Ep 2- Bad Machine [ Closed. Flatline ]

[Flatline]

Thank Primus that it had been a throttled swing, because if Breakdown had used what he was capable of to hit the medic? Well... they would be back down to just one available medic for the entire Nemesis. A feat that the polished red car would have probably loved... but alas, while Flatline would probably get himself killed someday, that day was not today.

Sorry Knock Out.

With this judgment day held off for another time, Flatline had to focus in on himself, and what had even happened. He had to try to figure out what was broken to cause the Energon to be spattered all over like it was, but it was difficult with his sensors fried. All he could feel was blinding pain across his entire face, which didn't really share anything by means of details. He could see, his vision was mostly normal, so there was no optic injury, or if it was it was just the right one since it seemed a bit blurry. He could still feel his dental plates in his mouth, but he was certain that there was a new crack running up them that wasn't there before...

While Breakdown processed his request, Flatline reached his hand up to try to feel around his face again. Now that he wasn’t just applying pressure to will the pain and shock to go away, he could feel a fracture up the central shield, and a crack that went into his faceplate a bit. It wasn't anything irreparable, it would mend up in time, but before he could really think on how he would handle this, Breakdown spoke again, and set off what little calm had settled in the black Cybertronian.

The momentary rage was fleeting. It boiled up as an inferno, making Flatline turn around with anger and hostility streaked across his damaged faceplates. His field itself seemed acidic, ready to defend himself, ready to verbally attack back... but...then Breakdown apologized, and it clipped his metaphorical wings just enough to make him think and not act out of pain and rage.

Was he still angry?

Oh yes.

But he wasn't going to attack again and risk losing the rest of his face.

"In case you haven't noticed, I am no scout or frontliner. I don't FIGHT."

His words were heated, the venom still leaching into the tone of voice, but he was keeping himself rooted. The tension cables in his limbs however were taunt, pulled so tight there was a soft strain sound to those who could pick up on such details. He was ready to lunge if he had to, wanting to act out, his keyed up systems still roaring for a fight, but he was keeping himself in place.

"I do not need Knock Out to mend me... I... I just need my tools and a mirror..."

He looked down at his hand then, spreading his fingers to peer at the smears streaked across it. His faceplate ached, sensation numbed to just a throbbing pain, but despite this he could feel the liquid collected at the bottom edge of his right eye, which was squinted a bit more than the other.

Conflicted. Flatline didn’t know whether to scream at Breakdown and have him leave, or what. His emotions swirled like a boiling pot, making him sit precariously in an unstable moment between rage and quiet acceptance. He wanted to scream back so much, but it would solve nothing, and his intellectual side knew this. He also knew in-fighting would be frowned upon by all, and he didn't want to be demoted at all from his current standing... But boy... he wasn't pleased, glaring across the way at Breakdown to see what he would do. See if he'd make the decision for him.

Civil.

Or Violent.

Flatline was game for either.

[Breakdown]

     The tension in the air could have been cut with a laser scalpel. Breakdown was left to just stand there and watch Flatline as he tenderly touched on his faceplate to asset the damage as best he could while being unable to actually see it. Honestly, Breakdown didn't know what else to do BUT stand there and stare as he tried to figure out what the next move was going to be. Yeah, Breakdown felt a little bad now that he had been given the chance to calm down from the initial high of their little scuffle, but... well... Flatline had BIT him! So Breakdown had just been defending himself.

     While Flatline was focused elsewhere, Breakdown went about looking at his servo to see the damage inflicted. It didn't look too bad, if you counted several puncture marks in the side of the palm of his servo and last digit as 'not too bad'. At first Breakdown had assumed the stain of blue energon around his wound had been a result of splatter from his strike against Flatline, but as he took a closer look he was able to see that there were fresh drips. The spilled energon was actually coming from his own injury and that just made Breakdown vent a little in frustration. Breakdown just thought of this as some level of normal so it didn't bother him. That wasn't the problem that had him grumbling. No, because while this was fine for him and 'oh, it'll heal', the moment that Knock Out noticed it? There would probably be a rant of epic proportions. The medic always flipped on him when he returned from the battle damaged and this? Oh, the fact that it was damage was bad enough. The fact that Flatline had been the one to do it? It would probably cause war on the ship if Breakdown wasn't fast enough with diffusing the situation and keeping the cherry red mech calm about it.

     Breakdown was brought back from his thoughts and the sight of his injury by Flatline's words. He was aware enough in reading body language to tell when something was about to be trouble, and Flatline seemed poised for it. Best for the large dark blue mech to just mind where he stepped for the time being.

    For now... Tools and a mirror...

     "I can get you a mirror. As far as tools?" Breakdown went about looking for a mirror, or really anything that could be used as a reflective surface. He spotted something that could be useful for that and went to collect it. "You tell me what you want and where to get it from." Breakdown didn't know what Flatline would want or need but he could fetch almost anything asked for as long as Flatline just told him what to hand over.

     "I'm sure Knock Out wouldn't mind assisting you. I mean... you're both doctors. Either way, you'd be a patient so I can't see him making a big deal about it."

     Right, Knock Out wouldn't make a big deal out of HIM being a patient, but Flatline? That probably was a different story.

[Flatline]

Flatline's face REALLY didn't stand a chance against what Breakdown brought. The punch hurt a good deal, and while he wouldn't be WRECKED by it, it still had left its mark, and would leave a mark until he could mend it and have auto-repairs polish out the rest. He just wanted Breakdown however to be gone, so when the hand reached out towards him, and he felt the presence of him approaching, Flatline took a stride forward, to keep distance between them.

Please take the hint, please listen to what he said. Take what you needed and go... but no... Breakdown spoke, and it caused Flatline to pause.

Wacky legs?!

Ok no, that was kind of accurate.

Flatline couldn't even try to be insulted by that, knowing that digitigrade limbs weren't exceptionally common among Cybertronians. Oh, they were around, like left handed humans or Cybertronian that used only wheels for movement, but the vast majority tended to be plantigrade. It was the most common build, and what the majority of individuals saw on a daily basis. That said, Breakdown's phrasing meant he could use it to get a bit uppity.

WHACKY!

Ahh well. Before he could try to rile himself up to lash out or yell something, Breakdown actually seemed to be backpedaling, and it was NOT something that the spindly mech had really anticipated or expected out of him. He expected a fight, or for Breakdown to take what he came for and depart. He didn’t anticipate any semblance of want to help, and as such Flatline began to turn some to peer back at the brute, his red eye squinted to try to see through a ruse that may be present.

He... he seemed sincere, and wasn't even going after the scanner yet or anything. Breakdown was only focused on him, and the injury he just inflicted, and even offered to have Knock Out look at it. It cooled some of the rage Flatline felt, though it didn't mean he was happy, fully turning then to address the dusty blue mech.

"I can look at it myself, I was a medic."

Downplaying an injury was a must for the Decepticons. You didn't really want to show weakness, especially around those you didn't know too well. Flatline was going to act like he was fine, even though now Breakdown could see what he had done to him. The crest shield on the forefront of his helm was badly dented in, and ground down into the two chevron 'nasal plates'. This same dent seemed to stretch over the bowline, and his right eye was squinted with a crack running under his faceplate. His faceplate had two natural seams that ran from under each optic down to the top of his mouth, and the punch had split one of the seams under his eye, which is where the Energon was coming from. Some discoloration blotched the pale grey mesh, the equivalent of a black eye.

[Breakdown]

     The squint from Flatline hadn't bothered him, though he did keep himself planted pretty solid in case he was planning to come at him again, at which point the larger mech would have to break him a tad further- if just to remind him of who carried the heavier weight around here. When nothing came and instead he was now fully turned to him, Breakdown was able to get a much better look at the extent of the damage he had caused.

     Okay, it did make him feel just a TINY bit worse than before. Breakdown was warned constantly about turning his fists against others on the ship because he did have a little bit of force that could cause a great deal of damage to most. This act would definitely reflect poorly on Knock Out, knowing that the medic had made a promise to keep him and his strength in check a long time ago. Was that the reason he felt the way he did about it? Maybe. But part of it DID have to do with the fact that Flatline was someone he was supposed to be getting along with to an extent. They were both Decepticons, after all.

     ... But Flatline had started it, and Breakdown had ended it, and now he would have them as a reminder until they were repaired.

     At least Breakdown would be able to take that news back to Knock Out. Informing the medic that he had pretty much broken Flatline's face in order to recover his precious scanner would certainly receive some praise. It wasn't even a far stretch from the truth! Just in the slight case that the scanner was broken, he would need those good tally marks.

     He looked down at the hit he had taken himself. The puncture marks weren't anywhere that risk damage to anything important such as joints or the changing of his servos into his hammers. Just to make sure he did flex his servo, tucking in his digits and stretching them as wide as they could, then changed it to his hammer and back. Right, no damage. That was a relief. Probably the only one that would come out of this. Breakdown would try to keep the injury hidden from his partner, though knew that was as impossible. Thought it wasn't anything severe to him, the fact that it broke the surface and exposed the wires beneath meant that he had to have it at least looked at. Surely the little red spitfire would be sent into some sort of tirade once he saw it, knowing that it had been done by Flatline.

     "Yeah, I know you were. Just thought it's easier if ya got someone else repairing you. I don't know. You medics all do things your own way."

     Breakdown lowered his servo back to his side and started his wave over to the scanner so he could collect it. Now that the situation seemed to be diffused he was a lot more lax, even though he would turn his helm briefly so he could stare at Flatline with his single optic to make sure he wasn't attacked again the moment he tried to pick up the tool.

[Flatline]

"Yes. We do."

A blunt reply, clipping, cutting, trying to disengage from any form of conversation that was in play. Flatline had very little interest with speaking with Breakdown at this time. Upon a normal day, when the brute wasn't sent here to harass and hinder him, he may have spoken to him calmly, and without issue. He didn't mind company as long as they didn't mess with him, but no... things were destined to be doomed from the onset since it was a visit stemmed off of the medic's greed and inability to share without some form of power play being done. He probably wanted Flatline to beg for tools like some common filth, and that was a level that he refused to stoop down to.

When Breakdown moved, Flatline reacted, though it wasn't an attack or other assault against him. Instead, the reaction was more subdued, but not any less frustrated, his frame puffing out a bit from its inner core as a ventilation of air was sucked in and held in his distress. This movement was paired with the spindly quills on his spine bristling up, the sharp barbs of metal rattling faintly as they settled into place. It was apparent Flatline was unhappy, but if that body language was too subtle for the other mech, the sneer that paired with it was more than enough.

Gnarled teeth, twisted together into a jagged line, bared to the open air with a look of displeasure, but inability to do much else. He knew better than to make a grab for the tool, he had done that once already, and the throbbing pain he was experiencing in his face was a nice pointed reminder to not do more.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

When a Decepticon is nice and accommodating, more often than not there are ulterior motives, or the statement was a sharp jab of sarcasm. Either they were being nice to gain an upper hand or favors to exploit later, or they didn't want to bite too hard but still wanted to give a sharp jab in the way they said things. The later is what was in play now, Flatline holding back his fair level of anger, but playing it as still being polite. He went so far as to even seem to relax a bit, his arms loosely folding at his lower back, though the quills remained raised.

[Breakdown]

This was not a normal day. Any other one would have found the pair at least someone civil to one another, as Breakdown more or less liked to keep to himself and just watch the foolish exchanges between Flatline and Knock Out if the two crossed paths. They managed to step on one another's toes even without actually doing anything. The two were just cats and dogs.. but that didn't mean watching from the sidelines wasn't at least somewhat amusing.

Flatline clearly wasn't having any of it today. Today Breakdown had come into HIS space... though the spiny mech had started it with taking Knock Out's stuff in the first place. It was better for him to have come anyway- even if it made the rather civil relationship a little rocky. Would it last? Who knows.

"Well... no. Just remember not to just take things that aren't yours without asking first. It would save a bunch of trouble." It wasn't a lie at least. If Flatline had asked to use the scanner instead of taking it then he wouldn't have had to come here and reclaim it. Flatline wouldn't have gotten injured and none of this fiasco would have ever gone down. "I would prefer to not have to come here again." Truth was, Flatline's lab creeped him out. It reminded him of a very miniature version of Shockwave's- and that was a place he NEVER went to.

With the scanner in hand, Breakdown turned and went to the door. When it opened he paused in the threshold to look back at Flatline. "If you need further assistance... just let Knock Out know. Don't make me have to come here again." That last bit was a little more stern than the previous 'suggested' version of the similar statement. He continued on his way through to head back to Knock Out's medical bay, idly flexing his free servo slightly. He really want to have to explain to Knock Out how that had happened but... not like it could be avoided.