Human!Lightning McQueen x Reader (Title TBD)

Judgement Day

8/9/23
(A/N: couldn't go to bed without writing this first. I needed it, you needed it (admit it), so here we are! Enjoy.)

"Oh, boy..." McQueen muttered to himself groggily, slowing coming to. His vision was blurry, covered by some sleepy tears that he tried to blink away. He went to rub the side of his face but was confused when his hand jerked to a halt before he could reach. Looking down, he noticed his wrist was handcuffed to his steering wheel. "What...?"

It then all started to come back to him. The speed chase with the Sheriff who was shooting at him. The panic that quickly escalated with each obstacle. Cones that kept bouncing off his hood as he accidentally ran into them, the barbed wire he ran through that had wrapped itself all over his car, the big creepy statue of a hillbilly-looking man's bust. Boy, had that scared the daylights out of him when it had landed right in front of his nose. He recalled that the barbed wire had wrapped around it and pulled the statue off its stand in trying to break free, and he remembered dragging the statue along behind him for quite a ways before the statue somehow got caught in some telephone wires. The last thing he had recalled happening before he blacked out is his car dangling in the air, bobbing a little as it became ensnared in countless telephone wire.

"Oh..." McQueen, slightly more awake, started to take a look at his surroundings. "Where am I?"

Suddenly, an energetic western man shoved his head through the window, yelling, "Mornin', sleepin' beauty!"

McQueen gave quite the unmanly shriek as he jolted, pulling his arms close to his chest. He looked to see a young country bumpkin with two large buck teeth, brown overalls stained with oil, muddy farm boots and messy, shaggy brown hair filled dusted with small leaves, twigs, and dirt. The young man chuckled. "Boy, I was wondering when you was gonna wake up!"

"Take whatever you want!" McQueen nearly fumbled over his words, still scared from the abrupt outburst. "Just don't hurt me!" He went to turn on his car but saw the keys were no longer in the ignition. In fact, they were nowhere to be found at all. "My keys! What happened to my keys?" He began to panic further. "What's going on here?! Please!"

Mater laughed nasally with a strange, kazoo like wheeze. "You're funny, I like you already. My name's Mater!"

McQueen calmed for a second. He could not believe how strange a name this stranger had. "...Mater?" He had to double check to make sure he heard correctly, he just had to.

"Yeah, like "tow-mater", but without the "tow"!" Mater replied with a bright smile. His accent made it sound like he was saying "tuh" rather than "tow". "What's your name?"

The rookie was not only shocked but also a little offended at this country boy's ignorance. "You don't know my name?"

Mater thought for a second, bring his index finger up to tap his chin as he looked to the air in thought. He then gave a small crooked smile with a few nods of his head. "No... No I knew your name." He put his hands on his hips and leaned his head in closer to McQueen. "Is your name Mater too?"

"What!?" McQueen asked. He deadpanned. "Look, I need to get to California as fast as possible. Where am I?"

"Where are you? Shoot!" Mater chuckled. "You're in Radiator Springs! The cutest little town in Carburetor County!"

Lightning looked around at the very old, rundown, and practically decrepit buildings. And the number of buildings were few and far between at best. "Oh, great. Juuuust great." He groaned. He was in the middle of freaking nowhere!

Mater smiled at McQueen. "Well, if you think that's great, you should see the rest of the town!"

McQueen rolled his eyes with a small scoff before a bright idea came to mind. Allowing his face to appear rather excited, even though in all honesty the expression was nothing more than prideful coyness, he replied energetically, "You know? I'd love to see the rest of the town! So if you could just open the gate, get these cuffs off me, you and me, we go cruising! Check out the local scene."