Prompt: Raphael walks into a bar and meets... Bumblebee!
Authors Notes: There are no real spoilers here, nothing to really ruin. Since it wasn't specified I am using the Movie Version of Bumblebee and Raphael is a mix of Comic and Movie verse, if only for the reason that you technically have to be 21 to drink in the US. Also there is a bit of Holo!Bee, but only for convenience, I HATE using the holograms but I am having a hard time figuring out how Bumblebee would fit into a NYC bar (anyone that has been in NYC knows what I mean). Duff's is an actual bar in NYC.
If there is interest I might continue this.
The cold wind blew trash down the darkened street as a figure dressed in a heavy trench coat stepped up to the lighted doorway. Neon lights advertising various spirits adorned the windows as loud music and the sound of people having a good time wafted out the door. This was Duff's, a bar with a lot of spirit and attitude. The booze was great and the music was even better, this was not the kind of place tourists came to take pictures. Raphael had been to this bar many times, and had never run into any issues. On nights when they had live music it was too crowded for his tastes, but tonight it seemed as if the crowds had thinned.
A flash of yellow caught his eye and he turned and found that a brightly colored vehicle was now sitting where there had been none before. This was the kind of car that got the ladies and that made other men drool. He recognized the details enough to know it was a Chevy Camaro, probably one of the newer models. He wondered about the choice of color though, bright yellow with black racing stripes. It certainly got attention with those loud colors. Raphael passed one more glance to it and wondered how he never noticed it before since no driver got out, so the guy must be in the bar already.
Raphael just shrugged and turned to head into the bar, slight movement caught his eye and he turned and looked again. The vehicle seemed closer somehow, but he didn't hear the sound of an engine and it did not appear to be rolling.
"Man I need a drink, I think that last fight messed with my head." Raphael grumped.
Without another thought towards the Camaro Raphael pushed his way into the bar. He was a regular at Duff's and was instantly recognized by the staff. None of them knew his name, nor did they ever see his face. They just knew he was the guy that liked to sit in the back, drink alone, and always paid his tab. He also happened to tip very well and was never rude with the waitresses. Rolling one shoulder to try and relieve the tension Raph headed back to his favorite booth and was a bit miffed we he saw some punk kid sitting there. He rolled his eyes as he considered either finding another dark corner or just pressing the issue.
Considering the kind of night he had already had, he should have just left well enough alone, but since he was who he was, he decided to press the issue. Walking up to the kid he placed a gloved hand on the table and lowered his head to hide his face better. He spoke to the punk kid in a deep gravely voice.
"Yer in my spot." Raph stated
The kid just turned and looked at him. Something about the brats eyes unsettled Raph on a very deep level. He had spent time around all kinds of people, from all walks of life. The great thing about being invisible is that you can study people and see them for what they really are. Something was not right here, something did not match up. The movements were forces, the rhythms were off, being a mutant he had no place to say that aliens didn't exist. This kid was not human.
"Move it or lose it brat." Raphael stated coldly.
He knew he was pushing his luck already. He didn't want to start a fight in his favorite bar and he really didn't care much about his seat, he just wanted this kid gone and as far away from him as possible. He wondered why no one else had noticed the kid, he seemed awfully out of place amongst the other patrons. The black hair with blond tips was not something that really stood out, but the kids eyes were so blue they almost seemed to glow. His clothing was a little strange as well. Raphael tilted his head and took another look at the kid.
"Awful nice car you have sitting out there. New Camaro right? Ya know, this isn't the kinda neighborhood to be leavin a car like that unguarded. You might want to think about goin somewhere safer." Raph said trying to feign helpfulness.
If the eyes were unsettling, the continued silence was just flat out unnerving. Raphael felt his anger start to rise as the kid seemed to be ignoring him. Raphael did not like to be ignored and he was ready to punch this kid in the head.
"Why don't we take this outside brat." Raph growled.
To his surprise the kid stood up, he almost, but not quite glowing eyes boring holes into Raphael. The kid nodded to the door and Raphael turned to head towards it. He glanced back to make sure the kid wasn't going to try anything funny, but he wasn't there. Raphael shuddered slightly and against his better judgment, kept heading towards the door. Some of the staff gave him strange looks, it wasn't really like him to come in and then leave again, but he did not warrant their glances as reason enough to explain.
Stepping outside a low growl built in his throat as he saw the kid leaning casually against the front fender of that damned Camaro. Raphael stalked towards the car the growl in his throat increasing. His hands were flexing as he fought the urge to strip them off and grab his Sai. He hated wearing gloves when he fought, on top of that they were still technically in public. He moved as close to the kid as he could without getting too close.
"Alright you creepy brat, what the fuck is going on here?" Raph said with ice in his voice.
Raphael was a fully trained ninja, and even he was unsure how that kid managed to get out of the building and out to his car that quickly without being seen. Raph new a lot about vanishing, and the tricks he knew never made you actually vanish, they were all just that, tricks. An unsettled feeling begin to fall over him as his skin began to tingle, he felt like ghost hands were running across his body and he did not like it one bit.
Raphael moved from being just unsettled to pretty damn near freaked the fuck out as the passenger side door to the Camaro opened. The kid had never moved, and still had not spoken, yet the door just opened. Maybe there was someone in there and he just didn't notice, the windows were pretty heavily tinted. He leaned to the side and tried to get a better look into the car, but the interior was very dark.
"You expect me to just climb on in and trust ya as if ya were my best buddy huh?" Raph asked.
The kid with the unsettling eyes just nodded slowly, still not saying a word.
"Yer outta yer goddamned mind if you think I'm going anywhere with your weird ass." Raph growled
The strange kid just gestured towards the opened door and then began moving to the driver's side. It was hard to see clearly what the kid was doing, but the driver's side door opened and he got in. The car did not move at all, not even a slight jostle as it should when someone settles themselves into the seat. Warning bells were going off in Raph's head. This was the kind of situation they made afterschool specials about. Sure he wasn't a kid, and when it came down to it, he could fight his way out of any situation. However, he was here with no back up, and about to potentially be abducted by an alien.
He knew if he went home and told his brothers about this exactly what their reactions would be. Leo would be angry that he went out drinking again, but tell him he made the right decision. Mikey would start talking and never stop. While Donnie would be angry that he didn't get into the car, for scientific purposes of course. Sometimes he had to wonder about where Don's priorities were exactly. Weighing their reactions and his own thoughts he just shrugged and made a decision.
"Aight… you win… I'll go… but no anal propbing." Raph stated.
While his statement was meant to sound like a joke, he was actually serious. Being abducted by aliens was one thing, being anally probed was not something he had high on his list of things he needed to do before he died. With that thought he lowered himself into the vehicle and noticed that it did shift slightly when he got in. He looked over to the passenger seat to address the strange kid and lay down some rules, but the driver seat was empty. His eyes widened as he leaned to the side to begin exiting the car when the passenger door slammed shut and locked, effectively trapping him in the vehicle. If that were not enough to freak a person out the seatbelt slipped itself across him and buckled him in.
"Ss…s…aft..ey…fir…st." A voice crackled from somewhere near the dash board of the vehicle. It sounded mechanical and yet as if someone had filtered it through one of Donnie's many failed and shorted out experiements.
"Fuck me…" said Raph as he gripped the door handle for dear life.
The Camaro then backed out of the slot it had pulled into and began tearing through the streets at speeds that were not only illegal, but unsafe for all involved. Raphael was caught somewhere between wanting to scream, and the desire to vomit. He made the mistake of trying to look out the window to gauge where he was, but the scenery whipping by made his urge to throw up increase exponentially. If he ever made it out of this alive, the first thing he was going to do was punch Donatello right in the face. Sure it was not his brothers fault really, but he was always the one telling them to push their comfort zones "for science".
Raphael continued to cling to the door handle as he tried to get his rolling stomach to settle. He wasn't sure what throwing up in some alien's car would do, but he was pretty sure it wasn't going to be treated as a fond hello and welcome to earth. At that moment, the radio kicked on.
"Relax, don't do it."
Raphael just stared at the radio as it played a short burst of a rather catchy 80's song. He found it oddly appropriate for the situation and at the same time, very unnerving. Still the distraction was enough for him to get his stomach down from a high roll, to a small twinge of nauseous unease. Glancing out the window again, he realized that he no longer saw the tall buildings of New York, he had no idea where he was.
Fear was not an emotion Raphael readily admitted to feeling, even at the worst of times. At this moment though, he was absolutely terrified. Of course he was not going to show it or admit it to anyone. Which was great because as far as he could tell he was alone in this freaky ass car.
"Don't worry…Be happy.." The radio kicked on again
Having had just about enough of the nonsense of this entire situation, Raphael did what he does best, he lost his temper.
"Don't worry be happy? What the fuck is wrong with you! What kind of sick, psychotic, sociopath plays Bobby Darin while kidnapping a person? What the hell kind of planet are you from you sick fuck!" Raphael yelled.
It was clear he was only getting his rant started, but suddenly the air felt heavier around him, it smelled wrong too. Raph felt his eyes grow heavy and fought hard against the urge to sleep. He realized with growing fear that he had just been gassed. His last thoughts before succumbing to darkness escaped his lips.
"Sh..shoulda… slashed yer damn…. fuckin… tires… when I had tha chance…."
Ratchet sat up suddenly and almost dropped the datapad he was looking at when his private comm pinged him. He kept his expression neutral as it clicked on, surprised to see it was Bumblebee. He was not expecting a communication from the scout for a while. Up until now Bumblebee had maintained radio silence keeping himself untraceable as if he were on some mission. Ratchet hated when the scout did that, it always made him worry that something would happen and they would not know until it was too late. His thoughts were interrupted by a single phrase that cut across his comm line before it went silent again.
"I have him…"
