25. Chapter 25
Sure enough, Mr. Filman was right. People were rioting in the streets. For most of them, their only light sources were hand held.
The military was currently dispatching troops to the largest cities to try to end the riots. The president feared that there would be no end of the chaos for quite a while. Even though it was daylight on the other side of the planet, people were still rioting. The chaos wasn't as heavy as it was on the dark side of the planet, but the sunny side would soon become dark as well. It would be a cycle that could repeat itself for a very long time.
Whoever thought of this plan was a tactical genius. They waited until the people of the Earth, including the ones in power, felt so secure that they were convinced nothing anywhere close to being this serious could ever actually happen. That's when they decided to strike, and they struck a mighty blow indeed. Instead of attacking one specific location, they decided to attack everything all at once. Exactly how they were able to set everything up without anyone realizing the seriousness of it all ahead of time was beyond anyone's understanding. No one had even the slightest clue as to who was responsible for this atrocity. The worst part about it all was that they also had no idea what else could be in store for them.
Meanwhile, the XJs had their hands full. The police force of any city could only handle a small portion of the crisis, so wherever any of the XJs decided to go, they were basically on their own.
The most populated city being New York City, XJ8 decided to try her luck there. It would be one hell of a battle, even for her, the physically strongest of the sisters. One human was child's play for her to handle, but handling around ten million people would be a desperate struggle for survival. It would be tough enough to save the people, but she also had to worry about saving herself.
Los Angeles, California was the second most heavily populated. XJ6 went there. Chicago, Illinois was next. XJ7 went there. Houston, Texas was next. XJ4 went there. Phoenix, Arizona was next. XJ5 went there. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was next. XJ3 went there. San Antonio, Texas was next. XJ2 went there.
With very limited resources, this was the best they could manage. They all realized that they might die that night. Even if they survived that night, there was the night that would immediately follow that one on the other side of the planet. At this point, the situation seemed completely hopeless.
XJ8 finally reached the edge of New York City. The view was mostly scattered flames that stretched for hundreds of square miles. It was too dark to see much else. She could hear yells, screams, and crying from people everywhere. She could hear vehicles exploding, windows breaking, and guns of all kinds firing.
"I could never fully understand why humans behave this way. It is illogical. Nevertheless, this is what we were originally created for. We are supposed to protect the human race, be it from outside threats, or from each other. According to my calculations, I only have a two point three percent chance of survival," She said.
She activated her infrared vision and started flying straight into an area were humans were most heavily concentrated.
"There is no turning back now," She said.
XJ6 landed in the middle of Los Angeles with her infrared vision already activated ready to fight.
"Come on, show me what you got," She yelled as she charged directly into the fray.
XJ7 landed in Chicago staring into the chaos with one of the most disappointed frowns on her face that she's ever had.
"They're in an even more miserable state than even I've ever been in," she said as she headed towards what she could've sworn was a building with person or some kind of large object falling from one of its windows.
XJ4 landed in Houston disgusted at all the damage that she could see.
"Look at this mess. I really hope they don't expect me to clean this up when this is all over," she said while dodging a baseball bat someone tried to hit her with.
XJ5 landed in Phoenix. Well, she doesn't have legs of any kind, so she didn't literally land.
"This is gonna be rough. I seriously hope I survive this," she said as she tried to think of the best place to start.
XJ3 finally landed in Philadelphia. She had never dreamed that she would have to handle this many people at one time. Since she was one of the smallest, she was completely terrified of this challenge. She wasn't sure if she wanted to venture in any further.
XJ2 finally landed in San Antonio. She was the most terrified, not because she was smaller than most of the others, but because she was still suffering from those chronic hiccups that were never really worked out of her system. Every time she would hiccup, she would fire a laser uncontrollably. She was afraid that she would do more damage than good.
About thirty minutes later, which seemed like an eternity, Jenny and Sheldon/Silver Shell landed in Tremorton. The Wakeman residence being one of the only houses in the city with a private generator, it had light coming from the windows that attracted thieves to it like moths to a flame.
Fortunately, Jenny arrived just in time to fight off the thieves surrounding the house. As soon as the still conscious thieves ran away, Jenny knocked on the door to the house frantically.
"Who's there?" Ms. Wakeman yelled.
"Mom, it's me and Sheldon. Let us in," Jenny yelled.
Not wasting a second, Ms. Wakeman opened the door. The first thing Jenny did was give her mother a hug.
"Oh XJ9, I missed you so much," Ms. Wakeman said with tears rolling down her face.
"I'm sorry that our reunion will have to be postponed. I need a way to contact my sisters right away," Jenny said as she stood back up.
"I understand, but that would take hours. I would have to build you a new communicator," Ms. Wakeman said.
"Why did I have to be so stupid? Now I can't find them. XJ3 needs my help the most," Jenny said frustrated.
A few seconds later, all the XJs heard a beeping noise inside them.
"What's that noise? I can hear it out here," Brad said.
A second later, all the XJs could hear a voice in their heads. This voice was only familiar to Jenny, Brad, and Tuck.
"Jenny, it's me, Melody. Right now, we can't afford to think about our differences. You know that just as well as I do. I know you're with your mom and some of your friends right now, and they need to hear this conversation too. I can channel my voice through your voice speaker if you let me," Melody said.
"Actually, I have a better idea. Listen up guys; follow me into the computer room. This is really important," Jenny said.
Everyone followed her as instructed. When they arrived, Jenny pulled a wire out of a drawer and connected one end of it to a port inside her mouth, and the other end to a port on the computer.
"We can start now," Jenny said as she sat down in a chair.
All the XJs that could speak and Melody's voice could be heard through the speakers on the computer.
"Listen everybody. It's me, Melody," Melody said.
"Hey Melody. It's been so long. How ya been?" Brad asked.
"Not so good," Melody said.
"Wait, so you're the one that was so fixated on Brad," Ms. Wakeman said.
"Yes, but we have more important things to discuss. I know everything that's going on right now. The world is in chaos and we need to work together if we're to even have the smallest hope of restoring order. I have a new attachment that allows me to contact all the XJs that I made myself. It operates on a higher radio frequency than most other communication devices, so you can hear me through the bugs planted inside you," Melody said.
"Bugs? What bugs?" XJ5 asked.
"My father planted them inside you all about a year ago. They were designed so that I could communicate with you and release a computer virus into your primary CPUs at will, but I chose not to go through with it. If you're wondering why my dad hasn't made me do it yet, that would be because he can't. He died seven months ago from cancer," Melody said.
"So that's why you said you haven't been doing so good. I'm really sorry to hear that," Brad said.
"It's not quite that simple. I never really liked him much at all when he was alive. I only started feeling sorry for him when I saw how badly the cancer was affecting his body and how much pain he was in. When he died, I tried my best to pretend that I didn't care, that I was glad he was gone. As time passed, it's started to affect me in ways that I never thought possible. He was my father after all. I had to admit that to myself at some point. The bugs can easily be removed without damaging yourselves, but we need to communicate with each other until this is over. It'd be best if you kept them in for now. I have no intention to release that virus, you have my word. I never go back on my word, that's the one and only good advice that my father taught me," Melody said.
"You said you know everything that is going on. How much do you actually know?" XJ8 asked.
"Well, I know about everything that's happened since the bugs have been planted in you all, including your suicide attempt for one thing Jenny. There were several times I was thinking about destroying you all with the virus to carry out my father's wishes, but after seeing how much pain Jenny was experiencing, I can barely even bring myself to consider it anymore. About this virus that's affected all those computer systems, I discovered it about two weeks ago. It was so amazingly complex; decades ahead of any kind of virus that anyone on Earth could've produced, and I do mean anyone. I doubt that even Ms. Wakeman could've gotten rid of it. I think someone from another planet did it, but I can't even begin to tell you who. They left no signature of any kind, and it matched no particular programming language that could tell us who is responsible. I would've warned everybody if I was able to determine that it was indeed a virus any sooner than a few hours ago," Melody explained.
"I'm sure you know we don't appreciate the fact that you've been spying on us this whole time," Jenny said angrily.
"I understand, and I don't expect you to forgive me for it either. I realize I was wrong. As I said before, we really don't have time to fight each other. I'm currently heading towards Houston to help XJ4 out. She's not built for fighting like most of you are. I figured the best plan is for me to help her out, for Jenny to help out XJ3 in Philadelphia, and for Sheldon to help out XJ2 in San Antonio. All of you can access the bugs to locate and communicate with each other, but that's all we can really do for now," Melody said.
"That's fine. I'm heading on over to XJ3 right now," Jenny said.
"Wait a second. There's something all of you should know," Ms. Wakeman said.
"What is it mom?" Jenny asked.
"I do have something else that can be of help. It's in the room that you can't even get in XJ9. I'm sure you know which one," Ms. Wakeman said.
"So you're finally going to tell me what's in there?" Jenny asked.
"I have no choice but to tell you right now, but I was hoping I would never have to use them. Basically, they are strength boosters I made for all the XJs. The problem is they're dangerous. They'll push you beyond your physical limits. If you remain in that state for too long, you could die. You don't need to get them yourselves. If you are in serious enough danger, I'll activate them, and they'll find their way to you on their own," Ms. Wakeman explained.
"Then why did you need us to stay here?" Brad asked.
"That's because I made a few that were designed for humans. I realize I never should have made them. They're even more dangerous for humans than robots. It'll be your decision as to whether you want to use them or not. For the time being though, we should not use them. We should wait to see how serious this situation is going to get," Ms. Wakeman explained.
"This situation is already serious," Tuck said.
"I know that, but I'm confident that this situation can be handled by Melody, Sheldon, and the XJs as long as it doesn't get any worse. You're so confident that you can take the pain, aren't you Tuck? Well, you can't. If you use it for more than an hour, your body will start to overheat rapidly because almost all of your liquids will have evaporated by that point. Not only that, your muscles will start to tear themselves apart. Ten minutes later, you will have overheated to the point where you might actually burst into flames. Chances are, you will have died from the stress long before that even happens. Not only that, but you might end up having serious psychological effects that could haunt you for the rest of your lives even if you survive. I'm letting you know exactly what would happen to you now so you won't go begging me to let you try it out. It's not a toy. It should only be used as a last resort," Ms. Wakeman explained.
"That's a really good way to crush childlike optimism," Tuck said nervously as he thought about her explanation.
"_I'm surprised he understands what he just said at his age_," Ms. Wakeman thought to herself.
"Seriously, can we really trust Melody? She said she considered destroying us with the virus," XJ5 said.
"Like I said, that's what my father wanted. That's not what I ever really wanted. I only considered doing it to respect his wishes, but not anymore. He may have been my father, but he was also a bad influence. I would never wish death upon anyone who doesn't deserve it," Melody explained.
"Okay. I'll trust you. It's not like we have the time to debate this anymore. We have to get going. XJ2 through 4 need our help right away," Jenny said before pulling the wire out of her mouth.
"All right then, let's get going," Sheldon said as he started heading for the door.
Jenny followed behind him. The others watched the two leave the house together.
"Judging by how close Jenny was to Sheldon the whole time, I'd say that things just might work out between them," Tuck pointed out.
"You realize that could've just been a coincidence, but I hope your right," Brad said.