Just a Human
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters. I don't own Transformers. Wish I did, but I don't.
- - - -
Chapter 1; Meet Danielle
- - - -
"Jacob, honey! Soup's ready!"
I placed a large, steaming bowl of Campbell's chicken noodle soup at the head of the polished mahogany table, setting a paper napkin and a small spoon next to it. I brushed off my hands on the front of my jeans and made my way to the refrigerator. Opening the magnet covered door, I reached in and took the jug of milk and began searching in the meat drawer for a snack to eat myself. A nice chunk of hard salami sounded quite appetizing at the moment.
When I heard the soft thumps of cotton socks on the tile floor of the kitchen I turned my body a bit and looked over my shoulder so see my blond haired, brown eyed, ten year old son, Nintendo DS in hand. I inwardly groaned. I knew the day I bought that machine for him, that I would live to regret it. I could be considered a hypocrite though, I seemed to play it more than him at times. It seemed that he was on that machine almost every waking moment of the day. Shaking my head slightly, I went back to my hunt for that salami.
"Aha! There you are, I knew I bought you!" I triumphantly snatched out the half-pound bag of salami and placed it on the kitchen counter along with the milk. Pouring two glasses of milk, I walked over to the table with the package of salami hanging from my mouth.
I placed a glass at Jacob's seat, and another at mine, next to him.
"Hey Mom, guess what?! I unlocked more tracks on Mario Kart, wanna rematch me after we eat?" Jacob asked from his seat, powering down his gaming system. I smiled and laughed a bit.
"Sure, honey. Have you finished all of your homework?" I questioned, flipping on the television set and turning on the news channel. Jacob put a spoonful of the warm broth in his mouth and nodded.
"Uh-huh," he replied happily, "I finished it all at school." I smiled in approval, taking a slice of the spiced salami and folding it into my mouth. I noticed the strange way Jacob was looking at me and gave him a questioning look.
"What?" I asked, a large goofy grin spread across his features, and he laughed. He took a mouthful of hot soup and pointed to my bag of salami with his spoon.
"Seriously, you eat salami every day for, like, every meal. If you keep eating like that you're gonna get fat," Jacob laughed again and I just smirked while putting another slice of salami into my mouth.
"You know, most moms would find that insulting," I spoke, my eyes traveling over to the television set. The sudden rise in volume had caught my attention as well as Jacob's, considering he was rushing over to the remote to turn up the sound. The local news channel had been broadcasting the reveal of Sumdac's latest creation, some automated transit system that I could've cared less about, and the Autobots were attending the grand opening ceremony.
"Mom, look! It's the Autobots!" Jacob exclaimed, pressing the record button on our TeVo. "Aw, this is awesome! I've never gotten them on tape before!"
"Geeze," I mumbled, "Obsessed much?" Jacob threw me a look and went back to the television.
"They're just overgrown toasters." I quipped and went back to snacking on my salami. I never liked robots, be them big or small. They were just taking the jobs of actual humans who needed money to support their families.
"Well, at least you're on my side right?" I asked a thin slice of salami. When it didn't respond, I stuffed it into my mouth to join it's previously devoured brethren.
"...Please enjoy the ariel acrobatics of The Crimson Angels!" I heard the unmistakable voice of Professor Sumdac announce from at my seat, and it sparked my interest. I took my bag of hard salami over to the couch in front of the television with a small huff.
"I knew you'd come around," Jacob said smugly. With an exasperated sigh, I rolled my eyes and watched as the red jets soared through the sky, doing various drills and tricks. Less than a minute in, though, I noticed something a bit off.
"Honey, aren't The Crimson Angels supposed to be crimson?" I asked, eyeing the odd coloured jet that had suspiciously appeared out of the clouds. My son just nodded numbly, too wrapped up in the ariel display to care about what I had asked him.
Suddenly, the mystery jet swooped down, and flew straight in the direction of the news camera drone. There was an odd noise of metal shifting and there was a bright purple light. Then nothing but static.
"Well," I said, snatching the remote from Jacob and turning off the television set. "I think that's enough TV for one sitting." Jacob followed me back to the table, trying to seize the remote control back. I held it just out of his reach.
"Come on, Mom! I wanna know what happened!" he whined as he continued to lunge for the remote. I eventually just hurled the darned thing out the open window next to me, leaving Jacob in shock. He stared at me with his big brown eyes, mouth agape.
"Geeze!" Jacob threw his hands into the air and sat back down in his seat, pouting as he ate his now lukewarm soup. I gave a little laugh of triumph as I sauntered past him with my milk in hand and over to the magnet decorated fridge. Pulling the door open, I threw the nearly empty packet of salami back into it's drawer, and downed the rest of my milk.
"...Mom?" Jacob asked quietly. I turned around, a bit startled by his change of attitude. He was looking wearily at the television's blank screen.
"What if that...thing was something dangerous? I mean, you saw what it did to the botcam..." I gave a soft 'hm' as I regarded his observation. We didn't necessarily live near the heart of Detroit, our house was just at the outskirts of the city, nestled about the edge of a forest. Considering that fact, I saw us as safe.
"Honey, even if it wasdangerous, your wonderful Autobots would end up saving the day...as always," I joked, trying to brighten up Jacob's mood. He gave a small smile and took a small spoonful of soup into his mouth.
"Yeah, I guess so," he replied, and then took his DS in hand. "So how about that rematch?"
- - - -
Roughly fifteen minutes and eight losses later, I found myself sitting in the old, leather loveseat next to Jacob, who seemed to be quite proud of his still-intact win streak. I was simply no match.
"I'm telling you, the game cheats!" I exclaimed, snapping the DS closed, my expression one of annoyance. Jacob simply smirked and shook his head.
"Mom, face it. You suck at Mario Kart," he pondered for a moment. "Considering that it was around when you were a kid, that's kinda sad," I gave him a raspberry and got up, leaving him sitting alone on the couch. My mind suddenly snapped back to the poor, neglected remote control sitting among the grass in the back yard. It was almost time for my House re-runs on TV Land.
"Hun, I'll be right back," I stepped into the back patio and strolled over to the discarded remote, brushing off the dirt slightly.
Something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned slightly, trying to see it a bit more clearly. A bright blue light shone from the west, above the more urban part of Detroit, and it began pulsating slightly.
"What the...?" Suddenly, the glowing ball of light sent out a series of giant gleaming pulses. I had to shield my eyes as it began sending out lightning like tendrils and completely illuminating the sky. I faintly heard Jacob cry out for me from inside. My maternal instincts kicked in, and I frantically sprinted back into the house.
Jacob was huddled under the kitchen table when I found him, and as soon as he saw me he latched onto my torso, seeking protection from whatever was happening. We both placed our hands over our ears as a thundering explosion rang out. The pulses of light continued for a few moments more, and then ceased. I looked around cautiously and lessened my protective grip on my son.
"Mom, what...what was that?" Jacob asked, still a bit shaken up from the previous occurrence. I shrugged, a bit too shocked to speak. My mind was asking the same question, and I was at a complete loss for explanation.
"I'm going to go outside and check on things." I said, managing to find my voice. Jacob nodded slightly, and I crawled out from under the table, smacking my head on it in the process.
"Damn." Nursing my head, I slowly opened the screen door and peered outside, my eyes darting around for anything out of the ordinary. Timidly, I walked out and turned to where the light once had been. A loud screeching sound filled my ears as I saw a large figure flying through the sky. I watched as it fell into the forest, causing the ground to shake upon impact.
"Mom!" Jacob ran to the screen door, looking at me with a worried gaze.
"Honey, stay there. I'm going to see what that was," I instructed him, and turned towards the forest, uneasily peering into it, unsure of what awaited me. It wasn't the smartest thing for me to do, but my curiosity overwhelmed my sense of fear.
I penetrated the forest's edge, my feet bare feet sinking slightly into the moist dirt as I walked. I tried my best to walk into the direction that I saw the form land, but considering that the sun was slowly setting, it was getting a bit hard to see. As I continued on, I began to see broken limbs of the canopy above, and the damage steadily increased. Coming to a clearing, I saw a small crater of dirt a few feet ahead, and my eyes widened slightly.
A meteorite?
Carefully, I went and trooped up the incline of the crater, preparing myself for whatever was awaiting me once I got to the top. Stumbling slightly as I reached the crown of the crater, I peered over and gasped as I saw two, large red glowing eyes staring back at me.
- - - -
A/n; Wow, okay, so I finally got this thing up. I've worked on it for nearly three months due to writer's block. Hopefully it's not too bad. If Danielle gets too much like a Sue at any time, please feel free to tell me. I have a bit of a hard time creating balanced characters sometimes. :/ Ho hum.
Just a little heads up, this story will be slightly AU, and depending on if my writer's block gets any better, I won't be able to update for a little. I just wanted to get this up and see what you guys think. Even if you didn't like it, review and tell me why. Crit is always welcome!
Live long and prosper! xP
-Xoomis
- - - -