A/N: This chapter is dedicated to crashfourit, who gave me the idea to give Jenny some of Jennifer's memories.

Phoenix Fire
Chapter Six

Mmm…what is that? Jenny felt a slight pressure on her face; at least, that was the best way to describe it. She felt as though something was gently draped across her face, something comforting and soft. She slowly opened her eyes, but immediately had to blink. Sunlight was streaming through a window, hitting her face. She realized that what she was feeling was warmth.

Wait…feeling? Jenny looked around; rather than seeing things with cold, robotic vision, everything seemed more colorful…more alive. She glanced down and saw a pale arm sticking out of a blanket. She wiggled her fingers, and the arm did the same. Wait a minute… Jenny saw a mirror out of the corner of her eye' turning her head toward it, she gasped in shock as she saw her reflection. "Jennifer?" she said out loud in a voice that wasn't, and yet was, her own. It sounded like hers, but just like her vision, it seemed more human.

"Jenny! You're awake!" Jenny quickly turned her head to the other side, and was rewarded with a slight case of vertigo. When her dizziness subsided, she realized that Brad was sitting in a chair next to the bed she was laying in—and he's holding my hand, she thought. She gently tugged her hand free from his. Brad looked down at his hand, as if he hadn't realized what it had just been doing.

"Yeah, I'm awake," Jenny finally said. It took her a moment to realize how she'd spoken before. It wasn't all that different from when she was a robot; the only difference was that instead of mechanical things happening automatically, it was actions like breathing and blinking that she did without command. Everything else just took a moment of thought to send the messages to her body, and it was usually subconscious thought at that. "I take it everything went smoothly?"

"Yep, it all went without a hitch," Brad reported. "Jessie's up and run—"

"Jessie?" Jenny interrupted.

"XJ Ten. She's a lot like you, you know. She says her name is Jessie."

"You mean she has a human side too?"

"I guess. It's kind of weird: she's like you, but at the same time, she's not. She says she has all your memories, so she knows all about the Cluster and Vexus now."

"Hmm, that's weird." Jenny felt a weird sensation on her earlobe—I have ears! —so she lifted a hand and rubbed at it. She realized that there was a small hoop in her ear. And they're pierced!

"Is your ear itchy?" Brad asked.

"Is that what it's called? It feels kind of…buzzy."

"Yeah. Just scratch at it—you know, with your fingernails? That'll make it feel better."

Jenny nodded. She gently grazed the itchy spot with her fingernails, and almost immediately it stopped feeling so weird. Suddenly, a loud gurgle came from Jenny's stomach, and she clutched at it. For a moment, she thought something was wrong, but Brad just smiled at her. "I think you're hungry. Let's go downstairs and get you something to eat."

Jenny nodded, but was reluctant to leave the warmth and security of the bed she was lying in. Tentatively, she stuck first one foot, then her whole leg, out from under the covers. She shivered a little from the cold, and then giggled as she saw goose bumps appear. She did the same with the other leg, then slowly stood, trying to balance on her own. For the first time, she didn't have ball-bearing hips or a gyroscopic balance center. As if knowing exactly what was wrong, Brad stood and walked around the bed, coming to her aid. He helped her balance before she took her first slow, unsteady steps. A few minutes later, she was able to walk on her own.

"Thanks, Brad," Jenny said, throwing her arms around him in a hug. Brad grew unusually stiff; Jenny noticed and let go of him, giving him an odd look. "What's wrong?"

"I'm…I'm going to, uh, get Dr. Wakeman up here," Brad said, eyes darting around nervously. "She needs to help you get dressed."

"Hmm?" Jenny asked, but Brad was already gone.

A moment later, Nora walked in. "Oh…Jennifer…" Tears formed in her eyes, but she brushed them away.

"Mom, something weird is going on with Brad. I just hugged him, but he got all stiff and ran away. You'd think I have cooties or something."

Nora snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, yes. He told me. Jennifer, I'd like to introduce you to…this." She dug around in a nearby dresser, pulling out a white, strappy thing.

"What is it?"

"It is a bra. You wear it around your chest."

"What for?" Nora motioned to Jenny's chest. Jenny looked down, and then blushed. "Oh. Yeah. You told me about this before we did the switch."

"Precisely. Do you remember everything else I told you?" Jenny nodded. "All right, then. Go ahead and get dressed."

A few minutes later, Jenny walked downstairs, albeit clumsily, wearing a tight black baby tee and hip-hugger jeans thatshowedoff her slim stomach and navel ring, with blue fuzzy slippers on her feet. Her hair was down, curling softly at the ends and tucked behind her ears. Brad looked up from his cereal to look at her, and his eyes widened. "Hey, Brad," she said, flipping her vibrant blue hair. It settled softly about her shoulders as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. She took a quick glance at Brad's bowl, as if to confirm what to do next, before she reached for the milk. Then she picked up a spoon and took a small bite.

It was as if an explosion had gone off in her mouth. The flavors swamped her brain with signals, producing an experience similar to that which a hallucinogenic drug might create. Of course, it was on a much smaller scale, but for Jenny, who had never eaten anything before in her entire life, it was a completely mind-blowing experience. She began shoveling her cereal into her mouth as quickly as possible, trying to get as much in as she could. She was disappointed when she finished the bowl, but poured herself another. Three bowls of Froot Loops later, Jenny was satisfied, though her stomach was faintly protesting so much food.

"You know, if you eat that much at every meal, you're going to get fat," Brad said.

Jenny stuck her tongue out at him. "It tasted good." In the back of her head, Jenny had faint memories of taste; she realized that these were Jennifer's memories. With a smile, she mentally went through them, cataloguing the tastes of lemon pepper chicken (spicy, yet delicious), French fries with ketchup (salty and tangy), and chocolate ice cream (sweet and cold!), among others. With these came more memories: babysitting for the Carter family, who lived down the street; going to the carnival with friends; and—Luke Thompson. Jenny's eyes widened as she realized that this Luke character was Jennifer's boyfriend—at least, he was until she had her accident. Jenny stood from the table and ran into the kitchen, frantically looking through drawers to try to find the phone book.

Brad followed her into the kitchen. "What's up, Jen? What are you looking for?"

"Phone book," Jenny said.

"What for?"

"Luke Thompson," Jenny murmured.

"You mean, Mr. Thompson, the physics teacher?"

"WHAT?" Jenny looked at Brad incredulously.

"The physics teacher at the high school is named Luke Thompson."

Jenny collapsed onto the floor Indian-style. "Oh my gosh. You're right. The physics teacher is…was…Jennifer's boyfriend."

"Are you serious?" Brad asked. Jenny nodded. "Well, that explains why he was so weird around you last school year. You remind him of her."

"Brad, what am I going to do now? I don't just look like Jennifer, I am Jennifer."

"Hey, don't worry," Brad said, kneeling beside her. He put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll work it out. It'll be okay."

Jenny smiled. "Thanks, Brad," she said softly, wrapping him in another hug. To her relief, he didn't pull away this time. "You're a real friend." I just wish you were more…

Eventually, Brad extricated himself from her arms and stood. "Come on. Let's get you outside, to practice being in the real world."

"Okay." Jenny started walking toward the door, but Brad grabbed her arm to stop her. "What?"

"You need to put on some shoes," Brad said with a smile. "Fuzzy slippers aren't appropriate outdoor wear."

"Oh," Jenny said. She felt her cheeks heat up. "Okay. I'll be right back." She ran upstairs. A minute later, she returned wearing some old, beat-up, black Converses. "Better?"

"Much." Brad took her hand and led her toward the front door.

Before they could go, though, a rather tall robot stepped in the way. Jenny looked up to see the face of XJ-10. "Hi!" She said happily before gathering up Jenny in a spine-crushing hug. "I'm Jessie! You must be Jenny. You look a lot like your old body, you know."

"I…know…" Jenny said, trying to breathe. Jessie noticed her discomfort and let her go. Jenny looked at Jessie for the first time as a human. She had yellow pigtails, much like Jenny's robot ones. Also like Jenny's old body, she had no ears. Rather than having a design like a midriff tank and skirt, though, Jessie's body was designed to look like a short, sleeveless yellow dress. Her eyes were blue, which Jenny thought looked a lot better and more normal than yellow eyes would have. "Hey, Brad and I were just about to go out. Can you let Mom know?"

"Sure! You have fun with your boyfriend." Jenny was about to tell Jessie off for teasing her, but realized that Jessie sounded perfectly serious.

"Brad's not my boyfriend," Jenny explained.

"Oh…but, all my information, which I got from you, by the way, has him listed as 'optimal boyfriend material,'" Jessie said, her robotic face showing confusion. "So I assumed that…"

"Don't worry about it, Jess," Jenny said. "I'll explain it to you later, all right?"

"Okay. Well, have fun." Jessie stepped out of the way, letting Brad and Jenny pass.

Once they were outside, Brad turned to Jenny. "Jen"—

"I don't know why she said that, Brad," Jenny said nervously, cutting Brad off.

"Oh. Because…" He mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?"

"I was hoping…she was right."

Jenny's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" Brad nodded earnestly. "But…"

"But what?"

"I thought…this isn't just because I'm in this body, is it?"

"No! Jenny, I really like you; I have for a while. I was just afraid you wouldn't like me, or that you wouldn't want to date be since I'm a human and you were…"

"A robot? I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind, but I always thought the opposite. That you wouldn't like me in that way since I was a robot. Then I saw you drooling of Jennifer while she was in stasis, and it just made me so sad, knowing I'd never have that chance with you."

"But it turns out it all worked for the best, huh?" Brad asked, wrapping an arm around Jenny's waist.

"Yep, it sure did." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "So, does this mean we're dating now?"

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all." Jenny smiled brightly. They started walking slowly down the street, wandering aimlessly and just enjoying each other's company. An hour or so later, they went over to the Carbunkle residence. Jenny wanted to show Tuck her new body.v

"Tuck!" Brad called as they walked inside. "Jenny and I are here!"

"Finally! You've come home!" Tuck slid down the banister from upstairs and walked toward the door. When he saw Jenny, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "Jen…ny?"

"Yep, it's me, Tuck. What do you think?"

"You're…you're…human," he stammered.

"Yeah."

"But…what about the world? Who's going to keep it safe?"

"Jessie—XJ Ten—is going to take my place in that respect. You can come over later and meet her."

"Really? Is she as cool as you?"

"Even cooler." Jenny smiled; she didn't feel the slightest twinge of jealousy at being replaced, because she now had what she'd always wanted.And she was human, too.

"Wow! So I can see her tonight?"

"Yep."

"Cool!" Tuck yelled. Suddenly, he seemed to realize for the first time that Brand and Jenny were standing closely together, and that Brad's arm was around Jenny's waist. "AHHH! COOTIES!" He turned and ran, smacking against the banister, picking himself up, and tearing off up the stairs.

With a frown, Jenny turned to Brad. "Don't worry; he thinks all girls have cooties."

"Why didn't I have cooties when I was a robot?"

"Because you were a robot, of course." Brad gave Jenny a peck on the cheek. "Now you're a girl—my girl."

Jenny blushed and leaned against Brad again, yawning softly. "I'm tired. Let's go home."

"All right." They sauntered out of the house and down the street to Jenny's home.

When they walked in, Jessie was waiting. "Jenny, are you going to explain now?"

"There's nothing to explain," Jenny said with a grin. "Brad and I are going out. He really is my boyfriend."

Jessie's eyes widened in confusion, but she didn't ask what caused the sudden change in status. "Oh…okay."