Build A Better Sun Trap

AN: HUGE THANK YOU TO ALEXLUKE! YOU'RE AWESOME!

AN 2: Sorry for the short one this time folks, but I have several other projects in the works and on Dec 23rd through Dec 28th, I'll be adding some added sneak peeks and free content on my PA TR EON site, so I'm super busy with getting things ready! So excited! The 28th I'll be doing a livestream feature, answering any questions you may have. So leave a review with a question or comment (on here or AO3 on any of my stories) and I'll read/answer them on the 28th.

Hope to see you there!

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"Ratchet?"

Ratchet ignored the little voice in his head. He was used to doing that. Had millennia of practice.

"Ratch?"

The voice was getting insistent. Must be needing a lot of attention today.

"Ratch? Are you listening?"

"No. Go away." Ratchet waved his hand as if to ward off a pest. In fact he was warding off a pest. It was red and marked with a Lamborghini logo.

"What are you working on?" Sideswipe asked, as ever hovering over Ratchet's left shoulder. He knew Ratchet was a right handed bot, so he tended to avoid that side, lest he get another set of pliers in an uncomfortable place.

"Working. Something you are unfamiliar with," Ratchet retorted, keeping his attention on the delicate circuit board in his hand.

"Working on what?" Sideswipe ignored the jibe about his work ethics.

He slacked around the base, and was proud of it. But no one could say he didn't do his job on the battle front. That was where it counted in Sideswipe's opinion.

"Perceptor is developing a short distance warp bridge," Ratchet said, his fingertips retreated to weld the minutiae line. "His welder is ineffectual in handling the detailing of the circuits. Since no one is in medbay, I can concentrate on helping him finish the prototype."

"Cool. Can I see?"

"You have optics. Look from a distance and don't touch." Ratchet sighed in exasperation. Honestly, why did the red menace always want to pester him while he was working? "What am I saying? Of course, you'll touch!"

Sure enough, Sideswipe's hand started to sneak over the white and red ambulance's shoulder. Ratchet turned his head and bit the wrist, prompting an immediate retreat.

"Feral today, Ratchet. Have you had a good defrag lately?" Sideswipe asked, pulsing his EM field and causing Ratchet to glare over his shoulder.

"Leave, you nuisance," Ratchet snarled before returning to work.

Sideswipe gasped and sputtered, flailing his arms in an over-exaggerated way to express what he couldn't say. His flamboyant posturing should have alerted Ratchet that something was up, but the medic's attention was on the delicate circuit and not on the drama queen Lamborghini.

"Fine! I know when I'm not wanted!" Sideswipe proclaimed with a snarling hiss, gesturing wildly.

"Apparently not," Ratchet deadpanned. "Go find someone else to irritate. My circuits are already corroded thanks to you."

"I told you to get that checked out by a medic," Sideswipe quipped, earning a startled beep from Ratchet. He gave a cheeky grin. "It takes you older models a lot longer to recover."

"Slag off!" Ratchet snapped, growling at the ruby Cybertronian sized fly buzzing around him.

Sideswipe reared back, retreating from Rachet's person space. At least within arm's reach. He gave a dramatic sigh. "I'm never wanted."

"Only for headaches. Now, get out. I have work to do. This is important. It could drastically cut our response time to the Decepticons."

"How so?" Sideswipe asked, forgetting he was putting himself within arm's reach of his favorite nemesis. He leaned over Ratchet's shoulder again, acting as a giant red umbrella over the medic.

"The last time Skywarp was a guest, Perceptor helped me repair him and he made notes of the warp drive in his assemblage. Perceptor's been working on making a similar warp drive for augmentation of being a warp bridge, allowing us to warp to any location and intercept the cons before they can do more damage."

"No more driving for hours?" Sideswipe asked, now intrigued by the scientist's pet project.

"No more driving," Ratchet confirmed, soldering the tiny device. "Warp in, kick aft, warp home." It took half a minute for Ratchet to glance over his shoulder and regard his ruby colored shadow. "Weren't you leaving?"

"Alright, I'm going," Sideswipe said. He huffed in annoyance and took his leave. Outside of the medbay doors, Sunstreaker was casually leaning against the wall. He pushed off from the bulkhead and fell into step with his twin. "What's has you so happy?"

"Ratch is working on a warp system to teleport us anywhere the cons make trouble!"

"A warp gate? Like back home?"

"Apparently."

Sunstreaker perked up. It would be great to have a warp gate system set up so he wouldn't scuff his paint while on the unforgiving Earthen roads. Fresh asphalt played a particular menace to his undercarriage and the pristine shine he maintained.

The Autobots would be able to get a jump on the Cons for a change. Less damage would be inflicted to human property, and one wouldn't have to endure a ride in the back of Prime's trailer while injured.

"You get em?" Sideswipe asked as they walked into their quarters. He locked the door, using a jumbled code complicated enough to fool Jazz.

The Special Ops Agent had a nasty habit of finding his way into your room at night and either leaving you a present, or stealing something. He claimed it was all covert training to use against the Cons, but his shipmates were getting tired of his antics.

Last time he tried one of his nocturnal reconnoiters, he had been knocked out and glued to the main consol without a piece of armor on him. When some foreign dignitaries called on the viewscreen, it was to find Blaster straddling the Porsche's chest in order to dislodge his helm from the controls, and Prowl, who was between the saboteur's spread eagle legs, lecturing him about allowing someone to mount him in a public place.

Prowl had freed a leg when he happened to glance up and see the screen filled with leaders of foreign nations staring slack jawed and wide eyed. He tried to muster up his dignity but then Jazz's helm came free and the sudden shift caused Blaster to topple backwards, his aftplates slamming into Prowl's shocked face before both clattered to the floor and out of view.

Jazz looked upside down to the screen, grinned in his cheeky way, and said, "Don't mind my nakedness. It's just one of those days when a bot likes to feel a breeze around his equipment."

Understandably, the world leaders cut the connection. Well, all except one and he gave an appraising glare, expecting to watch a show. Blaster rose, cut the connection, and heard a buzzing pop as Prowl's helm emitted one tiny spark that knocked him out for a week.

"Of course," came the preening baritone as Sunstreaker removed the tools from his subspace and handed them to his twin.

Sideswipe accepted them, his grin identical to Sunstreaker's. Their plan had worked. While Sideswipe kept Ratchet busy, Sunstreaker would sneak in and steal Ratchet's diagnostic equipment from the main station in the medical wing.

Sunstreaker loved to exercise his stealth capabilities when other's were least expecting it. They all knew Sideswipe attempted stealth, and sometimes achieved it, but no one was ever the wiser when it came to Sunstreaker and his ghostly endeavors.

Sideswipe's triumphant face only lasted a few seconds when a soft beeping started coming from the collection of stolen medical instruments. He opened his hands, staring at the collection of tools. Sunstreaker was peering at them as well, a crease forming between his optics.

"What's making that sound?" Sunstreaker asked as the soft beeping continued like a gentle heartbeat.

"Dunno," Sideswipe admitted with half a shrug.

Everything appeared as it should have. Polished. Balanced. Marred with occasional multicolored dings related to the most recent guests of the medbay.

Sideswipe knew he hadn't squeezed them too hard when he clutched them. He doubted Sunstreaker would have mishandled them, knowing the prank his twin wanted to pull and the delicate nature of the instruments. Besides, Sunstreaker had an artist's touch. He could pound a Con into scrap metal, or he could wipe a hummingbird's beak.

A second beep joined the first. A spanner and a conducer were side by side and started to beep in tandem, as if communicating.

"Weird," Sunstreaker muttered.

Before either could contemplate further, the beeping stopped, buzzed in unison, then there was a loud, popping explosion.

Spark resonance meant both were alive when they grasped blindly for each other. When their vision cleared, the twins stared at each other and froze.

Sideswipe in shock, Sunstreaker in horror.

Both were splattered with brilliant neon lime green paint.

The two tools that remained in Sideswipe's hand offered a series of beeps before Ratchet's pre-recorded voice laughed at what was surely a comical scene.

"Steal my tools again and Wheeljack will load the decoys with something much more potent than paint." There was a deep, irritated huff. "Slagging fraggers."

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If you aren't aware, I'm also writing exciting fiction for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You can find the list under my name at here, or archiveofourown dot org. Note: adult content, not intended for children, do not read if easily offended.

Currently have about a dozen writing projects in the works, so I'm one busy little bee!

Please take a moment to drop me a line and let me know what you think… or ask me a question and I'll answer it, LIVE, on the 28th.