[ti]Ep 2[/ti]Out on the Town [Closed]

[Ren]

Episode 2 | Week 4 | Day 1 (If you want this changed, Alex, let me know!) 
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“Uggggghh!”

Miko stomped into the Control Room, before flopping down onto the couch with an over-dramatic sigh. She lay still for a moment before rolling over onto her back to stare up at the ceiling.

This wasn't fair. Nothing was fair. With the arrival of several new Autobots, and who knows how many more would show up, the Omega Base was constantly being expanded upon. At least the lower levels were - new storage rooms had been carved out, and were always being worked on. That was great and all. Woo. But it meant that Bulkhead was so busy all the time – she couldn't remember the last time they'd gotten to hang out properly!

Miko had the genius idea of offering to help Bulk with some of the work! The thought of hacking into a wall and destroying stuff – and not getting into trouble for it?! Yes please! So what if she was tiny – she was the best human wrecker there was!

But there was a teeny, tinnnny issue with her plan.

Schoolwork.

Bulkhead had actually said yes. That she could help out – or at least, sit on his shoulder while he did most of the heavy work, which was good enough for her! But. But. She had to do research for her paper first. The one which was due in ooohhh... Two days. The one she hadn't started or even looked at, until Bulkhead had reminded her it was a thing. That big goof kept better track of her homework than she did!

It was a stupid, pointless report. Something about the statues in the park. She'd tried to bribe Raf into writing it for her – only he'd wussed out with some mumbled response about how there was no value in him doing it for her and she'd never learn. Yadda ya. Uggggh. Then she'd asked if she could borrow Bumblebee to take her to the park, since Bulkhead was busy. But she didn't understand him! Bee had been more than eager to help out, of course he had, but Raf was busy on his own work and couldn't ride along to translate his beepboops. How could she bounce ideas with someone she didn't understand!

And so that's why she'd stomped her way in here, frustrated that she was actually going to have to write this stupid thing by herself. She just didn't know how she was going to actually get to the park. Everyone always seemed so busy, and most of the bots around here didn't seem to want to interact with the humans. And with Bulkhead doing work? She couldn't ask him. 

“Thiiiiis suckkkkkkkkkkks!” She called out to nobody in particular, half hoping Raf would hear her misery from across the base and take pity on her. 

[Deleted]

"Guuuuaaahhh..." Hazmat groaned as he made his way through Omega base while he rubbed the back of his helm with a servo in an attempt to get his helm to stop aching... with very little improvement. He didn't hit himself, or get into a fight with anyone, but rather had been thinking and processing so much information that he felt like he actually warped his processor sightly from over activity.

There was so much on his mind and he couldn't figure out which one to focus on first. First was sorting his chemicals for the ones that would be toxic to the environment and sealing them away in proper chemicals with labels in both Cybertronian and human terms. That was going to take him at least a whole day and there were going to be cases in where he couldn't stop in the middle of bottling his chemicals... it wasn't a task he could just start since he was gonna have to do it the way Ratchet wanted it done and he hadn't had a chance to talk to him about anything quite yet.  Next was learning how the bots wanted their base kept clean.  Sure it was nice to do what he was originally built to do, but at the same time he was used to cleaning his way... and now he had to learn how to do it someone else's way, and having spent so much time alone he was having trouble adjusting to being on a team.  Third and most importantly he needed to figure out how to make rust sticks on this planet. He had the recipe memorized and knew how to do it himself but he still needed a way to cook them without using up valuable Energon.

However there was the final problem that Hazmat had to deal with... or at least he took it upon himself to solve it without consulting anyone else.

Sparklight.

That femme was so hyper active and so random with her outliner powers that she could be a danger to the whole team if she didn't learn some self control... or at least a get a better grasp of her powers. Hazmat knew that the hard way since the small two-wheeler had completely ripped off Shale's door and destroyed the locking panel for it too. The only problem was how to get her to mature... he didn't have a clue! Most Cybertronians matured and knew how to behave themselves... though some 'Cons like Starscream contradicted that notion. As a result Hazmat wasn't sure how to teach her how to mature... there was no such thing as Cybertronians schools so this was a completely foreign concept for Hazmat. And trying to figure out what to do was making his processor ache.

So in an attempt to get some inspiration he was walking through the base, his large pedes clanging against the floor louder then even the Prime's pedes as the hydraulics in his legs hissed and groaned to move his large mass, and the gigantic black and green mech entered the control room to hear this tinny weeny, itty bitty, tiny creature make a noise that soooooo didn't fit her size. The sound of the child's lament had taken the former artillery commander by surprise, causing him to turn his helm and lock his yellow optics onto the tiny creature. Is that one of the human children I've been hearing about? How could something so small be so loud? he thought as he tilted his head, clearly puzzled by the creature that was sitting on that elevated platform.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Haz started to walk towards the tiny creature while asking, "What sucks?" before kneeling down so he could get a better look at her, causing his hydraulics to groan as they adjusted to his shift in weight and the wheels on his legs to spin slightly. Even in a kneeling position he towered over her Did all human children have those circular antennas sticking out of the sides of their helms, or just the really high pitch squeaky ones?

[Ren]

There was no reply from Raf offering to save the day, so Miko would huff out a long sigh, rolling onto her stomach and laying face down. Another frustrated groan left her, this time into one of the cushions. Talk about being over dramatic!

For someone so tiny, she sure could be loud when she wanted to. So she wasn't at all surprised to hear the footfalls of someone heading her way after she'd yelled out earlier. She could tell that whoever it was, they were big. It wasn't Optimus Prime, nor was it Bulkhead. That much she knew! She recognized their footsteps after having been around the base so long. No, these footsteps? They were unfamiliar.

She didn't expect them to pay her much mind, they'd probably walk past - if they even noticed her at all - and continue on with their day. They usually did.

So when the steps came closer and to a stop nearby? Miko was surprised! She'd push herself up and kneel up on the couch to see who it was, only to find herself practically face to face with the kneeling down bot.

“Whoa...”

This guy looked awesome! How had she not seen him before? Was he new? She'd stare up at him with wide eyes, and had the biggest grin on her face. Maybe expanding the base wasn't so bad after all with all these cool new bots around, and so she could forgive Bulkhead for being busy.

She'd scramble up to her feet so she was stood on the couch, resting on the railing that separated the elevated platform from the rest of the room, still staring at Hazmat. After a long few seconds, she realized that he'd asked her something, and the reality that she still had to do that stupid research came crashing down onto her once more.

“Oh! Ugh. I have to do some research for a paper. Teach wants it done in two days but I can't find anyone to help me!”

She'd pause then, glancing away for a moment as if thinking - before getting a mischievous twinkle in her eye that only meant trouble as she looked up at him once more, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes.

“Saaay... You're familiar with Jasper, right? You know where the parks are? That's where I gotta go! You should take me!”

Straight and to the point. That was how to get stuff done!

[Deleted]

Apparently the small human didn't expect anyone to respond to her, despite the fact that she had projected her voice enough for it to almost echo off of the high ceiling. Because of this when she did look up at Hazmat and the big mech saw how she looked up at him he couldn't help but smile. There was such awe in her eyes that the mech actually started to feel a hint of pride for being able to bring such awe to someone. Apparently the part of him that was prideful when he was younger and dumber still made him like attention. And yet he was slightly confused that he couldn't pick up her field even at this close proximity. Were humans this good at stopping their emotions from entering their field? Or was it that they didn't have fields in the first place? If they didn't have a field then there had to be another way they communicated how they feel besides facial expressions...


Oooohhhh... so thats why something so small could be so loud.


When the girl finally started to answer his question Hazmat had to digest the information a bit before he fully understood it. Apparently her instructor wanted her to complete a project for her in two days but she needed some help. Fair enough... sometimes can't always complete the task your superior has given you solo though one would think the child's instructor would know the limits of their pupil but then again he didn't know how the humans ran things on this planet.


As the child continued Hazmat got enough information to make a safe assumption. "So all you need is a ride to Jasper? Well, I haven't been there enough to know the place..." the large mech began as he stood back up to his full height. As he did so he secretly hoped that this human would regard him with just as much awe as when she first saw him. Considering that he was slightly taller and 35% more massive then the Prime he was sure he'd impress her. As for giving her a ride to this park? Why not? He wasn't doing much of anything anyway. "... but a quick look at a map would fix that. So yeah I should be able to give you a ride there and back."


Now up on his pedes the large mech took a couple long strides towards the nearby computer console, and keyed in a command causing a map to come up, along with Hazmat's brow plates. "We're that close to Jasper? Huh... might be able to get away with going without a partner." he mused, thinking this would be easy.


If only he knew what type of girl Miko was. The strange look she was giving him when she had asked for his help would've hinted at it if he hadn't been oblivious of it. He tilted his helm in Miko's direction, as if asking when she wanted to head out.

[Ren]

“You haven't? Wow! I thought they woulda given you a tour or something!”

Miko blew a stray strand of hair from her face as she replied. She didn't know the ins and outs of the protocols of what happened when a new bot arrived, but she'd seen Bumblebee giving a tour of the base every now and then – not that there was even really much to look at, but hey, whatever made him feel useful! She was surprised the tour didn't extend to the nearby town, then again the Autobots didn't really have much need to go to Jasper – it was always the same few who did the school run, and that didn't seem to be changing anytime soon, and it wasn't like the bots had any other business in such a small, boring place.

As Hazmat stood up, Miko stood up straighter with her hands on her hips as if sizing him up. The grin still hadn't left her face. The awe was definitely still there. He didn't even compare to Bulkhead in terms of coolness, but he came pretty close! He was taller than Bulk, which gave him a few bonus points, though! She was curious as to what his altmode would be – something awesome no doubt!

As he stepped away and over to the computer console, Miko would once again lean forwards onto the railing, craning her neck so she could watch what he was doing. Wow, he really had no clue where Jasper even was, huh. Maybe she could give him a tour – Miko style!

She laughed, waving a hand at his comment, before jumping off the couch with a soft thud and moving down the stairs onto the lower level. She stayed far back, though, since the big guy was so very new and probably hadn't quite grasped how teeny tiny human girls were!

“Yeah! Exactly! I mean Bee picks up Raf on his own, so going to the park should be no problem-o since it's literally just down the road a bit! I'll give you a tour so you get something outta this too!” She thumbed to her chest proudly, “After all! It's a human town and what better person to give you a tour than me!”

[Deleted]

Hazmat couldn't help but chuckle at what the child had said at first. Where did she get such energy? Did she have a miniature reactor insider or something? "My introduction to the surrounding was a little atypical compared to the standard tour. Had to go a little out of the way till I got a new vehicle form." he said with a smile. He couldn't blame them for the out of the way trip; he had started off with a locomotive as a vehicle form and needed to find something big enough for him.


Glancinng down at the child as she climbed down the stairs he couldn't help but smile again at her enthusiasm and admire it. "Perhaps a tour of the town would be nice." Hazmat commented while also wondering if this trip would give him some much needed inspiration for how to work with Sparklight. He put in a few key strokes on the computer to notify the other bots that he was going out with Miko.


He then took a few steps back away from Miko and began his transformation sequence. His helm retracted into his torso while his chest raised up so the backpack could be pulled into the main body, followed by several plates moving around to hide the pack. Meanwhile his legs rotated 180 degrees and folded in on themselves to form the rear end of the crash truck that Hazmat turned into. His arms folded back behind him and then the torso rotated 180 degrees as well to allow the wheels on Hazmat's shoulders to be on the side of the ground. A few more plates moved around and Hazmat had fully turned into his Crash truck form.


With a beep from his sirens, Hazmat's passenger side door opened for Miko. "By the way I'm Hazmat. What's your name?"

[Ren]

“Well, that's lame! Oh well! Good thing I'm around to show you the town!” She beamed, giving her sweetest smile to the Cybertronian. Although that last part he said seemed to make her pause momentarily. A new vehicle form? They could do that? She thought once they picked one they were stuck! ...Maybe she'd have to convince Bulkhead to turn into a super cool Monster Truck! Not that he wasn't cool already, but a Monster Truck would be so much more awesome. Everyone at school would be so jealous!

She watched him curiously as he typed into the console. Aaah, so he stuck to the rules. And here she was hoping they could just sneak off and get this done. That way she could've surprised Bulk when they came back and she had all the research done! Ah well no loss, it wasn't like Bulk was going to be checking the console anytime soon, so maybe she could still surprise him.

As Hazmat started to transform, she gasped and stepped back to give him as much room as possible. Time to see what he turned into! She knew he'd be something big, given his size – but she couldn't work out just from looking what vehicle mode he would have.

Needless to say? She was impressed at the final result.

“Whoaaaa...! Awesome, dude!”

She stood still until he beeped, and would sprint over – snatching up her bag on the way, and eagerly clambered up and inside the crash truck, pulling the seatbelt over herself and clicking it into place.

“This is way cool! Also nice to meet you, Hazmat! I'm Miko!” She sounded distracted as she looked around the cab of the crash truck, although kept her hands firmly in her lap for right now.

“If you go outta the tunnel and turn left and then drive straight? You're basically in Jasper! You'll know the park when you see it! Let's go!”

Okay so it was a little ways out, but that was the basic gist of it. She wondered how such a huge truck was going to navigate around the tiny town but that was all part of the fun!

[Deleted]

Were all humans this complementary? If all the humans made all the Autobots feel this way then Hazmat was wondering why there weren't more humans in the base. However if it was just this girl that was like that then it would make sense as to why there were so fee humans... that and the whole 'robots in disguise' thing.


As Miko ran towards Hazmat's cab the bumper mounted hose tracked her until she had gotten into the cab, then turned to face straight as it should of been doing the whole time. "Alright, I guess we're ready to head... wait..." The custodial bot began but paused when he realized how easily Miko could be seen through his windshield thanks to his side mounted rear view mirrors. "Hm..." he muttered as both sets of mirrors rotated to reflect off the driver seat that was clearly empty. "One moment. Need to make sure that no one thinks that I'm not some phantom truck."


The instant the talking crash truck said this a thin haze began to materialize in the driver seat as Hazmat's holoform began to take shape. As the haze seemed to became thicker certain colors became more apparent; the holoform was going to be caucasian while a brown blur on the top hinted at brown hair. The center of the holoform was a dark gray color while the lower third gained a shade of tan. The image continued to fill in with the dark center blotch becoming a short sleeve shirt, the tan blotch took the shape of pants with black boots, while the top bit of the holoform grew into the head of a gruff man with short brown hair with a neatly trimmed brown goatee. The entire form seemed to distort for a moment, similarly to how a TV screen goes fuzzy with snow, before becoming whole again and finally started to move.


At first the movement was subtle as the form blinked, followed by breathing and finally turning to face Miko. When Hazmat spoke again it sounded like his voice was coming from the holoform instead of himself. "Alright, this should do." sadly Hazmat's voice was a little to kind and fatherly for his pick of holoform though, so the gruff looking holoform seemed more teddy bear now. As he said this a crease formed in the driver's seat as if it was feeling the weight of an actual person sitting in it.


After the holoform pulled on the driver's seat belt, which was proving to be a bit like pulling an unused muscle to Hazmat as he held the belt in place over his holoforms' torso, Hazmat's engine roared to life, the gas pedal was pushed down, and the black 'n green crash truck drove up the ramp and exited the base. He turned left and kept to the ruled of the road as he drove. "Thank you for choosing Autobot transportation! We hope you enjoy the trip!" Hazmat joked and realized just how long it's been since he last joked around. Not counting that time he tried to fool around with Thundercloud, the last time he joked had to be eons ago. However that was the only joke he could think of at the moment.


But he did have a question or two...


"So Miko! How did you get mixed up with the Autobots anyway?"

[Ren]

Miko settled back in the seat, ready to get this show on the road! How cool was this going to be?! Driving around with Bulk was awesome but driving around in a crash truck?! Aw yeah! She was almost thankful that Raf hadn't written her paper for her, because then she would've missed out on this amazing opportunity!

The comment about the phantom truck made her giggle. Bulk was lucky in that he was high enough off the ground so nobody could see inside. Even Bee had tinted windows so nobody could see in! She knew about holoforms though, most of the bots around here had them. She'd seen Bumblebee's walking around one time when he practiced with it – which was hilarious to watch. She'd spent many an hour following that thing around as it stumbled around the base. Sadly Bee had gotten used to it rather quickly, and the free entertainment hadn't lasted.

So the sight of the Holoform appearing next to her was nothing new. Although she was curious as to what the dude would look like! It was like their alt-modes, never know until you see it! She'd watch with wide eyes as the image began to take shape in the driver seat beside her, and she'd nod in approval at what she saw.

“Rock on, dude!” She'd grin big and wide, throwing up one hand in a metal-salute. His voice didn't quite fit, but ah well at least the holoform looked pretty chill!

Then they were off!

“Alriiight! Next stop, Jasper Nevada! Yeah!” She cheered. This was going to be so totally awesome! Kudos to her for leaving this stupid research to the last second!

The smile wouldn't leave her face as they made their way down the road, and she'd relax some. Her stiff and overly polite posture would change, and she'd loosen up a little, craning her neck to the side and looking out the window. As he addressed her, she'd get that mischevious glint in her eye once more, turning straight ahead.

“Right place, right time!” She beamed proudly, thumbing to her chest. “I was at school sketching a really neat motorbike parked outside. Like, I'd never seen it before and just had to draw it in case I never saw it again! Anyways I hadn't quite finished and then the owner of the bike came and drove off, so I followed 'em into an alley – only the bike wasn't a bike! It was an Autobot!” She talked quickly and full of excitement. Nobody ever asked her questions about stuff, it was always the other way around! “It was so cool! Jack's bike turned into a huge robot, and she was telling him to go with her! So, of course, I told him to go with her! Because that's like the coolest thing and why would you not!? I got to go too, because apparently we aren't technically supposed to know about you guys,” She laughed. “I'm glad I did, though, as I got to meet Bulkhead!”

She'd breathe in sharply at finishing her tale, leaning back in the seat once more.

“What about you? You haven't been around the base long, what were you doing till now? And why a crash truck? What were you before that?”

Hazmat better like questions, because Miko no doubt had a thousand more where those came from!

[Deleted]

The holoform cocked an eyebrow as Miko did the metal salute, and lifted a hand from the steering wheel and mimicked the salute. Staring at it's own hand, the holoform seemed to be analyzing the salute, rotating it's hand over and over again until it just shrugged. "Okay, I don't get it. What is this?" Hazmat asked through his holoform as it held up the metal salute again. It made absolutely no sense to him. It might of been weird having the 'driver' of the crash truck going down the road with his eyes not on the road, but Hazmat didn't need the holoform to drive. He was the truck after all.

As the child began to explain how she met the Autobots, the black and green truck made his holoform nod, indicating that he was taking it all in. From how he was understanding what she was saying, she was drawing a motorcycle that apparently was an Autobot that had been waiting for another human child. That told him that a different human, named Jack according to Miko, already ran into the Autobots and they were trying to figure out what to do with the kid. "Let me get this straight; You learned about the Autobots because the one you were watching didn't watch her rear when she transformed?" Hazmat asked a little puzzled. Yeah several of the 'Bots seemed a bit lacking in the intelligence department, but none of the two-wheelers seemed to share that trait... at least the ones he's heard of. Either that two-wheeler got lazy, or it had been a really trying day and her guard was down. However clearly she seemed to like Bulkhead. "The wrecker does have a likeable personality. Too bad I didn't get to fight along side him during the war. I get to do so now though, don't I?" Hazmat stated as he made his holoform smile... though the smile was a little large and a little creepy due to Hazmat not having use to using his holoform, Ben.

Hazmat chuckled at Miko's curiosity, liking this turn of events, and then began to answer. However his holoform's smile faded into a frown. "You are aware that the War for Cybertron resulted in the whole planet becoming uninhabitable, correct? When the Autobots were evacuating on the Arc, some were unable to reach the ship and were left behind when it left for the cosmos. I was among them. As a unit Commander I found myself left in charge of a large portion of the remaining Autobots as we held our ground against the Decepticons that had been left behind on purpose. When the dust cleared... I was the only one left standing. I was alone on Cybertron for the last several eons till I was rescued by an Autobot vessel and brought here." Hazmat explained, a hint of pain in his voice as he remembered all that time alone.

He then cheered up slightly with the change of topic. "As for my vehicular form, I needed one with storage tanks that also complemented my large form. My primary function is the cleaning and disposal of hazardous substances, and my tanks hold the chemicals I use for that function. Those chemicals aren't stable enough to be stored in my-subspace, so they have to be in large storage tanks. This limited me to a firetruck or a crash truck, and I settled for a crash truck. Before that my alternate form looked very similar to what you humans call steam locomotives."

"My turn for a question. What exactly is your paper on that requires you to go to this park?"

[Ren]

Miko couldn't help but giggle as the holoform stared at his hand. Here she was, inside the alt-mode of a super advanced alien race from another planet, and yet so many things – so many simple things - were so complex and weird to them. Then again, everything was so new to those who hadn't been on Earth long; they didn't have the luck of being here for a while like Bulkhead or Bumblebee had, and so weren't used to all the human culture. Even then she still found herself teaching Bulk new things all the time, so she couldn't judge Hazmat too much for not knowing what it meant.

But then he asked a question and she found herself staring at her own hand in thought.

“Throwing up the horns!” She laughed again. “It's popular with people who like heavy music! Yeah! It's a good thing, promise!” That was about all she knew about it – but hey it looked awesome, and she loved rocking out – so it fit, and she proudly threw up the metal salute as often as she could. Even Bulk had started doing it, and she couldn't be more proud.

She'd shift her attention from the holoform to gaze back out the window, but when he spoke again she'd look at him and grin wide.

“It was Arcee! And she didn't know I was there! I don't think Optimus was too pleased but hey it worked out!” Honestly, it was kind of silly that Arcee had transformed in an alleyway when anyone could've been walking by, but hey – it really was the right place right time for Miko, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

“And yeah! Bulk is a great fighter! You should see him in action, he's awesome!” She beamed with pride as she spoke, before punching out at the air with one fist, then the other – as if mimicking the Wrecker back at the Omega Base. She had so much enthusiasm and energy, and it showed with her movements and excited tone of voice – meaning she hardly even noticed the weirdly creepy smile on the holoform. Bots and their holoforms were always a little weird at first as they got used to them, so it was nothing new!

As the holoforms smile faded, she'd drop her arms into her lap and blinked, shifting some in her seat as she listened. Her brow furrowed as he continued on. Optimus had given the kids a bit of a rundown how things went back on Cybertron, and of course she'd pestered Bulk for some of his many, many stories – of which he was more than happy to tell; so she had a little idea as to what some of them had been through, even if she couldn't ever really grasp the severity of what happened, or what they'd actually been through. As Hazmat finished his little tale as to what he'd been doing, she'd nod and smile.

“Aw, I'm sorry. Least you can do them proud here on Earth, right? You sound like a good fighter too! I'd love to see you in action one day!” She was trying to cheer him up some with a bit of a compliment, although she was a little unsure of what else to say. Luckily the almost awkward silence that followed her comment was quickly filled in with more conversation – and oh boy what conversation it was! The moment he mentioned the hazardous substances, her eyes went wide.

“Whoa!” She'd pull her legs up and cross them, staring intently now at the holoform as he continued to speak. “What kinda chemicals? Like could they melt a hole in the floor of the base or something? That'd be so cool! Well, no! Just the melting through concrete and steel part! Not the damaging the base part! Don't wanna get in trouble with Optimus or Ratchet!” She laughed.

“A Steam locomotive? Oh man, they're oooold! Back where I'm from in Japan, we have the Shinkansen – er.. Bullet trains! Which are super fast! I think I saw a steam locomotive on some boring TV show once, though! I'm glad you went with the truck 'cos it's way cooler!” She'd then throw up the metal-salute once more, but would quickly transition it into an enthusiastic thumbs up to show her approval.

How would a train even work? They needed tracks and there soo weren't any of those around Jasper!

She couldn't lose herself with the amusing mental image of a train trying to drive without tracks for too long, though, as it was her turn to answer a question.

“My paper is on the statues in the park for my History class! Apparently they've been there for a long time and are of some important dudes who helped found the town. Or something.” She'd grin then and lean back in the seat. “Guess we'll find out when we get there! Thanks again for taking me!”

[Deleted]

Hazmat's holoform, Ben, nodded as Miko explained what exactly what her hand sign was and who exactly was responsible for Miko getting involved with the Autobots. However at first the custodian couldn't believe his auto pickups. Arcee? The legendary uncatchable femme was caught with her tailpipe down? What in the name of the Allspark could make her do that? The black and green mech never met the two-wheeler, but her reputation proceeded her. However Hazmat only responded by having his holoform quirk an eyebrow with a puzzled look. However that look was replaced with a smile as the hyper chipmunk sitting within Hazmat's cab started to talk about Bulkhead and how epic he was. "Well of course he's awesome! He's a wrecker! However I don't think I'll ever get to see him in action... after all Wreckers don't call for backup..." Hazmat stated, but he didn't finish the famous motto of the Wreckers, expecting her to finish it.

At Miko's comment about doing his comrades proud, Hazmat could only make his holoform nod, and didn't even respond to her comment about him being a good fighter. If I was good they wouldn't be pushing up lug nuts. Though at her comments about his chemicals, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Nah, not those types of chemicals. More like cleaning chemicals and neutralizers. My primary function was that of a custodial bot, though I'm also a toxicologist. My chemicals are harmless against Cybertronians so you don't have to worry about them." Hazmat said through his holoform, but deep down he got slightly worried; the Autobots wouldn't have to worry about the chemicals... but would the children have to? He was going to have to look up human biology and figure out what they are weak to and if any of that stuff was in his chemicals. "Well I'm ooooold too! Just because something or someone is old doesn't mean you throw it away. Sometimes you just can't top a classic and just because something is new doesn't mean it's good." he said with a huff, though it was clearly meant to be a fake huff.

As they continued down the road Hazmat was starting to make out the town in the distance. They weren't far now. "You're welcome Miko. Say, if these guys help lay the foundation for Jasper, then maybe your history report should include how some of their actions directly impacts how the town works today." The former artillery commander commented as he noted that the vehicles in the town seemed to be stopping at intersections and only continued moving when the yellow objects hanging over the intersections had a green light on them. Other stopped when the objects had a red light in them. It was the orange light that slightly confused Hazmat since some cars slowed down when they got the orange light while others accelerated and others ignored it completely. However the concept was straight forward enough; stop when the object shows a red light, go at the speed limit when the object had a green light. Easy to understand that one.

"I'm going to be stuck in the parking lot so I'm not sure if I'll be able to help out much with collecting data on these statues."

[Ren]

“They call for Cleanup!!” Miko cheered, fistpumping at the air as she more than happily finished the motto. Her enthusiasm didn't wane even for a moment, in fact, the knowledge that Hazmat knew the motto only pumped her up more! Then again, who didn't know the motto of the Wreckers?! They were badasses!!

Which was why she fitted right in with her title of honorary Wrecker!

Her enthusiasm may not have faltered any, but she sure mellowed out some as Hazmat explained what his chemicals actually were. Cleaning chemicals? Boooooooring! She'd expected him to shoot globs of acid or something amazing!

“Eh I'm sure if they're safe against you guys, they're safe against us!” She grinned mischievously. “Maybe we'll have to do some science project sometime to find out!” With that, she added an ominous finger wiggle at the scruffy holoform before laughing and looking straight ahead once more.

“I agree about being unable to top the classics! It works with music, too! Oldschool stuff like Led Zeppelin is so much better than the newer crud that's out there! But even so, a train would toootally not work around here!” She laughed. Oh man, this guy had so much to learn about Earth's culture and it's people, as well as what counted as good music – or at least good in Miko's opinion. That would be a lesson for another day, though. Payback for him driving her to the park!

She took note of how he drove, stopping when the lights were red. Going when the lights were green. She hoped he'd had some basic explanation of the road rules here on Earth, but so far so good. Luckily there were no roundabouts here in Jasper, although it would be hilarious to try and see him work one of those out!

She settled some as the topic changed back to the boring town of Jasper, although she'd quirk a brow and peer at him after his suggestion.

“That's a great idea!” She honestly hadn't thought of that, bringing Hazmat along was working out for the best. Maybe he could throw more ideas at her, or even ghost-write the entire paper! She could use it as a way to teach him about the town!

...Except that last part would make that tricky. He was going to be stuck in a parking lot and wouldn't be able to look at, or read the plaques on the statues. How would he learn anything from so far away?

“I'll take pictures on my cell phone for you! Then you can at least see what the statues say! Then we can both learn about the founders of the town!”

[Deleted]

::Dang, that child's energy and enthusiasm is infectious!:: Hazmat thought as his holoform's smile grew bigger as Miko practically cheered the second half of the Wreckers' motto. No wonder she really liked Bulkhead. The mech had his own energy and enthusiasm, along with being a living wrecking ball. He could easily keep up with her. Though her next comment drew Hazmat out of his thoughts and made his holoform shrug. "Well, that depends on your definition of science project. Do you mean you, your human friends, another bot or two, and myself running some tests on them to spend a day together? Or do you mean as an extra credit assignment for school as you use several scientific methods to identify an unknown substance?" he asked. It was a serious question, since it could be a good way to keep the kids out of the way if the Autobots were working on a project and needed them out of the way.


"Zeppelin?" Was that a name of person or some sort of vehicle? It sounded good for an aircraft. At that moment Hazmat came to a gentle halt at a red light, only for a black car with flames on it to drive around him and nearly crash into a minivan as the black car blew right through the red light. The driver of the black car didn't even bother looking back to see if the minivan was fine. It just kept on going. The minivan meanwhile had to turn to avoid the crash, and almost slammed into Hazmat, but the impact was avoided by Hazmat quickly reversing while the mech thanked Primus that there hadn't been anyone behind him. "Miko, please tell me that stuff like that is rare." he commented as the minivan van turned around and started heading backs they way they had come.


While waiting for the light to turn green the holoform then glanced ahead and pointed at a large open area that was covered with grass. "That the park? And yeah I'd be happy if you sent me the pictures. By the way how are you expected to write this report? As you simply talking about these founders or are you allowed to give the paper a theme, say giving a new comer to the town a tour? If a theme is allowed then maybe you talking me about the founders can help you come up with the ideas you need faster." The holoform then pointed at the two way radio on the dashboard. "I can even record our conversation for you to listen to later if you want." Hazmat offered. He just really wanted to help with her project. Why not?

[Ren]

“Aaaah, something like thaaat?” Her voice pitched higher at the end there, almost as if she wasn't sure. She honestly just wanted to play with the chemicals for fun, and didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Maybe melt some holes in the floor at the base, or dissolve some of Raf's action figures. Nothing huge! “Noo assignments. Last time a bot helped us with our science projects, I failed, Jack probably nearly killed someone, and Raf blew a hole through the ceiling!” She grinned at that as she thought back on it, that was a fun day indeed – the school had to be evacuated and everyone had to stay in the gym as things settled down. “I'm surprised he wasn't expelled! Then again he has super good grades and stuff so I'm sure teach let him off easy! How'd you know about extra credit anyway?”

As they stopped at the red light, she'd drum her fingers on her knee – watching as the black car drove around them and almost hit the minivan. Her eyes widened some and she'd sit up a little straighter to watch the action. Sadly nothing else happened, and so she slumped back down.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, that's rare! Least round Jasper,” She scrunched her face up slightly as she thought on it further. “A few of the boys from Jack's grade race and stuff, it was probably just one of them on their way home or something.” She thought she'd seen that car before in the school parking lot, but she wasn't certain.

“Wha? Nope! That ain't the park! Well no, it is one, but it isn't the one I need! The one that has the statues is at the middle of the town. As for the repoooort... Iiii don't know.” She grinned, playing with a strand of hair. “I was just going to wing it! All I know is I have to go look at the statues and write about them a bit. We can bounce ideas back at the base though, once I know what I'm doing! I'm just here to sketch the statues and trace over the information plaques. The writing part I'll do back at base!”

As they made their way into the center of town, Miko quickly realized just how very out of place they looked. There weren't many people on the streets, but those that were would turn to watch as the crash truck made its way down the road – squeezing barely through the narrow streets which were so not built for huge crash trucks. Finally though, they had the park in their sights – the statues in plain view, which signified that this was the correct park. There were a few kids playing soccer on one side of the field, but other than that it looked to be empty.

“Uuh maybe you should park on the side of a street or something, dude.” She chuckled, craning to look out of the passenger window. “I don't think you'll quiiiite fit in one of the normal spaces, since you barely fit on the road! Try going left there, down by the Goodwill sign, there should be a spot for you to park.” She pointed to where she meant, just incase he wasn't sure.

"Or you can drop me off and come back later! Ain't no big!"