Phobia Challenge Entry, attempt 2
Title: Herpetophobia
Author: Tiamat1972
Characters/Pairing: Ratchet, Jazz, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Gwen Killem (OC), Corey (OC), Andre Viton (OC), Sadie Arafel (OC) and a whole bunch of other canon and OC characters mentioned or in minor roles.
Rating: General
Warnings: None
Words: 3035
Summary: The most unexpected people can be afraid of the strangest things…
Notes: Standard disclaimers apply. No time for beta this time. I’ll fix my errors later. Used ten words from the list and those are bolded purple. :D
“Thanks for giving me a lift to Corey’s check up. With those pirates in town and Brad at his sister’s all the time lately…” Gwen sighed as she pulled her infant son out of the baby seat. She snagged the diaper bag from the floor and stepped back.
Andre quickly removed the baby seat from the back seat of his car and placed it on the shelf. “It was no trouble Gwen, anytime. We’ll do something about getting you your driver’s license when things settle down a bit and Corey is a bit bigger.”
“He’s bigger now. Weighs a ton, doncha sweet pea?” Gwen cuddled the sleeping infant closer, pressing a kiss to his cherry locks.
“Want me to take him for a bit?” Andre had to offer, though he knew what her answer would be.
“I’m good. Carrying him means more cuddle time.”
He smiled. Exactly what he expected. He did manage to snag the diaper bag from her as they headed towards the elevators.
Pushing the call button, Andre decided to ask something that had been bugging him. “So why is Brad always over at his sister’s place?” He didn’t add what he thought, that a man should take better care of his family. At least he had taken his daughter with along him this time.
Gwen snorted in disgust and hugged her son possessively. “Her husband is an idiot and keeps screwing up the computer she uses for her school work.”
The elevator arrived, chiming softly and they both stepped in. Andre cocked his head thoughtfully. “Her husband should be happy he’s not married to you. That was quite a creative suggestion you had about the zamboni and the ice picks.”
“Creative, Andre? Brad thinks I’ve been hanging out with Ratchet too long.” Gwen smirked evilly. Brad may have forgotten about this side of Gwen but it took an effort for Andre not to check her head for horns.
He opened his mouth to reply but whatever the police representative was going to say in reply was lost when the elevator doors opened, drowned out by squealing tires and roaring engines.
A bright green muscle car zipped by shrieking, followed by a yelling red pickup. They zipped around a corner and were gone before the humans could leave the elevator.
Gwen wrapped the blanket more securely around Corey, hoping to try to muffle the noise a bit. “What the heck is going on?”
“Let’s find out.”
oOoOoOoOo
If the scene when they reached the Command Centre wasn’t complete pandemonium, it was near enough that the distinction was irrelevant.
Mechs were running back and forth, optics on the floor, hands outstretched as they mad grabs for something as yet unseen. Their pirate guest, Steelshot, stood nearby, cradling his dragon-like companion, trying to sooth her.
But Ratchet was the one that really drew their attention. He stood trembling on the projection table, optics following something on the floor. Jazz stood beside him, unsuccessfully trying to coax the medic down.
“Come on Ratch. Calm down and help them! They are depending on you!” Jazz made a grab for Ratchet’s hand.
Ratchet wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t touch me! Get that pirate fragger to undo what he did, wave a magic wand or something! I don’t care; just keep those things away from me! Aaaaaaah!” the white medic squealed.
Andre and Gwen moved their gaze downward. There, near Jazz’s feet were two small mechanical things, bouncing up and down frantically.
This apparently was too much for the medic, who leaped from his table perch and dashed out the open door past the startled humans. Jazz followed a moment later with a “Fraggit Ratch! Sorry guys, he’s terrified of creepy crawlies. Later!”
Corey woke and started to cry, frightened by the commotion. Gwen started to try to calm him, turning to head out the door herself. She was blocked by the mechanical things.
They were the oddest looking things, kind of like a six-legged octopus or spider with antenna on the domes he was assuming was their head. They were small too, smaller than any other mechamorph they had previously seen, only coming up to Gwen’s knees when they stood still for a moment. They were also painted disturbingly familiar colours: bright red and sunshine yellow.
The things bounced and beeped and chattered around Gwen’s legs, keeping her from leaving the room and making sure she stayed between them and the Exiles now looming over them.
Andre shifted his gaze up to the hovering mechs and took a deep breath. “Okay guys, in the words of a certain retreating medic, what the frag is going on and what the frag are those things?”
“It’s that fragging pirate’s fault! He changed them! Where the frag did he go anyways! We got to stop him!” Static, the white and gold pickup yelled, making a move to run out of the room himself but was stopped by Bluestreak’s hand on his shoulder.
“Static! Calm down! You are scaring Corey! All of you settle down!” Gwen snapped, glaring up at the mechs. When they fell into an embarrassed silence, Gwen took a deep breath and turned to calming her crying infant. The things crowded her legs but since they had quieted as well, they were ignored.
Andre sighed and looked up at the remaining mechs. Static, Slipstone, Tailgate and Bluestreak. Steelshot seemed to have slipped out in the commotion. This would not do.
“Bluestreak, isn’t Steelshot supposed to be escorted while he’s here?” Andre turned to the eldest of the present mechs.
“He is. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were doing that. Aegis assigned me to teach the kids some stuff and then everything went to the Pit.” Bluestreak replied.
“Where did the Twins go?” Andre had a sinking feeling. It wasn’t like the Twins to ditch an assignment. He spared a glance at the things huddled at Gwen’s feet.
“I don’t know what happened exactly but Steelshot’s pet squawked, he yelled at Sunstreaker, both Twins yelped, then we had two glinks running around.” Bluestreak flexed his door wings, a sign of extreme irritation. “If you ask me, they had it coming.”
“Let me get this straight. Those things are called glinks and they used to be Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?” All four of the mechs nodded.
“And Steelshot is responsible for this… transformation?” They nodded again.
“Where are Aegis and Prowl?” A round of shrugs instead of nods. Andre felt another sinking feeling. He briefly hoped it was the last and wouldn’t be called back for another encore before turning back to the matter at hand. Why was it that whenever Jazz was left in charge things always went so badly wrong?
“Poor Sides and Sunny,” Gwen crooned from the side. Andre turned back to her to find her sitting on the floor, baby in her lap, petting the two things… er… glinks.
“Gwen! What are you doing? Don’t you know what those things are?” Bluestreak twitched in horror. His fingers flexed and he appeared to be one millimeter from snatching her and Corey up from the floor.
“Of course I do. They are Sideswipe and Sunstreaker,” She put her arms around them and hugged them, as she would a couple of dogs.
“Glinks are kind of like cockroaches or rats,” Bluestreak shuddered in disgust.
“And these ones are the Twins. They won’t hurt me, Blue. You know that. Come on you two, let’s go pour you some bowls of motor oil or something while Andre gets things sorted out.” She braced herself on the red glink while levering herself and Corey off the floor. All the mechs shuddered and stepped back.
“You’re just leaving me with this?” Andre stared in surprise at his fellow Guide. Gwen usually didn’t hesitate to jump in and take charge.
“Maternity leave, remember? Can’t let it get around that I’m ‘working’ while I’m supposed to be taking a ‘vacation’. Remind me to get John to babysit once, after I feed Andrea up with a couple pounds of chocolate.” She grinned at him, eyes sparkling. “Besides, this is easy.” She waved towards the four mechs. “It’s dealing with the panicky medic that’s going to be the challenge. But I trust your police training for calming situations down. Have fun!” She winked at him and left, primary colored glinks following behind.
Andre stared after her, for once agreeing with John, their contrary commander. Underneath that sweet smile, Gwen was an evil, evil woman.
oOoOoOoOo
For someone with no formal training in leadership or handling people, Gwen had certainly pegged this mess bang on.
After she left, Andre sent Bluestreak with Static to locate their guest and watch him. He had, thankfully, only gone as far as the suite he was assigned during his stay. Slipstone and Tailgate went to check on their sister mechs. Smallfoot was fine; she had only raced out to keep an optic on the panicking Rally. Which was a strange because Rally didn’t do panic but hey, he knew cops that didn’t flinch under fire but freaked out at a tiny spider on their desk.
So now he stood outside the locked door to Ratchet and Perceptor’s room and gave a rather embarrassed Jazz what Lucy liked to call, his Cop Look.
Jazz shuffled his feet, rubbed the back of his neck and tried to find someplace to look other than the six foot human. “I swear, it wasn’t my fault.”
“It never is Jazz, but part of being in charge is the ability to keep things from going completely to pieces when hell breaks loose.” Andre pinched the bridge of his nose. “Now let’s get Ratchet dealt with. What is his problem anyways?”
“I’m not really sure. I’ve known him a long time and know he’s never been a fan of crawly things but never seen him like this before.’”
“What happened exactly,” Andre pressed.
“Bluestreak brought the kids in with a question. Steelshot came in with the Twins escorting him. Something was said between Steelshot and Sunstreaker. Sola squawked and-“ Jazz started to explain.
“Hold on a second. Who’s Sola?” Andre interrupted.
“Sola is short for Solataire, Steelshot’s little Companion.” Trust Jazz to know that detail. Andre motioned for him to continue.
“Well Sola squawked because Sunstreaker had grabbed her. I turned just in time to see her in his hands before the zap and bang, we had two glinks instead of Twins. Steelshot grabbed Sola, murmuring to her about not a good idea to turn the tables on them and then Ratchet noticed what was going on. Dude, I swear, I never knew he could move that fast or jump that high and far. He leaped from behind me, practically across the room to the table and yelled for somebody to get rid of those things. You and Gwen came in a couple moments later. I chased him down here and been trying to calm him down ever since.” The normally calm and unflappable Communicator looked frustrated. Andre couldn’t blame him.
“Okay, plan of action. Comm Aegis, update him and see if he knows what’s wrong with Ratchet. Then get Sadie and Perceptor down here on the double.” Andre rubbed his forehead. He was getting a headache.
“Gotcha. What about Gwen?”
“Gwen is on maternity leave, so don’t bug her. Besides, she’s taking care of the Twins.”
“I still don’t get that maternity leave thing but probably better if the Twins stayed away from Ratchet for now.” Jazz put a hand to his helm, a sign he was speaking on the comm. It was something that he didn’t need to do; carrying on multiple conversations simultaneously was as natural to Jazz as breathing was to a human. He did it as a courtesy for the humans.
Andre glanced back at the door as he waited, feeling another twinge in his head. “Hey Jazz? Ask Sadie to bring some Rolaids and Tylenol with her. This place is giving me an ulcer and a migraine.”
oOoOoOoOo
By the time Perceptor brought Sadie down and opened up the door to the suite he shared with Ratchet, the white medic had calmed down considerably. A good thing too, since the red scientist left after giving Jazz the code. Something about having to work closely with Ratchet and the line of fire.
“Okay Ratchet. I’ve heard from a few people now on what happened in the Command Centre. I don’t need you to go over that with me. I need you to tell me what’s going on with you.”
“I don’t know what came over me. I know, logically that it was just the Twins but as soon as I saw the glinks…” he shuddered. “Could never stand those things or anything like them.”
“This at all related to how you feel about snakes, Ratchet? Or spiders or any other Earth bug?” Sadie inquired.
“Don’t even go there Sadie,” Ratchet growled. The glare he leveled at the nurse would have frightened away hardened warriors.
She merely gazed back at him calmly. “Ratchet, if it was one of your patients acting like this, you’d browbeat them for being in denial. Physician, time to heal yourself. And the first step is admitting there is a problem.”
Ratchet continued to glare but it quickly became apparent that it was an act to cover his embarrassment.
Finally, realizing he was fooling no one, he ducked his head.
Sadie walked over to him and patted his leg. “It’s alright Ratchet. We all have our vulnerabilities. You’ve helped most of us through our own; been the shoulder to lean on and the rock to support us. Let us help you now.”
“Those were legitimate traumas, Sadie. This… this is just stupid. Therapy won’t help this. It’s code deep.” Ratchet raised his head and glared at Jazz. “If this gets around, Jazz…”
“If it gets around Ratch, it’s not me. How many people saw you in the Command Centre? Besides, you see anyone laughing?” Jazz walked over and put a hand on the minivan’s shoulder. “Ratchet, if it bothers you this much, it’s not stupid and there are people who will help. Perceptor, once you stop scaring him. Slipstone, who you keep telling me is becoming a topnotch medic. Sadie and Gwen too.”
“Wait a minute, didn’t I see Gwen in the Command Centre? And the Twins, where are they now? Oh no, please don’t tell me… she’s not… she didn’t…” Ratchet shuddered. “Nexus, this is Gwen. She did, didn’t she Andre?”
Andre couldn’t help but chuckle. “Bluestreak told us what glinks are. Didn’t stop her from petting them and hugging them like plushies and taking them home to give them motor oil. She’s probably got them playing fetch with Rags’ toys by now.”
Ratchet’s look of utter horror was something he’d never forget.
“Sounds like Gwen,” Sadie chuckled. “She’s probably enjoying them being smaller than her for a change, like when Smallfoot shrunk Sideswipe down to Andrea’s size.”
“But…” Ratchet shuddered. “Is there nobody with her? Glinks have a nasty bite.”
“You actually think Sideswipe would hurt her? Or let anyone hurt her?”
Ratchet squirmed. “Well no, but...”
“Look at it this way Ratchet,” Sadie smiled mischievously. “She’s never going to let them live down being turned into the lowest of bugs. It’s going to be quite the blow to their overstuffed egos when they finally get changed back.”
Ratchet blinked and thought that over. Then he finally smiled. “You’re right. So, I guess I should scare up Perceptor and Slipstone and start figuring out how to get them turned back.”
“Already handled,” Jazz smirked and winked.
“You know something we don’t, Jazz?” Andre asked.
“Remember you told me to comm Aegis. Which I did and then connected a private chat between him and Steelshot. Steelshot has calmed down and agreed to change them back anytime.” Jazz’s smirk just kept getting wider.
Andre lifted an eyebrow at Jazz. The mech was holding something back. “So are we off to collect the Twins and take them to Steelshot?” he asked.
“Nope. Aegis, Steelshot and Prowl all agreed with Sadie’s assessment of their egos, so it was decided to leave them that way until Gwen tires of them or until the end of Steelshot’s visit, whichever comes first.” Jazz chuckled.
“What aren’t you telling us, Jazz?” Ratchet stood and looked into the Communicator’s optics, arms crossed. It seemed he had recovered from his fright.
“After Andre told me where the Twins were stashed, I sent Whisper over to give Gwen a hand and keep an optic on things. I didn’t get a chance to mention it earlier, Ratchet. Well, my darling Companion has been keeping me updated on the situation.”
“And?”
“And since Gwen’s less than pleased with her mate, she’s using them all to stage a special surprise for when he gets home.” Jazz couldn’t hold back any longer and outright laughed.
Andre shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. “Well Ratchet, it seems you’ll soon have company for your glink therapy. Sadie, keep your calendar open. See you all later, I’ve got to get moving. Jazz, tell Whisper to let Gwen know I’ll be right up?
“Huh? You got a date or something? I thought that kind of thing was taboo amongst your kind?” Jazz blinked in surprise.
“Hell no. I’m just going to grab a beer and get a front row seat for whatever Gwen’s got planned. The return of the Jets couldn’t top this.”
oOoOoOoOo
I just had to put a plug in the end about the Winnipeg Jets. Woohoo! We finally got our NHL team back! Also kudos to Starhorse for the “Ratchet being afraid of snakes” bit. My Ratchet is afraid of more than just snakes but the original idea came from her.
Glinks were invented before I saw this pic but when I saw it I was “Hey, that’s what they look like!”
It's a glink!
Author: Tiamat1972
Characters/Pairing: Ratchet, Jazz, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Gwen Killem (OC), Corey (OC), Andre Viton (OC), Sadie Arafel (OC) and a whole bunch of other canon and OC characters mentioned or in minor roles.
Rating: General
Warnings: None
Words: 3035
Summary: The most unexpected people can be afraid of the strangest things…
Notes: Standard disclaimers apply. No time for beta this time. I’ll fix my errors later. Used ten words from the list and those are bolded purple. :D
“Thanks for giving me a lift to Corey’s check up. With those pirates in town and Brad at his sister’s all the time lately…” Gwen sighed as she pulled her infant son out of the baby seat. She snagged the diaper bag from the floor and stepped back.
Andre quickly removed the baby seat from the back seat of his car and placed it on the shelf. “It was no trouble Gwen, anytime. We’ll do something about getting you your driver’s license when things settle down a bit and Corey is a bit bigger.”
“He’s bigger now. Weighs a ton, doncha sweet pea?” Gwen cuddled the sleeping infant closer, pressing a kiss to his cherry locks.
“Want me to take him for a bit?” Andre had to offer, though he knew what her answer would be.
“I’m good. Carrying him means more cuddle time.”
He smiled. Exactly what he expected. He did manage to snag the diaper bag from her as they headed towards the elevators.
Pushing the call button, Andre decided to ask something that had been bugging him. “So why is Brad always over at his sister’s place?” He didn’t add what he thought, that a man should take better care of his family. At least he had taken his daughter with along him this time.
Gwen snorted in disgust and hugged her son possessively. “Her husband is an idiot and keeps screwing up the computer she uses for her school work.”
The elevator arrived, chiming softly and they both stepped in. Andre cocked his head thoughtfully. “Her husband should be happy he’s not married to you. That was quite a creative suggestion you had about the zamboni and the ice picks.”
“Creative, Andre? Brad thinks I’ve been hanging out with Ratchet too long.” Gwen smirked evilly. Brad may have forgotten about this side of Gwen but it took an effort for Andre not to check her head for horns.
He opened his mouth to reply but whatever the police representative was going to say in reply was lost when the elevator doors opened, drowned out by squealing tires and roaring engines.
A bright green muscle car zipped by shrieking, followed by a yelling red pickup. They zipped around a corner and were gone before the humans could leave the elevator.
Gwen wrapped the blanket more securely around Corey, hoping to try to muffle the noise a bit. “What the heck is going on?”
“Let’s find out.”
oOoOoOoOo
If the scene when they reached the Command Centre wasn’t complete pandemonium, it was near enough that the distinction was irrelevant.
Mechs were running back and forth, optics on the floor, hands outstretched as they mad grabs for something as yet unseen. Their pirate guest, Steelshot, stood nearby, cradling his dragon-like companion, trying to sooth her.
But Ratchet was the one that really drew their attention. He stood trembling on the projection table, optics following something on the floor. Jazz stood beside him, unsuccessfully trying to coax the medic down.
“Come on Ratch. Calm down and help them! They are depending on you!” Jazz made a grab for Ratchet’s hand.
Ratchet wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t touch me! Get that pirate fragger to undo what he did, wave a magic wand or something! I don’t care; just keep those things away from me! Aaaaaaah!” the white medic squealed.
Andre and Gwen moved their gaze downward. There, near Jazz’s feet were two small mechanical things, bouncing up and down frantically.
This apparently was too much for the medic, who leaped from his table perch and dashed out the open door past the startled humans. Jazz followed a moment later with a “Fraggit Ratch! Sorry guys, he’s terrified of creepy crawlies. Later!”
Corey woke and started to cry, frightened by the commotion. Gwen started to try to calm him, turning to head out the door herself. She was blocked by the mechanical things.
They were the oddest looking things, kind of like a six-legged octopus or spider with antenna on the domes he was assuming was their head. They were small too, smaller than any other mechamorph they had previously seen, only coming up to Gwen’s knees when they stood still for a moment. They were also painted disturbingly familiar colours: bright red and sunshine yellow.
The things bounced and beeped and chattered around Gwen’s legs, keeping her from leaving the room and making sure she stayed between them and the Exiles now looming over them.
Andre shifted his gaze up to the hovering mechs and took a deep breath. “Okay guys, in the words of a certain retreating medic, what the frag is going on and what the frag are those things?”
“It’s that fragging pirate’s fault! He changed them! Where the frag did he go anyways! We got to stop him!” Static, the white and gold pickup yelled, making a move to run out of the room himself but was stopped by Bluestreak’s hand on his shoulder.
“Static! Calm down! You are scaring Corey! All of you settle down!” Gwen snapped, glaring up at the mechs. When they fell into an embarrassed silence, Gwen took a deep breath and turned to calming her crying infant. The things crowded her legs but since they had quieted as well, they were ignored.
Andre sighed and looked up at the remaining mechs. Static, Slipstone, Tailgate and Bluestreak. Steelshot seemed to have slipped out in the commotion. This would not do.
“Bluestreak, isn’t Steelshot supposed to be escorted while he’s here?” Andre turned to the eldest of the present mechs.
“He is. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were doing that. Aegis assigned me to teach the kids some stuff and then everything went to the Pit.” Bluestreak replied.
“Where did the Twins go?” Andre had a sinking feeling. It wasn’t like the Twins to ditch an assignment. He spared a glance at the things huddled at Gwen’s feet.
“I don’t know what happened exactly but Steelshot’s pet squawked, he yelled at Sunstreaker, both Twins yelped, then we had two glinks running around.” Bluestreak flexed his door wings, a sign of extreme irritation. “If you ask me, they had it coming.”
“Let me get this straight. Those things are called glinks and they used to be Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?” All four of the mechs nodded.
“And Steelshot is responsible for this… transformation?” They nodded again.
“Where are Aegis and Prowl?” A round of shrugs instead of nods. Andre felt another sinking feeling. He briefly hoped it was the last and wouldn’t be called back for another encore before turning back to the matter at hand. Why was it that whenever Jazz was left in charge things always went so badly wrong?
“Poor Sides and Sunny,” Gwen crooned from the side. Andre turned back to her to find her sitting on the floor, baby in her lap, petting the two things… er… glinks.
“Gwen! What are you doing? Don’t you know what those things are?” Bluestreak twitched in horror. His fingers flexed and he appeared to be one millimeter from snatching her and Corey up from the floor.
“Of course I do. They are Sideswipe and Sunstreaker,” She put her arms around them and hugged them, as she would a couple of dogs.
“Glinks are kind of like cockroaches or rats,” Bluestreak shuddered in disgust.
“And these ones are the Twins. They won’t hurt me, Blue. You know that. Come on you two, let’s go pour you some bowls of motor oil or something while Andre gets things sorted out.” She braced herself on the red glink while levering herself and Corey off the floor. All the mechs shuddered and stepped back.
“You’re just leaving me with this?” Andre stared in surprise at his fellow Guide. Gwen usually didn’t hesitate to jump in and take charge.
“Maternity leave, remember? Can’t let it get around that I’m ‘working’ while I’m supposed to be taking a ‘vacation’. Remind me to get John to babysit once, after I feed Andrea up with a couple pounds of chocolate.” She grinned at him, eyes sparkling. “Besides, this is easy.” She waved towards the four mechs. “It’s dealing with the panicky medic that’s going to be the challenge. But I trust your police training for calming situations down. Have fun!” She winked at him and left, primary colored glinks following behind.
Andre stared after her, for once agreeing with John, their contrary commander. Underneath that sweet smile, Gwen was an evil, evil woman.
oOoOoOoOo
For someone with no formal training in leadership or handling people, Gwen had certainly pegged this mess bang on.
After she left, Andre sent Bluestreak with Static to locate their guest and watch him. He had, thankfully, only gone as far as the suite he was assigned during his stay. Slipstone and Tailgate went to check on their sister mechs. Smallfoot was fine; she had only raced out to keep an optic on the panicking Rally. Which was a strange because Rally didn’t do panic but hey, he knew cops that didn’t flinch under fire but freaked out at a tiny spider on their desk.
So now he stood outside the locked door to Ratchet and Perceptor’s room and gave a rather embarrassed Jazz what Lucy liked to call, his Cop Look.
Jazz shuffled his feet, rubbed the back of his neck and tried to find someplace to look other than the six foot human. “I swear, it wasn’t my fault.”
“It never is Jazz, but part of being in charge is the ability to keep things from going completely to pieces when hell breaks loose.” Andre pinched the bridge of his nose. “Now let’s get Ratchet dealt with. What is his problem anyways?”
“I’m not really sure. I’ve known him a long time and know he’s never been a fan of crawly things but never seen him like this before.’”
“What happened exactly,” Andre pressed.
“Bluestreak brought the kids in with a question. Steelshot came in with the Twins escorting him. Something was said between Steelshot and Sunstreaker. Sola squawked and-“ Jazz started to explain.
“Hold on a second. Who’s Sola?” Andre interrupted.
“Sola is short for Solataire, Steelshot’s little Companion.” Trust Jazz to know that detail. Andre motioned for him to continue.
“Well Sola squawked because Sunstreaker had grabbed her. I turned just in time to see her in his hands before the zap and bang, we had two glinks instead of Twins. Steelshot grabbed Sola, murmuring to her about not a good idea to turn the tables on them and then Ratchet noticed what was going on. Dude, I swear, I never knew he could move that fast or jump that high and far. He leaped from behind me, practically across the room to the table and yelled for somebody to get rid of those things. You and Gwen came in a couple moments later. I chased him down here and been trying to calm him down ever since.” The normally calm and unflappable Communicator looked frustrated. Andre couldn’t blame him.
“Okay, plan of action. Comm Aegis, update him and see if he knows what’s wrong with Ratchet. Then get Sadie and Perceptor down here on the double.” Andre rubbed his forehead. He was getting a headache.
“Gotcha. What about Gwen?”
“Gwen is on maternity leave, so don’t bug her. Besides, she’s taking care of the Twins.”
“I still don’t get that maternity leave thing but probably better if the Twins stayed away from Ratchet for now.” Jazz put a hand to his helm, a sign he was speaking on the comm. It was something that he didn’t need to do; carrying on multiple conversations simultaneously was as natural to Jazz as breathing was to a human. He did it as a courtesy for the humans.
Andre glanced back at the door as he waited, feeling another twinge in his head. “Hey Jazz? Ask Sadie to bring some Rolaids and Tylenol with her. This place is giving me an ulcer and a migraine.”
oOoOoOoOo
By the time Perceptor brought Sadie down and opened up the door to the suite he shared with Ratchet, the white medic had calmed down considerably. A good thing too, since the red scientist left after giving Jazz the code. Something about having to work closely with Ratchet and the line of fire.
“Okay Ratchet. I’ve heard from a few people now on what happened in the Command Centre. I don’t need you to go over that with me. I need you to tell me what’s going on with you.”
“I don’t know what came over me. I know, logically that it was just the Twins but as soon as I saw the glinks…” he shuddered. “Could never stand those things or anything like them.”
“This at all related to how you feel about snakes, Ratchet? Or spiders or any other Earth bug?” Sadie inquired.
“Don’t even go there Sadie,” Ratchet growled. The glare he leveled at the nurse would have frightened away hardened warriors.
She merely gazed back at him calmly. “Ratchet, if it was one of your patients acting like this, you’d browbeat them for being in denial. Physician, time to heal yourself. And the first step is admitting there is a problem.”
Ratchet continued to glare but it quickly became apparent that it was an act to cover his embarrassment.
Finally, realizing he was fooling no one, he ducked his head.
Sadie walked over to him and patted his leg. “It’s alright Ratchet. We all have our vulnerabilities. You’ve helped most of us through our own; been the shoulder to lean on and the rock to support us. Let us help you now.”
“Those were legitimate traumas, Sadie. This… this is just stupid. Therapy won’t help this. It’s code deep.” Ratchet raised his head and glared at Jazz. “If this gets around, Jazz…”
“If it gets around Ratch, it’s not me. How many people saw you in the Command Centre? Besides, you see anyone laughing?” Jazz walked over and put a hand on the minivan’s shoulder. “Ratchet, if it bothers you this much, it’s not stupid and there are people who will help. Perceptor, once you stop scaring him. Slipstone, who you keep telling me is becoming a topnotch medic. Sadie and Gwen too.”
“Wait a minute, didn’t I see Gwen in the Command Centre? And the Twins, where are they now? Oh no, please don’t tell me… she’s not… she didn’t…” Ratchet shuddered. “Nexus, this is Gwen. She did, didn’t she Andre?”
Andre couldn’t help but chuckle. “Bluestreak told us what glinks are. Didn’t stop her from petting them and hugging them like plushies and taking them home to give them motor oil. She’s probably got them playing fetch with Rags’ toys by now.”
Ratchet’s look of utter horror was something he’d never forget.
“Sounds like Gwen,” Sadie chuckled. “She’s probably enjoying them being smaller than her for a change, like when Smallfoot shrunk Sideswipe down to Andrea’s size.”
“But…” Ratchet shuddered. “Is there nobody with her? Glinks have a nasty bite.”
“You actually think Sideswipe would hurt her? Or let anyone hurt her?”
Ratchet squirmed. “Well no, but...”
“Look at it this way Ratchet,” Sadie smiled mischievously. “She’s never going to let them live down being turned into the lowest of bugs. It’s going to be quite the blow to their overstuffed egos when they finally get changed back.”
Ratchet blinked and thought that over. Then he finally smiled. “You’re right. So, I guess I should scare up Perceptor and Slipstone and start figuring out how to get them turned back.”
“Already handled,” Jazz smirked and winked.
“You know something we don’t, Jazz?” Andre asked.
“Remember you told me to comm Aegis. Which I did and then connected a private chat between him and Steelshot. Steelshot has calmed down and agreed to change them back anytime.” Jazz’s smirk just kept getting wider.
Andre lifted an eyebrow at Jazz. The mech was holding something back. “So are we off to collect the Twins and take them to Steelshot?” he asked.
“Nope. Aegis, Steelshot and Prowl all agreed with Sadie’s assessment of their egos, so it was decided to leave them that way until Gwen tires of them or until the end of Steelshot’s visit, whichever comes first.” Jazz chuckled.
“What aren’t you telling us, Jazz?” Ratchet stood and looked into the Communicator’s optics, arms crossed. It seemed he had recovered from his fright.
“After Andre told me where the Twins were stashed, I sent Whisper over to give Gwen a hand and keep an optic on things. I didn’t get a chance to mention it earlier, Ratchet. Well, my darling Companion has been keeping me updated on the situation.”
“And?”
“And since Gwen’s less than pleased with her mate, she’s using them all to stage a special surprise for when he gets home.” Jazz couldn’t hold back any longer and outright laughed.
Andre shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. “Well Ratchet, it seems you’ll soon have company for your glink therapy. Sadie, keep your calendar open. See you all later, I’ve got to get moving. Jazz, tell Whisper to let Gwen know I’ll be right up?
“Huh? You got a date or something? I thought that kind of thing was taboo amongst your kind?” Jazz blinked in surprise.
“Hell no. I’m just going to grab a beer and get a front row seat for whatever Gwen’s got planned. The return of the Jets couldn’t top this.”
oOoOoOoOo
I just had to put a plug in the end about the Winnipeg Jets. Woohoo! We finally got our NHL team back! Also kudos to Starhorse for the “Ratchet being afraid of snakes” bit. My Ratchet is afraid of more than just snakes but the original idea came from her.
Glinks were invented before I saw this pic but when I saw it I was “Hey, that’s what they look like!”
It's a glink!