The Diego Diaries: Callow Wallow (400! dd8)

Eighth time passing 400. :D:D:D

=0=At the Sammy Shop in Pax

Optimus stared back at the entire group who were looking at him. At that moment he wished he hadn't said a word. Glancing at his food, he lay his half eaten pickle and sandwich on his plate.

Regretfully. Both were delicious.

"Um, why don't we all sit down and work this out," Optimus said.

Raptor snickered, then turned toward his nemesis bots. "The Lord of Cybertron has spoken."

"Well, some of us don't care," Tempo said intemperately.

"Well, some of you deserve a boot up your aft," Prowl said as he rose with fury.

"Prowl of Praxus. Why am I not surprised to see you," Tempo said. "It appears that wherever a Prime is, you are."

It dropped to the level of Antarctica immediately.

=0=Springer and Drift

They stared at the debacle that just sprang up from someone who hadn't either heard about Prime's bond or forgot that Prowl could rip the sprockets out of your skull with his bare servos. A gasp rang out.

Everyone's optics turned toward Prowl at that moment.

Prowl stared at Tempo with the coldest expression of loathing and vengeance that any of them had ever seen him make. Ratchet moved closer to the mech to grab him with every magnetic device that he carried. If Prowl was going to the Pit he'd have to take Ratchet with him on his back.

That was when Optimus Prime weighed in on the comment. He flipped the table so beautifully that it would trump half the glorious moments in half the processors of those who had seen Prowl do so forever in comparison.

=0=Hercy and the Boys at the dojo

Hercy listened, blinked with surprise, then rose. "Come on, boys. A historic event is under way." With that he sped out to go to Pax with half the dojo who weren't in lessons following.

=0=Ratchet

He felt rather than saw Prowl behind him but it didn't matter because a table rose to optic level, spun once, then fell to the floor with a clatter that broke the surprised ennui of everyone in the room. A big black fist attached to a big red arm reached out to grab a surprised and back pedaling Tempo by the neck structure.

Ratchet saw Prime's face go past, one filled with rage, then he touched Prime with a device he held in his servo, the Device of Last Resortâ„¢, a tazer that could stop a rhino in full charge.

It slowed Prime down in time for Raptor and Sun to grab his arms and plant themselves. It would be instructive how far Optimus would drag them before he stopped, then released Tempo from his grip. Given the level of towering rage that overpowered the big mech in a flash, it was interesting to find that he had not quashed Tempo's neck in his grip.

Tempo staggered back, then sat on a table, smashing someone's food to pancakes. His family had stepped back as well, their optics as big as truck tires in surprise and fear.

Prime stared at them with a look of utter rage, then he stepped back gathering himself together. He felt rather than saw Prowl step behind him and slide his arms around his waist. "It would do you well to remember that Prowl of Praxus is my bond and we share children. If I ever hear such an insult sent to him, the main reason we won the war and a mech of the most impeccable character, its going to take more than Ratchet's tazer to slow me down from what I will do to all of you."

They stared at him, then Tempo straightened up. "You'll be hearing from my attorney." With that, he turned on his heels and with his genitors and family in tow walked out of the restaurant without another word.

Everyone stared at the door as it closed, then Raptor turned to Prime. "Are you going to be alright? I'm sorry that my childhood nightmare made such a dumb move."

"I do recall that Loon is the architect of this moment," Prowl said with a slight smirk. "Care to tell the tale here?"

Everyone turned toward Ratchet.

Ratchet grinned slightly, then gave a little wave. He held up his camera. "Pictures anyone?"

Even Prime grinned at that as they began to put the room back together. They would do a first class job of it.

Army.

=0=Everyone at a group table eating and having dessert

"Something tells me that someone is going to make a federal case of this," Sun said as he glanced at Prime.

That big mech was eating a several layer cake with lots of fruit layered on top of the thick frosting. He glanced at Sun. "Bring it."

Prowl who was having his usual 'macaroons and coffee' glanced at Ratchet. "How much did you find out about these characters?"

"All I could," Ratchet said. "When I heard about Callow, then Tempo, I thought it would be wise to be forearmed."

"Those slaggers are something else. Something tells me that we haven't heard the last of them ourselves. No matter where we were the moment they knew we were there they tried to start trouble. The biggest problem with them is they don't like to lose or not get the last word," Hardie said. "We had run-ins all the time in different places whenever they showed up. That remark wasn't an anomaly. Its the kind of provocation they specialize in."

"What's the threat level of Callo?" Prowl asked as he received the information Ratchet sent.

"The families came in on the same migration," Ratchet said grimly. "They know each other pretty well. Their location wasn't very big when they were found."

"Oh great," Raptor said with a smirk. "This could be fun."

"Only you would say so," Delphi said. "This is all your fault, Raptor. You goading Tempo all those times. We're going to assign the fault of this to you."

Raptor grinned at his Ada. "Sweet," he said to great laughter.

It would be a while before Optimus laughed but he did find a slight sliver of humor in that.

=0=Later at the Ops Center

Prowl walked into Prime's office with more work to discuss. Optimus looked up as he sat. "We have some background information about the process of extradition in the relevant countries for the humans. We need to sit down with Barron to work out what we do and how it relates to the accused. It could be that they might be endangered going home to face the music perhaps, which in that case we can't send them according to our own rules."

Prime nodded. "We will never do that to someone no matter how egregious their actions are."

Prowl sat back. "You were my hero."

Prime stared at Prowl. "That remark was never true and it burns in my processor that it persists. You were never in that category of individual. Ever."

Prowl pulsed him love and warmth and got it back in quantities. "I wonder what he's going to do. Perhaps press some kind of suit."

"Let him," Prime said.

Prowl nodded. "I have to give you a ten out of ten for the table flip. I envied its every spin."

Prime grinned. "Well, I had the chance to watch a Master At Work."

They both chuckled, then got to work going over the extradition process for the accused in the Panama Papers scandal.

=0=At the Med Center

They sat in Ratchet's office, the handful of those who didn't have to hoof it to another place. Eating Ratchet's candy with their peds up, Hardie, Delphi, Raptor, Sun, Ironhide, Hercy and Jack relaxed into their memories.

"That slagger is lucky to be alive," Sun said. "Nice taze, Ratch."

"Thanks, Sun. All my mechs say that," Ratchet said as he batted his optical ridges at a mech on the future bond list.

"Old mech, you might have started something you can't finish," Ironhide said.

"It would have started anyway," Delphi said as the others nodded. "Everywhere we went that they were there, they came at us. At least we know they're here."

"That is true," Hardie said as he winked at Ratchet. "Prime is one big mech. I'm glad he's my friend."

"You and me both," Ratchet said with a grin. "By the way, Avalone is released into home care with pretender gear. His frame is nearly halfway repaired at the Shipyard, there was so much damage but he's responding to counseling and living with Banner."

Huge relief greeted that news as they tapped candy cans together in salute. Eating commenced again.

"So, Old Mech … got any more loony ideas about stalking the other slaggers?" Ironhide asked with a smirk.

Ratchet smirked back. "Actually, yes, Ironhide. I have a Godzilla costume in my cosplay closet and I thought I'd do some deep reconn on the rest of them. You know. The kind where they don't see me coming."

Huge laughter greeted that.

"Cosplay closet? I want to see," Delphi said with a chuckle. "Do you really?"

Ratchet smiled a dazzler. "I do. I have a small rental at Zippy Storage where we keep our slag where all my ensembles are stored. I think I could clothe a convention."

"You're a nutcase, Ratchet," Ironhide said as he emptied his can into his pie hole. "Got anymore?"

"Under the counter," Ratchet replied as they sat together chatting, waiting for shift to end so they could get the kids and go to dinner together. It was Tell's six month birthday as the son of his fathers and they were having a nice meal at an Italian restaurant as a celebration. Everyone was invited.

Everyone would come.

=0=Elsewhere

They rode on the Metro toward their home in City 4, District 8. It was rather like an enclave, a number of floors on a tower that had been assigned to them, the apartments there to keep their small group together. They would be within minutes of each other, these close friends in this tight knit group that included fifteen dynastic bonds.

They had left in the Great Exodus together and had managed to miss the worst of the fall out from running. When Atlas and the Network came to tell them that they had to leave they almost argued until they saw the colony. Then all of them packed up, came to Autobot City and were laying low to get the way of things.

They found out a number of important facts.

*The Empress of Stanix was here with most of her court and nearly all her family including three of her sons that they knew from way back when regarding 'The Thing That Can't Be Forgiven'.

*Some Praxians were here but their names and numbers were only conjecture until now. They were busy getting a business organized and after only three weeks here the depth of that caste in numbers and name was still an unknown.

Until now.

*Optimus Prime had outlawed the System. There were rumors of Pantheonic intervention and discouragement. That was hard to believe but it was on the list to explore.

*They found out that there was a very, very underground high caste publication called High Times and had made overtures to get on the subscription list. A meeting with the publisher was going to happen soon to get the low down on the rules of the road here, what pushed over the line and what the consequences for doing so were.

*Raptor the Hated and his ragtag family were here.

They reached their stop, got out and went up. Pausing to look around at the towering sights around them, they walked onward toward their building then went up. When they got there they would make calls, get information, then leave to enlist the services of an attorney. It would be an all day affair.

=0=Evening in The City

Ratchet and Prowl walked out ahead of Ironhide and Prime toward home. The kids were there with the usual suspects and soon dinner would be had at Geno's in Iacon. The colony was coming into its sparkling glory as night lights all over came on. The landscape glittered every direction they looked as they walked across at the junction nearby.

It was cold and the winds were nearly nonexistent. That was good for two mechs and their shovels. No sand to dig out at the Temple yet.

Mechs and the odd femme walked along heading this way and that as dusk gathered into early evening. It was happy and peaceful as they walked along chatting and laughing about their golf time in the morning. It was the weekend and it had crept up on them. Golf, goofing and hanging out was the order of the orn. They disappeared into the night time pedestrian crowd as nearby on the street a horse back patrol rode slowly by.

Autobot City was nearing the end of another orn.

=0=TBC 3-30-2022 4-12-2022

:D