nkos, Charlie's. Various Locations. Return of a Friend Part 1

[dens_extra_pups]

voice: *male, deep and rather harsh. It calls a name that you should remember* Beauregard MacKenzie, report.

Beau: *slow blinking as he tries to wake up... Was he asleep at his desk again? Or did Bill slip him that over-the-counter painkiller when he complained of a headache?* *groggily* Think Agent Fowler swapped my Tylenol for the night-time stuff again, sir.

voice: Wake up.

Beau: Working on it, sir. *will try and rub his eyes, making a startled sound and snapping awake when he realizes he can't move his arms... And that he can't get up at all*

voice: *belongs to a big man with coffee and cream skin and startling blue eyes* Easy, you're restrained to prevent collateral damage. How do you feel?

Beau: Collateral damage? *very confused* I don't understand. Who are you?

man: My name is Charlie Summers. *nods to someone to the other side of Beau* And that is Marco. He's here because he's gone through the same thing you are now.

Beau: *turns his head cautiously*

Marco: Yo. *grin*

Beau: ... *boggling now* *a bit bluntly* You're a robot!

Marco: *'scuse him while he cracks up at the surprise in Beau's voice*

Charlie: Actually, he's an autonomous cybernetic organism. *frown* Like you.

Beau: ... What? *scared and confused now*

Marco: *as he recovers from cracking up* Charlie put us both back together with what he could find of us.

Beau: ...What he could find?

Charlie: Have you heard anything about the multiverse? Alternate realities? *scowls at Marco for singing 'Star Trek' music*

Beau: ... *blank look*

Charlie: *grumbles* Shut up, Marco. *narrows eyes and sets to work straightening out what memories he could find*


half hour later


Marco: *snoring. Fell asleep while waiting on Charlie to finish working on Beau*

Charlie: Beauregard MacKenzie, report.

Beau: *groggily* I'm up.

Charlie: What's the last thing you remember?

Beau: *blinking a bit as he thinks* *then* I told Bill to make sure Denver was safe... *quieter* Then everything blew up.

Charlie: Have you ever heard anything about other realities? *walks up to Marco and kicks his chair over*

Beau: *as Marco wakes up with a yelp* Only on 'Star Trek'. ...Why?

Charlie: This isn't your reality. *easily lifts Marco by the scruffbar and shakes him*

Marco: *making funny sounds now!*

Beau: ... *seriously* Where is Denver?

Charlie: Safely where she wants to be. *checks Marco for coherence*

Marco: *trying to get out of your grip now, Charlie*

Beau: *soft sigh* As long as she's safe.

Charlie: *sets Marco down and puts a hand on his head* Recognize what this is?

Beau: *looks* ...A Cybertronian.

Marco: Not quite. Similar, but I'm from Earth.

Beau: ... So a non-biological being, then?

Charlie: He's the cybernetic ghost of a biological being.

Beau: ...

Marco: I'm still me, though.

Charlie: Memories were all I was able to retrieve of him when his reality ended.

Beau: *quietly* Oh. *starting to realize what you were talking about earlier, Charlie*

Charlie: And memories were all I got for you, too.

Beau: *quieter* I see.

Marco: Hey, chin up. You're still you. Only cooler!

Charlie: *shakes him again*

Marco: *funny sounds!*

Beau: *shuts his eyes for a few moments, then* What happened to necessitate me being brought back this way?

Charlie: *sets Marco down* I got the impression that you, or a reasonable facsimile, was still needed.

Beau: ...What happened to my original reality?

Charlie: *impassively* Gone.

Beau: ... *quietly* And the Autobots?

Charlie: Slowly trickling in from all corners.

Beau: *small nod* And the kids?

Charlie: The base crew's all there. *frowns at silent Marco with suspicion*

Marco: *didn't do anything, you can't prove it!*

Beau: There?

Charlie: *fingerflip to Marco's helm* The Galactic Police of another reality gave them half a continent.

Beau: *as Marco goes "Awk!"* Half a continent? Wow.

Charlie: *shrugs* You going to lose it over your new looks?

Beau: I don't think I will.

Charlie: *takes a remote off his belt and presses the buttons that will free Beau's head and arms*

Marco: *to Charlie* So does he only have one alt mode?

Charlie: *snorts at him*

Beau: *moving to try and sit up now*

Charlie: *snorts at him too and presses the buttons for the chest strap and legs*

Beau: *studying his new body now* *absent hum as he notices he's currently unpainted* *sees longish legs with sturdy feet, broad shoulders and a skinny little cowboy waist. And no pinkie fingers*

Charlie: *to Marco, absently* Circulate before you fall over. You're supposed to be here to calm him down.

Marco: *will get back to you on that*

Beau: ... *soft snerk and a headshake*

Charlie: *shakes his head too, and then slaps Marco upside his*

Marco: Awk! *ducks and covers his head*

Charlie: *to Beau* Any more questions?

Beau: How do I get to where the Autobots are?

Charlie: I'll send you. Anything else?

Beau: Anything I need to watch out for?

Charlie: Miko's mood swings. Wheeljack's pranks against Bulkhead. *shrug* You'll be roughing it.

Beau: ... Can't be any worse than when I was in Basic.

Marco: Well, at least you won't have to worry about bug bites.

Charlie: *dryly* Didn't you have something you were going to give him? *be useful, nerd*

Marco: Oh. Right. *digs in his pocket. Will pull a cube out and offer it to Beau*

Beau: ... *as he accepts the cube* What's this?

Marco: *big grin* Talk to it.

Beau: ... That doesn't answer my question.

Marco: You'll see when you talk to it. Ack! *scowls past the big hand on his head*

Charlie: It's a pet.

Beau: ... Like Dallas' old Tamagotchi?

Charlie: *dots* No. *can you tell his opinion of those old things?*

Marco: *scowl* Hey. My girlfriend likes Tamagotchi.

Charlie: *indifferently* Nice.

Marco: You know, Elfangor's been through a lot too, and he hasn't got a stick in a bad place.

Charlie: *ignore*

Beau: I'll take care of that later... Right now, I just want to get to where the Autobots are.

Marco: *pauses and looks back to Beau* Nooo. You have to wake it up first.

Charlie: Humour him.

Beau: ... *very soft sigh* *feeling a bit silly now. Will examine the cube* So should I think of a name?

Marco: *grin is back as the cube flashes with pale blue light and then flies up from Beau's hand*

Beau: ... *sarcastically* Great. I have my own Navi.

Navi: *as Marco cracks up and Charlie snorts* Herro!

Beau: ... *facepalm*

Navi: *now a little orb of light with four wings* *indignantly* Hey!

Marco: *laughs harder*

Beau: *behind his hand* We should go...

Marco: *eyes dancing* You need a PINpoint.

Beau: ... PINpoint?

Navi: *scoots over to something on the tray by the table he woke up on. Turns bright yellow* Hey!

Marco: *laughing again* That.

Beau: ... *will move to look*

Charlie: It's a simple model that'll hold four sets of coordinates. The scanner's built in.

Beau: *small nod, will examine the PINpoint* *glad that the buttons are labeled. Will push the menu button*

Navi: *has found something else on the tray* Look!

Beau: *attention going that way*

Navi: *dancing over a bowl of softly glowing rocks*

Marco: *conversational tone* So... can you really not program a DvD player clock?

Charlie: *whap!*

Marco: Ack! *ducks and covers* This is assault, you know!

Charlie: So sue me. I'll sell your payment for the lawyer's bill.

Marco: Ack! No!

Beau: ... *cautious poke of one of the glowing rocks*

Charlie: *grim amusement* You'd better eat that.

Beau: ... That's food?

Charlie: *warning hand on the shoulder of the fountain of quips* Yup.

Marco: *wince wince wince* *brightens as Charlie hands him a box* *quickly pulls out a comic book* DC Superhero girls Free Comic Book day special! YES! *looks in the box again* ...Those are the rare Transformers figures you promised?

Charlie: *impassively* Those Q-formers only came from certain stores with the first release of the DvDs that're in there.

Marco: Sweeet! *happy nerd*

Charlie: *snorts* Go home.

Marco: Going! *will PINpoint home to show Aaron the loot*

Beau: *examining one of the rocks now*

Charlie: Stop playing with it. You need the fuel.

Beau: I'm trying to figure out what it's made of...

Charlie: Energon in some kind of rock. You're not getting the coordinates till you eat.

Beau: ... *will be good and eat*

Charlie: Did you figure out the PINpoint?

Beau: I got the menu open...

Charlie: *looks at him*

Beau: Give me time to go through the menu... *and finish eating*

Charlie: *snorts and goes to talk to someone at the door*

Beau: *finishes eating and going through the menu of his PINpoint*

Charlie: *looks over his shoulder* Nice meeting you. The coordinates are on the tray.

Navi: Look!

Beau: Thanks. *will look for the coordinates*

Navi: *bobbing over a slip of paper*

Beau: *looks at the slip of paper* will work on putting the coordinates into the PINpoint*

Navi: *bobbing around the room now as she explores*

Beau: *again with the absent-sounding hum as he works*

Navi: *comes back and stops at a comfortable distance from him*

Beau: That should do it...

Navi: Hey?

Beau: Let's go.

Navi: *scoots a little closer, then turns to look at the door*

Beau: Navi, here. *holds out his hand toward the fairy*

Navi: *turns back, sees the hand, and flutters over to sit on it*

Beau: *will push the "Go" button once Navi's sitting on his hand*


Autobot settlement


Navi: *as they appear in an open space framed by a gargantuan banyan tree* Watch out! *bright yellow*

Beau: *'scuse him, he's kind of doubled over* Ugh. That... was not fun.

Navi: *flutters up, and then fades toward blue again as her alarm passes. Studies the new surroundings, and then once more turns yellow* Hey!

Breakdown: *as he stomps over* Hey is right. Who're you?

Beau: *looks up, startled*

Navi: Watch out!

Beau: *shocked disbelief* Breakdown?!

Breakdown: *pauses and narrows his eyes* Uhh... yeah?

Beau: Is Dallas alright?

Breakdown: *deep suspicion* How do you know Dallas?

Beau: *quietly* Because I'm what's left of her older cousin.

Breakdown: *blink blink* *stare* No you're not.

Navi: Hey!

Beau: Breakdown, I remember going out and looking for you when you didn't come back that one day.

Breakdown: *more doubtful and suspicious stare*

Beau: All of the evidence suggested that you and Dreadwing rumbled... And that you lost.

Breakdown: ...

Beau: *quieter* Dallas left Omega One, and I didn't see her again after that.

Breakdown: I don't got any idea what happened after I shut down. You could be pulling things out of your tailpipe for all I know.

Beau: *quietly* I never did apologize to you for cursing at you when you first joined the Autobots.

Breakdown: *scowl* Dallas' cousin didn't even talk to me when I first joined the Autobots.

Beau: I cursed at you when you said Dallas was your human partner.

Breakdown: *expression clears slightly* That was a week after I joined.

Beau: I also remember that you body-slammed Bulkhead and Smokescreen regularly.

Breakdown: *reminiscent snerk* Yeah, and you scolded like an old medic.

Beau: I knew Bulkhead could handle that sort of rough play. Smokescreen's not built to play like that!

Breakdown: Pff. You yelled about 'em both. Sounded just like Ratchet.

Beau: ...Ratchet swears more when he thinks nobody's around to hear him.

Breakdown: Yeah right. I never learned any new words from him. But I sure taught the ones that I got from you to your sister!

Beau: The ones in English, or the Scottish ones?

Breakdown: And the Croatian ones.

Beau: ... Oh, *beep* you.

Breakdown: Ewwww. You wish, sicko.

Beau: *says something cutting in Scottish*

Breakdown: And you only wish you were! *bellow of laughter*

Beau: *growls in frustration*

Breakdown: *more laughter* Oh yeah, and I married your cousin!

((Written with random_xtras))

Continued here.