001

[hasacondition]

[action: 306 Miller]

[He's not unfamiliar with the experience of waking up in a totally strange location, but it's always a sign that something very, very bad has happened. He doesn't even have the aches or the flashes that usually accompany an... incident, and if this is one, someone must have dressed him and brought him back to their house afterwards, which is even more unsettling and might mean he's in custody.]

[He fights the rising panic desperately, not realizing that the push behind it is missing, as he gets out of the bed-- no restraints?-- and peeks out the blinds to try and get some grasp on his surroundings.]

[And then he dresses as quickly as possible in whatever clothes he finds first, glancing hurriedly over his shoulder at the door, and moves steadily out into the hallway, ready to bolt as soon as he sees anyone or hears anything.]

[action: around town]

[He's calmer outside the house, though that's not saying much. But it's time to get a feel for his surroundings and actually investigate, all while trying to blend in as much as possible. This means a brief, distracted smile at anyone he makes eye contact with (that's what you do in the suburbs, right?) before lowering his head slightly and speeding up a little, though the more... eccentric-looking people do catch his attention.]

[Still, he can afford to ask a question or two without seeming too out of place, so he'll smile apologetically, doing his best to not sound urgent, and ask]

Excuse me, hi-- how far to the nearest city?

[Unless, of course, he sees anyone wearing anything that even comes close to looking like a police or military uniform, because then he casually turns right around and down the nearest corner, which is not remotely suspicious behavior at all.]

Comments

[ action: around town ]

[electrowhipit]

We actually can't leave Mayfield. Even the highway just kind of loops back around.

[ Okay, Bruce probably wasn't asking the car, but the car answered him anyway. ]

[hasacondition]

[He was expecting the smiling lady in front of him to answer, and she does start babbling something about how Mayfield is the perfect place to live--]

[so he just turns around to see who said something]

[...and he doesn't see anyone else]

...Uh, excuse me...

[electrowhipit]

Down here. [ he'll just... flash his headlights at Bruce ]

[hasacondition]

[And he... looks... downwards.]

...Huh.

[Don't mind him if he just tries peering inside the car]

Remote control? Or some sort of AI?

[electrowhipit]

Good guesses, but the answer is neither.

[hasacondition]

Is it rude to ask?

[electrowhipit]

Nah. I get get this a lot, actually. I guess the short version is that I'm an alien.

The long version is I'm a giant alien robot who can turn into a car.

[hasacondition]

...Well, you're not exactly the first alien I've met, so.

...Bruce Banner.

--Are you actually mechanical? Not organic?

[electrowhipit]

I'm Jolt. It's nice to meet you.

[ He bobs on his chassis a bit, the car equivalent to a nod. ]

That's right.

[hasacondition]

Yeah, nice to meet you too.

[He can't help but let out a laugh at that, because it's really amazing at how he manages.]

I'm sorry, this is really, really-- is everyone on your planet like this?

[electrowhipit]

[ A laugh. He's used to this kind of thing by now. ] Yeah. There's a few more of us around town, but Sideswipe and I are the only two who have regained our bodies.

[hasacondition]

Why, what do the others look like?

[electrowhipit]

They're human right now. That's what happens when you wake up here- you lose everything. Non-human appearances, weapons, special powers. It's all gone.

[hasacondition]

...Really.

[He's keeping his face as neutral as possible, but if it's true...]

And if we'd... want to stay that way?

[electrowhipit]

Uh... I guess stay away from the post office and don't ever open your mail?

[hasacondition]

[it's important information to know, but there's something a little more pressing]

...How do you open mail as a car?

[electrowhipit]

I try not to be a car when I open my mail. Having hands is actually quite helpful.

[hasacondition]

Right, the transforming part of it, sorry.

I'm inclined to agree, even if I haven't really experienced otherwise.

[electrowhipit]

It's fine. It's probably hard to imagine, seeing me like this.

[hasacondition]

That's the whole point of changing your shape, right? No one can tell.

[stop injecting your issues into this Bruce]

[electrowhipit]

Haha, I guess. But I stick out around here anyway.

[hasacondition]

You are the first talking car I've seen.

[electrowhipit]

I get that a lot too. But more like there's not a lot of electric models to be found in the pseudo-1950's.

But enough about me- you're new here, aren't you?

[hasacondition]

Yeah, I'd imagine.

What gave it away? [not that he sounds actually surprised, but]