Author's Notes: This is a follow up to "Are You Lost, Little Boy?" and only came about because while I was at work a few days ago (the same pool I described in the last story), two jets circled around a couple of times. Of course, nerd that I am, my first thought was, "Seekers!" And then I had to go back to stopping people killing themselves on the diving platforms. So...enjoy!
Search and Inquire
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Thundercracker usually enjoyed reconnaissance missions, particularly when he was paired with his wing mate Skywarp. The fact that they were investigating a rather unorthodox sighting of Autobots was unusual, as opposed to scouting for new potential energon sites. They flew in silence, and Thundercracker was absorbed in his thoughts as to why that wretched Minibot would be caught all the way out here, more than half the continent away from the Ark and the soon-to-be completed Autobot City. Clearly, it was a matter of stealth and interactions with the humans, if Bumblebee was, indeed, the one out here.
However, as the jets actually passed over the major city (an interesting phenomenon from a design standpoint, situated on a point as it was) and continued to the suburb, the blue flier couldn't help but wonder what in the world had called the Minibot all the way out here. His thoughts were interrupted by his wing mate's voice over the comm.
"We almost there, TC?" Of course, it figured that Skywarp had been distracted during their (admittedly brief) briefing. Sending his scanners out, though, Thundercracker found that they had, indeed, almost passed the site.
"Yeah. It's supposed to be right around here somewhere," he radioed back. Below them was a busy highway which connected to a large shopping area, and what looked like a park sat just off the highway, near a building complex. The scanners also showed a human airport not far off, and Thundercracker dropped altitude accordingly, Skywarp following his lead. No need to crash into those floating tubs the humans considered passenger vehicles.
The pair began low, circling sweeps of the area. Thundercracker's thoughts were once again interrupted by his partner. "Hey, TC, what's that down there?" The blue jet found his attention directed towards a large, cleared area on the edge of the park, what looked to be two swimming pools, and it was densely populated.
"I don't know, 'Warp, but there sure are a lot of squishies, aren't there?" Curious, the two jets circled past the pools several times, flying low and drawing a number of stares from the humans below them. An unseen signal passed between the two, and they suddenly landed and transformed on the far side of the smaller pool in a smallish clearing.
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Ivy sighed in relief, climbing out of the Dive Pool to get ready for her sit. After the highly unnerving incident the other day with the transforming car, all she really wanted was a nice, relaxing day of stopping people from breaking their necks on the diving platforms. Mike had been kind enough, after that day, to keep her over in the Dive Pool.
She grabbed her towel, whistle, and sunglasses and relieved Eric of his post, settling herself into the chair with the ease of familiarity. She hadn't however, even had time to ask the first patron the usual slew of questions as he ascended the tower before two jets roared overhead. Ivy stared at them in confusion, wonder, and curiosity; while planes regularly passed over the Wave Pool, jets usually only showed up the weekend of the Air Show, and that certainly wasn't any time soon. As the jets made their second pass, Ivy also noted that they were incredibly low; she could make out some of the detail painting and, while not an aircraft connoisseur, it certainly didn't look like anything familiar.
The patron had jumped off the 7.5 meter platform by the time the jets made their third and final pass, which ended in with a landing in the mall clearing behind Dive Pool, directly in Ivy's field of vision. When the planes decided to turn in to robots - bigger than that other one, her brain noted absently - she did the only thing she could think of: she blew three whistles to summon Mike and cleared Dive Pool.
"Everyone needs to exit Dive Pool immediately. Do not approach the robots. Exit Dive Pool and get on the other side of the white benches. Now, please!" Setting down the microphone, Ivy hopped down from her chair to usher patrons outside of the gate, glad that Ryan and Nick had been spending their break in the area. She kept glancing up at the robots, absently noting the purple symbol on their wings - different from the other robot - as well as their slightly menacing postures. However, neither mech made any threatening movements towards the humans until the area was cleared and a number of rookies were working crowd control.
Mike approached Ivy, and the two watched the mechs resting on the far side of the Dive Pool from them. "Think this has something to do with the other day?" he asked her in a soft voice, and Ivy nodded. She took a deep breath and, with a nod from Mike, made her way around the pool to the fence on the other side, keeping the barrier between her and the robots.
"Um, excuse me?" she called to them, feeling somewhat exposed in her two-piece guard suit but unable to do anything about it at that point. The feeling of exposure increased as the giants turned their full attention on her. "My name's Ivy, I'm one of the lifeguards out here. Can I help you with anything?"
The purple and black one crouched down, as if to get a better look at her, and its glowing red eyes peered at her. It did not, however, address her. "Hey, TC," it said aloud, "isn't this one kind of short for a squishy?" Its blue companion seemed to...sigh?
"'Warp, remember that thing we watched last week? Organics have to grow, so she's probably not full-grown yet. Not," the blue one noted, "that most squishies get much bigger."
Ivy couldn't help it. Her small size had long been a sticking point, especially in a job where she might have to rescue someone three or four times her size. Taking a calming breath, she replied to the robots. "I am fully grown, thanks." Her eyes narrowed at them, conveying her irritation at being spoken of like an object.
In front of her, the purple one's red eyes brightened, and a smile appeared on its face. "Oooh, TC, it's got some spunk!" 'Warp turned to its partner, and Ivy would have sworn that a slightly pleading look came over its face. "Can we take it home with us? I mean, just imagine Screamer's face!" The blue mech, TC, released a long-suffering sigh, and Ivy was reminded of her own sisters.
"'Warp, you know we can't do that. We're to investigate that fragging Minibot and then get back. Besides, I don't think she would like that very much," it said, indicating the diminutive lifeguard. 'Warp's face fell, and TC sighed again. "Fine, how about we see if Screamer's up for a game of Storm Tag when we get back, okay?"
"You're the best, TC!" Purple and back launched itself at blue, and the two crashed back into the trees. The sound of splintering wood and two large, mechanical bodies hitting the ground made Ivy wince and cover her ears. Of course, TC's yelp of surprise and subsequent orders to get off did nothing to help the volume level.
"Skywarp! Get off! I swear to Primus I'll never help you prank Screamer again if you don't!"
Ivy sighed. It was exactly like dealing with her sisters.
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TBC? I might not be able to drag any more out of this, but there's something about the interaction of Skywarp and Thundercracker that just cracks me up here. And yes, they do remind me of my sisters. That's probably not a good thing, all told.