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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"Then--" With a slight gesture, the long hose used for the cars in the lot uncoiled itself and flew in Naomi's direction, winding about her like a giant docile snake. She smiled sweetly as the handle came to rest in her hand. "This is going to be a little cold."

At least she was merciful enough to keep it to a stream of water, instead of a high-power blast, only slightly less powerful than the ones fire engines used.

The Autobot was already bracing himself the moment he saw the hose. "Ah," he sighed. "I knew this was too good to be true." He'd yet to meet a hose that sprayed anything other than cold water.

And cold it was, but to his credit, he only flinched a little.

He was a brave soul, that Jolt, and Naomi did her best to make the rinsing as quick as possible. Getting doused in cold water after any amount of time sunbathing wasn't the best experience (and anyone who was unfortunate enough to be anywhere near The Children when they were bored had learned that), and it didn't take long to rinse the soap off and towel him dry. The sun helped.

"Did you want a wax, too?" She offered, figuring it was one way to make up for the necessary evil.

The toweling had almost gotten him purring again. Almost. He was really going to have to work on reigning his systems in- couldn't have fans and engine and whatever else just kicking on whenever. It was embarrassing.

Oh, that was tempting. So very tempting, but Naomi had done more than enough for him today, and he'd managed to look like a big enough fool to boot. "I'm fine Naomi. This was more than enough."

"If you say so..." Naomi looked a little dubious, but opted not to question him further. He looked much better now, gleaming in the sun and without any trace of dirt and dust on him. That would last probably until the next mission, which could be anywhere between the next five minutes and the next five days, but for the time being, he was perfectly clean.

Or it could be in the next five seconds.

But oddly enough, it wasn't any comm of Naomi's that was buzzing- it was his. It caught him off-guard for a moment, after going so long without hearing from his comrades- but the voice of a certain Autobot commander quickly set him straight.

With a mumbled apology to Naomi, he took the call on his internal systems quietly.

Well, that was... odd. Jolt seemed to be engrossed in... something, and she didn't want to impose-- but it didn't feel right to just leave him completely, either, so Naomi settled on compromising by stepping back to allow him to continue unhindered.

The call took a little longer than he'd expected- but that was due to some heavy negotiating on Jolt's part.

Eventually, he rolled back-and-forth a little, clearly hesitant about something, before rolling up alongside Naomi. "Sooo-" he said. "How do you feel about fighting Decepticons? ...Well, 'Con. Singular. As far as we know."

How did she feel about fighting an evil robot?

Startled, for one, and recalling memories of past fights with robots. Always a challenge, but none of the missions were ever easy for the espers. She would just be careful until she could verify what she was getting into. Not fighting, however... wasn't an option.

"If there's something you have to take care of, I'm coming along," she said firmly.

"I know that," Jolt remarked. His door swung open obligingly. "Optimus took a little convincing, but he said you can come along." Provided, of course, that Jolt kept her out of trouble- despite his instance that Naomi was more than capable of handling herself.

"...I think your superiors will probably be getting a phone call from NEST right about now." That one had been all Optimus' idea. If their organizations were going to work together, best to keep everyone appraised of the situation- again, despite Jolt's insistence that he'd have her back before she was even missed.

Glancing towards the building, Naomi blinked when her limiter crackled.

"Authorization: Level Six Activated. Limiter release, Wild Cat."

This was followed by a sharp reminder that if the damned car let anything happen to her, there would be hell to pay, but Naomi was already inside the car and buckled in.

"Verified and ready to go," she said cheerfully.

Jolt took off down the street at an easy pace, his hologram flickering on. The last thing he needed was to draw undue attention to himself. Optimus had sternly advised him to take his time on this one- as far as the enemy knew, there wasn't an Autbot or NEST agent around his hiding spot for miles, and there was no reason to bring him out of that sense of security, however false that may be.

"This is what we've got," he said. "One 'Con, hiding out in an old building site a couple of miles from here. We're still a little fuzzy on his alt or his designation, since there's a lot of construction equipment lying around over there." He shrugged.

"Understood," Naomi replied at once, already settling into Official Special Esper mode. "So we're regarding all of it as a possible Decepticon." Go figure it had to be construction-- moving any of that equipment had always given her the hardest time.

"I wonder why it's hiding here, though," she mused. "I can't think of anything it would want."

Construction equipment was a favored source for altmodes for the Decepticons. Jolt really didn't know why, but it usually meant two things about the mech in question: They were big, and they were slow. "Once we get in close, I should be able to sniff him out," Jolt replied. He wasn't exactly built with the best scanners available- he was a fighter, not a medic like Ratchet, what need did he have for them? But if this Decepticon wasn't expecting him, maybe he'd catch him being sloppy.

The Autobot pondered on that for a moment, then offered up another shrug. "Who knows? Could be this is just where he happened to land and he's just awaiting orders. If we can take him alive, maybe we can ask."

"I hope we can..." Naomi clenched her hands in her lap, looking pensively down at them. Enemy or not, she didn't kill. It wasn't B.A.B.E.L.'s policy, and it wasn't hers. That didn't mean that she'd never expected the possibility to come up, though. In this area, Jolt probably had far more experience than she did.

Either way didn't really matter to Jolt- the only good 'Con was a dead 'Con, but to be fair, his weapons were better-suited to crippling than killing anyway. "Whatever happens," he remarked. "Subdue or terminate, NEST will show up to clean up the mess. We just have to try and keep this as... discreet as possible."

She nodded her agreement, thankfully glad that The Children hadn't gotten word of it. As much as she loved the three of them, they couldn't do much discreetly. But that was to be expected from Level 7s-- the director was much the same when she wasn't sleeping the day away.

Either way, this should prove to be an experience.

The decline in the quality of neighborhood was evident long before they got to the site. (Yeah, Jolt decided, if he were a lowlife Decpticon, this is the kind of neighborhood he'd hang out in too.) The buildings were largely abandoned, save for the occasional bum, and for that Jolt was grateful. It minimized their chances of being seen- moreover, their chances of being seen by anyone remotely credible, or with a cell phone and the ability to upload them onto YouTube.

"That's it," he remarked, indicating the skeletal remains of a half-constructed building looming a few blocks down. "I'm gonna drive by it a couple of times and scope it out."

Naomi glanced at him, still quiet, but very evidently concerned for him by her expression. The girl was just too much of an open book. She'd been all over the city-- all over the country-- on missions, but she wasn't familiar with this construction site. They'd be fighting on unfamiliar terrain.

Shaking her head at her uneasiness, she looked away, out of the window. "Should I check it out from above?"

Oooh, air surveillance. There was a a trick the Autobots themselves didn't have at their disposal. (Really, one of them needed an altmode that could fly.) "Just keep out of sight- I wanna keep the element of surprise as best I can, you know?"

"Roger that." She flashed him a sharp salute, unable to keep from smiling as she did so, and then unbuckled herself and swung the door open. "You won't even know I'm there."

Which was true enough-- when Naomi didn't want to be seen, it was nearly impossible to track her.

The Volt pulled around the corner, slowing as Naomi made her exit, but never quite stopping, and swung the door closed after her. He took in what he could see- which wasn't much considering the high, graffiti-laden wall that wound around the site.

Something pinged on his scanner, but it was impossible to tell what it was. So, with a sigh, Jolt circled again- taking his time and marking that the only way in was through a gap in the wall, which looked as though it had been a gate once- chained and boarded up until something had torn it open.

The esper took immediately to the air, circling the site from high above. Unlike her companion on the ground, she could see over the wall, and took in what looked to be several rusting pieces of equipment. A bulldozer with a crushed tread, a crane that looked as though it had been in its prime seventy years ago... nothing too unusual.

Frowning to herself, she swooped down a little closer to investigate further, still too quick to be easily spotted.

Jolt was nervous.

Not because of the mission. This is what he did. This was why he was built.

No, it was because Naomi wasn't back yet. Okay, so really she hadn't been gone that long, and she was more than capable, but Primus damn it, he was worried about her anyway. She was flitting around some construction site with a 'Con and-

And there it was again. That ping on his scanner. Only this one wasn't coming from over the wall. It was on the street.

Frag.

"Naomi," he radioed, breaking the silence. "We've got trouble."

Up in the air, Naomi stopped, glancing down at her limiter. Jolt contacting her was usually a cause for concern. Jolt contacting her with the keyword of trouble was a cause for worry.

"What is it?" Her voice came across clearly, tone steady despite her growing unease.

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