Livewire: Chapter 9
"And, Checkmate." Bluestreak grinned smugly as he directed the virtual game piece on Livewire's data pad to demolish her king.
"Damn it Bluestreak, I thought you said you never played this game before."
He gave a small shrug. "The mechanics of the game are pretty simple and there are a limited amount of moves that can be made and the scenarios are pretty straight forward. Compared to Six Shots, it's nothing."
Livewire sighed and leaned back into the berth. "It took me three years just to figure out what piece went where, from playing on and off."
"He's a Praxion. Their rate of coming up with strategies and solving puzzles is hard to contend with, even for a genius like me." Wheeljack's hand slipped and the screwdriver he was holding scrapped against the palm size contraption he was assembling. He cursed under his breath and lifted the casing to optic level to view the long scratch.
His knee joint had been fixed days ago, but he came regularly with different projects and was accumulating a small workspace in the medical bay, much to Ratchet's vexation.
"What are you working on?" Bluestreak inquired when it was obvious Livewire didn't want to play, and lose, another game of chess.
"I'm trying to get the smaller components to the anti-sound machine to resonate on a different frequency than the machine itself, or what the Decepticon's weapon will work at. Some of the materials I've been adding are too brittle." One of his digits shifted and small parts cascaded from the bottom. "Bolts," he cursed.
"Is it even possible to make a weapon out of sound?" Livewire asked.
Wheeljack looked offended. "Of course. Jazz uses a sound weapon by funneling a hyper frequency that vibrates at a very specific speed and pitch. Anything with a matching frequency and at a close enough proximity will shatter. The Decepticon's weapon is a hundred times larger and more powerful. The thing is almost unusable because of its ridiculous size, but then they have combiners who can easily transport it."
Livewire tried to piece together the point in-between the odd references. She had at least heard of the combiners. They were multiple robots that, like their name sake, combined to make one giant Decepticon. "So, you're making something to mask or change whatever frequency it is the weapon uses?"
Wheeljack froze and the small parts he had picked up fell back into his lap.
"Wheeljack?" She asked with concern.
He sprang from the berth and raced out of the room shouting, "Why didn't I think of that before?!"
Ratchet stuck his head out from his office after the main door closed. "Where is that half-bit slagger going? Doesn't he know the meaning of being quiet?"
"Sorry Ratchet," livewire apologized for Wheeljack. The medic had asked them to be quiet earlier so he could work on filing reports.
Ratchet vented irritably. "You apologize for that fool too much. You're not responsible for his actions so would you kindly stop?"
Bluestreak smiled deviously and whispered in her direction, "You're making it hard for him to be mad at Wheeljack."
"What are you saying to her?" Ratchet snarled. "Don't undermine my authority Bluestreak or so help me I will kick you out."
Bluestreak leaned back in his chair. "I was just telling her a strategy for chess." He smiled innocently.
"Smokescreen is finally starting to rub off on you. You do know he's a bad influence?"
Bluestreak gripped the edge of his seat and leaned forward, his voice raised. "There's nothing wrong with Smokescreen."
"That idiot goes behind everyone's backs with those outlandish ideas of his, and has a chronic gambling habit. Do tell me what's not wrong with him."
"At least he knows how to have fun and doesn't try to bite my head off half the time-" Bluestreak stopped abruptly, looking down as if he couldn't believe the angry words that had tumbled from his mouth. "Wait, I didn't mean to say that, I'm sorry Ratchet, please don't be mad. I just don't like it when 'bots talk badly about him."
Ratchet grumbled about idiotic sparklings at a decibel only Livewire could catch before raising his voice. "Just don't make it a habit or I'll whip you into shape myself."
Bluestreak cringed. "Yes sir."
Ratchet retreated back into his office and Bluestreak started up a rapid-fire speech about pre-programmed medic dispositions. Livewire's digits picked at the lone wire plugged into her arm, the last connection she had to an instrument since her recovery began. According to Ratchet the spark had matured in an exceptionally short amount of time and the inner spark chamber had finished forming, physical changes caused by the spark taking residence already complete. The other day he had put her into forced stasis and had completed construction of the solid, outer protective casing that laid just beneath her lower chest plates in a bed a of wires and circuits. Throughout the process he had been alarmed at the strange colors the spark itself transitioned through. In the beginning it was a small white light that had changed to blue then green with a tinge of yellow. Before he had closed off her chest completely, it had settled on a soft aquamarine.
Ratchet quelled her fears of being even more of an enigma when he told her sparks came in a variety of colors that didn't make a 'bot any more special or worse than someone else and was superficially unimportant since not just any 'bot would be able to see it. The process was a bit like a human inheriting a skin color since it was usually the same hue or a mix of hues as the parents', or creators' sparks. That lead to the problem of her not having, as the transformers put it, creators. She was just told not to worry about the spark's origins and concentrate on recovering.
"Ratchet?" She called, disrupting Bluestreak.
Ratchet answered by sticking his head back out with a disgruntled "What?"
"Can I leave yet?" Livewire barely waited a klik, staring at the open door to his office that she could only see at an angle, before returning to her data pad with a huff. If he didn't say yes before, he wouldn't say yes now.
"Only if you take someone with you, and report back every system hiccup and sneeze. If I comm. you and you don't respond, I will drag you back in here and strap your aft to the berth for another month."
Livewire's head shot up, wondering if she had heard him wrong. His disembodied voice floated into the room. "Leave before I change my mind."
Livewire's spark soared, she pulled the cord to the medical machine off the port in her wrist and leapt to her pedes, sure of her footing after pacing a rut into the floor the last few days. "By Ratchet!"
"Wait for me!" Bluestreak scrambled out of his seat to follow Livewire as she ripped out of the medical bay before Ratchet could take it back. She was finally free of that accursed room and wasn't going to waste another second trapped in there.
Livewire ran through the hall, an excited grin plastered on her face with only one destination in mind, unheeding of Bluestreak stumbling behind her, telling her to slow down - or the mechs she nearly mowed over in the hallway. Arcee danced around her with an offended shout. Finally, the mute metallic hallways gave way to the overcast sky and a thick blanket of snow.
"I'm free!" She wailed and darted for the nearest pine tree and scaled the branches. A few snapped under her pedes and her sheer weight before she succeeded in finding a sturdy perch. Livewire swung her legs over the side and beamed down at Bluestreak who was just coming out of the entrance, cooling fans kicked on.
"How are you so fast?! Where did-how did you get up there! You shouldn't be straining your systems, Ratchet will have my spark if you fall and damage yourself!"
Bluestreak undulated in an exaggerated fashion, trying to coax her down and explaining in detail what Ratchet would do to him if she damaged something. Livewire was just relishing the sights and cold wind blowing against her armor. It was well into winter and the trees were covered in snow. She swiped off an iced patch she hadn't already disturbed on her branch. It had been a long time since she had climbed a tree, but she had been itching with the urge to get outside and up high.
Bluestreak stopped midsentence and his optics jerked skywards, a blaster in his hands. Livewire twisted around, her optics following the only sound she could trace, the high pitched whine of jet engines. Bluestreak's stance held tense, neck cables straining. Livewire traced the skies, confusion blooming when she saw nothing but a few clouds. The jet engines turned into a rumble and Livewire nearly fell out of her seat when five massive jets shot over the tree tops, transforming mid-air and landing gracefully in front of the Ark - except for one who stayed in jet mode and shot into the sky moments before they were about to crash into the earth.
"Can you believe that human on the comm? They act like they own the skies." A mech she recognized as Slingshot asked just kliks after transforming.
"It is their planet and we were flying through their air space. Humans are particular about who occupies their maps." the mech next to him reasoned while the fifth flying Autobot shrugged.
"But didn't they give us immunity? We're supposed to be able to fly anywhere we want without being harassed," Slingshot emphasized with a twirling servo.
The jet above came screaming out of the clouds, engine running hot and whining loudly. The transformer dived between the two tall fliers and changed seconds before impact, sliding along the ground on his pedes and plowing a shallow trench of dirty snow. The mech stopped with a dramatic leap. "Touch down!" It was Air Raid.
"Hello Bluestreak." The tallest mech greeted soberly.
Bluestreak subspaced his blaster and his posture marginally relaxed. "Welcome back Silverbolt, any news?"
"Nothing new transpired that I can relay. The Decepticons were gone before we arrived."
"Too bad."
Livewire leaned forward to hear what they were saying went too far forwards and lost her grip in the limb above her. She sucked in a screech as she fell belly first through the pine needles before flopping to the ground in a heap that sent her pain sensors firing with a dull throb.
"Oww," she muttered into the snow.
"Scrap, Livewire!" Bluestreak ran to her aid, abandoning his conversation with Silverbolt.
She swiped off pine needles and cold ice that was seeping into the cracks in her armor, chilling her protoform underneath.
"Nice landing!" Air Raid jeered as she pushed Bluestreak away to keep him from helping, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.
"Shut up," she half-heartedly snarled, unwilling to admit the fall had been jarring to her soar systems. It took all of her willpower not to clutch her side when she stood.
"What kind of idiot falls out of trees? Trying to kiss the sky?" Slingshot taunted.
A growl built in Livewire's throat cables and she contemplated running up and slapping his face into the cold snow.
"Slingshot, please try to be nicer," One of the blue and red Aerialbot mildly admonished.
"Can it Skydive. Go read a data pad or something," Slingshot abrasively shot at his comrade.
Skydive frowned, but remained silent.
"Hey, wait a minute. Are you a flier?" Air Raid trudged through the snow toward Livewire to get a better look and she didn't appreciate the curious expression on his face.
She crossed her arms when he stopped in front of her and Bluestreak. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb. You've got a cockpit and wings."
If there was anything she had learned since coming online, it was that judging a robots abilities by appearances was a very bad idea.
"I transform into a wolf you idiot," she snapped.
Her logic processor screamed, berating her in a mental battle against her irate human self. Don't fight him, you can't win. He can break your neck in an instant. Too close, back up.
"Who are you calling an idiot, ground pounder?"
Her arms slackened at the childish, seemingly made up insult. She couldn't believe something so simple yet foul sounding had come out of his lip components. "A what?"
"A ground pounder, dust eater, former drone wannabe."
The last one stung, snapping her expression into neutrally. "I was never a drone, and don't ever think of asking me for energon again."
Silverbolt laughed behind Air Raid. "You're younger than us, and we outrank you."
Livewire wanted to pounce them both, but an invisible force held her back, causing her joints to ache with conflict.
"That's not very nice," Bluestreak interjected, receiving another barking laugh.
Just before Livewire could make up her mind a new plane glided overhead, this one coming in at a leisurely pace. The red plane transformed and landed neatly beside Silverbolt, revealing himself to be Powerglide covered in dirt and sporting a few dents and scratches to his armor. He looked at the bots around the front of the Ark. "Is this some kind of party?"
"No dumb 'bot. Get out of here." Slingshot said dismissively.
"Slingshot," Silverbolt's deep baritone reverberated through the chilled air, making the addressed bot look up reluctantly. "I will not allow you to abuse your authority. I will order you to never give Livewire a command if you insist on continuing your shenanigans – and apologize to Powerglide for your rudeness."
"But boss," Slingshot whined. "We never get jurisdiction over anything."
"And you wonder why?" Powerglide said scathingly.
"No one asked you, old man."
Powerglide inflated. "Old? I'll have you know I'm in my prime."
Slingshot was unimpressed. "Exactly, old."
"Slingshot," Silverbolt said sternly, effectively quelling the argument.
Slingshot grumbled and gave a barely audible "Sorry," shot in Livewire's direction and stomped over to Silverbolt, giving Powerglide a passing glare as he headed inside the Ark. "I'm getting some energon, come if you feel like it," he announced just before disappearing inside.
Air Raid was hot on the other 'bot's heels and other two, Skydive and a 'bot she didn't know the name of, followed. The one that was still nameless to her made a detour to where she and Bluestreak were standing. "I'm really sorry about him. Slingshot sometimes lets his mouth run without thinking. I'm Fireflight, I hope this experience doesn't make you think badly of us."
She shook her head and watched him go.
"Old, I can't believe that brat called me old!"
The towering Aerialbot leader, Silverbolt put a hand on Powerglide's scuffed shoulder. The red glider wilted under the touch like an invisible force had calmed his rage. "He didn't mean it."
"Just keep them away from me. New sparks are always trouble," he grumped.
Silverbolt nodded and went inside, leaving Livewire alone with Bluestreak and Powerglide, an invisible weight lifting at the absence of the Aerialbots.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Bluestreak glanced at her frame, looking for any kind of physical damage. "Those guys are jerks."
"I'm fine, please stop it."
"But you just got out of the medical bay. If you have to go back there Ratchet will kill me for sure."
Livewire rolled the spokes in her optics. "Bluestreak, I'm not going to melt down from falling out of a tree."
Powerglide brushed at his armor, knocking away debris and wincing every so often as he scrapped against damaged plating, drawing her optics.
"You were beat up and covered in dirt the first time I saw you."
Powerglide stopped fussing with the dirty snow covering his paint job and shot back, "What of it?"
"What have you been doing?" She asked bluntly.
"None of your business." He turned on his heel and disappeared into the Ark, cutting off any chance of continuing the conversation.
"It's nice to see the Autobots are so friendly." Livewire kicked out of the snow her pedes had sunk into.
"We're not all like that, I promise. Well, there are a lot of older mechs who aren't much fun, but they're really smart."
Livewire could sense a stream of babbling coming on and she wasn't in a great mood for it. "No offense Bluestreak, but could I be alone for a bit?"
"Your spark though."
"I've been lying around long enough and the casing is complete. I'll be fine. Please?"
"I'm not sure, but if you say you're fine I guess you would know best, it is your fame. And Ratchet discharged you and he wouldn't do that without being a hundred percent sure you're fine."
"Exactly. You don't have an obligation to stick around me."
"If you're sure…"
After she convinced a torn Bluestreak, Livewire walked alone, further into the forest until she found a boulder under full sun. She hopped on top of it, reveling in the small amount of warmth she could feel seeping through the rock and powerful sun rays. She took out her data pad, popping the stylus into her mouth. To her luck, the internet connection still worked this far from the base. She wasn't sure if the device used a short range wireless, was satellite, or some alien form of communication that let it connect - she wasn't about to complain either way. A pressure lifted off her mind and body as she reviewed news reports of Decepticon sightings, the solitude a refreshing state after being constantly badgered by Ratchet or whoever else was mulling about the medical bay. She didn't mind company, but sometimes she needed time to herself, something she was largely denied while bed ridden.
Sometime later, Livewire rolled the styles about with her glossia and gazed unfocused into the woods. Her mind continually drifted away with the powerful pull of her buzzing thoughts, too bothered to stay focused on the video of Decepticons entering an abandoned mine. Giving up on relaxing, she stowed the data pad and slid off the boulder. With a shallow vent, her feet took her forward.
The woods were obstructive to navigate in her bipedal form, branches and clustered trees kept getting in the way, smacking against her armor and scratching at her face. Livewire finally transformed after nearly tripping over a fallen log and found her wolf form to be surprisingly adapted to the uneven terrain and tight spaces. It wasn't far before she transformed back at the front of the Dinobot den and cupped her hands to her mouth.
"Grimlock?'
"Grimlock not here, what you want?"
She above the den and to the sides, seeing nothing.
"Wrong way," the voice squawked.
She turned around toward the trees, using her scanners to sweep the woods. "No, up, up. Swoop up here."
Livewire craned her neck where she finally spotted the giant pterodactyl perched on a tree.
She waved at the Dinobot. "Hey Swoop."
"What you want?" He repeated, a suspicious spark in his blue optics.
Livewire stiffened, feeling the hostility rolling off the Dinobot. "I just came to visit."
"Liar, you no come to visit Swoop earlier, you say you Dinobot but leave like all others."
An apologetic smile broke across her face plates. "I was trapped in the medical bay, I just escaped. I promise I wasn't ignoring you guys." She reached into subspace and pulled out a special box Wheeljack had given her when Ratchet wasn't looking. One click of a button by her thumb and an energon stick dispensed from an opening on the top.
"I brought you food too." She pulled the energon out and waved it at Swoop who leaned forward curiously before expanding his wings.
Livewire was afraid the tree would crack under his weight, his powerful feet pushing off from the limbs bent them from the exertion. He glided downwards, circling her once before landing at the mouth of the cave and waddled up to her. His long beak nuzzled the tip of the energon. His sheer size made her hesitate, his beak half the size of her body alone.
"Take it, it's all yours," She coaxed the Dinobot's mouth open and swiftly dropped the stick inside.
Swoop's head snapped back, swallowing the energy in a couple gulps. Livewire was pleased he relented so quickly. She had suspicions that Swoop would be just as, if not easier to talk to than Grimlock.
"You sure you no want something?" His tone was still suspicious, but a smidge friendlier than before.
"I wanted to talk and hang out," she confessed.
"You want Swoop to hang upside down? Swoop no bat."
It was endearing how the Dinobots didn't understand play on words, and was admittedly nice to be able to bring something to the conversation. It was always interesting when they tried to take her literally. At least they were open minded enough to let her explain and try to understand.
"It means I want to be around you for a while, talk, do something, just be in the same general vicinity."
"Livewire have funny meanings to words, Swoop like them and want to 'hang out' with Livewire too," he flapped his wings jovially, looking like a bird highly pleased with itself.
She looked around him, scanning area and spotted the edge of a hogback jutting from the ground. Livewire tapped the tip of Swoop's yellow beak and coaxed his head to follow her as she walked around him. "Come over here."
Swoop obediently followed and watched her with keen interest when she perched on the edge of the formation. Livewire pat the wide surface next to her.
"Want to sit?" Only after the offer did it dawn on her he might not be able to sit because of the anatomy of his design. Livewire was about to apologize and stand back up when his face jutted forward, startling her as his body exploded outward.
Livewire gapped at the mech standing before her, wings held on his back and the long beak cresting behind his humanoid head. Swoop twirled around and plopped next to her, grabbing his knees and leaning forward to look down at her. His long head tilted in a bird like manor, breaking her surprise.
"I didn't know you could transform."
"Of course Swoop can transform. You thought he couldn't?" He made a laughing screech. "Livewire funny."
"Heh, yeah, I guess…Hey, why does-do the Dinobots live out here instead of in the Ark?"
Swoop answered easily, and with a bit of bitterness. "Dinobot den is only for Dinobots. We aren't wanted by the Autobots, they only come here when they want us to fight Decepticons."
Livewire playing with a rock, slowly crushing it between her fingers as she watch Swoop openly vent. "The Autobots don't like you guys very much, do they?"
Swoop looked in the direction of the Ark. "No, they think we stupid and good for nothing until Autobots need 'bailing out'."
A small chunk of the rock in her palm broke off. "Does that mean you consider yourselves neutral?" Her optics were locked on the Autobot symbol adorning his chest.
"We Dinobots, we no care what Autobots think," he proudly puffed out his chest.
Livewire's fuel pump tightened, her spark fluttered anxiously. "Then why do you help them?"
Again, Swoops answer game with surprising ease. "Decepticons dumb, and if Wheeljack asks Dinobots for help, we do it. Sometimes Ratchet too, but he scary."
A small part of her warmed at hearing this. "You like Wheeljack a lot, don't you?"
"Wheeljack bring Swoop energon treats and fix Dinobots even when Decepticons no need destroying, like you, only you Dinobot too. Swoop like Livewire." He bent down and Livewire's optics went wide when he crushed her in a hug, leaning all of his weight onto her.
She clutched his armor, struggled to keep the both of them from tumbling off the rock. "I like you too, Swoop," she grunted between clenched denta.
Swoop rubbed his face against hers, creating a scraping sensation that was oddly not unpleasant in the least despite them being made of metal.
When he let her go Livewire cycled heavily to catch her breath, an unnecessary human impulse.
"Why you two getting all chummy? Me no see any good reason to."
Livewire braced with one hand and looked over her shoulder to the owner of the gravelly, slightly offended new comer.
"Grimlock," she greeted warmly. "Want an energon stick?" She held up the container and pushed the button, dispensing a treat.
Grimlock's optics brightened and massive dinosaur lumbered closer. "Yes, yes, Grimlock want energon treat."
Livewire could picture him salivating when she tossed a handful into his expectant mouth. He crunched noisily, dripping small bits of energon that sizzled on contact with the ground before dissipating. Swoop held out his claw, demanding some himself so she gave him a few more. In humanoid form he more or less mashed the energon sticks into his mouth, using his palm to keep pieces from spilling out. After finishing, Swoop transformed into dinosaur mode and shot off into the air with a happy screech.
"I haven't been able to see you guys in a while. How has it been, Grimlock?" Livewire put her hands on his snout. When she pushed downwards to stand, he lifted his massive head, taking her feet off the ground before plopping her back down.
"Fun," he drawled. "Grimlock make new friend who teaches Dinobots how to fight better." A spark of recognition lit up his optics. "You come and learn with Grimlock, new friend teach Livewire how to fight, too."
"I don't think I need to-"
"You use rain check now, come with me."
Livewire looked to the sky where Swoop was well out of sight. She had a feeling there was no getting out of this one without potentially angering the Dinobots, and she didn't want them to feel like she was avoiding them. Relenting, she sighed, "Show me the way."
Grimlock lumbered into the woods and she transformed before following.
Livewire trotted behind the silent giant making his way through a path that had already been carved. Trees were smashed aside, leaning against others or completely crushed under foot. The grass had been trampled into submission, a dirt path made up of Dinobot prints hidden by snow creating a hazard area ripe for tripping through.
Livewire's ears swiveled, catching the faint sound of something in the distance. It wasn't until Grimlock lead her into a clearing that was similarly trampled like the path way that she saw the source of the crashing and tearing. In the midst of the destruction the other Dinobots were wrestling with each other. Slag was locking horns with snarl's spiked tail and Sludge was viciously beating a boulder into chunks with his tail.
A drawn out sigh of disapproval sharply drew Livewire's attention. As if gravitated by her gaze, the feminine black transformer looked at her with surprise, purple optics piercing Livewire even at a distance. The femme rose, four spindly legs jutting from her back supporting her angular body. The fine tips sank into the snow as she approached. She stopped before Livewire and lowered down to her long legs that had been dangling beneath her. "What do we have here, another Dinobot? No, you don't look quite the part. My, what an interesting looking creature."
The way her optics swept up and down Livewire's frame made her armor crawl, yet she couldn't help but be mesmerized by the exotic look of the femme as she circled thoughtfully.
"Grimlock?" Her inflection fell, deepening her sultry voice. It was apparent she had the Dinobot's full attention. "What did I say about brining Autobots here? You haven't, perhaps, told anyone about my being here have you?"
Grimlock shook his head. "Grimlock would never do that. You say only Dinobots can come, Livewire Dinobot."
"Livewire, hmm?" Sunlight glossed over the gold trimmings around her helm and Livewire finally noticed the familiar symbol set into her chest, and it wasn't Autobot.
Livewire lowered, belly nearly touching the ground in a ready stance, growling. "You're a Decepticon."
Grimlock's foot came down with earth shaking strength, startling Livewire and earning a passive glance from the other femme. "She no Decepticon. No fighting."
Livewire looked at the symbol, then the femme's smooth face, trying to gauge a reaction. There was a cunningness to her expression and the way she held herself, it was radically different from any of the transformers she had met. Collected, calculating - calmly and rapidly turning over Livewire's presence in her processor.
"You're not a Decepticon? How?"
The femme laughed, bringing her razor sharp servos to the front of her, golden fingertips gleaming. "Honey, just because I wear this mark doesn't mean I work for them. It's…insurance. Things are incredibly hard for anyone who doesn't have some sort of quasi loyalty."
Livewire's interest spiked and her defensive stance fell. "Does that mean you're neutral?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"Is it common to be a part of a faction, but not work for it?"
The femme looked at her oddly. "What are you saying? That you don't want to be an Autobot anymore?"
"I never was one," Livewire confessed. "This symbol," she referred to the red mask painted to her shoulder, "was put on in a mix up. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I'm not one of them. I don't think I ever can be."
The femme smiled almost knowingly with a hint of something Livewire couldn't decipher.
"Livewire was it?" Livewire confirmed with a nod. "My name is Airachnid. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."