Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It felt like forever since Tyler and his wife, Carina Carbunkle, had been home. Okay, they returned home now and then, but that only lasted a few hours before they had to return to work. Since their oldest son, Bradford "Brad," was old enough to begin looking after their youngest son, Tucker "Tuck," the two had been off on one trip after another during the day. Carina was a biologist who studied the many species and plants inhabiting the world. At the same time, Tyler was a lawyer who represented a massive trading company with a market in almost every field of business you could name across the globe.

Yet after ten years of travel, the Carbunkles were worn out and eager to spend time with their kids. After making arrangements, the two took their latest flight to Tremorton, followed by a cab ride to their home, intending to stay full-time.

Strangely, the driver winked at them when they left the cab and congratulated them on their "wonderful new addition" to the family.

Both looked at the female driver with confusion, as they didn't understand what she meant. Before they could ask, the cab drove off.

"What did she mean by "wonderful new addition" dear?" Carina asked her husband, who shrugged in response.

Figuring the driver was either joking or had mistaken the couple for others, both husband and wife decided to forget it and focused on entering the house.

They noticed a keypad above the lock hole when they reached the door. Neither recalled having that installed.

They tried turning the knob, only for it to not respond. Luckily, the home key that Carina always carried worked, and the two walked into their home.

In the hallway, they saw pictures of their sons from different stages of their lives hanging on the walls.

Both smiled at the joy of seeing their children growing up. But that was quickly replaced with regret as they realized how much of their children's lives they'd missed out on. After Tuck's potty training and beginning days of preschool, the two had been off focusing on their respective careers. They met up on their birthdays and anniversaries to spend some romantic time together, but just with each other and not their kids. They'd missed so many birthdays and, most likely, their graduations. By now, Brad had probably graduated from college and was either getting ready to join the workforce or perhaps working towards a master's degree and maybe a PhD; neither was aware of their oldest son's chosen career. Yes, they paid for his enrollment into Tremorton College but have yet to see what courses he'd taken.

"They grow up so fast," Carina commented, rubbing her eyes to prevent tears.

Tyler placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder and spoke. "We're here now. And Tuck's still in his early teens. We still have time to catch up with them."

Carina opened his eyes and smiled, looking at what was probably Brad's high school graduation. In his hat and gown, he looked spiffy and almost identical to his old man, but with red hair instead of black and no beard.

He appeared so happy, with Tuck by his side, equally delighted. Looking at the picture, she noticed a girl standing by Brad's side. She also wore a cap and gown, had an arm wrapped around Brad, and looked like she was made of metal. She looked familiar. Then Carina realized who she was seeing with her sons.

"Honey, isn't that the superhero robot who has been saving the world for years?"

Having also noticed the robot in the picture, Tyler leaned in to examine it more closely. "I think it is. XJ-9, I believe."

He then noticed another picture of the boys with the famous robot; they appeared to be standing in front of fireworks, with Brad wrapped around the robot's waist and vice versa. The couple found this even more strange as they saw more pictures of the robot with their boys, some even with just Brad and XJ-9, and one with Tuck riding a bike that resembled the robot.

"Dear, what have our kids been up to?" Tyler asked.

"Mom… Dad…?"

Hearing a voice coming from behind them near the front door, the couple turned around to see a much older version of Tuck, whom they'd barely seen since he was four years old when they started travelling. Now, he is taller, tripled in size, and no longer wearing the blue choo-choo train t-shirt he used to love so much. Instead, he wore an unbuttoned red shirt, revealing a silver shirt with XJ-9 underneath. His hair was short, similar to when he was little, but the bangs on the left side of his face were pushed down, covering a part of his left eye.

"There's my special little man," Carina said as she ran towards her youngest son and wrapped him up in a hug, which the teen attempted to break out of.

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore," Tuck complained.

"But you're my baby. Always have been. Always will be."

Tuck just became more annoyed by his mother than he had been before. "Yet this is the first conversation we've had since I was little," he whispered.

This didn't go unheard by his parents. "Young man, you will not talk to your mother like that!" his father scolded.

"Or what, you'll ground me? Not like you'd be around long enough to ensure I don't leave the house."

Carina let go of her son as she looked at him with an upset expression. "Tucker, that is very rude," she scolded.

"Well, what do you expect? Tuck replied. "I was raised by a brother who's eight years older than me and has only been an adult for four years."

The couple knew their younger son was referring to his older brother, whom Tyler and Carina had not seen since returning home. "Wait... where is your brother, by the way?" Carina asked.

"On his honeymoon with Jenny. Duh!" Tuck replied as if the answer was evident to them.

However, instead, the two parents had dumbfounded expressions plastered on their faces.

"Tucker did… did you just say that your brother is marri-"

Suddenly, the door slammed wide open. Brad came in. He had the same hairstyle since high school, believing it to master all hairstyles. Now, he had an upside-down triangle goatee to go with it. He wore a black jacket with a white shirt underneath and blue jeans below them.

In his arms, he carried XJ-9, in bridal style, without showing any issues holding the robot girl. In the years since her high school, XJ-9, Jenny has undergone multiple upgrades in equipment and appearance. Her metal pigtails had been replaced with metal shielding around the back of her head that went down just above her shoulders and a small antenna that resembled a bun on the top of her head. She wore a metal, sleeveless blue shirt and a skirt of the same colour, though longer than the one she'd worn as a teenager, going down just below her knees. She had a pair of round sensors on opposite sides of her head where ears would usually be, with bolt-shaped earrings attached. She also had blue eyeliner and lipstick on.

The older couple was shocked to see their son holding the robot as if she were his bride. But what surprised them to their core was when Brad spoke up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the new Mr. and Mrs. Carbunkle!"

This… caused the older Carbunkle's mouths to drop wide open.

There was a long pause of silence that followed before Tyler spoke up. "I'm… I'm sorry… your wife!"

To their surprise, Brad hadn't noticed his parents when he and Jenny first came home. His eyes focused on his wife and carrying her to his place. But when he heard his father's gasp, he looked across the hall, seeing two people he'd barely seen. "M…m… mom… Dad?!"

Chapter Text

"Bradford Edward Carbunkle, you married a robot?! Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Brad's father shouted at his oldest child while ignoring his daughter-in-law, who remained in her husband's arms.

The happiness Brad had been feeling moments ago, having just returned from the wildest honeymoon in history, changed to surprise upon seeing his parents' return home, quickly becoming annoyance as they were shocked that he was married, even though he and Jenny had sent them multiple invites to their wedding months and weeks in advance to the big day; then topping it off with anger at his father's openly disapproval while his mother was pinching her arm as if she were having a bad dream.

His parents had been absent for a good chunk of his and his younger brothers' lives. With the help of babysitters and hired assistance, Brad had been raising Tucker while the older Carbunkle couple were off travelling the world.

When they came home, they barely spent any time with their boys. They just came home, did some laundry, reorganized their luggage, resupplied their bathroom essentials, left the kids with more money for food, and then took off. They didn't even say hello to either boy.

Now, after missing the biggest day of their oldest son's life, they'd come home and had the nerve to be upset with Brad for marrying a woman they knew nothing about.

It pissed him off, but because he was holding his beloved wife, the extraordinary robotic superhero who'd saved not only Tremorton but the entire world countless times, he didn't dare raise his hand to slap some sense into either parent.

Jenny, hurt by her father-in-law's comment about her, didn't dare speak out against the man who'd created her beloved husband and best friend.

After all, she had received her fair share of rude and horrible comments over the years just because she was a robot. During her bachelorette party, some old high school rivals attempted to insult the robotic girl, saying it was a crime against nature for a robot to marry a human.

But she didn't let that get in the way of her special party, nor did she let any of the bad things people had said about her over the years ruin her big day. And now, she certainly wasn't going to let her in-laws ruin the beginning of the happiest years of her life. So, she hopped out of Brad's arms and extended her hands to greet her new in-laws.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Carbunkle. I am Jenny Wakeman Carbunkle, your oldest son's new wife. It is a pleasure to finally meet you after all these years."

Neither of Brad's parents would accept Jenny's offered hands, though Carina finally stopped attempting to wake herself up and accepted that she wasn't dreaming.

However, when she met Jenny's gaze, she didn't look happy—quite the opposite. The same could be said for her husband, who looked at Jenny with disgust as if they were looking at literal trash.

"Eh-hem!" Brad coughed. He wasn't one bit happy about how his parents were treating his wife.

The parents looked at their oldest son, then at Jenny, whose hands remained open, waiting for them to grasp and shake them. Still, they refused to touch her, much to Jenny's dismay and Brad's annoyance.

"Oh, for crying out loud! Shake her hands already, you cockbites!" Tuck groaned after remaining silent and out of the picture since his brother and sister-in-law returned. Brad wasn't the only one annoyed by how his parents treated Jenny.

Over the years, Tuck formed a special bond with Jenny. One of that of a brother and sister. She'd been there for him time and time again. I helped him achieve milestones and pass grades and even assisted him when preparing for his first date. Seeing his parents act rudely to Jenny, even though she was now legally a part of the family, made him resent his parents even more than he had previously done.

Though his actions didn't get his parents to shake Jenny's hands, they did redirect their frustration toward him, not the newlyweds.

"What did you just say to us, young man?" his father asked disapprovingly.

But before Tuck could reply, Brad defended his teen brother. "He just wants you to acknowledge your daughter-in-law without being jerks about it! Right, bro?"

"You know it."

The parents looked back and forth at each other, Jenny, and their kids until they settled on Brad.

"Bradford," Carina said, "May we have a word with you? In private."

"Whatever you want to say to me, you can say in front of my wife," Brad retorted, placing an arm around Jenny's shoulder.

"It's not like the robot will be hurt by whatever we say about it," Tyler commented. "After all, it's just a machine. They have no emotions."

Jenny could feel oil tears attempting to pour out of her eyes, but she shut them and then turned around in an attempt to hide her pain.

This didn't go unnoticed by Brad, who was even madder at his parents now than he'd been moments ago.

"Her name is Jenny! And she is not an it. She is a she! And she does have feelings, which you two have hurt!"

"Oh, please!" Tyler scoffed. "Robots don't have hearts. They're just cold, logic-thinking calculators that only do what they're programmed to do by whoever makes them. That's the only reason she fights for good."

These insults made Jenny feel sad, angry and hurt. But she wasn't about to go all destructo on them. Turning back around to face her in-laws, she began to speak in an attempt to reach out to them. "Um… Tyler, sir-"

"That's Mr. Carbunkle to you, you filthy machine!" Tyler spat.

"Right. Sorry, Mr. Carbunkle," Jenny corrected. "Look, I know this must be a lot to take in. But I assure you that I do have emotions, and they aren't just something that my mother programmed into me. I genuinely love your sons. Tuck, as a brother and Brad, as a loving partner with whom I want to spend the rest of our lives together. As I said in our wedding vows, I will always be there to protect and support him through good times and bad. I… I promise to- to-"

Jenny began to glitch out of nowhere, much to the concern of her husband and brother-in-law. She twitched repeatedly. Then, all of a sudden, she threw up, splattering the carpet she'd been standing on with oil.

The Carbunkles were all disgusted, but Brad and Tuck held it in, feeling more concerned than disgusted. On the other hand, their parents didn't hesitate to express their disgust.

"Ew!" Carina groaned.

"Now look what you did," Tyler barked. "You ruined a perfectly good, not to mention expensive, carpet."

Jenny had never felt so embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I don't—" she said. Before she could finish her apology, she vomited more oil, this time spraying her in-laws, which made them furious at the machine.

"This was my favourite shirt!" Carina complained.

"Rotten machine," Tyler groaned. "Do you know how hard it is to get oil stains out of cashmere?!"

Jenny couldn't face her in-laws by this point. She had no idea where this malfunction had come from, and even if she could explain herself, she doubted Brad and Tuck's parents would understand. "Um… I… I need to go. I'll see you later, honey," she said, kissing Brad on the cheek. "See you, Tuck," she waved before exiting the house.

"And good riddance!" Tyler shouted. "Filthy machine."

That was the last straw. Brad didn't know what caused Jenny's malfunction, but his parent's behaviour didn't help. It wasn't acceptable for them to behave like they did around his wife.

"What the fuck is wrong with you two!" he shouted at his parents.

"Excuse me, young man?" Carina asked.

"Jenny was nice to you from the moment we came home. Her malfunction was an accident. And you ripped her apart like she was scrap metal."

"But she is," his father countered.

"No, she's not!" Brad screamed in a tone so loud it terrified both his parents and even made Tuck back away.

Silence followed as his parents regained themselves. But once they did, the two parents were madder than before.

"See here, young man-" his mother began to scoff before he was interrupted by Brad.

"That's young adult to you. Meaning, I can say whatever I want."

"Being an adult does not mean you get to talk to your parents like that," his father scolded.

"Well, it's not like you were around long enough to make sure I behaved properly around you two," Brad countered.

"Well, that's about to change," their father spat. "Because from now on, we're staying for the long run."

"Say what?" both boys said simultaneously.

"Your mother and I have agreed that we need to spend more time with you two. I know it's a bit late, but we want to compensate for lost time. It's why I've decided to retire early and be a stay-at-home dad."

"And I have taken a job at Tremorton High as the new biology teacher," Carina announced.

This caused a terrified expression to form on Tuck's face. "Wait, you're going to be working at the school I'm going to? With all my friends and the other kids who decide my social standing?"

"Yes. It'll be so much fun," she cheered while attempting to hug her younger son again. "I'll get to meet all of your little friends. I could even join you at lunch in the cafeteria. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Tuck felt sick at such a thought. "Oh lord, take me now," he said aloud, much to his parents' annoyance.

"I am sick of the attitude today. Both of you!" Tyler responded.

"Well, you're not exactly the best role model. Considering how you were both acting like asses to your daughter-in-law!" Brad combated.

"That robot is not our daughter-in-law!" Carina protested.

"Legally, she is!" Brad spat. "And why do you care? You didn't bother to even show up at our wedding."

"We were never invited," his father defended.

"We sent you like a dozen invites!" Brad, once again, spat.

"Well, they must've gotten lost in the mail,"

"Like our Christmas and birthday presents?!" Tuck spat.

"We made sure you had enough money to keep you clothed and fed," their father reminded.

"There's more to being good parents than clothes and food. There's this thing called love. Something that I've gotten more from Jenny in the six years we've known each other than I got from the twelve years you were in my life!"

At this point, the older Carbunkles were ready to lose it with their kids.

"That's it," their father scoffed. "First thing tomorrow morning, we're going down to city hall and having your marriage to that machine nullified."

"You do that, and I'll disown you," Brad barked, turning his back on his parents and beginning to march out of the house.

"Where do you think you're going, young man?" his father demanded.

"To be with my wife!" he replied, raising his hands and pointing at the wedding ring on his right hand.

"Oh, and for the record, I didn't want to invite you guys to our wedding. Jenny, the woman you insulted, wanted you to be a part of it. Though I'm glad, your neglectfulness kept you away. Otherwise, you would've ruined the biggest day of my life!" he shouted before slamming the door hard behind him.

Afterwards, the house was thrown into another awkward silence as the older Carbunkles contemplated what had just happened with their oldest son.

It wasn't until Tuck spoke up that the silence was broken.

"And you wonder why I acted rude to you when you first came home," he commented.

The older Carbunkle couple had had enough of their youngest son's rude behaviour towards them, especially Tyler. "That's it! Go to your room. NOW!"

With a pissed-off expression, Tuck marched up the stairs, headed to his room, and slammed the door hard shut behind him. Leaving his parents to comprehend what they'd come home to.

Chapter Text

Tyler and Carina's evening hadn't gone as they hoped it would: Brad refused to come home, staying with his "wife" at her "mother's" place until his parents apologized to Jenny for how they treated her. Meanwhile, Tuck, having taken Brad and Jenny's side, wouldn't talk to his parents either. Confining himself to his room, he only came out to use the bathroom or grab a snack. He was glued to his phone or portable game console whenever this happened.

The Carbunkle residence was filled with awkward silence throughout the night and morning.

Tyler made coffee while Carina made waffles and eggs. When they called up to Tuck, he didn't reply, nor did he come down until a half hour later. Even then, he was still giving his parents the silent treatment as he grabbed some food, sat at the kitchen table, poured a heaping pile of syrup and started eating.

The awkward silence was finally broken when Carina turned on the kitchen television, only to see Jenny, to her and Tyler's regret, as the news topic.

"This morning, a meteor shower was on a collision course with Japan. Thankfully, beloved superhero XJ-9 swooped in and blasted all the rocks, turning those rocks into ash."

That was when Tuck finally spoke. "Wahoo! That's my sister-in-law!"

Both his parents cringed in response to their son's cheering.

"Though strangely enough," the reporter went on, "When she met with reporters, she had a malfunction and threw up oil. Totally gross!"

Tuck's excitement turned to concern as the reporter played a video of Jenny throwing up, similar to yesterday before she and Brad had left the Carbunkle residence. This couldn't be a coincidence.

"Poor Jenny," he said.

"Is she defective or something?" Carina wondered aloud. Much to Tucker's annoyance.

"If you ask me, it's time for a replacement," Tyler commented. "One that doesn't fuck humans."

Tuck turned his gaze away from the TV with a massive frown. "Jenny has saved the world countless times and has helped billions, if not trillions, of lives across the cosmos. She even stopped the war between us and Cluster Prime by helping bring about a new age of peace and equality for the robots who inhabit the world. She may be a machine, but she more than earned the right to be treated as any other person. If not better."

The young teen then got up from his seat at the table and began heading out of the kitchen, but not before turning around to face his parents again. "Oh, and unlike you two, Jenny's been there for me when I needed help. And she makes Brad happier than all of his other girlfriends combined!"

Heading back upstairs, the couple heard a loud banging, probably their younger son slamming his bedroom door.

Once again, the couple was left alone in silence, except for the TV, as the news reporter was replaced with the weather woman. Though Carina shut it off, her mind was thinking about how hurt her sons were whenever she and their father talked rudely about the robot girl, who was now technically their daughter-in-law.

"Do you think we're too hard on XJ-9?" she asked her husband.

Tyler swallowed the waffle he'd been chewing on and replied casually as if nothing was wrong. "She's just a robot. Who cares? What's more concerning is that our sons care about it like it's a person."

"She. She's technically a female robot," Carina corrected.

"Whatever," Tyler replied. "The point is our sons aren't thinking straight. I guess we spent a bit too long away from home. And we need to make up for lost time. We'll start by taking Tuck to Dr. Nuro to see if he can straighten the boy's mind. Probably a few months, if not a year, and many different medications, he might become a normal teenager."

Carina didn't look so sure about this plan. "What about Bradford?"

"Hon, he's already in his twenties. Much harder to fix his mind now, especially if he's sticking his privates inside that malfunctioning robot."

Tyler returned to his newspaper without another word, ending the conversation. His wife, however, was still deeply concerned. It was evident that their time away from home had impacted their children. She just didn't know how to handle the situation best and mend things between her and her boys.

At the Wakeman residence, the newlyweds were enjoying morning beverages. Brad was having a cup of freshly made coffee while his wife was sipping on a can of unleaded oil, which was supposed to help with her malfunctions.

Jenny felt embarrassed about her malfunctions, which had resulted in her throwing up twice—first in front of her in-laws, when she first met them, no less, and then again on live television after saving Japan.

And to think, everything had been going quite well for Jenny lately. She'd gotten engaged to her high school/college sweetheart, then married him in the wedding of the century. Then, she went on a honeymoon while the world somehow avoided any disasters that typically require her attention—giving the defence robot plenty of time to spend with her new husband, going on non-life threatening adventures, chilling by the sun, dancing, enjoying romantic moments, and doing all kinds of fun stuff, including "private" husband and wife stuff. Now, the honeymoon was over, and Jenny felt like things were going downhill.

Brad could see his wife's upset by recent events and attempted to cheer her up by wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, Sweet Bolts, " he said, using a pet name that some of Jenny's rivals had started calling her in hopes of antagonizing her. However, Brad somehow managed to woo her whenever he called her that.

This still worked despite Jenny's mood. At her husband's comfort, she felt a soothing heat swell up inside her joints.

The heat quickly subsided when Jenny noticed the newspaper Brad had been reading, which showed a picture of her throwing up. She then turned away from her husband, dropping her face down hard onto the kitchen counter, probably cracking it in the process.

Brad noticed the picture as well. Letting go of his wife, he balled up the paper and threw it into the nearby trash. "Papers are so last century anyway," he commented while pulling out his phone. Facebook has all the latest and hottest news material out there." However, when he opened the social media app, he and Jenny saw the same photo on Jenny's paper, which made Jenny groan in frustration.

In response, Brad tossed the phone and rubbed his wife's shoulders, attempting to soothe her.

"You can't let this get to you, Sweet Bolts. You've malfunctioned before and come back standing stronger and sexier than before."

Usually, being called sexy by Brad excited Jenny. The recent events interfered as she moaned in response.

An idea occurred to Brad. "Does this have anything to do with my parents?"

Jenny didn't look up at her husband when he asked this, but another moan from her gave him all the answers he needed.

"Honestly, I don't care what they think of you. They haven't been in my life since I was twelve. And even then, they were barely home. They hired babysitters and nannies to look after Tuck and me until I was deemed 'old enough' to be Tuck's unofficial legal guardian. They missed out on all my graduations. They didn't teach me how to ride a bike or shave. I barely passed most of my classes because they didn't bother to help me with my homework. You, on the other hand, have always been there for me. Even when the fate of the world was at stake. You're a kind-hearted, amazing and sexy woman who made my life and Tuck's a thousand times better. I don't care if you're a robot. That only makes you even cooler, but I would have married you regardless of your species, whether it be robotic, organic, or both."

Jenny raised her head, looking up at her husband. She hadn't felt so emotional since Brad had proposed to her and when they married. It made her eyes fill up, and she began leaking oil tears with a massive smile. "Oh, Bradykins," she cooed as she wrapped her husband in her arms in a tight, yet not too tight, hug.

Satisfied that he'd succeeded in cheering up his beloved wife, Brad returned the hug. Within moments, the two looked into each other's eyes, blushes forming on one another's faces. Heat formed in their hearts, which only grew as they leaned in and kissed passionately. This quickly became a very heated and loving make-out session between the two newlyweds.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nora Wakeman, Jenny's creator/mother and Brad's mother-in-law, performed several diagnostic tests on what many considered her most incredible creation, XJ-9/Jenny Carbunkle.

She was always concerned whenever Jenny malfunctioned, especially during or after a mission. And when it was seen on live television, regardless of whether it led to property damage or people getting injured, the Skyway Patrol would be on the doctors' back about it.

Nora tried to convince them that it was probably just the result of her robot daughter being out of tune after spending the entire summer on her honeymoon in the Caribbean. She needed some upgrades and a return to her basic routines.

Sadly, despite General Hardscape's support, the government still demanded an analysis of XJ-9 to ensure there wouldn't be any surprise malfunctions in the future—malfunctions that wouldn't result in collateral damage.

So, after taking samples of Jenny's oil and running numerous scans and tests, Nora analyzed the results. What she found was quite strange, and it only got stranger with each new result.

"It can't be. It can't be!"

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Summer was almost over, which meant school would be starting again. While many kids and teenagers were usually upset by this, Tuck wasn't. The end of summer meant that his girlfriend, Sarah Lee, aka Sheldon's sister, would be returning from summer science camp. Particularly today.

When she was little, Sarah and Sheldon's parents split up, later divorcing, with their mother taking their daughter and moving them out of Tremorton while Sheldon stayed with his father. A couple of years earlier, Sarah and her mother moved back, and Sheldon introduced his little sister to Tuck, who was around the same age as her. She'd been Tuck's first crush, and he'd gone on his first date with her. She was the first person he kissed and has been his first and current girlfriend.

Tuck had missed her a lot over the summer and would have gone with her if the science camp had allowed anyone with his barely passable grades to attend. So, the two had stayed in touch via letters, text messages, phone calls, and the occasional Zoom.

Now summer was a few days from over, the science camp had ended, and Tuck was stoked to see his girlfriend again, especially now that they could go to high school together.

After the disaster of his parents' return and the tragedy of learning that his mother would become his teacher—every high school student's worst nightmare—Tuck was eager to leave the house and wait for his beloved at the bus stop. He'd even done the corny romantic thing and bought her favourite flowers and chocolates before arriving at the bus stop.

The camp bus arrived on time. Tuck's heart began to beat faster than a drum being played in a drum solo.

Young teens around Tuck's age, and within a few years, younger and older, began filing out of the bus. Tuck's eyes were practically glued to the door as more and more teens got out, waiting for Sarah to be the next one he saw.

Suddenly, time froze as Tuck finally saw a cute, short-cut, black-haired girl with freckles on her cheeks. She wore a red and white camp t-shirt with a short maroon skirt that showed off her skinny yellow-whitish legs. She had on a smile that could warm the heart of even Vexus—and made Tuck's heart pound faster than usual.

He hadn't realized it until after she'd left for camp. Throughout the summer, Tuck had missed her every single moment, which made him see that he was, in fact, in love with Sarah. And he planned to tell her this today. He was willing to tell her this the moment they reached each other, not caring that they were surrounded by so many other teens with phones that could post their lovey-dovey moment in front of the whole world.

But then another teen came off of the bus behind Sarah. A tan-skinned and muscular teen with chocolate brown hair that ended just above his shoulder blades. He wore the same camp shirt as Sarah and all the other campers, along with ripped jeans. Upon getting out of the vehicle, he grabbed Sarah's hand and kissed it, making the girl blush and giggle while Tuck felt a surge of anger within him.

The sappy romantic feelings he felt replaced with fury as he stomped over to the bus, shouting at the creep who'd kissed his girlfriend's hand.

"Hey, you! Get your hands off my girl!"

Sarah and her "friend" then noticed Tuck and their happy expressions were replaced by surprised looks.

"Oh… uh… Tuck…" Sarah stuttered. "I… I didn't expect to see you here. I thought we would meet up at Mezmer's later today."

"I wanted to surprise you," Tuck said, presenting the flowers and chocolates he'd gotten for her. "And yet I ended up being the one to get surprised. Who is this guy? And why was he kissing your hand?" he demanded.

This, especially the gifts, made Sarah and her "friend" feel awkward. It took several minutes, but eventually, Sarah began to explain herself.

"This is Alejandro," she greeted.

"Hola Tuck," Alejandro said in a warm, Spanish accent that somehow warmed Tuck's heart. Which only confused him as he was still pissed off at the dude for kissing his girlfriend's hand.

"Hola back to you too," he said awkwardly before his tone returned to anger. "Now, why were you kissing my girlfriend's hand?"

"Because that is what boyfriends do with their girlfriends," Alejandro explained. Not realizing what he said was like a triggering bomb that caused Tuck to drop the chocolates and flowers while his mouth dropped wide open and his eyes swelled to the size of frisbees.

"Boyfriend?! Girlfriend?!" Tuck flabbergasted.

Seeing the shock in Tuck's voice, Alejandro looked at Sarah, who blushed awkwardly in return. "You didn't tell him?"

"I thought it'd be better to tell him in person," Sarah explained.

This made Tuck twitch several times before he recomposed himself and replied while crossing his arms. "Tell me what?"

A long, awkward silence followed. Sarah fidgeted with her fingers as she tried to best say this without hurting Tuck too much. Of course, at this point, the damage was already done. When she realized this, she figured she might as well rip off the bandaid. "Tuck, I'm sorry. But Alejandro isn't just a friend. He's my new boyfriend!"

Back at the Wakeman residence, Jenny and Brad were about to receive their own shocking revelation: their mother and mother-in-law, Dr. Nora Wakeman, had finally figured out the cause of Jenny's malfunctions.

"First, let me just say that I did not come to this conclusion lightly. It was quite the shock, but it made some sense considering how you two are married and thus… sexually active." The last part caused both her daughter and son-in-law to blush.

"Mom!" Jenny groaned.

"Alright. Alright," Nora replied before continuing. "Anyway, just remember now that this is not ordinary for robots. Then again, you, XJ-9, have never been an ordinary robot. I also reran the tests multiple times, and I didn't accept the results even then. It was only after I gained additional data from tests I would normally not do. And I even called in an old friend who's more familiar with the results. Who has assured me he'll keep his mouth shut tight about what he has confirmed. Seeing as how-"

"Hey, Nora, could you get to the point?" Brad asked, feeling a bit annoyed by his mother-in-law's stalling.

"I agree with my Bradykins, Mom," Jenny concurred, annoyed with her mother. "What is wrong with me?"

"Sigh... Jenny, you're-" Before Nora could explain, the doorbell rang repeatedly.

Figuring that whoever was at the door wouldn't leave until someone at least answered, Nora decided to see who was there. "I'll be right back. Stay here, and try not to puke oil," she instructed as she left the lab, leaving her annoyed daughter and son-in-law to themselves.

The newlyweds groaned. This was by far the worst of all the times for someone to come to the door. It was bad enough that they'd come back from their honeymoon and had to deal with Brad's rude and neglectful parents, but the start of these strange malfunctions made the situation worse. And the way Nora tried to ease them before giving them the big news about the cause of the malfunctions only made them worry even more.

Jenny began pacing the lab while Brad watched her worrisomely. He hated to see her upset.

Knowing that his mother-in-law had a habit of taking forever to answer the door, Brad came up with an idea to pass the time and help relax his wife. "Wanna make out?" he suggested.

This brought a smile to Jenny's face. "Always," she smirked.

Zooming over to her husband, the robotic wife/superhero wrapped her metal arms around him and locked lips with him in a passionate makeout session.