Chapter 5: Black Magic Woman
Jenny soared high above the buildings of Tremorton, leaving a blazing white trail of light behind her. A radar dish was extended from her head, rotating and beeping. Her eyes were extended from her head like telescopes, and from up here at several hundred feet she could see everything happening in the streets below her. As she'd promised her mother, she had gone straight from the mall to the museum. She had met the curator and the police, who explained what they knew about the robbery to her.
A hooded person had used some kind of magic spell to break a display case, taken the item inside, and used it to change a security guard into a large bullfrog. Having a scientist for a mother, Jenny had been taught since the beginning that magic was a hoax, a trick reserved for con artists in tall hats and cheap tuxedos, making profits with simple illusions and card tricks at children's birthday parties. So naturally she had refused to believe a word of the curator's story until she saw the tapes the surveillance cameras had recorded.
It was surprising how quickly the tapes changed her mind. Everything the curator had said was true, and he even showed her the bullfrog that had once been a guard. That hooded person definitely had supernatural powers, and so did the thing that was stolen. What was it called? The Staff of Circus or something like that? Anyway, the thief had disappeared before the police arrived. So now it was up to Jenny to track him down and bring him to justice. Not exactly how she wanted to spend her Friday afternoon. If it were up to her she would still be having fun at the mall with Sam, and maybe even looking for Brad and Tuck. I hope they're all doing okay, she thought. I can't wait until this stupid job is over!
"Brad, can we please take a break now?!" Tuck whined, trudging through the mall alongside his brother.
"Not yet." Brad replied, not slowing down. "We still haven't checked all of the girly stores that Jenny likes."
Tuck rolled his eyes. "Brad, I keep telling you she ditched us! She walked out with another girl while you were playing your stupid game!"
"Fighting Fighters isn't a stupid game." Brad grumbled, then sighed in defeat, slumping his shoulders and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I just don't get it. Jenny's never walked out on us like that before. Why would she do that? I thought we were having fun."
"Actually, you were the only one having fun." Tuck corrected. "I was still choking on your dust from that racecar game, and Jenny was just watching you ignore her."
Brad whirled around and glared at him angrily. "I was concentrating, not ignoring her! I never ignore people!" Distracted, he neglected to notice the girl walking toward him. She was carrying dozens of shopping bags in her arms, too busy trying not to drop them to watch where she was going. Tuck noticed her, however, and stopped in time, but Brad was too late. Neither he nor the girl saw each other before they collided.
Startled, Brad jumped back as several of the girl's bags clattered loudly to the floor, spilling out shoe boxes, clothing and CD cases. "Sorry!" Brad spluttered, flushing red in embarrassment. She didn't notice him, as she had immediately knelt down to pick her things back up. "I'm sorry!" Brad repeated, kneeling down next to her grabbing things up. "I didn't see you! Here, let me help you!"
"No, no, it's okay, I've got it!" the girl protested, still not looking at him and stuffing some CD cases into a bag.
Brad picked up a shoebox, still blushing like crazy. "Please!" he insisted. "It's my fault! I have to!"
"No, it was my fault!" the girl replied. "I wasn't paying attention!"
Tuck stood watching the two sweat and sputter with amusement. Grinning, he tried to muffle a snicker but failed. Brad shot him a dirty look, clutching a bag labeled 'Bedelias'. "Why don't you give us a hand, Tuck, instead of laughing at our expense?"
"Tuck?" the girl repeated, as if the name were familiar to her. She stopped gathering her bags and looked at Brad. "Do you guys know a robot girl named Jenny?" Surprised at the mention of his friend, Brad realized this must be the girl Tuck had been talking about; the one Jenny had gone from the arcade with.
He looked at the girl for the first time then, and his eyes opened so wide they nearly popped out of his head. He didn't recognize this girl but he knew she was beautiful, with blonde hair flowing over her shoulders, long lashes, a sweet smile, and nice figure to boot. No, make that a great figure. She could model swimsuits with a body like that! He felt his cheeks getting hot again as he realized he was gawking at her. Quickly he turned his head and began mentally scolding himself. Idiot! You're just making yourself look worse! This is not the time!!
Tuck was unmoved by the girl's appearance and simply smiled at her politely. "Yeah, Jenny lives next door to us!" he said, answering her question. "She's a good friend of ours!"
"I knew it!" the girl smiled triumphantly. "I thought I recognized your name! She told me about you guys! Are you brothers?"
"Only biologically." Tuck grinned, and Brad rolled his eyes at the younger boy's joke. Leave it to Tuck to kick him while he was down.
The girl turned her smile back to him."You must be Brad, then."
Brad's usual carefree smile returned, his face returning to normal color. The girl was being so nice, it was certain she wasn't angry with him for running into her. He decided to take advantage of the opportunity. "Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you, miss . . ."
"Sam." she finished.
Brad's smile widened. Now was his chance to turn on the charm. "That's short for Samantha, right? Very pretty name. It suits you well." Her cheeks flushed as she giggled girlishly, clearly flattered. Brad congratulated himself on his victory. This was a good sign; she was a little shy, but interested. It would be best not to rush things, to make sure she felt at ease with him before trying anything else.
He opened his mouth to speak again, but Tuck interrupted him. "Wow, is all this stuff yours?" The boy picked a pink, sparkly shirt out of one of the bags and made a face in disgust.
"No, some of these are Jenny's." Sam explained, taking the bag from him and standing up. "I'm just watching them for her until she gets back from her mission."
"That's nice of you." Brad smiled, and stood up with several bags in his arms. "Why don't I help you out? I can carry some of these for you."
"Really? Wow, thanks! You don't need to do that, Brad."
"Oh yes, I do, after I practically ran you over." he replied graciously. "Besides, any friend of Jenny's is a friend of mine." She smiled beautifully at him, her face glowing. Brad felt himself melting under its warmth and started to blush again. As she giggled, Tuck just rolled his eyes.
Jenny groaned to herself, several feet above Main Street. She was so bored she could almost feel tears forming in her eyes. After flying around over the city for almost an hour, she had seen no sign of the hooded art thief, not even one clue. She retracted her telescopes and radar dish into her head, ready to give up. Just then, she picked up a cry of distress coming from the sidewalk below. She rolled her eyes in frustration; most likely another boring job. What's next, a cat stuck in a tree?
A small woman on the sidewalk was waving her arms frantically at her. Jenny rotated her pigtail jets and gently lowered herself to the ground. "What's the problem, ma'am?" she asked.
"It's my husband!" the woman wailed. "He's been turned into a newt!" She held out her open hand. Resting in her palm was a small green amphibian with yellow spots, no longer then an inch from snout to tail.
Jenny recoiled in shock and disgust at the sight of the creature. "That's your husband??"
"Well, he was!" the woman replied.
"You think that's bad?" said a man's voice. "My brother's a gorilla!" Jenny whirled around to look. Sure enough, there was a young man standing next to a full-grown gorilla, crouching on its knuckles and pouting its thick black lips.
An older man with stocky proportions chimed in. "What about my wife? She's a hippo!" He gestured at the gargantuan, bulbous creature behind him.
"My mom's a giraffe!" a little girl chirped. The giraffe in question was eating some flowers from a third story window ledge. The child couldn't even reach it's front kneecap.
The more Jenny looked, the more animals she began to notice in the streets. A flock of sheep, some cows, and an elephant stood blocking an intersection, refusing to budge even as angry drivers blasted their horns at them. An orangutan and several small monkeys sat around a fruit stand, screeching at passersby and throwing apple cores and peach pits at them. Just across the street, a tiny poodle at the end of an old woman's leash was barking furiously at an adult male lion, which merely opened its great mouth and yawned in response.
Jenny surveyed the street once more, trying to understand what was going on. Suddenly it dawned on her that this had to do with her mission. The staff that was stolen had the power to change people into animals. She turned back to the people who had been speaking to her. "All right, I need you guys to help me. Did you see the person who did this?"
The little girl with the giraffe mother nodded. "Uh huh!"
"Did he have a long staff and a hood?" Jenny asked.
The child nodded again. "Uh huh!"
"Did you see where he went?"
"Uh huh!" The little girl pointed behind Jenny. "There!"
Jenny spun around in surprise. A tall figure stood on the other end of the sidewalk, dressed in a black cloak and wearing a hood. The face was not visible, but two yellow eyes glowed from inside the hood's shadow. One pale, bony hand clutched a long wooden staff, topped with a miniature carving of a ram's skull.
Jenny frowned. This was very convenient, maybe a bit too convenient. That creepy person had to be up to something to be so brave. The robot set her hands on her hips with a clank, getting straight to business "So you're the witch who stole the Staff of Circe from the museum!"
The figure made a low growling sound, reached one hand to its hood and pulled it back. The face clearly belonged to a female, with oddly pale skin that was almost light purple. Her eyelids and lips were painted with some sort of purple make-up, and a cascade of violet hair spilled down her back and almost to the ground. Crystal earrings dangled from her ears, and if it weren't for the arrogant smirk that twisted her face she might have been beautiful. "Please, 'witch' is such a politically incorrect term." her voice was cool and dry, like dead leaves. "Unlike me, witches are ugly, old hags. I am a sorceress, and you are XJ-9, the famous robot that defends Tremorton, I presume?"
"The name is Jenny." the robot replied in annoyance, holding out one hand. "And I'm here to get that staff back! Now hand it over!"
The sorceress looked amused by the robot's statement. "I'd rather not." she said, her tone infuriatingly condescending. "I've grown quite fond of my new toy."
Typical. These villains never surrendered when they had the chance. Jenny ignited the laser in the center of her open palm. "Then I'll have to take it!" She fired a white-hot beam at the black and violet woman, who merely stood there with her yellow eyes half shut. Bored, she lifted her free hand. A ball of orange and red flames appeared floating in midair before her, absorbing the laser beam without a trace.
Jenny's mouth fell open in surprise, until she realized that the fireball was now flying straight at her. There was no time to dodge. Jenny jerked her arms up to her face to shield it as the fire engulfed her. Fortunately her metal body was not very flammable. The flames almost immediately died out, but not before leaving behind some ugly black scorch marks and loose ash. "Oh, no!" she cried in horror. "My new paint job is ruined!"
The sorceress rolled her eyes and snorted with contempt. "You're lucky you weren't reduced to ashes, and you're concerned about a silly paint job?" She let out a mocking chuckle and turned away with a swish of her cape. "You teenagers amaze me. Now if you're done wasting my time, I'll be leaving now."
Jenny bristled furiously, fresh smoke rising from the ends of her pigtails. "Oh, no you won't!" As she brought both her arms together in front of her, components slid out and assembled themselves from inside. Soon she was peering through the scope of an enormous laser cannon, with the sorceress focused in the center of the crosshairs. "You're not going anywhere until you give me that staff, lady!"
Amazingly, the sorceress laughed out loud. "Goodness! Such a hothead! Careful, dear, you might set yourself on fire again!"
That pushed Jenny over the edge. First this woman destroyed her beautiful blue and white paint, and now she had the nerve to insult her? Staff or no staff, that was too much! With an angry shriek she pressed the trigger down, sending forth a blast of blazing energy from the cannon's barrel. Unmoved, the woman disappeared in the explosion that resulted. A cloud of smoke and fragments of concrete billowed out, blocking Jenny's view of her with a thick screen of debris. The robot girl squeezed her eyes shut from the flying shrapnel, then opened them again and waited with her cannon still ready, watching and listening for a sign that her shot had failed. When none came, she relaxed her stance and disassembled the weapon, stowing it within her arms once more.
So much for the mighty sorceress, Jenny thought with a smirk. She started turning away, but stopped; there was a strange humming noise coming from inside the thick smoke cloud. She squinted her eyes, peering through the haze with infrared vision. An orange and red silhouette appeared on her monitor, shaped like the fluttering cape and dress of the sorceress. A dome shaped light surrounded her form, sparking with green and yellow sparks.
A new sound became apparent now. It was laughter, loud and mocking. "Foolish robot! You are no match for Enchantra, Mistress of Magic!!"
To be continued . . .
