It's a calm morning in Tremorton...until something lands against a tree, sliding down into a pile of bug-like entities. Jenny sweeps her hands while she and Ms. Mecha are flying over them. They then turn around to the one responsible for the attack. "So, Vexus, ready to surrender?" Jenny asks while clenching a fist. Vexus is the leader of Cluster Prime. She laughs manically at the duo.
"So, you've dismantled a handful of my drones. But we are legion! One day soon, you and your friend will join us and together, we will enslave the human race!"
"We'll never surrender to you!" Amy declares angrily.
"Think again, evil robot queen. Because as there's a human being alive that needs our help, we'll be there," Jenny gestures to herself, Amy glancing at her a little awkwardly. While she finds the speech inspiring, it's a little...preachy. "When you see a little kid trying to outrun a cannibal android, we'll be there. When you see some working guy trying to get his change back from a demon-possessed snack machine, we'll be there. And when the day comes that crime-fighting robots and plain folks can live together in peace, laughin' and hootin' it up-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it already," Vexus interrupts in annoyance. "But your words are meaningless. You two will be members of the Cluster before you know it." She sprays something onto Jenny and Amy, the two coughing from the green grass. Vexus swipes the air to make a portal, waving them off. "Be seeing you." She then dives into the portal, leaving the two disoriented a little from the smoke.
"What a..." Jenny coughs between words. "Witch." However, in the smoke, a little orange capsule is inserted into Jenny's mouth. Another one heads for Amy, attaching itself to her helmet. The capsule in Jenny's body goes down a pipe and then turns into a tiny little robot. The same thing happens on top of Amy's helmet, and the one in Jenny bites on something. "Yowch!"
The other tries to get inside Amy's body, but is baffled to find human hair instead of wires. "Are you okay, Jen?" Amy asks and then looks up, seeing the tiny little robot on her head. They look at each other for a few seconds before the brunette smacks it away and it goes flying.
"Yeah...that was weird," She holds her stomach, Amy closing off the panel on her head. "What about you?"
"Some weird bug," Amy waves it off before they hear the school bell.
"Crikey, we're late for school!" And with that, she takes off.
"Okay, you sure you okay? No one uses crikey anymore," The brunette calls out, flying after her.
"And the axelockle, a primitive amphibian, is unique in its ability to-"
"Boring~" Brad sings to his friends in science class. "So tell me again about how you and Ms. Mecha beat that battalion of Cluster butt."
"We're in class," Amy reminds him in annoyance.
"Cripes," Jenny rolls her eyes to the back of her head. "Not again, Brad. That story really loses its zip after the 100th retelling."
The brunette looks up in confusion, glancing at Jenny. "Wow, I really gotta teach you proper slang one of these days," She murmurs to herself, rubbing her chin.
"Come on! It's exciting," Brad insists to her. He places his hands on his hips forlornly. "My only battle today is between my urge to gorge on chocolate and my desire to be zit-free for the school photo tomorrow." He glances at a chocolate bunny in a basket that just so happens to be on his table. "Foul temptress."
"That's one good thing about being a robot," Jenny smiles at him. "I never have to worry about breaking out."
"Man, you've got it easy. I have to deal with Emily's whining about her zits almost every single week," Amy rolls her eyes to the back of her head as well. "Keeps going on about how her generation gets ruined with them or something."
A giant bolt appears on Jenny's forehead and she flinches in surprise. And because she's a robot...bolts represent zits. She looks up at it and then screams in horror. She stands up and flies straight through the ceiling.
"Okay, see you later," Brad waves her off, taking the chocolate bunny. "Come here, you."
"For your own good, no," Amy says while glancing at him, a hand on her cheek. "You really don't know the meaning of listening, don't you?"
"You don't know what I go through!" He protests at her, pointing a finger.
Jenny frowns in her room while looking in the mirror, taking out a wrench from her hand. She tries to remove the bolt herself, and she does...but then it comes back, and worse, even bigger. She screams in agony at this, holding her head. She rushes to her bed, crying into her pillow.
"Hey, Jen," Brad approaches her along with Amy into her room. "What's with the tiny tears?"
"I...I tried to unscrew it, and it just got bigger!" She cries out to them.
"Come on; it's nothing to freak about," Brad waves off and Amy elbows him.
"Never say that about a girl's zits again..."
"But I'm a hideous mutant!" Jenny says into her pillow sadly.
"Freaks?" Tuck asks in excitement from the window. "Mutants? Where? Let me see! Let me see! Let me see!" He rushes over to Jenny, and she shows him the zit. He screams in terror at this, Amy flinching back in surprise.
"Wow! Okay..." She murmurs in disbelief.
"Sheesh, it is bigger," Brad states with wide eyes.
"I don't get it, though. Bolts don't just normally appear on you," Amy comments to Jenny. "And never once in five years have you even had this problem..."
Before anyone else could comment, a knock is heard from the door. "XJ9~! Time for your daily systems check."
"No!" Jenny dashes to the door, blocking it in protest. "Not now! I just can't!"
"Young lady, you open the door this instant!" Dr. Wakeman insists, tugging on the door knob.
"NOOO!" The robot shouts out and she glances away.
"Ooh, so temperamental...Why did I ever build a teenage robot?" She walks off in annoyance, deciding to forget about it for now.
"You see, Jen?" Brad walks up to her. "You're a teenager. You're just suffering from...robopuberty. It's perfectly natural."
"Oh no," Amy rolls her eyes, feeling a speech coming on.
Brad pulls down a screen for a presentation. "You see, all teen folk reach a special time when the mysterious broth of hormones starts to come to a boil." Two little figures are thrown into a boiling pot. "Little Billy suddenly emerges from the cocoon of childhood as...William, a promising young man." A little kid turns into a taller teenager. "While little Sally blossoms into..." A little girl turns into...a hot nurse. "Uh, big Sally..."
"Well, I've got my own theory, Mr. Health Class," Tuck jerks a thumb to himself. "I think you've been infected by some tiny alien machine, a machine that is slowly changing you from within, turning you into a...monster. A hideous monster!"
"You and your wild imagination," Brad dismisses him.
"Okay," Amy covers his mouth with her hand. "I don't think either of you are helping."
"Then what's your take on it, Ms. Genius?" Brad retorts, crossing his arms.
"What makes you think I have the right answer? I just know that Jenny's probably not programmed to go through puberty. Wouldn't she have to deal with that already? Makes no sense why it's happening now...maybe it's something we're not seeing."
"Well, one little pimple bolt does not a monster make."
Right after he says that, another pimple appears on Jenny, right above her right eye. The three flinch as more bolts just suddenly appear on Jenny's face. She turns around to them and they look at her wide-eyed.
"AAUGHHHHHH!" Tuck screams in a high-pitched voice, clinging to the ceiling while shaking.
"Hey, try some of this cover-up," Brad suggests to her, holding it up. "It always works to hide my zits."
"Brad wears makeup," His little brother teases him and Amy laughs out loud, hugging her stomach.
"It's cover-up, and there's no shame in it," The teenage boy defends, glancing at Amy. "Besides, isn't it hypocritical for you to laugh?"
"I don't even wear make-up that much," She holds up her hands, snickering. "And that's only because I prefer not having it on."
"You really think this'll work?" Jenny asks hopefully as Brad hands it to her.
"Absolutely!"
"No, guys, I can't. I changed my mind," The robot protests as her friends drag her to Mezmers.
"Oh, for crying out—nobody's gonna notice!" Brad argues back as they pull her against her will inside.
"And besides, it's not that bad," Amy tells her, but the cover-up doesn't work for her because it's not the same color as her build. Not only that, but to her, it looks hideous.
"See?" Brad asks with a smile as the robot frowns. Everyone and everything stops as they notice her. They all giggle as Jenny walks past them, Amy glaring at them to stop. A baby points at her and laughs. A waitress skates by, freezing and turning around to gawk at Jenny. A cook opens the door, causing the spaghetti she's holding to fly out of her hand. It lands on the laughing baby and the child starts crying.
"Well, guys, thanks for making me look like a complete...fool," Her voice deepens at the last word, Amy gasping as she covers her mouth with her hands.
"Whoa," Brad turns to her in surprise.
"Oh, no," Jenny covers her own mouth, her voice still sounding deeper. "Now my voice vocoder is malfunctioning too." The baby laughs at her again and she runs off past her friends. She runs so fast that the bag from a takeout order disappears, all the food landing on the ground.
"Great," The robot laments in the back alley, the two humans approaching her. "I'll have to wear this bag on my head forever, and it smells like fish tacos."
"Everyone goes through this, Jen. It's completely natural," Brad tries to assure her.
"While the approach definitely wasn't the way to go about it, it's definitely not gonna be forever," Amy tells her gently. "All of this will go away eventually."
The little robot inside of her flips a switch so that her mood-o-tron switches to being happy. "You're right. It's not so bad," She says cheerfully. "Hey, maybe this bag thing will become a new fad; fish taco bag heads."
"You're taking that surprisingly well," Amy blinks in confusion; Jenny was just complaining about this a few seconds ago...
"That's the spirit!" Brad smiles at her, but then the little robot pulls all of the plugs. Jenny glares at the both of them.
"This is all your fault." She tackles the boy to the wall. "You and your lousy cover-up!"
"Someone's having mood swings," Brad teases her.
"Brad, REALLY not helping. Jenny, let go of him," Amy tries to get her to let go of the boy. "And no offense, but the cover-up wasn't that good of a job."
"Someone else is having mood swings," He sings to her and she rolls up her sleeve in annoyance from the singing.
"Oh, I'm about to swing something if you don't shut up..." She threatens him. Then the little robot pulls some more plugs and Jenny flinches with wide eyes. She drops Brad, tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, sweet Brad, loyal Amelia. Please forgive me!"
"Jen, calm down," Amy replies nervously, sweating a bit. "You don't really need to apologize..."
"Don't sweat it, Jen," Brad waves it off. "Hey, I bet you've already started to clear up."
"Really? You think so?" She questions optimistically.
"Sure."
Jenny removes the bag, and when she does so...it's not much better. Amy opens her mouth in shock while the boy is frozen on the spot.
"How do I look?"
The top of her head looks like it's about to take over her eyes with how big it is... "Uhhh..." Brad doesn't know what to say, and neither does Amy. Then some wires grow out of her arms, making it look like armpit hair. "Eeuw."
She puts them down and then they grow bigger, confusing all of them.
"What is going on?" Amy wonders in disbelief; Jenny had never shown any signs of this until now...
Then her stomach grows bigger, Brad reacting to her new body. She looks down at herself and gasps in horror.
"I gotta go!"
She dashes off out of the alley, Amy peeking around the corner. "What's your hurry, Sally? I-I mean, Jenny?"
"This is just too weird..." Amy pinches her nose as she walks off, wanting to sleep this off. "Maybe things will get better in the morning..."
Morning arrives, a bird landing on Jenny's windowsill and chirping. A loud deep voice is heard groaning and the bird inches away in fear after laying eyes on the robot. The alarm clock rings and a large robotic arm slams it to pieces. Two large giant feet step on bunny slippers, and then the door slams, knocking off all the posters. As Dr. Wakeman is working, a large shadow walks past the doorway.
"Me go school now..." The very deep voice says to the woman.
"Be productive, XJ9," Her mother calls out to her. A loud crash is heard and it makes her freeze. She looks out the front door...to see the entryway a mess.
"Watch the birdie," The school photographer directs. "Smile. Working with me, darling. Oh, that's it." People are in line fixing themselves to look good for the school photo. Amy stands in front of Brad, who holds up a chocolate bunny. He munches on it and she rolls her eyes as she knows what he's doing.
"You know, you're only making it worse by going against the vow of not eating chocolate," She comments to him.
"Don't judge me!" He points at her in a low, creepy voice and she glances back at him in surprise.
Loud thumping gets everyone's attention, and then the school doors slam open to reveal a giant figure, with wires sticking out in various places. Everyone gasps sharply...as the figure is revealed to be Jenny, who looks WORSE than yesterday. She's got large arms, legs, and body, along with bolt zips, and her face even looks monstrous. Everyone backs away except Brad and Amy, as the boy was too focused on his chocolate. The shadow looms over them and Amy backs away slowly.
"Um, you might wanna stop eating..." She warns him, pointing to Jenny. He looks up and sees her.
"Friends..." Jenny reaches out to them, but then trips. She falls onto the both of them, Amy trying to get free.
"Okay," She struggles from Jenny's weight.
"Okay, maybe there is something wrong with you," Brad says nervously.
"Ya think?" Amy retorts to him and he smiles anxiously from her glance.
"Jenny," The teacher walks up to her. "Stop horsing around and get in line, young lady. Everyone gets their school photo taken today." After Jenny gets up, the teacher pulls her away. "You can't expect special treatment just because you're having body-image issues."
"No photo! No photo!" Jenny exclaims, waving a hand.
"Um, I think maybe Jen needs to go home. She's...she's got the robot flu," Amy tries to excuse her, because if Jenny let THIS get into the yearbook, she'd never live it down by everyone else...
"Watch the birdie." The picture gets taken anyway, and Jenny's eyes get smaller. Wires link around her body as bolts get bigger. Her eyes then turn red and she shouts angrily. All the students scream as they run away and she tosses the backdrop. The photographer laughs evilly as her eyes change, and another flash occurs, revealing herself as Vexus!
Amy flinches in alarm and runs into a bathroom. She switches into Ms. Mecha and then kicks open the door, clenching her fists. "My, what a difference a day makes in a young robot's life."
"I knew it! You had something to do with this!" Amy accuses Vexus, who smiles.
"Yes, dear, I-" She flinches as she looks at the metallic superhero, doing a double take. "Wait a minute! Why aren't you a raging robot monster?!"
"Huh?" Amy blinks in surprise hearing this. Jenny flinches and turns around to Vexus, her tongue sticking out like a dog's.
"One day, you're swearing eternal loyalty to the human race," Vexus pats her on the head. "The next, you're my obedient pet. Now finish destroying the school. Once you've warmed up, we can take over your pitiful hometown and then this whole puny planet. But why aren't you my second pet?! Aren't you having mood swings?"
"No," Amy crosses her arms.
"No zits?"
"No."
"No wire hair?!"
"Psh, definitely no," Amy then cracks her knuckles. "But I am gonna give you something to look at the mirror if you don't change Jenny back!"
"No matter. XJ9, do as I command, and destroy your little sidekick while you're at it!"
Jenny kicks a bleacher, chops a table, and then rips open a fountain. While she's distracting punching the flowing water, Amy flies behind her, tapping her shoulder. She looks behind her and Amy smacks her onto the ground with a hammer from her arm.
"Jen, this isn't you! You don't have to obey Vexus! We're friends, remember?"
"Not friend!" Jenny screams and grabs Amy by the legs, throwing her into a wall. Her head feels like it's spinning as she falls onto the ground. Jenny growls and punches a nearby wall, then the floors. Amy shakes her head rapidly to snap out of it. She glares up at Jenny and flies into the air.
"I don't wanna do this, but you forced my hand." She summons a cannon and fires Jenny into the opposite wall, leaving a giant hole. Jenny growls as she sits up, running towards Amy. She flies around Jenny's head like a fly, causing her to get distracted again as she tries to swat Amy away. Amy lands above her head and then summons two giant fists, smacking Jenny between them. She gets dizzy and then roars in anger. She grabs Amy's leg and then slams her onto the ground in front of Brad.
"Wait, Jenny!" Brad protests to her. "It-it's me, Brad. Your buddy, remember? Don't hurt Ms. Mecha!" The giant robot growls, punching her fists together.
"XJ9 remembers only what the Cluster tells her to remember," Vexus explains while peeking behind the robot. "Namely, that she's first and foremost a robot, like us. Now put Ms. Mecha away for now and destroy the nasty little vertebrate for me. Won't you, darling?"
Amy flinches upon hearing that and as Jenny roars, she thrusts forward and grabs Brad, flying him away from Jenny. "What do we do?" He looks up at her as Jenny rushes after the duo. Amy glances back at her as she catches up to them and then grasps the two in her hand. Amy grunts in pain and Brad gives her a worried look before the door slams open.
"Vexus!" Dr. Wakeman glares at her, Tuck standing by her side. "I knew I smelled your stench on this, especially when Tuck told me what was happening to XJ9!"
"You're too late! She's mine now."
"Alright, Tuck, I need you to attach these to that power box over there," Dr. Wakeman takes out two nodes.
"Where?" He couldn't exactly see where it was.
"There," She points to the power box...across the gym, and Jenny slides in front of it with a growl.
"Oh..."
Amy breaks free, grabbing Brad as she flies off. "Go!" Dr. Wakeman calls out while Jenny's distracted by Amy again. He rushes past the giant robot as the woman places her hands on her hips. "Now, stop fooling around, XJ9, and put these on," Dr. Wakeman takes out two more nodes. "The sooner we short-circuit you, the sooner we can put an end to this Cluster nonsense."
"Ahh!" Jenny growls, advancing forward while Tuck runs for the power box. Amy lets Brad land and then she kicks Jenny in the face, but she still chases after her mom.
"Young lady, you stop trying to take over the human race right now, or you are grounded!" The woman shouts, but Jenny obviously doesn't listen. Amy grabs Dr. Wakeman from behind and she yelps in surprise, glancing back up at her. "Oh, thank you, Ms. Metal."
"Mecha," Amy corrects her in slight annoyance. The chase continues in a circle around Tuck.
"Goodness, I should never have stopped my spinning classes," Dr. Wakeman says while looking at her aching legs. Jenny roars at the duo, Tuck glancing at them and then getting wide-eyed. He ducks underneath a table, shaking in fear.
"Run, Tuck!" Dr. Wakeman warns him while Amy flies past. Jenny bumps right into the table and it makes her dizzy. "Tuck, keep going!" He makes a run for it while the giant robot recollects herself, cornering the duo and towering over them. Tuck tries to reach for the power box, and when he jumps high enough, a hand grabs his arm. Vexus pulls him away from the power box.
"Gimme those, mammal!"
"Catch, Brad!" Tuck tosses them to his brother.
"Tuck!" He shouts in concern, his brother screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Tuck?" Jenny turns around to them, and she can remember his screams from the Ferris wheel, the UFO incident, and...a broken ice cream scooper. "Tuck?" She smiles as she recognizes his voice.
"Now, Brad!" Dr. Wakeman directs after Amy flew her up to Jenny's pigtails. Brad connects the nodes to the power box, sending out waves of energy to Jenny. She gets electrocuted and then falls onto the ground. Her stomach shakes and Amy flinches, backing away before the tiny little robot reveals itself.
"Just as I thought," Dr. Wakeman glares at it, taking it with a pair of tweezers. "The Cluster infected her with a tiny alien machine that changed XJ9 from within, turning her into a monster, a hideous monster!"
Amy then gives a look of realization on why it worked on Jenny and not her; because she has no robotic body for it to change her appearance.
"My wild imagination, huh?" Tuck deadpans from Vexus' arms, crossing his own while giving a 'I told you so' look to his brother. Jenny slowly forms back into her normal self, no longer big or having any zit bolts. She slowly opens her eyes.
"What a disappointment to lose such a fine fellow duo of robots to such a pathetic bunch of creatures. I'll just have to console myself by playing with this fleshy whelp."
Amy glares at her for her words, clenching her fists as Jenny stands up, holding the tiny little monster. "You hurt one hair on his head, and your nanobutt is toast!"
"Mama," He holds out his arms while Amy summons a laser gun to point at his head.
"Don't think we won't do it," Amy warns Vexus, narrowing her eyes. Vexus is about to shed tears at the danger it's in.
"Oh, my beautiful baby! Alright, we'll trade," She tosses Tuck and Jenny tosses the robot. She holds out her arms and catches the boy. Vexus swipes the air to make another portal. "Foolish XJ9 and Ms. Mecha. Someday soon, you will join the Cluster family." She dives into it and then disappears, everyone except Tuck smirking for their victory.
"Well, now that Miss Moody's complexion is cleared up, perhaps she'll allow us to take your picture," The teacher walks up to her and Jenny smiles.
"Watch the birdie," The real photographer directs and Jenny smiles for it...the only downside is that her stomach never got repaired, so it still had the bunch of wires sticking out from it.
"How embarrassing," Jenny states after getting a copy of the yearbook, sitting at home with the others. The four burst into laughter while she just gives an amused smile at them.