Nature of the Beast
One-Shot: Teleport Tag
*This will start with Hijinks's perspective but swap to Backdraft. Let the antics commence!
"Half pay? You sure? Seems like I'm rippin' ya off, son."
Hijinks stood in the main entryway of a suburban dwelling with the Seekerlet charge of the big, well-built Seeker mech across from him held in his arms. The young Canipid's optics twinkled and a smile graced his lip-plates that was playfully genuine. A digit poked at the child's soft chassis and laughter erupted. A soft laugh escaped his vocalizer. This wasn't the first time someone had been surprised at his altruistic nature when working as a part-time sitter for sparklings, and he felt for sure it wouldn't be the last. To him, it just didn't feel right to take the whole payment when he'd enjoyed the time as much as the kid. Seventy credits for just a couple of hours seemed a bit much in his opinion. It was just a part-time gig anyhow.
"It's fine, sir. Really," he reassured with an amiable grin. "We Preds don't use creds the same way you city-'bots do. I just use it for basics. And for warp drive maintenance. Thirty-five's fine. I save most for when I really need it. Call it a rainy day fund."
"Alright," conceded the Seeker a tad reluctantly. "Still feels like I'm ripping ya off here..."
The young Canipid laughed and again told him it was alright. If anything, he was ripping himself off for accepting lower pay. But it was okay. Really. Honestly. This was just a part-time thing for him.
The Seeker chortled himself and fished into a subspace pocket, bringing out one silver token worth fifteen and a pale red one worth twenty. Carefully balancing the Seekerlet under one arm, he took the three tokens and stashed them in his own shallow subspace on his hip. He thus handed the child back to its rightful Guardian as gingerly as if handling a live bomb. The larger Seeker, Staggertrack, then put his charge on the ground. Another flurry of tickles met the Seekerlet and more laughter erupted. Hijinks laughed himself, louder this time. Oh, he'd miss this kid by mid-cycle tomorrow. He could already tell.
Bowing his helm and thanking the mech for letting him watch his little one, Hijinks strode for the door. A good afternoon's work if he did say so himself.
"Can't he stay a little longer?" protested the Seekerlet.
Hijinks stopped on the threshold, turned, and backtracked. Smiling, he gave the sparkling flier a friendly noogie on his helm.
"Aw. I'd love to, Gyro. But I don't want to be a drag on your old mech," he explained. Then he looked up at his Guardian and went on: "But if your old mech ever needs me again, I'll be happy to lend a paw. That sound good to you?"
Gyro smiled and bounced merrily on his little trods. "Yay!"
Staggertrack smiled and chuckled. "I'll be sure to give you a call if I need someone to watch him again. I'm just glad you answered such short notice. That meeting came out of bleedin' nowhere."
Hijinks laughed: "Alright, then! Come on, little mech, give me some! Seal the deal for me!"
He knelt and put his hand out, palm-side facing the littler mech, and let the Seekerlet clap his own tiny limb against his in a good old fashioned high five. More giggles erupted when he pulled the kid close and gave him one last noogie. Gyro was then released, and Hijinks made exit from the dwelling. Once he was out on the sidewalks, he turned back one last time to see Gyro at the door, waving and smiling. Returning the smile, the young Canipid saluted, bowed with a flourish, and blinked away in a flash of bright turquoise like a showmech making his final, grand exit from the stage.
A lone mech sat on the roof of a Foundling Home, legs dangling off the edge of the roof and his hands behind him like the supports of a building. His bright color scheme and shimmering amber gaze stood out like beacons as he watched the Seekers dance through the darkening skies, their lights creating ghostly trails behind them.
When a flash occurred beside him he did not jolt or jump. Backdraft merely turned to the side and smiled broadly, fist-bumping the Canipid when he came near. Hijinks took a seat himself and joined him.
"Job went okay?" the biker mech asked.
"Yep!" Hijinks answered cheerfully, "Gyro was great. I even got him to glide a little bit today. Got him all the way across the main foyer when I let him go from the second story balcony-thing. Told the old mech and he was so proud! You totally should've seen it! Little guy was so psyched!"
Backdraft chuckled and said he was sorry he'd missed it. First Flight was a big deal for fliers like Seekers. Kind of ironic that a ground-bound Canipid could help teach a flier to fly. Hijinks laughed and agreed.
Their gazes went from the skies to the ground when the lights of a duo of patrollers flashed from below. It didn't look like they were chasing anyone; neither was speeding. Both vehicles were going along at a steady pace. Interestingly, Hijinks and Backdraft recognized one of them as the Chaser who'd nearly gotten them for vandalizing a few solar cycles ago. A slumber party with one of the north stations revealed her name as Chicane. Iaconian apparently. What interested them even more was that the smaller vehicle beside her they did not recognize. A transfer or a new recruit obviously. Hijinks oriented his audials to better catch any conversation, thus revealing Chicane was doing a "familiarity" run – simply called an "f-run" by officers – with some young mech named Bluestreak to better teach them the layout of the city.
"Booring..." Hijinks concluded with a roll of his optics.
Backdraft grinned and jerked a thumb down to the patrollers. "So how about we make their f-run more...interesting? You up for a little game of telv bzq?"
Hijinks snickered: "Brother, you read my mind. I've been itchin' for a good game."
The biker mech gestured: "After you, then."
Cackling, Hijinks flung himself off the roof with a howl. Backdraft followed, parkouring down the side of the building by leaping from its side to the side of another building, landing in the alley between them. His helm peeked out just in time to see Hijinks warp right onto Chicane's hood, earning a startled yelp from both officers. Hijinks tapped a digit onto her windshield.
"Tag! You're it! You're it!" he cried merrily.
VOIP!
Hijinks was gone in a flash. When neither officer gave chase, he warped back and tapped Chicane's windshield a second time with the same merry cry. He then warped into the middle of the street, pulled out his czi'a, and began to play a lively tune that he happily danced to. Traffic stopped almost at the same time as foot and air traffic. Laughs were heard from the local observers.
"You!" Chicane realized. Her engine rumbled. "Where's your friend, huh? My chief told me you two worked together."
But Hijinks offered no answer. On he played, on he danced. Angry as she was the noise seemed to enrapture her or else confound her. Either way it worked to Hijinks's purpose. He was careful not to shift his gaze and alert her, keeping his optics shuttered. He didn't need to move his audials around to hear his partner begin his approach. With the Iaconian Chaser distracted, Backdraft darted out from the alley and into the exposed open road, causing quiet knowing snickers among the gathering observers. Sneaking up behind the similarly distracted Bluestreak, he tapped his fender with a digit and said:
"Tag! You're it!"
Laughing, the young biker mech front-trucked over the smaller patroller, a palm striking his canopy to give him extra height and momentum, and landed in front of him. His opinion about Bluestreak became highly positive when the mech not only laughed but applauded the acrobatic stunt whole-sparkedly to the chagrin of his superior. Heh. This mech wasn't so bad. His fellow officer would take more work though.
Hijinks's playing stopped. Grinning at Backdraft, he childishly stuck his glossa out at the Chaser before turning around and waggling his tail at her.
"Nee ner nee ner nee ner!" he teased.
Chicane was practically fuming by that point. He could've sworn he saw steam percolating out from under her hood. Oh, this was gonna be a blast.
Then:
VOIP! He reappeared further down the road, clinging to a low balcony like a spider.
"Catch us if you can!" Backdraft taunted, winking.
Hooting, he transformed and raced off down the road. The small assemblage around the patrollers broke out in laughter. At the center, the growl of Chicane's engine became an all-consuming lion-like roar. Crying "After them!" to the younger officer at her side, the Chaser barreled down the road after the playful young Althihexians like a cheetah after its speedy prey.
"Faster, ro-bro! She's floorin' it!" Backdraft shouted, laughing.
Their laughter rang out and turquoise flashes lit up the evening city skyline. Nipping at the biker's rear axle was the Chaser herself, lights and sirens deployed and thundering at him to stop and pull over. Holy Primes did she sound ticked. This lady needed a chill pill, pronto. Hijinks ran alongside him in beast form. He could've teleported them up on a building and they could've lost her easily that way, but honestly – where was the fun in that?
*Split up?* Hijinks wondered, barely able to get the words out through his hysterical laughing.
*Roger dodger!*
Reaching a four-way intersection the two mechs pulled apart, one going south and one going west. Backdraft checked his rear-view mirrors to see Chicane roaring after him. Laughing, he sped through the traffic, weaving through it as easily as if the street had been empty – and that was mostly thanks to the vehicles pulling out of his way. A few gave him some warnings but a greater portion cheered him on with hoots of laughter and egged the game on. Chicane kept on after him with dogged persistence.
"PULL OVER PUNK!" she hollered.
"Only if you catch me!" Backdraft answered playfully.
He pulled down another road. A flash above and Hijinks raced past, Bluestreak in hot pursuit and laughing with him like the best of friends.
"Bluestreak!" Chicane shouted. "Catch him! Don't play with him!"
Hijinks gave a howl of delight and raced on, warping further down the road. He peeled around another corner and was gone from sight. Some stay-at-home Academy students observing from a balcony roared their support, the high-grade in the hands held high like victory banners. Backdraft wolf-whistled at the femme, jumped the curb and transformed, the squeal of Chicane's heavy-duty brakes echoing from behind. Running straight at the wall he jumped up and grabbed the lowest bar, swinging himself up like a gymnast. Knowing he only had a few moments to spare he quickly introduced himself to her.
"Swivet, right? I think I saw you a couple solar cycles ago."
A smile broke out on her face.
"Yeah."
"Mind if I get your frequency?"
The mech beside her grinned in a warning kind of way.
"Whoa there, mech. Ask her bro first before you try to get her number."
Swivet giggled. "Oh, stop it! He's totally cute! And fun!"
Her glanced to the side on hearing Chicane's engine fire back up. Like lightning she came thundering back towards him. Saluting the femme casually, he dropped down back to street level just as the Chaser's form passed underneath the balcony. Laughing, he went in the opposite direction. Outraged, Chicane once more hit her breaks, spun, and raced after him. If she wasn't fuming mad before she was definitely fuming mad now. But that didn't bother him in the least – he'd met a cute femme! And he'd pulled that parkour stunt off rather well if he did say so himself.
"Call me!" he shouted back.
Rounding a corner, he was gone.
Racing down the main thoroughfare that ran through the city-center, Backdraft cackled and jabbed light-sparkedly at his pursuer whom he had gained some considerable distance on. That was the thing with Chasers that he'd found out: their horse-power was superb, but maneuvering was a challenge at their high speeds. The tell-tale Voip! of Hijinks's teleporting grew nearer. He must've shown the new mech around the outer reaches already and was coming to rendezvous. Good on him.
He charged at the building ahead and leapt, aiming to get height enough to hit the roof and whistle for his friend to warp them out – and Hijinks promptly barreled into him like a runaway cannonball. A cry that was not theirs rang out. Both mechs were sent tumbling across the road until they hit the exterior of another building where they wound up as a tangle of limbs. Bluestreak pulled up beside them and transformed, worry marring his cheerful faceplates.
"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh! Are you guys okay?!"
Grinning, Hijinks gave him a somewhat delirious thumbs up, grinning. Backdraft on the other hand?
"WHOO-YEAH! THAT WAS AWESOME!" he cheered.
Bluestreak couldn't help laughing. He didn't understand why Chicane didn't like these guys. They were great fun! Hijinks really lived up to his name.
Chicane pulled up then, transforming as she skidded to a stop. Her hands grabbed the stasis cuffs that hung on her hip, clamping them on the two miscreants with a certain degree of satisfaction. She hauled them each to their pedes.
"Aw, but Chicane! Do you have to arrest them?" Bluestreak protested. "I've never had so much fun on patrol in my life!"
But the Chaser remained firm.
"They were speeding in a city-center, they evaded arrest, and they could've put civilians at risk with their antics." she said.
"You're supposed to run from the 'bot you tagged, silly!" Backdraft said smilingly. "Have you never played telv bzq in your life?"
"Save it for my chief, punk." Chicane growled.
Still smiling broadly, Backdraft shrugged, transformed, and let himself be hooked to the Chaser's tow cable. Bluestreak didn't seem very happy about the cuffs on Hijinks but told him to follow at his side; roping him would just feel wrong he admitted. Chuckling, the Blue Moon mech amiably agreed to follow him back to the station.
"Good game, ro-bro." Backdraft told him as they started off.
Hijinks grinned: "Good game."
Author's Note: Telv bzq or "teleport tag" is a Cybertronian game well known to anyone with a teleportation ability.