100 Moments with Kylie—a TFP Fan Fiction Series
Summary: the humans are stuck at the Autobot base during a storm; Kylie does not like storms. Can the others help her relax?
TFP © Hasbro
Kylie and Lily © Me
~Moment 2: THUNDERSTORMS~
So far, it's been a week since the four humans met the Autobots of Team Prime. In the seven days they've known them, they've actually grown quite attached to them. Plus, visiting them made leaving their houses more fun than ever. But the humans never imagined they would be stuck there for a long period of time.
It was a Saturday afternoon at the secret Autobot base. While Ratchet and Optimus discussed matters in the medic's lab for more privacy, the other bots and the humans did their thing. Arcee was appointed to be Jack's guardian, and the two went for a drive around the desert. Miko and her guardian Bulkhead were jamming out to heavy metal. Bumblebee and his human companion Rafael played video games. And Kylie and her guardian Lily were by the couch drawing; Kylie drew in her sketchbook while Lily drew on a blank data-pad.
Suddenly, a muffled sound coming from outside drew everyone's attention to the ceiling. "What was that?" asked Miko.
"Sounded like thunder," said Raf. Then they all turned towards the tunnel as Arcee and Jack returned to base.
"The stupid weather lady didn't predict this weather," Jack grumbled as he removed his helmet.
"Don't worry, Jack," Arcee told him as she transformed, "we can resume our race another time."
"Is it thundering?" Lily asked.
"Yep," Jack nodded, "and black clouds are rolling in fast. Looks like a doozy."
Thunder rumbled again overhead. Kylie whimpered and nestled into the couch. "Aw, does the thunder scare you?" said Lily and stroked her fingers over Kylie's head.
"How can thunder scare someone?" asked Bulkhead.
"Because they're loud and sudden," Rafael explained. "Small children and animals are genuinely afraid of thunder. It's a natural reaction."
Then, Optimus Prime and Ratchet, who was holding a scanner, entered. "The readings are rising, indeed," the medic muttered and headed for the monitor. The screen showed the weather patterns in Jasper, and it revealed a huge swell of clouds plowing their way. "This is the biggest storm of the year, so far," he said. "Winds of 45 miles an hour, and heavy, heavy rainfall."
"We've survived countless storms on Cybertron," Bulkhead stated. "What's a little rain going to do to us?"
"While we may be impervious to Earth's weather," Optimus spoke, "our human friends are not. For their safety, they must remain here until the storm blows over."
"What?!" Jack exclaimed.
"Yay, a longer play date!" Lily cheered.
"Aw, don't be so down, Jack. It beats being at home!" said Miko.
"It's not that. My mom worries a lot, and she'll freak out knowing I'm not home during this storm. I gotta at least make up some excuse to her so she knows where I am."
"Well, you have no luck here. You know that no signals can escape this base," Arcee reminded him.
"I gotta let my mom know, too," Raf said, "and call Kylie's grandparents."
"My host parents don't care," Miko declared.
Optimus sighed softly; of course, he hadn't once again considered the Earth customs of teens needing to keep their parents updated on their whereabouts. Luckily, the storm hadn't reach the base yet, so he granted Jack and Rafael permission to briefly step outside and contact their parents. They came back into the safety of the Autobot base once the rain started to fall.
As the storm passed over, the rain pounded onto the rock powerful enough to be heard in the base; thunder was mighty enough to shake the ground and rumble the rocks. The wind howled past the plateaus and mountains. Mother Nature was unleashing her fury on Jasper. Even though everyone was safe inside the base, not everyone felt safe.
The human children were settled on the couch in front of the Television, and little Kylie was shivering in fear from the storm. The boom of thunder caused her to whimper, and the heavy rainfall made her feel cold and wet despite being inside and under her blanket. She leaned against Rafael and whined.
"Hey, it's okay, Kylie," he said, putting an arm around her. "We're totally safe in here."
"This Earth weather is nothing compared to the storms on Cybertron," Bulkhead added. "Now those can make any mech cower in fear." Kylie continued whimpering nonetheless, tugging anxiously at her blanket.
"What Bulkhead is getting at," Jack said, "is that there's nothing for you to worry about, Kylie."
"Yeah!" Miko added. "And we got the bots to protect us! What's the worst that could happen?"
One would say Miko jinxed the moment, for right after, lightning struck the rock hiding the Autobot base, sending surges through the electricity and causing the power to go out. Darkness flooded the room, with only the Autobots' optics acting as a light source.
"What?!"
"Oh, great."
"Terrific."
"I can't see!"
"Aw, the TV went out!"
Kylie, among the chatter, was frightened by the power outage and shrieked, curled into a ball and hid under her blanket; she began sobbing and wailing, loud enough to make the Autobots jump.
"Aw, it's okay," Raf said sympathetically, rubbing her back and hugging her. "Come on."
Lily, a little frightened of the storm herself, reluctantly left her papa's side to aid her small human companion. Using her optics as light to see, she carefully rubbed Kylie's back. "It's okay, Kylie. We're all here and fine. Don't be scared."
"Well, it'll be a while before the power comes back online," Ratchet grumbled. "The circuits are fried. I'll need help in repairing them. Arcee, your hands are small enough to reach inside the power lines. Optimus, I may need your help lifting things."
"What can we do?" Bulkhead asked.
"I don't know, entertain the kids. See if you can get Kylie to stop crying."
As Ratchet, Arcee, and Optimus left to head off to restore the power, Kylie continued to cry. The Autobots tried reassuring her everything was fine, but she didn't stop. Luckily, Jack had a spare flashlight in his backpack, and it had enough power to barely light the room. This managed to calm Kylie down a little.
"Hey, Kylie! Look at this!" Miko said and had the flashlight shone at the wall. Miko moved her hands in front of it and began to make shapes. "It's an elephant! Now it's a flamingo!"
"What is that?" Bumblebee whirred.
"They're shadow puppets," said Jack. "You make shapes with your hands in front of a light and it creates a shadow."
"Now, it's a birdie!" Miko exclaimed as she continued to make puppets in front of the light. "Chirp, chirp!" Kylie watched, blinking away any remaining tears, and then began to giggle a little.
"Hey, it's working!" said Bulkhead. "Keep it up, Miko!"
Miko then decided to get creative and morphed her hands into something else. She lowered her voice to sound grumpy and whiny. "Bulkhead! I needed that! Optimus! Stop getting yourself hurt! Where is my wrench?!" Bumblebee, Lily, and Bulkhead burst into laughter.
"That is an amazing Ratchet impression!" the Wrecker exclaimed between guffaws.
Jack and Raf held their stomach while laughing, and Kylie cupped her hands over her mouth and snickered.
"Do another one, Miko!" Lily giggled.
Miko then made her shadow puppet look like Agent Fowler and deepened her voice. "Prime! Stop destroying the city! What are you, Robo-zilla?!" The bots and kids laughed harder.
She continued with the shadow puppets until the electricity flipped back on, and Ratchet, Arcee, and Optimus entered. "What's so funny in here?" the female Autobot asked.
"We were making shadow puppets with the flashlight," Bulkhead answered, snickering as he looked to Ratchet, who continued wondering what was so funny.
"Well, you'll be glad to know that the power is back up, as you can see," the medic informed, "and that the storm has nearly passed over us."
All eyes and optics went to Kylie as she made a fussing sound. "What's wrong, Kyles?" Rafael asked the pouting girl. Kylie pointed to the wall in response.
Lily giggled, her pigtails fluttering. "I think she wants to see more shadow puppets."
"You want the lights to be off again?" Arcee asked Kylie, who nodded with a smile. "Are you sure?" Kylie nodded again. Then Arcee and the others looked to Ratchet.
The doc sputtered a sigh. "Fine, fine. We will allow you to play while we have to fiddle around in the dark," he grumbled as he headed for the power switch.
Optimus didn't mind at all; if making these shadow puppets provided entertainment and comfort for the humans, then he would comply without hesitation.
The lights were turned back off, the flashlight clicked on and shone against the wall, and Miko resumed making shadow puppets, going from animals to doing impressions of the others. While Ratchet was utterly offended by Miko's impersonation of him, the others had a ball; and Optimus himself questioned if he sounded the way Miko impersonated him.
Kylie wanted to make puppets of her own, but she only knew a few. She could do a butterfly, a bird, and a rabbit. Although they were simple, the others patted her back and told her it was the greatest bird/butterfly/rabbit they had ever seen.
This made Kylie feel much better, and more at home.
