It was later on in the evening. Cyborg was at the monitors again, 2D was sleeping, and Murdoc was drinking himself into oblivion. A storm was starting up. It was going to be a wild one. The whole island was swaying as the waves started to swell, and the wind nudged it back and forth. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, and an occasional streak of lighting set the sky on fire.
On top of the mansion that the three of them lived in, a large satellite dish was stationed. It usually weathered through storms, but hurricane season was starting to prove too much for it to take. It started to wobble, and slowly, v-e-r-y slowly, it toppled off.
Murdoc and Cyborg jumped as the dish hit the roof with a loud BANG. Murdoc quickly looked outside, wondering if some particularly suicidal pirates were attacking, but there was nothing out there but trash, storm, and sea.
Loud footsteps told him that Cyborg had also heard the noise, and was off to investigate. She returned after a few minutes, her face grim. She knew what was coming, and she didn’t like it one bit.
She saluted Murdoc, as she was programmed to do so, and informed him that the satellite dish had fallen over. “Well, fix it!” the black-haired bassist snarled. “Can’t get any signal out here without it. Take the Dullard with you.” Murdoc grinned evilly. “He could use the exercise.”
Cyborg saluted him again and walked out the room. When she was out of earshot, she sighed. Trying to repair things with 2D never went well. He meant well, but calling the singer a klutz was an understatement.
She made her way down to 2D’s room. She slowly opened the door, checking to see whether or not he was asleep. Unfortunately, the latter was the case.
She almost left without him. She didn’t really want to disturb him; he looked so peaceful and happy. But her hard-drive overruled her emotions. She marched up to him and started shaking his shoulders. He groaned and turned away from her. She shook him harder, and he reluctantly opened his blackened eyes. “Wazzit?” he mumbled, still half asleep.
“Master has ordered you to help me repair the satellite. Come.”
2D was alarmed. “In tha’ storm? You gotta be kiddin’. We’ll get electrocuted, or blown off tha roof!”
Cyborg shrugged. “I don’t want to do it, but Master has ordered us, so we must. Now get dressed. The sooner we get this done, the better.”
2D grumpily slid out from under his warm blankets and threw on some pants and a shirt. Cyborg handed him a rain coat. He thanked her, and then the unlucky duo proceeded onward to the roof.
As predicted, the storm was out of control and 2D was almost immediately thrown off his feet by the angry wind. Cyborg caught him before he fell off the side, and they stumbled to the broken dish. “Hold it down!” Cyborg yelled over the violent breeze. 2D did as he was told.
Then there was a brilliant flash of lighting.
I did mention that the dish was metal, right?
Thanks to her advanced reflexes, Cyborg avoided the shock. 2D wasn’t so lucky.
His whole frame was lit up as several thousands of watts flowed through his body. His teeth chattered crazily and his eyes rolled about in his head. He could feel nothing but pain. Horrid, searing pain. Then something hit him in his side. He fell over, and everything faded to black.
Cyborg had chucked the tool box at the singer in order to break his contact with the energized metal. He let go and fell over to his side, still shaking wildly.
She raced over to his side, hoping he wasn’t terribly injured. His hands were black and smoking and a few other burns had appeared on his arms and torso. Other than that, he seemed okay. Well, okay if he wasn’t out cold. His eyes were still open, but they were glazed over. She called out to him, but he remained unresponsive.
She closed his eyes and slung him over her shoulder. She started to carry him downstairs, but her programming stopped her. She had a mission to accomplish, and it had to be done. She opened the door leading up to the roof and laid 2D out on the top step, then returned to her work. After five minutes, she was finished. Without a moment of hesitation, she picked up 2D and carried him down to his room.
She did not notice the little red creature that followed her down.
*****
Harmony was a rather unlucky little filly. She was orphaned at a young age, shipped off to foster parents who didn’t care about her, and now was being forced to help her foster father put up a lighting rod. While the storm was still going.
Her new parents weren’t very smart.
The three-year-old red unicorn fiddled with the screwdriver nervously. She jumped every time a loud rumble of thunder shook the house. She was scared, but she couldn't say anything. Not because her parents would punish her, but because she really couldn't talk yet.
Her father told her to hold the pole, which she obediently did.
Then the lightning struck.
Harmony's lavender mane stood on end as the bolt hit the rod. She let go, but something was pulling her forward. Her vision suddenly went white.
When it cleared, she wasn't standing on her roof anymore.She squealed in alarm as her slippery hooves lost their grip on the drenched surface. She looked around, trying to find out what had happened. Her gaze locked on a strange-looking, furless creature that was walking on its hind legs. It did have a purple mane, but that was about it for fur. And its front hooves were shaped funny; with five long thin tubes sticking out of it. It was fixing some sort of metal circle, making it stand upright. It then bent down, picked up a red box, and left. Nervously, Harmony followed it. She didn’t have any clue where she was; perhaps this furless creature could help her.
The creature was a girl, she could see that now. It stopped to pick up another creature, a male this time, much taller than her, with a blue short mane. The girl creature carried it down the steps.
Harmony wasn’t sure what to do. She was scared, she was alone, and she had absolutely no idea where she was or what had happened.
But the loud thunder quickly decided for her. She scampered after the disappearing creature, desperate to get away from the scary sound.