The Mitchell's and L/N vs. the Machines

Blending in take 2

Katie pulls out her notebook. "Okay. We dress as robots. We sneak in, hijack one of those trams, take it to the top of the diamond thing where Pal is, destroy her with the kill code, and save the world."

Dad then adds in. "And then, to top it all off, celebrate our success with some burritos from that taco place that's on the corner."

Mom butts in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Burritos? What about one of those fancy buffets? They have mini cheesecakes sometimes, right?"

Dad sighs. "Okay, fine. Once we save the world, we'll celebrate at a fancy buffet." Aaron joins in. "Question. Can Monchi be wearing a little tuxedo at the end, like a little gentleman?"

Dad grows a bit agitated. "Okay, fine, and Monchi's wearing a little tuxedo, but that is it."

"Like a little gentleman?" Aaron asks, tilting his head and squinting his eyes. Dad rubs the bridge of his nose. "Yes, like a little gentleman." Making Aaron hug the dog tighter in joy.

Katie and I spin around, excited to do what we rehearsed. "Mitchells and l/n, engage."

A team of robots marches through and we push them to the side. Disengaging each one and taking them apart. We put on the part around our body.

Dad finishes and turns to show us he has a bit of a problem. "Be honest. Do I look stupid? I look stupid, don't I?" Katie walks over with a chuckle. "No." She fixes the helmet on her dad's head. "You look great."

Mom, Aaron, and I dance around, excited at what we're seeing. Katie bumps her fist on Dad's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go." She rushes off, not noticing Dad smiling after her.

Aaron then has a thought and voices it out. "Uh, guys. What about Monchi?" We all look down at the pug, being weird.

Later, we are marching in line, matching the pace of the other bot. Katie whispers in worry. "Aaron, I'm not sure this is a viable solution." Aaron is not dissuaded from having Monchi be in the helmet, all squished up. "Sure, it is. It's like a warm, wet hat."

Eric speaks up. "Move your sweaty meat logs in unison."

We all do and Dad starts making robot sounds. "What? What are you doing?" Deborah asks. "I am a robot." Eric catches up to dad and lens to him. "Just to educate you, that's a hurtful stereotype." Dad shuts up at this.

We all get behind some robots that just landed and we follow after them into the building. We reach the building, and I gasp. "It's like a Journey Album cover." "What's an album?" Aaron asks.

Suddenly, the screens cut to a familiar face. "Attention, all robots." We all follow the metal men's heads. "I'm on the lookout for these goobers." A picture of us pops up. "They're probably nearby. If I know humans, they're disguised as one of you." I whimper and Katie gasps. "Be on high alert for any robots acting erratically."

More scary robots land on the ground. "It won't be hard to find them. Just look for anyone who can't keep it together." Aaron gets nervous and bumps into Dad, who bumps a bot in front of him out of line. One of the darker robots snaps its head to the motion. "Anomaly detected."

It dashes forward, piercing the robot's chest and ripping its face plate off. When it sees only circuits and wires, the scary robot tosses the now broken one to the ground. We all watch with panting and whimpering.

Pal continues. "It only takes one single imperfection, and they'll reveal themselves." The line starts moving again and we continue our way. Dad then turns to a nearby ramp. "Up there!"

We make it to an elevator as Pal goes on. "Where are those Mitchells? Where are they hiding?" We make it in one and look at the panel. Before we can sigh in relief, more come in. "They think they can pass as one of us... with their lumpy, mishappen bodies."

A robot gestures to Dad. "Well, go ahead." Dad hesitantly grabs the handle in front of hesitantly. With some difficulty, he pushes the lever forward. "But I'm onto them." Pal still goes.

The elevator goes up the wall and the magnetic link is activated.

"Because I've been watching the Mitchells, and I've learned all about them." Pictures of everything we have electronically show up in front of us. They're pretending to be capable."

A video of when the robots first arrived with Dad and Kaie flying around, panicking. "They pretend to be a normal-looking family." A picture of a terrible photo-shopped smiling version of us is shown. "You think this is fooling anyone? Even when they're being nice to each other... they're pretending."

A video of back when Katie is encouraging Dad is pulled up. "What?" I mutter, not understanding why Pal pulled this up.

In the video, Aaron approaches Katie. "it's cool to see you and Dad being friends again." Katie gasps and tries to take down the video. "Please, no, no, no, no, don't watch it." She pleas.

In the video, Katie scoffs. "Oh, I... I was just telling him what he wanted to hear. I didn't mean a word about it. I just wanna get the min and y/n's future back and get away forever."

Katie inhales sharply. "Dad, let me explain. I just- I-uh-I"

In a daze, Dad loses his grip on the lever and the ride comes barreling down.

"There they are!"

Dad quickly pushes the lever back up and the rider tries to go back on track. It isn't long before the scary robots barge in. One crashes through the glass and we all fall to the ground, all screaming in fear.

Katie calls out to Dad, and he looks at her with a horrified look. We hit the ground and the machine rolls a bit before stopping.

Once Katie gets some strength she crawls. "Dad? I... I'm sorry. I don't mean that anymore. I mean, I... I did then, but I-uh..." dad gets up and goes to say something, but some scary robots crash in and grab him and Mom.

Eric and Deborah run over. "Mitchells, we will help you," Pal speaks up. "No, no, you don't. Download new orders."

The two scream and bend down in pain before slowly rising. "No! You don't have to listen to her." Mom tries to reason with them. Eric and Deborah look at Katie, Aaron, and me. "We're sorry, Mother. Eric picks up the kill code and crushes, causing me back the other two and the dog further. "Get them out of here," I whisper to Katie, who follows my demands and slips out.

Just as I was about to follow them, I'm hit with a beam. "Find the other ones and find them now! You! Bring the girl to me. We're going to have a nice long chat.

With a curt nod, Deborah hands me to a scary robot, and the two fly off. I go up and scream. "MOM, DAD!"

The two struggle to go after me. "SWEETIE!"

3rd POV Katie peeks over the structure and watches her girlfriend being taken away. "No..."

She and Aaron then watch their parent being taken away. Linda screams no while Rick remains silent.