So, what do you readers think so far? It seems that Xander has some secrets that may be coming to light, but the question is, how much is he going to tell? Well, you'll just have to see! For those of you who have reviewed so far, I express my sincerest thanks, and I have something I would like to say to one of you:
Crashfourit: Believe it or not, I had intended for the XJ-10 to be a boy before I had even read your story. I mean, there are nine girls, for crying out loud, so I figured it was time for a boy to join the team.
Anyway, read on, because things are about to get interesting!
CHAPTER 4: ENTER THE JK-NECROS
"Xander, you said that robot guy was a Satsujin Star Soldier," said Sheldon.
Back at the house, Xander, Jenny, and Sheldon were all in the living room.
"Umm, what…exactly is that, Xander?" asked Jenny, putting her arm around Sheldon's.
Xander pushed the bill of his cap up so that his face could be seen a little bit better. "I guess it's time to tell you one of my planet's ugly secrets," he began, looking at them with the most serious face they had ever seen him make. "The Satsujin is basically a military faction that was exiled from Mechanopolis years ago, which has now grown into an empire that rules over roughly a galaxy's worth of planets. The best symbol of their power is their space armada, the largest and strongest in the known universe."
Jenny and Sheldon exchanged worried looks. "That's not a good thing, Jenny!" said Sheldon, feeling the pit of his stomach freeze.
"I know, because we've already got the Cluster to deal with!" said Jenny.
"They're not here to take over Earth…yet! They're after me!" said Xander. As the other two watched, he held up his right hand and began glaring at it, his eyes blazing.
"Of all the robots that have ever lived on Mechanopolis, I am the strongest, the most advanced, the most powerful!" he said, his voice gradually rising with anger. "To them, I am a weapon, a weapon that they would use to smite all free worlds down to utter submission!"
He suddenly clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "But, they will never have me!" he began shouting. "NEVER, YOU HEAR ME! NEVER!"
Later that afternoon, just an hour or so before evening, the silence in a secluded area far outside the limits of Tremorton was broken when a heavy steel door that covered the entrance to an underground laboratory was smashed in.
"Well, at least I knocked before entering!" said Johnny, flexing his fingers as he stepped into the long, dark hallway. A panel flipped open in his left wrist, revealing a small video screen. "Okay, Mom, I've entered the hidden lab."
Mrs. Wakeman's face appeared on the screen with a pop of static. "Excellent work, XJ-10!" she said. "Have you encountered any of the lab's security yet?"
"Not yet, Mom," replied Johnny as he began to walk down the hallway. "So, this old friend of yours hid a robot of his in this old lab?" he asked.
About a month ago, Mrs. Wakeman had received an e-mail from an old colleague of hers, a Japanese robotics scientist named Ito Masamune. He had told her of a robot he had just finished constructing, his greatest achievement, and had asked her to take care of it for him, and to come pick it up at this time on this day.
"Yes, Dr. Masamune left a highly advanced robot in this lab, and he asked me to take care of her," said Mrs. Wakeman.
As soon as he heard that the robot was a girl, Johnny blushed. "A girl, eh…I wonder if she's cute," he said to himself. (A/N: Hey, he's a teenage boy robot!)
Suddenly, a laser beam shot past his shoulder, snapping him out of his fantasy. "What the-crap, it looks like the welcoming committee is here!" he exclaimed, not very happy about the sneak shot taken at him. "I'll have to call you back, Mom!" he added, shutting off the communicator.
He looked ahead and saw his attacker, a type of drone robot. It was skinny and agile-looking, red in color, and with a triangular face. Its right hand was a laser gun, which was being aimed at Johnny as though the drone were warning him not to take another step.
'Damn, there's no cover in this corridor!' Johnny cursed mentally. 'I'll have to charge through!'
"Chew on this, drone!" he shouted, firing his hand/machine gun at the drone.
"Hold it!" shouted a female figure, suddenly appearing in the path of Johnny's attack, which she stopped with a barrier shield.
"WHAT THE HELL! JENNY, HOW DID YOU GET HERE?" yelled Johnny when he saw the familiar pigtailed figure of his sister.
She chuckled quietly before she said, "Sorry, but you've got the wrong girl!"
Johnny had to do a double-take. "Wait a sec, you're not Jenny!" he gasped in astonishment.
Indeed, the robot looked exactly like Jenny, except that Jenny had blue clothes, armor, and hair, while she had black. Her eyes were different, as well. Not only did they look both dangerous and tempting at the same time, they were red, and looked like the slits in a cat's eyes.
"I'm JK-NECROS," explained the robot, her voice sounding like Jenny's, but with a smoother feel, "a.k.a. Jackie Masamune. I've ordered the drone not to attack you, if you identify yourself."
Johnny, however, could only stare at Jackie wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open and his face beet-red. 'Oh, dear God! I know she looks like my sister, but she's…so…damn sexy!' his mind was crying out. "I, uh, I'm Global Robotic Response Unit XJ-10, a.k.a. Jonathon Wakeman," he managed to say, "but I prefer to be called 'Johnny'."
Instantly, Jackie walked up to him, her expression now welcoming and friendly. "Oh, Father told me you would be here! I was expecting you, in fact!" she said. "In that case, you can call me Jackie, and I'll call you Johnny."
She suddenly assumed a rather "flirty" pose, and said with a sexy wink, "You know, Johnny, I have to admit, you're cuter than I thought."
Johnny immediately felt like he was on cloud nine. 'Cute!' his mind yelled happily, 'she called me CUTE!'
He cleared his throat and took hold of Jackie's hand. "Well, Mom is waiting for us, so come with me!" he said.
"Why, Johnny, you're quite a fast worker!" said Jackie. "I usually wait for the third date for this!"
Even though she was only playing around, Johnny blushed severely, retaining his red color even as they both flew back towards Tremorton. 'Jeez, she must know I'm easy to tease! Either that, or she just likes to tease guys like me!' he thought, occasionally glancing at Jackie as they flew.
Xander stood atop the rocky cliff, a mere few miles from where Jackie and Johnny had been, glaring out into the distance, although he did not seem to be glaring at anything in particular. His thoughts, on the other hand, were focused on one thing: the Satsujin.
'Damn!' he cursed mentally. 'The Satsujin have actually come out to this part of space just looking for me!'
He looked at his hand. 'After Mechanopolis was destroyed, I hoped I could live here on Earth, in peace. I prayed that these hands would never fight again…'
He suddenly clenched the hand into a fist, his glare suddenly blazing with fury. "DAMMIT ALL!" he screamed in rage, before lowering his head, shaking. "Damn it, damn it, damn it, just damn it all to hell!" he growled. "I'm just sick of fighting and killing, I'm just so sick of it all!"
He turned his glare up towards the sky and spoke again, this time in a voice that would strike fear into the heart of Vexus. "I won't let it happen again! What those bastards did before, I won't fucking let it happen again, I swear it!"
"Well, here we are, Jackie! This is home sweet home!" said Johnny as he and Jackie slowly descended to the front walkway of the Wakeman residence.
"Hey, it's a nice place!" said Jackie admiringly.
Once they had come inside, Jackie was introduced to Mrs. Wakeman. "So, you are Dr. Masamune's project, JK-NECROS?" asked Mrs. Wakeman, smiling brightly as she shook the robot's hand.
"Yes, but please call me Jackie," she said, putting an arm behind Johnny, "and I'd like to say that your son is a handsome little gentleman!" Johnny blushed and looked up at her nervously.
Just then, Jenny came into the living room, where everyone else was. "Hey, Mom, what are you-" She started to ask, but her voice caught in her throat, and she stared dumbfounded at what she could only say was her twin. "Hubba Whatta? Mom, is there something you want to tell me about?" she finally asked, her eyes never leaving Jackie.
"Oh, XJ-9, this is your new training companion, JK-NECROS!" said Mrs. Wakeman, unaware of the look on her daughter's face.
"Call me Jackie," said the girl robot, "and it's a pleasure to meet you."
Jackie seemed to lose some of her shock. "She's my…'training partner?' But, why did you make her look like me?" she asked, still looking directly at Jackie.
"Actually, your mom didn't build me," explained Jackie. "I was constructed by a friend of hers who was a big admirer of yours, Dr. Ito Masamune. He thought that if you had some competition, you might work harder to be the world's strongest robot."
"Competition?" Jenny was genuinely confused.
Picking up on this, Jackie said, "Perhaps a demonstration would help. Are you, by chance, up for a sparring match?"
"Sure, that's cool!" said Jenny.
"Awesome, you go, girl!" said Jackie.
About two hours later, Jenny and Jackie were outside in the front yard, facing each other. Johnny, Sheldon, and Mrs. Wakeman were standing by the house, a safe distance away from the battleground. The two fighters regarded each other with battle grins.
"Just so you know," said Jackie, "I won't go easy on you…Jenny!"
Jenny snorted. "Good, because I like it rough…Jackie!" (A/N: Try and picture Sheldon turning red when he hears that) She suddenly charged towards Jackie, shouting, "Here I come, Jackie!"
'Aha, a direct attack, eh?' thought the other robot, narrowing her eyes in concentration. 'Well, it's time to show her who the boss is!'
With blinding speed, she held out her hand, blocking Jenny's rock-shattering punch, and using her confusion to deliver a side-kick that caught her in the chin, knocking her backwards.
"Whoa, this is already getting intense!" said Johnny, watching the fight as though he were watching a kung-fu movie.
Sheldon was watching, impressed by Jackie's performance. "She caught Jenny's punch like it was nothing, and then kicked her away before she could react! That technology is amazing!" he said.
"Yes, that's just what I'd expect from Ito!" said Mrs. Wakeman.
Jackie and Jenny were battling viciously. Each one attacked and dodged with seemingly equal skills, although Jackie was the one who had taken the least amount of hits.
"PATHETIC!" yelled Jackie, nailing Jenny with a right cross, and following up with a high kick. "I was hoping you'd give me some sort of challenge!"
Jenny landed on her feet, and rubbed away a trickle of saliva on the corner of her lips. 'Damn, she's tough!' she thought. 'I'd better think of something, or I'm going to get my ass handed to me!'
Suddenly, she realized that Jackie had vanished. "Huh? Where'd she go?" she exclaimed.
"Oh, Jenny!" called Jackie's voice from above her.
"What the-HOLY CRAP!" yelled Jenny, her eyes the size of car tires as she saw what was above.
Jackie hovered in the air with her foot jets, her right arm pointing at her…in the form of a massive, four-barreled beam cannon! "You'd better think fast!" laughed Jackie, staring at Jenny with a wicked glare.
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" wailed Jenny, sure that she was screwed, until she remembered something. 'Wait a minute! I still have the Fire Phoenix!'
Once again feeling confident, she shot a grin at Jackie and yelled, "Go ahead, Jackie, I'm ready for you!"
"Okay, you asked for it!" sneered Jackie, firing the cannon.
'Ha! She fell for it!' thought Jenny. "ACTIVATE HYPER MODE!" she yelled, and she was immediately surrounded by a shell of roaring flames, which dissipated Jackie's attack.
Sheldon stared at Jenny in shock. "What!" he gasped. "She's using the Fire Phoenix again!"
Jackie, however, looked down with anticipation as the flames began to fade, revealing Jenny's new form. 'Well, now it's getting interesting!' she thought.
"Yes…yes! This is good!" said Jenny, now in her Fire Phoenix armor. "They say if you play with fire, you'll get burned! Do you still want to play with me?"
"Do you really have to ask, Jenny?" replied Jackie, descending back to the ground, a fair distance from Jenny. "Let's dance!"
"Okay, you asked for it!" said Jenny with a grin that was a little on the "evil" side.
It was around that moment when Johnny noticed that Sheldon looked like something was seriously wrong. "Sheldon, what's wrong?" he asked. "You look freaked out!"
"JENNY, DISENGAGE THE FIRE PHOENIX NOW!" Sheldon yelled at Jenny. "IT'S TOO RISKY TO USE IT!"
Mrs. Wakeman turned and looked up at Sheldon in alarm. "Sheldon, what are you talking about?" she demanded.
With eyes wide with terror, Sheldon explained, "The Fire Phoenix can't be used more than once in a 24-hour period! If it is used too soon, the power surge causes Jenny to go berserk!"
Just then, Jenny cried, "Have a taste of this!" and fired a blast of flame like when she had shot Serenade, right at Jackie.
Seeing the approaching attack, Jackie countered, firing a beam blast from her hands with a scream of, "HAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"
The two attacks collided, setting off a massive explosion that shot up into the air…and consumed where the others were standing.
"What in the name of Mechano?" exclaimed Xander, looking to his right when he heard the explosion. He watched in astonishment as he saw a pillar of energy shooting up into the air, rings spreading out from it as it climbed higher.
Xander quickly scanned the explosion, a light moving across his eyes as his mind processed the data. "That's one heck of an energy spike!" he said, sensing that something must have gone wrong back home. "This might be something worth checking out!" He goosed his jets, shooting back to Tremorton at supersonic speed.
Back at the house, Sheldon had opened his eyes, expecting to find himself halfway burned to ashes, but instead found he was sitting on the ground, perfectly fine. "Hey, we're still alive!" he said in amazement.
Mrs. Wakeman was just as surprised as he was. "But…but how is that possible?" she asked, looking at her hands to see if all the fingers were still there.
"Try asking her!" said Johnny, who was standing and looking directly in front of him.
"What?" cried Sheldon. "It can't be!"
Standing in front of Johnny was…Dianna! She had her hands stretched out in front of her, projecting an energy barrier that surrounded them like a shell. She had heard the noise outside and had come out just as Jenny and Jackie were firing their attacks. Reacting quickly, she had rushed in and put up the barrier to protect the others.
Jenny and Jackie were looking at Dianna in amazement. Actually, Jenny was looking at her with anger. Due to the Hyper Mode-induced insanity, she considered anyone that could put up a defense against her power was trash to be eliminated.
"Whoa, that's some good defensive system!" said Jackie.
"No! This is unacceptable!" yelled Jenny angrily.
Dianna glared at Jenny as she said, "No, Jenny, what's unacceptable is you using such dangerous powers around innocent people!"
"Jenny, please listen to me!" begged Sheldon, who didn't want things to get worse. "You have to disengage the Hyper Mode before you lose all control!"
Jenny gave Sheldon a look that suggested that she was about to kill him. "You…how dare you speak to me like that!" she snarled. "I am the ultimate robot, and I will not be ordered around by weak fools like you! I AM FIRE PHOENIX!"
"Looks like you have an attitude problem, Fire Phoenix!" said Dianna, clenching her fists tightly. "And I'm the one who's going to fix it!"