pullmeoutalive | log > how are these two so darn cute?

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log > how are these two so darn cute?

It had been an admittedly strange situation they had all been in - shopping mall, zombies, black outs - it was like a horror film gone wrong.

No one had any explanation for their sudden appearance in the mall, nor did anyone have an explanation for their sudden disappearance from the mall. Just as no one had an explanation for the blue Chevrolet Volt currently parked outside of B.A.B.E.L. headquarters.

For his own part, Jolt was doing what Autobots did best (aside from kicking Decepticon skidplate), and that was hiding in plain sight. Asphalt and sunshine, he decided, were preferable to zombie-laden carpet and the near-darkness of a mall without power. He just didn't like having to wait while Naomi was inside - no doubt trying to explain where the frag she'd been all this time. Jolt'd had a similar problem relaying his whereabouts to - of all mechs - Ratchet. (No doubt the medic thought he was glitched for insisting he'd been fighting off zombies all this time.) But, after much instance, and pleading for Optimus' permission, Jolt was allowed to stay with Naomi for the time being.

The Autobot sighed inwardly. He was still waiting, and he still hated it.

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Naomi felt guilty about just leaving Jolt there, but he needed to keep his identity a secret, and she'd handled missions on her own. Her top priority was protecting the innocent from a threat she wasn't quite sure of yet--

Then the bridge cables snapped, just as a large truck barreling down the hallway lost control and came hurtling in her direction.

"Oh no, you don't," she whispered under her breath, reaching one glowing palm to the truck and aiming the other at the bridge to keep it supporting the weight of several smaller cars.

This was going to be fun.

The bridge was falling down. The slagging bridge was falling down. And Jolt just had to sit there. And watch.

This was going to drive him crazy! Maybe if he just- no. No, he trusted Naomi. He had faith in her. He was just going to have to sit there. And watch. While the bridge fell down.

Frag it all, that girl had better know what she's doing.

There was no time to know what you were doing in a crisis, even if Naomi had undergone training for all sorts of emergencies for six hard years. Still, there was no preparing for this, and she gritted her teeth as she fought to keep control of her powers. Momentum and weight were against her for the most part, which required more force on her end, but too much would destroy what she was trying to protect. She just had to gently move the truck to safer ground, and then she could focus on stabilizing the bridge.

And if the out-of-control esper causing this whole mess hadn't just decided to hurl a crane at her, things would have been so much easier.

Frag that.

There was a moment where the crane just stopped- but it was only for a split second, then it was jerked violently back, the force of the movement making the machine buckle in the middle. Jolt gave the crane and angry glare as it slammed into the asphalt with a shower of sparks, and came to an abrupt halt under the Autobot's foot. His whip uncoiled itself from where it had caught and crippled the crane, and slid back into its rightful place.

So much for not making a scene.

He couldn't have-- he wouldn't have-- he had. And all Naomi could do was stare as the crane lay helplessly beneath Jolt's giant foot, wondering just how he'd gotten there that quickly, and hoping that she was just imagining that he was here at all.

Hypno, she thought desperately. She could claim it was the other esper's influence, and that there wasn't really a humongous alien robot there, and--

Right, the mission. Sparing Jolt only the briefest of glances that gave away absolutely nothing, Naomi gathered up all of her psychokinetic power, exercising enough restraint to move the truck to a safer location, and then using the rest to yank the bridge up long enough for the cars to move. She held it there, the red glow around her intensifying, and then finally released it once she'd been given the okay from her supervisor that everyone was safe.

Satisfied that no one else was going to be tossing construction equipment around, Jolt quickly changed back into his alt, and made himself scarce. That was a stupid stunt - but stupid stunt was Jolt's middle name- names? In any case, he knew it would be unwise to just be caught standing there any longer than he already had been. It looked like Naomi had everything under control now, anyway.

The blue Volt simply became part of the traffic exiting the bridge, looking perfectly innocent and normal.

An hour later, after the esper had been (forcefully) taken care of, Naomi waved off her supervisor's attempts to do what he called looking her over, and what she called not-so-subtle sexual harassment, and took to the air in search of the Volt. Unfortunately, the mission had drained her a little too much, and she couldn't proceed very far before she had to land by the river to catch her breath.

All right, so maybe hunting him down would be harder than she thought, but it was just as well. Because when she did find Jolt, she had some questions for him.

To be fair, Jolt felt bad about stepping in like he had. Maybe he'd overreacted. Naomi probably had the whole thing under control and then a giant alien robot just came barging in--

And so it was with the air of a kicked puppy that the Volt approached the girl at the riverbank, engine humming softly.

Naomi didn't speak at first-- mostly because she didn't even know where to begin. It was sweet that Jolt had been concerned for her, if that was the reason behind his actions, but he'd just put his own identity into jeopardy, and so many people could have seen that.

"... Why did you do that?" She asked softly, deciding that it was the safest question to start off with.

The car drooped a little - just a slight dipping of its nose, not unlike a dog who knew full well that he had done something bad. "I don't know--" he began softly, but that was a lie. He knew. "I didn't want you to get hurt. I jumped in without thinking, and I'm sorry." It wasn't the first time Jolt had charged headlong into a situation without thinking, and it likely wasn't the last, but he knew he couldn't afford that kind of behavior here.

That was unfair. She had been gearing up for a long lecture, and here he was, acting like a kicked puppy. It should have been impossible for a car to even give off that impression, but Jolt was doing it admirably.

"It's my job." Naomi drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. "It's dangerous, and it would have hurt, but I could have taken it, and your identity wouldn't have been put at risk. If it still seems like I need to be protected, then that's my fault, not yours. I should be the one apologizing."

He had perfected the kicked puppy look - not that it did much when faced with the likes of Optimus Prime, Ironhide, and Major Lennox, but it was a nice thing to have in his arsenal. However, unlike most of the times he had to apologize to any of the aforementioned, he really did mean it this time.

"No. Nonono, don't apologize! You have nothing to apologize for. I know you're capable, I do! It's my fault entirely." There was a long pause where Jolt seemed to be thinking. When he did speak, his voice was quiet. "Maybe I should just go back to Diego Garcia."

In one swift, fluid movement, Naomi was up. She might have wobbled for a split second, but she grounded herself by planting her hands on the car's hood, and raised her head to stare at him. There was anger in that gaze, blazing fury-- and just a trace of panic.

"You're going back, just like that? You make one mistake-- one-- and that's it? It took me four years to realize my own mistakes, and it might have been easier to ask for another supervisor, but I kept going! I was scared I'd be hated if I kept standing up for myself, but I didn't give up! Jolt-san, I trust you, and there are worse mistakes to make than diving in to help a friend! I'm just fine with believing in you, even if you aren't! If you really want to go back, then fine, but then why did you come here in the first place??"

For the first time in... possibly ever, the young Autobot was rendered speechless. Even his engine went quiet in shock. It should have been impossible for a car to stare, mouth agape, but this one was proving that - had it the proper components - that's exactly what it would be doing.

"I-" he began, after what seemed like an eternity of just... looking at the fury on Naomi's face. "I came here to be with you. I want to help, and I'm willing to take the risks- you just have to be willing to let me take them too." He didn't doubt that she was worried for him - but he was an Autobot. Helping people was what they did, and if he had to help and hide, help and hide, and run the risk of exposure, then so be it. However, he wasn't going to run that risk without Naomi's backing, because he didn't want to have to go through this every single time - and as much as he hated it, going back to NEST was the easiest solution.

"..." She wasn't used to losing her temper with anyone other than her supervisor, and the young esper took a deep breath to calm her nerves. There was no way that she could be angry at him, not after what he'd just said. He'd come here for her sake, and it hadn't been fair to ask him to just wait for her. If the positions had been switched, she couldn't have said that she would have done any differently.

"I understand." Naomi closed her eyes briefly, lowering her head, but keeping her palms on the hood. She didn't want to see him get hurt because of her, but if Jolt was adamant about stepping in to assist her, she couldn't just refuse. "I'll be willing, but... please, be careful. There are espers who can control you, who might come close to destroying you, and I don't want that."

There was a brief moment in which nothing happened, and then the light shifted and shimmered and there was the hologram, sitting cross legged on the hood in front of Naomi's hands. One hand cupped her chin, and brought her gaze up to meet his. His face was serious, as was his tone. "I'm a soldier, Naomi. This is what I do. I'll do my very best to be careful, I promise you that, but if you are ever in trouble, I won't hesitate to be there."

To her absolute horror, Naomi felt her eyes starting to sting, and it took a great deal of will to keep from bursting into tears, as she typically did when she'd felt that she'd messed up big time and hurt others in the process. And she had, hadn't she? She'd been so dead-set on protecting Jolt that she hadn't considered his feelings on the matter; the warmth of his hand and the solemnity of his gaze only served to reinforce that he was so much more than any of the robots she'd faced, and she held still, oddly comforted by that fact.

"I'm a soldier, too," she whispered and, despite her best effort, a tear trickled down her face. "An esper. But as Naomi, I'm asking you to stay and fight with me."

Ah, Naomi's face was leaking. Wait, no. She was crying, and he definitely didn't want her to cry. "Hey," he said, brushing the tear from her face. "Of course I'll stay." There was a soft purr from Jolt's engine, part reassuring, part echoing Naomi's apparent sadness, and the hologram slid down the hood and enveloped Naomi in a hug - a little awkward at first, simply because Jolt was unused to the action, but he settled into it eventually. "I'll stay," he said again, confirming it for her as much as for himself.

Naomi was stiff initially, caught off-guard by the sudden display of affection, but gradually, her arms rose, wrapping around him, and she buried her face in his shirt. There was something strange about hugging a hologram that felt this solid, but this was part of Jolt, and she accepted that with very little difficulty. It was a lot harder to hug him when he was more than three times her size, anyway.

"Good," came the muffled voice.

It was a little weird to be this close to her, but not exactly bad. Sure, as a hologram he couldn't feel - not as humans did - but there was still something that went from her to him. He couldn't explain it, really.

He pulled away from her slightly, flashing her that grin. "You look exhausted," he remarked.

"I'm only Level Six," she explained, smiling ruefully as she took a step back to stretch. "It usually requires two high-leveled psychokinetic espers to do something like that, unless it's Kaoru-chan. I... probably went a little past my limits--"

"Naomiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Naomi automatically flinched, glancing over her shoulder at her approaching supervisor. For some reason, he looked livid. "S-Supervisor...?"

"Did that robot harm you? It was obviously a trap set by that esper, and you should be resting, instead of--" Here Tanizaki's eyes swept over the hologram, and he sniffed distastefully. "Instead of letting yourself be groped by this... garbage. Don't let yourself be taken in!"

HoloJolt raised an eyebrow, managing not to look surprised at the "giant robot" remark, and instead casting a disgusted look at Naomi's supervisor. "Garbage?" he repeated.

It took all of Jolt's willpower to keep his engine quiet. Instead, he focused on not letting his hologram lose its solidity, and staying right where he was. It might be satisfying to just punch this guy in the face, or run him over. Or punch him in the face and then run him over, but he didn't want to run the risk of being separated from Naomi for assaulting her supervisor.

"Garbage," the man repeated firmly, and Naomi tensed, glancing anxiously at her friend to ensure that he wasn't going to do anything idiotic. She could react now, but anyone else was a very different situation. "Trying to take advantage of a sweet young br-- girl, I know how your dirty minds work! Well, her supervisor won't stand for it! Get away from her this instant!"

This really wasn't her day.

The young man shrugged. "Fine, have it your way." He stood up from where he was currently seated on the Volt's hood, and stalked purposefully to the river's edge, pausing just long enough to give Naomi a little smile.

And then he jumped in the river.

Naomi stared, catching herself before she could leap off after him. Tanizaki stared...

Then let out some kind of breathy scream and promptly keeled over.

"Ah-- S-- Jolt-san!" Seeing that the man wouldn't be in any shape for observation for awhile (and not particularly feeling like picking him up off the ground), Naomi propped her hands on her hips and gave the car her best reproachful glare. "He's going to be hysterical for days now!"

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