Silver Shell! I never should have made him he's been nothing but trouble! Now I'm partly to blame for her replacement! I got to tell her about Shell before its to late. She deserves to know..." He put it out of his mind for the time being as he walked into the classroom an took his seat, "Oh, I hate Mondays!"

Brad's locker

Brads mind was mostly blank as he slumped towards his class. The news hit him hard, "Man...I always wanted to be a hero like Jenny, I never really thought about getting replaced though...The price of being a robot I guess..." BAMM! He swung his locker open as the thought passed through his mind, "Damn this sucks!" He said aloud as he threw his books in and slammed the locker back closed. He was mad, "I've replaced calculators before because they were obsolete, but Jenny's not a calculator! Shes my friend, a hero! She's-!" RIIIING The bell ended his train of thought, "Thank god for dodge-ball day! That will keep my mind off of this for a while." Brad thought as he ran into the gym for some much needed P.E.

Jenny looked fine on the outside as she pushed through the school's back door and headed to the parking lot. This wasn't an emergency so, no need to knock a hole in the roof. Inside however, she was an emotional wreck. She had been for the past 6 months. She couldn't stop checking her update widget she had created and stored in her C.P.U., "Just 3 months, 1 week, 2 days give or take..." She was happy that Brad and Sheldon would obviously miss her, but that was also going to make saying good bye a lot harder when the time came. She wanted to cry but, she knew it would be for naught, "Don't cry, make the most of your time Jenny, maybe if you do a really good job, then mom wont replace..." She thought,"Yeah right.." She stopped her own train of process as she spoke these words softy to herself. She stopped in the corner of the parking lot away from the students vehicles. She looked into the sky and sighed as she plotted a course to the moon. A slight whir emitted from her head as her pigtails rotated into flight mode. Click-click. Small rockets protruded from the bottom of her feet, slightly raising her height. A vibrating hum began to build within her as two long wings deployed from her back, ending in small rockets, followed by two smaller ones from her lower back. The vibrating hum exploded into thunder as all the rockets fired at once, "I bet XJ-10 wont have this much trouble escaping Earth's atmosphere.." She processed as she streaked upwards, leaving nothing but scorched asphalt and two small droplets of water on the ground where she stood.

Mrs. Wakeman's lab

"Thank you for your understanding Vice Principle." Nora Wakeman said as she hung up the phone. She had just finished explaining why Jennifer would not be completing her school day. She reached over an grabbed her cup of freshly brewed tea an began to stir. She lightly plucked out the tea bag and dropped it in the trash can as she strolled to her monitoring station and took her seat. She continued to stir while watching the screen. This particular monitor was displaying up to the minute information on the location of the Global Robotic Response Unit. G.R.R.U. XJ-9 was currently a quarter of the way to her target around the Moon.

"Taking her time I see..." She took a sip and let out a soft grunt as the tea was still to hot for her to drink. She sat the tea aside an leaned back in her chair, allowing her eyes to drift close. A scientist's mind is always at work, grinding out new ideas for the future, or new technologies and the like, but Mrs. Wakeman's mind was drifting back, back to the events of six months ago. She knew back then that she wouldn't be able to hide the endeavor of building a new Global Response Unit from the active one. She would have to devote to much time, money and effort into the project to even try. So why bother? It seemed logical to tell her and get all the fighting out of the way.

The Wakeman residence. 6 months ago.

Mrs. Wakeman had been pacing the living room floor for the past 22 minutes exactly, she was counting. She glanced down at her watch again and sighed, "This is going to be tough..." She thought. Finally, the familiar sound of rocket engines could be heard outside, followed by a soft thud as XJ-9 landed on the front lawn. A moment later the door opened an in she stepped.

"Hey mom! Boy what a day! You wont believe-!...whats wrong mom?"

"Um...XJ-9 I think you should sit down." Mrs. Wakeman said while motioning to the couch. Jenny took her seat and looked up worriedly at her mother, "Dear, I think you should know that I've begun working on a new project..." She trailed off as she turned her back to her creation. She couldn't bear to look at her right now, "It's XJ10." As soon as she the words left her mouth, she heard the sound of moving servos and turned around to see her creation standing at the window, looking into the sky with a saddened expression.

"How..How long?" Jenny asked softly.

"If everything goes smoothly...9 months to completion." Mrs. Wakeman replied. It was all jenny could do to keep from breaking down right then and there. She had to concentrate hard to prevent the tiny pistons behind her eyes from squeezing out all of her optical sensor lubricant. The memories where still fresh from the permanent deactivation of her sisters.

In a shaking voice, she asked something that caught her mother off guard, "Mom...Do you remember my activation day?"

"Of course dear, it was August 1, 2078. Why do you ask?" Mrs. Wakeman asked back.

"No reason..." Jenny replied, "I'm going up to my room for a while..." Mrs. Wakman watched her trudge slowly up the stairs.

Present day

Nora leaned forward in her chair and grabbed the cup of tea. She took a moment to breath in it's aroma before taking a big gulp. She glanced up at the monitor to see that XJ-9 was close to the moon. She then looked down into her cup, remembering how long it was after that conversation before they spoke again. Once they did, she had to ask her daughter a difficult question. She had to ask her for her help.

Mrs. Wakeman's lab. 3 Months ago

Nora had been feeling guilty for the past 3 months but, being a scientist, she wouldn't allow such a silly thing as emotions to distract her from her work. She had worked herself into a metaphorical corner, trying to write the programming for the new model. Building a new AI from scratch would take far longer than expected, especially one more advanced than XJ-9's. She needed real world data, a programmable foundation on which to build and improve. She needed a copy of XJ-9's current files. After all, her system had developed a great deal since her activation.

Tremorton

Jenny was currently finishing up with a couple of bank robbers, handing them over to the police,"Thanks little lady, we'll take it from here." The officer complimented.

"No biggie, just make sure they stay locked up this time." She replied while activating her pigtail rockets. She waved goodbye to the officers and headed home. About halfway there, her belly-bolt began to flash and her chest plate slide open and out popped her communications monitor. Her Mother's face appeared on the screen.

"Are you busy X-J9?" Nora asked.

"Nope, just finished up actually. Whats up?" Jenny answered.

"Well,...You see...I've been working on the new AI program that will allow XJ-10 to interact with the outside world in an appropriate manner and...Well.." Nora spoke nervously.

"Just spit it out mom." Jenny sternly demanded.

"I...Need to download and copy the data in your hard drives to help complete the algorithms necessary for XJ-10 to properly carry out her programming. I also want to give her some of the accumulated information to help-" Jenny cut her off.

"You want to download my personality?! My memories?! How could you!" She lost her temper a little more with each word, "And then what?! DEACTIVATE ME TOO?!"

"Don't you raise your voice at me young lady!" Nora countered.

"SAVE IT! It's not like I can say no anyway! You'll just sneak in my room at night and take them while I'm in sleep-mode! I'll be home... Later, you can alienate my mind and retrieve your precious data then." With that, the video communication monitor went blank on Nora's end.

Present day

Nora, no longer able to look at her own reflection in the cup, took another strong gulp. Trying in vain to douse the flame of emotion that now raged inside of her, "How could I, a world renown scientist, have been so blind, so foolish..." She said to herself as the memories of the past weekend began to rush back into her mind.

The past weekend

Once again, Nora Wakeman was in her lab working on her latest project. No, not XJ-10, but a small treat for XJ-9. Her guilt had finally reached a level where it could no longer be completely ignored. She felt she should reward her daughter for her cooperation in the project. The truth was, she needed her help once more. She had a warm can of oil on a tray along with a small pile of what appeared to be charcoal smothered with grease. She picked up the tray and proceeded up the stairs from her lab, through the living room, and up the staircase to the door to XJ-9's room. She sighed deeply to gain her composure before knocking on the door.

Knock,knock,knock, "XJ-9, may I come in?" Jenny raised up into a sitting position on the side edge of her bed, not bothering to reply. She extended her arm out to the door, and opened it for her mother. Nora walked in, cautiously she approached her daughter and sat down beside her, "I brought you a little something." Nora picked up one of the mysterious lumps and handed it to XJ-9 with a smile.

After scanning the odd object for a few moments, Jenny asked, "OK...I give up...What is it?"

"My latest creation. It's highly dense compacted carbon crystals. I made them by infusing diamonds with electromagnetic energy. The process deforms and discolors them but, they now possess a massive amount of energy stored inside." Nora said very proudly, "Unfortunately, they are not cost effective to make, meaning the amount of energy they produce does not equal the amount of money it takes to create them."

"Gee...Thanks..." Jenny said, still a little puzzled by the entire situation, "Why did you make them then? And what am I suppose to do with them?"

"I know how much you like to try doing human things so...I thought you might want to try...Eating them." Jenny gave her mom a quizzical look. She never allowed her to eat anything before for fear of damaging her mouth from chewing or the oil tube that leads to her pump, "Well go on! Just chew and swallow! They're covered with axle grease to help them go down and I brought some oil to wash down the crumbs." Jenny was excited to try out eating and happily popped one in her mouth an began to chew. She quickly discovered she enjoyed this action, as evidence, she wore a wide grin and quickly popped in another one. She swallowed and took a big gulp of oil.

"Whoa, that's different...I can feel it sliding down inside me." Jenny said spitting out a few crumbs.

"Ha ha of course you will have to convert your abdomen into an incinerator in order to use them but, they will release enough thermal energy for one complete charge, no plugging in necessary ha ha." Nora chuckled at the sight of her daughter eating. Jenny's hands where covered with grease, she even managed to cover the bottom half of her face with crumb filled grease, "Here's a towel dear, I think you need some practice."

"So...hows XJ-10 coming along?" Jenny asked while cleaning her face.

"On schedule...But I need your help once again..I need you in the lab so I can review the amount of wear and tear on your internal structure in order to make necessary improvements to XJ-10's designs."

"So! Violating my mind wasn't enough!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Dear, you have to understand that this is all necessary to complete XJ-10 in time for the World Robotics Expo. Mogg has made some astonishing updates to YK-9 but, my XJ-10 will blow that buffoon out of the competition!" Nora exclaimed herself.

"Oh I understand perfectly well!" Jenny nearly screamed as she stood up, knocking the tray to the ground, "This was just a bribe! All you wanted was to get me in your lab and take me apart!" Jenny's optics couldn't contain their lubricant this time, and through tear filled eyes she said, "All you care about is your Precious XJ-10! What about me mom?! What about your daughter?!"

"This isn't about you XJ9! It's about protecting the world, the greater good-" Jenny had reached her breaking point now, cutting off her mother.

"BULLSHIT! It's all about the money! The government and private contracts! That's all you care about! That's why you shutdown my sisters and that's why your building my replacement! That and your stupid rivalry with Mogg!" Jenny unleashed her verbal fury.

"XJ9 how dare you speak to me this way!" Nora shouted back. Jenny was now trembling with sadness and anger. She turned towards her bedroom window and began to walk away from her mother as she spoke.

"You know? It's one thing to not care about me as a person...It's another thing entirely to not even respect me enough to call me Jenny..." The tears in her voice were as evident as the ones on her face.

"Where do you think your going?" Nora angrily questioned.

"Out...And don't worry, I'll be back soon enough for you to disassemble me..." With that Nora was left standing alone in her daughter's room. Shaking with anger, her eyes fell to the spilled oil on the floor. Slowly seeping away, staining the beautiful carpet.

Present day

Nora had to remove her glasses and set them aside on her desk. She could no longer see through them anyway, not with all the tears in her eyes. The pain of memories can be as real as a gunshot wound and they felt just hurtful as she rubbed at the droplets. Ever since the day she found out she was sterile, she had devoted her life to doing great things. Things like, joining Skyway Patrol, fighting in the Intergalactic War and building a global defense droid. All vain attempts at covering her pain. She had always wanted a daughter and deep down, she knew all along what she had really been building over the years. She just wasn't ready to accept the fact that she had finally done it, she had created a daughter. Now, the weight of this realization was crushing her heart, "I've treated you like a machine and all this time you've...You've truly loved me..." She looked down as her tears fell on XJ-9 blueprints. She noticed something in the upper left corner, "August 1, 2078...Her activation day...It's only 3 months away...Einstein's ghost! I'm working on a replacement for my own daughter and it's going to be complete on her activation day! What have I done?" She sobbed into her hands for a moment until the wheels of her scientific mind began to turn once more, "I have to make this right." Suddenly she sat up straight with an odd motherly smile. She rolled her chair over to her computer and began typing furiously, "XJ...Jenny is going to have an activation day she will never forget!" She said aloud as she typed. "Uhhh..and mental note, throw out the rest of Wisteria's Inner Journey Herbal Meditation Tea..."

Somewhere between the Earth and Moon

Jenny hadn't been flying for very long, only five minutes or so. She could reach amazing speeds in space with little effort, what with no gravity and all. In-fact, she was taking her time, releasing her frustrations on passing small meteors. A swift roundhouse kick turns another space rock into space dust. She revved up her rockets and plowed through a truck sized meteor and onto the Moon. Another minute of flying and the quietness of the vacuum began to let her C.P.U. calculate, "I can't believe this is happening...I always knew the day was coming, I just thought she wouldn't go through with it...I thought she loved me..." Jenny sighed into the emptiness of space and looked out past the moon, "Maybe I should just keep flying..." She continued to process, about her sisters and about what it must be like to be shutdown. She even briefly wondered about robot-heaven, but quickly pushed them all from her C.P.U. She had a mission to complete. A few moments more of flying and her target was in sight. It was obvious to her immediately that this was not a meteor. From it's coffin shape, to the way the moons light reflected off it's rusted surface. She hovered up beside the object and deployed a small screen from her wrist and began sweeping it back and forth slowly over the object, giving her a 3-D image inside her C.P.U.. Her scans reveal little more than static,"Must be the radiation interfering with my scans...Wait...I can just make out a structure...Looks like circuitry and gears..." Jenny stored the information, "There's a shape inside, can't make out what it is though. I better check in with mom." She closed her eyes and concentrated, her left pigtail unfolded into a parabolic dish, opening a radio channel back at her mothers lab.

Mrs. Wakeman's lab

Nora was busy reworking the designs for XJ-10 when her radio went off, "Mo...do..ed...me?" Jenny's static voice called out. Nora rolled her chair over to the radio and grabbed the mic.

"Yes dear. There's a lot of interference though, what have you found?" Nora asked.

"I...contact. Obj... unkn...gin.…..dation levels minimal." The static barely allowed Jenny's voice to be audible.

"Oh I cant understand a word your saying XJ-9, just bring it back to the lab and hurry will you?" Nora said as she hung up the mic, "Oh I cant wait to show XJ-9 my new designs!" She thought to herself as she rolled back to her workbench and began working on some calculations.

At the Moon

"...can't...tand...XJ-9 just...back to the lab...hurry..." That was all Jenny heard. She didn't take a moment to process the radiation interference, she didn't process about anything. She simply sat in stunned silence for a moment then let out a silent scream into the void as icy tears floated from her optics. She had been bottling up her emotions for far to long now and felt as if she would explode. She had to let off some steam. She raced towards the surface of the moon, leaving a 10ft wide crater with her impact, "She doesn't care about me...at all..." With that thought process, Jenny started to sprint across the moon, "I'm just...Just a damn robot to her..." Jenny's sprint had quickly turned into a run, a 98.34 mph run according to her speedometer, "She still can't even call me Jenny." Jenny was now traveling at an alarming 226.89 mph and gaining speed, "She..She doesn't even care about my activation day!" As this process passed through her C.P.U., Jenny literally floored it, letting out another silent scream that would have shattered windows for miles back on Earth, and slammed into a mountain created by an asteroid long ago. She cut loose inside the rock, letting her emotions fuel her body. The mountain crumbled to her fury, and with an explosion of energy what was left turned to dust. Jenny sat on her knees in the crater for a moment, trying to compose herself as the small chunks of Moon rock slowly drifted around her. She had that building up inside of her for the past 6 months. She was drained mentally after letting it all out. She examined the scuffs that covered her paint, "Great another lecture from mom..." She stood up and dusted herself off, then proceeded to hover up to the object. Once beside it, she extended a metal cable from the middle of her back and attached it to the object and headed for home.

The Wakeman residence

Mrs. Wakeman was pacing back and forth in her lab, awaiting the arrival of XJ-9. She had also just gotten off the phone with Sheldon. Sheldon is quite intelligent for his age and Nora wanted his assistance with the examination of the object, "Huff...huff...Mrs...Wakeman...I got here as fast as I could..."

"My word Sheldon! Did you run all the way here?" Nora questioned, "And please, call me Nora."

"You bet! I mean...my car broke down and I wouldn't miss this for the world! Uh...Nora." Sheldon nervously replied. Nora looked at her watch.

"Well your just in time! My daughter should be here right about...NOW!" Right on que, the entire house shook as a sonic boom thundered across the sky outside. Jenny was coming in hot, literally. The citizens of Tremorton gasped as a fireball streaked over head, aimed directly at the Wakeman residence. The fireball extinguished itself only a hundred feet or so above the ground. Jenny gracefully landed in the driveway with her cargo in hand. She carried the alien artifact into the garage, witch had been setup for reentry and cool down. After being saturated with coolant foam, and misted with acid, Jenny and her cargo were washed down with a special solution. She then preceded to the lab. The second she walked in, Jenny was greeted by Sheldon. He had recently ditched his hoody for a plain black t-shirt.

"OhmygoshJennywhathappened?" He spat out in one breath.

"Calm down Sheldon, just a meteor shower I ran into." Jenny replied.

"X...uh Jenny, are you sure your alright?" Nora asked with general concern. The word Jenny coming from her mothers mouth caught her off guard a bit.

"Uh yeah mom...I'm sure. Where do you want this thing?" Jenny asked. Nora ran to a near by table and, unceremoniously, shoved everything on it into the floor.

"Over here will be fine." She replied. Jenny walked over and sat it down. Immediately Nora and Sheldon began walking circles around the object, giving it quizzical looks.

"Well its defiantly not from Earth..." Sheldon said as Nora walked over to her computer and began entering a command.

"Indeed..." Was all that Nora said as she keyed in a command and pressed the enter key. The lights in the lab all dimmed and a rectangular piece of machinery the size of the table lowered from the ceiling. It stopped about a foot from the object and began emitting a very eerie looking green laser that sweep over the object on the table. After a moment of scanning, the lights brightened once more.

"Wwwwhhoooaaa! Nice light show Mrs. W! That was a Electromagnetic spectrometer right?" Said Brad.

"Why yes it was, I made some modifications to it of course but..." Nora paused to narrow her eyes and look up at Brad from her seat with an annoyed expression, "How did you get into my lab Bradly?"

"And how did you get out of school so early?" Jenny asked as she walked up to them.

"One: you left the door open. Two: Tuck thought if he snorted milk up his nose it would come out his ears...And it did. Soooooo...I had to go pick him up from his school an take him to the doctor so they could drain the chocolate milk out." Brad answered.

"Gross..." Jenny replied with a look of disgust. Nora's computer began decoding the information, Sheldon and her both read the numbers with bated breath. Brad gave Jenny the look that only he could pull off. His eyes seemed to say, "How are you?" and "I'm here, no matter what." all at the same time. Jenny looked down at her feet.

"Guys! Guys! Look at these results!" Sheldon exclaimed as he read the information scrolling across Nora's computer screen, "It's a stasis chamber!"

"Hmmmm...your right. According to this, it seems to operate off of wireless transmissions. All we need to do is find the wireless transmission of the proper frequency and we can open it." She said very matter of factly.

"Wait, wait, wait...Whats a stasis chamber, and why do we wanna open it?" asked Brad.

"A stasis chamber is a containment vessel designed to preserve various items for long periods of time." Jenny replied.

"I guess you have been paying attention in science class. This one however, appears to be able to sustain objects for thousands of years if need be, far exceeding Earth technology. Sheldon, would you be a dear a bring me that box on top of my filing cabinet?" Nora asked. Sheldon walked over to the cabinet and reached up he had to stand on the tips of his toes, but he managed to reach the box. He carried it over to Nora and sat it down. She proceeded to throw various pieces of equipment out until she found what she was looking for. All the while explaining to Brad the importance of opening the chamber, "And to answer your second question Bradly, there may be technology inside vital to creating new medicines, weapons..."

"Or a boy robot..." Jenny cut her off with a far away look and dreamy expression on her face.

"Or a girl robot..." Sheldon briefly thought to himself.

"Or a blood thirsty monster!" Brad exclaimed waving his hands and rolling his eyes.

"Relax Brad, you sound like Tuck. I already scanned it. There's no signs of life." Jenny reassured him.

"AH HA!" Nora proclaimed that she had found what she was looking for. She proudly held up the device, "This is my patented wireless frequency decoder and duplicator!" She exclaimed. She walked over to the object and began circling it, pointing the device at it the entire time and intensely studying every beep the decoder made. After watching her for a minute, Sheldon walked over to Brad and Jenny.

"So Tuck actually snorted milk?" Sheldon asked

"Third time this week, dad couldn't get off this time so I had to go get him. I figured, I'm a senior now right? I don't need to go back today." Brad said, "What about you? How did you get out so early?" He asked Sheldon.

"Oh well...being a nerd does have it's advantages. I only go for half a day. The rest I spend in my gara...I mean my lab, working on that NASA computational algorithm." Sheldon replied.

"Oh yeah...I forgot about that. I guess your college is paid for, huh?" Brad said.

"Yeah...What about your football scholarship? Your college future is set too, right?" Sheldon pried.

"Oh yeah!" Brad said as he posed with a smile on his face. Indeed Brad became the star of the Quakers ever since Jenny quit the team. The training had really paid off for his body too. He's not huge but he has become noticeably muscular, with a little bit of a 5 o'clock shadow. He doesn't wear his trade mark vest and white shirt anymore, just his football jersey and jeans. "So, what about you Jen? Got into any good colleges?"

"I applied t a few. You'll have to wait for XJ-10 to see if which accepted me..." Jenny replied as she looked down at the floor. The two boys just frowned, remembering what happened at lunch. Brad mentally kicked himself for asking.

"Eureka! I have deciphered the signal!" Nora announced, "All I have to do is press this button and..." Nora pressed the button, "Presto!" The teens braced themselves for anything. The sight and sound of pressurized gas escaping the chamber pushed fear into their minds. Brad stood nervously beside Jenny who took a defensive stance, while Sheldon peaked over her shoulder. Nora slowly backed away as the top half of the object lifted away and hovered to the side. It crashed down onto the floor with a heavy metallic thud. The entire group cautiously approach the object and peak over the side to see, "A human!" Exclaimed Nora. Inside was what appeared to be a human male in his early 20's. 6ft tall Caucasian with brown hair. He appeared to be about 160lbs. He had on a strange looking metallic v shaped black vest and black loose fitting metallic pants.

"Noway! My scan showed no signs of life!" Jenny exclaimed.

"It's not human..." Sheldon interrupted, "It's a automaton! See the lines that separate each individual outer plate?" He pointed out.

"Well Jen, way to hit the nail on the head." Brad said as he poked the creatures forehead with his pointer finger.

"Cut that out!" Nora yelled as she slapped Brads hand, "I don't want to risk activation until we know exactly what we are dealing with!" To late, a low hum began to emanate from the robot.

"Oh brother, here we go..." Jenny said in a worried tone.