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

Blending in

As we gather the things that we need to survive, Dad grunts as he looks outside. "How are we gonna get out there undetected?" He asks.

"We can if we camouflaged." Katie offers, holding out her notebook to show what she means. "You know, like part of the plan I was talking about or..."

Dad tilts his head, a look of him thinking this is a bad idea. "Oh. Oh." Katie looks away in sadness and Dad perks up as he sees Mom and I holding a sign. "I mean... honey, I respect your ideas and value your opinion and now you talk." Dad reads aloud flatly and straightens himself. "Uh, I think that's a great idea, sweetheart." He says with more sincerity. I hug Katie and we both smile at him.

Mom goes up to Dad and pokes a star sticker onto his cheek while she says, "Boop."

After doing some measurements, we were able to decorate a tarp to match the road and tie it over the hood of the car. After we're done, Mom, Aaron, and I high-five each other seeing how Katie and Dad are congratulating each other.

We then get on the road, sitting in the same seating arrangements with our new friends sitting in the trunk of the car. Dad nervously wipes his forehead. "Nothing yet. Be on the lookout." He tells us and Aaron speaks up. "Don't worry, guys. I have pterodactyl vision." He then squawks and makes a strange face.

"Then you must have spotted the three Pal Max robots coming towards us," Deborah says, pointing outside. Deborah presses their face into the glass. "Ooh, they're probably gonna see us." Aaron sputters at this. "I saw them too. Uh, pterodactyl vision."

Everyone in the car tenses up and keeps an eye on the robots outside. After a bit, the robots fly off and we wall sigh in relief. "Hey, your drawing actually worked," Dad says, turning to face Katie. "I didn't know art could be useful."

Katie chuckled as she messes with the string of her hoodie. "Well, who knew having a 500-year-old could be useful?" She jokes and rests her cheek on my shoulder. "Hey, speaking of which, you can learn how to drive this thing. I can teach you how to drive a stick. I know you think it's dumb and old and-"

Katie goes to say something until I tap her and point to Aaron who's holding up a note. She reads aloud as her voice goes flat. "Father, I crave your wisdom. I would love to share this moment with you." She snaps goes with the flow and wings her next words "And, seriously, that sounds great. Maybe I can cash in my coupon." She pulls out the makeshift paper and holds it out.

Dad gets giddy at this and has a huge smile plastered on his face. "Coupon accepted!" He laughs. "Okay, okay, great."

I scooch over so Katie and I swap spots as Dad begins explaining. "Okay, yeah, let's get down to business. You see, the clutch is this pedal."

The care jolts, but we all ignore it, continuing to listen to Dad. Katie turns around and gasps. "Oh no!" She screams. I follow her gaze. My eyes meet three Pal Maxs coming towards us quickly.

"The tarp came off!" I shout, hugging Katie tightly.