Maelstrom Chapter 31
Conversations in the Kitchen Part E
Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original Maelstrom Comics and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the URL here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.
Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored! This scene contains strong language, violence, and sex.
Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Story and OC characters are mine. Critiques adored!
Conversations in The Kitchen Chapter 2
Getting to know everything about you
Part E
Continued from Part D!
They had many questions for him of course. Hot Rod was quiet through most of it. Finally he chimed in. "I've thought about what you said. I...I think my dad can handle it...really I do. He's already had to deal with Magnus...I heard him arguing with mom about it a few times. He didn't like what Magnus said to him, but later he admitted to her that he probably needed to hear a lot of it." Hot Rod turned to his uncle, "If he knows I told you this..."
Magnus just smirked.
"Fine. Whatever," Hot Rod said. "This is what I want to know Rodimus. How do you deal with this...anger? How do you not explode? I want to explode! I want to go back with you so I can help you stop them! The Decepticons never made me this angry! I'm not sure angry is even the word."
"I believe I've made it plain I don't deal with it very well. I've tried hard to harness it and use that energy to keep me going. It doesn't always work though. Sometimes I take it out on my friends like I did on Optimus. Sometimes I kill people with it."
"You try though, you try to make it into something that will help?" Hot Rod asked again.
"I try."
"Then we will too. I don't care what my father says about me in the future. I really don't think he'll have a problem, but even if he does... even if he refuses to help you for some reason, I will find a way to make him. You have to get even for Goldbug. You have to watch out for your kids. You have to get home...that's the only way I'm going to be able to turn MY anger into something useful."
Magnus smiled. "I don't think your father is going to have a problem Hot Rod. I think he's going to be proud of you."
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Proud wasn't exactly the first word that sprang to mind when Optimus got an enigmatic call from Magnus arranging a meeting between Prime and his son. Feeling unsettled for no reason he could name, Optimus added Kup and Elita for back-up. The strange phone call he'd received from Hot Rod two days earlier kept coming back to him.
When Hot Rod came in with Magnus and Spike as back-up Optimus got even more worried.
"OK Spike...what's he done?" Optimus asked, getting to what surely was the point of this strange assembly.
"Hey! Why do you assume it's me?" Hot Rod asked indignantly. "Hi mom!" He waved cheerfully up at Elita.
"It is you," Magnus said. "Sort of."
"Magnus what is going on?"
Hot Rod interjected. "If it's me I get to tell him. Remember when I called you the other day...about ...well...another me from an alternate dimension?"
"Painfully."
"Well, let's just say my hypothetical question wasn't really hypothetical."
"You've developed a split personality?" Optimus said, almost hopefully. He saw Magnus shake his head and make for the door.
"No...we really did meet another me! From another dimension!" Hot Rod laughed.
"Ah... Magnus! I don't know how he put you up to this but I don't have time for pranks and...and...who are these people?" Magnus was ushering in three more humans. Marissa, one decidedly female stranger, and another man with a Marlins baseball cap pulled down nearly to his nose.
"You are going to stretch my cap out," Spike complained.
"I was afraid someone would recognize me!" the man said defensively.
"Not likely in human form Rodi," Magnus said.
"So I'm paranoid. Sue me," the man said sharply. He took a furtive glance at Op and Elita, and backed up a step when he saw Kup.
Marissa pushed him forward. "Show them," she ordered.
"And give me my cap before you rip it!" Spike said.
The man handed the cap over with some reluctance, sighed, and stared up at Optimus. "Deja vu," he muttered.
Optimus looked from Hot Rod to the man with some surprise. The resemblance was quite uncanny, but there was no way Prime was falling for a simple resemblance.
"That's pretty good guys," he chuckled, "Now, where did you find such a good match?"
The strange woman beside Marissa gave a feral grin. "Better get it over with my love," she laughed.
The man sighed, made an inscrutable face up at Optimus....and morphed.
"Um...hi. I'm the asshole with the really screwed up priorities," said the Autobot.
Optimus, Kup, and Elita stared.
Rodimus put a hand to his face and then glared at Hot Rod. Turning back to the three motionless Transformers, he said. "My name...um..my name is Rodimus Prime." He drew back a little, waiting for some response. When one finally came, it was nothing he remotely expected.
Elita held her hand out to Optimus without ever taking her optics off of Rodi. "I win. Pay up," she said.
Optimus, without ever taking his optics off of Rodi either, reached into his desk for three energon chits to settle his standard bet with his mate.
"Here," he said, passing them to her.
Hot Rod laughed.
Elita grinned at the sound and kept grinning as she approached Rodimus and inspected him from head to feet. She noted that she had to look up slightly to look him in the optics.
"OO...you're so TALL!" she said, delighted.
Rodimus smacked himself in the face and the woman laughed.
"Lancer! It is NOT funny!" Rodimus said.
"You are right my love," Lancer rejoined, "It's hysterical!"
All of the humans laughed then, although there was as much nervous energy and relief in the sound as mirth.
Kup came around the desk to size Rodimus up too, although he had different concerns. "How do we know this isn't some kind of 'Con or Quint trap?"
Rodimus normally would have felt such a question was only too prudent, but since it was Kup asking he responded defensively.
"You know I'm not here to hurt you because you are still in one piece," he growled.
Kup launched into a few colorful curses and ended with "You might find making us into pieces harder than you think Sonny!"
Magnus intervened, "No he wouldn't. Kup! No he wouldn't. You need to listen to him. You need to hear his story. Optimus, he's been with us for almost two months now. I trust him. He needs our help! And Rodimus, just because the Kup in your dimension betrayed you doesn't mean ours will! He's our security chief and it's his job to ask questions! Quit being so damned defensive and do what you came here to do!"
Rodimus frowned at Magnus. Then at Kup, who was standing with his arms crossed just inches away from him. He fought with himself a moment and reminded himself in a sort of mantra not to make assumptions. Not to look at that face and want to smack it...not to blame it...blame it for Edana screaming. Then again, if he ever wanted to see his daughter again he'd better get on with things, hadn't he?
He sighed. "Sorry Kup. I'm guilty of what I keep telling these guys not to do...what I'm telling you not to do. Don't assume anything because I look like him. Our dimensions are VERY different."
Hot Rod looked WAY up at his twin and grinned. "That's right. I'm much cooler." He got out a pocket video game. "You'd better get started. I don't want to sit through your life story again, but if I have to you'd better make it fast!"
"Ingrate," Rodimus said.
"Asshole," Hot Rod replied. "Told you Pop! You'd better sit down Mom. He talks a lot."
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Rodimus did talk a lot, but it went quicker this time because all three of the Autobots he was talking to sat quietly and just listened. All of their questions came at the end, and again they took Rodimus by surprise.
"What can we do to help you?" was Optimus' first, quiet inquiry.
"I...we need help with our teleporter. The crystal...the one that holds the coordinates and the coding...it's the same kind of crystal as the Matrix. It is cracked. If we can't repair it we will have to replace it and hope we can transfer the information out of the damage stone. If not, I guess we'll have to look for jobs around here."
"I don't know anything about that," Optimus confessed, "but I'll get Ratchet, Perceptor, and Wheeljack right on it. What else?"
"Well...if we can find out...if we can find out whether or not my people can reproduce the way yours do that would be a huge help. If I can free my people from that damned floating disco ball forever...even if the Jabez take over Cybertron there's still hope." Rodimus paused. "Also, maybe your guys can figure more about how I morph from human to robot. It might help your ingrate son and his cranky uncle get off of Carly's couch."
"Hallelujah!" Spike cried. He was sitting on the floor next to Hot Rod, watching him play.
"Do you have a picture of your girls with you Rodimus?" Elita asked.
"Um...yes... but," Rodimus began, flustered again.
"Can I see them?" she asked.
Rodimus felt strangely reluctant with Kup in the room, but so far he hadn't said anything about Rodi's choice in mates. Besides, Rodi reasoned with himself, the girls were in another dimension, far from Kup's venom.
Lancer startled the Autobots by jumping up to catch the side of Prime's desk and flip herself onto it. She got out a few pictures and placed them on the scanner Autobots used to read human documents. The faces of her children appeared bigger than life on Op's screen.
"OO...they're so pretty!" Elita cried.
"Amazing," said Kup. "I never realized a human could look so much like an Autobot. Except these are cute."
"Hey!" said Hot Rod, without looking up from his game, "What's that supposed to mean!"
"It means you are too much trouble to be cute, that's what it means," Kup retorted cheerfully.
Rodimus was glad he was in robot form. If he'd been human he might have fainted from shock. As it was he felt his non-existent blood-pressure falling. For the first time in almost eight hours of non-stop confessions, he felt the need to sit. He didn't. He remembered when Kup treated him like that...relaxed...friendly.
As Kup and Elita continued to compare notes between Rodi's kids and Hot Rod's face, Rodimus felt the old, familiar rage build up.
His hands gripped the back of the chair they'd given him to sit in. He hadn't touched it before, but now he leaned on its back for support and clutched it with his fingers. If his eyes had seemed to glow green as a human they positively radiated as an Autobot. The solid metal of the chair began whining, then collapsed under his hands.
Everyone turned to face the noise.
"That's not good," Hot Rod stated.
"Rodi?!" Marissa cried. "What's wrong?" She might have asked Lancer but the mutant was growling.
For an answer Rodimus strung together a line of curses that would have done any version of Kup proud, ending with "I AM GOING TO PERSONALLY FILLET THAT LYINGPIECEOFFUCKING SHIT!"
"What? Vector Sigma? Rodimus what can have you more angry at it then you are already?" Marissa very reasonably wanted to know.
"KUP! It used Kup to get to me! All that hatred! All that obsession! I knew it set up our personalities to suit itself, but I didn't realize it could plant ideas after the fact!"
"Rodi," Lancer whispered in her hoarse, demonic voice. "You can't be sure of that."
"I'm sure... Think about it. Even his speech patterns changed! It wasn't Kup! And Kup doesn't even know it wasn't Kup! I'm so stupid! Lancer! What I said to him! I let Fucking Shit use him! I let it come between us! I left it an opening...AGAIN! This time I really am going to kill it....even if we can't reproduce without it we can't afford this virus in our midst!"
Lancer bit her lip. "We'll think of something less drastic. Calm down, love. You aren't going to make your species go extinct out of guilt...and Rodi...we'll make it up to Kup."
The resident Autobots looked uncomfortable at this exchange. Kup spoke up first.
"Listen to that woman of yours...she has a good head on her shoulders."
Rodimus stared deep into Kup's optics. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that Old Timer."
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The decision to help the strangers never really got discussed. It just happened.
Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Perceptor got their briefing via video, since Kup had the foresight to record the meeting. They were all fascinated and eager to get going, not to mention driven by an deep anger similar to Hot Rod's.
Rodimus was amazed. None of them rejected him in any way in spite of his mate, his past, or his tactics.
Ratchet had at him first. He listened gravely to Rodi's warning about flashbacks and made Rodimus promise to let him know if anything they were doing was troubling him. Rodimus promised, expecting to have to keep that promise often. Soon though, he found he was mostly fine. Ratchet never seemed to lose sight of him during all the testing. He always stopped to explain what they were doing, why they were doing it, and what was to happen next. It helped immensely.
Rodimus shook his head and grieved. He hadn't been good friends with Ratchet - Rodi had been too young, too silly, and Ratchet was always busy. But Rodi had liked him, everyone had liked him. And this was why. First Aid was nothing but compassionate, but he was a medic by training, not a doctor. His training was in emergency, combat field work. Patch 'em up fast - don't talk to them stuff. He was also often overwhelmed because Rodi was using him as a full-fledged doctor. He was rising admirably to the challenge, but the medical end of things took his entire concentration most of the time. In other words, his bedside manner needed work. Lots of it.
Ratchet, on the other hand, spent most of his concentration on his patient. The procedures were so automatic to him he could afford to.
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They started with a basic physical. Rodimus wasn't expecting much there. He was wrong. Ratchet gave him a basic body scan and called immediately for Wheeljack and Perceptor.
Rodi sighed. With everyone from Lancer, to Magnus, to his twin's worried parents, the Med-Bay was getting quite crowded.
"Look at this Wheeljack! All his fuel lines have been reconfigured. He's using almost 40% less energon than I expected. He's using less than Hot Rod does!"
"I am?" Rodimus asked.
"Of course you are, didn't my twin tell you that?" Ratchet queried.
Rodimus was too busy kicking himself to answer right away. What he came up with after that was an eloquent "er...well..."
Ratchet looked at him gravely. "Who is taking care of your medical needs then?"
"First Aid," Rodimus said softly. "He's doing alright."
"On the job training can be very effective," Ratchet said, "But what you are telling me is you haven't been seen by a fully trained Autobot specialist since you were tortured. Did First Aid at least have your baseline stats to compare to?"
"Um...no. Those kind of went up with a bang," Rodimus confessed.
"I see," said Ratchet. "Well, this will take longer than I expected."
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By the end of the day, Rodimus was in awe and trying really hard to figure out where to get First Aid Ratchet's education. They discovered his neural network had been tweaked even more than he suspected, making his reflexes about 12% faster than the norm. The cables and hydraulics which moved his joints had also been tweaked to allow much further range of motion without sacrificing power or speed. That part really surprised Rodi. After spending a year marooned with Lancer learning to pull his leg up behind his ear, he hadn't noticed his robot body had been modified. He figured he was just better trained. The medical team was really excited about the modifications to his repair systems - seeing in them a potential to lighten their own work load if they could reproduce the same results in others.
They were also able to tell him that he should be able to reproduce quite easily as an Autobot if he were ever so inclined.
He lay back on the table. Good news was so alien to him he wasn't sure what he wanted to do about it. Many options presented themselves but he settled on using his 12% faster reflexes to startle Ratchet with a crushing hug. Then he somersaulted backwards off the table, landed on his hands, flipped over into two flamboyant hand-springs, morphed human half-way through the last, and landed in front of his giggling mate. She was sitting next to Magnus and Marissa who had been looking rather bored up until the point Rodimus silently sprang across the room, picked Lancer up by the armpits and flattened her against the wall.
"Get a room," Marissa suggested when they didn't come up for air. Both Lancer and Rodimus politely flipped her the bird and kept right on kissing.
"How did you do those hand-springs so quietly?" Magnus asked.
"I think that's enough for one day," said Ratchet.
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The ride home in Spike's mini-van was quite different from the subdued and nervous trip to Autobot headquarters.
"So you're not shooting blanks as a robot after all?" Hot Rod asked rudely from the front seat. Magnus and Marissa took up the whole middle row, and Lancer and Rodi were looking quite cozy in the rear.
"Nice," Rodimus answered. "No, I'm not. Where did you take off to anyway? If you'd been there you wouldn't be asking."
"Out to the roof. I hate Med-Lab. Besides do you really think I wanted to watch them poke at you? Boring....and creepy too. Besides, Mom's still mooning over your kids and it's kinda freaking me out."
"Heh. Not ready to think about being a Daddy yet, Hot Rod?" Spike snickered.
"No, but at least I know how to when I'm ready! How can your people not know this stuff Rodimus? Even a kid like me knows that!"
"I'm going with Vector Sigma again," Rodimus said grimly. "There are rumors, urban legends almost, of Autobot females getting pregnant. They always end with the tragic death of the female in question. If Vector Sigma really can break into our minds, I bet that any accidental pregnancy ended with a murder or a suicide. That is also probably the reason we have about one female for every 200 males among the Autobots. The fewer girls we have, the less chance we have of finding out on our own."
Magnus sighed. "I really am starting to hate your Vector Sigma, Rodimus. Even the 'Cons never stooped so low."
Rodi grinned like a shark. "If I can get this information home to my people, things will never be the same, I promise you. I plan to severely bite the hand that feeds me when we get back. Lancer snickered and grinned the same evil, vicious looking grin. Rodimus smiled and kissed her aggressively.
"You are sexy when you think violent thoughts, Lady Assassin," he purred at her.
"Hey you two! Not while I'm driving! You guys are getting distracting."
"You are a bit out of control," Marissa said, hoping they would calm down. She was feeling...unsettled.
"Look who's talking, Miss Wandering Toes!" Rodimus said. "You work Magnus up into a state right at the dining room table."
"That's different," she protested, "We aren't driving then."
"No," said Lancer, "But you are driving soon after!"
Marissa flushed up to her ears and stayed that way.
Spike and Hot Rod exchanged glances. Marissa seemed to take an "If you can't beat them, join them" attitude and began kissing Magnus with unbridled fervor.
Spike vowed stubbornly not to be affected, and Hot Rod went back to his video game, trying not to wonder about the muffled noises his uncle was making, or why he let Marissa do that to his face. It looked kind of ...painful.
On the other hand, his twin was doing the same thing more quietly in the back. Hot Rod figured Rodimus had been through enough pain so there had to something he was missing. He caught sight of Marissa grabbing the front of Magnus' crotch and knew what that meant at least. What he didn't understand was why his own mind kept turning to Foul Play.
Spike's long driveway had never looked so good - or taken so long to get to the end of.
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Dinner was interesting that evening. Carly went for broke when Spike told her they had good news. She bought bushels of fried chicken, stuffing, cole slaw, and made two boxes of mashed potatoes herself.
Rodimus didn't want to eat a bite, but for once he had a valid excuse.
"Sorry Carly," he explained cheerfully, "Ratchet gave me a full recharge and I'm not at all hungry."
Carly looked to Lancer for confirmation.
"Truth," said Lancer. She smiled, and turned to her mate. It was obvious he was sending something to her mentally. She flushed.
Carly sighed. "Well, at least I didn't buy him any chicken. Magnus? Do you want Rodi's share?"
"Mmmmpf?" Magnus responded vaguely.
"Marissa! Will you please leave Magnus' lips alone long enough for him to eat? What's gotten into you tonight?" Carly grossed. She wished Marissa was a bit more shy about her relationship with Magnus. Not that it hadn't done Magnus a world of good, but right now Carly had a ton of food on the table and no one seemed to be eating it. Plus she was feeling... unsettled...and didn't need Marissa's blatant foreplay giving her any ideas.
Things had gone downhill the minute the travelers had come home tonight. Rodimus had bounced through the door, picked Carly up in a huge bear hug, and spun her around 'till she was dizzy.
"I take it things went well?" she asked when he put her down.
"Yup!" he yipped. Unsuspecting, Arcee came in and was given a similar whirl-wind greeting....as was Springer.
Foul Play, who had made the mistake of helping Carly set the table, tried to avoid Rodi by flattening herself against the counter. This of course, only spurred him on. She shrieked as he bounced up to her and covered her eyes. Off the ground and round and round she went, squealing in protest. Instead of setting her down he tucked her under his arm, and kept turning her to and fro.
"Foul Play?" he called, "Has anyone seen Foul Play? Yo Hoo! Foul PlaaaAAY?"
"Put me down you asshole Autobot!" she shrieked. She noticed several blobs standing by the door. She was spinning too fast to make them out, but one had reddish hair. Good enough. "Hot Rod! He's your twin! Stop him!"
"Me? What do you want me to do? I don't know how to stop him!" said the reddish blur.
The blondish blur spoke up. "You are so asking the wrong person for help Foul Play."
"Lancer! Help!"
"Tickle him," Lancer said.
"Oh you didn't!" Rodi protested, but Foul Play heard and responded. The Decepticon's fingers blurred desperately and all of a sudden Rodi dropped her as if seared. The giggle (giggle?) he let out was unlike anything she'd ever heard out of him before. He put a lot of distance between them and glared at his mate.
"You outed me," he accused.
"You asked for it, " she said. Turning to a slightly dizzy Decepticon, Lancer instructed. "Know thy enemy's weakness, pupil of mine."
"He's not my enemy....he's just an asshole," Foul Play said derisively. Her dander was up and she felt...unsettled.
Hot Rod snickered.
Rodimus glared at his twin, "She's been hanging around you too much, Ingrate. Besides, I wouldn't laugh if I were you...which I kinda am. If I'm ticklish, do you suppose you're not?"
"OO...let's find out!" cried Lancer. Hot Rod squealed. "Yup! He's ticklish!"
"Lancer! No fair! Hey lay off! Marissa! Go away! Eep!"
Rodimus watched with a smirk as Hot Rod danced around the room trying to avoid any more treacherous finger-tips. "Looks like you are going to improve your maneuverability the same way I did Kid."
Breathless, Hot Rod glared at him. "Asshole," was all he managed.
"Will all of you PLEASE quit running around my kitchen and sit down?" Carly asked stridently. "I want to get this meal over with!"
They all sat quickly, although Hot Rod spoiled their usual arrangement by placing himself pointedly between Spike and Magnus. This was a flawed strategy. Just a few bites into their meal, with Hot Rod fully engrossed in the mashed potatoes, Spike and Magnus made eye contact over his head. Acting as one, they gave the young Autobot simultaneous pokes in the ribs. Hot Rod yelped and pushed himself away from the table with such vigor, he toppled his chair.
Unfortunately he sprayed his tormentors with a mouthful of mashed potatoes on the way down. Fortunately, Spike and Magnus considered the sight of him sprawled on his back with his feet in the air well worth the price.
Carly lost it. "Now see here! This is MY house and My dinner table! You people will eat politely or you won't eat! That goes for you too Spike! I have put up with your uncivilized shenanigans long enough! Eat now. Tease each other later - OUTSIDE!"
"Yes Ma'am!" Magnus said smartly, with no trace of sarcasm.
Spike saluted.
Hot Rod righted himself awkwardly. He paused, suspicious. Neither Magnus nor Spike would even look at him. He sat down with care and ate in peace, although his eyes darted back and forth between Mags and Spike for the rest of the meal.
Carly remained flushed and cranky throughout dinner. She glared at Spike.
Arcee and Springer took turns feeding each other.
Marissa took her usual before-bedtime antics up a notch.
Rodimus and Lancer didn't speak a word, but they didn't look at their food (Lancer forced some cole slaw down Rodi for sheer politeness.) They looked at each other. Once or twice Lancer choked on something she forgot to chew.
That left Hot Rod and Foul Play looking at each other. He was across from her rather than on the same side of the long table for a change. In all the time they had been human, they had never seen this crowd eat in silence....and they were afraid for some reason to break it. Even Daniel was quiet.
Foul Play asked Hot Rod with her eyes what was going on. Hot Rod shrugged.
She stared at him. He stared back. She flushed up to her ears. He wondered about that and ate his chicken.
The minute dinner was over, the kitchen was cleaned up in record time....and with barely a goodnight, the couples disappeared upstairs, except for Lancer and Rodimus who went outside and vanished.
Hot Rod and Foul Play stood in the now empty kitchen and looked at each other again in complete confusion.
"Uh...was it something we said?" Hot Rod asked the air.
"Well, we could go spar or something," Foul Play suggested.
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The next morning Lancer and Rodimus were up first, or to bed last, depending on point of view. They went down to the kitchen in the dark - having little need for light anyway.
All was quiet. Finally.
Lancer put on a pot of coffee, extra strong.
I think it was a good idea to get out of the house, Rodi sent.
You should have realized sooner! You set all the girls off! Lancer griped.
You didn't catch on either! Besides...I was happy. Rodimus retorted.
Yeah, but I am one of the girls you set off! I can hardly be blamed for being distracted. Even Spike and Carly were at it for hours! Thank Heavens Danny is sleeping most of the night. We'll be lucky if no one ends up pregnant! Lancer sent in disgust. It was a poor choice in argument. Rodimus was reminded of his earlier euphoria. His people could have kids on their own. HIS people.
Going on 24 hours with no sleep and Rodi could still bounce in place.
Why are we up so early anyway? he sent to his mate. You know no one in this house is going to move before sunrise today except Hot Rod and Foul Play...and they can skip lessons for once. We don't even have to fight with that damned teleporter. What will we do with ourselves. Not that he didn't have suggestions. He came up behind her as she was getting out a mug and wrapped his arms around her.
You are a machine, she returned. Any more and my legs may fall off. Besides, I won't short the young un's their lessons. She held on to her empty mug and watched the coffee slowly fill the pot. Rodimus didn't give up and sent things designed to make the coffee less interesting.
There was an unexpected noise at the back door. Both assassins jerked to full alertness, whirling on the sound and assuming defensive stances. Only Lancer could make an empty coffee mug look like a deadly weapon.
Continued in Part F