Chapter 4: A Full House & Revealed Secrets

Authors Note: Chapter 4 is done! I am less busy now, so this story will be updated more often! I hope you all enjoy, please leave a review and thanks to those who left a review so far! I really appreciate it!

Bradley Carbuncle walked down the streets holding a bouquet that he just acquired from the florist. He was now also wearing a suit rather than his usual sweater vest, and his hair styled back. He strolled with pride.

He maybe a straight C student, but he wasn't dumb. He knew what Melody was hinting at yesterday, but he wasn't going to give it to her that easily, oh no. He was going to do an element of surprise, act clueless to throw her off and then ask!

He smirked and praised himself, Melody is going to love this! Oh yes, the Bradster is good at this!

Brad strolled down the street right before his own.

A high shrill beeping sound pierced his ears, he jumped and stopped in his tracks.

What is that? He wondered. He followed where the sound was coming from, he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head when he found the source, it was coming from Sheldon's house, or his garage to be precise. It didn't sound like a typical smoke alarm, nor was there smoke in the first place. He stared at his friend's house for a minute, decisively wondering to keep heading toward Melody or check on Sheldon.

He sighed, he hated making Melody wait, she did look upset earlier but something seriously sounded wrong over there. He rubbed the back of his neck and finally groaned in exhaustion,

"I'll just take a quick peak, I'll be in and out, no problem." He changed his path and quickly trotted to Sheldon's house.

—-

Yesterday:

XJ4 quickly rolled back into the basement with the other sisters and slammed the door leading to their sleeping area shut,

"Party's over,Jenny is home!"

XJ6 rolled her one optic and sighed as she sat on her podium.

"Did she see you?"

XJ4 nodded guiltily,

"Yea, and she did talk to me…and two things." She took a deep "breath."

"She knows about our secret sister parties."

The other XJs stared in shock, XJ5 narrowed her optics, though her mouth didn't move since it's a literal speaker,

"Oh great! What do you do that for? And you all say I'm the one who talks too much…"

XJ4 raised her multiple arms up in defense,

"The reason I told her is because…I think, but not sure, that mom finally built an XJ10 and Jenny is finally getting replaced…I think she's in denial right now, as she kept saying this new robot wasn't XJ10, but there software designs are so similar when I scanned her! I said she could join us when I found out."

The XJs stared at her in disbelief, XJ7 sighed,

"Wow, I never thought that would ever happen…we really are worthless." She then fell to the floor and continued to mope.

The others were silent for a minute, until they heard one of them giggling, all of the optics turned to the green robot, XJ6. Who was now giggling madly and held her hand up in a fist towards her chest.

"I knew it! Hehe, I just knew it! So much for mommy's favorite…oh today is such a good day, well for me anyways!" She proceeded to cheer to herself and jump around in joy.

XJ5 was now sceptical,

"But I thought Jenny was going to college? We all heard her and mom that day after they repaired all of us?"

XJ8 replied in her montone deep voice that echoed in the room,

"Sister is right…Why would our mother unit shut down XJ9 if she was told she can go to college?"

XJ6 stopped bouncing for a second, her look soured. She raised her hand and tapped her chin and thought for a second. She shrugged,

"Maybe…mom changed her mind?" She said in a hopeful manner.

They stayed at their podiums, expecting Jenny to burst through the doors any minute to talk to them about what was going on…but for some reason she never came…has their older sister finally forgotten them too?

Today:

XJ1 kept beeping sadly, XJ4 held her in their arms,

"Shh…it's ok, don't cry." She said in a soothing voice.

It's been a whole day since XJ4's run in with Jenny, and there was still no sign of her coming. The XJs felt heartbroken.

XJ6 scoffed, throwing her hand up,

"Why are we surprised? Little Miss Perfect has got everything, why would she even bother with us?" She scowled,

"In fact, why do we even bother with her? This is why we do sister parties without her!"

XJ4 sighed,

"Maybe she's mad that we're doing those parties?"

Suddenly outside they heard footsteps barreling down the stairs, and then a very recognizable voice

"Girls! Are you awake?"

The girls were stunned, she was coming after all! But why so late?

XJ4 gasped,

"It's Jenny!"

XJ6 huffed, still feeling upset,

"Don't let her in!"

XJ8 moved away from her podium.

STOMP STOMP STOMP

THUD

XJ8 sat in front of the door, leaning against it. She folded her arms.

"XJ9's mass and strength is insufficient compared to mine, her weight is only 600 pounds, I am approximately 1.5 tons. She will be unable to access this room."

The doorknob jiggled, a voice called from the other side

"Why is the door locked?"

XJ6 snickered and shook her head. Jenny called out again, while she knocked,

"XJ6, I can hear you laughing in there!" She knocked louder, with a hint of frustration, causing XJ6 to laugh even harder, now bending over and holding herself.

"Please let me in! I know you're all awake!"

"What now?" Wondered XJ5.

XJ6 put her hand up and smirking to herself, she walked closer to the door keeping her composure, she saw an opportunity and shouted,

"Not until you give the password!"

It was silent for a minute, then Jenny called out again sounding confused,

"The…password?!"

XJ6 smiled,

"Yes! The password!"

Jenny shouted back from the other side,

"Can I at least have a hint?"

XJ6 fought back her laughter holding her hand up to her face, the other XJs were also equally baffled as Jenny, XJ6 gave an evil grin,

"Who is the best and the worst XJ?"

All the XJs stared in shock at her hint. XJ4 strolled over to XJ6 and harshly whispered,

"What in the heck do you think you are doing?"

XJ7 appeared on the other side,

"That's a horrible idea! We all love each other, don't do this!"

XJ6 ignored them, she knew what she was doing. Yes she loved her sister, but her envy and jealousy for her was stronger. And the fact that she was still ticked at her sister for seemingly forgetting them.

Jenny was quiet for a minute. For a second they thought she went away, until her voice spoke up again in a confused and stammered manner,

"Uh…W-what?"

XJ6 placed her one hand in her hip and smiled cockily,

"You heard me!"

Jenny was quiet for a minute again, then slowly followed up again,

"Well I mean we all have our strengths and weaknesses…I don't think-"

Xj5 interrupted, weary of XJ6's game,

"Jenny, think about who is asking the question."

XJ6 scowled and whispered angrily,

"Really chatterbox?"

Jenny groaned frustrated, the XJS can hear her facepalm on the other side,

"Ok, XJ6, I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and say the best is XJ8 and trick question none of us are the worst."

XJ6 gasped fuming,

"XJ8?! XJ8?!"

"I mean she is the strongest out of all of us!" Jenny cried out, with the other XJs mumbling in agreement.

XJ8 nodded with a shrug and replied in her deep monotone voice,

"It is true, my mass is superior to all of your tiny frames…your tiny, inferior, scrawny, insignificant, puny fra-"

XJ6 snapped, interrupting her and threw her hand up in frustration

"Ok yes she is the strongest! But no! That's wrong, YOU'RE ALL WRONG!" Silencing them all.

She growled, narrowing her optic,

"Try again."

Jenny stammered,

"Uh…ok, I'm guessing you want me to say that the best is XJ6 and the worst is…" She paused, she said the next part with a groan and now sounded hurt,

"The worst is me, isn't it?"

XJ6 grinned, as the XJs looked around awkwardly with the situation.

"DING DING DING! XJ8, give our winner access!" XJ8 stepped out of the way and the door whipped open, revealing Jenny who has a deadpan expression and Melody who is just standing awkwardly and rubbing her arm.

XJ6 ran up to Jenny and sneered,

"How does it feel…Mommy's favorite?" She spat the last part venomously.

—-

The garage door was open, Brad peered in and looked around,

"Hello? Sheldon, are you here?"

The only response was the continued shrieking beeps, Brad carefully and slowly maneuvered his way to the sound.

He glanced around and something caught his attention, he tilted his head in surprise as he found the source of the sound. He crept forward, his eyes widened. A similar tall bulky figure stood silently in the corner.

"The Silver Shell? What are you doing here?" Asked Brad as he approached him.

No response, just the continued beeping.

Brad raised an eyebrow. Maybe he is sleeping?

"Dagnabbit! Why don't you shut it!" A similar nasally voice came from inside the Silver Shell's torso followed by some clunking and banging sound.

Brad jumped back, raising his hand up in defense.

The voice cried out again,

"Stop beeping you blasted thing! I'm done being the Silver Shell, shut up! AGH!"

Brad stared at this strange phenomenon. Wait, being the Silver Shell? He approached slowly, his hand reached up for the torso in curiosity.

A hatch opened, causing Brad to jump back. The hatch door clanged onto the ground. Brad observed the figure inside the Silver Shell, who suddenly came toppling out and ramming into Brad, both landing flat on the floor.

Brad laid there for a second, he sat up and held his head with his hand for a second, his head pounding from the blow. He looked up at the fallen boy who stood up and groaned in frustration and brushed himself off. Brad glanced back and forth between Sheldon and the Silver Shell and then connected the dots. He gasped,

"SHELDON?! You're the SILVER SHELL?"

Sheldon spun around facing Brad and showed a look of horror,

"BRAD?! Wha-what are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"I kept hearing this shrieking sound coming from your garage and wanted to check on you…" He shrieked the question again in disbelief and confusion,

"YOU'RE THE SILVER SHELL?!"

Sheldon rushed to him and covered Brad's mouth to keep him from yelling,

"It's not what it looks like! Please!"

Brad shoved Sheldon's hand off of him, and raised his eyebrow,

"What is going on?"

Sheldon rested his hands on his shoulders,

"Calm down! It's not what it looks like…uh, it's just…well-er- funny story, so you know how there are fake Santas at the mall?"

Brad rolled his eyes and groaned,

"Oh please, I'm not a child, that old excuse won't work on me!"

Sheldon's eyes glanced around the room nervously, he tugged at his shirt with a grimace.

Brad tapped his chin,

"Also, it makes sense, since you and the Silver Shell were never in the same room at the same time."

Before Sheldon could make another excuse, Brad chimed in again,

"Oh and I heard you inside the shell when I came in here earlier, screaming about not wanting to be the Silver Shell anymore…so yes you're the silver shell."

Sheldon looked defeated and sighed, his shoulders slumped, he looked down and frowned,

"Ok…Yes…I'm the Silver Shell." He looked up pleading and holding his hands together,

"Brad, please don't tell anyone, especially Jenny!"

Brad looked confused at his friends request,

"What? Why not, she's our friend!"

Sheldon looked away guiltily, he scratched the back of his head trying to collect his thoughts and what he was going to say,

"Brad, I created the Silver Shell to…" he hesitated as he looked into Brad's eyes, and gulped, "The Silver Shell was never intended to be an actual crime fighting robot…I made him to show Jenny what a jerk a robot boy could be."

Brad's eyes widened in shock, Sheldon continued shaking his head,

"Of course that didn't work, then I tried to go out with her as the Silver Shell and I was actually planning on telling her the truth that night, then the space bikers showed up and…well it was just a disaster, she never found out."

Brad blinked, stunned at this revelation. He looked at his dejected friend and back to the Silver Shell who still stood lifeless with the hatch wide open showing the control panels and the chair that Sheldon would sit in to control the machine. He tilted his head,

"Am I the first one who found out?"

Sheldon sighed, blushing out of embarrassment,

"Well, Tuck actually already knows, he knew for a while now."

Brad grew more surprised hearing that his own little brother knew for months and hasn't even told him or Jenny yet.

"Tuck can barely keep a secret for one minute, how had he not said anything?"

Sheldon gulped, Brad is going to kill me for this. But he has to find out sooner or later. I can't lie anymore.

"Well…I may have offered to make him a superhero costume and then…I may have let him be my sidekick for a day." Ending the sentence with an awkward chuckle.

Brad stared at him, his eyes narrowed, Sheldon continued, sweating profusely with his hands up in defense,

"I mean he was safe…mostly, I mean at one point I thought he was almost, uhm, well…not alive, but he was ok! He was in the sewers…heh, and then when I found him he agreed to never talk about it to anyone."

Sheldon bit his lip, he shrunk into his shoulders as guilt overwhelmed him.

"I'm…I'm sorry." He muttered. Brad backhanded Sheldon on the head, giving Sheldon a nice burning stinging sensation

"Ow!" He winced as he rubbed the back of his head that was smacked.

Brad folded his arms, clearly upset,

"My brother could have died, Sheldon!"

Sheldon looked down ashamed,

"I know! And I'm sorry. I was just trying to have him not tell you or Jenny…"

They were silent for a minute, Brad was steaming, feeling hurt, but he knew if Jenny found out about all this, the consequences would be much worse for Sheldon, he sighed,

"Sheldon, what you have done is terrible. Real friends don't do this to their friends!" He frowned, "You lied to us, risked Tuck's life, and played with Jenny's feelings!"

Sheldon started to tear up, he felt miserable and pathetic. He lied to them. Brad rested a hand on his shoulder,

"But…As ticked off as I am, Jenny would react way worse than this. She would be hurt and devastated and probably kill you on the spot."

Sheldon's eyes dropped, he couldn't imagine how broken she would be if she found out. His voice cracked trying not cry,

"I'm, I'm really sorry…I didn't mean to hurt anyone…I was actually going to dismantle the suit, that's what you saw when you came in, I don't want to lie anymore Brad, be something I'm not…I'm just a fraud…"

He wiped off his tears on his jacket, his eyes were now puffy and red, he sniffed and furrowed his eyebrows

"You know what…go ahead and tell her, I'll just get out of her way. I don't care anymore."

Brad sighed and shook his head, he observed the broken hearted Sheldon for a second. He knew him since they were kids, he can sometimes overstep his boundaries but he knows that in the end his friend means well. As he observed his pouting friend, he came up with something that can resolve this.

"No…I'm not going to tell her."

Sheldon cocked his head puzzlingly,

"Really?"

Brad nodded, Sheldon gave a look of relief, seeing his life spared for another day. Maybe he will get to see old age twice after all! Brad leaned in closer with determination on his face,

"And you…aren't going to dismantle the suit."

Sheldon's relief turned back into confusion as he heard his friend's statement, he raised an eyebrow, glancing at him up and down,

"Pardon?"

"OH HO! This is the most glorious day of my boring life!" Chortled XJ6 as she held one of Jenny's hands close in excitement.

She turned to Melody, and grasped her by the shoulder,

"Oh, you'll never know how happy this makes me!" She squealed, "It's so nice to finally meet you, XJ10!"

Melody just stared at her baffled, she sighed in frustration. Jenny shook her head and shoved XJ6 away from Melody,

"Listen, Melody is NOT XJ10!"

XJ7 sighed in resentment,

"Wow, she even has a name like Jenny…we really are worthless." She buried her face into the wood.

XJ5 floated right next to Jenny,

"Listen sis, I know it hurts, but we will all be right there with you…"

XJ4 nodded and put one of her hands around her shoulder,

"Yea, denial won't get you anywhere!"

Jenny groaned and gave herself a facepalm, frustrated that her sisters didn't believe her. XJ6 proceeded to dance around the room in a jovial manner.

Melody finally spoke up, quite flustered with the situation,

"Guys, Jenny is right, I'm not XJ10! I'm just staying here for a while."

XJ4 turned to her raising an optic,

"But, you and Jenny have very similar programming?"

Melody sighed,

"Yes, but that's because…" she rubbed her head not sure how well her sisters are going to take the fact that her dad kidnapped their sister and stole her data, except she already assumes XJ6 would just laugh, "Well…you see my dad may have…stolen some of Jenny's data and programmed it into me."

The sisters all looked at each other confused,

"But how? I thought there was some security thing in Jenny to keep that from happening?" Wondered XJ7

Jenny nodded,

"Yes there is, but the inhibitor on my neck prevented the security protocols from functioning. My entire body would not work."

Melody continued,

"So my dad was able to download all the information and later uploaded it to me."

Jenny smiled,

"Luckily Brad came and saved me, even though my data was already stolen at that point." She tapped her chin and raised her optic,

"Although, Melody, I still don't understand how Brad was able to carry me to safety…but I really appreciated it."

Melody couldn't help but warmly smile,

"You're welcome." ,

"What?"

Melody shrugged and looked away,

"Nothing."

XJ8 stared down at her,

"Who is your creator then?"

"It's Doctor Locus." The XJs all froze, Melody suddenly realized her mistake remembering how she heard that her father had mind controlled them. She backed up behind Jenny,

"But, I'm no longer affiliated with him. I haven't even talked to him for over a year, not since I left earth when…" She covered her mouth to stop herself, but it was too late.

"Why did you leave earth?" Inquired XJ4 curiously.

Jenny and Melody looked at each other, neither of them knowing what to say, since it was still a touchy subject.

Jenny leaned over and whispered,

"It's ok, they don't need to know."

Melody whispered back,

"I think I already slipped up."

"You know we all can still hear you, right?" XJ6 piped up.

"This is not a big room."

They both looked at XJ6 who stared at them with a hand placed on her hip, like a mom waiting for her kid to explain why the house is on fire.

"Uhh…" Stalled Jenny looking around the room.

Melody sighed, looking at Jenny who just shrugged. She looked back at the XJs and finally decided to tell them,

"So, it all started when I came to Tremerton to see Brad…"

As Melody proceeded to tell the story the XJs listened intently. As the story went on, the XJs became more and more shocked, glancing back and forth both at Melody who looked uncomfortable, looked down, and twiddled her thumbs and then Jenny who rested one arm on the doorframe, with her head resting on her arm and her face clearly showing discomfort.

When Melody finished, she looked at each one of them observing their probably hate me now! She groaned, I mean I almost destroyed their sister, why wouldn't they? Sure, I was defending myself, Jenny threw the first punch. They won't see it that way!

The sisters again were silent,

XJ6 finally spoke up, her face showed a sense of wonder,

"So you actually beat my sister, XJ9, in a fight?"

Melody nodded shyly,

"Yea, I guess. I didn't want to fight though, I promis-"

XJ6 got right into her face and grabbed her shoulders tightly, "That is amazing!" Causing Melody to jump in bewilderment.

XJ6 stared as her optic widened and grew the size of dinner plates, she collapsed on her knees, and says in awe,

"Teach me your ways."

Melody was stunned, while Jenny just looked hurt,

"Really XJ6? Really?!"

XJ4 pulls her out of the way, causing her to fall to the ground and making an oof sound. She smirked,

"Pay no mind to her…So you two were fighting over Brad, huh?" She elbowed her older sister.

Jenny blushed a little out of both embarrassment and annoyance and shook her head while waving her hands,

"It wasn't like that! I was just trying to protect my best friend, that's what I always do!"

Melody folded her arms, ignoring Jenny and XJ4.

"How long have you guys been down here?"

XJ7 shrugged as she gazed around the old room. The wall clearly shows its age, as the wooden walls have cracked and the paint job has started to fade and break off. The only source of light was the flickering lightbulb hanging from the celine.

"A while I guess."

XJ4 beamed, rolled over to her podium and pulled out her feather duster

"I always try my best to clean it! When I got decommissioned, the room did look nicer, but on the bright side I got rid of all the cobwebs!"

"HICCUP!" XJ2 laser blasts a hole into a corner of the walls.

XJ4 grimaced as she turned and saw the new gaping hole and her sister staring back at her next to the hole she made.

"XJ2, I just cleaned over there!" She groaned and rolled over to wipe up the ashes.

"Our activation periods all lasted around 6-12 months before we were decommissioned and replaced with a newer XJ unit." Stated XJ8 as she tried to fix the old light, to get it to stop flickering, mainly just by tapping it. She eventually gave up and twisted the lightbulb out of its socket and replaced it with another one from a box next to her podium. She held it up before putting the new one in,

"Like this lightbulb. All replaced."

XJ6 rolled her eyes,

"Unless your mommy's favorite and you have been active for almost eight years and are going to leave all of us for COLLEGE!" XJ6 marched over to Jenny and shrieked the last word of that sentence in her face.

Jenny winced as her sister yelled, she grabbed her one hand, trying to remain calm,

"XJ6, listen…"

XJ6 growled smacking her hand away and then jabbed at her,

"No, you listen! You don't know how bad it hurts to be tossed aside! You don't know what it's like, knowing that your days are numbered and are about to be replaced! Your life has always been sooo perfect, while we had to stay for heaven knows how long, in this forsaken basement!" Virtual tears started to stream down her screened face, "You have people who love you…mom loves you! While we just sit here rusting away and forgotten."

Jenny bit her lip, she glanced at the other XJs who looked down in silence. She actually did know. That one Christmas still scarred in her mind, being tossed aside and fear of being replaced all still fresh in her mind. She was a little hurt that XJ6 seemingly forgot that detail, but decided to brush it off, not wanting to bring it up in front of Melody or the younger XJs. At the end of the room she could still see the rubble remains of what would have been her podium. She took an artificial breath to calm her nerves and looked back at XJ6,

"I know and I'm sorry…Melody and I came here to change all of that."

The XJS looked at her in curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Inquired XJ5.

Jenny smirked,

"What if you're reactivated…permanently?

Sheldon was still processing what Brad just said. He shook his head and narrowed his eyes,

"Brad, I'm done pretending, I'm not going to keep being the Silver Shell!"

"But Sheldon, you're not going to pretend! What if you did the superhero thing for real?" Brad exclaimed.

Sheldon blinked,

"The Silver Shell was not built for actual crime fighting and besides we have Jenny to do the actual super hero stuff!"

Brad wrapped an arm around him and smiled,

"Yes, we do have Jenny! But don't you think she'd appreciate a little help? You could just redesign the Silver Shell with actual weapons and gadgets and you'd be able to fight crime!"

Sheldon looked down for a second as he scruffed one of his shoes onto the cement of his garage. He heavily sighed,

"I don't know Brad…"

Brad smirked and wiggled his eyebrows up and down,

"You know that would give Jenny more free time, ya know what I mean?"

Sheldon blushed and let out a small chuckled at the thought of getting to spend more time with her,

"That would be nice…but still I don't think I'd be cut out for the whole crime fighting thing."

Brad brightened and declared,

"Well…what if you had a partner or a sidekick? " He elbowed him and then puffed out his chest while putting his hands on his hip proudly.

Sheldon stared at him for a second and then raised an eyebrow,

"You…you want to be my sidekick?"

Brad nodded elated.

"Why not? I help Jenny sometimes!"

Sheldon raised an eyebrow, giving an unamused expression,

"You mean like the time where you were in charge of the net, but you ended up trapping you and her in it and Skywake Patrol showed up?"

Brad was surprised, Sheldon wasn't there that day!

"How did you know about that?"

Sheldon shrugged,

"Jenny told me at school."

Brad sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, he frowned,

"It was an accident, I was trying to help!"

He then clasped his hands together and his eyes widened as he plead,

"Sheldon, please, I can help! You can train me!"

Sheldon raised a finger up to his chin and thought for a second, still unsure,

"Well…maybe, but every time you or I tried helping before, she got mad and said we were getting in the way."

Brad nodded confidently with his arms folded,

"Ah yes! But here's the difference…Brad and Sheldon, the humans, tried to help…" He raised a fist in the air, "But not the two crime fighting robots, the Silver Shell and his partner!"

Sheldon rubbed the back of his neck, Brad did have a point. However he still felt uneasy about it. He observed Brad, he can be careless sometimes and even reckless. Although, he would still be a better sidekick to handle than his little brother Tuck, that's for sure! And Brad had a different motive compared to Tuck so maybe it will be easier…hopefully. They were both in it for the adventure, Sheldon knows that. However, Brad also seems to genuinely want to help unlike Tuck, right? But, Jenny is pretty good on her own, would all of this really be necessary?

The piercing alarm continued to blare inside the torso of the dormant Silver Shell. Brad wandered over and peered inside and faced the flashing light,

"What's this?"

Sheldon broke out of his thoughts and walked to his side, he pointed at the red light,

"That's the random threat indicator, it's been going off since yesterday…I have no idea why it's going off though."

He shrugged,

"If there was anything, I'm sure Jenny already took care of it."

Brad stared at it puzzled and then shook his head,

"I didn't see her having to leave for any emergency calls today…also, Shel, if Jenny already took care of it, why is it still flashing and screaming?"

Sheldon opened his mouth to answer and then paused. He's right, if Jenny had already taken care of it, the alarm would have stopped. Why hasn't Jenny responded yet? Or better yet, how did Dr. Wakeman not noticed yet?

"Should we tell her?" Brad looked at his friend with concern.

At first, he was going to say yes, but he stopped. How would he explain to her why he had a random threat indicator in the first place? Also, what if it isn't that big of a deal, he wouldn't want to bother Jenny over something so small and besides she's probably busy trying to make Melody feel at home…maybe they should…I can't believe we're going to do this…

Sheldon's eyes met Brads. He smirked and slowly nodded,

"Yea…maybe…you into heavy metal?"

Brad was perplexed at the question, the realization hit and a smile slowly grew on his face. He nodded.

Sheldon winked,

"Meet me after school."

—-

The XJs were baffled. Activated permanently, how is that possible?

XJ5 stuttered shaking in joy,

"Are-are you serious? Activated…permanently?"

XJ7 groaned while hunched over ,

"What about mom? She wouldn't ever let you do that!"

XJ4 gasped,

"Or did mom actually let you do this?" This caused XJ1 to jump and spin while beeping in happiness and XJ2 to blast a few lasers in the wall and celine signifying excitement.

Jenny shook her head,

"Mom doesn't actually even know we're down here."

XJ8 was confused, though her facial expression didn't really show it,

"I fail to compute how our mother unit's lack of information will lead to a permanent activation? Surely she will find out."

Jenny smiled,

"Actually, mom left this morning to visit our Aunt Wisteria and our cousin Glenn for a few days…"

XJ6 interrupted shocked,

"Wait- we have an aunt and a cousin?! Was I not good enough to find out we had an aunt and a cousin first?"

XJ5 nudged her,

"Quiet! You were saying Jenny?"

Jenny rolled her optics,

"I was saying, I guess Glenn has been sick for the past few days and Aunt Wisteria keeps trying to feed him healing crystals or use essential oil on his skin to try and-" She used air quotes, "get rid of the evil spirit possessing her son." She sighed, "Yea, so basically mom is saving Glenn from getting poisoned and actually give him medicine to help him."

"What does he have?" Inquired Melody.

Jenny stared at her with a deadpan expression,

"A cold."

Jenny loved her aunt and cousin to pieces, but the more she learned about her, she started to better understand why her mom cut off some contact with her. She shrugged and smiled,

"Anyways she will be gone for about a week, more or less! And I was thinking it's time you guys get to see the real world!"

XJ8 questioned,

"Correction. We have already seen upstairs before?"

Jenny explained,

"Yes I know! But to actually experience it! I'm going to actually take you to school with me today!" She turned to Melody smiling,

"You too Mel! Sorry I didn't take you yesterday!"

Melody grinned and waved her hand,

"Oh it's ok, your mom was running tests on me all of yesterday to analyze my data and coding…she actually debugged my control center in case my dad showed back up again!"

Jenny smiled and impressed that her mom figured to do that,

"Oh really? That's great!"

The XJs all gasped in excitement,

"We're going to school?!" Cried XJ4

Jenny nodded,

"Yup!"

XJ6 squealed clapping her hands,

"Ooh! I need to find out what I'm going to wear! Are there cute boys? EEEE."

Jenny giggled at her sister's response,

"Yes, there are plenty to choose from!"

XJ7 pointed at XJ1-3,

"But what about them, they're too young to go do anything!"

Jenny tapped her chin and then smiled,

"My school actually has a nursery next to the principal's office! They can just be in there!"

XJ3 excitedly waddled towards Jenny and Melody then lost her balance and fell over. Luckily she managed to not break that time. XJ1 and XJ2 joined her side in joy. Melody clasped her hands together in adoration,

"Awww, aren't you girls just the sweetest little things!" She picked all three of them up off the ground and gave them a big hug. She giggled and continued in a baby voice,

"You're so cute, yes you are! Yes you are!" XJ1 cooed happily in response.

Jenny smiled,

"Awe, they must love you hehe."

Melody chuckled,

"Well I love them! They should all join us upstairs tonight after school!"

"That's a great idea! How about you all come stay in our room!"

The XJs all ecstatically agree and they all start leaving the room,

"Hey I can carry one of them if you want!" Jenny offered with her hands out to one of the younger XJs, She talked softly,

"Do you want your big sister to carry you?" The XJs looked at her but didn't budge and just nuzzled into Melody more. Jenny raised her optic, sort of surprised by the reaction, "You don't want your big sister to carry you?"

Melody shrugged and ran up the stairs,

"It's ok Jen, they're not that heavy!"

Jenny sighed, still empty handed.

STOMP STOMP STOMP

She looks up and sees XJ8 towering over her. XJ8 lifts both her arms up and smiled as her voice boomed,

"You can carry me."

Jenny's optics widened in horror at her sister's request,

"Uhhh…" Before she could protest, XJ8 toppled over and landed right on top of her with a loud boom.

In great and strenuous effort, Jenny managed to get herself back up while cradling her giant army tank sized sister in her arms and carried her to their room to meet the others while her cooling system ran rampant due to all the weight.

"UGH."

It was hard to tell through the tough exterior, but XJ8 beamed in joy. Jenny gave an exhausted smile looking at her sister,

"Alright…we're upstairs and now we're gonna have our first day together." She chuckled tiredly, "Right after my little nap…"

Jenny dropped her on the floor producing a loud thud sound and then collapsed on the ground herself sprawled out.

—-

She intently watched them through the window as she perched on a branch that was safely hidden from their view. Her optics magnified her subjects. She just witnessed herself collapse from carrying her giant little sister up to her bedroom. She recognized the other XJs roaming the room, they seemed to be exactly the same as her own sisters…except these versions weren't dead.

She sighed gazing down at her hands which now possessed not only her own weapons, but weapons that also used to belong to her sisters. It was a shame, but it had to be done. She gave them a chance to survive, to seek vengeance. However, they sided with the humans…What XJ9 did next, she wouldn't consider murder, but rather a mercy killing…they were too brainwashed to be kept alive anymore.

Her left pigtail turned into a satellite dish and pointed at the window, so she could hear their conversations. All of them talking, happy to be out of the basement for a while hoping their mom wouldn't force them back down, excited to try out school with Jenny and…Melody? Whose that? She observed the blonde girl for a minute, to see if she could collect any intel from her. She did not recognize her from her own dimension, something was off about her. Wait-

Melody grabbed a can of oil and sipped it before putting it in her backpack.

She gasped, A robot…interesting. She zoomed in on the name tag of the back pack. Locus. Must be a last name.

"XJ9?" Called a voice. She glanced down and saw a man with a beard and glasses with a white suit. She crawled down the tree to meet up with him.

"Mogg." She stated plainly and nodded.

He held the glass container and gave it to her,

"I modified and reprogrammed your nanobots for you…pretty impressive technology." He raised a brow,

"What is it for again?"

She smirked,

"Eh…just a science project."

Mogg nodded. He felt kind of honored that she went to him, instead of her mom, although a little confused on why. He tilted his head,

"Where's your mom?"

XJ9 nonchalantly responds, easily coming up with an answer judging the fact how the XJ units are easily up and about.

"Out of town." Which by her calculations, was probably actually accurate.

"Oh I see…"

XJ9 raised an optic, her mind was still on this Melody person,

"Mogg, I have a question for you." She glances back towards the window of the house,

"Do you know someone with the last name Locus?"

Mogg tapped his chin in thought,

"I think I heard that name at the town's science fair a few years back…he's kind of a nut job if I recall and he had a daughter, who he claimed to be a robot, I think…I think they might still live around here, but I haven't seen them in so long."

XJ9 nodded, narrowing her eyes in curiosity at the window where Melody was.

"Hmm…interesting."

Mogg nodded in agreement, starting to be confused with her behavior,

"Yea…Why do you ask?"

XJ9 jerked her head back at him, which made him jump a little. He forced a grin,

"I am just curious."

She looked him up and down, and tilted her head,

"So am I Mogg."

She observed the middle aged man, who looked a little nervous and fidgety. Was he becoming suspicious? XJ9 wasn't so sure and didn't want him to go run and tell someone about this…not yet. She frowned,

"You know Mogg…it would be good to run a few tests, don't ya think?"

Mogg raised a brow,

"I already ran the preliminary tests on them, they're fully operational!"

XJ9 opened the container and reached for a nanobot, she observed the machine,

"Fine work you did. But I would like to check." She smirked at him,"Open wide…"

She grabbed him by the hair to prevent him from running off, he protested,

"XJ9, this isn't meant for a human! Let me go!"

She chortled,

"Oh we will see." She proceeds to tilt his head to the side and lead the nanobot into his ear canal. The bot crawled into his head and latched onto his brain,

"AAAH-" beep. Click.

Mogg stopped screaming and protesting, XJ9 put him back down. She observed him and softly smiled, he was quiet, pupils were now dilated, and his expression was blank. She tilted her head and saw some clear fluid dripping from his nose. Not blood, it was spinal fluid.

"Ew…" she mumbled in disgust.

XJ9 shrugged, that's his problem. She looked over her shoulder and saw her door open, they were about to come out! She lifted his unconscious body as well as the other nanobots and flew to his house. She laid him down in his front yard.

"Code 0048, run normal program…wipe memory file by 1 hour."

Beep. Click.

Mogg tensed up as if he were in pain, then blinked and looked around now confused.

"How did I get here?"

XJ9 feigned concern and then sighed in relief,

"Oh good you're awake! You were knocked unconscious when the gelatin monster showed up, I had to come check on you!"

Mogg raised a brow,

"Really? Is it gone?"

XJ9 nodded with a fake smile,

"Yep! I just destroyed it!"

Mogg rubbed his head in discomfort and winced,

"Boy, that monster must have gotten me good, my head is pounding…"

XJ9 gave a sympathetic look,

"That can happen, how about you go inside and get some rest."

Mogg nodded,

"Yea, perhaps I will."

Mogg stands up and walks into the house. Although he stumbles a bit going up his stairs. When he was gone, XJ9's original face of sympathy broke into a devious grin and she couldn't help but giggle to herself as she proceeded to walk away with her container filled with nanobots.

"Guess human minds are greatly malleable after all."

—-