My Life As A Teenage Robot Porn Story: Android Scam – Chapter 3

Android Scam

A My Life as a
Teenage Robot Fanfic

Chapter Three Fool
Me Twice, Shame on Me

PI ah-reckon there
aint enough room in this yard for the both of us.

The little fellow ambled off of the front porch, wearing a
bandana, Lil Cowpoke cow-spotted chaps, and a white ten-gallon hat that nearly
doubled his height.P A shiny tin badge
was pinned to his shirt.P He strutted
slowly, bowlegged-style, to face off with his adversary on the front lawn his
older brother.P Ahm a-callin you out,
Black Brad.

That so, now, Sheriff Tuck?P Brad grinned wickedly.P
Well, Ah aims to please.

Tuck squinted his face into an intimidating stare.P Ahm a-gonna fill yer belly full of
styrofoam.P His hand hovered over a
bright-orange Nurf pistol hanging from his belt.

Brad moved his hand towards a similar bright-green gun on
the belt of his pants.P Say yer
prayers, little varmint.

Tuck squinted even harder, till he could barely see through
his eyelids.P Do ya feel lucky, punk?

Brad sighed in frustration.P
Tu-uck!P Youre mixing
genres.P And do I have to wear this
stupid hat?P He took a black cowboy hat
off his head and ruffled his spiky red hair.

Brad, you promised! protested Sheriff Tuck.

But I gotta go to the mall later.P Its giving me hat head.

A-hem.P Tuck tapped
his chest.P I believe I can persuade
you to continue our little shootout with four carefully chosen words.

Brad folded his arms across his chest.P Im listening.

Tuck held out his hand and ticked off the words on his
fingers.P Magazine under your
mattress.

Brads eyes grew wide as saucers.P He slammed the black cowboy hat on his head with a scowl.P Yer a-gonna pay fer that, Sheriff.P He grabbed his Nurf gun and got off a shot
that suction-cupped directly onto the center of Tucks giant hat, knocking it
off his head to the ground.

Ahhh! screamed Tuck.P
Big Zeke!

You named your hat?!? asked Brad.

Well I dont have a deputy, Tuck whined.P Dont worry, Zeke, ahm a-gonna avenge
you!!!P Yeeee-haaaawww!!!

The two brothers ran madly around their suburban house,
diving behind hedges and lawn furniture for cover while firing suction-cup
darts at each other.P Brad had the upper
hand, and was getting a kick out of seeing his little brother try to run while
wearing those ridiculous chaps.P But
Brad had a plan.P He started collecting
darts as Tuck shot and missed, without firing back himself.P Soon Tuck was out of ammo, and Brad had all
the darts.

A few moments later, Sheriff Tuck peeked around the corner
of the house, nerves on edge.P The bad
guys were a-gunnin for him, and he was out of bullets.P He scanned the front yard for Black
Brad.P No sign of him behind the
planter.P He twernt behind the lawn
gnomes neither.P But the Sheriff did see
a big pile of suction-cup darts sitting on the lawn, just beside the hedges
separating their yard from the neighbors yard.

Smells like-a ambush, mumbled Tuck.P But he needed ammo.P He moseyed over towards the dart pile.

He glanced around, seeing nobody.P Sure is quiet round these parts, he said nervously.P He reached down a for a dart

Black Brad popped up from the neighbors side of the
hedges.P Prepare to meet yer maker,
Sheriff!

Aaaaah!!! Tuck screamed.P
He grabbed two darts and jumped with all the might in his little legs,
leaping through the hedges towards Brad, while feeding the gun and
pumping furiously.P He rolled a few
times and landed on his bottom, disoriented but he could make out a figure
looking down at him.P Pop!P Pop!P
He got off two shots.

Ha!P Thatll learn
ya to mess with the likes of Sheriff Tuck looked up and gulped.P – Uh, oh.

A disheveled middle-aged woman with wild white hair frowned
down at Tuck.P She wore a long yellow
overcoat and had a clipboard tucked under her arm.P And she wore a large pair of black-rimmed glasses with very thick
lenses each one of which was covered by a suction-cup dart.

Heh, heh, chuckled Tuck, weakly.P Hi there, Mrs. Wakeman.

A few seconds of stony silence passed before the lady
reached up and plucked the darts off of her glasses.

Hello, Tucker.P
Bradley.P Her voice could have
frozen water.

Hey there, Mrs. Wakeman.P
Brad rushed over to defend his little brother.P Ahh heh-heh sorry about that little mishap.P Boys will be boys, yknow.

Yes, boys will be boys she planted her hands on her
hips, crossly and robots will be robots.P
Have either of you seen XJ-9?P
She has not returned home from school yet.P She is late, as usual.P
I have very urgent tasks for her to perform.

What kind of tasks? asked Brad, happy to change the
subject.P Fighting monsters and sewer
mutants?P He swung his fists in the
air, dramatically.

Sewer mutants, indeed.P Mrs. Wakeman shook her finger in Brads direction.P XJ-9 must help me monitor for near-space
Cluster activity.

Brad eased his hands into his pockets.P Cluster activity, huh?P Yeah, we tangled with the Cluster a little
while ago.P Showed em who was boss.

I was the head, said Tuck, trying to sound important.

Really, said Mrs. Wakeman, less than impressed.P Somehow Im not sure Ill sleep well
tonight knowing that you two are the Earths last line of defense against a
horde of robot invaders.P She tossed
the two Nurf darts back at Tuck.P One
landed on his nose, and the other stuck to the middle of his forehead.

Tuck struggled to pull the dart from his forehead, then
stopped, and looked up with a wide-eyed grin.P
Here she comes.

A few hundred feet over their heads, Global Robotic Response
Unit XJ-9, better known to her friends by her chosen name Jenny, pivoted her body
in the air with the grace of a gymnast, switching from high-speed flight to
smoothly drop towards the ground on twin flames from her pigtail-jets.P What a fantastic day, she thought. PI cant wait to log it all in my computer
diary.P She touched down light as a
feather, between her mother and two friends, rotated her pale blue pigtails to
normal, and clasped her hands behind her back.

Sorry Im late, she blurted, a little excited.P Hey Tuck.P
Hey Brad!P She chuckled, Nice
hat.

Brad grimaced, took off the cowboy hat, and tossed it over
the hedges.P Hey, Jen.P Where ya been all day?P I didnt see you at lunch.

I was outside on the ball field, she started to
answer.P After school too.P Youll never guess who

Mrs. Wakeman held out her clipboard, frantically pointing to
a group of complicated equations.P
XJ-9, there is no time for mindless jabbering.P Where have you been!?!P I have been working all day on those
readings from this mornings reconnaissance.P
Now, I dont have anything conclusive, but with additional data, I have
the utmost confidence that it will only take a few hours to

Jenny cut her off, looking annoyed.P Hello to you too, Mom.P Why, welcome home, Jenny.P How was your day, Jenny!

We dont have time for verbal thrust-and-parry, XJ-9.P We could be on the cusp of a grave crisis!

Mom, you think everythings a crisis.P Look!P
Its a beautiful, peaceful day!P
Not even Mom is going to spoil my good mood today.

Brad smiled.P Wow,
youre sure feeling a lot better.

Brad, today was the greatest.P Ive got to tell you guys all about
it.P She was aching to tell somebody.P

Mrs. Wakeman waved her arms impatiently.P Hel-l-lo!P
Still talking here!P Global
catastrophe and what not!

What global catastrophe? huffed Jenny.P All the monitors are quiet.P My remote didnt go off once today.

Tuck sprung to his feet, and menacingly raised his hands
above his head.P He took a few lumbering
steps like an old B-movie monster.P
Its the Cluster!!!

The Cluster?P That
did get Jennys attention.P Cant
those creeps take NO for an answer?P
The Cluster wanted to turn the universe into a paradise for robots, but
their version of paradise would have every human being on Earth in chains.P And if Cluster Prime is supposed to be
such a great place, they sure have to drag a lot of robots there kicking and
screaming.P From the first time she
met a Cluster drone, Jenny suspected that, under Cluster rule, shed be as much
a mindless slave as her human friends would be.

Oh, no – are there Cluster robots attacking somewhere?P Have they launched an assault fleet against
the Earth?P Is the Queen P She folded her arms across her chest.P Wait a minute.P Is this still about that stupid space trip you made
me go on before school today?P Wow,
Id already forgotten about that.P Of
course, I wanted to forget about that.P
Leave it to Mom.

Id rather go to space than school any day, said
Tuck, a little awestruck.

Brad shrugged his shoulders.P Thats what I keep saying!

If I may continue!!! shouted Mrs. Wakeman, struggling for
control.P Her raised voice got
everybodys attention.P Young Tucker is
correct.P Analysis from this mornings
reconnaissance definitely reveals Cluster radio transmissions emanating from
the vicinity of near-Earth space!

Radio transmissions?P
Thats it?P Jenny rolled
her eyes.P Geez, Mom.

Oh, XJ-9, I do wish you would take your responsibilities
more seriously.P Where theres smoke,
theres fire, and where there are radio transmissions, there is bound to be a
Cluster spacecraft. PMrs. Wakemans
voice took on a more dire tone.P And
Im afraid thats not the worst of it.P
I cannot pinpoint the source of the signals, but I can tell that they
were being directed towards this set of co-ordinates.P She tapped her clipboard, and circled a
jumble of numbers.

And that means what, exactly?

You do have a GPS navigation system.P Humor your mother.

Mom, for crying out loud.P A section of Jennys chest slid open, and a swivel arm telescoped
out, unfolding into a computer screen.P
A map of the United States hummed into view, and quickly zoomed in to
the co-ordinates her mother provided.

Hey, Jenny said, thats my high school.

Dear, the Cluster has tried to assimilate you before, to
use a tool for their evil schemes.P And
there is no reason to believe they wont try it again.P Mrs. Wakemans face grew sad.P And if they ever succeeded, and took you
away to their homeworld, I I just dont know what Id do.

Jenny felt her eyes get a little moist.P Awww, Mom!P She smiled sweetly, and put a hand on her mothers shoulder.P Mom, dont be sad.P You dont have to worry about me.

Yes, I do.P Youre
not insured, and it would take at least six months to build another robot.

Jenny groaned to herself. PSo much for the tender mother-daughter moment.P Well, Ill take what I can get.

Brad and Tuck were struggling to keep up with all the
science lingo.P So, all these radio
waves beaming at our school are for what, exactly? asked Brad.P A Cluster radio station?

Most certainly not.P
They are most likely some form of remote control signal.

Well Jenny doesnt seem like shes being remote
controlled, offered Tuck, and shes the only robot in school.

Oh, right!P I
almost forgot!

No, Im not! said Jenny excitedly.

What are you talking about? Brad asked with a puzzled
look.

Finally!P I
met another robot at school today, guys!P
It was great!P We hung out
together at lunch and played baseball.P
And then we played another game with some other teenagers after
school.P And I invited him to come with
us to the music festival downtown this Saturday afternoon.P You dont mind, do you guys?P She was practically bouncing with
excitement.

Brad was still confused.P
Huh!P Youd think I would have
noticed another robot .

Tuck chuckled, clasped his hands together over his heart,
and batted his eyes.P Ooo-o-o-ooh!P Robot love! He made kissing noises, then
stuck out his tongue.P Bleah!

No, stupid!P
Jenny laughed and mussed Tucks hair.P
But it was great just talking to him.P
I helped him repair his knee, and he helped me repair my shoulder.P Its just nice to know that theres one
other person at school who knows what it feels like to be made of metal.

Mrs. Wakeman was annoyed that Jenny had strayed off topic
again but her curiosity was piqued.P Hmmmm.P It might be interesting to contrast their
engineering schematics and construction techniques …

The three friends let Mrs. Wakeman drift off into
thought.P Sure, Jen its cool, said
Brad.P Howd you meet him?

Well, explained Jenny, remember that boy, Drew, we met in
the hallway after first period this morning?

Brad thought for a second, then nodded.P Oh, right!P
Android!P Heh-heh.P Funny guy.

Wow! Tuck interrupted.P
You met an android in school today?

No, no, chuckled Brad, thats just his nickname.

Nickname? asked Jenny.P
What do you mean, nickname?

Brad continued.P His
names Andrew.P Get it?P Drew Andrew Android.

Tuck scratched his head.P
His nickname is Android?

Cause hes got an artificial leg. Brad explained to
Jenny, Remember when he said he missed a few months of school?P He was in a car accident.P Anyway, I was talking with a guy who knows
him in History class.P Says hes always
cracking jokes.P He sure had everyone
laughing at the Krusts this morning.

Jennys voice quivered a bit.P So hes only part android?

Naw, hes not an android, hes just a guy with one
leg.P The other ones metal, but it
cant do all the cool freaky stuff yours can.

Jenny stared blankly towards the horizon.

Always cracking jokes, she mumbled.

Sorry about that interruption, Jen, said Brad,
shooting a disapproving glance at his little brother.P So tell us all about this other robot!

Jenny blinked a few times.P
Her cheeks started to turn red.

Jen?

AAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

The force of Jennys scream knocked Brad and Tuck back into
the hedge.P Mrs. Wakeman cringed behind
her clipboard.P Jenny leapt fifteen feet
into the air, and her hands expanded into a pair of giant fists.P She flung them towards the ground in blind
fury, leaving a pair of four-foot wide craters in the driveway.P The seismic wave shook everything for five
city blocks.P Tears streamed from her
face as she fired her pigtail-jets and blasted through the third-floor window
of her bedroom.P Broken glass tinkled
down onto the lawn.

Brad got to his feet, brushed off his shirttails, and walked
over to put a hand on Mrs. Wakemans shoulder.P
I can see you want to be alone with your daughter, Mrs. W well be
next door.P Then he grabbed Tuck by the
scruff of his collar, and they both sprinted off.

A few dull, pounding thuds sounded from the general
direction of Jennys bedroom.P Pieces of
plaster and siding came off of the wall of the house, fluttering to the ground.

Mrs. Wakeman groaned to herself.P De-encrypting intergalactic radio transmissions childs
play.P Teenagers what was I thinking?

It was the time of year when warm days were followed by
crisp, cool nights.P Drew had the window
cracked open to let some fresh air into his bedroom, but it wasnt
helping.P He wrestled his way out from
under a mess of sweat-stained sheets, and got to his feet one flesh, one
plastic and rubber.P He usually didnt
sleep with the leg on.P But hed been so
exhausted by nine oclock that hed collapsed on the bed in shorts and a
baseball jersey, and zonked out.P Now it
was, what two in the morning?P The
clock said two-seventeen.P And he was
approaching that so-tired-you-cant-sleep state.P Ugh.

The first half of a rented movie had done nothing to help
him forget about what hed done to Jenny.P
He still couldnt get over the fact that the first person hed felt
comfortable talking to at high school heck, why not say it?P The first real friend was a robot.P Or at least, when he first met her, she was
the robot. PNow she was just Jenny.P If you closed your eyes and forgot about her
appearance, it was just like talking another girl.P No, thats not right.P
It was like talking to a girl who understood.P Well, except she didnt understand that Drew
was a total liar. PDouble Ugh.

Drew staggered down the hall towards the bathroom.P He felt terrible.P He stooped over slightly, leaning his arm against the wall for
support.P The stomach pains made sense
echh, Monday night was tofu night.P
His arms and legs felt like jelly, but hed played a lot of baseball
today.P It was the headache that was
killing him.P Maybe Dad has something
in the medicine cabinet.P It felt
like a blob of lava was worming its way around the inside of his head.P Feels like the flu.P Of course, his conscience told him he
deserved every second of it.P Ive
come down with a case of Karma Flu.

Drew mixed up a couple of fizzing tablets in a glass of
water and started drinking it, leaning against the sink.P He looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Hey, fella, what did you do today?

Oh, met a girl who treated me with nothing but
friendship, hung out with me after school, invited me to go with her friends to
the festival this weekend and I lied to her, used her, hurt her feelings, and
lied some more.

Congratulations, youre a total scumbag!

His moist blond hair hung down in his face, not quite
blocking his bloodshot eyes.P He wiped a
sweaty strand away from his forehead.P How
can I look so pale when I feel like Im running a fever?P His face was almost gray.P There was a digital thermometer in one of
these drawers, somewhere.P He rummaged
around and found it.P He finished the
headache medicine, drank another glass of water, and stuffed the thermometer
under his tongue.P Then he creaked back
to his bedroom.

Drew sat on his bed, his back to the wall, and let the night
breeze try to cool him off.P There was
only one thing to do come clean.P
Jenny deserved that.P And if
she knocks my head off, well, I deserve that.P
Yeesh.P She probably could
actually knock my head off.P
No matter how he felt in the morning, he was going to school.P He needed to confess and apologize.

Making that decision seemed to lift a weight off his
chest.P Gotta get some sleep.P Might as well take the leg off this time.P He tried a few times, but the mechanism
wouldnt release.P In fact, the metal
and plastic felt weird a little soft and sticky to the touch, like melting
taffy.P Ahh, figure it out in the
morning.P He flopped over on his
mattress and closed his eyes.P The
burning sensation in his head had switched to a buzzing sensation, as if there
were a swarm of bees vibrating their way through his bloodstream.P But now he felt it in his chest too, and up
and down his arms and legs, into his hands and left foot.P He even felt it coming from his metallic
leg.P Drew chortled into his soaked
pillow.P Feels like getting a massage
from the inside.P Must be how the
medicine works.P He had forgotten
all about the thermometer, which dribbled out of his mouth and fell to the
carpet.P It read one hundred and
forty-six degrees.

A good eight hours of sleep mode had Jenny feeling a bit
better, but she was still plenty angry at Drew for lying to her.P And as bad as the lying was, that wasnt the
worst of it.P For a few hours
yesterday, she thought, I was not the only teenage robot at
school.P I wasnt the only metal freak.P That feeling, I am not alone, had
felt fantastic.P Now she knew it had all
been some stupid practical joke.P Well,
I hope he got a big fat laugh out of it.

It was already lunchtime, but Jenny didnt remember much of
what happened to the morning.P Her heart
wasnt in it today.P Other students
streamed past her as she shuffled down the hall, staring at her feet.P Whine-clank.P Whine-clank.

Brad emerged from the hallway crowd and fell in step with
her.P Hey there, Jen.P Heading for the cafeteria?

Sure, she sighed, why not.

Wow, youre still bummed out about the whole Android
thing.

Yeah, a little.

Well, a tasty meal always helps me shake off the
blues.P Brad opened the cafeteria door
for her.P Unfortunately, all we have
today is Shepherds Pie and Eggplant Surprise.P Be grateful you dont eat.P
Trust me, he grinned.

Jenny harrumphed and walked in.P Well, hes trying to cheer me up.

The cafeteria was almost filled to capacity, noisy with the
clatter of pots in the kitchen and the chatter of students at the tables.P The jocks were at their table, talking about
next Fridays football game.P The
cheerleaders had their table next to the jocks.P Brit and Tiff were at the popular table, with their popular
friends, looking very exclusive.P Even
the nerds had a table, covered with action figures and twenty-sided dice.P I dont suppose theres a robot table,
Jenny moped to herself.P The wait for
the hot meals actually wasnt too bad right now.P Brad and Jenny grabbed trays and got in line.

Brad reached into his backpack, pulled out a large can
labeled Valvo-ween, and started speaking in a bad French accent.P If there eez nothing to madames
liking, perhaps something from zee private reserve?P A little Chateaux 10-W-30?P Zee 57, she was an excellent year.

Aww, Brad!P I was
kind of thirsty.P She smiled for the
first time that day.P Thats so sweet!

It should be, its light sweet crude.P Cmon, Jen, I hate to see you so down.P Forget about that creep.

At least I have one real friend.P Ill be okay, Brad.

From behind a stainless steel counter, the hair-netted lunch
lady motioned towards the line of students.P
Cmon, folks.P Move along and
get yer vittles.

They eventually made they way along to the lunch lady.P Jenny set the motor oil on her tray.P Nothing for me, thanks.

Brad scratched his chin.P
So many choices I believe Ill try the Eggplant Surprise.

All out, grunted the lunch lady.

Okay then, Shepherds Pie it is.

All out, darlin.

Well, whats left then? asked Brad.

The lunch lady slopped a greasy slab of grey something
onto a plate and shoved it towards him.P
Liver an pig snout.P Government
surplus.

Brad stared at the grease pooling around the meat, then
looked at Jennys motor oil.P He looked
up at Jenny.P Wanna swap?

The students behind Jenny overheard the conversation, and
moans of disgust filled the line.P What
happened to all the food?!? somebody shouted.

Dont blame me, sugar, answered the lunch lady.P You shoulda got here before that
fella.

She pointed with a greasy ladle towards a table about thirty
feet away.P Brad and Jenny looked over
and saw three students staring in amazement at a blond guy surrounded by empty
plates.P He was eating a fantastic
amount of food, and was shoveling it into his mouth with two forks.P He was just now finishing off the last of
the eggplant.P He sat back and clutched
his stomach, as if in pain, looking almost exhausted from the effort.P It was Drew.

Jennys eyes narrowed to angry slits.P She picked up her tray and walked towards
Drews table.

Brad tried to say something, but she was already halfway
there.P He paid for his lunch and rushed
over to the table.P He wanted to provide
a little moral support.

Jenny stomped up to the table, directly in front of Drew,
with a disgusted look on her face.

Drew was breathing heavily.P
So hungry he muttered to himself, then finally noticed somebody
standing in front of him and oh, no.

So, androids dont eat, Phuh?

J-Jenny! Drew blurted, and winced.P He shrunk down into his chair.P Jenny planted her fists on her hips with a
loud clank and glared at him.P
She was furious.

Jenny, Ive got to tell you something, Drew managed to
say.

Save it, you big liar.

Drew gulped.P Look,
youre right.P I I lied to you
yesterday when I told you I was an android.

Really?P Imagine
that.

And Im sorry.P
It was a lousy thing for me to do

It was a really lousy thing to do, Drew.P Well, I suppose youre pretty proud of yourself.P I honestly did think that you were an
android.P The broken screw in your leg
was a nice touch.P You sure made the
robot look like a big dope.

No!P Thats not what
I

Jenny kept going.P
And all that talk about salt water and rusting and metal
detectors.P Wow, you really had me
going!P But I guess it was all just a
big fat bunch of lies.P Well, it
looks like the jokes on me, Drew.P Ha,
ha.P Congratulations.P I hope it was worth it.

Drew was reeling.P
Jenny, let me explain

You really hurt my feelings, you big phony.

But

Jenny stuck out her arm, turned her head and closed her
eyes.P Her hand expanded and unfolded
until it was three feet across.

Talk to the hand, cause the robots not listening, she
said.

Drew sighed heavily, and started quietly collecting his
dirty dishes and utensils, his hands shaking.P
There had to be fifteen empty plates alone.P He built a pile on his tray and got up to leave the table.P By then, about a dozen students were closely
watching the little drama unfold, buzzing with hushed whispers.P Jenny sat down with her motor oil and opened
the can, still not looking at Drew.P
Brad sat next to her with his lunch.

It wasnt all lies, Jenny, Drew said weakly, and
shuffled away with his tray.

Jenny didnt answer, but simply took a small sip of her
oil.P The table was silent for a few
moments.

Brad finally spoke.P
Wow, Jen.P I was a little
worried you were going to zap him with a laser or something.P But I think a laser might have been more
humane.

Jenny shot him a nasty look.P And just whats that supposed to mean?P Whose side are you on, anyway?

Brad waved his hands defensively.P Im not on anyones side!P
No I mean, your side!P Im on
your side!P Im just saying, it seemed
like he was trying to apologize.

Jennys shoulders slumped.P
Great, now Im snapping at Brad.P
And Drew did say he was sorry I thought Id feel a lot better than
this after telling him off.P She
sighed.P Lets just finish lunch and
forget the whole thing.

And that seemed like the right thing to do, so Brad turned
his attention back to his meal, trying to decide if he was in a gambling
mood.P But he found himself watching
Drew slink away instead.P He couldnt
get over how bad Drew looked like he hadnt slept in a week.P His skin was a strange pale color.P And he moved slowly, gritting his teeth, as
if every joint in his body was on fire.

He certainly didnt feel sorry for him the guy had pranked
his best friend, in a particularly cruel way.P
But Drew sure wasnt enjoying his joke.P
It didnt make a lot of sense.P
Brad poked a piece of liver with his fork.P He ate fifteen plates of this stuff?P Whos that hungry?P He
shook up a bottle of ketchup, and started pouring it on his liver as he watched
Drew walk towards the conveyor belt that carried dirty dishes back to the
kitchen.

Drew stopped short and set his tray down.P One of the dishes still had some eggplant on
it, and he was still very very hungry.P Hed never felt this hungry before in his life.P He scraped up the leftovers with a fork, ate
it, and licked the fork.P Then he licked
the fork again.

Then he swallowed it.

Brad froze.P What
the – ?

It must have been good, because Drew swallowed his knife and
spoon.P The he experimentally raised a
dish to his face, licked it a couple of times, and

Crunch.

A pool of ketchup was building up on Brads liver, as he
stared at Drew in amazement.

A few more quick bites, and Drew had eaten a dinner
plate.P Then a second.P And a third.P Then he stopped and clutched his hands to his head, as if struck
by a painful headache.

Jenny finally noticed that Brad was now holding an empty
bottle over a puddle of ketchup, staring off at something.P And by now, the tables in this corner of the
cafeteria had noticed it too. She turned around to see what everybody was
staring at.

Drew was grabbing spoons, forks, knives and plates off of
the dirty cafeteria trays, and ramming them into his mouth like popcorn.

Brad finally snapped out of it.P Umm whats wrong with this picture?

Jenny raised an eyebrow with a whirr.P So what kind of a stunt is this?

A student in a varsity jacket walked up to Drew and tapped
him on the shoulder.P Dude.P Dude!P
You OK, man?

Drew grabbed his head again, as if having a seizure.P Then he stopped, perfectly calm, and turned
around.

The whites of his eyes were replaced with a soft,
phosphorescent green.

Remote link activated, Drew said in a voice that had
dropped about two octaves.P Performing
systems check.P Welcome to Android OS
2000.

Uh dude?

Drew kept speaking.P
To continue in English, press one.P
Para continuar en Espanol

Dude, youre messed up.

Back at their table, Brad shot a glance at Jenny.P Okay.P
This is different.

This is pathetic, answered Jenny, rolling her
eyes.P Like this is supposed to
convince anybody hes an android?

The varsity-jacket student slowly backed away from Drew, a
little creeped out.P Drew stared at
nothing in particular and kept talking out loud to himself.

System Error Fifty-two.P
Insufficient resources.

Drew walked, with a slow, methodical pace, back to the
serving counter.P Moose and Ox, the
massive seniors from the rugby team who had regularly tormented him, were
getting their lunches.P He pushed a
stunned Moose aside with one arm, cutting to the front of the line.P The lunch lady was refilling a steam tray
with surplus pig snouts.P You back for
more?P Dont know where youre puttin
it, darlin.P She started filling
another plate.

Hey, Android, get your butt to the back of the
line, growled Moose.

Drew lunged forward, and took a bite out of the
stainless-steel countertop.

Gasps, and a few shouts, came from the students in line as
Drew started ripping the steel countertop to shreds with his teeth.P The lunch lady ran for the kitchen.P Moose grabbed Drew by the shoulder and hauled
him away from the counter.P You asked
for it, freak.P I am gonna enjoy
this.P He hauled his arm back and threw
a vicious blow to Drews chin.

Clang.

Moose danced around in pain, his knuckles turned to
mush.P Ox, coming to his buddys rescue,
moved to grab Drew by the shoulders.P
With an emotionless green-eyed stare, Drew shot out his arm and grabbed
Ox by the collar.P Drew flung the senior
straight up into the air, with amazing ease, driving him head-first into the
overhead tiles, like a dart.P His legs
dangled out from the hole in the ceiling.

Whoa, said Brad.

Jenny closed her eyes and took another sip of oil.P Faker.

Now the noise level in the cafeteria was rising, and the
crowd was getting a little antsy.P
Everybody was staring at the show by the serving counter.P A few students left their tables, sensing
trouble was on the way.P Drew walked
over to the first table and swung his arm over his head, bringing a first down
into the middle of the fifteen-foot long section.P It smashed in half like a popsicle stick.P Drew pulled off one of the metal legs, as if
pulling the drumstick off a turkey.P But
he didnt bite it.

Drew held the table leg in his fist, and his hand Pchanged color.P Pale skin turned to a shiny, shimmering silver, and his hand seemed
to lose form and flow.P Thin
silver tendrils snaked their way up and down the table leg, until the whole
thing was a pulsating silver cylinder, laced with veins of green.P Then the silvery-green mass flowed back into
Drews hand, up into his arm, with a sound somewhere between a whine and
a slurp.P Drew absorbed the other
three table legs in similar fashion.P
The solid metal seemed to melt into silvery ooze, and flow into Drews
body.

The piece of liver Brad was chewing on fell out of his open
mouth.P Uhhhh Jen?

Jenny wasnt paying attention.P Just ignore him.

A few screams rang through the cafeteria, and students were
starting to head for the exits.P Drew
scanned the room and found what he was looking for.P He slowly, methodically, walked over to a large refrigeration
unit that served sodas, milk and desserts.P
It weighed well over a ton.P Drew
slid it away from the wall, easily, with one hand.P He was looking for the wall socket.P The unit used a lot of electricity, and was plugged into a special
outlet for heavy electrical loads.

Drew punched his arm through the wall, and grabbed the heavy
gauge wire inside.P A searing bolt of
electricity rushed out and screamed into Drews body.P Tongues of electricity danced all around him, and his eyes glowed
a brilliant green.P The lights in the
cafeteria, and the entire school, went out, along with the rest of the
power.P Drew was absorbing it all.P In fact, he was reaching outside the school
and draining electricity from the citys power grid.P City blocks surrounding the high school started going dark.P Power transformers exploded like fireworks.

Now the panic started, as flickering electrical arcs
lit up the cafeteria with an otherworldly light.P Students screamed and pushed each other, stampeding out of the
cafeteria.P Jenny and Brad were the only
ones left sitting at their table, and Brad was starting to have second
thoughts.P Jenny calmly worked on her
nails with a rotary grinder.

Brad watched, spellbound, as Drew punched his arm into side
of the big refrigerator, as if it were a cardboard box.P His arm transformed into a silver-green mass
schlorrrrp and two dozen little silver fingers oozed out to envelop
the metal panel.P An audible hum-whine
seemed to emanate from him as half the refrigerator turned to silvery molasses
and flowed into his arm.

Brad tapped Jennys shoulder.P Uhhh Jen?!?

Jenny threw her arms up with a huff.P Oh, for Petes sake.P Knock it off, Drew.P Its not funny.P She got up and walked towards Drew, clanking her feet in
frustration.

Drew turned to face her, with an empty expression on his
face.P Startup sequence complete, he
said in a monotone voice.P His head
seemed to briefly shimmer like a gelatin mold.P
With a slurping, bubbling sound, it turned into a shiny silver blob,
running with angular patterns of faintly glowing green.P The shimmering-gelatin effect spread down
his neck, split out to each arm and hand, continued through his chest and down
both legs to his feet.P

A six-foot tall silver-green humanoid figure stood in front
of Jenny now.P It was smooth and
seamless, with a wedge-shaped head and glowing green orbs for eyes.P A few thin green lines ran along its
surface, like printed circuits, though they seemed to ebb and flow as if they
were floating in thick liquid.P The
green eyes narrowed into angry slits and glowed menacingly.

Jenny tapped her chin.P
Okay, Drew, Ill admit, thats pretty impressive, but

Two silver arms shot out and coiled around Jennys shoulders
like tentacles.P Before she could react,
the silvery-green figure lifted her into the air.P Twisting its body, it used its now fifteen-foot-long arms like a
slingshot, and flung the robot girl towards the wall of the cafeteria.

Jenny plowed through the wall in an explosion of dust and
plaster, shot out into the hallway, through two sets of lockers,P and through another wall, into the music
room on the other side.P Stunned
students dove for cover as her steel-and-blue form blasted into the
classroom.P She ground to a halt, her
metal body tearing up the wooden floor and sending instruments flying.P Jenny came to rest against a set of drums,
covered in dust, wallboard, and a few shards of wood.

She wasnt hurt in the slightest.P But she was stunned.

Brad sprinted into the room, a hint of panic in his eyes. PJenny!P
Jenny, are you all right?

She brushed a few pieces of debris off of her face.P Yeah, sure but how?

They looked back through the series of holes in classroom
walls and mangled lockers, directly into the cafeteria.P Drew was absorbing the rest of the steel
from the lunch counter into his mottled silver torso.P And he was growing visibly taller he was at least eight feet
tall, now.P His head panned from side to
side, with a face devoid of any features save for those green eyes.

Brad knelt down and picked off a piece of wall that had
stuck onto one of Jennys pigtails.

Ummm, Jen?P If hes
faking it hes doing a really good job.

Continued in Chapter
Four