Escape From Paradise

A "My Life as a Teenage Robot" Fanfic

Chapter Two – Into the Belly of the Beast

Jenny tried to wiggle the fingers on her left hand, desperately looking for a little freedom of movement – her aching servos had been held motionless for almost four hours now. But the customized manacles that locked her in a helpless spread-eagle stance wouldn't budge. Every attempt to break free from her bonds was punished with a powerful electric shock that left her wires sizzling. A signal-disruptor clamped to her head prevented her from deploying any weapons or rockets, or even her chest monitor. Her anxiety grew with every passing minute; there had to be some way to escape; there had to be something they had overlooked. Suddenly it came to her – her eyes! She could still move her eyes! Jenny focused on the ultra-strong shackle that enclosed her right arm, activated her laser eye-beams …

And shuddered with violent spasms, as jarring bolts of electricity shook her body. She routed more power to her eyes and howled in agony, feeling the short circuits crackling in her wiring, until she finally gave up and deactivated her eye-beams. The shocks stopped, and she dropped her head in defeat.

"Do yourself a favor, girlie, and just relax," chuckled the short, robotic scientist. "You'd think that after getting zapped for like, the zillionth time, it would start to sink in! I designed those restraints just for you, and you're not going anywhere … trust me."

"Oh yeah?" she growled, her face burning with fury. "Last time I saw you, you were feeling pretty sure of yourself, too. And then your plans messed up big-time. In fact, I bet the Omni-droid was one of your sick little projects – wasn't he? Guess that makes you oh-for-two, Stanley."

"Aw, you remember me, after all these months!" smirked the egg-shaped genius-bot. "Isn't that nice – look, I'm all verklempt over here. And while I'd just love to chat about old times … I'm really more interested in your syrupy little friend at the moment." He rummaged around in an equipment locker with one of his six spindly arms, and pulled out something that looked like a small thermos. Then he wheeled over to the small yellow barrel next to Jenny.

The sides were transparent, revealing a shapeless silver-green blob that swirled inside the magnetic bottle with a gurgling hum. That blob, amazingly, was her friend Drew; but there'd been no word from him since he poured himself inside, hours ago. Stanley plugged his thermos into the top of the barrel, and pushed a few buttons. Then the barrel shuddered with a faint vibration, and an eerie howl reverberated through the cargo bay. To Jenny, it sounded like a scream for help. "What are you doing to him?" she shouted angrily. "Stop it! Stop it, you're hurting him!"

"Oh, I'm just taking a little sample for later. I'm not hurting him … probably." Stanley removed the thermos, and cradled it in his hands with a look of triumph on his face. "I've never fully understood how your little human friend was changed into an android, and I've never been able to duplicate it in the lab. But with enough experimentation, I'll discover how the nanobots evolved a stable mind of their own. Of course … heh-heh … that could take months. Maybe even years."

"Nanobots," snorted Smytus, with condescension dripping from his voice. "Play with your microscopic toys if you wish – but this mission just proves that there is no substitute for a true warrior!" The towering insectoid commander leaned forward, giving Jenny a sarcastic smile. "Ah, XJ-9 … I must say, you make a very lovely trophy. I always knew that Smytus, Destroyer of Worlds, would be the one to defeat you in battle! Although I have to admit, even I didn't expect it to be so easy. No doubt, Queen Vexus will issue a Royal Proclamation, declaring me the greatest Cluster champion of all time!"

"Yeah, you're a real war hero," Jenny sneered back at him. "Battle? You courageously kidnapped a busload of high school students and held them hostage!"

"Students? Oh, right … the mammals." Smytus gestured to a rust-red drone, which scurried up to him and snapped a salute. "Drone, report! Have you finished preparing the primates for arrival?"

"Yes, Commander … there is one small problem, though." The drone smiled nervously. "One of them keeps saying that he needs to use a … toilet? Umm … any idea what that means?"

"Oh, for the love of …." Smytus snorted with disgust at the pathetic human teenagers. They were arranged in neat rows, sitting on the cold, uncomfortable deck plating, whimpering in fear. Heavy collars were fastened around their necks, which were chained together to form one long string of prisoners. Smytus' fists crackled with pale green energy. "You mean they're not housebroken? So help me, if any of them makes a mess in my starship … drone, go find me a rolled-up newspaper!"

Then the entire ship lurched slightly, and the background hum of the engines began to wane a little. The commander's smile returned. "Never mind, drone. The ship has dropped from hyperspace … we'll be on the ground in minutes. Activate the viewscreen!" The wall monitor flickered back to life, displaying the perfect inky blackness of normal space …

And a large copper-colored planet, surrounded by a jagged orange ring that glistened in the light of a red sun. A planet devoid of oceans or forests, without deserts or snowcaps; its surface was highlighted not by mountains or rivers, but by long straight seams, as if it had been cast in pieces and assembled in some cosmic factory. Even the bands of cloud that drifted across its surface seemed spaced with artificial regularity. The outlines of cities both great and small were visible, interconnected with a web of tunnels, rails, and roadways; matching patterns of light lit up the night side, their perfect geometric shapes standing out against the stars. No part of the astonishing world was left untouched by technology.

"Cluster Prime, in all its glory," Smytus grinned to his prisoners. "Your new home." Then he headed for the bridge, leaving echoes of maniacal laughter ringing through the cargo bay.

A lump formed in Jenny's hydraulics as she watched the iron planet grow closer. She could barely believe it – she was heading for the very center of the evil Cluster Empire, from which none had ever escaped. Her classmates were still in a state of shock. Brad made eye contact, and tried to flash a reassuring smile; but she could see the fear in his eyes. She put on a brave face and smiled back; she'd never let these Cluster jerks see it, but she was scared too. In fact, as they passed the planet's artificial ring, with thousands of spaceships flitting about it, Jenny realized that she'd never been this scared before in her life.

The light cruiser broke through a thin layer of clouds, soaring over a metallic terrain of steel and rust, chrome and copper. It flew onwards towards the sprawling military base, passing dozens of other scout-ships and star-cruisers, and hovercraft circling the skies on vigilant patrol. Battleship-gray buildings spread for miles in every direction, interconnected with a tangle of pipelines and transport tubes. Honeycombs of ten-story hexagons, home to millions of soldier drones, stood next to perfect rows of fortified armories, where countless weapons of untold destructive power were stored. Five fusion reactor buildings rose like giant silos to the north, powering the base and its dozens of laser gun emplacements. Mile-high towers topped with huge scanning dishes loomed skyward from the four corners of the base; from their sides hung colossal green-and-red banners with the Cluster emblem, flapping majestically in the wind. Tunnels and rail-tubes spread off in every direction of the compass, connecting the base to the rest of the planet. And dominating the landscape was an enormous concrete tarmac, lined with rows of hangars, which housed hundreds of starships from the Royal Cluster War Fleet. And everywhere, thousands and thousands of drones marched about in complex but orderly fashion, tending to the duties of the empire.

This was Fort Zero-One, located outside the towering spires of the Cluster capital, visible on the horizon. This was the largest military installation on Cluster Prime, home port of the mighty Cluster War Fleet, the most unstoppable military force in the known universe. And like the empire it served, the fleet was ever growing. On the southwest corner of the landing tarmac, hundreds of cranes surrounded twenty leviathan vessels under construction in the shipyards. Each ship was larger than an aircraft carrier, with a domed green hull that reached six hundred feet into the air. The light cruiser seemed like a tiny beetle in comparison as it drifted overhead, heading for the flashing lights of its assigned landing pad.

It slowed to a hover, and its six leg-booms folded up and outwards. As the cruiser gently settled down on its anti-gravity engines, Smytus' face smirked with arrogance from the windows of his bridge. A welcome party had been assembled for his triumphant arrival. Hundreds of roach-drones and officers stood at attention in precise columns, along with several of his fellow Commanders. And just off the landing pad sat a luxurious stretch black hovercar, trimmed with the colors of the Cluster flag, and adorned with small banners bearing the royal coat of arms. A telescoping robotic arm unrolled a red carpet from the side of the hovercar, and its door smoothly swung open …

And out stepped the wasp-like form of Queen Vexus, looking composed and regal, with an extremely pleased expression on her face. She glided towards the landing pad, and the roach-drones and fleet officers snapped rigidly to attention. The officers joined her at the back of the light cruiser, as its aft doors swung open to deploy a loading ramp. And at the top of the ramp stood Smytus, grinning like a Chesire Cat, insincerely playing the part of humble servant.

"We bring you greetings and warm welcome, Commander Smytus." Vexus was a picture of poise, yet even she could not completely mask her glee at the moment. "From your transmission, I understand that congratulations are in order."

"Most gracious of you, Your Majesty," blathered Smytus, sweeping his arm with an overdramatic bow. "Three days ago, I promised that I would capture XJ-9 for you. And as you can see, Your Majesty … I have made good on my promise."

Two roach-drones pushed Jenny, locked in her massive arch-shaped restraint, down the loading ramp and onto the tarmac. She gasped as she saw the hundreds of Cluster robots surrounding her, and was stuck speechless by the awesome size and scope of the military base. An overwhelming feeling of hopelessness came over her … then she saw Vexus standing smugly only a few feet away. The vanquished heroine put on a stubborn scowl, and glared at the queen with hatred in her eyes.

Vexus strolled over to inspect the thick, U-shaped frame that held Jenny motionless, then gave her a mocking smile. "Nice and comfy, are we, dear?" A soft cackle wafted up from her throat. "Now see, if you had simply accepted my gracious invitation to join the Cluster in the first place, we wouldn't have had to resort to such unpleasantness. I suppose that's always the way it is with teenagers … they're determined to do things the hard way."

The robot queen leaned closer, and caressed Jenny's cheek with her twisted, spidery fingers; Jenny winced with disgust, and tried in vain to pull her face away. "None can stand against the Cluster, Jennifer," said Vexus, in a low, menacing voice. "None can stand against me. Sooner or later, I always get what I want. And now, my girl, I've finally got you. By the end of the day, you will be swearing eternal loyalty to the Cluster. And you will have no greater desire than to obey me."

"Dream on," hissed Jenny, trying to sound brave in spite of her shaking voice. "The only desire I have is to pull those stupid eyelashes off of your face. I said I would never join the Cluster, and I mean it."

Vexus pinched Jenny's cheek. "Ha, ha, ha … oh, such delightful impudence! Really, Jenny dear, I don't understand what you're so upset about. It's not every robot that gets a chance to become queen of an entire planet, with armies at her command, and thousands of human slaves tending to her every need. Of course, there's the small matter of a visit to the lab for an … attitude adjustment, before that can happen. Oh, trust me … once your free will is gone, you won't even miss it."

As Jenny shivered over the thought of having her free will removed, Stanley led another pair of roach-drones down the loading ramp, carrying a small yellow barrel between them. Vexus gestured for them to stop, and bent down to peer into the transparent side of the container. A shapeless mass of silver-green nanobots swirled lazily about inside, oozing and gurgling like a lava lamp.

"The rogue experiment," frowned the queen, with a hint of revulsion. "Commander, I thought I gave you orders to have this thing annihilated."

The reprimand caught Smytus by surprise, and he stammered awkwardly. "Er … well, Your Majesty, I thought you might want the pleasure of destroying him yourself …"

But Stanley interrupted, rolling forward to plead his case. "I beg your forgiveness, oh Mighty Queen, but after we captured it undamaged along with XJ-9, I thought it would be useful for my research! You know, with the experiments, and the probing, and the dissecting …"

Vexus rubbed her chin, and an evil smile spread across her cruel face. She gazed into the magnetic bottle, and the blob responded by pinching off a silvery tendril towards her. "So, you can see and hear me in there – good," she cackled. "Did you think you could attack me, fool, and not pay the price? I could simply have this container dropped into a recycling furnace … and enjoy the sound of your screams, as you slowly melted away into nothing. Ah, but that would all be over too quickly. No, now that I think about it … I like the idea of keeping you locked in there, trapped in a tiny prison for the rest of your life. I wonder … how long it will take a swarm of nanobots to go completely insane?"

The barrel suddenly lurched forward, as Drew's body thrashed about frantically in his magnetic cage. The roach-drones struggled to keep their balance, and Vexus rocked with spine-chilling laughter, thoroughly enjoying the nano-droid's panic attack. "Yes, Stanley, you may keep the abomination for your little experiments. Do try to make them as unpleasant as possible, will you?"

Then she returned her attention to Jenny. "But do not forget your first priority. I want you to take XJ-9 with you back to your laboratory – she's to be reprogrammed and ready for her public debut at the Royal Festival tomorrow. I'm sure she'll be a big hit with the adoring public, once we make her presentable ..." She rubbed a spot of dirt from Jenny's pigtail, taunting her with an arrogant smile …

"Noooo!" cried a nasally voice. "Monster! Don't you lay a hand on her, you!"

The disturbance came from Jenny's classmates as they were led down the loading ramp by a pair of drones, tugging them by their chains as if they were livestock. Most of the teenagers simply trudged along; but one gangly, pasty-faced geek's fear was overcome by concern for his beloved. Sheldon strained against his collar, and shook a finger at the startled robot queen. "You leave Jenny alone! She'll never join you – she's too good for you!"

Brad clutched frantically at his own collar; whenever Sheldon lunged wildly, the tension in the chain choked him. "Sheldon, cool it! Be quiet, you're just going to get yourself hurt! Glacck … and get the rest of us hurt, too!"

Then Brad managed to catch Jenny's eye, and he did what he always did … he flashed her a big smile. Even in chains, being marched off to the unknown, he was trying to cheer her up. "Hey, Jen, look at it this way … it could be worse! We could be stuck in fourth period English right now, listening to Smelhaus read us bad poetry!"

Jenny actually laughed … but only for a moment. The sight of Brad as a prisoner was one of the most horrible things she'd ever seen in her life. Even as they smiled at each other across the landing pad, the pain in their eyes silently conceded that this might be the last time either of them ever saw the other, for the rest of their lives. And Jenny felt a deeper pain still; she knew that she was responsible for getting him into this mess. "Brad, hang on!" she shouted. "Everyone, just hang on! It's going to be okay! We're going to get out of this!" She blinked hard, not quick enough to keep a tear from running down her cheek. She wondered if her words of reassurance sounded as hollow to her classmates as they did to her.

Queen Vexus watched the little episode transpire with a sneer on her face. "Hmmph. Not a particularly impressive lot, are they? A few years of hard labor will do wonders for them. But enough about that." She gestured for her robot chauffeur. "I'm so sorry to leave you now, dear, but I have so many things to do. Big weekend planned … for both of us! And you know how it is, if you fall behind schedule, it's just so hard to catch up. I'll drop by for a visit later tonight." Her eyes narrowed, and glowed an ominous yellow. "I'm certain that you'll be in a much more … agreeable mood by then."

As the robot queen enjoyed a hearty laugh in her royal hovercar, Jenny recklessly strained in her bonds one more time, earning another nasty jolt of electricity. She slumped in her restraints, physically and emotionally exhausted, and out of ideas. Her pigtails drooped with grief, as Smytus ordered his roach-drones to move her to the transport tunnels. She was going off to be assimilated. Vexus had won.

The streamlined train car quickly picked up speed as it pulled away from Fort Zero-One's central station, and turned onto a spur towards an eastbound tunnel, which led to the Cluster capital just a few miles away. It hovered a few inches above a line of superconducting magnets, smoothly accelerating to over two hundred miles per hour. Then it plunged into the tunnel with a shriek of rushing air, pitched downwards, and in seconds was cruising along silently, deep beneath the surface of the planet. In a matter of minutes, they would arrive at the research complex underneath Queen Vexus' palace.

Smytus leaned back in his luxuriously padded couch, and pressed a button to deploy a footrest. He reviewed a roach-drone's mission report with one claw, and swirled a martini glass of sparkling anti-freeze with the other. He was extremely pleased with himself right now; his status in the empire was on the way up, and he was back in the good graces of the queen. He glanced towards the back of the train car, where Jenny's platform stood. She was still tightly secured in her oppressive restraints, attached to the heavy U-shaped arch, with four roach-drones standing guard beside her. Another six drones accompanied Smytus for the journey; he enjoyed having underlings around to give orders to.

"A toast … to you, XJ-9," gloated Smytus. "Long may you reign over the planet Earth … soon to be the newest addition to the Great Cluster Empire!"

Jenny twisted in the massive shackles, still desperately trying to find a weakness in their design. She shot a hateful look at Smytus. "A toast, huh? If I wasn't stuck in this thing, you'd be toast, pal."

"My goodness, so snippy for a young lady!" laughed Stanley, as he scanned the yellow containment barrel. "And she's going to be royalty? Reprogramming her to obedient and loyal will be no problem, but oy, I'm going to need a week to rewrite the subroutine that handles her manners!"

She writhed in agony and frustration as the robots burst into sadistic laughter. A chill ran through her circuits; she wondered what reprogramming would feel like. Her imagination conjured up horrific images of snake-like probes plugging themselves into her body, while the scientist's creepy little hands tinkered around inside her head with a soldering iron. I wonder if I'll even feel it happening … Then she turned her attention to the yellow barrel sitting a few feet away, and felt a crushing dread for what was to become of her friend. "Y-you're not really going to leave Drew in there forever, are you?" she asked.

"Hey, he got on the queen's bad side," replied Stanley, shaking a finger at her. "Not a real smart thing to do. Trust me – I know. Besides, once I'm done experimenting on him in a year or so, I should be able to rewrite his software. Then he'll be nice and loyal, just like you! Won't that be nice?"

Smytus threw his arms in the air with a synthesized groan. "Oh, for Cog's sake! Scientist, you're wasting your time fooling around with nanobots." The Commander picked the yellow barrel up, held it in front of his face, and gave it a hard shake. "They look like something I'd fill a wall crack with! Hardly useful at all. Although, it does look kind of neat when you shake them like this." He shook the barrel again, laughing as the silver-green fluid spun into the shape of a donut.

Stanley folded his arms with a huff, while the roach-drones took the cue to laugh along with their commander. Jenny's cheeks boiled with rage as she watched Smytus shake the barrel harder and harder, making the nanobot sludge spin even faster. "Stop it, you big bully! Stop tormenting him!!!"

But Smytus only shook the barrel even harder. The blob of nano-ooze turned into a silver-green blur, rotating so fast that a low-pitched hum began to build inside the speeding train car. Jenny was so furious at the pointless torture, and her inability to do anything about it, that she thought she would explode.

Stanley groaned. "All right, I think we've had our little fun, now why don't you put him down so …"

But Smytus didn't look like he was having fun – in fact, panic was creeping onto his face. His arms were pumping back and forth like pistons. "I … can't … stop," he stuttered. "I'm … not … doing … this!" Smytus grimaced in agony, and everyone realized that something was going on inside the barrel. It was Drew, spinning himself in circles at insanely high speed … making the barrel shake, like an unbalanced load in a washing machine. The hum from the barrel grew higher in pitch, and the vibration became even more violent. Smytus looked like his shoulders were going to come off … so he finally let go.

The vibrating barrel wrenched itself out of his hands like a wild animal. It fell to the floor with a sharp clang … and took off like it had been shot out of a cannon. The roach-drones dove for cover, as the yellow missile ricocheted around the inside of the train car. Smytus winced as the barrel rang off his back, and knocked him off his couch. Jenny watched helplessly as Drew's container whizzed by her head. Stanley wheeled under a table, narrowly avoiding the high-speed projectile. The hum from the barrel was now a high-pitched shriek; the walls of the train were covered in dents, and all the windows were cracked …

"Don't worry! He can't break out!" shouted Stanley. "As long as the magnetic bottle …"

But Smytus wasn't listening to him. "Miserable nano-droid … try to make a fool out of me, will you? I'll slow you down, you little sludge-ball …" The commander's hand glowed with a crackling green energy, he took aim at the whirling dervish … and unloaded a series of laser blasts into the air.

His shots missed the target. The barrel recoiled off the far wall, smacked him square in the face, and bounced away again. Reeling from the blow, now Smytus was livid with aggravation. He powered up both fists and fired at the wildly ricocheting barrel, blasting windows, ceiling panels, two unfortunate drones … everything but the barrel itself. With a scream of frustration, he unloaded a powerful double-barreled blast at the barrel …

And hit the metallic restraint on Jenny's left arm, cracking it open.

With all the chaos of the speeding barrel and the laser blasts, it took Jenny a second to realize that she could finally move her left arm … and a little movement was all she needed. With a mighty heave, Jenny thrust her arm free, shattering the manacle into a dozen pieces. Next to go was the infernal headpiece which had brought her so much agony – she grinned with delight, as she ripped it off and hurled it to the floor of the train. Her left elbow cracked open, and she deployed her laser-limb …

Smytus finally knocked the barrel out of the air with an energy blast. Only then did he realize that Jenny was freeing herself. She fired one blue laser-bolt into a green roach-drone, and a second directly at Smytus himself. The giant Cluster warrior dove for the floor and picked up a horrified red drone, using him as a shield while his other hand charged up to maximum power. Smytus jumped to his feet and fired at Jenny, just as she got off another shot. Her laser-bolt ripped into the red drone's chest, and knocked Smytus off balance – forcing his maximum-energy blast to rip through the floor of the train.

The laser ripped a bank of super-magnets from the underside of the train. It grew unstable, wobbling from side to side, and began to tip off-balance. There was only inches of clearance between the belly of the train and the floor of the tunnel; the car grazed the concrete with a shower of sparks, then lunged over hard, and kicked violently into the air. It derailed completely, and suddenly it was tumbling end over end, smashing against the walls of the tunnel. The robots ricocheted about inside the car like ping-pong balls, completely out of control. Then the strain on the weakened body of the train became too great, and with the screech of failing metal, it snapped in half.

Jenny's world spun around in sickening circles as she was launched from the wreckage, and she rolled down the tunnel, still locked in her restraining harness. After a few seconds that felt like hours, she tilted over onto her back, and finally came to a stop. She tried to collect her senses - then heard another rattling sound, echoing towards her down the tunnel. The yellow barrel, with Drew still trapped inside, was rebounding off the walls like a runaway pinball. Jenny quickly stretched her arm out, deployed a giant basket from her wrist, and caught the barrel like a lacrosse player.

"Hang on, Drew," she panted, deploying a saw blade from her wrist. "I'll have you out in a …"

Her voice was cut off by the loud, piercing double-blast of a train horn.

Jenny raised her head to look further down the tunnel, and saw the glaring headlights of another bullet train, screaming directly towards her at terrific speed. The train wasn't slowing down; it couldn't have realized that an accident was blocking the tunnel just ahead. With renewed urgency, Jenny revved her saw blade to full power. In seconds, there was going to be a horrific collision in this tunnel. And she and Drew were going to be right in the middle of it.

Continued in Chapter Three / Seven Days to Cluster Dawn