Brad hums as he looks over a paper in his hands. "Baked ham?" He looks down at Tuck, who holds it over his head in their kitchen.
"Check!" He tosses it into a basket.
"Coleslaw?" Brad asks him again.
"Check," Tuck puts the jar of it in the basket again.
"Cheese wheel?"
"Check," The boy holds up a big wheel of cheese.
"Ant repellant?"
"...Uh..." Tuck pauses as he actually doesn't have it on him. He then shrugs cluelessly.
"Must be in the pantry," Brad hops off the counter. "You stay here; I'll be right back."
Tuck grins widely at being left alone and then rushes out of the kitchen. Jenny flies in from outside the window, a smile on her face.
"Medicine ball, check," Tuck places down a large ball in the basket and the robot looks down at him.
"Hi, Tuck."
He then gets a sled. "Sled, check." He runs off again and she stares after him.
"Ms. Mecha and I just vanquished the giant mechanical spider that was terrorizing the town," She starts off, but he still doesn't pay any attention as he grabs some skis.
"Snow skis, check."
"Wanna see the head?" She grins as she holds up a 9-eyed spider head. "So, Johnny, how do you like school? Closed."
"Croquet set!" Tuck beams as he has even more stuff in his hand and then trips. Brad comes back into the kitchen and sees their friend, leaning against the sink.
"Hey, Jenny."
"Hey, Brad," She smiles at him. "What's up with Tuck?"
"The annual brother/sister picnic is this afternoon," He informs her. "Every year, it's the same thing," He rolls his eyes to the back of his head. "We spend two days packing a picnic basket, then Tuck stuffs himself with free corndogs till he passes out." He sighs, a hand on his cheek as he looks tired just thinking about it. "Oh, I'd rather have my teeth drilled than slog through another big bro-little bro event."
"You can't mean that," She defends and he glances up at her. "You should be grateful to have a brother! You'll never know how lonely it is being an only..."
"Vat of pickled monkfish," Tuck struggles to pack the chair, either not noticing or caring that the picnic basket is already full enough.
"I could handle lonely," Brad looks back up at the robot. "Well, at least this year, I've got Amy and her sisters to keep me company. Last year they didn't show because...well, you know," He glances away; the Smith sisters chose not to go last year because of Amy's transition, since she was getting bullied at school for it, so it would be their first year that she is a girl going to the picnic.
"Oh...I should go see if she needs cheering up! I'm sure her sisters are probably feeling a little awkward since they have an older sister and not older brother. See ya!" Jenny flies off, looking a little sad since...she's a robot, so therefore, she doesn't have siblings. She flies all the way down to Amy's house, knocking on the window of the kitchen. Amy looks up while packing the picnic basket and opens up the window.
"Hey, Jen. What's up? I've only got a few minutes to spare, we're leaving soon for the annual picnic," She states, walking over and packing some cut-up pineapples.
"I was just making sure you were okay since...you're a girl now," Jenny rubs her arm and Amy flinches, looking over her shoulder.
"I'm not sure if I'm the one you have to be worried about," She raises a brow, sighing. "It's my sisters that are more of a concern to me. They took my change well, but this time they're going to the picnic with Amy and not Aaron..."
"They shouldn't care, it should feel like old times, shouldn't it?" Jenny raises a brow.
"Fair, but an older sister isn't entirely the same as an older brother, there are some stuff I used to do that were more masculine. Like when I wrestled Emily or when I used to tease Claudia over her potential boyfriend, I don't do that anymore."
"Well, you guys had a year. I think you'll be fine," The robot assures and she smiles.
"Thanks...wish you could go, though. For Brad, it's a drag, but for me, it's fun. And it'll be nice to spend some time with them after...you know," She looks at Jenny knowingly. Ever since becoming a superhero, she hadn't had that much time with her sisters lately... "They're getting a little restless without me..."
"TELL US WHERE YOU GO OFF TO OR I WON'T GO!" Piri shouts from her room and Amy gives a blank look.
"Shouldn't you-"
"I got it. I have my ways," Amy interrupts, holding up a hand. She then crosses her arms. "Try as I want to, but we both swore that we can't tell anyone about what I'm doing with you..."
"I wish I had a sibling..." Jenny laments and the brunette blinks.
"Well, your mom's been our neighbor for years, you can't be the only robot she's ever built..." She hints and Jenny gasps in realization.
She opens the door to her house, finding it empty. So empty that a thistle whistles by...she walks into the kitchen, grabbing an oil can before seeing a note from Dr. Wakeman. She has a sad look on her face from the reminder that she's an only child. "Gone to town for supplies. Please move quantum gigulator to the basement. Love, Mom. PS, I love some motor oil out in case you get thirsty," She looks up at the quantum gigulator in front of her. "Cheers..." She sips it and then moves the thing downstairs into the basement. She has another sip of oil before tossing the thing away. The light bulb swings and she reaches out to stop its movement. Then she looks to her right, seeing a door that's unfamiliar to her.
"A door? I never noticed that before."
She opens it and peeks inside. Then flinches in alarm to see stands with shadows on top, all of them in different sizes and heights, ranging from big, tall, thin, and short. She glances at a switch that turns on everything and flips it. Whirring noises occur and a happy smile is on her face as she watches.
The next day, at the picnic, Brad and Tuck are playing badminton. Amy and her sisters are watching from a few feet away, eating some sandwiches.
"Get ready to see the dude that put the bad in badminton," Tuck throws up the shuttlecock and swings all around, but the thing lands on his head. Piri giggles at him and he pouts at her.
"More like lame-minton, my lad," Brad jokes back, leaning on his racket. Tuck grits his teeth, clenching his racket tightly. He swings the shuttlecock and gets a hit, and it soars to Brad. "Yipe!" He ducks his head as the thing goes right through his racket, and then towards the four sisters. They yelp and jump out of the way, looking in the direction of the shuttlecock.
A brother and sister are looking up at a butterfly when the shuttlecock is soaring towards them. The butterfly lands on the boy's finger, the shuttlecock actually burning now as it heads for the two, who are painstakingly unaware of what's to come. They finally look up a few seconds later and before they could get hit, a giant hand stops in front of them and catches it. The shuttlecock turns to dust as the two kids look up in fear to see a giant robot looking over them.
"Sporting mishap averted. Please return to your carefree frolic."
The two run away screaming, and the robot steps over the flowers. Tuck and Piri hide behind their siblings, Amy looking up wide-eyed as the robot stops in front of Tuck.
"Jenny?" He murmurs in confusion.
"That's not Jen," Amy shakes her head slowly, standing up. "But it definitely looks like a similar design..."
"Hey, guys," Jenny smiles, looking over the giant robot's arm. "I'd like you to meet my sisters," By sisters, she means all 8 of them as they come out of hiding. Claudia, Emily, Piri, and Amy all stare at them with open mouths.
"But we thought you were an only child," Brad points out.
"You didn't go to like a robot warehouse and steal them, did you?" Amy raises a brow.
"Me too, and no. Guess Mom was holding out on me."
"Wait, your mom was hiding them?" The brunette asks in disbelief, wondering why she would keep that a secret from Jenny in the first place...wouldn't it have been important to note at some point?
"This little sweetie is XJ1," Jenny holds up the egg-shaped robot, who is supposed to be...well, a baby. She cries out oil, and it spills onto Amy's face. "Oops, sorry. Somebody needs her oil changed."
"Riveting," Amy deadpans as Claudia hands her a napkin and she wipes her face off.
"And here's XJ2," Jenny gestures to the laser blaster-like robot, who hiccups and shoots out lasers. "We have to find a cure for those hiccups."
Brad is holding Tuck wide-eyed as the lasers had made holes in the ground, the boy standing on his tip-toe. Amy was holding Piri while Claudia and Emily had backed away in alarm as the lasers ruined their picnic. "You might wanna make that a priority," Brad points out.
"As in, get your mom to fix that yesterday," Amy adds in.
"Come here, XJ3," Jenny wiggles a finger forward to the smallest robot, who is supposed to be like a toddler. "Don't be shy." The tiny robot walks forward, but then trips and all of her limbs come apart on the ground. "She's a little clumsy."
"More like loosely limbed, eeey," Emily jokes and Amy elbows her in the arm.
"Please stop..."
XJ4 rolls over and sweeps up XJ3 with a built-in dustpan and broom. "There's no excuse for untidiness."
"Uh, thanks, XJ4."
"Hi," A flying radio appears in front of Brad. "I'm XJ5. Nice to meet ya," She sniffs the air, somehow. "Whoa, you smell kinda funny." He glares as the four girls nearby snicker at her comment. "But then again, all you humans do." The four stop giggling and glare at her. "Oh, hey, lookie," She looks down at Tuck. "A munchkin. You smell a little funny, ha!" Tuck glares at her with clenched fists. "I understand you organic beings enjoy a good joke."
"Keyword being good," Piri looks away and then she flies in front of the human sisters.
"Oh, look, more of them! Now they smell a little more funny, ha ha!"
Amy rubs a temple and then someone clears their throat. "Uh, hi," Brad turns to XJ6. "You must be XJ6."
"Don't patronize me," She glares at him. "You think XJ9 is cuter than me, don't you? Eh, don't bother answering. It's all written all over your face."
"Where?!" XJ4 speeds over and wipes off Brad's face.
"Ugh, I hate that phase," Amy whispers to Emily, gesturing to XJ6. "You were just as bad last year."
"I was not," Emily pouts at her.
"You thought you were getting fat just because someone said you looked like you gained five pounds, and then you sobbed about it for a whole week," Piri deadpans, Emily giving her a small growl.
"I guess no one's going to introduce me," XJ7 bemoans, falling onto the ground. "I'm worthless..."
"You're not worthless, XJ7," XJ5 floats over her sister. "Why, melted down, you'd easily fetch 20 dollars at the recycling plant!"
"And this is XJ8," Jenny smiles up at the tallest robot, hugging her. "She's the closest to me in age, but she's still my little sister."
"It would appear that I am larger than you. Therefore, I am the bigger sister, and you are the little sister. The puny, scrawny, inferior-"
"Yeah, okay," Jenny interrupts, Claudia and Amy smiling awkwardly. When Amy was Aaron, she'd always fight with Claudia over who was the better older sibling, but now that Amy was a girl, they didn't really do that anymore...Amy just assumed that was because she changed her gender last year, and so she had more issues to deal with that Claudia didn't want to add more to it. "Really, she looks up to me."
"Actually, since I am taller than you-"
"Attention, picnickers," A voice interrupts XJ8 from a speaker. "The games are about to begin."
"Come on, girls!" Jenny smiles as she waves them forward. "Let's have some fun...sibling style!"
"Okay, XJ3. This is the three-legged race. We can win this," Jenny encourages as for some reason, she was paired up with XJ3...Amy is paired up with Emily as they stand at the starting line. "But you've gotta be quick on your feet."
XJ3 looks at her foot...and it falls off. "On your marks, get set, go!"
Jenny runs off and soon, she crosses the finish line. "We won!" She pants with a smile on her face. "We did it, XJ3. XJ3?" She looks back to see that her sister's limbs have fallen off again, one by one. She waves with her little hand and Amy looks down at her.
"Not sure if that counts, to be honest..."
"This is gonna be great," Jenny smiles at her sisters behind her as it's tug of war, all 9 robots on one side, with the humans on the other. "You girls ready?"
"On your marks. Get set-"
As soon as they pulled, XJ8's strength was enough to pull all of the humans into the mud in a heap. "Go..."
"You people are filthy!" XJ4 speeds over to them. "Have some self-respect," She then sprays them with a hose... "Tidy yourselves up."
"So you're pretty darn old for a human," XJ5 jokes to an old man, who's trying to hear her through megaphone. "And those nose hairs-"
"Uh, XJ5?" Jenny speaks up behind her. "You should leave that man-"
"Whoa, chatterbox, wait your turn. Can't you see I'm having a conversation with this gentleman?" However, the man doesn't seem to be listening anymore as he's trying to leave with his cane. "Great. Now you scared him off. Hey, Pops, wait up! So, how old are you in, say, dog years?"
Jenny places a hand on her forehead, feeling so embarrassed...
"Hey, XJ7," Jenny bends down to her sister. "What's got you down?"
"Oh, life. The universe, everything..." They suddenly hear country music and Jenny smiles as she realizes what it is.
"What we both need is a good square dance."
"Great. A crowd of humans laughing at my awkward shuffling," XJ7 deadpans while following after Jenny into a tent for a square dancing contest. "That'll cheer me up..."
Claudia is dancing with Emily and Amy is dancing with Piri, both pairs looking like they're having fun. XJ7 actually has a smile on her face.
"Say, this isn't so bad."
"Ya see? You gotta learn to look on the bright side," Jenny tells her with a smile. XJ2, 3, and 1 run over to join in on the fun...but then XJ2 starts hiccuping, stopping everything. She knocks over a stand and Jenny runs over to catch the band that fell. XJ3 runs over and trips, losing her limbs and everyone falls on her. Jenny lands on XJ2, causing her to fire a longer laser. A man near the bear yells in alarm and ducks, the laser hitting the drink barrel, and it explodes. Everyone's drenched, looking down at the group, Jenny smiling awkwardly.
"So what's the bright side of this?" XJ7 rolls over to them.
"Well, at least we're still clean."
But then she takes that back when XJ1 burps oil onto them.
Someone lets out a scream and Amy flinches, shaking herself clean. "What now?" Jenny wonders as she stands up.
XJ8 is shaking a tree, Jenny and Amy running over to her. "XJ8, what are you doing?" She protests and Amy looks up.
"This human was blindfolded and was using a stick type weapon to vandalize a colorful paper pig," She points up to the little girl who was gonna whack a pinata, but is now clinging to the tree. Amy places a hand on her forehead. Jenny has the same reaction, groaning.
"It's a game, XJ8," Jenny informs her angrily, flying up to the girl. "It's a pinata. It's filled with candy, and the kids try to break it open."
"Candy?" XJ8 wonders as Jenny puts the girl safely on the ground. "What is this candy of which you speak?"
"Okay, let me show you," Jenny smiles, putting a blindfold over her eyes. "We blindfold you. Then we give you a stick," She hands XJ8 a giant stick and Amy flinches. "Now, see if you can break the pinata."
"Um, Jen, I don't think it's a good idea to-"
XJ8 interrupts Amy by shooting laser beams out of her eyes...and not only melts the pinata, but sets the candy on fire. The kids yell in pain while trying to grab the candy. Piri kneels on the ground, looking up to the sky.
"Why cruel world?!" She shouts in agony.
"What's the matter with you?!" Jenny demands to her sister, who frowns. "Ugh!" She storms off, the other sisters coming out of hiding behind XJ8.
"What's wrong, sis?" XJ8 asks unknowingly.
"What's wrong? I thought it would be great to have sisters. But you guys are terrible!" Amy's eyes widen at her blunt honesty. "You're a thug. And you're a neat freak. You're a mope, and you're just destructive! You never shut up, and you..." She sees XJ1 leaking out oil tears. "Forget it! You're on your own. I'm back to being an only robot!" She storms off, the 8 robots frowning towards the ground.
"Jen!" Amy runs after her and they go right past Brad.
"Jenny, I hate to break this to you, but brothers and sisters are supposed to embarrass you and drive you crazy. It's like their job." They look at Tuck, who swallows a watermelon whole and then spits out the seeds onto a flower. He then starts choking and gives himself the Heimlich maneuver...for one seed. He then eats some watermelon again. "See what I mean?"
"Exactly," The brunette jerks a thumb to him. "Brad already does that enough to me, and I'm not even his sister."
"Hey!" Brad glares at the jab as she smiles playfully at him.
"Kidding," She holds up her hands. "Though, to be fair, these guys just got re-activated, didn't they? Cut them at least some slack, they don't know how the world works. They're only just doing what they're being programmed to do. They're a little...misguided if anything," Amy shrugs at her. "Though if it were me, I'd prefer them over my little sister trying to sneak a cookie out of our picnic basket," She glares behind her at Piri, who grins widely and inches away from the basket.
"Love you, sis! You're doing great," Piri gives two thumbs up.
Amy shakes her head with a small smile, turning to her friend. "You've just gotta get used to it, you know? Siblings can be annoying, but they're there forever, and for good reasons. I can't tell you how much my sisters helped me out when I went from boy to girl. Not only did they accept it, but they bought me a bunch of clothes, they let me borrow their hair stuff, they comforted me during hard times. Not every single sibling would do that, you know."
"I hear what you guys are saying, but-"
"Hey, who's that on the dam?" Brad raises a brow and they look up ahead to see two shadows standing on the dam.
"It can't be..." Jenny switches out her eyes for telescopes. "It is. The Mad Hammer Brothers." The duo are using drills on the dam, threatening to flood the whole area!
"I still don't see why we can't blow up the roller rink," The taller brother says to the shorter one.
"Cause everyone's here, spaz."
"You're the spaz."
"No, you are!"
"You stink like a monkey butt."
"You stink like an elephant butt."
"You stink like a spaz butt."
"I hate to butt in, but I think it's time for this to end," Jenny adds in as she and Ms. Mecha fly in from the sky.
"Never say that again," Amy closes her eyes. "That was painful, Jen."
"Not yet, robot girls," The taller one says to them.
"Yeah, spaz," The two hold up their hammers, linking them like bungee cords to the dam. Before the two girls could reach them, the brothers jump off the dam. The two laugh as they drill down the wall, Amy gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.
"Oh no! They're gonna split the dam!" Jenny exclaims in realization. The two swoop down and take one brother each. "Okay, you two, let's simmer down and make nice," The two kick one brother each to tie them with their own ropes.
"You're too late, spazbots," They say in unison.
"What do you mean by that?" Amy demands them.
"Too late?" Jenny looks up to see that the duo made a successful crack into the dam. "Oh no!" They fly over and place the brothers down before going back to the crack threatening to push out and flood everything. The duo push back as hard as they can, but they're simply not strong enough to hold it together. "Water pressure...too strong."
"Can't...contain it..." Amy grunts out.
"Can't hold it back alone!"
"You're not alone!" XJ5 speaks up and they look to the sky to see all 8 sisters above them. "Your sisters are here to help, Jenny! XJ1, grease the slice!"
XJ1 flies over and barfs out oil around the large space. "XJ8, use some muscle!"
XJ8 uses her body to help push the large piece back into place. "XJ2, do your stuff."
XJ2 shoots out some lasers around the crack.
"Tidy up, XJ4."
XJ4 uses a plaster that she has to help seal the crack.
"Okay, XJ3, check for workmanship."
XJ3 looks down and then gives a thumbs up. "Wow, we did it," Jenny says happily to her sisters, Amy flying down and landing next to her. "You guys saved us!" She looks down with a frown on her face. "And after all the rotten stuff I said..."
"That's what sisters are for," XJ8 smiles down at her.
"Oil is thicker than water," XJ6 recites to her.
"But so much harder to clean out of a carpet," XJ4 adds in.
"A few harsh words aren't going to break up the XJs," XJ5 tells Jenny. "Which now includes you, Ms. Mecha!"
"I have my—I mean, thank you," Amy bites her lip, almost correcting her to say that she has her own sisters.
"That's right. Ain't nothing gonna tear us apart," Jenny says as they share a group hug.
"Aww!" The Mad Hammer Brothers say in unison nearby, getting their attention.
"We hate to blow this precious moment."
"But we got two tons of TNT that'll tear you apart quite nicely, spazzes."
They both pull the lever to blow up the dam, and it breaks apart, everyone on the giant piece that they just fixed as the water flows over.
"Hey, the dam's leaking," A little boy looks down at the water.
"Come on, folks. Let's not let a little water ruin our picnic," Tuck insists to the others. "This is a great chance for some mud wrestling!" His eyes widen as he turns around and sees a giant wave looming over everyone. It then washes over, everyone being swept away.
"Oh, no. What can we do?" Jenny asks her sisters, Amy having a small look of horror as she realizes that her own sisters are still out there.
"Nothing," XJ7 says sadly. "We're doomed."
"Everyone, robo wall!" XJ5 suggests to them and they jump up into the air. XJ1 turns into a giant tile. XJ8 forms into a giant triangle. XJ3 forms into a diamond. XJ4 turns into a cube. XJ1 and 8 link together, XJ5 doing the same with XJ8. XJ3 links to XJ5. "Come on, Jenny, Ms. Mecha! We can't do it without you."
Amy gives a nervous look since her whole body can't form into any shape, only her arms and legs. Jenny smiles as she's the last piece and then Amy carries them over to the wall. "Wow, for 9 robots, you're surprisingly light for a wall," She couldn't help but comment as she places them at the dam, the water going down. It reveals everyone who had been washed up...and also Dr. Wakeman outside the park in her car. A fish is on her windshield wiper.
"For heaven's sake! Can't I even run to Radio Shed without pandemonium breaking loose?"
Amy flies down in front of the dam, looking around for her own sisters in worry. "Don't worry, Amy."
She blinks, glancing back at XJ5. "Go find your sisters, we got this!"
"Wait a minute, how did you-"
"Oh, we're robots! You really think we can't tell a fake one from a real one? But don't worry, your secret's safe with us," XJ5 assures her and she smiles, transforming back into Amy and then running off. She scopes the area until she sees her sisters in a tree.
"Guys! Are you okay?"
"We're...alive, at least," Emily groans, a hand on her head. "Where'd you go?!"
"Umm...around, heh..." Amy rubs her neck, the three giving her a blank look.
"You should never have reactivated them, XJ9," Dr. Wakeman scolds Jenny once they're home. "XJ1 through 8 are failed experiments. They're unfinished prototypes-"
"They're heroes!" Jenny stands in front of the group protectively, all of them saddened at her words. "And more importantly, they're my sisters."
"Well, you and your sisters have had your fun. Now they need to go back to sleep."
"Great; they can bunk in with me!" Jenny offers happily.
"That's not what I meant," Dr. Wakeman glares at her.
"Please, Mom?" Jenny bends down on her knees, clasping her hands pleadingly. "Please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"Ohh, alright," The woman caves in. "But just tonight."
"You hear that, girls?"
"Slumber party!" They all cheer in unison.
Claudia, Piri, Amy, and Emily got invited to the slumber party, the four girls laying on Jenny's floor in sleeping bags. "This is so weird..." Emily whispers to Amy, glancing to the heap of robots on the bed.
"Not really, you kept insisting that you sleep in my bed still sometimes," Amy smirks at her.
"Amy!" Emily whines as she didn't want people to know that fact.
"Goodnight, XJ4," Jenny says while leaning backwards on XJ8.
"Goodnight, Jenny."
"Goodnight, XJ8."
"Goodnight, Jenny."
"Goodnight, XJ5."
"Goodnight, Jenny."
"Goodnight, XJ5."
"Goodnight, XJ6."
"Goodnight, XJ8."
"Goodnight, XJ2."
XJ2 just hiccups in return.
"Goodnight, XJ7."
"Goodnight, Jenny. Goodnight, XJ1."
XJ1 makes a beeping noise.
"Goodnight X...J..." XJ5 falters as a creaking noise is heard. Because of all the weight on the bed, it falls through the floor and into the living room.
"Goodnght, XJs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. And goodnight, XJ10."
"What?!" Jenny flinches in alarm.
"Kidding. Just kidding," Dr. Wakeman points at her with a playful smile. All of them burst into laughter, XJ2 blasting her lasers.