Everything had finally returned to normal around the base and the twins had a mountain of punishment to get through, which they did with mixed emotions. Prowl and Ratchet, meanwhile, were enjoying having their boys back to normal.
"The base should be clean for a good few weeks to come," said Ratchet; he and Prowl were sitting across from each other at a table in the common room, each sipping at their mid-day ration of energon.
"Yeah, and the park in the city should be clean too; come next week Thursday anyway," added Prowl, before taking a sip of energon.
"Heh, never thought the twins would get community service."
"Well they have; it was mutually agreed on by myself, Optimus and the mayor."
"Think those two even know how to use a paper pick and a sack?"
"To pick up papers or as some other device that it was never intended to be?"
"Good point." Ratchet took another sip of his energon.
"So, who have they appointed to be the twins' 'babysitters' on that day?" Ratchet asked.
"I believe that Hound and Beachcomber have been appointed the charming task, seeing as they like to be out in a natural environment more than some of the others," Prowl replied before draining the last of the energon from his cube.
"Right. Well, we better get back to work." Ratchet started to raise himself from his chair.
"Yeah; don't want Optimus to catch me slacking off."
"I don't think lunch break is considered 'slacking off'."
Prowl just shrugged and Ratchet chuckled; Prowl was too much of a workaholic for his own good. Fortunately, Prowl didn't have to worry about Optimus turning the corner into the common room and finding him 'slacking off'; he was far too engrossed in checking out the latest news on the web.
Optimus was leaning rather tiredly on one elbow; his fist supporting his drooping head by almost burying itself into his cheek. He scrolled through list after list of news articles on a site that he was currently on until something caught his attention. Straightening up a little bit he clicked on the article, which was on the prank that 'Sunstreaker' and 'Sideswipe' had committed a few weeks ago. There was a picture there that he hadn't seen before; one of 'the twins', but, even though they were shrouded in shadows, there was something clearly different about them. Optimus saved the picture and took it into one of the image manipulation programs he had on his computer. After a bit of fiddling with various tools he got his answer.
"That's not Sunstreaker and Sideswipe," he said, as he peered at the photo.
"I-it couldn't be!" he said sitting bolt upright in his chair; a little too fast for his chair's liking.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, as the chair toppled backwards; he was still holding onto the edge of the desk and so was left in a rather uncomfortable position. The crash was heard by Hound and Trailbreaker, who had been walking past Optimus' office when his unplanned action was executed.
"Optimus?" Hound asked, as he knocked on the door.
"You okay?" asked Trailbreaker.
"Yes; I'm all right, Trailbreaker, just uh… could you ask Ratchet and Prowl to come to my office… now?" Optimus asked.
"Sure, I suppose so."
"You sure you're all right, big guy?" Hound asked, holding an audio receptor close to the door to make sure he heard any noise from his commanding officer.
"Yes, I'm sure. Prowl and Ratchet please," he said.
"Right. We're on it, sir." With that Hound and Trailbreaker began to head off in search of the second-in-command and the medic, while Optimus sorted himself out.
Soon Prowl and Ratchet arrived at Optimus' office.
"You wanted to see us, Optimus?" Prowl asked, as he and Ratchet walked in.
"Yes, I did," Optimus replied, just putting his chair back in its place.
"What about?" asked Ratchet.
"That prank that 'the twins' did the other day on those humans."
"What about that?" asked Prowl.
Optimus pulled his chair out a bit so that he could sit down easier.
"It… wasn't them… was it?" he asked sitting down carefully; a smile hiding behind his mask.
Ratchet and Prowl shared a concerned glance.
"Well?" Optimus asked.
"What would make you say that it wasn't them?" asked Ratchet.
"Well, let's see if my suspicions are correct first. I would hate to condemn a 'bot or two without solid evidence." Optimus started to click on a few things on his computer screen.
"Says here that Hoist reported a tin of red and a tin of yellow paint missing," said Optimus, having opened the 'list of reported missing items' that had been set up after the twins had started to become more and more prank prone around the base. Prowl and Ratchet gave each other a nervous glance.
"And here it says that Wheeljack reported several pieces of sheet metal missing," Optimus continued.
"So? Who's to say the twins didn't take them during their 'prank bombardment' that we've just gotten over?" asked Ratchet.
"The reports were filed the morning before we took the twins down to town hall and I didn't see anyone else looking unusually yellow or red; except in the face because the twins were driving them to distraction, during the 'prank bombardment' ," Optimus replied, closing the list.
"Speaking of which… how are you recovering from the prank they played on you?" Prowl asked, sort of changing the subject.
"Well, but, heh, I don't recommend that anyone try rollerblading with old rolling chassis' attached to their feet… unless brakes are installed and capable of being activated."
"I still don't know how they cracked the security code on your door and got past Red Alert; apparently he didn't see a thing."
"Course he didn't; he was too busy searching out a 'Decepticon spy' in the lower levels. Turned out to be another twin prank," Ratchet explained.
"But then… who did he leave in his place?"
"The first poor mech to come his way, which just happened to be a newly paint bucketed Bumblebee; he was still wiping his optics clean when they no doubt snuck into Optimus' quarters and strapped the chassis' onto his feet."
"Aah."
"Gentlemen, if you're done, I would like to get back to the matter at hand," Optimus said, trying not to smile too much.
"Sorry; you were saying?" asked Prowl.
"The twins were still in their 'funk' when those things went missing. That means it was someone else who took them and played the prank."
Prowl and Ratchet weren't too sure what to do now.
"And I think you two know who did it," Optimus said, clasping his hands together and setting them on the desk in front of him.
"Well,… there could be several guys who could have done this," said Ratchet.
"Like who?" Optimus asked, finding it mildly amusing how two of his senior officers were trying to get out of this unnoticed.
"Well… Bluestreak's good friends with them."
"As is Jazz," added Prowl.
"Yes, but… none so close as you two," said Optimus.
"Are you accusing Prowl and myself of playing a prank on a pair of humans to get the twins out of their 'funk' and back to their old selves?" asked Ratchet, folding his arms across his chest and looking Optimus square in the optic.
"No, I'm not saying that, Ratchet."
Ratchet nodded.
"But those paint splodges on your neck and on Prowl's door wing scream something else," Optimus smiled.
Ratchet and Prowl quickly covered their paint splotches.
"Couldn't find the paint remover?" Optimus asked.
"No; it had been used on the rest of the team before we could get our hands on it again," Ratchet replied, knowing that he and Prowl had been found out.
Optimus smiled at them, glad to see that they had owned up.
"How did you find out?" asked Prowl.
"I believe the saying is, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'," Optimus replied, turning his monitor with the altered picture of 'the twins' on its screen.
"Oh," the second-in-command and medic said in unison.
"Now, are you two going to tell me how you pulled it off?"
Ratchet and Prowl looked at each other and sighed.
"I rounded up some of the spare sheet metal we had and Prowl retrieved the paint while I kept Hoist and Grapple busy. We shaped the metal into replicas of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's heads, painted ourselves and the helmets in the corresponding colours, used a couple of voice synthesizers and, well… you know the rest."
"How did you sneak out without Red Alert catching you?" Optimus put his elbows on the desk and supported his head in his hands while he listened to the story.
"I gauged when Red Alert would be looking away from the monitors that showed the route Ratchet and I would take," said Prowl.
"And I think it's obvious why we did it at night; not too easy to see the obvious differences in frame shape," said Ratchet before Optimus could ask anything else.
"Indeed. You know, I'm glad you two are on our side," said Optimus, as he sat back in his chair.
"Sir?" the two asked in unison.
"You could get rid of the whole force with your expertise."
Ratchet and Prowl smiled at the compliment.
"Aah, yeah. I suppose you two know that I can't let you get away with this though," Optimus said.
The smiles dropped from Prowl and Ratchet's faces.
"You can't be serious," said Ratchet.
"I'm sorry, Ratchet, but I can't punish the twins for something they didn't do. You two will report to the park on Thursday morning next week to pick up litter for the ten hours we had set for the twins," said Optimus.
Prowl and Ratchet's mouths dropped open.
"B-but…!" started Prowl.
"I believe the saying here is, 'if you can't do the time, don't do the crime'. End of discussion; I believe you two still have work to do, as do I," said Optimus, as he pulled his chair closer to his desk and began writing something on a data-pad. Prowl and Ratchet just stood there staring at their leader.
"Dismissed," he said not looking up from his work.
The two closed their mouths and began to walk out of Optimus' office.
The following week Thursday came all too fast for Prowl and Ratchet, who had 'replaced' Beachcomber and Hound in 'babysitting' the twins.
"You missed a piece," said Sideswipe, as he pointed to a scrap of paper on the ground.
Prowl screwed up his face, spiked the paper with his paper pick and stuffed it into the sack he had on his shoulder.
"Hey, it's not our fault that Prime found you two out," said Sideswipe; he and Sunstreaker were watching Prowl and Ratchet pick up every piece of litter in the park.
Suddenly Ratchet saw someone drop a piece of paper on a path near by him.
"Hey!" he growled in the man's direction.
The man looked casually over his shoulder.
"Pick it up!" Ratchet commanded pointing to the paper.
"You're the one with the paper pick; you pick it up," the man said, walking away from Ratchet.
"Why I oughta…," started Ratchet, as he 'pushed his sleeves up' and began to advance on the offender.
"Your turn; I stopped him last time," said Sideswipe.
Sunstreaker sighed.
"Fine. Ratchet!" Sunstreaker reprimanded, as he quickly walked after the medic.
Ratchet returned with a minimal struggle, grumbling all the way though.
"Lot of help you two are being," he said looking at the twins standing on the sidelines, "We get in trouble because of you and do you even offer to help?"
"Hey! We are helping, remember? We're keeping an audio out for any Autobots in the area," said Sunstreaker, arms folded across his chest.
"So that your little secret doesn't get found out by the rest of the guys," added Sideswipe.
Ratchet grumbled something under his breath and got back to work.
"Look on the bright side, Ratch, only five hours to go," smiled Sideswipe, trying to raise the medic's spirits.
Ratchet and Prowl glared daggers at the red twin, who just grinned his signature grin at them; they just shook their heads as they continued to pick up litter.
Later that day, the four returned back to base and Ratchet and Prowl made an inconspicuous beeline for the common room to get a mug of energon, while the twins went back to their previously designated duties.
Ratchet and Prowl were slumped in their chairs in the common room when Jazz came up to their table; his signature grin plastered on his face.
"If no-one's dying," said Ratchet.
"Or in need of tactical advice or disciplinary action," said Prowl.
"Please leave," they said in unison.
"I never knew you two were such master minds," grinned Jazz.
"What?" the two asked in confusion.
Jazz slid a data-pad towards the two worn out mechs. Prowl picked it up cautiously, opened the file on it and found the picture of himself and Ratchet that Optimus had shown them earlier.
"How did you find out about this?!" Prowl almost squeaked.
"I'll give you two guesses, Prowl, and you just better answer red and yellow," said Ratchet irritably as he started to rise from his seat.
"Nah! Nothing like that; the twins haven't said anythin' about this," said Jazz.
"Really? Then how did you come into the possession of that?"
"Was in the boss 'bot's office, saw he had left a pic up on the monitor and… well…"
Ratchet fixed the Porsche with a look that, if it could, would have knocked him flat on his back, while Prowl simply slid his hand down his face.
"Who doesn't know?" he asked, as his hand came off of his mouth.
"Everyone currently," Jazz grinned.
"Good."
"Doesn't mean it's going to stay that way?"
Ratchet and Prowl looked concernedly in Jazz's direction.
"What do you want?" Ratchet asked hurriedly.
"Nothin', except…," started Jazz.
"Except?" Prowl asked suspiciously.
"You two just have to do me one little favour."
"What?" the medic and tactician asked in wary unison.
Jazz grinned and the two officers knew that something bad was coming their way.
The next day, Prowl and Ratchet found themselves in a local laser game facility.
"I can't believe you conned us into this, Jazz," Prowl said quietly over his radio to the other second-in-command; he and Ratchet were standing back to back with their 'lasers' at the ready.
"Hey, I didn't 'con' you," Jazz replied equally as quietly.
"He's right, Prowl; he didn't con us," said Ratchet.
Prowl looked back at his partner in crime.
"He just blackmailed us… there's a difference."
They heard Jazz chuckle from not too far off.
"Blackmailed?" came Hound's slightly amused voice over the radio waves.
"Mind your own business!" Prowl and Ratchet reprimanded.
Ratchet and Prowl shook their heads at the intrusion.
"What made you choose this place anyway, Jazz?" Prowl asked, changing the topic slightly.
"Well…," started Jazz.
"Hey, Prowl, Hound at two," said Ratchet pointing up at a ledge just in front and to the side of the second-in-command.
"Thanks," said Prowl, taking aim and 'firing' at the tracker.
"Wounded! Wounded! Centre back!" the computerized voice echoed through the artificial canyon.
"Dang it!" exclaimed Hound, as he began to make his way towards the exit.
"Hound's down!" called one of Hound's team mates.
"You two could have left me with my best man!" complained Jazz over his com-link to Prowl and Ratchet.
"Don't hate the player," said Prowl.
"Hate the game," said Ratchet; both mechs were smiling from audio to audio, even though they would never admit to enjoying themselves.
Jazz grumbled something unintelligible.
"Sorry you were saying," said Prowl, getting back to their previous conversation.
"Right; the guys and I just thought this would be fun to do," Jazz replied.
"And we're here because?" asked Ratchet.
"We needed two more mechs to make up the other team, but everyone had duties that they couldn't get out of," explained Jazz.
"Which is where 'that' comes in doesn't it?"
"Sorta. I was going to ask you anyway because you two were the only ones capable of getting out of work for the day."
"But you knew we would say 'no'," said Prowl.
"Unless you gave us some sort of incentive," Ratchet almost growled.
"Yep!" Jazz grinned.
"What was your 'incentive' going to be previously?" asked Prowl, wondering what else the charismatic Porsche had against him and the CMO.
"Hadn't come up with anything solid; was going to try the old 'it's a training thing', but figured the pair of you would find some way 'round that."
"Within a klik," Ratchet said under his breath.
Prowl smiled slightly at Ratchet's comment.
"And when you found…," started Prowl.
"Yep; you're quick."
The second-in-command and medic just shook their heads at the Porsche's underhandedness.
"Jazz, when we spot you… I'm going to shoot you," said Ratchet, tapping his 'laser' against his hand.
"You'll have to find me first and that means you're going to have to come out from your little hidey hole of yours," Jazz grinned.
Prowl and Ratchet looked surprised.
"How'd you?" started Prowl.
"I would say he's got a little help there, Prowl. Look up," said Ratchet.
Prowl looked up and found Smokescreen lying there with his 'laser' pointed right at them; so long as they didn't move he couldn't hit them, but he was covering his target so that they had to move if they wanted to hit him.
"Who's on our team again?" Ratchet asked Prowl quietly.
"No one quick enough to deal with Smokescreen; he'll see them coming a mile away," Prowl replied equally as quietly.
"Are either of you going to do the mechly thing and move or are we just going to stay around here all day?" asked Smokescreen, growing tired of just lying around watching the two senior officers. Prowl and Ratchet sent their reply loud and clear; they folded their arms across their chests and pressed their backs even more firmly together. Smokescreen groaned at the news.
"Any ideas for what we can do to get Jazz back?" Ratchet whispered to Prowl.
Prowl thought for a moment and then smiled slightly.
"I have a few," he replied.
"How much trouble would we get into if Prime found out it was us?" Ratchet asked.
"Mmm… enough. Twin worthy; how's that?"
"How easily would he find out?"
"So long as one of us is on monitor duty instead of Red Alert… slim."
"I like it. When this is over, my office; we'll start planning tonight."
Prowl smiled; this was fast becoming a habit.