(Untitled)
Who: IDW!Megs, Kino, Mikaela, Glit
What: Megatron needs a makeover. Or, really, he needs to be repaired almost completely, and so is going to be in one place for a bit...and gets to talk with some humans he's been needing to speak to.
When: Following Magnum's fight with Ironhide and This Declaration.
Where: Swindle's shop, Zone 5
Notes: Separate ( Read more... )
What: Megatron needs a makeover. Or, really, he needs to be repaired almost completely, and so is going to be in one place for a bit...and gets to talk with some humans he's been needing to speak to.
When: Following Magnum's fight with Ironhide and This Declaration.
Where: Swindle's shop, Zone 5
Notes: Separate ( Read more... )
"Course I do." She scoffs, making a valiant attempt to not be intimidated. It doesn't completely work, but she does summon the courage to come closer. The medical berth is large and tall, and not something she can easily see over. If she's going to get close enough to do anything, she was going to have to hop up there with him, which would put her in an extremely vulnerable position.
She reaches up, and hauls herself up to sit on the edge for a moment before getting to her feet and facing him directly. She'd....never exactly been quite this close to him before, and she had to admit this was kind of...humbling. She'd worked on Barricade before; repaired his arm and been too close for comfort with him but this...this was far different.
"How are you feeling? Any aches, pains, twinges in places there shouldn't be?"
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The lights in the room remained off, conserving power while his normal companions were gone. With how strained relations in the Nexus had become of late, the Swindles did not seem as if they'd waste any resource easily, and it was amazing how much energon could be saved by simply flicking off a light switch.
He, on the other hand...had other methods.
Being originally crafted for work underground provided a few benefits, after all, and he started up the hidden running lights that were nestled in several areas along his frame. Not all of them were still connected after previous upgrades he'd been going through, and several were just burnt out from disuse and alternate activity, but where darkness had once been there was now a steady glow.
"...Mikaela, after a fight with Ironhide I would be hard pressed to tell you what doesn't twinge. And most of that is in my processor." He snorted. "Though if you're looking for something to amuse yourself with, my right lower leg tred has felt tense of late, when rolling." It was one thing he'd not mentioned to Glit--a test, so to speak, in case Mikaela had produced herself.
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"They don't...know I'm here." She confessed, her posture relaxing. "I didn't tell anyone I was coming." If they really wanted, they could track her on the network; her post and responses to him hadn't all been locked.
"...Nice trick." She commented with a tiny smile, pleased with the soft glow of the lighting he had provided. It would certainly help her to see, at any rate. She didn't have the luxury of optics and infrared technology like some of the mechs did. Mikaela was only human; she couldn't see in the dark.
"Mmm. He's a fighter." A Strong one. She'd poked at him several times herself, she knew how big he was, how capable. He wasn't built like the other Autobots; he was heavier, bigger, spikier.
"Alright." She edged down the side of the berth, only using him to balance herself when there was little room for her to move along. She reached his leg without event, and peered over it, her hands diving in. When working, she usually had little regard for personal space; her customers had learned to adjust and actually become appreciative of it, even going so far to tell her they preferred her methods over that of others who did her job.
"Hmm. So cool how you guys have similar parts as cars and stuff-- Looks like you've got a belt going bad under here." She leaned back with a frown. "It's not all the way bad yet, but it's on it's way." She had a feeling he would know what that could spell for him.
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His optics tracked her as she moved down towards his leg, glowing steadily now that both had been repaired. That...had probably been the biggest relief. He hated anything other than perfect awareness of his surroundings--or, at least, as perfect as he was likely to get. Briefly, he wondered what sorts of sensory inputs most humans employed, and how accurate they were...especially given Mikaela's tendency to move faster in areas that his running lights illuminated. It wasn't a curiosity that he felt the need to indulge, however. "I used to work in darkness. Sort of fitting, I suppose, though I haven't felt the need to maintain most of the lights over the stellar cycles. They're not as...necessary, for my current occupation."
"...as to Ironhide...yes. He is quite a good fighter. It is a pity that he turns his strengths towards such useless endeavors. He's a force to recon with--but only when properly directed." There was a slight engine growl to that, though the smirk remained. He was still particularly displeased at the direction Ironhide had chosen to point himself in, (and perhaps in part because he had contributed to the change, though he'd not admit again so soon that he'd not been in perfect control of any situation.)
The idea of control was very quickly tested however, as Mikaela simply reached her hands into one of his tred bays to start feeling around.
He hadn't been expecting that, and the tred lurched, gears sliding to life and then quickly grinding to a stop as he clamped them, furiously. The engine growl from a moment prior turned into a roar, and he did sit up, now, systems flaring to life that had been in partial recharge mode, connections to outside monitor equipment pulling away. "Mikaela." He glowered, leaning forward towards her, a large hand setting down not far away. "I would think it unwise to proceed without some warning." Especially in a part of his body that was designed for crunching relentlessly forward through rock, steel, and, in special cases, bone.
It had...tickled, besides.
That was not an area which was easy to reach for any mech, and so, for the most part, had remained untouched. And especially untouched by tiny human fingers. He shivered down his spinal struts, but continued to glower, wishing to make his point...
...and then realized the full ramifications of what she had said.
A bad belt...
Yes.
"...can you replace it?" The curiosity broke the storm in his expression. This was, after all, supposed to be a test.
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"Darkness? What did you do?" She's genuinely curious here, she's fairly certain he's never told her of any previous occupation.
"I told him to let it go, leave you alone. He wouldn't listen to me." She'd argued with him about it, and she could have done it til she was blue in the face. He refused to listen. "He's...hardheaded." But he was one of the 'Bots she respected most, even if he was one of the worst to treat her like she did her dog. She couldn't stay angry at him. It was nearly impossible.
She probably should have thought this through before reaching her hands directly in; she was used to being rather direct with people and rarely thought that what she did would cause any actual discomfort. Her hands were delicate, at least, she was never rough with anyone, always keeping in mind that they were living beings just as she and susceptible to pain, agitation, and emotions. Mikaela was always conscious of this, and was therefore sometimes excruciatingly gentle and soft, not wanting to hurt anyone.
When working on a Megatron, she supposed, too late, advanced warning was probably the best course of action. When he sat up and leaned forward, she stumbled back and nearly off the berth, only catching herself by grabbing onto his leg, painfully aware of just how close his hand was to her.
...Oops.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just...it's uh...a technique..." She was rambling, and instead of further irritating him, she simply shut up, staring at him with wide blue eyes. She swallowed at his question, then nodded once.
"I can, yeah. If you er...want me to." She'd give him warning next time, for sure. If he didn't squash her flat where she stood. She should know better, she should have learned from Ironhide. If she'd never heard anything stranger, it was the giant spikey Autobot purring when she'd touched his cannons.
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And it had carried over worlds.
His glower was significantly lessened now, though he did not answer any other of her questions. The knowledge that he had worked in a mine was...sensitive, in a way. It had already been used against him once, and he had no desire for his past to become a spearhead in an argument, again.
His treds twitched once more, loosening almost forcibly as he calmed himself down from the unexpected tension. He'd frightened her, and that was...that was good. It made an impression on the mind, so that any further instances could be prevented. "A technique." He spoke, leaning back a bit, hiding the amusement he held about her clutching onto his leg by seeming as indifferent as possible. "Ah."
"Then by all means, now that you have my permission you may continue." Gesturing a hand towards a set of drawers in the corner (and the ladders that Kino had rigged up to make them accessible to humans,) he resumed his smirk. "I believe they keep standard supplies in there. Glit accessed them several times before."
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She waited for an answer, but he didn't give her one. She lifted a brow, but she didn't press. Pressing him was, she thought, a terrible idea. She knew how much it irritated her when Ironhide or anyone pushed her for information she didn't want to tell. Maybe in his own time he'd tell her, but apparently that would not be today.
"Yeah...um...sorry, again." Mikaela's voice was sheepish, and she nodded and stepped back, glad for the permission. She glanced to the set of drawers he gestured too, she made a noise in the back of her throat and proceeded towards them, hopping down and scurrying up the ladder with efficiency. She had ladders herself in her shop, multiple shelving was a must and the place had been built for a mech much larger than herself anyway. She poked through the supplies, pulling out what she needed and slinging the replacement belt over her shoulder. She hummed and fished around for the proper tools. Once satisfied, and made her way back over to her previous place, then glanced up at him.
"Uh..want me to just...start?" Ask first with this one, Mikaela. For your own safety.
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"I'm certain there are secrets of your past you would not be comfortable with sharing, Mikaela. Especially to a perceived enemy?" He had noticed that eyebrow raise--it was not so different from the way Cybertronians would sometimes lift an optic ridge. Another peculiarity.
But she was learning, and this pleased him enough that when she asked, his engine slipped from its agitation into a steady smoothness. Not quite a purr. "Good. And yes. You may proceed."
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"Okay. I um...might need to climb on you a little bit, so I can get to it." He's a lot bigger than her usual customers, and the much larger ones she usually had to climb on. Of course, with them, she usually just did it instead of asking first, but Magnum was right -- she was learning. She wasn't dumb enough to surprise him again. She rather liked being alive.
"Oh also, if you wanna cut off your pain receptors for me, that'd be awesome. If you haven't already, that is." The change in his engine was an audible one, and she breathed a sigh of relief. He was no longer pissed. That was good.
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His smirk returned.
"Convenient that this Nexus provides us other options, then."
He settled completely back, nodding his permission. "Thank you for asking, Mikaela, it seems that you..." His expression changed completely, going from vaguely pleased straight into surprise when she mentioned the pain receptors.
"Autobots can do that in your world?"
It was certainly something medics could handle, yes...they had to, in order to perform their surgeries...
...but...just turning it off like that...was...quite a different thought for him.
That would be extremely useful.
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Well, yeah. You could say I've had some uh...'problems'." She chuckled darkly, shaking her head. "It can be, yeah. Sometimes talking to your friends can be harder than talking to someone that...isn't." She cleared her throat, and nodded.
"Yeah. It...does." She was relieved at his permission, and grabbing what she needed, she hauled herself up on his leg to get a better look and angle.
"That I...?" She pressed, but she was cut off when he seemed surprised.
"Well...yeah. It's...not really advised, though. Unless you're in this situation or with someone you trust. Do you...not know how to do it?" That was one of the first things she'd been taught. Working on a mech who was in pain was...impossible, and it seemed...cruel.
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The next question caught him off-guard once more, however, and his optics intensified and narrowed.
"Can you turn off your pain receptors, Mikaela?"
He...realized that looking angry was not entirely fair to her, however, and relaxed his expression. "...its not common in my world unless we're being worked on...medics know how. I do not."
...
Imagine, competing in the arena with pain receptors off. So useful. "Though if you care to teach me...?"
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She just wants to go home, and she's ready to go to any lengths to do that.
"I...no. I can't." Her voice is small, and she leans forward over her work to take a better look. "I'll...do it, then. Sorry. Are you...ready?" She leaned over him, eyes taking note of what she's going to have to do in order to disable them. She's not a medic specifically (not yet, anyway. Her studies are going well), so she was going to have to disable the whole limb.
"It...kinda deadens the area." She looks thoughtful. "You'll lose complete feeling in the area, like a...like numbness, y'know? You can still move it, but I'm not sure if you'd be able to do it unless you were specifically watching it. Like...your leg."
She looked surprised. "Oh. I can teach you, if you want me to." She seemed pleased that she'd be able to teach him something.
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Leaning forward gave him a better vantage point for the operation, and so he simply nodded. "Glit has done such to me before when enacting repairs. But if you could teach me, that would be very useful."
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"I've been having these...visions. Nightmares, only...I don't think they're nightmares. I think..." She glances around, then stares at her hands and quiets as she leans forward to begin her work.
"Here, do you feel that?" She taps something with her finger. "This is the main sensory grid for this leg. If you can pinpoint it with your processor, you should be able to manually disable it yourself. Keep in mind that should you try to stand on it, you might uh...fall over or something, since you wont be able to feel it." She had cut herself off, and she knew it. She would circle back in a moment. "In order to turn the receptors back on, make sure you keep in your memory this location, and again, as long as you know where it is and how it works, you can re-enable it. When I'm done with this, I can...poke around, show you where the rest are, if you'll let me."
She coughed, then glanced away.
"Anyway, these...visions...flashes...whatever they are are frekaing me out. It's like...like I'm seeing Cybertron's history or something. I know the Cybertron from my world is dead, so...this can only be stuff from what's past, you know? They're...really random and brief, so...it's hard to pinpoint whats going on."
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Visions...nightmares...it was nothing that he had experience with, and sounded almost...religious, in nature.
Pinpointing tiny parts of his own body to allocate for later, however, was a bit more along his lines, and he tested what she told him...searching for that particular grid among a list of components. It...was a long list. "Tap it again." He instructed, and then performed the search a second time, seeking out the spike of input that would single out that array. Ah. Aha.
...heh.
He made very specific note of it, as she instructed...and then...cut the power to the grid.
Immediately, various alarms went off inside his head, and he scowled at them, trying in vain to tell them that his leg was, in fact, still there and still functioning, (which was a daunting process when, for all intents and purposes, it did not even register to him.) But he nodded to her, nonetheless....
"...connection has been terminated. I...can't feel a damned thing."
The words were sharper than he'd have liked for them to be, but...then again, the feeling was stranger than he had expected, especially since it had been brought upon by his own actions. Different.
...very different.
But not so different that he did not tune back into her words, considering the implications. "...you're...seeing the Cybertron from your world? Are you certain that is what it is?" It was not as useful as, say, knowing the history of this Cybertron...but...well...
...there was still the matter of how such a thing could be happening, at all. Mikaela was not built to accept input from other mechs...which means she had to be accepting input from some other source. How...did humans do that?
...this was maybe too much too consider. He honestly had no idea how the human processor worked.
"...and...what...would you normally be seeing, if not this?" He had to establish a baseline, somehow.
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