Summary: A My Life as a Teenage Robot fanfic one shot. Takes place immediately after "The Return of Raggedy Android". Jenny and Brad contemplate their normality desires.
Disclaimer: My Life as a Teenage Robot characters and plot belong to Nickelodeon, Viacom, and Rob Renzetti.
Normality and Beauty
"Way cool stereo, Jenny!" one teen called.
"Thanks!" Jenny cheerfully replied, blasting her chest stereo.
"And awesome music choices!" another teen complimented.
Jenny merrily smiled and slightly blushed. She had fought against Letta and her biker gang to save everyone who partied at Mezmer's, the most popular teenage hangout spot, after fighting herself and the exo-suit. But once the establishment's owner dismissed her based on his strict policy, she firmly relocated the party. And everyone who attended that event followed her.
"I can't believe I'm the center of attention! And it's for something that's good! Here I am hanging out with normal teens, dancing the night away."
She highly enjoyed Don Prima's attention, the most popular male student attending Tremorton High School. Standing by her, he suavely remarked, "It sure has been a fine night with you."
"Uh, yeah, you, too," Jenny giggled a bit.
Brad, who also stood next to Jenny, smoothly asserted, "Maybe you should invite her to your next party."
"Perhaps I will," Don nodded. He then turned to Jenny. "See you around."
The party departed for the night; teens chatted while heading their separate ways. The robot girl stored away her chest stereo. Now all who stood in the once dancing square were her and her redhead friend. The only noise came from moving cars and the chirping crickets. The peaceful atmosphere relaxed them.
"Wow, that was the most fun I had in days!" Jenny squealed delighted. "I can't believe I was able to hang out with everyone like this!"
"I'm glad you had fun," Brad smiled. "So are you done acting like a high and mighty queen? You were almost as bad as Brit and Tiff."
Jenny grew embarrassed. Her mother had designed her to be a hero, to save Tremorton citizens whenever trouble struck. Yet she had acted idly in order to preserve her appearance, her beauty and normality. In her hidden truth, she did enjoy the glamorous spotlight, especially from the boys. She recalled the brawl and the incident that happened to her friend.
She lowered her head a bit. She placed her hands behind her and bashfully kicked. "Sorry about your job. You had it all working at Mezmer's."
"Hey, don't worry about it; I'll find another one soon. No way I'd work for someone who discriminates against my best friend." He then laughed, "Maybe I'll get one that doesn't have me wear a hat to mess up my hair. It takes a lot of work to get it like this."
Jenny smiled, grateful someone stayed by her side despite her liabilities and her makeup design. "Shall we head back to our homes?"
"Sure, but heads up: If you ever do something like that again, I'll use one of my squirt guns on you."
Jenny giggled. "I'm glad that Brad and I live in the same neighborhood. He's always there for me whenever I need a friendly ear."
While the two left the alley and entered the better lit street, her eyes caught something on her friend. She yelled alarmed, "You're bleeding!"
"Huh?" Brad felt a little fluid dripping and checked his nose. He looked at his hand and spotted red drops, crimson that contrasted the night. "Oh, it's just a little nose bleed. Probably from what Letta and everyone did to me. It's no big deal."
"But you also have scratches on your face! Let's go back to your place and clean you up!"
Before Brad could protest, Jenny snatched his wrist and yanked him along.
"Are your parents home?" Jenny asked while the two entered the Carbunkle domain. The lights everywhere were off, saved for one hallway nightlight.
"Nah, they're still out of town on business," Brad replied, returning the house key into his pocket. "But let's keep it down; Tuck's supposed to already be in bed."
"Pretty cool that they trust you two to be by yourselves."
"They gave some restrictions, but yeah. I can have all the frosted crunch cereal and chocolate sauce I want. And Tuck gets to stay up an extra thirty minutes."
They entered the living room. Despite two boys inhabiting the house, the ground was spotless. Brad turned on the nightstand's lamp. He took a tissue positioned next to the lamp and covered his nose.
Jenny pointed to the furniture and directed, "Now sit there on the couch, and I'll go bring the First Aid kit."
"Yes, Mom," Brad joked.
Right as the mechanical girl departed, he dropped himself on the soft cushions, placing his feet up. He immediately felt a sticky, hard patch on the cushion.
"What the?" He investigated what he felt. He identified peanut butter as the culprit. "Ugh, Tuck."
He disregarded the stain and leaned his head back, drowsily exhaling. The thrashing he received earlier ached his body. In addition, he had already worked a long and tiresome shift consisting of moping, re-stalking, taking orders, bringing out orders, and performing other duties.
"Hmm… Maybe all this was a favor for me. Now I have time to do the actual hanging out rather than running around."
Jenny returned holding a mini white box, and Brad sat up. She sat next to her friend. "How's that bloody nose coming along?"
"I think it stopped. Nothing to worry about."
"Better play it safe." Jenny unlocked the case and rummaged through the supplies.
Brad cracked a smile. "Should I even trust you with this? Taking care of human wounds is a lot different from robot ones."
"Hey, I've seen enough romantic comedies to know how this goes," Jenny laughed. "Where do you keep the chlorine gas?"
"What?!"
"I'm kidding."
She ripped an alcoholic wipe package. She turned to her friend, placed one hand on his shoulder, and ordered, "Now hold still."
As the towlette touched his open skin, Brad clamped his eyes and hissed. "Get that off me!"
Jenny remained collected despite her friend's outburst. She satisfyingly smirked, "See? I knew we needed to treat these wounds. The alcohol means it's working; it's killing all those germs surrounding your face."
"Treating my wounds? Seems more like you're maiming me even more!"
"Hey, you're supposed to keep your voice down, in case Tuck's asleep. Now be a big boy and accept your treatment."
Brad bit his lower lip while his friend cleansed the other side of his face. His body had already clogged up the wounds.
Jenny tossed the used alcohol wipe into a trash right next to a nightstand. She then returned to the kit. "All done with the cleaning. Now we just need to bandage it."
Brad sighed relieved.
Jenny opened up a few Band-Aids. She carefully placed them over the wounds, one on Brad's cheek and the other below his chin. "Those should heal up pretty soon."
"Thanks, Jen." Brad said when the whole ordeal was completed.
"It's no problem. It's the least I can do."
"The least? How can you say it's the least when you just went after a gang of galactic bikers?"
Jenny withdrew any remarks. She gloomily turned her eyes towards the ground. Her shoulders slightly stood up while she placed her hands on her lap. Her face openly displayed a frown. Her guilt wrapped her like the enhanced exo-skin.
"Jenny?" Brad called, concerned seeing his typically sunny friend turn low-spirited.
"Well, I don't get a chance to just hang out with everyone casually. For starters, I just wanted to be in a place where every teen hung out."
"I can tell. You seemed so happy to just be."
"Anyone fighting aliens on a daily bases would want to."
"Maybe. But being a normal teen can get boring pretty fast."
"Easy for you to say. You can walk anywhere without having people stare at you and call you 'freak' to your face. What if some other places have a discrimination policy against robots? It's like I have to go through extra hoops just for something normal."
Bad gave Jenny a sympathetic look. "I guess battling all these aliens is just normal for her."
He tried to offer her condolences. "Jen, you shouldn't always be concerned with social norms. If there is a place with that type of policy, let's not give them our business. You know I like hanging out with you, and it's even better if you're comfortable."
"But I wanted to fit in! With that exo-skin, it was actually nice having real nails to paint and real hair to brush. Nothing mechanical like what I have now."
"What's wrong with your mechanical look?"
"Nothing, but the attention I got from the boys… Even you were surprised with how I looked. If anything, I say you were hitting on me."
"Maybe I was impressed with your new appearance; Dr. Wakeman sure did a heck of job considering how you first looked with that rag on. But I did say you were my best friend. And I stood up for you." He defensively crossed his arms. "Not that it seemed to matter to you when you got that new attitude."
"Oh, like having attention and looking nice never meant anything to you," Jenny angrily countered. "What about all the prep you do? Your hair, your clothing, why you worked at Mezmer's in the first place? Isn't being normal good?"
The duo came to a stalemate. Each teenager did have a reason behind his and her action. But each one did long for one thing: Acceptance. Acceptance from peers and acceptance from oneself. The two acquiescently spent their allowances on the right products, between manicures, haircuts, beauty supplies, and outfits. Their peers' praise drove them to do anything they could for it. Shallow, perhaps. But teens lived that way.
"What's going on?" a sleepy voice called, breaking the tension.
Jenny and Brad spotted a little boy with unkempt black hair. He wore an orange pajama set with bear feet. He rubbed one eye to wipe away his sleep.
"Nothing, Tuck," Brad answered, controlling his tone towards his brother. "Go back to bed."
The boy ignored his instructions, favoring a chance to learn some juicy gossip. He looked at his brother and spotted the bandages. "Is this for some sort of school project? Does she plan to dress you as a mummy?"
"No, Jenny's just helping me out."
"Oh." Rather than head to bed, Tuck walked close to the sofa. "What time are you working tomorrow?"
Jenny looked at Brad, who simply replied, "I'm not. I had quit."
Tuck became stunned but quickly smirked. "Ooh! Mom and Dad are going to be steamed when they find out!"
Brad, however, remained unfazed. "Not as mad if they see that peanut butter stain on the couch. When do you plan to clean that up?"
Tuck grew uneasy. He drew his eyes at his wrist, like he was looking at a watch. He innocently declared, "Oh, look at the time. I ought to get going to bed!"
He dashed back for his room.
Brad triumphantly smirked.
"Are your parents really going to be that upset?" Jenny anxiously asked.
"They just wanted me to get a job to, you know, learn responsibilities and stuff." He then sighed. "But you're right; I thought Mezmer's would be a good choice because it'd give me a chance to be with everyone. I did try and look my best in that apron, bow tie, and paper hat, even if Mr. Mezmer worked me like a dog. I guess we all assimilate into social norms, often without even realizing it."
Her friend's confession rendering her speechless, Jenny thought about leaving the house next door. She remained embarrassed and remorseful; Brad stood up for her, both at Mezmer's and at school, yet she had snapped at him, her best friend. She had permitted Letta's gang to treat him like a punching bag while she acted frivolously, disinterested in her original responsibilities in favor of a natural exterior and traditional standard.
"I'm really sorry about what happened," Jenny solemnly mumbled.
"Sorry? For what?"
"You got pounded pretty badly by Letta and her gang. And you got that nasty atomic wedgie. You took action while I acted stupid just because I wanted to feel normal for a change."
"What was going on? Something was definitely up with you."
"I don't know if you'd get it."
"Jen, I was just up against four and a half fishy space bikers. Plus, I've seen you battle giant robots and aliens firsthand. I think I can handle whatever explanation you have."
The robot girl studied her friend's eyes. She found his usual upbeat and cheerful personality alongside a splash of genuine concern, concern for her, a robot. "Believe it or not, it was the suit."
"The suit? The thing that made you look… uh…"
"Normal?"
"Well…"
"It's ok. That's what I was hoping for. I was so desperate to go to Mezmer's without being judged that I went looking for that suit no matter how raggedy it looked. I may have fought that Cluster ambassador and other weirdos bringing harm to Tremorton, but the weirdest thing was that the suit came alive."
"Alive? How?"
"At some point the exo-skin came over me the other night, and it talked to me—saying what normal and beautiful girls are like—that I look beautiful and normal with it on."
"But Jen—"
"I tried to argue back, that I'm beautiful in my own way. But it did feel good to see myself with skin over my mechanical body. That exo-skin had me believe that the only way to be beautiful was to be normal. Normal was good."
The two turned their eye contacts away from each other as they fell quiet. Before they met, Jenny had only vacated her bedroom to employ her weaponry in outer space while Brad attended school and hung out with normal teens. They shared a longing, a longing to break their typical routine definition. Perhaps the robot girl was similar to the boy she sat with.
"So where is the exo-skin?" Brad asked.
"I dunno. Guess it'll show up soon enough. Mom probably has a tracker on it or something." Jenny then sighed, "Even though that suit was self-centered, the only good thing about it was that Mom let me leave the house without question. I'll sure miss that."
"Maybe it's best if we don't see it ever again," Brad insisted, cackling lightly. "I like my best friend just the way she is, with all her freaky and mechanical features."
"And I like my best friend as he is, even if he spends a little too long on his appearances, especially his hair."
The two smiled at each other, glad that they restored their friendship without realizing that all teens go about protecting and preserving the bonds that they share with one another. Jenny was glad she had such a gift. She wanted the most to save her friend when he was in danger; his genuine dedication to her helped realize her individual standard of normality.
"I should get going," Jenny insisted, feeling much lighter minus the exo-suit. "It's been a long day for the both of us."
"What's Dr. Wakeman gonna say about her daughter coming from her neighbor's place so late at night? You may have a surplus of laser guns, but she treats you like any mom with a daughter."
"I'll let her know that some weird biker gang from outer space caused some problems. She'll understand that I was just doing my job."
"I sure hope so. It's cool that you get to save the world and have all these awesome adventures, but it's great that the two of us get to have time to, you know, kick back and relax."
"Like normal teens."
The two laughed.
"Good night, Brad."
"Good night, Jenny."
The girl exited her friend's home. Rather than fly straight to her bedroom, she took a stroll on the sidewalk, enjoying the remaining calm and peaceful night. A few crickets chirped as the sky twinkled with stars. She came up to her front door. Before letting herself in, she returned her gaze towards her neighbor's house. She saw the second level lights were on, meaning Brad now had the daunting task of putting Tuck back to bed, fulfilling his own duties as a brother.
"Brad and Tuck were the first to really welcome me into the world I'm programmed to save. Though Tuck's initial resentment was expected, Brad completely welcomed me. I may want to be normal, but those two at least accepted me even when I go out and battle giant robots and aliens."
She pleasantly smiled.
"Is it possible to feel both normal and special at the same time?"
The End