Two Worlds, One Family
"How far away are they?"
"Approximately 36 miles, Michael."
"Perfect."
"Michael? May I inquire as to what you are planning to do?"
"Oh, nothin', buddy."
"Really? Because, well, correct me if I'm wrong - which I'm usually not - but your grin tells me otherwise."
The tall man with an auburn mop of curls only gives a half-hearted glare to the voice modulator. The only indication of a face his close friend will ever have. "If I tell you you're right, will you shut up and stop bugging me about it?"
"Affirmative." The AI replied, triumph and pride clouding his Bostonian voice.
"Fine. You're right."
"Thank you, Michael."
An eye roll. "Whatever you say, pal." Michael replied before slipping into silence momentarily. Staring out the driver window. "How much longer now?" He questioned, glancing back at the dash.
"Another 15 minutes or so. I must say, they are driving quite fast now, aren't they?" The AI asked knowingly.
Michael matched the AI's virtual expression. "Indeed. Looks like we'll have to have a little talk with them now, won't we?"
"Perhaps. But I don't think that's totally necessary."
Michael frowned. "What? How so?"
"Michael," Kitt coaxed. "You and I both know she's in good hands. They wouldn't let anything happen to her."
His driver scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You've got a lot of faith in those youngsters."
"Michael Knight, they are young still. Let them have their fun." Kitt explained in his characteristically, motherly tone. An audible smile in his voice.
His driver only sat back with a long, drawn out sigh.
XxoKRoxX
Meanwhile, out in a patch of nothing but open desert plain, three super cars were all in the middle of creating the biggest donut ever known to man kind. Only, this was a special kind of donut. We were ever determined to see to it that we would hold the record for it as well. It was a little difficult since we were spinning around at speeds well over a 100 and we were also headed towards base at the same time. It sounds confusing, yes, but I think you get the gist.
"Faster! Faster!" I shouted excitedly from my partner's cabin.
"I'm going as fast as I can without running into anybody!" She answered back with a laugh.
My partner is an Arctic White, 2017 Corvette Stingray named, Jessie. Not so much now, I guess with the mud and dirt and all. Her spiked rims were jet black and her windows were shaded with the darkest limo tinting imaginable. But she lightened them just enough so I could still see out...that is, if looking at pure brown was anything to rave about. She is the youngest out of the trio and, in my opinion, the most fun to be around, mind the other two.
Off to my right out of the corner of my eye, I catch a small flash of bright green. That is the one and only, Kiba. The fastest, coolest 2017 McClaren 570s ever to lay eyes on. At least in my opinion. As I slightly mentioned before, he is bright green with a stripe of black on his door half way down and his back bumper is also black. Like Jessie, he has blacked out rims and windows. And he's also in terrible need of a bath.
And last but certainly not least, we have the eldest, Sam. He's Jessie's older brother and best friends with Kiba. Though him and the McClaren are pretty close in age. Sam's a 2017 Lamborghini Aventador. His paint color is the darkest shade of black possible. In fact, when I first met him, I thought for sure he was made from the shadows themselves. He's completely blacked out from bumper to bumper. But, don't let him or his dark color fool you, he may be the eldest of the trio, but he sure as hell knows how to have fun.
Come to think of it, this was his idea!
"Hey, guys," Kiba's uncertain voice comes through the com in the car's cabins. We all slowly come to a stop.
"What's up, Ki?" Sam's kindly toned voice enters the conversation.
"I believe we have a problem back at HQ."
I felt Jess perk up at that. "What kind of problem? Do we need to go bust some heads?"
We heard her brother laugh at that. "Ha! No, little sis. Not that. I think he means were past curfew, right?"
"Umm," the poor guy sounded more nervous than before. "More like that and a lecture from the boss."
We all groaned out a sigh. Don't get my wrong, Alex was cool and so was Michael Knight. But put them in the same room with a topic concerning us and...well, it wasn't good. You see, Torres isn't super fond of our little outings, so to speak. He thinks it's bad for their programming and mars what they were really created to do. Which is to work along side a human being and save the day and blah, blah, blah. Personally, and I'm sure the others would have to agree to a certain point, I think he expects a little too much out of them. In AI terms, these guys are like teens! They still have their whole lives in front of them before they have to start taking on serious challenges. Now, I'm not saying they do that now, for we are always considerate of their concerns and things like that.
But, that's a different story for a different time.
"Ok," I drawl dramatically. "When do we need to head back?"
"Uh, he said, and I quote, 'I will have your wheels and hang them on the wall in front of your spaces if you aren't back in 5.'" Kiba responded honestly, but I could detect a chuckle there. I couldn't blame him. We all knew Alex didn't have the heart to do so much as put a scratch on these youngsters. Kitt maybe, but not them.
"Alrighty, then," I sigh, clicking on the radio for the short drive home. I instantly hear one of my favorite songs, You and I by PVRIS. "Let's go before y'all lose your carhood."
Sam gawked. "Really, Cam? Carhood?"
I laughed with a chuckle. Jess joined in with me as we pulled away, leading the pack. "It's the best I could come up with, mind you."
Kiba chimed in then, taking point with a rev of his engine. "I do have to admit. That is pretty clever."
We all started laughing at the whole situation, watching as the sun began to set. The sky turning a pretty mix of orange, pink and yellow. My eyes then landed on Kiba's figure, leading the way with me and Jess in the middle and Sam in the back. His bright green paint job seeming to turn an almost lime green due to the reflection of the sun's last rays.
I was brought out of my happy trance when bright red tail lights flashed in my face. Jessie's glowing LED's made a bright reflection off of Kiba's black bumper. It was almost blinding to look at.
We then made a turn down a straight away and that's when we started to punch it. Kiba took off without warning and we were hot on his tail. Sam eventually came in two lengths behind him, leaving me and Jess in the back, but we didn't mind. It was always amusing for us to watch the boys race each other.
When we were about 15 minutes out from base, we started slow. Coming down to more reasonable speeds as we got closer to the mat. It was clear however who won the race. And the loser wasn't too fond of it.
"The only reason you won was because you cheated!" Sam bellowed aloud. Me and Jess both heard Kiba smirk with pride.
"Did not." Kiba replied cooly, waiting patiently for the doors to open.
"Did too!"
"Did not."
"Guys!" Both me and Jess said at the same time. "Shut up!"
Thankfully, they remained silent, but the air was thick with unfinished business.
Once the doors opened, we all pulled in single file. Sam in front with Kiba in the back. One at a time, we all passed through the decontamination area before being allowed entry into the KITT Cave. All the cars parked beside KITT's spot with Sam first in line. Once Jess slipped into park, I got out with a stretch.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" I heard Billy's cheerful voice draw my attention. I looked over at him with a tired smile.
"Hey, Billy. How's it goin'?"
"Just dandy. At least for me. Uhhh," he trailed off, staring intently at a spot on the floor. His eyes snapped back up at mine. "I believe Alex wanted to see you." He said deflated.
I sighed. I was dreading this. "I know, I know. Where is he?"
"You don't need to worry about a thing." A new voice entered the conversation, making us look over to the occupied cubicle.
"KITT, what'd you do?" The black Lambo asked.
The eldest of the young AI's seemed to smile with his reply. "Nothing. I simply picked up on a few tricks from Mr. Knight."
That made me nervous. KITT was a smart one, yes. He always liked to know as much info as possible before executing a plan of any kind. His curiosity always made him adorable to a certain degree, especially when he was considered a baby for an AI. He was like a curious toddler.
"Don't worry," Billy piped in, obviously feeling the tension in the air. "I was there. He just talked Alex into submission."
I frowned at Billy. "'Submission?'" I repeated.
"Yes," KITT answered proudly, his scanner pacing coyly. "I think you'll all find the rest of your evening quite pleasing."
I gave the Mustang a smile, placing a kind pat right above his scanner. What would I do without him? "You're amazing, KITT. I owe you big."
He beamed. "You do not owe me anything. I was happy to do it."
"No," my partner cut in. The other two pulling forward a little. "We do owe you. You have no idea what you've done for us."
"She's right, man." Kiba chimed in. "Just tell us what."
KITT stayed silent. Obviously he needed a little more convincing.
"Look, how about we do this," Sam said. "We'll give you some time to think about it and when you've decided, you come and get us, 'kay?"
The Mustang seemed baffled at that. "Guys, I really do appreciate this act of kindness on your part but, this really isn't necessary. Like I said, I was happy to help you out. I don't need to be repaid."
I jumped in then. "Yes! You do! If it weren't for you, we all," I indicated to the trio to my left with an outstretched hand. Their headlights all blinked in agreement. "would've been in the dog house. Them, without their tires!"
KITT literally paled at that. "He...? What...?"
"He didn't tell you?" Kiba jumped right in.
"N-no. What did he say?"
"Oi! He said he was gonna take off our tires and hang them up in front of our spaces if we weren't back here in five minutes!" Jess exclaimed.
KITT, still pale, seemed shocked to hear that. So Billy voiced his unasked question. "We're talking about the same Alex, right?"
"YES!" The four of us all shouted at the same time.
Both he and Billy seemed to shrink back with the sudden outburst. "He was going to take away your very freedom?" KITT spoke back up.
"Oh yeah." I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.
All at once, KITT's rich midnight black coat came flooding back. All shiny and brand new without a single scratch. His lava red scanner pulsing with determination.
"I know exactly what we're going to do." He said darkly, making me shiver from the chill in his voice. But I did know this:
Alex better look out.