Nexus. Near the sign. Innocence with the face of death.
Recon was bored. Bored, bored.
It was an interesting experience, and one she'd liked to have shared, but Hayden was busy writing a test, and all the other Autobots were off doing whatever. She strongly suspected from Jazz's guilty response that he'd found his own less than approvable solution to boredom.
Frowning to herself thoughtfully, the candy apple red femme activated her holoform, which was still wearing her Wonderwoman costume from a couple months before. Noticing this, she considered changing back to the civilian persona, but then shrugged and reached into her glove compartment for that little gadget she and Hayden had gotten the day she drove him cross country to school. Fiddling with buttons and reading the screen occupied a few moments, and then she decided to actually go and see some of these other places. It's not like anyone was going to come look inside the little metal pipe and tarp temporary garage that Hayden had bought her for Christmas.
Thought became action, and there was a small flash of light and a swish of displaced air. Recon looked around with interest at what looked like some sort of bustling city made up of different forms of architecture and roofed over with something that didn't quite look like a sky.
And which also had whales flying through it.
Recon's holoform stared up at these for a moment, but then her sensors detected the sound of something very small in distress and she turned her head toward... the most horrifically gaudy sign she'd ever seen in her very long life.
"Ugh." She opened her door and moved the holoform out of it, forgetting for the moment what she was wearing. "Se only 'qvuestion' I can think of is how drunk se person who built sat thing vas vhen sey did it. Hello? Are you in need of assistance? Uh... vhat?"
She'd been moving as she spoke, but upon seeing the source of the sad little cries her holoform stopped short with surprise and stared at the tiny white, red, and blue robot. Or more specifically, she stared at the red faces on the little wings that stood proudly up behind his shoulders.
The little bot looked up, his purple optics wide and his small dark grey face awash with oily tears.
"I'm lost!" he cried, his voice shrill and very unhappy. "And the PINpoints won't bring me home. Eclipse is going to be sad."
"Vait. Vait." Recon went to one knee. "How did you get lost? And who's Eclipse?"
"Eclipse is my bond sister." The tiny one wibbled, still hugging a PINpoint to his chest. "And I'm Starscream. ...I don't know how I got lost, though! I was just helping Wheeljack and Perceptor build something with Eclipse, and I went to get something for them. But instead of going to the closet, the door went here, and then it disappeared!"
Recon recoiled slightly, her vehicle lights flashing, as she heard the small one's name. But then she paused and frowned as she considered just how little he was, and how much like a human child he was acting. Did Cybertronians have babies in some realities? She didn't know, but she could feel her programming urging her to help the little being
"Eclipse is going to be sad," he was repeating softly and mournfully. "And Prowl will be worried."
"Here." Recon scooped him up gently into her holoform's arms and rubbed his back, carefully avoiding his wings and bracing her feet against his weight. "Don't cry. My name's Recon, and I'm an Autobot too."
Starscream leaned back a little to look at her face, his browplates drawing together in a frown. "You're an Autobot? But you look like Wonder Woman!"
"Zis is my holoform... vait. You know who Vonder Voman is?"
The little bot nodded, rubbing one optic with a fist. "She's the lady in the show Eclipse and I were watching with Jazz. She helps people like the Autobots do."
"Vas the show a cartoon?"
"No. Linda Carter plays Wonder Woman in it. I like it better than the cartoons. Having someone playing Wonder Woman makes it easier to make believe she's real." Starscream's face lit as he spoke. But then he looked at the PINpoint he held and his chin trembled. "I don't like scaring Eclipse and Prowl."
Recon surprised herself by making a soft, soothing clicking sound. "Prowl? Is he a friend? Or is he another bond sibling?" She knew who he was in her own reality; a trusted second that rumor said had been left on Cybertron by Optimus Prime to oversee the Autobots still there.
"No. He's my mentor," shrilled Starscream softly. "My adopted daddy."
"Your adopted daddy?" repeated Recon, startled. "How did sat happen?"
"I don't know. I think the Aerialbots were supposed to take care of me." Starscream's body was shaking with exhaustion, and Recon's scans told her how run down and depleted the little bot's systems were, and how much stress he was under from being unable to go back to his family. It was a strange thing to witness. She'd heard rumors of Starscream being a high strung glitch at times, but she'd never imagined an alternate of him being able to work himself up to a perfect frenzy of grief at being separated from his loved ones.
"Shhh," she told him. "I'll help you find your vay home."
"Really?" His big optics got even larger.
"Of course. Sat's vhat Vonder Voman does, right?" She made the hard light image smile.
Starscream gave a little squirm. "It is! But... these PINpoints won't work. I tried all of them."
"All fifteen of sem?"
He nodded. "All of them."
"Hmm. Let me try mine." Recon set him down and fiddled to get the coordinates, then gave him the device and pressed the button. An inadvertent click of disgust escaped her as nothing happened, but then she looked up as she became aware of another energy signature appearing behind her.
"Starscream?" called a mild male voice, its tenor tone distorted slightly by concern.
"PROWL!" The little Seeker shot into the air and then flew into his mentor with enough force to send the black and white mech tip over teakettle. "I was so scared! Is Eclipse okay? What happened to our project? Did Eclipse cry? Can we go home? Was Eclipse scared?"
"Shhhh." Prowl propped himself up slightly, his mouth twitching into a smile of relief as he held the sparklet close. And then he tipped his head back as Recon unfolded, showing no surprise at her bayformer different tech. "Hello."
"Hello." The red femme hunkered beside him, curiously taking in his build. "So you're Starscream's adopted daddy."
"I am," acknowledged Prowl quietly.
"She helped me," said Starscream, snuggling and clinging as only a little Seeker can cling. "Her holoform looks like Wonder Woman, 'n she was trying to help me get unlost, just like Wonder Woman would."
"Really?" His mentor's smile widened a little, and then Prowl tipped his head to Recon, the light of the sign winking off his chevron. "Then I need to thank you."
"I couldn't leave him sere," said Recon uncomfortably.
"Many people would have." 'And probably did,' the unspoken words hung in the air as the Autobot second gently smoothed his charge's helm.
"'Cause I'm Starscream," said the sparklet groggily, his systems tugging him into recharge now that he was with someone familiar.
That had Recon's lip components thinning, but all she said was, "Vill you be able to get back?"
"Yes. Wheeljack and Perceptor finally thought to turn off their invention. Everyone can teleport again if they need to." Prowl lifted himself to his feet. "And I better get him back. Even with a sedation tab Eclipse is in danger of blowing some circuits in her anxiety."
Recon winced and nodded, though her processor was full of questions. "Maybe I'll see you again."
"Maybe." Prowl nodded, then pressed the button on his own PINpoint and took himself and his ward home.
Recon frowned as she realized that they'd taken her PINpoint as well, but then she helped herself to one from the bowl that Starscream had been sitting beside when she found him, programmed it, and went home herself to think. She could say one thing for certain about the random encounter. She wasn't bored now.
((Continued here))
It was an interesting experience, and one she'd liked to have shared, but Hayden was busy writing a test, and all the other Autobots were off doing whatever. She strongly suspected from Jazz's guilty response that he'd found his own less than approvable solution to boredom.
Frowning to herself thoughtfully, the candy apple red femme activated her holoform, which was still wearing her Wonderwoman costume from a couple months before. Noticing this, she considered changing back to the civilian persona, but then shrugged and reached into her glove compartment for that little gadget she and Hayden had gotten the day she drove him cross country to school. Fiddling with buttons and reading the screen occupied a few moments, and then she decided to actually go and see some of these other places. It's not like anyone was going to come look inside the little metal pipe and tarp temporary garage that Hayden had bought her for Christmas.
Thought became action, and there was a small flash of light and a swish of displaced air. Recon looked around with interest at what looked like some sort of bustling city made up of different forms of architecture and roofed over with something that didn't quite look like a sky.
And which also had whales flying through it.
Recon's holoform stared up at these for a moment, but then her sensors detected the sound of something very small in distress and she turned her head toward... the most horrifically gaudy sign she'd ever seen in her very long life.
"Ugh." She opened her door and moved the holoform out of it, forgetting for the moment what she was wearing. "Se only 'qvuestion' I can think of is how drunk se person who built sat thing vas vhen sey did it. Hello? Are you in need of assistance? Uh... vhat?"
She'd been moving as she spoke, but upon seeing the source of the sad little cries her holoform stopped short with surprise and stared at the tiny white, red, and blue robot. Or more specifically, she stared at the red faces on the little wings that stood proudly up behind his shoulders.
The little bot looked up, his purple optics wide and his small dark grey face awash with oily tears.
"I'm lost!" he cried, his voice shrill and very unhappy. "And the PINpoints won't bring me home. Eclipse is going to be sad."
"Vait. Vait." Recon went to one knee. "How did you get lost? And who's Eclipse?"
"Eclipse is my bond sister." The tiny one wibbled, still hugging a PINpoint to his chest. "And I'm Starscream. ...I don't know how I got lost, though! I was just helping Wheeljack and Perceptor build something with Eclipse, and I went to get something for them. But instead of going to the closet, the door went here, and then it disappeared!"
Recon recoiled slightly, her vehicle lights flashing, as she heard the small one's name. But then she paused and frowned as she considered just how little he was, and how much like a human child he was acting. Did Cybertronians have babies in some realities? She didn't know, but she could feel her programming urging her to help the little being
"Eclipse is going to be sad," he was repeating softly and mournfully. "And Prowl will be worried."
"Here." Recon scooped him up gently into her holoform's arms and rubbed his back, carefully avoiding his wings and bracing her feet against his weight. "Don't cry. My name's Recon, and I'm an Autobot too."
Starscream leaned back a little to look at her face, his browplates drawing together in a frown. "You're an Autobot? But you look like Wonder Woman!"
"Zis is my holoform... vait. You know who Vonder Voman is?"
The little bot nodded, rubbing one optic with a fist. "She's the lady in the show Eclipse and I were watching with Jazz. She helps people like the Autobots do."
"Vas the show a cartoon?"
"No. Linda Carter plays Wonder Woman in it. I like it better than the cartoons. Having someone playing Wonder Woman makes it easier to make believe she's real." Starscream's face lit as he spoke. But then he looked at the PINpoint he held and his chin trembled. "I don't like scaring Eclipse and Prowl."
Recon surprised herself by making a soft, soothing clicking sound. "Prowl? Is he a friend? Or is he another bond sibling?" She knew who he was in her own reality; a trusted second that rumor said had been left on Cybertron by Optimus Prime to oversee the Autobots still there.
"No. He's my mentor," shrilled Starscream softly. "My adopted daddy."
"Your adopted daddy?" repeated Recon, startled. "How did sat happen?"
"I don't know. I think the Aerialbots were supposed to take care of me." Starscream's body was shaking with exhaustion, and Recon's scans told her how run down and depleted the little bot's systems were, and how much stress he was under from being unable to go back to his family. It was a strange thing to witness. She'd heard rumors of Starscream being a high strung glitch at times, but she'd never imagined an alternate of him being able to work himself up to a perfect frenzy of grief at being separated from his loved ones.
"Shhh," she told him. "I'll help you find your vay home."
"Really?" His big optics got even larger.
"Of course. Sat's vhat Vonder Voman does, right?" She made the hard light image smile.
Starscream gave a little squirm. "It is! But... these PINpoints won't work. I tried all of them."
"All fifteen of sem?"
He nodded. "All of them."
"Hmm. Let me try mine." Recon set him down and fiddled to get the coordinates, then gave him the device and pressed the button. An inadvertent click of disgust escaped her as nothing happened, but then she looked up as she became aware of another energy signature appearing behind her.
"Starscream?" called a mild male voice, its tenor tone distorted slightly by concern.
"PROWL!" The little Seeker shot into the air and then flew into his mentor with enough force to send the black and white mech tip over teakettle. "I was so scared! Is Eclipse okay? What happened to our project? Did Eclipse cry? Can we go home? Was Eclipse scared?"
"Shhhh." Prowl propped himself up slightly, his mouth twitching into a smile of relief as he held the sparklet close. And then he tipped his head back as Recon unfolded, showing no surprise at her bayformer different tech. "Hello."
"Hello." The red femme hunkered beside him, curiously taking in his build. "So you're Starscream's adopted daddy."
"I am," acknowledged Prowl quietly.
"She helped me," said Starscream, snuggling and clinging as only a little Seeker can cling. "Her holoform looks like Wonder Woman, 'n she was trying to help me get unlost, just like Wonder Woman would."
"Really?" His mentor's smile widened a little, and then Prowl tipped his head to Recon, the light of the sign winking off his chevron. "Then I need to thank you."
"I couldn't leave him sere," said Recon uncomfortably.
"Many people would have." 'And probably did,' the unspoken words hung in the air as the Autobot second gently smoothed his charge's helm.
"'Cause I'm Starscream," said the sparklet groggily, his systems tugging him into recharge now that he was with someone familiar.
That had Recon's lip components thinning, but all she said was, "Vill you be able to get back?"
"Yes. Wheeljack and Perceptor finally thought to turn off their invention. Everyone can teleport again if they need to." Prowl lifted himself to his feet. "And I better get him back. Even with a sedation tab Eclipse is in danger of blowing some circuits in her anxiety."
Recon winced and nodded, though her processor was full of questions. "Maybe I'll see you again."
"Maybe." Prowl nodded, then pressed the button on his own PINpoint and took himself and his ward home.
Recon frowned as she realized that they'd taken her PINpoint as well, but then she helped herself to one from the bowl that Starscream had been sitting beside when she found him, programmed it, and went home herself to think. She could say one thing for certain about the random encounter. She wasn't bored now.
((Continued here))