Ep 1.5. The Day Care Center (Closed)

[Flatline]

There was something in this for Flatline, but it wasn't really anything significant at this point. He was thinking ahead on if he needed muscle to accomplish something, or had to call for assistance while out on the field. If he was out and about again on the planet, and actually had another confrontation with an Autobot, Skywarp would give him an out. It would give him someone to call that wouldn't burden a higher officer, while getting the brute of a mindless animal some entertainment, adding onto his 'points' so to speak.

"It won't be locked... if I wanted you to leave and not come back, I would just say so."

Flatline droned this back with an unamused edge, as if almost finding personal offense to the accusation. As much as Skywarp had spooked him before, he was living under the ideal that the other Decepticon would hold his fists or aggressions simply so that a Commander didn't get angry at him. Really, a warrior such as him pummeling a medic turned repair worker who truly wouldn't stand a chance, meant that he would be the one at fault, not Flatline.

It was this that gave him confidence.

Once Skywarp was gone, Flatline deposited everything he needed upon the medical berth off to the side in the room. The surface was able to be tilted upright or different angles that may be necessary, but was flat like a table at this particular moment. It created a large work surface to spread out his collected parts upon. With the gutted components deposited, he started to then collect secondary tools. Wire strippers, electrical tape, some pliers, an electronic tool, etc...

The last thing he ended up nabbing as an afterthought. It was some of the chemical used to clean and disinfect. While Flatline wasn't worried about rust infections or other ailments, especially since this was a drone and nothing truly living, he wanted to get some of the grit and grime out of the panel he had salvaged. He liked things to be clean if he could help it.

Returning to the table, he dropped off everything he needed, and began using the chemical with a rag on the tool, clearing off the dirt and residue that had built up from being down in the mines for some time. It was almost alarming how the pale surface suddenly revealed that no... it wasn't actually grey but a dark purple black.

It did not take him long to get the device clean, honestly Skywarp was probably not even to the storage area by the time he completed the task. This was ok though, and didn't bother the Medic at all, even if the silence that left in the brutes wake was a bit disconcerting. He had to attempt to ignore the quiet, and remind himself he wasn't back in that ship again, which was soon becoming a constant mantra.

He would have to find a means to alleviate this.

Nonetheless, Flatline plugged the wrist device in to a power source, and watched as the screen flickered before booting up. The display was a bit jittery, part of the reason why it had to be replaced, but it was still barely functional. It was with this flickering visuals, Flatline started to type in new coding and commands that would be used for its new directives. This would take significantly longer than cleaning, and he kept himself busy with it.

[Deleted]

It really, really shouldn't have taken long for Skywarp to walk over to the storage deck and fetch a scouting drone. The mech could have teleported there and back, if he so wished. But taking the fastest, most immediate route and getting things do efficiently simply wasn't Skywarp. He could though, if he wanted to. He wouldn't have lasted this long in the Decepticon ranks if he was completely disobedient, insubordinate and incapable of following orders. The big seeker did listen on and off the battlefield to his commanding officers or when he had sufficient motivation.

However, in this case Flatline was not his superior and even though this was supposedly for Skywarp's own benefit and amusement, it was very difficult to keep himself on track, even when he'd already decided that he was going to do this task. He wandered off course, caught up in exploring corridors and other rooms, rooms that were definitely NOT the one he'd been directed to. In Skywarp's processor, he was going to get the drone regardless, so why did it matter when this event occurred?

Even when Skywarp finally did make it to the storage area, he didn't consult the room's inventory, which would have immediately directed to him what he needed. Instead, Skywarp began to examine random items, rummaging about through broken and long forgotten junk. Some of it he recognised, some of it he didn't and he was completely incapable of fixing all of it. Metal clanked and creaked as he delved through the scrap. He was -was!- considerate enough to leave most of it back where he found it. Skywarp had no desire to be sentenced to clean up the room later. He played with a few broken rifles ("I am Optimus Lame, leader of the Stupidbots!" "And I am Megatron, leader of the awesome Decepticons! Rawr, I'm going to crush you, Optimus Lame and your Autodolts!" "And I am Starscream! Tremble in fear of my screechy, screechy and annoying voice!" "Starscream!" "What?" "Go away, your voice irritates me." "But my lord-!" "Please, it's just so irritating. I can't focus." "But I-" "Leave!" "Forgive me master! I'll show myself out." "Now, where were we, Optimus Lame? Ah yes, I was about to kill you and all your pathetic soldiers." "Megatron, NOOOOO!") and other pieces of random equipment, managing to entertain himself for a good while.

It was, in fact, two hours later when Skywarp eventually returned to Flatline's lab, scouting drone clutched carelessly in his servos. The door, as promised, was not locked. Skywarp strode in, heedless of the amount of muck he'd accumulated on himself, messing around in the storage room. Oil and various types of lubricants and grease streaked his plating.

"I got it!" Skywarp crowed to the room.

[Flatline]

Flatline did not have patience for such games.

He was under the impression it would be ten minutes, maybe thirty if something had distracted the oaf, but two hours? No... no that was completely unacceptable. The task he had been ready to eagerly pursue and complete in short time, was now a frustrating waste of materials and space. The completed reprogrammed scanner had been upon the table, left there awaiting Skywarp's return, but the one and a half hour mark changed that.

It was gone, tucked away somewhere back in the lab, as were all the tools that had been pulled for that project. There was no evidence of the concept, and nothing left in its wake to even hint it had even existed to begin with. It wasn't GONE truly, not FULLY abandoned, but it definitely was not in sight. In the vacant hole it left now sat a new project, Flatline standing beside the medical slab and working quietly upon it.

The medic's secondary hand was resting upon the metal before him, a short slender finger tapping its bladed edge to a beat only he could envision in his processor. It was a coping mechanism, starting to try to make noise and non repetitive taps to break away from the silence that plagued him. It was effectively a stepping stone for him upgrading up to music that he would soon play in his environment.

While this clicking continued, his remaining limbs maneuvered and worked upon a device that appeared to be part of a Vehicon's frame, the purple paint a recognizable attribute. The object was small, able to be cupped in one hand easily, but it had plenty of wires and small internals, displaying that it was probably a transmitter or receiver or some kind that attached to the back or helm. It did not particularly matter what the small object was, or what sort of repair was being applied to it, the point was the fact that Flatline was busy, and he had abandoned Skywarp's game for more productive endeavors that would yield results at the moment.

"Did you get lost?"

Flatline droned in return, not even looking up at the behemoth of a jet as he entered.

He wanted Skywarp to earn his entertainment again.

[Deleted]

Flatline's dull tone didn't even register with Skywarp. He took the question at straight value, drawing himself up straight as he pondered over the question. Had he gotten lost? His mind trawled over his recent activities. He supposed it was a valid question if one thought of his off-course wanderings in a particular light. But-

"I didn't get lost," he replied, voice petulant and impatient. "I went exploring." That was, after all, what he'd been built for and sometimes it showed. Skywarp's tone made it clear that he thought that this was the greatest thing since Megatron had risen up. The second greatest thing after that was watching the Wing Commander swell with indignation at the slightest provocation.

The big seeker scuffed a foot behind him. Blithely he blabbered on. "Then I played Garbage Wars, the Mighty Decepticons vs the Stupidbots. The Decepticons won, like they always do." Skywarp cocked his helm, optics sweeping over Flatline working away at the bench. He paused.

"Whatcha working on now?"

[Flatline]

Flatline had his assumptions on how Skywarp thought. He had his own little hypothesis in place, and was trying to piecemeal together if what he thought he saw was in turn what was actually there. He only had a bit of evidence to work with however, not enough to really cement anything fully, that was until Skywarp declared what he had been doing... or more... what game he had played.

Exploration was one thing; it was mapping out an environment. Nothing about that seemed childish, the only bit about it that was potentially immature being the fact he wasted time when he knew someone was waiting for him. But no... what followed is what said so much more. The declaration that he had been playing 'Decepticons vs the Stupidbots' in a serious tone with no mockery or teasing caused him to pause again, processing over the revelation.

"What I am working on is no real concern."

He was originally going to say that what he was working on was not important, but given what little information he had he assumed Skywarp would probably try to break it. The brute may crush it and slide it off the table as garbage because if it was not important than what was its use? This was more assumptions. He had no concrete basis to judge this upon more than the jet's commentary on his remaining secondary limb, but it modified how he decided to voice his statement.

"What is important is my next question."

Setting down the tools, Flatline's weight rolled to his opposite foot, pivoting upon the spike of a heel point to turn and peer back at Skywarp. Red eyes were fixated upon him with careful consideration, looking to see if he had even gotten the correct drone to begin with. Seeing that he did manage to pull through and get what was needed, Flatline's angled brows hooked up a bit, helm raising to regard it.

"Were you even still interested in what I was going to make? Because your... detour... makes it seem as if you do not really value my time."

Looking down at his hands now, he seemed bored, picking a bit at the joints of his fingers to make sure no metal flakes or other grit had made their way in to the seams. His secondary hand joined in at this, the much smaller claw scrapping between his thumb and palm seam. Part of this was just normal cleanliness, another was the fact he was a medic and can't have anything crumbling out if he underwent some kind of emergency surgery.

Flatline didn't look back up at Skywarp, even though he had pretty much decided to help him again already.

[Deleted]

Skywarp honestly hadn't cared much for Flatline's answer. Beyond, of course, whether it had anything to do with him or not. Which it didn't. And he couldn't make heads or trails of it, so his interest dropped almost as soon as the medic had dismissed the project.

"Were you even still interested in what I was going to make? Because your... detour... makes it seem as if you do not really value my time."

He blinked his optics at Flatline, not really understanding the question. "I do!" he squawked indignantly. Of course he did. Flatline was making something for him. Why would the strange looking mech think otherwise?

...not value his time...?

Skywarp squinted at the mech in confusion. What did Flatline's time have to do with...time! Skywarp shuttered his optics as he checked his chronometer. He hadn't noticed how long he'd spent in the storage areas. Honestly, he hadn't realised how long he'd been gone.

...

"I've been gone two hours?!" he screeched, shocked.

...Time really does fly when you're having fun.

[Flatline]

Ragged edged brows hooked up when Skywarp squawked in sudden realization. The sincerity behind it was near impossible to be faked and it readily showed just how ignorant the brute had been to everything that transpired. This event softened over the edge of frustration Flatline had felt that much more than it already had been, his patience that was needed in his field of work coming into play just as quickly.

"Ahh yes you have. So you understand my... apprehension..."

While stating this, he started to walk over, fully abandoning what he had been working upon prior in order to approach the massive jet that dwarfed him. His strides were smooth and calculated, the tiny peds making soft clicks upon the ground while he elaborated.

"But you did not fully intend to do that. I see this now. The detour was... unplanned."

He stopped before Skywarp, reaching his hands up in order to gingerly take the drone from his grip. Flatline's spider like fingers clutched about the object almost like a cage, the slender blades clicking along its surface lightly while the weight was distributed into his grip. His secondary limb, the one that remained, was inert, idly folded against his chest in an inactive state of existence.

"So I will continue with previous goals for you, but next time, please don't take so very long."

An eerie sort of warmth came into his words at this, a kindness that seemed detached yet not all at once. Whatever was wrong with his tone was a bit difficult to place, as he permitted a smirk to form that pulled back far on his expressive features. Once he had the drone, he turned once more to the medical table, setting the object down on its back, while his secondary arm finally activated and reached out to claw at the device's 'stomach'. After a moment of fiddly work, he pried the plate of metal up and back, exposing all the wires and mechanics of the drones internal systems.

"So tell me. Do you play games like that often?"

Idle conversation that was started while he went to retrieve the same device from before that would work hand in hand with the drone. The scratched up and cracked scanner once retrieved was placed down next to the tiny flyer, where slender cables were wrenched out of it and connected to bind the two temporarily. Whether Skywarp decided to answer or not, Flatline would continue working, weaving connections apart, and typing into the wrist device with his secondary.

[Deleted]

An array of expressions flew across Skywarp's face as he allowed Flatline take the drone from his grasp. Most of them were variations of confusion and bafflement. He...wasn't in trouble. The spindly mech wasn't angry with his tardiness…?

Huh.

The bafflement deepened at the oddly warm tone Flatline used. Skywarp wasn't quite sure how to respond to that and he peered suspiciously at the medic, unable to decipher the tone.

"So tell me. Do you play games like that often?"

At this question, Skywarp brightened.

"I play lots of games if I can," he gushed enthusiastically. "Autobot Head Bashing. How Fast Can You Dismember A Mech. King of the Battleship. Bowling With Brain Cores. Autobot Golf! Take one Autobot head, one Autobot arm and off you go!"

[Flatline]

Oh Flatline was annoyed with the tardiness. He was upset. But he knew when to pick his battles, and right now was no longer one of those. He had to look at things long term, more so than simply reacting for the moment. That said, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the different games that were described.

He could easily envision some of them, and the pure morbidity of it made it twisted funny in a dark way. Flatline would be lying if he said he wouldn't wish to witness some of them in person as an observer rather than participant... But... there was some things seriously wrong with this jet if he thought that all of those games were perfectly acceptable.

Ahh well... all the more reason to keep him on his side more so than against him.

"Perhaps when I am done here, you will be able to appoint a new game to that list. Though I can guarantee it won't be so gruesome."

The medic spoke simply at a casual tone, continuing his work while not looking back at Skywarp. He would only really cut away and see what they were doing, if he heard the brute move somewhere or if they were messing with something. As of now, they seemed content to stand there and just talk at him, which was great. Flatline would keep him talking if it would keep his supplies from being broken further.

"Tell me more of 'King of the Battleship'. Do you have others who participate in said activities to make it a real challenge? Or is it all make believe?"

It was not degrading; he wasn't belittling Skywarp, his tone did not hold any snide undercurrents. If he had to... pretend he was playing with others considering the absurdity of his games, it would not be a surprise to Flatline.

After he asked this, Flatline roughly snapped a component in the drone back into place, twisting it hard so that the connector locked down. There was a single loud click to confirm the bind was stable before his left primary arm held out. The limb was straightened, the fingers curling loosely in an inert state while across its top were three squares of red, each one flush with the black plating around it. It could have looked like a design choice rather than any real markers, but that was not the case. With a hissing noise, and a minor transformation, one of the squares folded up and away, pushing out a tool that he grasped with his other limb and slipped free.

The small welder was tiny, more for basic repairs and quick patch jobs than any true medical work. It was placed up against the pieces of metal he just joined together, starting to adhere the halves permanently with sharp pulses of bright light and crackles of electricity. The welding lines were not particularly clean, more tacking it down as if a stapler than anything else as he was not taking his time to make it super fancy.

If this had been an injury he was patching, and he did such a job, ((given it wasn't an emergency scenario where he had to do a lot very fast)) he might as well be demoted to janitorial work it was so bad. This said? He didn’t really expect the drone to survive TOO long, and so he wasn't really wanting to put a hundred and ten percent into it. If this worked out well enough and the drone survived longer than one day, than he would look into making it actually nice and made to last.

[Deleted]

Skywarp perked further at the mention of a new game to play. His gaze slid over to the drone he'd fetched, for a short while he watched as Flatline worked on the drone. Skywarp's attention did not last long, especially when Flatline asked about the game he'd invented.

"Other people do participate!" he assured Flatline. "Usually Autobots, when they're attacking the ship I'm stationed on. Whoever is still on the ship till the end of the fight wins. That's always me. Being able to fly is a huge help. And I'm really, really good at throwing people overboard."

Being able to teleport was actually the huge advantage he had in this particular game. Actually, being able to teleport was usually an advantage in any game.

"No one has ever asked about that one before," Skywarp went on. His gaze turned speculative. Flatline was making something so that Skywarp could have another game to play. Maybe the mech would actually like to try King of the Battleship. He'd asked Skywarp about it, after all.

"Would you like to play King of the Battleship with me?" the big seeker asked. His tone was excited and hopeful. "I promise I won't let you fall too far. I'm good at catching people too, and I can teleport."

He probably was good at catching mecha. Skywarp had never actually tried. But his processor could run the calculations easily for him to accurately predict a mech's fall and figure out where he needed to be.

[Flatline]

Once Skywarp began to explain the game, Flatline swiftly connected the dots on what the parallel was, and was able to imagine, quite vividly, the mental image of Autobots being flung off of a shuttle or ship to fall to their deaths. That was one big issue about being a grounder. You may get a lot more options to explore and navigate on earth while having four wheels, but when up in a huge spacecraft thousands of feet in the air, than a lack of wings isn't always the best option.

Due to his back being turned to the jet, he permitted a smirk to pull back across his lips when Skywarp seemed to be responding well now. All was going smoothly at this point, and he just had to keep it that way. Which was easy to say until Skywarp threw his next words at him that had him instantly balk.

A squawked cry of an awkward laugh barked out before he could even fully process what it was he had heard. It was as if his processor instantly knew it was a bad idea and made the noise out of reflex the same way as if he had placed his hand upon a seething hot crucible. After the initial bark, the question sunk in further, along with the hope that Skywarp seemed to be experiencing if his tone of voice said anything about it.

"Ahh... hah... I hardly think that would be much of a game. That would be more... 'Throw Flatline off the Ship'. Not very fun for you. Terrifying for me."

Since his right primary was busy holding the welder, his one remaining secondary limb and the left primary raised up to do 'air quotes' along the game title that was more of torture than any game as far as Flatline was concerned. He didn't wish to fall from the ship, he didn’t want to have to go through that horror. The mere concept of it alone was enough to make the plating on his back tighten and the spines that protruded out from it flatten down smooth. It was only then he connected the dots on something else Skywarp had said, letting out a very belated shriek of confusion.

"TELEPORT!?"

[Deleted]

Skywarp thought the idea of throwing the spindly mech off the ship was a fantastic idea. All those limbs (especially since Flatline had more than the usual number) flailing through the air would probably be a hilarious image. And the big seeker wouldn't let him fall too far.

Probably.

A frown had just began to build on Skywarp's face, he was about to speak up and whine or complain to try and wheedle his way when Flatline suddenly shrieked about teleporting.

The big seeker gave a unperturbed look at the confused, spindly mech. "Well duh," he said in an 'this is obvious' tone. "That's why they call me Skywarp."

It escaped Skywarp's notice that he hadn't given Flatline his name over the course of this encounter. It took him a further moment to realise what he'd just done, in the excitement of the thought of playing games, Skywarp had brought up his ability to teleport to a science type.

His demeanour changed immediately, becoming agitated and defensive. Skywarp straightened to his full height and loomed above Flatline. "No sciencing! It's mine! " he warned, glaring reproachfully. "You can't have it! Or look at it. Or touch it. Or think about it."

[Flatline]

"Well I am named Flatline but I am not DEAD"

He said a bit louder than he wanted to, still alarmed at this turn of events. There was no way this mech could teleport, there was just no way it would work like that. Maybe he could control the Ground Bridge remotely to make portals wherever he wanted to serve whatever function he needed, which in itself was impressive... but not teleport! It couldn't be done!

...right?

Seeing the change of demeanor in Skywarp was a bit alarming. He went from relatively passive, to an imposing figure. The Jet had seemed dangerous before, something to be cautious around, but now the full weight of the power he had over him came to light, and Flatline felt himself cowed a bit in the presence. He wanted to comment more, but just found himself pushed smaller under the shadowed form of the bigger Cybertronian.

He hoped he wouldn't be strangled.

The medic raised a finger in which to try to interject a word, but every time he formulated a reply, Skywarp cut the response off instantly. It caused the slender talon to gradually slump forward, before curling back with the other digits against his palm.

Can I take a loo-

I wasn't going to tak-

I merely want to und-

Can you... expla-

"I can't even think about it!?"

He was so off put by all of this he didn't even know what to do anymore. How could he be tempted with such a fascinating thing, and then denied it so readily! What did Skywarp think he would do? Did he think he was  going to act like those little humans called MECH and was going to gut him apart?! Nooo! He just wanted to understand and know more about it. He didn’t even have to look at the internals, he would be somewhat happy for now just asking a few questions, but he was being told he couldn't do that. He wasn't even meant to think about it, which would be... impossible... Good luck with that request Skywarp.

[Deleted]

"No sciencing," Skywarp repeated menacingly. He held his pose longer, optics narrowed as he glared down at Flatline. He was pleased to see that the spindly mech seemed intimidated by him.

Good.

Skywarp kept his optics locked onto Flatline's face, allowing the moment to stretch until he was satisfied that his point had been made. Then, he moved. Not towards Flatline but away.

He took up space in a corner of the room, arms crossed against his broad torso. A sullen frown marred his face. Skywarp hadn't left yet, Flatline had been working on something for him after all and he still wanted it. But for now, there were only the angry and unhappy thoughts buzzing in his head and there was nothing more for Skywarp to say.

[Flatline]

The moments in which Skywarp stared him down may not have been exceptionally long, but during the ordeal it seemed agonizing. It felt like it stretched on far longer than it had any right for, and Flatline merely stared back up at the larger mech trying to piecemeal together these change of events as best he could.

Flatline couldn't trust himself enough to speak. He was pretty sure- no... he KNEW he would ask a question or say something pertaining to the teleportation. It was hard to not want to ask, and there was so many ways to breach the subject. He at least wanted to witness it though. This was either wishful folly and imagination on the mind of a childish individual, or Skywarp actually had a fitting name that pertained to his abilities.

Outliers were not an unfamiliar concept to the medic, and while many had special abilities that permitted them to do much that an average Cybertronian didn’t have available to them, it was also immensely rare and most were likely dead by this point. Add in the fact that the CHANCES of a mutation making something so vastly complex of an ability...? And odds weren't really in Skywarp's favor.

Going back to the work at hand, Flatline stared down at the drone for far too long to even try to remember where he had been. The project was so thoroughly derailed that he had to try to catch up with what parts of his plan he had already done, and what still needed to be accomplished. It is because of this he poked at the drone a little, opening up a side panel, before remembering what was going on exactly, and getting back to work.

He quickly fabricated the object then, the silence pushing him onward because it was so disturbing. He wanted to turn on music, or trey to strike up chatter, or ANYTHING... but he didn't, letting the hum of the laboratory and machines fill the space between them, punctuated only by an occasional click of a foot raising and falling in discomfort. That said, once it was all done it was a different story, the drone was clutched between his hands as he tapped a few buttons into the display that was welded awkwardly on its underside. The small machine puttered to life, booting up its systems gradually.

"Alright, I think we are ready to go up top to test this."

He declared happily, before his tone turned much darker.

"But try to throw me off of the ship and you are permanently banned from my laboratories and I will never make anything for you again."

A taloned finger pointed out at Skywarp accusingly, not fully trusting the mech to obey said request. Flatline was too invested in this though, and he somewhat wante-NEEDED to see how well it would work. His project had to function right? It couldn't NOT work! His confidence demanded the verification though, and he started to walk towards the exit, expecting the jet to follow.