One Good Reason
A "My Life as a Teenage Robot" Fanfic
Chapter Ten – The Burden of Responsibility
Queen Vexus eased back and settled into the pillows on her favorite couch - the long one, made from luxurious platinum, covered with a purple metallic silk. A small entourage of robot servants was fawning over her, tending to her every need. A young robot girl bowed reverently, holding a gold-trimmed chalice filled with fine imported lubricant; a pair of maintenance droids worked quickly and silently, polishing and buffing her right forearm. Vexus enjoyed one more sip of lubricant, then waved her hand to the imposing insectoid warriors who composed her Royal Guard. They responded with a quick bow, then pulled open the giant stainless steel doors that led in from the grand hallway.
A short, squat, and very tense-looking robot wheeled into the receiving room, escorted by four hulking robot guards. He was only four feet tall, and most of that was head – covered with blinking lights and antenna-spikes, pulsing chaotically with multicolored flashes. He rubbed his six hands together fretfully, and awkwardly leaned forward, reluctant to look directly at the queen with any of his six eyes. "Oh Great and Mighty Queen Vexus … you sent for me?"
"Oh, come in, come in, my loyal subject," purred Vexus, as she gently bounced one long, svelte leg on top of the other. "We are so very grateful that you could make it on such short notice."
The short visitor tried to compose himself. "Um … well, it's not every day that I get an invitation to the palace. In fact, I haven't been here since … well …"
"Since your work on the nano-probe project a few months ago. In fact, I believe you were the lead scientist on that project, weren't you, mister … oh, how do you pronounce that name of yours again?"
"Ah … heh-heh, it's an old family name, it can only be spoken in quantum frequencies." He nervously tried to conjure up a smile. "Everybody just calls me Stanley."
"Stanley, then." Vexus returned a pleasant, cordial smile of her own. "Stanley, how much do you recall about that little project?"
That dredged up some unpleasant memories. "W-well, Your Majesty, we used a radical new design, giving the nanobots the ability to adapt and reproduce. All my idea, that was. We would infect the target robot with nanobots, and the little dickens would spread, multiply, take control, yada yada. Then we would control the nanobots, and the nanobots would control the robot."
"But it didn't quite work out, did it? You went to Earth and guaranteed me that XJ-9 would be assimilated into the Cluster in a matter of days. And you failed miserably." She let Stanley squirm in discomfort for a few seconds. "What, pray tell, became of the nanobots?"
"We … we programmed the nanobots with safety codes, to guarantee that we would always have full control of them," he answered. "After we infected the wrong target, and the mission … er … ended disappointingly, the safeties on the nanobots activated, and the little devils self-destructed. There was the flashing, and the poofing, and then nothing left but piles and piles of gray dust."
"Gray dust," she said, in an icy voice. Then she snapped her fingers, and a large video screen started to descend from the ceiling. "You said that you infected the wrong target?"
Now Stanley was really starting to fidget. "Umm … yes, we accidentally injected the nano-probes into a … well, we thought it was a primitive android, but now we're pretty sure it was a human. But, it's all a moot point now, right? Because it was destroyed when …"
The video screen came to life with the image of a six-foot, silver-green android. Its shiny, malleable body was leaping and twisting through a group of roach-drones – making them look clumsy and inept as it seamlessly turned from a bubbling silver puddle of fluid into the form of a teenage boy. It grew long blades from its arms and sliced the drones in half – and whenever the drones landed a blow on the android, its body quickly healed itself.
Stanley's six eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Those … those are my nanobots! But that's impossible! We lost the signal, the nanobots were self-destructing … that android shouldn't even exist!"
He turned back to Vexus, and nearly keeled over in terror. Her genial demeanor had vanished; now she glared at him with a look that set his metal skin on fire. "Oh, it definitely exists," she growled. "And not only do you not control it, but your little nanobot-android actually fought against me today. I find it somewhat troubling that one of your creations would turn on me." She paused to let the implications of that sink in. "It even seems to have a mind of its own now – a human mind. And impossible though it may seem, it rejected one of my assimilation darts. You can imagine how that concerns me, Stanley. And if it concerns me, then it should definitely concern you – don't you agree?"
The short robot was shaking so hard, his antennae were knocking together. "O-o-o, yes, Your Majesty! Absolutely! It concerns me a great deal!"
"I thought it might," she said through clenched teeth. She glanced down at her new right hand, as the maintenance servants put the finishing touches on her circuitry repairs. Then she glared back at Stanley, her eyes narrowing into a pair of angry slits. "That's why I knew you'd be happy to hear you've been put back in charge of the nanobot project, effective immediately. I am giving you one simple order … find out what went wrong with your nanobots, and find a way to regain control over them. I will not tolerate the existence of a robot that can resist assimilation into the Cluster."
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a moment; then she continued. "You see, as far as I am concerned, there are only two types of robots in the universe. Those I will control … and those I will destroy. Am I understood?"
"P-p-perfectly understood, Your Majesty! I'll … I'll just get back to my old research lab and …"
"Oh no, no … I have something else in mind for you," she grinned. "This is all very important to the Cluster Empire, and I think it's best that you work in a quiet, private environment, free from interruptions, where you'll be able to concentrate on your research."
"Oh, Your Majesty – your generosity and forgiveness are truly infinite!"
"Why, thank you," smiled Vexus. "Guards … take him to the royal dungeon."
Drew started over at the top of the chapter, and tried once again to read all the way through this morning's Geometry lesson. And just like the last five times, his mind wandered off halfway through the dry explanation of conic sections. He simply couldn't stay focused on schoolwork right now. The cafeteria was its usual raucous self, with the clattering of trays and pots, and students excitedly gathering in their cliques to make plans and share gossip. But the lunch hour background noise wasn't the cause of his distraction; in fact, he was barely aware of anything around him at the moment. He slouched over his textbook, his eyes staring at a spot on the far wall of the room. A million thoughts whirled through his mind like a cyclone, unwilling to settle down and allow themselves to be sorted out.
"Hey … Drew, anybody else sitting at this table?
Okay, he thought, let's try this one more time. When the eccentricity of the conic is equal to one, the length of the major axis increases to infinity, and the shape turns from an ellipse into a parabola …
He almost jumped out of his seat when the cafeteria tray slammed down in front of him. Brad enjoyed a laugh as he plopped down across from Drew. "Wakey wakey there, guy! Space Command to Drew, come in – do you read, over?"
"Stop it, Brad, you're terrible!" laughed Jenny, following close behind. With a soft whirr of her motors, she set down her motor oil and sat next to Brad. The three of them had the table to themselves.
"Sorry, guys," said Drew, "I didn't even hear you walk up. I guess my mind's just on something else."
"Pfft, I can imagine," grinned Brad. Then his arms started weaving through the air in swooping, snaking patterns. "Still thinking about that wicked cool awesome battle with those Cluster goons, right?!? Jenny, I'm telling you, you should have seen him. He was surrounded by these giant metal roaches, but all these freaky swords and spikes started flinging out of his body, and he was all like schlorp! blurp! glurp! Bouncing and squirting all over the place! He sliced, he diced, he totally kicked butt!"
"Geez, I wouldn't say I 'kicked butt'." Drew looked a bit uncomfortable. "I darn near got myself killed. My head got blown off. Twice."
"It grew back," smiled Brad.
"Yeah, well … ah … I didn't … er, um, that is …"
Jenny was having a little fun watching Drew squirm, while Brad continued excitedly. "Drew, you saved my life this morning. Tuck's too. And Mrs. Wakeman's! You're a hero. And I, for one, would like to show you a little gratitude. Let me buy you lunch."
"Look, you don't need to do anything, Brad," he said, rolling his eyes.
"I'll go back in the kitchen and see if I can find you a nice iron frying pan. You like iron, right?"
"Brad, calm down. I'm not hungry. I had robot for breakfast, remember?"
"Oh yeah," he grinned. "Jenny, it was so freaky cool. He turned into this big shiny blob and started absorbing Cluster robots like in 'The Blob That Ate Cleveland'. They were dissolving into this big puddle of silver goop and screaming and waving their arms …"
"Ugh, what a way to go!" Jenny laughed, recoiling in mock fear. "You're sure you're not hungry, right?"
"Arrrrghhh! Guys!" Drew buried his face into his hands.
Suddenly Brad hopped out of his seat, pointing to another noisy group of students three tables over. "Check it out, somebody brought in a little portable TV. I think they've got it turned to the news! It's probably a video of you, Drew … there were only, like, a dozen television cameras on the front yard this morning. Jen, come on, you've gotta see this."
"Go ahead, Brad. I'll see it later tonight." And with that, Brad bolted from the table, joining a group of twenty or so students who were leaning over each other's shoulders, watching a small, flat screen about the size of a textbook. Drew actually seemed to be a bit relieved after he left.
The two robots sat silently for a few moments; Drew tried to re-concentrate on geometry, and Jenny enjoyed her mid-day drink of oil. She'd already thanked him for saving her mother, after the emotion of the reunion at the house had died down. But with all the policemen and firemen and media people that had shown up after that, they hadn't even gotten a chance to talk. They'd all missed their first period Geometry class; so it was the first time she'd seen him since this morning. And she could tell from the look on his face that something heavy was weighing on his mind.
"Brad will probably go on like that for the rest of the day," she smiled. "I speak from experience."
Drew chuckled, then closed his textbook with a heavy sigh. "Well, there's no sense in me trying to get through this chapter right now. My head is a million miles away. Besides, I'll have plenty of time to read it after school. Snitzenburg gave me detention for missing Geometry."
"That stinks," she frowned. "I was going to get detention too, but Vice Principal Raszinski actually came to my rescue. Look at what got couriered to his office this morning!" Jenny rummaged briefly in her backpack, and pulled out a one-page note. It was printed on heavy stock, with an impressive-looking letterhead that read "Office of the Prime Minister, Sydney, Australia."
He carefully held the note by the edges and read it aloud. "'Please excuse Miss XJ-9 from first period this morning, as she was busy saving Australia from an alien robot invasion.' Hey, that's pretty sharp! Not too many kids get written excuses from world leaders."
"It was very nice of him. He's probably a really busy man," she grinned. "So is that what's got you feeling so upset? That you got stuck with detention?"
"Huh? What makes you think I'm upset?"
Jenny cocked her head as if to say, Come on. "Well, if Brad had defeated forty Cluster robots in combat, he'd probably be dancing on the tables by now. But you're just sitting over here all by yourself, staring off into space. So what's wrong?"
"I didn't realize I was that easy to read." A few seconds of silence elapsed, until Drew realized that Jenny was going to wait until she got an answer. "It's not that there's anything wrong, it's just …"
He looked her in the eyes, and went on. "This morning, I grew a pair of ten-foot swords out of my arms. I grew spikes out of my back, I used a pair of Cluster drones like hand puppets. I ripped the engine block out of a truck, and I engaged in combat against the all-powerful leader of an evil robot empire. But … in my mind, I'm still just a high school student that's trying to keep a C average."
He leaned closer. "Jenny, how in the world do you do this? I mean, you're a high schooler just like me, but you can bench-press a train engine, or shoot up an alien starship, or stop a tidal wave, or fly around the world in five minutes. Doesn't any of that ever just floor you? I mean, you always seem so bored by this saving-the-world stuff."
She wasn't sure what to say. "Well … I guess I'm kind of used to it by now. After all, it's what I'm programmed for. I've had pretty amazing powers ever since my mom first assembled me."
"I wish I was as calm and sure about all of this as you are," he said. "I don't know why this whole android business had to happen to me – sometimes I just wish that I was still a boring normal teenager. I know, I know … I sound like a whiny baby pounding on his highchair."
"No … no, you don't." Now Jenny took a deep sigh, and leaned forward herself. "Drew … I've got to tell you the truth. Sometimes I do get freaked out by all of my robot powers – and all of the responsibilities that come with them. I just wish I could turn off all the rockets and lasers and spend a day vegging at the mall … without worrying that an alarm is going to go off at any second." She closed her eyes, and lowered her head. "That's sort of what Mom and I … um … talked about this morning."
"You mean the big fight?" He chuckled at the surprise on her face. "Brad and I could kind of tell that you and the doc had a big fight this morning. I figured it probably had something to do with you being so busy lately. That, and those protester jerks in front of your house this morning."
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about them," she smirked. "Every day I fly around the world to somewhere, and get shot at, or beaten up, or get a truck thrown at me. And there are always lots of people like those protestors, calling me names and saying horrible things to me."
Drew saw the pain on her face. "Jen, that's just … so wrong. It's not fair."
"No, it's probably not," she said, her face warming into a big smile. "In fact, I seem to remember saying that very same thing this morning. But you know what? Even with all of the aggravation … it still feels really great to actually save somebody. To be the robot girl who saves the day. To know that you made a difference, that you made the world a little bit safer. Even just to hear somebody say 'thank you'."
She placed a reassuring metal hand on his silvery shoulder. "How did you feel this morning, after Vexus ran off and you realized that you'd defeated her drones?"
"Sick to my stomach," he chuckled. Then he grew a little more serious. "Then once I realized that I was still alive, I felt … I felt pretty amazing. I think it was the proudest moment of my life. And then I got a little scared. Because I realized something else, too."
He looked very uncomfortable, and a look of shame came over his face. "Jenny, I came really close to chickening out and giving up – to thinking I had no business fighting, that it wasn't my responsibility. And once the fight was over, and I had actually saved your mom, I couldn't help but think – how bad would it feel, to know that you could have saved someone, but had chosen to do nothing at all?"
He took a deep breath. "That's why I need to ask you a favor. Man, this is going to sound so stupid."
"Oh, come on!" she laughed. "Go ahead, Drew, you can ask me anything."
"I want you to teach me how to fight. Jenny, I want to help. I mean, I'm not you, and I could never save people like you can. I don't have the strength of a million and seventy men. I can't even fly. If aliens attacked Washington or something, what would I do – buy a bus ticket? But there's something about these nanobots that seems to be important. This sounds crazy, but I think they could help fight against the Cluster. That Vexus witch is sure spooked by them. And I don't think she spooks easy."
He rolled his eyes. "And I'm on her list now. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised – my body practically has "Made in Cluster" stamped on it. I should've figured that they would find out about me eventually. They'll keep coming after me, just like they keep coming after you. Right?"
"Right," Jenny answered simply. Vexus was a constant fear that she kept tucked away in her electronic mind, to deal with all by herself. But now Drew had the same problem. And he'd decided that they were in this together. "Drew, I don't think that sounds stupid at all. I think it sounds fantastic! I've always wished that I had someone to help out now and then. Of course I'll teach you. But this is pretty serious stuff. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"No," he chortled. "I can think of a million reasons not to do this. But ignoring the Cluster isn't going to make them go away. Jen, I can't even think about fighting to save the whole planet like you do. It's just too much – it scares the heck out of me. But then I think about my family, and my friends. Keeping them safe is a good reason to do this. And I figure … maybe one good reason is reason enough."
They shook hands, and exchanged silent, knowing smiles. The only two robotic students in school had just added a new layer of understanding and meaning to their friendship.
"You still must be a little upset though," she said. "You actually battle and defeat the Cluster, and all you have to show for it is after-school detention."
"Now that you mention it," he laughed, "that does pretty much suck …"
"Ewghh, watch out, Jenny!" shouted a female voice. "That thing eats tin cans like you for breakfast. Literally. We just watched the whole freaky monster movie routine on the news."
It was only a matter of time. Neither Drew nor Jenny could go for long in a cafeteria full of students without receiving some kind of insult, and this time it was coming from three beautiful girls on the school volleyball team. They had just watched the news video with the group of kids around the portable TV, and were finishing off their water bottles before heading off to practice. "Want me to save my empty for you, trash eater?" laughed the short brunette. "Doctors say that a growing slime mold needs its daily recommended dose of plastic." She waved her bottle in Drew's face.
Drew just leaned back in his chair with a tired groan. "No thank you, Linda. But thanks for caring."
Jenny shot a nasty glance at the girls. "Why don't you just knock it off! We weren't bothering you!"
"Just looking at you is bothering me, canhead." The brunette gave both robots a disgusted sneer. "Man, I hope the school has reached its metal freak quota for the semester. Come on girls, let's get out of here." The popular athletes turned to head off for the gym …
But the tall redhead stayed behind. "Um … you guys go on and get warmed up. I'll catch up in a minute … I've got to do something first."
She waited until the doors had swung closed, and her friends were out of sight. She nervously glanced around her, making sure that nobody she knew was watching her. Then, with a quick motion, she slipped into the seat next to Drew, much to his surprise.
"Look, I still think you're a disgusting weirdo," she blurted rapidly. But her tone softened, and she seemed to struggle with her voice. "My dad is a TV cameraman for Channel Four news – he was one of the prisoners that you rescued this morning. He called to tell me he was okay, and he told me how you saved them all. And that's … that's pretty cool. So thank you. Thanks for saving my dad's life."
Then she did the last thing in the world Drew would have expected – she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his silver shoulders, giving him a grateful, sincere hug – and planted her soft, pink lips on his metallic cheek with a quick kiss. Then just as quickly, she rocketed towards the exit, heading off to practice – but not before quickly looking back, and flashing him a smile.
Drew didn't twitch so much as a finger. He sat ramrod-straight, with eyes the size of dinner plates, and a big dumb grin on his face. He finally snapped from his trance when Jenny started rocking back and forth in her seat, giggling mercilessly.
"Wha-what? What is it?" he babbled.
"Your face," she squealed, wiping tears from her eyes. "Your whole face is bright green! Oh … gasp … I … gasp … guess I've never seen you blush before." Then she broke out into huge belly laughs.
Drew blushed even more furiously, and couldn't help but laugh along. "You know, Jenny, you were right … it is kind of neat when somebody says thank you."
THE END