The Diego Diaries: Later that same afternoon (dd8 229)
=0=The Fortress
They clapped after Halo had concluded her impromptu dance, staring around herself with a hopeful smile. She was as uninhibited as her brother whom she paralleled with uncanny precision. When she got the applause delivered by most of the Ops Center staff and the senior Autobots sitting at the table, she gripped herself with delight. "ADA! THEM SHES GOOD ME!"
Ratchet laughed. "They did. Cookie?" he asked.
She smiled, then nodded. Walking to the edge of the table, she took the cookie, then was transferred into Ratchet's hold. The hatch slid shut on her delighted little face.
"I see my daughter is showing her many talents all of which come from my side of the family," Prowl said.
"Delusion is cute on you," Ratchet said. He grinned at Prime. "The hearing went swiftly due to an overwhelming preponderance of the evidence as they say. I think that their attorney, the new one for Earth2 has potential. He appears to have a sense of humor and personal warmth. He thought Halo was the best."
"He would. Halo takes after me, of course," Prowl said with a smirk. "Then its all tidied up and we can go back to normal. Well … at least some of us."
"Why, Prowl. Frag you. How about going on the town?" Ratchet asked.
"Done deal," Prowl replied. He glanced at Prime who was grinning at both of them. "Right?"
Optimus glanced at Ratchet. "Will you stay out of trouble?"
"No," Ratchet said. "We're going to Earth."
"No we aren't," Prowl replied.
They were going to Earth.
=0=Later that night
Ratchet sat in his chair eating popcorn as he waited for Prowl to come by and pick him up. Dinner had been had, a riotous recitation of the past few orns and the evening had progressed. Everyone was in bed now and the news was spinning on the TV with the sound muted.
"Where are you two slaggers going?" Ironhide asked.
"I thought we'd go to Disneyland," Ratchet replied. "Its on Dad anyway. We have his card. Prowl needs to unbutton his corset and I need to have a laugh at his expense. Ergo, Earth."
"You're aware that Drift and Springer have to come along on your booze blasts," Ironhide said glancing at Ratchet with a stern optic.
"They're coming later. We're getting there at noonish Pacific time and they're meeting us around 8:00 pm wherever the frag we are by then," Ratchet replied.
"If you get arrested on Earth you could get the electric chair before anyone finds you," Ironhide said.
"You forget that we can pop out of anywhere that we are. Pretender gear is the shit," Ratchet said with a dazzling smile.
=0=Shortly later
They walked into the Bridge Room at The Fortress and paused by the operator.
"Hi, Sev. We're going on the town. Which town, I'm not sure but we're going there," Ratchet said with a big dazzling smile.
Sev who liked it grinned back. "I'm told that you have to go to Los Angeles. Is that destination is unchanged?"
"I think maybe … what about London. We went there once and it wasn't a barrel of laughs. How about we give it another chance?" Ratchet asked.
Prowl who hadn't been there on a trip that would showcase Drift's junk considered that. "Okay but I get to choose where we go."
"Museums, libraries, tea shops. Got it," Ratchet said as he rolled his optics. Walking to the apparatus that lined a wall thereby allowing a good three dozen individuals to hook up at any one time in this facility, he plugged in. Glancing at Prowl, he grinned. "Hurry up, Granny. Time's a wasting."
"Operator, I have no idea who this is. I do believe I'm being stalked by a loon. Call a sniper please," Prowl said as he plugged in as well.
Sev laughed as he checked, then reprogrammed the coordinates for a side street off Trafalgar Square in London. When he touched the code key to launch, the light in both their optics went away and their consciousness along with a mass of light fractals sent them on a tight particle beam to their location. Their bodies would stay here and their a portion of their mental capacity and all of their personality, the part that made them sentient would establish a beach head somewhere else. At no time were they truly separate. They were just sending their point of view, their conscious capacity somewhere else.
It would blow the minds of neuro scientists to bits if they knew.
For a second they were in the bridge room, then they materialized on a sunny side street off the main square of the city, Trafalgar. Glancing at each other, they smirked. Two tall teenaged appearing boys were staring at each other, two handsome kids that looked at the most seventeen or eighteen. They were dressed casually, wearing jeans, t-shorts and light jackets against the inevitable climate of rain and blustery weather.
"Well, don't you look like a little kid, Prowler," Ratchet said with a chuckle.
"You look like a menace to society. Where's your gun?" Prowl said as they walked down the alleyway to the street beyond.
"I put it in my carry hold," Ratchet said with a smirk.
"Humans don't have a carry hold," Prowl said.
"They do. Sort of," Ratchet said with a snicker as they paused on the street before them.
Prowl considered that, then grabbed Ratchet's arm. "You didn't."
"What? Put a gun up my butt? Why, Prowler, what little you think of me," Ratchet said batting his rather beautiful eyes.
"Don't you dare pull it. I … I read up on some human anatomy and there's possibilities that I don't want to consider, LOON!" Prowl said rather tartly.
A woman startled as she began to pass them, then sped up to run away.
The two watched her go, then glanced at each other.
"Nice work, Prowler," Ratchet said as he began to walk down the street to the square. "Our reputation as bad asses goes before us."
"It's Chad," Prowl said with a smirk. "That's my name this time. Chad Ryan."
Ratchet snickered. "Two first names for a name? You sound like a television action hero."
"Consider that the template for my upcoming pub crawl and all around epic sidewinder," Prowl said rather proudly. He'd done his research. "What do I call you?"
Ratchet scanned the database they all carried to find the most epic and ridiculous name he could. "Call me Sedge."
"Sedge. Sedge what?" Prowl asked with a chuckle of his own.
"Skywalker."
They both laughed long and hard. Skywalker it was.
=0=At home
He sat at his desk at home working through a number of things, signing awards to the schools, to the humans in habitats, to charity raffles on Earth and other kindly things he loved to do. A data pad was tracking Prowl and Ratchet and it lay by his elbow as he cleared up any number of things.
He signed off on Johnson's hearing outcome, sent the request for a meet up with Parker Perkins to his legal aide, Starlet, reviewed a number of budgetary items and went over the list of bills, requests and other must dos from the assemblies. It was getting to be very interesting that the elected representatives were taking a deep interest in what they were doing and trying to assist. He also was more aware of the condition and needs of his people through their constituent work. Maybe this time they'd get it right.
Win-win.
It was a quiet and pleasant night at the Penthouse.
=0=Meanwhile, about noon on Earth
"Well, Sedge, what now?" Prowl asked as he posed for Ratchet covered in pigeons.
"You look great, Prowl- … Chad. By the way, do you know how the Urban Dictionary describes 'chad'?" Ratchet asked.
"NO! DON'T TELL ME!" Prowl said as he shook off pigeons. They fluttered madly, then he was cleared.
"I'll send it to you," Ratchet said as he did.
Prowl nearly fell on his face. He frowned deeply at Ratchet. "I hate you."
"Don't do me that way, CHAD," Ratchet said before a punch to the arm took care of that.
"You should talk. Google ratchet," Prowl said as he gathered his scattered escutcheons.
Ratchet did, then grinned. "Well, how could they get so much so right?"
They laughed loudly all the way to the first pub they could find.
=0=Elsewhere
"Ma is going on the town with Prowl. We're on for it," Springer said as he walked to the closet to get the carrier for Tell.
The baby was sitting on the floor with Drift's servo behind him holding him up. He was flying sitting down this time waving his arms and legs wildly as he cackled. He couldn't hear the sound but they could. His meeting on the start of his gene therapy was the next morning so they were taking the night off.
"Ironhide said he'd take care of Tell," Springer said as he sat on the floor putting the carrier next to him. He grinned at the baby and held out his silver 'teething' ring.
Tell laughed, gripped it, then spent a moment or two finding his mouth in which to put it. He began to happily chew on it as he watched his fathers with merry optics.
"How did anything get so cute?" Springer asked. He glanced at Drift who was grinning at the baby. "Do you regret this?"
Drift glanced at him. "No. We'd just be on patrol. We worked all the time. When we weren't working we were at the dojo. This is different and good. We needed more of a balance. I don't regret it."
"Me either," Springer said. He stared at the baby. "I really love this kid, Drift."
Drift nodded. "I do, too. When he can hear, that's going to be amazing."
Springer nodded. "I know."
They would sit together playing with their son before carefully putting him into a nest of soft blankets for the trip to Appa's house. It would be a sweet, sweet moment or two.
=0=A pub in London
They sat in a snug watching the funny folks. A barmaid had taken their order when they convinced her they were told enough. Now they waited for the beer.
"Its funny to be … what do humans call it when they ask for identification in a bar?" Prowl asked.
"Carded," Ratchet said. "Its not everywhere that they do that in this country but good on us as they say that our fake ID says eighteen."
Prowl nodded. "I think so. What about darts? I feel lucky."
He would be.
=0=Appa's house
They sat in the living room watching as Ironhide effortlessly removed the baby from his carrier. He was drowsing in Ironhide's servos so the big mech settled him on his arm.
"I wonder if we're ever going to be that slick," Drift asked.
"Get a few more," Ironhide said. "Practice makes perfect."
"One at a time," Drift said as Springer nodded. "When we get back can we get him? He has his medical tomorrow about gene therapy. I hope Ratchet doesn't end up in jail. He promised to come and translate for us."
"Old mech will be there," Ironhide said as he nodded. "I can have the operator pull him out of whatever culvert he crawled into."
They laughed, then rose to leave. It would be a nice walk to The Fortress and a jump to Earth for the two.
=0=Earlier, several joors, in London
Several dart games passed before anyone's attention was drawn to the two handsome young men who were scoring perfect bulls eyes with every shot they made. When it dawned on the two that they were being scrutinized by the punters, they paid their bill and walked out. Down the street they went in the gathering sunshine of a day that promised a few hours of rain free wandering.
Ratchet glanced at Prowl. "Where now, Chad? I suggest they don't have a dart board available there."
"I didn't finish my beer. Let's go to that bar," he said as they wandered around what appeared to be an area of theaters and shops.
Into the bar they went. Getting a beer, they moved to a corner table to watch the funny folk. It was silent a moment between them.
"Um, Prowler," Ratchet asked.
"I see," Prowl replied. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't feel out of place at all but …"
Men were dancing and talking together, men to men. The only odd thing was the species involved. Three wasn't a Cybertronian in the place. It was all human men of various ages and ethnicities. Standing at the bar nearby, two men were looking them over in a very calm and obvious manner.
Ratchet nodded. "I hear ya," he said as the two guys with beers in hand walked over and pulled out chairs to sit.
:I think we're in a gay bar, Chad. What do you want to do?: Ratchet asked as he stared at the two men who were grinning at him with knowing optics and smooth expressions. Obviously, both of them liked what they saw.
:I don't know, Sedge. Be prepared to pull out your gun: Prowl replied to Ratchet's enormous amusement.
=0=TBC 8-11-2021
Chad: an old fashioned name in America and is sometimes short for Chadwick or Chadwell. My nephew is named Chad and its just that, Chad.
I won't tell you what the Urban Dictionary describes it as. I'm MUCH too refined to do that. *blinks eyes several times coquettishly* You can look it up. Or not.
Ratchet is the same loaded word in some corners as well. LOL!
Escutcheons: in my family it meant your dignity. In normal families it was a piece of metal that formed part of a coat of arms or something such as that. :D:D:D
culvert: a large pipe placed where water needs to be channeled or drained.