Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! The Transformers are the sole property of Hasbro, and I'm merely a bored person who has nothing better to do with my time…
Note: NO FLAMES PLEASE! I'm always open to constructive criticism/beta offers. But being rude is seriously not cool. If you think my fic is THAT bad, then just stop reading it.
Summary: With the recent wave of crime sweeping Detroit, the Autobots are unable to keep a close optic on Sari. So when a local college student advertises to babysit, they immediately jump at the offer. Little do they know the chaos that will ensue...
Enigma
Previously:
The distant roar of a car engine could be heard outside the base, and he knew they'd already left. So, thinking nothing more of it, he settled back down in his quarters and offlined his optics, falling back into recharge now that peace and quiet reigned once again.
Little did he know that this was only the beginning of his torture...
For once, Prowl couldn't complain as he awoke from recharge in his quarters.
Since Sari and her odd friend had left the base, he hadn't been plagued with another disturbance, and was actually able to fully rest himself before his shift that evening. Processors still slightly foggy after their initial reboot, he shuffled his way downstairs into the Autobots' common area, poured himself some energon from the dispenser, and seated himself on their couch before turning on the big-screen television.
Primus, I feel like a television zombie, he mused to himself as he automatically flipped through the channels to the Nature Network. Finding the appropriate station, he lowered the volume to half its obnoxious level, crossed his legs on the sofa, and idly sipped at his energon as he watched a California Condor soar over an unnamed red canyon. I have to give Bumblebee some credit, however. Television can have its merits…
Moments later, his counterpart made his lazy way into the common area, and retrieved a bit of energon before sitting down beside him. For once, he didn't make a rude remark about the presence of the Nature Network; instead, he watched in silence for several moments before turning toward his teammate.
"'Evening, Prowl", he said amiably, swirling his energon in its container.
Well, this is a pleasant change. "Good evening, Bumblebee." The corners of his mouth components twitched up into a faint ghost of a smile. "I trust you recharged well."
"Yeah, actually. I did." Bumblebee set his drink down, and turned to face Prowl before continuing,"It seemed unusually quiet, but it was kinda nice."
"You can than Sari's babysitter for that." The yellow scout looked confused, tilting his head to encourage an explanation. "Prime hired another human to watch Sari for us. They woke me up early this morning-"
"That must've been fun," he interrupted with a laugh. Upon seeing the slightly miffed look his friend was giving him, he chortled,"You're not exactly Mr. Personality Bot when you're woken up too early."
Prowl's intakes huffed indignantly at the friendly jab. "But after they left, I actually recharged peacefully. I wonder where they could have run off to for so long…"
Bumblebee shrugged, but said nothing. For a while, only the sounds of the Nature Network were present in the empty base, allowing both mechs time to sip at their energon and contemplate in peace; never one to be still for long, the yellow scout shrieked, and leaped out of his seat when a particularly graphic program about human cannibalism began, the high definition blood and entrails too much for him to handle. The unholy sound jarred Prowl from his reverie, and upon seeing why his friend had screamed, immediately flipped to the next channel, a generic –but viewer safe—cooking show.
"Primus, what were those humans doing?" he questioned weakly, optics wide and vocal processor crackly.
"If my eyes serve me correctly, they were engaging in cannibalism, dude. You know, when someone eats the flesh of someone else of their own kind," laughed an unfamiliar voice from behind him. Noticing the bot's hands clapped over his optics, the voice laughed again. "God, you guys are such lightweights when it comes to gore."
"Seriously, Bumblebee!" Sari patted his enormous foot in a half-hearted attempt to calm him. "You might wanna stay out later tonight, then…Because we're having a MEGA SCARY MOVIE MARATHON!"
"We?" The yellow scout uncovered his optics. "Who's this 'we'?"
"Me and Kayla!" she gestured to the older girl standing beside her. "We're having a slumber party!"
Ever the rain on a parade, Prowl stood, met the two girls, and asked sternly,"Does Prime know?"
The new girl waved a careless hand. "Of course Optimus knows, we asked him!" Turning to Bumblebee, she flashed him a toothy grin. "I'm Kayla, by the way. Sari's new babysitter…"
Upon seeing her upbeat attitude, quirky haircut, and numerous piercings, he immediately grinned back. "Now this is what I'm talkin' about! A human that knows how to party!"
Oh, sweet Primus.
"What?!" balked Bumblebee in disbelief. "How is that fair, Boss Bot?! He's just a bolt in the mud!"
Gesturing to the ninjabot, Optimus smiled tiredly. "Prowl took your shift last week, now, you can take his. It's only fair, Bumblebee."
"But he won't even join in the fun!"
"That's an order, soldier."
Muttering unpleasant things under his breath, Bumblebee marched outside the base and transformed, taking off the instant his wheels hit the pavement; from inside the common area, squealing tires reached the ears of everyone present, Optimus' kind facial features twisting into a grimace as he envisioned the thick black lines of rubber marring the clean driveway.
Sari and Kayla had run off to go change into their pajamas, leaving Prowl and his commander alone. "Don't worry," Optimus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's only for tonight." After a moment of silent contemplation, he added, "You two didn't get along well, did you?"
The ninjabot sighed, air cycling softly through his intakes as he wearily sank back onto the couch. He shrugged, facing Prime as he explained, "I only interacted with her briefly; she unintentionally woke me this morning playing video games with Sari." Optimus nodded in understanding, giving his friend an encouraging nod. "She seemed rather…bold."
"A blessing and a curse in itself," agreed the younger as he sat beside Prowl. "Maybe you two just got off to a bad start."
"Mmm…maybe."
Sounds of muffled laughing and screaming wafted from down the hall, directly below his personal quarters. The two bots' audios could make out Kayla saying something, and then Sari saying, well, something else appreciatively; with her already excitable nature, this new sitter –young and full of energy–would only add fuel to the fire, much to Prowl's growing dismay.
"PILLOW FIGHT!"
More shouting reached their audios, this time, causing the ninjabot to hold his head in his hands, a throbbing ache beginning to build in his processor.
"It's going to be a long night."
As much as Prowl dreaded the forthcoming scary movie marathon –scary movies meant more high-pitched screaming–, he was almost relieved when a loud banging on the hangar door gave him something to keep his thoughts on.
Hmm, no energy signature. It couldn't be a Decepticon; they wouldn't actually knock on the front door of our base before-
"Delivery from Pizza Palace!"
Wait…what?
But before he could even form a coherent thought, Kayla had poked her spiky-haired head around the corner, and streaked past him to the door.
He gasped. Surely she wouldn't be stupid enough to-
Apparently, she was. She opened the door, without taking any precautions, stepped outside, and handed a male roughly her own age a few bills of currency; he, in turn, surrendered a large white cardboard box. Happy with her prize, she skipped off through the common area, down the hall, and back to Sari's room without a backward glance. Poor Prowl was dumbfounded at her lack of concern, his shocked gaze following her.
That could have been a burglar...or a rapist... or, or a Decepticon!
Beside himself, he followed her back to Sari's bedroom; even from outside the hallway, upbeat music could be heard blasting from the inside, frequently punctuated with excited bouts of chattering between the two girls. Cautiously, he walked around the corner and into the doorway to give the two of them a stern talking-to.
His eyes met a room in cheerful disarray, with sleeping bags spread out in front of the television, popcorn sprinkling the floor, and dozens of CDs and magazines piled up beside the stereo. Sari and Kayla were sitting on a cluster of cushions, sharing the pizza that Kayla had ordered between them.
Without warning, the elder of the two girls thumped her chest repeatedly, and proclaimed, "Okay, okay. Here it goes!" She gulped down a mouthful of air, and let loose a deafening belch, causing Sari to burst into hysterical laughter.
Sari applauded vigorously. "My turn!" the younger took a big gulp of soda, swallowed some air, and managed a smaller, but still impressive burp. "Aww…you win."
It was then that Prowl made his presence known; he stepped into the room wearing a horrified look on his normally placid faceplates, not able to believe his audio receptors as they continued to laugh uncontrollably. The girls remained unfazed, and both greeted him with enthusiasm as he gawked at their less-than-ladylike behavior.
"What's up, Prowl?" asked Kayla with a grin, gesturing for him to take a seat with them. "You seem pretty freaked out."
He shuddered as Sari let out another belch –this one louder than the last—and the older girl praised her. "That…is repulsive."
"It's not gross!" defended Sari, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "It's natural!"
Unperturbed by the exchange, Kayla turned to her charge and gave a healthy bark of laughter."Now, Sari…If Prowl thinks it's disgusting, we'll have to find some other way to entertain ourselves."
She sent the ninjabot a crooked smile, stood up, and bent all the way over backwards, an audible cracking noise reaching his audio receptors.
"Unnngh" he shivered, watching as she stood upright, locked eyes with him again, and twisted her neck to the right, and then to the left. Another two series of pops and cracks reached his audios, causing him to twitch as the sounds seemed to scrape against his processors like nails on a blackboard. "Ugh…What is that revolting sound?"
Both girls looked at each other with identical mischievous grins, then to Prowl –who was immediately suspicious– and then cracked their knuckles at the same time, giggling when he clapped his hands over his audios. He bit back a snippy comment about the unpleasantness of bodily noises, and his mouth components turned down as they started mimicking his reactions.
"Wait! Prowl! Don't leave!"
Don't do it. Don't listen, don't give in…
With a resigned sigh, he turned back around, narrowed his optics in distaste, and stood firm against any possible snarky remark that was to come. "Yes?"
"I've invited the other Autobots…but would you like to come to my 'Graduation Jump' tomorrow?" Letting down his defenses a bit upon not having his descency impugned, Prowl allowed himself to raise an optic ridge, and say nothing, waiting for her to continue. "It's something I've been training for for years, and this is the final step of the process." He still looked skeptical, but the master wheedler that she was, Kayla informed him in a sing-song voice, "Everyone will be there…"
Sari decided to put in her two cents as well. "It's gonna be awesome!"
The ninjabot was stuck in the middle of a churning self-conflict: Go, know what all the fuss was about, and give in to the demands of a human he barely knew, and already disliked. Or not go, miss out on something worthwhile, and never hear the end about it from the other Autobots, especially Bumblebee…
Primus, he'd never drop it. It'd be worse than the time I bet he couldn't keep quiet. He heaved another heavy sigh, air cycling loudly through his intakes in frustration. What if I regret my absence? Then I'd have to apologize, which I was never really any good at…
He was torn from his thoughts by two pairs of glassy puppy-dog eyes staring up at him, seeming to shine with tears as they silently pleaded with him.
Not the leaking. Anything but the leaking.
With one last sigh, Prowl decided it was best to simply bite the bullet, agree, and suffer through whatever she was going to forcibly drag them all through; with Sari on her side, and Sari's current situation with her father and his company –the Autobots were trying to make her as happy as possible in her fragile state– there was no way to say "no" without hurting her feelings, and getting in some serious slag with Prime. This, personally, was the absolute last thing he needed right now with all the chaos going on.
"Fine," he groaned, doing his best to ignore their celebration dance as he gave in. He had to leave with as much of his dignity intact as possible..."I'll go."
Both girls screamed, Kayla being so bold as to jump up, and embrace his leg the best she could out of sheer joy. "Thank you, Prowl! You won't regret it, I promise!"
Primus, I need to get out…
"Mmhm…" he diverted his optics as he made a mental escape route out of the room. Neither girl seemed to notice as he slowly began to back away from them, and to distract them, he called out, "It isn't going to be dangerous, is it?"
The elder was quick to respond. "Nope! Not at all!" She gave a quick wave as she turned her attention away from him, and back to the pile of movies they had to sort through. "See ya tomorrow!"
But in his haste to leave the room, Prowl failed to see her crossed fingers behind her back.
Author's Note: Yes everybody…I am alive! There's just been a lot of drama going on for a while, and it's become worse than ever, unfortunately. I apologize for taking so long to update; I'll try to be much quicker this time.
For those of you who said so, I'm glad you find Kayla to be realistic; I'm sick of seeing all these OCs coming in, and immediately becoming Mary Sues (rolls eyes), and I'm glad you don't think she's one of them…
In the meantime, let me know what you guys think! Your feedback is greatly appreciated!