TPF and Backwater Nexus. Omega Outpost One and Question Square. Dreamer

[dens_extra_pups]

Ratchet: *quietly, to the assembled family members* Due to the seizures I've had to put him into medically-induced stasis. It could be... a very long time before it's safe to wake him.

Chief Burns: *grim* But he will recover?

Ratchet: *a bit crisply* I see no reason why not.

Graham: It won't hurt him, will it? *worried*

Ratchet: *frowns at the younger Burns* What "it" are you referring to?

Graham: Being in stasis for so long?

Ratchet: *crisp again* That's what life support is for.

Chase: *quietly, trying to reassure the gathered family members* Ratchet is quite seasoned in medical care.

Boulder: *nods, though he's frowning with concern*

Chief Burns: *quietly* How long?

Ratchet: *sighs, his anger forgotten* It could be a week. It could be years.

Chief Burns: *winces* I see.

WakeJumper: We'll keep you updated.

Chief Burns: *looks at Graham, and then at Chase and Boulder* *quietly* We should get back to Griffin Rock.

Chase: *quietly* Understood, sir.

Boulder: *offers a hand to his partner*

Graham: *doing his best not to wibble as he moves to climb onto Boulder's hand*

Chief Burns: Thank you, Ratchet and WakeJumper. *gives a cuddle to the baby in his arms and then holds him up to his father*

Lumen: *YAP*

Ratchet: *soft, uncertain snerk*

WakeJumper: *nods as he reaches for Lumen* *soft snerk*

Lumen: *looks up at Daddyface and pauses. Wibbly bwee* *holds his bunny close*

WakeJumper: *soft clicks, cuddles Lumen close*

Boulder: *quietly* D'aww. Poor little guy.

Chief Burns: Let's go. *turns toward Chase* Let's go rescue Cody from Bullet.

Chase: *nods* I suspect Bullet will be glad to no longer have to hide her decorations.

Chief Burns: *hand on the blue and white bot* Can I get a ride?

Boulder: *looks at Chase*

Chase: *very slight smile* Of course, sir. *will transform. Is still a bit sore in places, but it's not a bad soreness*

Graham: Did you just squeak?

Chief Burns: *just pats the squad car and gets in*

WakeJumper: *small frown, will scan Chase. Then he's chuckling softly*

Chase: *will turn the radio to a station that plays music Chief Burns likes. He's glad to have been given the all clear to return to duty* We should return to Griffin Rock swiftly.

Ratchet: *watches the ground bridge flash into sight* Here's your road, gentlemen.

Lumen: Thrrrrpt. *boggles at how things just vibrated*

WakeJumper: *can't help but laugh at Lumen's shocked expression*

Chase: Thank you, Ratchet. *will move to drive through the ground bridge*

Boulder: *grins and waves at the surprised little baby bot, and then carries Graham through the ground bridge*

Lumen: *actually missed a chance to wave bye-bye for the first time in his life. He's still trying to figure that earthquake out*

WakeJumper: *chuckles* Let's go see what June's doing... *and return the wayward bitty to daycare*

Ratchet: *watches the Rescue Bots vanish through the bridge and then shuts it off. Sigh* I'd better go see to that research. Tell Panacea I'll be there at meal time. *since she's in an independent mood right now*

WakeJumper: Will do. *heads for the nursery*


somewhere else


Heatwave: *starting to wake up. That's when he notices it. His surroundings don't sound anything like the firehouse. or Outpost Omega One. He'll turn his head slightly, listening for some hint of where he is*

sounds: *water lapping, distant gibbers and whoops, rattling sounds, and the far off sound of what sounds like highly enjoyed cussing*

Heatwave: ... *will unshutter his optics to verify what he's hearing* *boggling as he sees what he thinks is a sky... if not for the fact that it's not blue. He can see a building nearby, and humans and other creatures going about their day... And then he's yelping and cursing as he suddenly gets rained on*

something: *blocks the water*

Heatwave: *startles at that, turns his head slowly*

guy: *at least seven foot tall, and so draped in a dark brown robe that nothing can be seen of his face or anything else* *is holding a big black umbrella over Heatwave*

Heatwave: *much confusion* Er... Thanks.

guy: *voice is deep, and seems to echo slightly* Are you alright?

Heatwave: *small frown* I'm.. not sure. *now that he's awake and aware, he's realizing something isn't right... For one thing, there's no information coming across his HUD*

guy: I'm Joe Smith. This is my friend Isamu Toshira. He's a guy.

Isamu: *wry look toward his MUCH larger friend. Is a tiny guy in a blue denim kimono and hakama*

Heatwave: I'm Heatwave.

Isamu: *looks back with a frown of concern on his pretty, big-eyed face* Heatwave? That sounds like a Cybertronian name.

Heatwave: ... *cautiously* It is.

Joe: You're Cybertronian? *glances up, and then turns the umbrella away from Heatwave before shaking it and folding it*

Heatwave: ... Why wouldn't I be? *confused and a bit uneasy now*

Isamu: *gestures* *kindly* Is this what you usually look like?

Heatwave: ...What are you talking about? *moving to sit up slowly* *stops and stares at his hands and feet. Pure and utter gobsmack crosses his face*

Joe: *deep whoosh of a sigh* Oh boy...

Isamu: *poised to dodge a freakout* Easy.

Heatwave: What the *BLEEEEP*?! *looks even more weirded out by the beep that happened when he cursed*

Isamu: *surprise shows on his heart-shaped face* *cautiously* ...What did you just say?

Heatwave: ... *cautiously* I said *bleep*.

Joe: *awe in that deep and spooky voice* Den wasn't telling stories.

Isamu: *soothing tone* Don't worry, the nexus censors words sometimes. You're safe.

Heatwave: ... Nexus? I'm supposed to be with my team! *going to try and get up now! Or not. Butt, meet ground*

Isamu: *small hands firmly on Heatwave's shoulders, and his light tenor now holds command* Sit still.

Joe: *flinched back at the get up attempt*

Heatwave: *a bit shaky at this point, and looking a little pale*

woman's voice: *from behind Heatwave* Do you guys need help?

Heatwave: *slowly turning his head to look over his shoulder. Kind of feeling miserable right now*

Isamu: *wary at the offer of help from a stranger, but polite as ever* I think he's just hungry.

woman: *walks around so that she can see Heatwave's face more clearly. Is young and slender, with pale blonde hair and big blue eyes behind large, dark-framed glasses* *breaks off a piece of the pizza she was eating and offers it to the man on the ground* It's only a vegetarian, but it will help your blood sugar even out. *hand offering the pizza is scarred, and some of the fingers are prosthetic*

Heatwave: *knows what vegetarian means, at least. Will quietly thank the woman as he accepts the offered piece. Then he'll have a bite* *and now he's pulling a funny face to rival some of the Tracks who come to the Nexus*

woman: *screws her face up into a worried and sympathetic expression* You don't like it?

Heatwave: *manages to swallow without choking on his bite* I'm...okay... *bit into a pepper without realizing it*

woman: *down to one knee beside him, and he'll be able to see that her eyes aren't actually looking at him* Are you sure? You're pale. *gentle touch with the hand lacking prosthetics* And your pulse is racing.

Heatwave: *quietly* Maybe not. *he's kind of going into shock. There's just been too much to take in all at once, even for him*

woman: *gently smooths his hair back and then looks up at the taller of the two men here* My name is Farrah Anne Smith, and I'm a doctor. This man needs to be brought somewhere quiet. The house that I'm staying in is right over there. Could you bring him?

Joe: *flinches from the thought of touching someone* Um. No.

Isamu: I have a teleporter. May we use that to bring him?

Heatwave: *trying to focus on breathing. Can't really respond right now*

Farrah Anne: *softly* It might stress him more. *spots a large being on the way past* Excuse me, Ultra Magnus.

hsvUltra Magnus: *stops and turns before hunkering down to talk to the person who addressed him* Yes?

Farrah Anne: I'm a doctor, and this man needs to be somewhere quiet. Could you bring him over to this house here? *points to the unit on the opposite end of the row of condos from Scott's* *apologetic look for Joe and Isamu. Please understand that I'm not snubbing you*

Isamu: *slight bow at the look* Perhaps we should call one of the local doctors too.

hsvUltra Magnus: I think there's a Ratchet who lives in the Nexus. I know there's a WakeJumper and Eclipse who operate a hospital on the Lost Highway. And there's Hormah as well. *attention going to Heatwave, will click softly and reassuringly to the poor stressed man, offering his hands as a seat*

Heatwave: *even though this guy doesn't look or sound like the Ultra Magnus he knows the bot's still an Autobot, and trying to help. Is still a bit shaky as he moves to try and situate himself in Ultra Magnus' hands*

Farrah Anne: *firmly* Yes, but he needs to get away from all this strangeness now, and my house is right there.

Ultra Magnus: You can ask them to PINpoint here. *will gently and carefully lift Heatwave after making sure the man is safely situated in his hands*

Isamu: *quietly* I'll go let Hormah know. *turns and streaks away*

Joe: ... *vanishes into a shadow*

Heatwave: *feeling a bit more dizzy now* *and then he's slumping as his field of vision greys out. When he comes to, it's four walls, a ceiling, and the feeling of laying in a comfortable bed that greets him* Huh?

Farrah Anne: *softly* How do you feel, Heatwave?

Heatwave: *turns his head slightly toward Farrah Anne's voice* What happened?

Farrah Anne: *gently* You got overwhelmed by your situation and fainted. Are you hungry?

Heatwave: Ugh... *nods slightly*

Farrah Anne: *picks up an insulated drinking mug with a straw in it* Hormah left this broth for you. It's vegetable based.

Heatwave: ...Hormah?

Farrah Anne: She's the local CMO. And the head Primus servant.

Heatwave: ... Huh. *has heard of Primus, from Optimus*

Farrah Anne: She was trained by a Ratchet. *more quietly, as she looks down at the mug* So was I.

Heatwave: Ratchet's the CMO for my Commanding Officer...

Farrah Anne: Ratchet's the CMO in most realities. *offers the straw* Do you think you can drink?

Heatwave: I think so. *will try. And he'll manage not to sputter, even!*

Farrah Anne: *watches carefully, a gentle smile slowly growing as she watches the broth level go down*

Heatwave: *surprised sound as he encounters something that isn't broth*

Farrah Anne: *soft concern* Is something wrong?

Heatwave: *pulling some strange faces, and then he's sticking his tongue out, revealing a single tiny star-shaped noodle*

Farrah Anne: *eyes that never seem to track or focus widen behind her glasses* That's what Hormah's little boy meant when he said he'd put something special in it for you.

Heatwave: ... *raised brow*

Farrah Anne: That's a noodle. Do you know what those are?

Heatwave: ... *tongue back in mouth*

Farrah Anne: *gentle amusement* And it's star-shaped.

Heatwave: *swallows and nods. Whirl has a wall at the firehouse where she's stuck glow-in-the-dark stars, so he understands the magic of stars to a child*

Farrah Anne: *smiles* Have you had enough to drink?

Heatwave: I think so.

Farrah Anne: Alright. *sets the mug into a box on the floor and closes the box, then seems to study her patient without looking at him* How do you feel?

Heatwave: *quietly* I don't understand why I'm human.

Farrah Anne: *softly* I don't know why I am, either. But I know I was supposed to come here to meet you.

Heatwave: ...Who told you to come?

Farrah Anne: Hormah did.

Heatwave: ... So who told Hormah?

Farrah Anne: *softly* I don't know. She wouldn't tell me. She only told me that sometimes people who sleep... aren't as unconscious as they seem.

Heatwave: ... *and now he's wondering about Blades*

Farrah Anne: This isn't what I usually look like, either.

Heatwave: It isn't?

Farrah Anne: *shakes her head* No. I'm Cybertronian too. My original name is First Aid.

Heatwave: ... Then why call yourself "Farrah Anne"?

Farrah Anne: *looks down. Softly* We all had human names. They helped us interact freely with the locals.

Heatwave: ... *so confused now* What do you mean? There're more Cybertronians like you?

Farrah Anne: *looks up questioningly* Like me?

Heatwave: You look human, but you said you're Cybertronian.

Farrah Anne: Oh. Yes. You.

Heatwave: ...

Farrah Anne: *quietly and frankly* For most of my life I've been a cybernetic lifeform.

Heatwave: *much frown* Bots don't just get turned into other creatures...

Farrah Anne: *softly* Sometimes they do.

Heatwave: *much frown now*

Farrah Anne: From what I've been able to learn... they usually get to change back. Someday. *looks down again* But they don't always get to go home.

Heatwave: ... What?!

Farrah Anne: *looks him in the face* We're Wanderers.

Heatwave: ...Wanderers?

Farrah Anne: *softly* We go from place to place, time to time. And we help.

Heatwave: ... But why us?

Farrah Anne: *softly* I don't know. Maybe because we can do it.

Heatwave: ... *trying to think of something to counter that*

Farrah Anne: *brief sigh* And I don't have anywhere else to go, anyway. Are you still hungry?

Heatwave: *quietly* No.

Farrah Anne: Alright. *gently fluffs his pillow and then straightens his blankets* You'd better get some more rest.

Heatwave: *small nod* Yeah...

Farrah Anne: *softly, as she gets to her feet* I'm sorry.

Heatwave: *soft grunt of acknowledgment, will try and get comfortable*


hour later


guy: *opens the door and looks in, eyes sharp and frowning over the bandanna he's got tied over the bottom of his face*

Heatwave: *had been laying in the bed, just silently thinking things over. The door opening gets his attention though, and he'll move to sit up, tensing when he sees a guy he doesn't recognize*

guy: *sees that he's awake and comes walking in, closing the door behind him* *quietly, in a familiar voice* Wow, you really look like scrap.

Heatwave: *boggling now* What the?

guy: *settles in the chair backward and rests an arm on the backrest, then studies Heatwave a little more* Feel like your brain's spinning too much to think?

Heatwave: *cautiously* Yeah...

guy: *still quiet* Then stop thinking about what doesn't make sense and remember how much you've always wanted to be a big hero.

Heatwave: ... *quietly* I can't go home...

guy: You were bored anyway. And feeling sorry for yourself because the others were all paired up.

Heatwave: *indignant now* I was not!

guy: *pulls down his mask. Mockingly* Were too.

Heatwave: *complete and utter gobsmack as he stares at what is very obviously another him... one with stitches along his jawline*

guy: *smirks and pulls the bandanna up again*

Heatwave: You're...

guy: Coming back to make sure I don't chicken out. *smirk still audible in his voice, but gruffness is also there*

Heatwave: *and now he's scowling at the implication that he'd chicken out on something*

guy: *hand on his shoulder* *gruffness increased* Be good to her.

Heatwave: *small nod*

guy: *hands him an insulated drinking bottle and gets up* Get some sleep.

Heatwave: Yeah...

guy: *grins behind the mask and then turns and walks out as quietly as he walked in, once more softly shutting the door behind him*

Heatwave: *will carefully remove the lid from the bottle and sniff at the contents*

stuff: *has a warm, sweet, and friendly scent*

Heatwave: *it doesn't smell like booze... and he doesn't think the other him would try anything funny. Will have a taste of the contents*

stuff: *tastes warm, sweet, and so good*

Heatwave: *will work on finishing the contents of the bottle* *soft, disappointed sound as he finishes off the drink*

bottle: *crackles very slightly in one place as his hand moves on it*

Heatwave: *attention going to the crackling*

label: *yellow sticky note on the side of the bottle!*

Heatwave: *will pull the sticky note off so he can read it*

note: "Two tablespoons Postum, 1 cup warm half fat milk."

Heatwave: *soft snerk, will set the note where he can pick it up later, along with the bottle, and then settle in the blankets again*

somebody: *cussing gleefully outside and being echoed by a younger voice. There is the accompanying sound of whoops and howls, but the whole cacophony is strangely peaceful; the sound of people doing their normal nightly routine with great content*

Heatwave: *surprises himself by yawning, will listen to the chaos outside as he settles into sleep after deciding that he might as well face whatever comes his way*

((written with random_xtras))