CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST DATE
At the Wakeman residence, Sheldon was in his room, working on his computer. "Awesome! These schematics are going to ensure that my next robotic creation is my best!" he said with obvious excitement.
Just then, there was a knock at his door, after which Jenny came in. "Hey, Sheldon," she said.
"Oh, hi, Jenny!" said Sheldon. "Come and check this out!"
Jenny came over to him and leaned over to better see the computer screen, putting her hand on Sheldon's shoulder for support. "Wow, that's neat!" she said. "What is it?"
"It's the schematics for my latest experiment," he replied, "the Falcon G-Zero!"
"Whoa, that is awesome!" said Jenny, almost forgetting why she had come to Sheldon's room in the first place.
"Why, thank you!" said Sheldon, basking in the light of this compliment.
'Okay, Jenny! Time to make your move, girl!' she thought, although it didn't change the fact that she was insanely nervous about doing what she was going to do. "Hey, umm, Sheldon?" she asked.
"What's up, Jenny?" asked Sheldon, turning his head towards her.
Jenny blushed bright red as she asked him the question. "Umm…would you like to go out with me tonight?" she asked. "I-I know it's kind of sudden, but…well, if you're not busy…."
Sheldon's eyes were so wide, they looked like they were about to shoot out of their sockets like wine corks. Not only that, but his face was on its way to discovering new variations of red. "A…date?" he managed to squeak out. Suddenly, he sprang up out of his chair and took Jenny's hand in both of his. "Don't be silly, Jenny! I'd love to go on a date with you tonight!" he blurted out.
"Oh…okay, that sounds good," said Jenny, "see you at 8:30!" Without warning, she darted her head forward…and gave Sheldon a quick kiss on the lips.
"See you later, Sheldon!" she said as she bounced out of the room and out into the hallway.
Sheldon just stood there for a few seconds, his eyes the size of dinner plates and his face the color of a beet. "Uhh…yeah, see you later," he finally said in a very low voice. 'Oh, my God, did she…just kiss me?' his mind screamed out.
Back at his hidden lab, Xander was once again working on Dianna. At the moment, she was lying on her back, once again unclothed and covered with the sheet. He was holding a small, electric probe, which he was using to fix the other internal workings damaged by the laser blast.
After about forty minutes, (this is delicate and tedious work) he reached over to the small table stand on his left and picked up the final component: the new primary cardiac control chip. He had spent just about every waking moment of the last few days building and programming this chip, so he prayed that it would work.
"Okay, this should do it," he said, lowering the chip into Dianna's body with a pair of tweezers. He heard the click that signaled that it was properly inserted, so he pulled the tweezers out and watched.
With a quiet mechanical hum, the hole suddenly patched up, and Dianna began to open her eyes.
"Excellent, she's reactivated!" said a very relieved Xander. "Dianna? Dianna, are you okay?" he asked her, leaning down near her.
Dianna's eyes finally opened fully. "X-Xander?" she asked. "What happened?"
"Wow, where are we?" she gasped in amazement, suddenly sitting up. Unfortunately, the sheet that was covering her was thrown off when she did this, causing Xander to freeze up like a metal statue, blushing harder than he ever had before and staring at her with wide eyes, unable to even blink, much less look away.
Dianna immediately noticed that something was wrong. "Xander, what's-," she started to say, but she just happened to look down and realized what the problem was. "YEEEEK! WHA-WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CLOTHES!" she shrieked, blushing with embarrassment.
Xander looked in the opposite direction, rubbing his arm. "Well, I had to undress you to make the repairs," he said, hoping she would believe him.
He didn't need to worry, however, because Dianna forgot about being naked in front of her boyfriend and looked at him in shock. "Repairs? You mean…something damaged me?" she asked.
Now it was Xander's turn to be surprised. "What? You mean you don't remember?" he asked her.
Dianna looked at her knees with a worried look. "No, I don't," she replied. "Actually, I don't remember…a lot of things."
That night, at 8:30 sharp, Sheldon was standing outside the Wakeman house, knocking on the door. He had had to leave in order to rent the suit he was wearing right now. It was his first date with Jenny, the girl of his dreams, and he wanted to make sure that he looked dressed to kill.
As the door began to open, Sheldon said, "Hi, Jen—HOLY GOD!"
"Hi, Sheldon! I'm ready for our big date!" said Jenny, who was dressed in a sexy, form-fitting red dress with a slit in the left side that went from the hip to the bottom of the dress. She was also wearing a gold necklace with a diamond pendant.
'Oh, my freaking God! She's freaking Aphrodite in a robot suit!' thought Sheldon as his mouth muscles refused to work. He was also on his way to setting a new record for times blushing in a single day.
"Sheldon, is something wrong?" asked Jenny, seeing Sheldon struggling to even breath.
"No, it's just…you're so…so beautiful!" Sheldon managed to say.
"Oh, Sheldon, that's so sweet of you to say!" said Jenny, suddenly feeling shy. "I was hoping you would like this dress!"
"I'm serious, Jenny!" said Sheldon. "You're just as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside!" He offered her his arm as he asked, "Well, shall we go, Jenny?"
"Yes, let's go, Sheldon," said Jenny as the two of them walked down the walkway and then down the sidewalk.
Unknown to them, a figure had been watching them from one of the trees in the yard. "So, that is XJ-9! Not much to look at, I must say," he said.
He was a humanoid robot with red and navy-blue armor. His hands, feet, arms, and legs were white. He wore a helmet, and a red sword design was on his chest armor and leg armor. He also wore a black cloak. His name was Excaliber, an agent of the Cluster.
"My mission…is to defeat her?" he wondered out loud as he stood above the tree. He leapt soundlessly from the tree and landed on the sidewalk, facing the direction that Jenny and Sheldon had left in. "Well, I'd best get busy!" he said, laughing evilly.
"Of course, before I go anywhere," he said, turning to look back at the hooded and cloaked figure that had just appeared behind him, "you're going to quit following me!"
"That's awfully harsh, Excaliber," said the figure, pulling her hood back, revealing her face.
She was Serenade, also an agent of the Cluster, and a humanoid robot like Excaliber. She had light green hair, red eyes, and a body to die for. She was wearing a red form-fitting body suit that looked like a bikini, with a gold belt. Her leg armor was also light green, and her cloak was black.
"After all," she continued, "we are on the same team, aren't we, partner?"
"I don't care if Vexus told us to be partners, Serenade!" said Excaliber in a not-too-friendly tone of voice. "I refuse to be slowed down by useless dead weight like you!"
"Oh, don't be like that, Excaliber!" said Serenade, sounding and looking cute at him. "Come on, admit it! If I wasn't here, you'd miss me!"
'Ha! I got him that time!' she thought triumphantly when she saw the murderous look Excaliber was giving her.
'Freaking bitch! Who does she think she is?' Excaliber thought angrily. Actually, though he would never admit it, he actually did like Serenade, but being the aggressive loner that he had been for so long, he considered showing feelings for those around him a sign of weakness.
"I…hate you…so very…very…much, Serenade!" he practically growled, pointing at her.
"Oh, you say it, but I know you don't mean it, big boy!" teased Serenade, giving him another cute smile.
Excaliber looked so pissed that he was on the verge of exploding like a powder keg. However, he managed to keep his anger under control. "Ah, screw it!" he snapped, turning around and walking off after Jenny and Sheldon. "Let's just get this over with!"
"Cheers!" said Jenny and Sheldon together.
They were in an Italian restaurant called "Ragetti's Fine Dining." At first, Jenny was nervous about coming here, since they weren't in the habit of serving robots. However, Sheldon informed her that her new design included organs, allowing her to eat like a human.
"Wow, this is a really nice place, Sheldon!" said Jenny after taking a sip of her drink. Sheldon had managed to convince the wait staff to serve them their soda in champagne glasses. Jenny guessed it was because he wanted to make it as romantic as possible.
"Yeah, I figured this would be the perfect place for our first date," said Sheldon.
Meanwhile, outside, Excaliber and Serenade were looking in through the front window.
"It looks like they're on one of those romantic getaway things," said Excaliber as he observed the two teens.
"It's called a 'date,' Excaliber," said Serenade, suddenly looking like she was lost in a daydream. "Just imagine, being with your special someone in those settings…Ahh, it's so romantic!" she said dreamily.
Excaliber stared at Serenade as if she had just lost her marbles. 'What is this romantic-minded simpleton doing with the Cluster?' he thought. Tossing it aside, he gave her his "ready for action" smile and asked, "Well, Serenade, shall we go and say 'hi'?"
"But, of course, partner!" said Serenade, returning his look.
Instead of smashing through the window, the two robots leapt into the air and smashed through the roof, landing in the middle of the restaurant.
"What in the name of!" yelled Jenny, looking at the intruders in shock.
"This looks like trouble!" said Sheldon, feeling panicked.
"Greetings, XJ-9!" said Serenade.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves!" said Excaliber.
After saying their names, the two of them struck and said together, "And we are Team Nocturne of the Cluster!"
As soon as Jenny heard them say the word "Cluster," she got out of her seat, staring daggers at them. "Damn it to hell!" she snarled, "you would mess up my date, wouldn't you!"
"Sheldon, contact Mom!" said Jenny, keeping her eyes locked on the two robots. "Tell her that we've got the Cluster here!"
"Got it, Jenny!" said Sheldon, running off.
"Good decision, sending your boy-toy away!" said Serenade mockingly. "That way, he won't see it when we take you apart!"
Jenny's glare became murderous. "Okay, first of all, nobody talks like that about Sheldon!" she growled, charging up a palm laser. "Secondly, WE'LL SEE WHO GETS TORN APART!" She fired the charged laser.
'Wait a minute…something is wrong here!' is what Excaliber had been thinking when he'd seen Jenny getting ready to fire the laser. Now that she had fired it, his internal sensors were detecting a ridiculously high level of energy.
"Serenade, get out of the way!" he yelled as he tackled his surprised partner to the floor.
The laser struck the front of the restaurant, setting off an enormous explosion that left a huge, gaping hole.
Jenny looked at her hand as though she had never seen it before. 'Whoa, my power blast was never that strong before! Is this because of Sheldon's upgrades?' is what she was thinking.
Excaliber was having his own thoughts about what had just happened. 'Something's screwy here! A robot with XJ-9's schematics can't produce a power blast that strong!'
Serenade's thoughts, however, were more focused on the way Excaliber was clutching onto her. 'Oh, my gosh, he…he's actually clutching me!' she shouted mentally.
"She must have been upgraded! She's stronger than what we thought!" said Excaliber. Suddenly, a wicked grin appeared on his face, which confused Serenade. "Perfect! This is just the way I like it!" he said to himself, standing up and taking a few steps toward Jenny.
"Well, XJ-9, it seems we greatly underestimated you!" he said, his expression never changing. "You are clearly more powerful than we thought!"
"Does that mean you're going to be smart and leave quietly?" asked Jenny.
"Hah! You're so naïve, XJ-9!" sneered Excaliber, baring his teeth.
"Uh-oh, I know that look, and it's not good!" said Jenny, becoming more alert.
"This is the kind of thing I love!" said Excaliber as he threw off his cloak, and sprouted beam swords from the armor on his forearms. "You see, XJ-9, my policy on fights is that the only good opponent is one stronger than myself. It makes it that much more gratifying when I destroy them!"
"So, shall we throw down, XJ-9?" he asked, his eyes narrowed eagerly, like a hunter challenging his prey.
Jenny, however, gave him a cool smile with her reply of, "Yeah, let the bodies hit the floor!"
She activated her jets and soared through the hole in the roof. "Amateur!" laughed Excaliber as he shot up after her. However, he soon found that his close-range tactics weren't working against Jenny's massive arsenal of projectile weaponry.
Down below, Sheldon was watching the heated battle, having already alerted Mrs. Wakeman to the Cluster presence. "Whoa, this looks like it's getting intense!" he said.
"Give it up, Excaliber!" said Jenny, staring at the infuriated robot hovering in the air with her. "You can't even get close enough to use those blades on me!"
"I beg to differ, XJ-9!" yelled Excaliber. He swung his blades, and suddenly, energy blades shot through the air, discharged from the swords, and began slashing all around Jenny, causing her to cry out in surprise.
"Oh, no, Jenny!" cried Sheldon from below.
"Heh, heh, heh! You didn't know I could do that, did you, XJ-9?" laughed Excaliber, grinning triumphantly.
Jenny's dress had nearly been reduced to ribbons. The only way it was staying on her now was her holding it up at her right shoulder. "Damn it, now I'm PISSED!" she snarled, her eyes practically burning like bonfires.
Sheldon was worried sick about what was happening, but he was momentarily distracted when he heard a familiar voice call his name from behind him. "Dr. Wakeman!" he said as he saw the short woman come dashing towards him.
"Yes, I came as fast as I could, Sheldon!" she said. "How is every-."
An enormous burst of light from up in the sky cut her off, and caused the both of them to look back up in the sky. When Sheldon saw what had happened, his face lit up. "All right, Jenny!" he shouted. "She's done it!"
"She's unlocked one of her newest upgrades," explained Sheldon, "the Fire Phoenix Hyper Mode!"
Up above them, Excaliber was staring ahead as though he had just seen a sign from God. Jenny had, it seemed, transformed before his eyes. Her hair and leg armor had turned a fiery red in color. Instead of a tank top, she now wore red and gold body armor with long shoulder guards. Her skirt was gone, leaving her with what looked like a pair of red panties. She also wore a gold belt with hip guards. To top off the ensemble, she also wore what looked like high-tech flight goggles. She floated in the air, seemingly surrounded by flames.
"You have got to be kidding!" said Serenade, attracting Sheldon and Mrs. Wakeman's attention. "You think that a stupid costume change is going to beat my Excaliber?" she sneered.
"Your Excaliber is going to get his can handed to him, lady!" said Sheldon without a moment's hesitation, glaring at her.
Up above, Jenny had broken the silence that had been hanging in the air since her transformation. "Well, it seems things just heated up, Excaliber!" she said, her voice seeming to pulse with power.
'This…this power…it's immense!' thought Excaliber, staring at her with his mouth hanging open. Suddenly, he glared and gritted his teeth. 'No! I can't allow myself to be defeated by a human lover!' "Okay, XJ-9, let's see what you've got now!" he shouted as he charged her at full speed. When he was in range, with Jenny making no attempts to stop him, he swung one of his blades at her, screaming, "DIE, XJ-9!"
Just then, Jenny did something so incredible, everybody there almost swore that they had been seeing things. With lightning speed, Jenny caught the blade with her bare hands. "Who are you trying to bullshit!" she demanded in a lethal voice. "You're a pitiful insect!" She crushed the blade, causing it to dissipate.
'Ohh…crap!' thought Excaliber, realizing that he was in serious trouble.
"Now, it's my turn! FLAMING COMET FIST!" cried Jenny, throwing a punch to Excaliber's chest so powerful that flames surrounded her fist, and his chest armor shattered into flaming pieces.
'How…how could this be? How could I…have lost?' thought Excaliber as he fell through the air and hit the ground with a loud crash.
"EXCALIBER!" cried Serenade, watching in horror as her partner hit the ground. She snarled and glared up at Jenny. "You…YOU LITTLE BITCH!" she screamed, causing Jenny to look down at her. "HOW DARE YOU DO THAT!"
Jenny smirked at the angry Serenade. "Ha! And what are you going to do about it?" she asked.
"THIS!" yelled Serenade, firing a combined blast from both of her own palm lasers up at Jenny.
"You little fool!" said Jenny. She stretched out her hand and a massive blast of flames came from her hand, tearing through and destroying Serenade's attack. "Good-bye!"
"Oh…SHIT!" Serenade managed to say before Jenny's flame attack struck her, causing her to scream in agony. When the flames died, she collapsed to the ground, badly damaged, but still alive.
"Now," said Jenny, glaring down at the beaten Serenade, "you and your friend go back and tell Vexus that any time she wants to screw with Earth…I'LL BE WAITING!"