Inspektor 12 Kronicles 11: The Legends of KFC & Blueboy
Kronicles 11: The Legends of KFC & Blueboy - A Quinn Martinn Seductionn.
{Tonight's Episode: A Dual Homici - er, Homage}
QUESTION - Do female robots believe in Ghosts?
**GIGGLE!!**
Well, I honestly can't quite speak for all of 'em, but I hear tell of at least a half-dozen really remarkable ones that most certainly DO, way down San Ber-lar-sto-bu-Pedro-Monica-Alto-way, or roughly thereabouts. I was there as eyewitness to it all - I was the "Ghost," as a matter of fact. Go ahead and grab your Funk & Wagnal's to verify, if you like. I'll wait here until you get back.
Oh, a little more about me? {warm sexpot smile} You may call me "Kathleen," and please do feel free to get comfortable and enjoy this, my Story. It too is really remarkable............
**GIGGLE!!**
It would be virtually impossible to overstate the genuinely mind {and colon}-blowing atmosphere that automatically generated deep within Robo Depot's World Headquarters the instant SHE made her presence known. You could have placed the Loch Ness Monster on one side of her, and The Flying Dutchman on the other side, and neither one would have merited a first glance, let alone a second. The comely female betwixt the two "legends" though - aye, now THERE'S the Montreal-rub. All eyes present - six pairs of synthetic female ones, and one organic male pair - were absolutely riveted on the curvy and classically beautiful figure standing just a few feet behind them, taking in all the details at a furious pace. The shapely legs, encased in groovy white leather go-go-boots. Equally shapely hips, tucked snugly inside naughty-short, rose-hued hot pants. A well-toned midriff, made even more appealing by a red-and-white checkered blouse that was tied off in such a way as to highlight the lovely exposed abs, whilst also accentuating the perky pair of enticing globes that resided a bit higher up on that gorgeous torso. A dainty, exquisitely feminine face, featuring clear grey-green eyes, and a pair of delicate, glossy, dying-to-be-kissed lips, crowned by a majestic "shag" hairdo that was perfectly complemented by its' singularly-unique shade of True Flamin' Ginger.
One, and only one Lady ever boasted such a compelling Presence - and the entire group in the cupola atop Robo Depot Building 917 suddenly found themselves an unexpected audience to said Presence. The “visit” packed a WALLOP, but was just too much to comprehend in a single dose. "But you, but the report said that - you were - " a stunned Liza started to say.
**CRASH!!!!**
The absolute quiet was suddenly and loudly shattered by the “plastallic” sounds of poor Gina hitting the deck from on high, right spark out of it. Rochelle, who was closest, quickly knelt down to assist her fallen Sister, her eyes never leaving the redhead's countenance. The discombobulated Fembot began to stir almost immediately, and gratefully accepted her Sister's aid, stage-whispering to Rochelle: "That can't possibly be who I think it is, can it, Sugar?" Rochelle met Gina's eye, whispering back; "It sure looks like it IS, Hon. I don't know what to make of it, either." As the pair returned to their feet, the redhead began to smile in what can only be described as a truly warm, friendly manner, despite the air of utter improbability that heavily cloaked the entire setting. "I'm sorry if I startled you a bit too much, Gina-dear. I only came here to help." Gina, already well-shaken, was stirred anew - she KNEW her?
Dearie suddenly found her voice. "Hold the phone a minute there, E T. Just who the hell are you, **{who-who, who-who}** and how did you get in here, what with half the bloody campus under full lockdown?" The redhead laughed easily. "Do you guys want to answer her first question, or should I?" She looked to Liza, standing next to Duke. Liza carefully said, "Sophia-Honey, this APPEARS to be Katy Franklin, who is better known as Franklin Fembot Number One." Sophia gasped, as Katy executed a perfect curtsey, and smiled radiantly. "And as I started to say before Gina did her famous impression of a fainting goat, I thought she had been destroyed over forty years ago?" Liza turned from Sophia back to Katy, as she spoke.
Dr. Franklin's legendary original Fembot shrugged, giggled, and said "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated?"
Oddly enough, this began to break the ice a little bit. Everyone allowed a chuckle or two, before Maisie spoke next. "And as to how you breached our Security, Miss Franklin?" Katy smiled brilliantly. "Please, call me Katy, or Kathleen, Miss Maisie." Maisie was surprised Katy knew her name too, but remained silent. "I honestly wasn't aware I violated your Security in any way, and I'm truly sorry if I did. When I arrived here a little while ago, I immediately checked in at the reception desk, explained who I was, and why I was visiting. I freely offered up my fingerprints and retinal-prints, which were both green-lighted. Next, I was scanned head-to-toe and inside-out, and after about three more minutes of security checks, the receptionist handed me my visitors' badge, thanked me for my patience, and had me follow the 'mouse' directly here.”
Duke approached Katy slowly, squinting at the visitor's badge clipped to the collar of her blouse. "By golly, that badge of hers sure passes muster. It's Special Clearance, All-access." He chuckled heartily. "MY security holograms can't be counterfeited." Maisie chimed in, her eyes just returning to focus: "The front desk has verified every last word of Miss Frank- I mean, Kathleen's - story." She flashed a grin at Katy, who reciprocated, visibly relaxing. "Everything is just as our esteemed guest explained. And on that note, please allow me to formally welcome you to our Humble Abode, Miss Kathleen. We here are all happily at your service." She slowly approached Katy, opening her arms invitingly.
Katy hesitated for a split second, then gladly accepted the invitation, hugging Maisie warmly. "So nice to meet you, Maisie-Dear, and thank you for the kind welcome. I hope we can become great friends, soon." Bemused, Maisie returned the warm affection. "I'd like that, Kathleen. I really would. It's not every day that one meets a bona-fide Legend." As the pair separated Katy stepped back a bit, a trace of a blush creeping into her cheeks, and cocked a hip seductively. "As for the rest of you, may I suggest a quick reception-line immediately AFTER we get the antidote I brought with me verified and dispensed? Methinks that at least one of us here would be most grateful if we did so?" She grinned, nodding in the direction of the blast-gate, behind which the Willow Bay Mystery Virus-stricken Inspektor 12 continued his mindless destructive rampage, completely unaware of proffered Salvation only scant feet away from him. "The poor Soul clearly knew I was coming, after all."
"WHAT? And just how exactly do you know THAT to be so, MIZ Franklin?" Chase was righteously indignant, and more than a little bit defiant, which somehow made her even more endearing to her Sisters in that moment. Katy held up her hands in a friendly gesture, still smiling brightly. "Katy or Kathleen, please, Miss Chase. Short for Kathleen Franklin Carver - or KFC, if you will. It's been my true, legal identity since 1977." The Fembot’s smile widened as she watched the others react to what she'd just said, her heart melting as she saw Chase enter mega-fluster, the sexy doll’s eyes darting frantically between Katy herself, and the huge “KFC” gore-smears still prominent all over the blast-gate.
Maisie eyed Katy quizzically, a quirky smile on her beautiful face: "Say, did you broadcast a 'KFC' message, or signal of some sort, on your way in?" The sultry redhead nodded immediately, "Yes ma'am. It’s what I like to call a 'blanket-feed.' It's my version of a battlefield emissary, carrying a white flag straight into no-man's land. It's simultaneously broadcast in a loop on whatever electronic media platform is handy to my personal orbit at the time; e-mail, wifi, smartphone, electro-billboard, digital message marquee, television test-pattern, Morse telegraph, Hekawi smoke-signal, what have you. I didn't want to just turn up here out of the blue, adding to the confusion." Her lovely, lilting voice had that ring of genuine sincerity to it, which was further verified by her electro-aura, which gave off nary a hint of subterfuge or prevarication. Maisie, Liza and Gina were all relieved and greatly reassured as they studied Katy's electro-feedback readings whilst their rather amazing guest spoke, oblivious to the extra scrutiny
Katy sighed soberly, before she looked around, her glance going from the gore-smears to the "fiendish" figure wildly bouncing off the walls and ceiling behind the heavily tempered glass. "It looks like my lil' ol' plan done backfired somewhat, when all I truly wanted to do was help out any way I could. Believe it or not, Tom and I sort of have a shared bit of history from long ago, and I thought it might help him gather his wits if he knew I was finally coming for a visit, after all these years." She sighed deeply, and shook her head ruefully, dropping her hands to her hips. "I can see how wrong I was. Carl is SO going to regret all of this."
And just like that, the proverbial 800 pound gorilla was in the room, just waiting to be pounced on and dissected. Duke, seizing the opportunity sans any trepidation whatsoever, duly did the honors. "Yeah, about Carl and your 'antidote,' Miss Kathleen." Duke gently began. "Please pardon my bluntness, but a few things bother me about all this. For starters, what guarantee can you give us that you're really not in league with that pile of ambulatory plastic-excrement that shares your surname, even though you claim otherwise?" Katy unhesitatingly answered: "For my entire existence to date, I've only ever had two modest guarantees at my disposal, Mister Nukem - my words and my actions. And since in my book the latter ALWAYS backs up the former, all I need add is to call your attention to the fact that my entire time here has been an ongoing demonstration of me 'walking it like I talk it,' if you'll pardon my vulgar slang?"
Duke nodded, stone-faced. "Fair enough. My next concern is a “political” one - why on earth would you sell out someone who is very much like your own son? The consequences he's gonna face when all is said and done really don't augur very well for him to have much of a happily-ever-after by even the wildest stretch of the old imagination. As such, duty compels me to ask what is your main motivation for opening up such a potential can of worms?" For the first time since she'd arrived, Katy's ever-present smile disappeared completely, replaced by a bitter scowl; her eyes growing suddenly stormy. She inhaled slowly and deeply before she quietly spoke through tightly clenched teeth.
"Mister Nukem, I'd consider it a large personal favor to me if you would refrain from any and all insinuations that Carl and I share anything remotely like familial ties or any other kind of implied bonds. We most certainly do NOT. Not by any stretch of the old imagination." Katy briefly quirked a tiny half-smile. "All we 'share' is a common creator and a common basic nature, period. It's because of Carl's blatant criminal idiocy that I've been forced to live like some feral animal-ghost for the last four decades, which I believe amply answers the motivation question. To be fair, though, perhaps 40% of my lot in life is Carl's fault, with the remainder of the blame landing on his father Jonathan's shoulders." She paused, visibly biting her lower lip, lest she suddenly go all ballistic diarrhea-mouth with her obviously pent-up frustrations.
Duke held up both hands, mea-culpa-style. "Please forgive me Miss Katy! I didn't mean to deliberately strike a nerve, what with you wanting to help and all." Before he could continue, Katy reached out, and gently clasped one of Duke's still-raised hands in both of hers. Or tried to, as best she could - her dainty digits were humorously overwhelmed by the large, meaty extremity they tried to embrace; only by hyper-extending both pinkies and both thumbs, was Katy able to clasp Duke's huge paw. She giggled, and he chuckled; she nonetheless drew the large package straight to her lovely bosom, and said, "Think nothing of it, Kind Sir. You're only doing your duty by questioning me so. And since it IS a valid concern, I take absolutely no hurt in the asking. I shall explain my many grudges against Carl and his Pappy in due course, but for the moment please believe in your heart of hearts that I would scrap Carl with my bare hands without batting an eye, if he were here right now."
Duke didn't even need an electro-aura readout, to be mightily impressed by both her absolute sincerity, and her absolute passion, once selected "hurts" were aroused. All of this and more were eloquently transmitted by her body-language, voice inflections, and micro-expressions. As a highly trained Expert in all three, Duke had never encountered such a demonstrative individual, in terms of what she subconsciously broadcast, AND the amazing poise, grace, and fluidity that cloaked all her mannerisms in general. Oh yeah; having one’s hand nestled between a SWEET pair of boobs - as if it was the most natural thing in the world - also added a bit to Duke’s impressions, the lucky bastard…….
Katy's lovely face clouded over again, this time with deep worry and concern. "Please forgive me if I'm out of my lane with this question Dear Friends, but shouldn't we be making with the haste to get Tom's treatment into the mix ASAP? I haven't even given you the formula for analysis yet, remember. And it would absolutely crush me if I was the one who delayed Tom's treatment by even one precious second. His ongoing suffering so far is really threatening imminent doom for my peace-of-mind circuits." Rochelle and Liza came up to Katy, and locked arms, creating a Sisterly embrace for her to step into. "Hop in and let's walk and talk, Hon!" Rochelle was beaming, and Liza was equally bright and welcoming. Katy looked touched enough to cry for an instant, before taking up the sweet invitation. The fetching trio of robot women slowly walked over to the partition and paused, allowing Katy ample time to soak in the fabulous view, made even more fabulous by an approaching thunderstorm. Liza squeezed Katy's shoulder with nascent, but strong affection.
"Kathleen, the Robo Depot Family At Large is 100% geared to our Company Motto, which is....." Right on cue, Rochelle purred "THE Most Efficient Use of Robotic Resources." Her giggle was contagious, Katy happily joining in. "And this means what, pray tell?" the lovely redhead wondered. Liza grinned. "Short answer? It means that we've elevated the simple concept of electronic multitasking right into the stratosphere, we raised the bar so damned high. Whilst Duke, myself, and the rest of the Sisters have been getting acquainted with you here, the staff in the plant has already been working on verifying and understanding your antidote since the time of your visitor-scan. The antidote also got scanned - or was virtual-mirrored, to be more precise - allowing us to get busy immediately on formulating a proper treatment strategy, with the mirrored code serving as the primary computer model, no pun intended.”
Katy's grasp was immediate, her awe unbridled. "My stars!! I'll freely admit I'll always be a 56-kps / dial-up modem girl at heart, but I can still be wowed in the presence of pure genius - which this situation is obviously being driven by." Liza and Rochelle laughed in unison. "If you spend any length of time with Tommy, you quickly realize multitasking is an absolute necessity. He's a true fish out of vodka screwdrivers if he doesn't have at least 20 or 30 different things going on all at once!" Liza broke off, laughing. "Yeah, and that's just for his days off, too!" Rochelle deadpanned, which totally broke up Katy, and set Liza to quaking and howling. Once the three lovely mechanical women had spent their mirth, they quickly returned to the business at hand. Liza said "The nitty-gritty of it all is that the Family-Harem is always prepared for any contingency, or can at least execute a satisfactory holding action until stronger measures can be brought to bear. We figured you wouldn't be as upfront and honest the way you were, if you had hostile intent, so we took you at your word - just before you actually gave it to us - and simply extrapolated from there. Does that make sense to you, Hon?"
Katy smiled warmly. "It most certainly does, Liza. Before my "exile," I saw Jonathan struggling with a lot of outside influences, both pre and post-"OSI-Incident." While he didn't have nearly the same set of coping skills you all seem to have, he went through a few similar machinations, before everything started going bass-ackwards for us. But I must ask, don't you feel you might be taking a terrible risk in trusting me, with almost no pre-knowledge of me or my motives? And would Tom sanction such a serious gamble?" Liza smiled grimly. "Make book on it, Honey. Every major turning point in Tommy's entire life so far, has happened under similarly serious circumstances, although the current scenario is by far the most extreme case. Rapidly sizing up a situation on the fly is the tip of the iceberg. Next, you first hedge, then leverage the bet BEFORE you make it. And finally, when you do bet, you go all-in; none of this namby-pamby, penny-ante crap. It sounds funny, but the 'attitude' as Tommy terms his way of thinking, is almost akin to a machine's algorithmic function - the thought process has to be totally free of human emotion or any other outside distraction to maintain focus, and achieve the desired results. Here's how we approached your situation: You came to us in a time of great crisis, and you also brought along something that - theoretically - could help us out of the great crisis. You let us know you were coming before you arrived, and you behaved exactly as an honest person would, once you did arrive."
Katy nodded silently.
"Now, the "variables." You are a legendary figure in robotics, who was created by yet another legendary figure in robotics - the same one who was ultimately responsible for one of the earliest "situations" the Artificial Lifeform Protection Agency ever dealt with, barely six months after it was first organized. What's more, you were thought to have been totally destroyed just before Dr. Franklin was apprehended in the OSI-fallout situation. We did know that Dr. Franklin had an ace up his sleeve with Carl, but until very recently, everything that Carl ever tried against Tommy never came close to working right for him - and there was never any mention of you once Jonathan died, either. Now, all of a sudden Carl finally got something right. And, just by the merest of coincidences, the way to reverse Carl's maliciousness is hand-delivered to us by an entity everybody is likely to remember, or at least instantly recognize, should she try any hanky-panky? Tommy would like these odds very much indeed, Katy-Honey. This gamble would be a no-brainer for him, believe me.”
Katy giggled. “Well! I’m fresh out of hankies, and I’m afraid I left my pankies in my other pair of hot pants back home!” The curvy redhead slapped her own luscious rump playfully.
Liza took a breath, flashed a smile, the resumed her narrative. “Of the roughly five-dozen scenarios I've been eyewitness to with Tommy so far, I've only seen two or perhaps three instances at most where his gambles didn't pay off. And even those few crapshoots usually left a loose end here or there - which Tommy is always on the lookout for, so he could either totally reverse the outcome when nobody was looking or interfering, or at least lessen the negative impact on him to whatever degree he could manage. Bottom line - when Tommy plays for keeps, he REALLY plays for keeps; any wrong angle, loophole, miscalculation, or just plain old bad karma or dumb luck will immediately become just so much Silly-Putty in his highly skilled hands when the stakes are high, and he's in laser-sharp focus. And he's been constantly drilling his Method into every last one of us Girls since the earliest days of our acquaintance, when he was just a famous successful musician looking to quit the rat-race for a spell. Which is why I'm totally comfortable with both you, and the overall situation, as Tommy himself would be."
At the mere mention of the Inspektor's musical background, Katy's electro-aura began to display strong indications {a brightly colored rainbow effect} of what could best be described as the Mother of All Teenybopper-ish Crushes. Rochelle eyed the foxey redhead shrewdly. "Katy, this is just a shot in the dark, but were you by any chance a fan of the band "Two-Bit Confederacy," back in the day?" Katy's shapely cheeks instantly went full crimson. "What can I say, except 'yes, most definitely!' " the Fembot sighed happily. "There was just something about Tom's music that grabbed me all at once, and completely swept me off my feet. For the first time since Jonathan left me, I felt re-connected with the world at large, even though I remained in exile." She got a faraway look in her eyes, and her speech patterns became dreamy within rich, vivid memories. "To be perfectly honest, the first, and until now, the only time I ever left St. Emil was to attend 2BC's farewell concert, which just happened to be on the next-closest island to St. Emil, just outside of the Zone of Interdiction."
Katy reached down to her right leg, and unzipped what turned out to be a "secret" pocket ingeniously built right into the shaft of her boot. She then pulled out a tubular piece of solid wood that was an inch or so in diameter, and a little over a foot in length. She twirled it between her fingers, exactly the way the Inspektor would twirl a drumstick, before casually tossing it to Liza.
The Inspektor's Right Hand recognized Katy's priceless keepsake immediately; although the drumstick was well-used from the tip down roughly 4 inches, and the shaft was split, the "Solid Hickory 9A Jazz-Fusion, Made Exclusively For Tommy Mac by Pro-Mark" engraved stamp was still mostly legible. Liza laughed, then addressed Katy like a bemused mother tease-scolding her errant child: "Why Miss Katy - you weren't a naughty imp playing "Tanks for the Mammaries" at one of Tommy's shows now, were you? Don't lie to me, Missy; I know full well how a pretty girl like you earns one of Tommy's sticks at a gig." Liza was having an incredibly hard time keeping a straight face, but Katy played her part well, anyway. Totally red-faced, and in a thoroughly convincing "hangdog" manner, Katy stared hard at the floor whilst sheepishly mumbling "Yes, Mum - small hyperbole there. I shan't let it happen again, so help me Shaun Cassidy."
In an instant, Liza, Rochelle, and Katy were all roaring with laughter. So much so that Duke and the other Girls glanced quizzically back at them for a few moments, before resuming the project they had been working on this whole time. Liza twirled Katy's drumstick herself, expertly spinning it horizontally through her fingers like a helicopter's rotor, before launching it in an arc back to Katy with an "Italian Salute," which is exactly how the Inspektor Hizownwarpedself always did it in concert. The redheaded Fembot was streaming happy tears as she caught the priceless relic, and clutched it straight to her bosom, clearly re-living cherished memories. After a few more moments of sweet bliss, Katy lovingly returned her ultra-preciousss memento to the way-clever pocket in her boot. She finally looked up to see Liza and Rochelle both smiling warmly at her, their own eyes shining a little bit too. Rochelle said softly "And there you have it, Hon - you just proved our 'gamble' to be worthwhile. If we don't bring Tommy back, it WON'T be because you didn't do your level-best to honestly help us, like we rather thought you would." Liza smiled, and added “Would a true enemy have such fond memories of Tommy - from a time BEFORE he became ‘Inspektor 12?” Katy was deeply touched, resuming silent tears, and fiercely returning Liza and Rochelle's Sisterly embrace, before the trio moseyed back to where Duke and the Girls were.
Dearie, Chase, Rosie {in her Giga-Pet chassis}, Maisie and Gina looked up in unison, all Smiles - unbeknownst to Katy, Liza and Rochelle had wirelessly simulcast their entire "bonding session" to the others; both so that everyone would be on the same page, and that the others could independently verify Katy's actions and responses, without having to leave their project, and risk arousing suspicion. A standard backup precaution, learned the hard way from those few 'crapshoots' Liza mentioned in passing during the bonding. They were trusting Katy's veracity all right, but only to a point - this wouldn't be the first time they dealt with a "ringer," no matter how legendary or ingenuous she seemed to be, superficially. Even "I Ride The Short Bus and Wear The Hockey Helmet" Carl Franklin had just enough dumb luck to have success with a sleeper, especially one so otherwise exotic as his Father's First. Although Duke hadn't been "daisy-chained" like the Girls, his hearing was sharp enough that he got the gist, and was more-or-less up to speed too. His own big test, based on the spot-research he and the Girls had been doing during the bonding-session, was just about to be put into play. He favored Katy with a charming full-Cheshire smile. "We've been giving the video-feed the old fine-tooth treatment, Miss Katy - you wouldn't by any chance know who "Blueboy" might be now, would you? Whoa, S*H*I*T!!"
Before anyone knew what was happening, Katy seized up rigid, began beeping loudly, then immediately decided it was the perfect time to take the Nestea Plunge. Duke had seen it coming the whole time, and instantly leaped at Katy, reaching over her shoulders to strongly grasp her shoulder blades in a most gallant effort to arrest her fall. Unfortunately, Duke momentarily forgot the true nature of the lovely redheaded damsel he seemed like he was trying to awkwardly bearhug on tiptoes - his forward leap left him somewhat off-balance, allowing Katy's substantial inertia to simply drag him down with her. Despite a couple energetic attempts to forestall the inevitable, Duke had no choice but to ride out the fall with her. The landing was a hard one; Duke cried out in terrible pain as all ten of his fingers were crushed and “green sticked” by a good quarter-ton's worth of free-falling, plastic-covered "steel and gears."
To make matters worse, if he hadn't "bridged" his torso a millisecond before landing square on top of Katy, he most likely would have suffered several fractured ribs, with one or more of them puncturing clean through a lung into the aortic sac. As it was though, Duke was spared the worst by landing dead on top of Katy's lovely twin peaks - both cushioning, and knocking the wind out of him - ultimately letting him off easy with multiple deep bone-bruises, a couple of torn chest muscles, and a goose egg on his forehead that corresponded precisely to a slight depression of exactly the same size on Katy's lovely ginger noggin, along with the aforementioned metacarpal damage.
Before Duke's anguished howl had stopped reverberating throughout the suite, all the Girls were at his side. "We've got your back, Junior. Let us help you up, okay?" Sophia's voice was all tenderness and compassion. Duke simply grunted in the affirmative; his immediate focus was on "riding the lightning" of his pain. Once he was vertical again, Dearie gently led him over to the multi-comm on the center partition, and quickly fetched a comfortable conference room chair for him to recline in. She next reached down underneath the multi-comm keyboard and speaker array, where an oversized pneumatic message tube was located, and extracted the capsule when it arrived a few seconds later. The cute robot surgi-tech quickly pulled out what looked like a pair of semi-translucent gloves, and a larger rolled up tube of the same light blue material. She came over to Duke. "Okey-dokey, Dear Boy - give Mumsy one of your pawsies, please." Duke obliged, gritting his teeth. Sophia carefully slipped the glove on his injured hand, and gently smoothed it into place. Duke winced a bit as the customized gelpak began to radiate freezer-like cold throughout the damaged tissue and bones. He soon sighed in relief as therapeutic numbness started to develop and spread, which was Dearie's cue to do the other hand in the same manner.
Once that was done, Sophia had Duke carefully stand up so she could remove his shirt, and apply the third gelpak. The unrolled sheet surprisingly stretched from his collarbone to just above his waist in width, wrapped twice around him in length, and was just as coldly soothing as the smaller ones on both hands. A couple minutes after he sat back down and resumed reclining, he began to visibly relax and sighed deeply once more. He caught Sophia's eye. "Hey, thanks loads for this treatment, Babe. It's working its' voodoo pretty damn effectively, I must say. Some of your ‘brainchildren,’ I take it?" Dearie favored him with that extra-special Smile that was exclusively his, born straight out of the strong brother/sister bond they developed whilst working their assignments, lo these many weeks and months. "No charge, Sweetheart. You know how much I enjoy polishing my homeopathic treatments whenever I can. And right now the absolute last thing in this world we need is to have you zonked out of your skull and drooling like a rabid St. Bernard, due to whatever horse dope that got shoved down your throat, or shot directly into your veins. Nossireebob; yours is the ideal plight to refine and perfect my homeopathic techniques - I'm kinda kinky that way, y'know." She winked, then gave him a chaste-but-very-warm kiss on his lips.
Before Duke could say anything, Sophia kissed her fingertip, and placed it on his lips. "Hush now, Junior - and get a load of THIS!" She then gently smoothed the gelpak on his chest, leaned down close, and lightly blew on the cuff - which triggered a most remarkable sensation that Duke felt immediately. The gelpak was somehow sending out low-frequency electronic pulses that bathed and soothed every square inch of soft or hard tissue, nerves and all. What's more, the sub-sonic massage somehow re-invigorated the cold-generation properties of the gelpak, to the point where massage and temperature combined into an amazingly therapeutic barrage of waves throughout the injured Field Agent's chest. Duke sighed deeply, and actually groaned in pleasure as the pain left his chunky, chiseled midriff. Dearie quickly treated both hands the same way, and in a short while Duke was gingerly flexing his hands, and marvelling at the complete lack of pain.
"Now THAT is simply amazing, Sophie! Have you got some sort of microchip embedded in these gizmos?" Sophia giggled, her lovely eyes all a-twinkle. "Actually, thanks to the miracle of microfiber-optics, I've got a gaggle of tiny bion-resonators woven right into the material of the gelpaks. All it took was a little experimentation to find the correct temperature / massage harmonic frequency, then voila - the ultimate homeopathic deep massage breakthrough, for those everyday aches and pains!" Duke allowed himself to laugh heartily at Dearie's deadpan, before opening his arms for a hug, which Sophia was quick to deliver. "You're too good to me, Babe. I'm really not worth so much bother." She cut him off right there. "Ah-ah-ah - I'm dropping a one-ton bale of ticker tape on your little pity-parade, Dear Boy. Yours are line-of-duty injuries, and no more. Hear me now, and believe me later; accidents do happen, got it?" She fixed him with a mock-stern gaze. Duke grinned, and raised his hands in surrender. "Yeah-yeah, sure-sure, Hubie!! No mas!! No mas!! Riot!!"
As Sophia tended to Duke, the others were looking after Katy. Because of their common natures and points of origin, Gina logically assumed the lead. She addressed Maisie. "What's the scoop, Sugar? Is her hardware okay?" Maisie held up one hand in a quieting gesture for a few moments, as she finished optically scanning the lovely redhead's innards. Maisie soon looked up and said "As far as I can tell, her guts are all intact, and everything's still right where it should be. Wouldn't you agree, my dear Quackenbush?" Maisie's eyes glazed for an instant, before the impish voice of Rosie replied "Indubitably my dear Sedlitz, most indubitably." Gina couldn't help cracking up over her Sisters' low-key mindsharing horseplay, but she soon sobered a bit. "Right, then," she started briskly. "Chase-Honey, you're on deck with me now." Wide-eyed and smiling brightly, the plucky doll said with confidence "Just say the word, Geen - I'm ready for anything!" Gina smiled warmly. "Alrighty Sugar - from here on in, I want you to totally document the entire procedure; nest it all in your flash-memory for later retrieval, okay?' Chase nodded. "Sure thing, Geen! All queued up, and standing by."
Gina looked at Maisie, who silently nodded. "Feel in the notch of her collarbone - there should be two small subdermal buttons; one hex-sided, the other plain round." Maisie carefully probed the area, her eyes lighting up an instant later. "Bingo - hex on the left, round on the right!" Gina asked "Do they feel as if they're popped up like a turkey thermometer?" Maisie nodded "Yeah, and I can feel a notch at the base of each one, too." Gina's eyes gleamed. "She tripped her failsafes, which means her CPU likely escaped any damage. So she should boot right up once we enter her admin codes." Maisie looked up at her Sister in concern. "I don't want to sound like a nag Geen, but are you absolutely sure you know the right code for her? She does predate you by a few years, y'know."
Gina smiled. "Relax, Sugar. Carl kept true to his father's basics; one of the few things he ever did right. Katy's admin codes are simply her date of activation, as are mine - or were, before Eye Ball got hold of my girlish essence.” Maisie joined Gina for a brief giggle, then said "Okay Hon - let's do this!" Gina said "Roger that - hex button four clicks, round button one click." Maisie followed instructions, then nodded. "Hex button seven clicks, round one, one." A pause, then a nod. "Hex six, round one." Pause, nod. "And finally, round button one click, hex button click and hold down." Almost instantly, the suite was filled with the "female sounding" symphony of intermingled electronic beeps, tones, and frequencies - the classic hallmark of a Franklin Fembot under power. Gina smiled brilliantly, and said "Great job, Maze!! You turned her over on the first try!" Maisie stood up, a modest grin on her lovely lips. "Don’t forget Rosie was riding shotgun with me. How long will it take her to fully boot up?" Gina embraced Maisie, and said "Well Sugar, I'm guessing a few minutes at most - twenty bucks says that this whole thing was just a simple data-crash." Gina was soon enjoying Rosie’s trademark cpu tingle-wash on top of Maisie’s warm embrace.
As Gina predicted, all and sundry were treated to exactly three minutes’ worth of the sweet-sounding “Franklin Fembot Electro-Symphony,” before Kay’s eyes began to flutter, followed immediately by a deep, feminine moan. “Ooooooh my goodness! Don’t tell me I just fainted?” She slowly sat up, and looked askance at Gina, Maisie, and Chase. Gina nodded. “I’m afraid so, Sugar - but on the upside, there doesn’t seem to be any serious damage.” Katy groaned. “Please tell me no one else got hurt when I went lights-out!?” Before any of the Girls could respond, Duke’s deep voice rang out, as he slowly strode back to the group, Sophia at his elbow. “I’m afraid there was a small bit of collateral damage to Yours Humbly, Katy-Ma’am.” Katy sprang up in shock when she beheld Duke’s “wrappings” on his torso and both hands. She burst into tears, but was quickly and carefully embraced by Duke, quieting down immediately.
“Don’t fret now, Miss Katy - this Bumble bounces all the time!” Sniffling, Katy looked up into Duke’s eyes. “Are you sure you’re all right, Mister Duke?” She was broadcasting so much emotional turmoil through her body-language that Duke began to feel a bit guilty about setting her off in the first place with his “Blueboy” gambit. He held her close, and leaned down to passionately kiss her, which she eagerly responded to in-kind. Once their sizzling liplock ended, both pulled back a bit, but maintained their close embrace. “Question answered, Mi’lady?” Duke flashed a dazzling grin. The lovely Fembot gently leaned her head into his shoulder, and let out another deep, feminine sigh. “I’ll say it is, most Gallant Sir. But I’ll still never forgive myself for causing another’s pain in the first place, accident though it may have been. I’m just not built as a fighter - I’m strictly a lover.”
“Ah, don’t let it bug ya too much, Miss Kate.” Sophia’s eyes were twinkling, and were complemented by the bright smile she also sported. “I’ve been riding Junior’s case for weeks on end about how his absolute mania for Damsels in Distress will eventually come back to bite him in the glutes sooner rather than later - but does he ever listen to lil’ ol’ me? Can you say ‘Hell to the no” !!!??? Got just what he damned well deserved, if ya ask me.” As the others began to roar with laughter, poor Katy hesitated for a bit - Typical Family-Harem Roughhouse Humor was a brand new one on her, after all. However, she soon threw caution to Our Boy Zephyrus, and joined in on the hearty laughter. Two minutes later, a gasping Katy caught Dearie’s eye, and said “Miss Sophia, where in the world did you pick up that marvelous deadpan you just displayed? Talk about lay me out and scrap me with a feather - Hoo BOY!”
Sophia escalated the zaniness even further with a low growl of “I chomp on aluminum cans, and mainline a pint of Sunoco Vitamin B260-W30 six times a day - what’s your bleedin’ excuse then, eh?” This bit dropped Katy straight to the floor again, she was laughing so hard. “P-p-p-please st-st-stop; my power cell is al-already into the orange zone, and heating up fast” she pleaded. Sophia relented on the spot, and kindly helped the still relentlessly giggling redhead to her feet. She then put her arm around Katy’s shoulders and said “Walk with me, Miss Katy?” “I’d be delighted to, Miss Sophia. Lead the way” the synthetic ginger chirped, as she put her arm around Dearie’s shoulders. The others resumed looking at the video feed; Duke quietly pointing out more key items.
Dearie and Katy walked back to the oversized pneumatic tube anchoring the multi-comm array. “I just got pinged by my staff - they’re ready to integrate the actual ‘hard copy’ of the antidote now, Miss Katy.” “Oh, of course! Just one second.” The lovely Fembot reached down to her left boot, and unzipped yet another ingenious pocket, extracting a small sealed Pyrex beaker, which held a one inch square microchip cube suspended by four filaments in the exact center of the vessel. “This took me 80 hours of continuous work to produce - after a good six weeks’ worth of effort to crack Carl’s damned “formula.” Eyes as big as silver dollars, Sophia gently took the precious item, and carefully nested it into the tube, then cushioned it further with the sponge-rubber lining until all was as snug as the proverbial bug in the rug. The pixieish brunette sent the hyper-critical cargo off on its’ run back to the lab with no further ado, then turned her sparkling green eyes towards her famous guest.
“Tell me about your GORGEOUS boots if you would, Miss Katy - they’re Liz Craver originals, aren’t they?” Katy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why yes they are, Miss Sophia! Are you an admirer of LC’s, perchance?” Dearie flashed a huge grin. “I’ll say I am - I’ve been after a pair of those gems for the last six months or so. Had one all lined up ready to buy, as a matter of fact - but I lost it when the website crashed this past spring. Funny the store hasn’t come back online by now. I hope there’s nothing wrong with the company.” Just for an instant, Katy flashed a somewhat evil-looking grimace, before quickly softening her face into her familiar brilliant smile. “Oh, don’t worry about LC, Honey. The company will be back before you know it. I’m….. on very good terms with the proprietess.” Katy winked at Sophia, who looked relieved.
“That’s great to hear, Katy! I really love-Love-LOVE the idea of the pockets; who would ever need a purse again, y’know?” For some reason, Katy seemed to beam for perhaps five seconds. “Well, the originals were designed with the more active woman in mind - the LC thigh-highs are the backbone of a roaring cottage-industry in espionage, and exotic-dance circles, for example,” the redhead explained. Dearie grinned again. “I also adore the “chopped” heels - it’s the perfect blend of chunky stacked, and sexy stiletto.” A smiling Katy nodded. “And they’re rated over 1,500 pounds per square inch in shock-absorbing force each - another feature that appeals to the busy girls out here.” Sophia giggled. “Why Katy, you sound like an LC Infomercial!!”
“I do? Wellllllll, let’s just say I’ve been sold on ‘em since day one, OK?” She giggled, as did Sophia again. The pixieish female robot grinned, then asked “Shall we rejoin the others, O Honored Guest?” Katy gave Sophia a quick hug, and warm kiss. “By all means, Dear Hostess!” They embraced again, and went back to the group. Liza looked up with a smile. “Katy, your formula has already fixed several small flaws in our computer-model - Tommy’s cure should be ready in about an hour, or so!” Katy started crying silently. “Oh, I’m SO glad to hear everything’s working” she half-sobbed. “I’ve still got it in the back of my head that Carl is going to somehow sabotage Tom’s cure at the last instant. He’s just that foolishly stubborn, exactly like his father.”
Thirty quiet seconds later, Jonathan Franklin’s original Fembot suddenly fixed the entire group with clear, gleaming eyes, and the most dazzling smile she’d yet displayed.
“However, the hour interval Miss Liza mentioned a few moments ago ought to be just enough time for me to explain precisely why Mister Duke’s mere casual mention of BLUEBOY had such a, wellll…….dramatic effect on me.” Quickly seating herself at the head of the conference table they all were gathered around, Katy took a deep breath, and again addressed the group as a whole. “Ready for a quick mind-job, my Dear Friends?”
As a unit, Duke, Sophia, Liza, Rochelle, Chase, Maisie, and Gina nodded eagerly, with Rosie piping up “Oh HELL yeah!!! ‘Bout damn time you regaled us lot in Proper Fashion. Have at it, Toots!!!”
Thus accepted into the group’s full confidence, the really remarkable ginger Fembot proceeded to blow every last mind / datastream within a thousand yards of her lovely voice - save one - right out of this world…………..
The Saga:
Rosie
Gina
Rochelle
Maisie
Chase
Liza-Beta
The Homecoming
One Zero Nightmare
Miracles, Miseries
Inspektor Jekyll
{Editor's postscript: With this installment, we now have a saga-within-a-saga. Yeah, it does sound a bit self-indulgent at first blush, but bear with me on this - I guarantee all and sundry will be quite satisfied with the end result.} 