2 2
When the two siblings arrived home, surely enough, there was a note telling them what to finish before their mother got home. They were very menial jobs, so it didn't take long for them to finish each one.
"August! You got the leaves, right?!" shouted Laura while looking at the piece of paper again
"These are thin walls, you don't have to shout. Yeah, I got the leaves done," replied August from the short hallway, sticking his head out.
"Hmph! You know how mom gets when our chores aren't done."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm building B.B. over here, so he can do these things when we are all away and when mom wants something done," said August while he slowly maneuvered himself into leaning against the wall
While talking to each other, their tv was broadcasting the news channel, showing six figures in a circular formation, surrounded by the concrete buildings of New York. Even when aliens invaded and used weapons completely foreign to people, they stood their ground and readied against the almost infinite army.
Beams of energy shot everywhere and the grey-skinned aliens with golden-crowned heads rushed through the sky in uniquely designed vehicles. Giant, long centipede-like aliens followed suit and appeared out of a portal in the sky, drawing the attention of the cameras.
["Look! Aliens are appearing from that portal. Does this mean teleportation is possible as well?]
["Will these 6 individuals even stand a chance against this army?!"]
["I can't believe it! Are the end times upon us?!"]
The reporters would often stray from the event unfolding and brought up different topics commonly seen in movies; August and Laura instead paid attention to each alien's vehicle used to get around the city.
"Look! The grey dudes are flying!" Laura stood from the couch and shouted at the top of her lungs excitedly while holding her hands of the top of her head, mouth agape.
August was also looking at the tv with a glimmer in his eyes 'This stuff could improve B.B. tremendously, I can already see a floating robot wandering around the house.'
August snorted at her statement, "Yeah, but you can't forget that this is completely foreign technology. We have no idea how it even works and that will no doubt take a while to figure out."
"Oh my gosh, the blonde guy just threw his hammer super duper far! And the blue guy threw his shield! The green dude just stopped that big monster!"
Laura kept commentating on the scene before her eyes with great ambition, it almost seemed as if she was doing a better job than the reporter on screen. Unfortunately, it was just a string of statements about what each person was doing, nevertheless, August chuckled heartily at his sister doing her best to narrate the events.
~*~
{New York}
"Alright, listen up. Until we close that portal, the priority is containment. Barton, you get on one of these roofs and let us know their patterns and other movements. Stark, make sure nothing gets 3 blocks away from us, either you contain it in the perimeter or blow it to ash. Thor, make sure you stop any aliens coming out of that portal. And Hulk... smash." Captain America spoke like a true leader and addressed each individual accordingly, making sure to provide specific directions to stop the invasion.
Hulk lept away after Captain America's statement, bashing aliens into the concrete structures at every building noticeable.
Iron Man shot off into the distance, firing beams of energy into the creatures flying through the air.
Hawkeye situated himself upon a roof and shot arrows at the aliens riding their vehicles, making sure to follow their movements to relay it to the other members.
Thor used his hammer to head towards the portal and attack any incoming creatures.
Both Captain America and Black Widow remained on the ground to fight off any aliens moving throughout the streets.
The news cameras kept rolling and captured the incoming events, allowing citizens from around the world to witness the event. While chaotic and terrifying, each news channel's view count skyrocketed from the event.
~*~
{Outskirts of Sokovia}
The tv still played the events happening in New York, the screen showing the grey smog and rubble falling on citizens trying to escape. The news stations captured the large worm-like creatures tear through buildings and Hulk decimate structures while eliminating the oncoming aliens. Helpless citizens below could only run in terror while the cameramen braved the disaster to capture the event.
August shielded Laura's eyes from the gruesome images seldom shown on their small tv screen.
"Brother, I am missing all of the cool events. Stop hogging them all to yourself!" Laura determinedly tried to pry her brother's hands away from her eyes, her small hands gripping onto the bottom half of August's
"You little rascal, there are images that mom would kill me if you saw. There is no way I will let you see them." August firmly place his hands over his little sister's eyes to shield her from the grim scenes shown on tv now and then
Both children continued to wrestle until the door creaked open and the familiar figure of their mother stepped through the doorway with a small bag across her shoulder. August and Laura were tangled up in a mess on the couch, Laura trying to pry off August's hands and him trying to keep his hands over her eyes.
Click!
Their mother's phone clicked with a flash and captured the bizarre situation of the two children before they could recognize what happened. After taking the picture, their mother couldn't help but laugh at their situation, it was almost like a competitive game of twister where neither participant was willing to give up.
August quickly turned the tv off and sat on the couch, trying to play it off as if nothing happened. Laura was slowly getting up from the floor, frazzled by the intense struggle against her brother.
Laura moved her hair to the sides of her face and saw her mother standing at the doorway laughing. She quickly rushed over and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist, her small stature made it seem like she was hugging one of the trees from outside.
After they separated, they began their usual routine of eating dinner, talking about their day, and heading off to their rooms for the rest of the night.
August picked up the currently dysfunctional multi-colored body of B.B. and set it on his desk to begin working. He really wanted to work on the initial start-up of B.B. and would also work on the overall design of his body.
After staying up past midnight working on B.B., he wanted to test a few features he implemented.
"B.B.?" said August before B.B.'s black eyes lit up in an ice blue color, glowing slightly in the dim-lit room.
"Hello master, B.B. is available for service p..p...pl...ease-" B.B. ended up short-circuiting after almost finishing his statement and toppled onto the floor.
August stood there slightly disappointed in the first performance of B.B. however, progress was progress and he knew it was only a matter of time before B.B. started correctly working.
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Date: May 4, 2012
B.B. Progress Report
Test 1#
B.B. initiated the startup without issues and began the introduction dialogue, however, it short-circuited after nearing the end of the speech. Further tests will be conducted to determine the issue.
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After logging the data into his small brown leathered notebook, August climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to the bottom of his neck. He dreamed of B.B. roaming the house with a duster in one hand and a mop in the other, doing anything and everything to ensure the house was spotless.
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Date: May 24, 2012
B.B. Progress Report
Test 2#
B.B. succeeded in his startup, however, failed to maintain a stationary position before short-circuiting. The short circuit is most likely due to an information overload and processing error. Will begin repairs to his system and improvement of faulty areas.
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Date: July 1, 2012
B.B. Progress Report
Test 5#
The improvements have allowed B.B. to maintain his stationary position for several minutes, but B.B. is only able to do certain functions one at a time. Will begin the improvement of B.B. with better-suited parts.
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The months began to pass by for August as he was working on B.B. He would make progress reports to record important events along with the creation of B.B. The robot's mesh of colors certainly made it look odd, however, looks were the last of August's concern for the moment.
August wanted B.B. to function well and be a fully subservient machine ready for cleaning.
Laura would occasionally help with B.B. but was very limited by her little knowledge of robotics and just decided to watch August give life to the machine. Her blonde hair was usually braided and used for twirling her fingers around during the process.
Nevertheless, August continued to work on B.B., determined to give his mother the best Christmas present ever. Whenever he wasn't working on schoolwork, B.B. was being improved daily. Throughout the improvements, August made several more progress reports on B.B. until late November.
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Date: November 20, 2012
B.B. Progress Report
Test 11#
B.B. has been able to continuously maintain online status for approximately 48hrs until recharge. Environment scanning is functioning correctly in a series of challenges and proper etiquette/ personality has been maintained throughout.
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After countless days spent in his room, August finally finished B.B. with a month left to spare, and he only needs to hide it from his mother until Christmas. August decided to hide B.B. amongst a few of his other creations and wait until the fateful day to reveal it.
