Author's Note: Oh my gosh! Is this it?? Can this really be the last chapter of this fanfic that I started over a year ago?? Alert the media! Wake the kids! Call the neighbors! Hi, mom, guess what? I actually finished something! (ahem)Sorry about that, I'm just a litle giddy right now. Once again, big thanks to everybody who's ever left a review, and even to everybody who's read this story and thought about leaving a review but didn't. I plan to write more stories about Jenny and the gang, but I have a way of changing my plans at a moment's notice. So in case I never write another fanfic again. Your readership really means a lot to me, and I can't say it enough.
Chapter Eleven: Home Is Where the Heart Is
The curator of the Tremorton Museum of Ancient Artifacts was pacing back and forth in the foyer anxiously. Standing by the wall, two security guards watched him, one of them holding a large bullfrog in his hands. Suddenly, the front doors swung open and a tall metal girl with blue pigtails came in smiling triumphantly. She was holding a long wooden staff in one hand and several shopping bags in the other, and was followed closely by a red-haired young man, a small dark-haired boy and a pretty blonde girl.
"Hi, guys!" Jenny chirped merrily to the guards and the curator. "Sorry it took so long, but I got your stolen staff back!"
"Oh! Thank you, young lady!" the curator said, rushing over and gratefully accepting the Staff of Circe from the robot's hands. "You've saved Tremorton, and perhaps even the world! You're a real hero!"
As Brad, Tuck and Sam came in behind her, Jenny shrugged the man's compliment off with a modest smile. "I can't take all the credit, sir. My new friend Sam was a big help!" She gestured to the blonde girl, who was also carrying several shopping bags in her hands. "She tricked Enchantra into undoing the spell, and even got her to fix me and the mall! She's just as much of a hero as I am!"
Sam blushed, flattered by the robot's praise. "Thanks, Jenny! But you're the one who actually got rid of Enchantra. I still can't believe she melted!"
"Good heavens!" the curator gasped. "How on Earth did that happen??"
Jenny spread her hands. "I don't know! All I did was knock her into the mall's fountain, and she started dissolving!"
Tuck sank dropped on his knees, comically reenacting the scene. "I'm melting!" he squealed, sinking lower and lower onto the floor. "I'm melting! Oh, what a world!"
The curator and the guards laughed at the boy's antics. "I suppose it's for the best. This way she can never come back." He looked down at the wooden staff in his hand. "Just to be cautious, though, I'm going to lock this away so no one can misuse its power again."
Jenny nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. But first, you might want to use it one more time on him." She pointed at the bullfrog the security guard was holding, which gave a low croak as if to agree with her.
"Oh, of course!" the curator replied. "I've studied the staff thoroughly, so it shouldn't be a problem. And once again, thank you!"
"No sweat." Jenny beamed, and turned to her friends. "Okay, guys, we're done here. Let's go home!"
The sky was golden-red as the group walked along the sidewalk through the peaceful neighborhood. Tuck scampered beside Jenny, trying to keep up with her lengthy strides as he recounted the exciting events she had missed at the mall. Brad and Sam walked a few steps behind them, both carrying shopping bags. Brad had insisted on carrying some of Sam's bags for her again, and she was perfectly happy to let him. They all enjoyed watching Tuck's energetic gestures and pantomimes as he told the story of the indoor cyclone. "And, and then! The tornado was all like whoosh! And we were like aaah! And then we fell, and we were all aaah! We were okay, but then the crazy witch lady was like grrr! And Sheldon was all eek!"
Jenny laughed. "Wow! Sounds like you guys had a pretty crazy time while I was frozen!" She turned to Brad, looking confused. "Speaking of Sheldon, where is he?"
"He went home." Brad replied with a grin. "Something about needing some pills for his stomach. Guess the melting was too much for him to handle." He sighed then, his shoulders sagging in disappointment. "It's just too bad that we missed all of your fighting! Robot versus sorceress! The ultimate battle! Man, that must have been so awesome!"
"It wasn't so awesome while I was in the middle of it." Jenny pointed out. "That witch knocked me around like some kind of doll, and she talked to me like I wasn't even worth her time." She clenched her fists tightly around the handles of her shopping bags, irritation bubbling over at the memory of Enchantra's harsh taunts and insults.
Sam noticed the sudden change in her mood with concern. "Well, I'm just glad everyone's okay." she said, hoping to cheer her up. "We were lucky. Enchantra could have done a lot worse then turn people into animals."
Jenny nodded in agreement, comforted somewhat. Then her pigtails perked up slightly. "Hey, I just remembered something." She turned her head to look at Sam. "How did you know that the Staff of Circe wouldn't work on me?"
"Simple!" Sam replied. "Enchantra never tried to use the staff on you. Instead, she took the trouble to fight. But why do that when she could have just zapped you into a frog?"
"Or a chicken." Brad chimed in, rolling his eyes. "I still can't believe that witch did that to me! There's so many cooler animals I could have been!"
Sam reached over and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "If it makes you feel better, Brad, you made a very cute rooster."
He looked back at her in surprise, nearly dropping the bags as he realized what she'd just said. "Uh, that is . . ." She stammered awkwardly, pulling her hand back. "Um, what I meant was . . ." Unable to find the right words to finish the sentence, she stared down at her feet and walked faster, feeling her face getting hot. Way to go, Sam! You've justified all those stupid blonde jokes! You airhead!
Brad, meanwhile, was still staring at her totally dumbfounded. Did she just call me cute? A goofy, ecstatic grin slowly formed on his face. She did! She thinks I'm cute!
Tuck looked back and forth between the two teens, puzzled by their behavior. Jenny, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on as she watched her two friends blush and sweat. Without warning she erupted into a fit of silly giggles, bringing Sam out of her daze. "What? What's so funny?"
Jenny covered her mouth, trying to calm down. "Nothing! Nothing at all!" she snickered, trying to regain her composure. Her friends were already embarrassed enough and she could easily tease them later. "Anyway, Sam, what do you think of Tremorton after your first day?"
Sam's face brightened up, her color back to normal. "Oh, it's awesome! At first I thought this place would be a total drag, but you guys changed my mind! I mean, how many people can say they're friends with a superhero robot girl?"
"Soon you'll see that life's never boring with Jenny around." Brad chuckled. "There's always plenty of rampaging monsters, alien invasions, and power hungry villains to take care of!"
"You left one out!" Jenny grinned. "High school has to be my greatest challenge yet! If I can survive that, I'll really be a hero!"
Sam laughed at that, but then she realized something that made her smile weaken. I like this town already, she thought. And my new friends are wonderful. But it's going to be so hard to say goodbye. In a year her father Colonel Sanderson would be transferred to another town, and then Sam and her family would pack up their things and move again. She would have to make more new friends, go to another new school, and start all over again for the sixteenth time in her life. There was no such thing as 'home' anymore, just lots of different houses and cities. It was beyond monotonous by now; it was fate, karma, the way of the universe. It was her lot in life to repeat the same cycle forever.
But Tremorton would be different. She would certainly leave it someday, but she would never forget it. How could she, with a teenage robot for a friend, who saved the world on a daily basis? Her smile returned even brighter then before. That's right, she thought. I'm not gonna think about leaving anymore. This place is home now.
The End
