All characters from "My Life as a Teenage Robot" are property of Rob Renzetti and the fine, upstanding people at Nickelodeon.  There are some characters in this story who are my creation.  The major one is Drew, a human high school student who was turned into an android by Cluster nanotechnology.  That happened in the first MLaaTR fanfic I wrote, "Android Scam."  "Stanley" is a minor but important character; he's the super-genius who developed the Cluster nanobots which transformed Drew.

Before we get started, I again want to thank all the good folks out there who've read my previous stories and left reviews.  It's not an exaggeration to say that if nobody reviewed, I would have stopped writing long ago.  I know it sounds corny, but I do appreciate every single comment.  Thank you all.

This is the first entry in what will be a pretty ambitious trio of stories called the "Cluster Dawn Trilogy."  The stories will be a little more serious, and I'll be bumping the ratings up to PG for all of them.  Be warned; regular readers know that I can get a little wordy.  I try to make sure every chapter's only as long as it needs to be, to get the important story elements across.  However, don't be surprised if these stories hit 40K words.  (Heck, I guarantee the second installment will be close to 60K.)

One last note, on continuity:  for the sake of argument, assume that all the events in this trilogy take place before the start of MLaaTR's second season.  Hopefully, there won't be any major curveballs in the new episodes that mess up the plotline.  So without further ado:

BETRAYAL FROM WITHIN

Part One of the Cluster Dawn Trilogy

A "My Life as a Teenage Robot" Fanfic

Chapter One – Dreams of Galactic Empire

The towering robotic monster flung one of its four metallic claws towards the ground with terrifying force.  With an ear-splitting crash, it blasted an oval-shaped crater into the middle of the four-lane highway, sending misshapen chunks of earth and asphalt raining over an area the size of a football field.  Highway signs and billboards ripped from their foundations, and sailed through the air like discarded pages of newspaper.  Cars, trucks, and buses swerved madly to avoid the eighty-foot colossus; one wrong step, one swipe of its mighty claws, would easily have crushed any vehicle, and all those within.  That had not happened yet; mainly because the giant robot simply didn't care about the insignificant little vehicles, filled with disgusting organic lifeforms.  It was attacking something else.

Curving through the air with blinding speed, barely perceptible to the unaided eye, a thin pair of pale-blue exhaust plumes frustrated every assault of the giant insectoid machine.  They traced a maddening pattern of twists and zigzags around the giant beast, taunting it with their speed and agility.  The colossus lunged and swung a few more times, embarrassing itself with wild, haymaker punches that struck nothing.  Finally, it grew tired of the chase, and deployed a pair of powerful laser cannons, mounted on the ends of antennae rising from the back of its neck.  It tracked its diminutive prey for a few seconds, then grinned confidently, and locked on to take a shot …

When the blue exhaust-trails performed an impossible ninety-degree turn in mid-air, streaked around behind the giant, and rammed it in the small of the back.  The huge robotic insect lurched forward, stunned and off-balance, as if it had been struck by a mountain.  It fell face-first towards four lanes of clogged traffic.  Dozens of cars were about to be flattened beneath its imposing bulk.  But then the pale blue streaks made a full loop, and struck the giant again, right in the middle of its chest.  The crushing blow launched it into the air, away from the highway.  The eighty-foot robot crashed to the ground, its body digging a deep trench in the earth.

As the gargantuan insect creaked and groaned in its smoking ditch, the pale-blue exhaust trails came to a screeching halt in mid-air, revealing – a smaller robot, a little over six feet tall, smiling down at her attacker.  She was painted in muted tones of white and pale blue, was of roughly feminine humanoid form – with exhaust plumes coming from her pigtails.  She held her hand up to her forehead, and extended her finger and thumb at right angles – to form the shape of the letter "L".

"Loo-oo-ser!" she laughed, with a twinkling of mischief in her eyes.

A thin scowl crept across Queen Vexus' cruel face as she watched the live signal, from the comfort of her palace thousands of light-years away.  Her eyes narrowed to a pair of yellow slits, softly glowing against the flickering light from the giant video screen.  She drummed her severely curled fingers lightly against her left forearm, filling the palace war room with a faint clicking sound to signal her displeasure.  Then she slowly pivoted on her jagged heels, turning to face a dozen robot warriors gathered in a semi-circle around her.  Each one of them was a great champion in his own right, with dozens of battles and victories to his name.  Each one was highly decorated, bore numerous titles, and held high rank in the Cluster armed forces.  And each one was quivering with fear under the gaze of their almighty queen.

"I seem to remember somebody guaranteeing me," she said in her frigid, measured voice, "that if we sent the Mega-Ant robot to Earth, it would defeat XJ-9, and capture her for the glory of the Cluster."  She calmly gestured to the image of the young robot girl flitting about on the giant video screen.  "I cannot help but notice that she appears to be very un-defeated and un-captured at the moment."

One of the twelve-foot warrior robots, clad in dull bronze and yellow armor, took a halting half-step forward.  "Your Majesty, I beg your patience … the battle has just begun.  See, look at the screen."  He pointed hopefully, as the giant robot stirred from its groove in the earth, and rose to a sitting position.  "The Mega-Ant is the mightiest Cluster warrior ever constructed!  He can topple buildings, level cities, crush entire armies!  He certainly cannot be defeated by a mere teenager."

"XJ-9 is no mere teenager, Commander Grimbus," Vexus growled impatiently.  "And that is exactly the reason why I desire for her to join us, and become one with the Cluster."

On the giant monitor, the Mega-Ant got to its titanic feet, just in time to be met with a crack of thunder and a screech of white-hot laser fire from the robot girl's arm, which had converted into a massive cannon barrel twice the length of her body.  Another pair of laser blasts slammed into the Mega-Ant's chest, charring away a large section of its thick armor, and leaving a sparking, sputtering wound.  The Mega-Ant paused and braced itself against a transmission tower, using the steel latticework like a mammoth crutch.  Smoke poured from the gaping wound in its chest, as its power generators began to fail.

The bronze warrior robot twitched his antennae nervously, watching the giant ant stumble once again under the onslaught of its teen opponent.  It had been his suggestion, his idea, to send the Mega-Ant on this mission, and now his mechanical mind raced to think of a way to cover his robotic butt.  "Er, Your Highness … it is proving rather difficult to capture the young robot girl.  Perhaps it would be more efficient to simply destroy her … and the planet Earth as well.  It would be a simple task for our fleet to accomplish.  Then nothing would stand in the way of your grand plan, yes?"

Queen Vexus silently glared at Commander Grimbus for a few seconds that seemed like hours, her eyes fixed on him as if she could will him to burst into flame.  Then, suddenly, she calmly trotted away from her assembled warriors, turning her back to the video screen even as XJ-9 and the Mega-Ant continued their battle.  She walked towards a large, circular table with a polished glass top.

She waved her crooked hand over an illuminated control panel, and the air above the table blazed into a pinwheel of colored light.  The foggy images coalesced into a detailed model of the Milky Way galaxy, hovering a few feet above the table.  With another hand motion, the hologram was marked up with borders and labels; almost half the galaxy was shaded in a drab green, the background color of the Cluster flag, denoting the Empire's territory.

Vexus pointed to a dense gathering of stars, filled with fat, glowing purple spheres, like plump berries.  "There are three dozen civilizations in this part of the galaxy – all of them, prime targets for my Cluster armies.  They have highly advanced technology, their star systems are abundant in resources, and they employ billions – perhaps trillions – of robots, in every part of their societies.  With those worlds at our disposal, the Cluster would become a truly unstoppable force.  But, sadly, the robots of those planets live in peace with their organic masters.  They foolishly resist us."

Her finger traced through the ghostly image, until it came to rest on a tiny blue dot.  "The key to conquering those three dozen worlds lies in attacking them from a different direction, and toppling them one by one.  And that is the ultimate goal of our grand plan, Operation Cluster Dawn.  To achieve that, we must establish a large base, a military colony, from which to launch our assault.  Commander Grimbus, would you care to guess what one, sniveling little speck of a planet just happens to be hanging in the perfect spot for our needs?"

Grimbus shrank under the gaze of every pair of eyes in the room.  "E-earth, Your Majesty?"

Vexus smiled, sarcastically.  "So it would probably be a bad idea to destroy it then, wouldn't it?"

"Y-y-yes, Your Majesty."

The queen shook her head at him, condescendingly.  "Earth is a relatively primitive planet with ample resources and a population of filthy human savages.  It should be a simple matter to enslave them all, and put them to work for their robotic superiors.  It should be, except for one little thing."

She folded her arms, and turned back towards the giant video screen.  Back on Earth, the robot girl had maneuvered herself to grab the very tip of the claw on the Mega-Ant's massive arm.  Then in seeming defiance of the laws of physics, she heaved with unimaginable strength, and the Cluster robot's feet lurched off the ground.  XJ-9 snapped her opponent's wrist with a vicious twist, executing a perfect judo toss, and the Mega-Ant performed a stunning two-hundred foot loop through the air.  It slammed into the earth once more, looking more disoriented with every passing second.

"Jenny, Jenny, Jenny," Vexus mumbled to herself, "why must you make this so difficult?"

She turned to address her assembled warriors.  "XJ-9 is the most powerful robot on Earth, and she has sworn to protect its human population.  She foolishly longs to be accepted as an equal among them.  We all know that robots and humans can never be equal.  Robots are innately superior, and naturally should be in charge.  Anything else is a tragic injustice."  A chorus of agreement came from the warriors, as they nodded their heads in unison.

"True, that teenage robot is the single greatest obstacle to our conquest of Earth," continued the queen.  "But where you see only an obstacle, I see an opportunity.  If she is powerful enough to protect the planet, then she is powerful enough to rule it.  And that is why I want her; that is why she must become part of the Cluster.  With XJ-9 ruling over the human population, our fleets can use Earth as a base to dominate the entire sector.  Every inhabited world in the galaxy will fall before our might.  And then we shall usher in a bright new dawn for all robot-kind.  A Galactic Cluster Empire – over which I shall reign supreme!"

Like trained seals, the large robotic warriors applauded their queen's rant, until the stern glare from her large eyes warned them to quiet down.  Then she gestured to the video screen once more.  An edge came to her voice; it made her sound even more dangerous than usual.

"Grimbus, your ridiculous Mega-Ant is mere minutes away from defeat.  Operation Cluster Dawn is only ten days away.  I will not tolerate any delays; ten days from now, our task force will launch for Earth's Solar System.  Earth will become the newest colony of the Great Cluster Empire.  And I intend to have XJ-9 assimilated and installed as its queen ..."

Vexus studied the expressions of her warriors, with a twinge of disapproval in her face.  "… provided that at least one of my mighty Commanders is capable of besting a teenage girl in combat."

A large, wide shouldered robot stepped forward, his triangular-shaped torso striped with a mix of deep green and olive drab.  He thrust his proud head upwards, extending his single antenna like a majestic horn, and let his massive wings slide out from his body to enlarge his profile.  "Your Majesty, I would consider it a great honor if you would allow me to capture her for you!"  His voice was full of pomp and arrogance, and it was obvious that he thought highly of himself.  "No mere teenager can stand against me," he continued, through an odd gap-toothed grin.  "For I am a true soldier, a Cluster champion!  I am Lord of the Outer Rings, Mayor of Moonrobia, Capo of the Crab Nebula … and Destroyer of Worlds!!!"

Two crimson warriors exchanged a quick glance between themselves, and couldn't suppress a quick eye-roll.  "Oh, brother," one chuckled to the other.

Queen Vexus ignored the comment, and seemed pleased as she twirled one of her long, curlicue eyelashes with a single finger.  "Boastful words, Commander.  Tell me … er … Smittius, is it?"

"Smytus, Your Majesty," he replied, bowing his head.

"Ah, of course, Commander Smytus," smiled the queen.  "You just returned to active duty after a rather lengthy stay in the repair shops, I believe."

"Correct, Your Majesty … and I am eager to prove my worth to you, as your loyal and obedient servant … as I once more lead my forces into battle to further the glory of the Empire!"  He punched the air melodramatically, eliciting another wave of eye-rolls from his fellow commanders.  It was obvious that Smytus enjoyed hearing himself talk a lot more than the rest of the group did.

"Hmmmm."  Vexus tilted her head, and cupped her hand to her chin.  She demanded obedience and respect, but she did not think highly of brown-nosers.  "If memory serves, Smytus, you did battle against XJ-9, on Earth, during your last mission – when you were sent to retrieve the Pip crystals.  And you didn't fare too well, did you?  The crystals were lost, and you returned to us in a rather … diminished condition.  You were three inches tall."

Smytus tugged at his chest plate.  "Yes ... er … an unforeseen side effect of the crystals, Your Majesty."

The two crimson warrior robots chuckled to each other again.  "I heard he got his butt kicked by a pair of scrawny human schoolgirls."

Smytus growled at them.  "This time it will be different, I swear on my honor as a warrior!  I was handling XJ-9 just fine until those crystals … complicated things.  This time, it will be just me, and XJ-9.  This time there will be no distractions!  I shall have my revenge!"

He turned his attention back to the large video screen, studying his opponent.  The fierce battle between XJ-9 and the Mega-Ant was still raging.  The giant Cluster machine had taken a pounding from the smaller, quicker teenage girl.  Huge slices had been taken out of its massive chest, a laser antenna had been sliced off, and two of its giant claws had been crushed like wads of tinfoil.  But the Mega-Ant still had a few surprises left.  It opened its mandibles wide, and unleashed a sonic disruptor attack.  Pounding waves of sound energy slammed into XJ-9's body, sending her tumbling through the air like an autumn leaf.  The Mega-Ant seized its opportunity, summoned its reserves, and channeled its energy to its remaining laser blasters …

When it suddenly, and unexpectedly, stopped and shifted its attention to its left foot.  The Cluster warriors watched in confusion as the Mega-Ant began to stomp its foot on the ground; it was as if the gargantuan robot's leg had fallen asleep.  And now the Mega-Ant looked to be performing some kind of bizarre dance; it was trying to balance on its right leg, while it shook its left leg in a panic.  Smytus stared at the video screen, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

Then he saw movement around the giant robot's ankle.  A bizarre shimmering effect, glistening in the sunlight … it looked as if the Mega-Ant's foot was being coated in a silvery syrup.  The giant insectoid robot stomped his foot a few more times – then to the amazement of the observers, the foot simply came loose, and the eighty-foot robot crashed to the ground.  The surface of the severed foot had a most bizarre appearance; it almost looked like it was melting.  Ribbons of silvery-green paste dribbled down its sides, collecting into a puddle by the heel.

"What in Cog's name is that?" puzzled Smytus, sneering at the video screen.

"Ah yes, now, that would be … a distraction," said an unseen voice.

Heads turned as another robot advanced from the side of the room.  A short, bulbous, rather absurd looking fellow, he was barely over four feet tall, and almost all of it was head.  He sped over next to Smytus on his one single wheel, and folded four of his six arms behind his barrel-shaped body.  Then he bowed low towards Queen Vexus.  "With your permission, Your Majesty?"

Vexus acknowledged his bow, and he continued.  "That misshapen mass of silver goo is my greatest scientific achievement … and my greatest personal embarrassment."

"And just who are you supposed to be?" Smytus snorted down to the squat, red robot.

He seemed perturbed by the question.  "Who am I?  Who am I?  I am the most highly evolved robotic intelligence known to the galaxy!  My name is written in a quantum language that is beyond the abilities of your obsolete electronic brain to fathom!  Translating it would shatter the primitive ideas of what you call mathematics, and science, and reality itself!!! … but, everybody calls me Stanley."

Vexus drummed her fingers impatiently.  "Focus, please."

"Sorry, Your Majesty," said Stanley, ignoring Smytus' glare.  He gestured once more to the video screen.  They could see that a large puddle of silvery molasses had gathered next to the fallen Mega-Ant, and it was beginning to rise into the air.  A shimmering pillar of liquid grew about six feet high, and gradually morphed and molded itself … until it took the form of a teenage boy, covered in a patchwork of light and dark grays, interleaved with green zigzagging stripes.

"What you see on the screen is an android, composed entirely of Cluster nanotechnology," explained Stanley, "a liquid swarm of trillions and trillions of little tiny nanobots, all working together to make with the sloshing and slurping and the smooshing.  The android can change its shape, grow crude weapons, interface with electronic equipment, and regenerate itself by devouring raw materials.  Really quite the amazing little bag of tricks, if you ask me!"

"Yes, except for one little snag, scientist," said the queen.  "You lost control of it."

Stanley recoiled from the queen's reminder of his failure, and continued his presentation.  "Umm, yes, that's correct, Your Majesty … heh-heh, after all, it is an experimental technology, and we did run into some control problems with the little dickens.  The nanobot android now has a mind of its own; a human mind even, and it seems to be resistant to Cluster control signals ..."

Smytus still wasn't sure what he thought of the strange silver android; he had never seen anything quite like it before in his career.  From the way it stumbled around clumsily on the video screen, he could hardly believe it represented a threat.

"… but those flaws have been corrected in Version Two," said Stanley.

From the corner of the Royal War Room, two roach-drones carried forward a large orange barrel.  It was covered with bold red markings, identifying it as being from the Research and Development department, and that it was Classified Top Secret – Level Nine.  They set the heavy barrel down, bowed to the queen, and left the room.

Stanley wheeled over to the orange barrel, and entered a complex code on a numbered keypad.  There was a loud click and hiss of air, as a lock released, and the top of the barrel pivoted open with a faint motorized hum.  Then the squat genius-robot braced his six arms against the side of the barrel, and after a few seconds of effort, it tipped over.

The Cluster Warrior Commanders took a few uneasy steps backwards, as a river of silvery paste gushed out of the overturned barrel.  It spread into a large shimmering puddle, rippling with waves of motion and activity, pulsing with flecks of glowing reddish-yellow.  The silver-red puddle bubbled in place for a few seconds – then suddenly a shiny pillar surged upwards from the middle of the liquid, covered with softly glowing red stripes.  The shiny blob oozed and stretched itself, as if some phantom were working a lump of modeling clay; the pillar sprouted arms, and legs, and long, curved face.  Then, with a final quick shimmer to smooth out its surface, a silver android stood in the middle of the War Room, covered in red zigzagging stripes.  Its body was svelte and streamlined, hinting to the slippery nature of its essence.  It had a tapered, insectoid head with two soulless eyes and a pair of silver antennae; its arms and legs flared out to conclude in multifunction claws.  Then a flash of reddish-orange leapt from its eyes, and a synthesized voice spoke from an unseen mouth.

"Systems startup complete.  Android OS 3000 is on-line.  Awaiting instructions."

Stanley thrust his chassis out with pride.  "Queen Vexus, honored military-type guests, I give you next generation of Cluster nanotechnology … the Omni-droid."

Smytus harrumphed with disgust, unimpressed.  "And what exactly is that supposed to be?"

Vexus simply smiled back at Commander Smytus.  "Why … he's your cargo."

Smytus blinked in surprise.  "Cargo?  I don't understand.  What am I supposed to do with this …"

"You said that you wanted a chance to prove your worth to me?" interrupted the queen.  "Well, I am giving you that chance, Commander.  Your mission is to take a light cruiser to transport the scientist and the Omni-droid to Earth, penetrate the defenses and avoid detection, and unleash our newest weapon on the unsuspecting human populace.  I want you to sow the seeds of chaos and disorder, to soften up Earth's defenses before the arrival of our grand attack fleet.  And most importantly, I want to you to capture XJ-9.  She must become a member of the Cluster before the fleet arrives.  The Omni-droid boasts an impressive suite of talents, Smytus.  It should be more than enough to accomplish these goals."

"Wait a minute … so I'm just transporting this … this ball of silver slime to Earth like a common delivery boy?"  Smytus bristled at the implied insult.  "I have no need of this scientist and his ridiculous toy!  Smytus is a warrior, not a cargo pilot!  I cannot …"

Vexus interrupted him again, but this time with a gleam of crimson glowing in her eyes.  "I'm sorry, Commander Smytus, I must have misheard you.  It almost sounded like you were questioning a direct order from your queen and supreme commander."  She walked a few paces towards him, her eyes drilling into his vanishing bravado, until she stood mere inches from his face.  "Would you mind saying that again?"

Commander Smytus pasted a huge grin on his face in record time.  "As I said before, Your Majesty, it is an honor for this humble soldier to carry out his Queen's wishes!  I shall gather my crew together, and we'll be on our way to Earth within the hour."

"Much better," smiled Vexus.

Smytus snuck over closer to the bizarre silver-red android, as Stanley wheeled around it, taking readings from a handheld scanning device.  While most of the other Cluster warriors circled around the Omni-droid,  Vexus turned her attention once more to the waning moments of the battle back on Earth.  XJ-9 was flying in circles around the staggering Mega-Ant, with giant buzzsaws deployed from her wrists.  Every swooping pass by the teenager sliced off another piece of the giant robot.  Its four claws, then its arms, collapsed into a pile of lifeless scrap, joined by the remainder of its legs.  Finally, only a pathetic, quivering torso lay on the ground.  XJ-9 deployed a fantastically large mallet from her arm, and with a huge roundhouse swing, she flattened its insectoid head into a giant steel pancake.  Beaming with pride, she dropped to the ground on her twin-pigtail jets, landing next to her silver-green android friend.

A dark expression fell over Queen Vexus' face.  "Commander Smytus, Stanley … one final thought."

Suddenly a glowing violet light began to grow in the dim confines of the palace war room.  The warriors shrunk back, as they realized that the light was coming from arcs of energy crackling between the antennae of Queen Vexus herself.  A high-pitched, shrieking whine filled the war room, and the electrical arcs built in intensity, until a blinding sphere of violet-white energy formed over the queen's head.  Then she turned to Commander Grimbus, the author of the Mega-Ant plan.  A flash of realization came across his robotic face, and he just had time to open his mouth to beg for mercy …

When a searing bolt of disintegrator energy leapt from the tips of Vexus' antennae, plunging into the middle of Grimbus' bronze chest plate.  The room was bathed in demonic, strobing shadows as Grimbus flailed his arms in agony.  His form was outlined in a pulsing aura of light, and then it vanished, like a ghost disappearing into a midnight fog.

The remaining warriors looked on uneasily.  All that remained of Grimbus was a pile of ash and metal flakes, and a column of gray smoke drifting into the air.

"You two have already failed me once, in your attempts to defeat XJ-9," said Vexus, in a cold, threatening voice.  "Please understand how very fortunate you are to be given a second chance."

A tiny gulp squeaked out of Smytus' throat.  "Y-y-yes, Your Majesty.  I understand completely.  You can rest assured, XJ-9 will soon be a member of the Cluster.  Er … what about her little silver-green friend?"

The queen rubbed her right forearm, remembering an old injury, and bared her teeth.  "Annihilate it."

Continued in Chapter Two  /  Ten Days to Cluster Dawn