So I have two little one-shots today instead of one big one. For the first one, I found myself wondering: if Bumblebee is the youngest-ish Autobot in Transformers: Prime, and if he came out of the Well when the War was going on/beginning, who took care of him? I kind of supposed that the whole team pitched in a little here and there, and then I figured that in a group like that, something like the following was bound to happen eventually.
Apologies in advance to country singer Rodney Atkins for borrowing the premise of his song.
The Sincerest Form of Flattery
The battles were beginning to take their toll on the Autobot forces. At first it was barely noticeable: a little less energon in the rations, a guard or two fewer in the brigs. After a while it became more pronounced until at last nearly every able-framed mech or femme was out on the battlefield. This left no one behind to watch over Bumblebee. Those in command had experimented once with leaving the sparkling on his own for a day. It was a horrible experience for all and the child sulked for two weeks: Ratchet was furious! Giving up, the slightly inexperienced Prime suggested that Bumblebee's care fall to whoever happened to be on base at the moment. For a time, this worked out well. They didn't realize what the drawbacks might be until it was nearly too late.
A meeting had been called in the war room to plan a strategic attack on the Decepticons. As Bumblebee's designated caretaker of the day was Ironhide, and Ironhide had been summoned to the meeting, the little yellow mech came along too. Jazz set up a stack of empty crates in a corner for the sparkling to play blocks with while the adults discussed important matters. The tiny fellow trilled happily and set to work building a castle. The clatter was only a minor distraction to the elder Autobots, and they resumed their plans quietly. "If Ironhide leads a small strike team here, behind the lines," Optimus muttered, tapping the holographic map, "then Commander Magnus can bring in the Wreckers here to create a diversion while—Jazz, pay attention please." The smaller mech shrugged with a guilty grin. "Sorry, boss! It's just that the kid-" "I'm sure he's fine," Ironhide said brusquely. "No, but the kid is climbin'-" Jazz attempted to warn them, but was interrupted by a thundering crash.
The Autobots whirled around to see a dazed Bumblebee lying in the wreckage of his castle. All was quiet for a moment, and suddenly the sparkling let loose a mighty, "Scwap!" You might have heard a pin drop in the seconds after the child uttered his unfortunate exclamation. "Bumblebee!" Optimus cried, shocked, "Where did you learn to talk like that?!" Tiny servos grabbed hold of little pedes and the little one rocked himself into a sitting position. He beamed innocently up at his horrified guardians. "I been watchin' you guys!" he lisped adorably, "Cool, huh? Someday, I'mma be just like you!" Every faceplate seemed to drain of color slightly. "Oh...sc-" Optimus kicked Jazz under the table and the tactician quickly changed his tune. "Sc-sk-skittles! Yeah...skittles." Bumblebee's helm tilted to the side. "What's a skiddle, Unca Jazz?" Jazz grinned nervously. Having only spit out the first word that came to mind, he rambled for a moment, making up an answer. "It's...ummm...a rainbow...drop?"
"Wainbow dwops?" Round optics shone with interest. "I like wainbows," he decided, and went back to building his castle, humming nonsensical tunes about "skittles". Optimus Prime shot his fellow mechs a warning look. "Life just got a lot more complicated, didn't it?" sighed Ironhide.
He said I've been watching you dad, ain't that coolI'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like youAnd eat all my food and grow as tall as you areWe like fixing things and holding mama's handYeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dadI wanna do everything you doSo I've been watching you—Rodney Atkins, "Watching You"
This one is set right at the end of "Speed Metal". Did that end scene with the Autobots feel a little like The Lion King to anyone else? To me it really felt like that scene where Mufasa comes in and gives the hyenas an epic smackdown in the Elephant Graveyard. I remember the first time I watched the episode, I was squirming probably more than Jack would have been at the end, because I knew they were busted, but I'd been cheering them on when they were racing. (Hence, vicariously busted. Is that weird? That might be weird.)
Anyway, there's this.
Obiurgare
Bumblebee shuffled slowly out of the room, doorwings drooping. However the scolding had gone, he looked utterly downcast. Below him, leaning on the wall, Jack Darby shuffled from foot to foot nervously. "What happened?" he hissed. From inside the room, the terrifying baritone echoed. "Jackson, come here." Scout and human alike traded sympathetic shudders. Before he had the presence of mind to stop it, an audio clip burst from Bumblebee's vocoder. "Simba, good luck." It was the last thing Jack needed to hear. He shot the 'Bot an irritated look, then turned towards the room, taking a deep breath.
He slipped into the chamber and the door slid shut behind him. Even though he stood perfectly still, Jack could feel his insides squirming guiltily under the stoic gaze of a very unhappy Prime. The words tumbled out in a rush. "You don't have to say it. I had no business racing Vince, and I had no right to drag the Autobots into it." The young human could not even bring himself to look at the Autobot leader's face. "I risked blowing your cover to impress a girl, and worse, I put Bumblebee in danger." Jack's hands trembled in a combination of shame and worry.
"And," Optimus finally spoke, strong and stern, "You asked your friends to lie for you. They did, Jack, but the responsibility for Raf and Miko's lie rests on your shoulders." With every fibre of his being, Jack wanted to bolt. To disappear down the winding corridors and hide himself forever. Guilty eyes stole a glance up at the impassive Prime. "I know," the boy croaked, "I'm sorry. I know I broke the rules, I know it was irresponsible and-and-and stupid!" Jack hung his head. He had nothing more to say. There were no excuses to be made, no pleas for forgiveness, just an acknowledgment of wrongdoing. "I'm so sorry," he whispered miserably, knowing it wasn't enough. Then, almost too quietly to hear, "I know what I did was wrong, and that I acted more like a Decepticon than an Autobot, and-" he trailed off. "I don't blame you if you hate me now," the meek declaration hung in the still air.
The silence that followed was stifling, and the urge to run grew stronger. Suddenly, Optimus sighed. "Jack, if I hated you, would I have corrected you?" Speechless, Jack only hunched his shoulders and bowed his head. Optimus repeated the question calmly. "Would I reprimand you if I did not care?" The small figure before him could manage no more than a tiny, whispered, "no?" The Prime nodded. "As you seem to understand, for the most part, the gravity of the situation, I see no reason to revisit the incident. I will say this, however: of the three of you—our human allies—you are the eldest. You have a duty and a responsibility to set the standard of behavior for those younger than you. In the past, you have proved yourself capable of leading them; what sort of message will they internalize if you ask them to do something they know is wrong?"
Jack flinched. "It won't happen again," he whispered. "No, it will not." Optimus agreed severely. "As it stands now, when you come to Outpost Omega, you and Bumblebee are both confined to base for the next two weeks. Is that understood?" The young man blinked, surprised. "Bumblebee?" But it was my fault! Why is he being punished?" Coolly, the titanic warrior raised an eyebrow. "That is not my story to tell. You may ask him yourself, tomorrow, when you are under Ratchet's supervision." He tilted his helm and regarded the human gravely. "Is that understood?" he asked again. "Yes sir," Jack barely squeaked. Optimus nodded. "Good. Arcee is waiting for you: if I am not mistaken, your mother will be home shortly, and it would not do for her to find you missing." It was clearly a dismissal, however kindly it was said.
Jack fought the urge to scuff his feet like a child as he headed for the door. Almost as an afterthought, the Prime remarked, "Will you send Bulkhead here, Jack? I need to speak to him as well." Jack nodded respectfully and trudged out into the hallway where Miko, Raf, and Bulkhead still waited. "How'd it go?" the girl hissed. "Bulkhead, he wants to talk to you," the boy muttered by way of reply. Inside the room, Optimus sighed and ran one giant hand over the back of his neck for a moment. There were some days, he reflected, when being a Prime seemed to mean being everyone's parent rather than being a political leader. Still, if one-on-one talks were what kept further incidents from taking place, then he would continue to utilize them. He could not help but feel a twinge of pity for the humans. His Autobots had nearly all experienced one of his scoldings before, but the children were wholly unused to it! (He very briefly wondered if Miko was used to any kind of scolding, given her tendency to run wild).
Optimus hoped he wouldn't have to do something like this more than once, that this incident would be lesson enough. He looked up as Bulkhead cautiously poked his helm around the door. "Boss? You wanted to talk to me?" the big green Wrecker spoke hesitantly. The Prime motioned him in and the door was shut. It would be a very long time before anyone in Outpost Omega forgot the talks. At school the next day, Vince tried to goad Jack into at least an argument over the race, but he was pointedly ignored. Cries of coward did nothing to move him. When the schoolbell rang, Jack swung himself onto his motorcycle and sped away without a word. The next two weeks passed slowly, but not tortuously. Sometimes, Arcee came to help Bumblebee and Jack sort through Ratchet's medical supplies as a sign of camaraderie...until Ratchet caught her and usually shoved her out of the room shouting something along the lines of, "This is a punishment, not a quilting party!" And Bumblebee would catch Jack's eye and hold miniature scanners to his optics like googly glasses, and nothing would get done for the next two hours. Sometimes, Optimus watched from the corner of the room to ensure that they didn't get into too much mischief, but for the most part they were left to Ratchet's supervision.
Jack did not go racing again, and he did not ever ask Miko and Raf to lie for him again.
Yeah...basically what I did here was I took every time I got in trouble as a kid, took all those feels, and threw them into Jack's head. Sorry, Jack. Maybe I was just a really sensitive kid, but I hated getting in trouble when I was little. It wasn't so much that I'd been caught (although sometimes there was that, too), it was usually more that I hadn't realized that I'd been doing something wrong and I was mad at myself.
