thisavrou_log | backdated

backdated

Who:Starscream, Ratchet, and anyone else who lives at Ratchet's place
When:Right after Tarn and Starscream have a confrontation.
Where:Ratchet's place!
What:Starscream needs someone to complain to.
Warnings: Probably nothing.

Starscream wouldn't normally go and seek out an Autobot to complain to -- No, that was a lie, he totally would considering Jetfire. But he did not know what compelled him to go to Ratchet's door, other than well he did not have a long list to go to. Megatron didn't really speak to him. Bumblebee seemed to be stalked by his alternate. But what he did know was that he couldn't stay around Tarn for much longer with how the purple mech was acting.

It weirded Starscream out to a grand degree and out of most of the Autobots, Ratchet actually answered most of his questions.

So here he was. Banging on Ratchet's door. He didn't know what he'd do if the Autobot medic did not answer, probably break in or something.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ratchet slams the door open after only a minute or two of constant hammering, looking a little frazzled and a lot annoyed.

"What?"

"What's your problem?" Starscream responds like there shouldn't be any issue with him being here.

In fact, right after he speaks he sort of just pushes himself past Ratchet and into his room. Because clearly the Autobot opening the door was an invitation to walk right in.

Ratchet is actually stunned at Starscream's audacity enough that he doesn't close the door in his face in time and is left staring as Starscream pushes right into his room.

"Well, right now my problem is people waltzing into my habsuite uninvited, thanks for asking!" His voice is indignant but his optics are sharp as he folds his arms over his windscreen.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Starscream doesn't respond for a moment and instead just glances around the room, mostly out of being nosey. When he finally turns to acknowledge Ratchet, he does so with a shrug.

"You know how you said not to mess with Tarn because he's dangerous? Well, that might have happened accidentally and I think he tried to kill me. Or he really wanted under my plating. I'm not sure which happened."

Ratchet stares at Starscream for a moment before looking briefly past him into the middle distance as though attempting to gather himself.

"You messed with Tarn accidentally." It isn't really a question, he just seems to be attempting to confirm that his audials are functioning properly. "You messed with Tarn accidentally and now you think he was hitting on you.

"It is with genuine trepidation that I ask, but what the hell actually happened?"

It totally was an accident. An accident that he got caught and Tarn got upset. If it wasn't so easy to push his buttons none of it would ever happen.

He takes a long vent of air before answering, because this was going to be an interesting explanation.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. He grabbed me by the neck and then started all this creepy whispering and claimed he was trying to kill me. And wanted my spark. And then he got really mad and I shot him in the face."

"You shot him in the--wait." Ratchet straightens, his optics narrowing. "He was whispering to you saying he tried to kill you and nothing happened? Nothing at all? Besides you shooting him in the face, I mean."

"Other than him getting so up close and personal it made me feel a disgust down to my spark, no. I think he might be crazy. Well, crazier than I originally thought."

Just the thought of Tarn getting all in his face made him shudder.

"No--well, not in the way you mean, at any rate.

"Tarn's an outlier, I'm pretty sure--he has abilities that normal mechs don't. If he tried that on me, or on anyone else from back home, he could kill us just by speaking. I don't know if it's the Fool's Energon working on him or just because you're not from the same place, but you're lucky to be alive."

"He might have mentioned something about that, but I stopped paying attention to his babbling."

He folds his arms across his chest. He's not sure what to think about that. Had he been that close to death? Was that small tug he felt a sign of death?

"... It doesn't work retroactively does it?" Is he going to suddenly drop dead?!

"Not a bad policy," Ratchet mutters, then shakes his head.

"No, if you were going to kick it, you'd've done it while he was talking to you. His voice can cause stress and spark arrhythmia, but only when you're actually hearing it. I doubt it leaves lasting damage unless you're exposed to a high concentration over a long period of time, which... pretty much nobody has been, considering, y'know. The murdering involved."

"Are you sure?" Because the medic might be wrong or something.

"If you're wrong and I die I'm coming back to haunt you."

No, he's not paranoid. Not at all. He's just suddenly wondering if he should be worried. And well, the whole possible death thing.

"Yes, I am sure." He's sure exasperated, at least. Who the hell do you even think you're talking to, Starscream, come on.

"You won't even have to come back to haunt me, you'll get popped out of cryo in a week or so, so I don't think I'll worry about it too much if it's all the same to you."

"But if it didn't effect me the way it was supposed to then how can you be sure? What if I'm dying this very instant?"

Unfortunately for Ratchet this is what it's like to talk to Starscream in a non hostile situation.

Ratchet folds his arms over the front of his chassis and fixes Starscream with a long, calculating glare.

"Does the Ratchet you know strike you as the type of mech who would take a half-cocked guess about declining to treat a potentially lethal medical condition and then tell you he was sure?" he asks, but he flips a scanner out of his wrist and takes a look anyway.

"You're fine. No changes from your baseline or signs of any of the indicators that would be preliminary signs of damage or offlining due to Tarn's abilities. Satisfied?"

Starscream went to open his mouth and say something but immediately closes it. The Ratchet he knows of, while Starscream fights him to be belligerent and annoying for a medic, is also soft-sparked enough to help anyone in need.

So the seeker decides to do the mature thing and change the subject.

"Well anyway. I think I'm going to have to stay here for awhile."

Ratchet is perfectly still for a full beat, his optics narrowing slowly.

"Excuse me," he says, in an I-better-not-have-heard-that-properly tone of voice, "what did you just say?"

"Until I can find a room some place else away from that lunatic, I'm going to stay here."

Oh, he knew Ratchet would protest, but that won't stop Starscream. He has very few options at this point.

"Unless you plan on sending me back to my death, but that wouldn't be very Autobot of you, now would it?"

"Like I need you lecturing me about what's 'Autobot' or not," Ratchet snaps, nettled.

"Why don't you go stay with your twin, then? Or Megatron? Or literally anyone else?" Why me? he manages to not wail plaintively aloud, his mouth set into a firm frown.

"Because I'm not stupid , and you and I both know my alternate is likely to do something while I recharge. And Megatron, Autobot or not now, I don't trust him either."

Why can't Ratchet just accept this and be fine with it? Why must things always be so difficult?

"You -- well, you-" Blast it, words are hard. "You're a medic and you're more about saving people and stuff than the whole murder thing. My options are limited and you are the ... safer choice."

A very long, round about way of saying 'I trust you the most not to kill me.'

Ratchet hears what Starscream isn't saying and pauses for a moment, his optics sharp as they narrow thoughtfully.

"I see," he says in a tone that indicates he actually does, his mouth pinched at the corners and his arms folded over his windscreen. "And, for the record, I should trust you not to murder me because...?"

At least Ratchet seems to get the point now. That's good as Starscream doesn't want to have this kind of conversation in the first place.

"I have no reason to and nothing to even gain from it. But it's not like I can actually give you any sort of symbol of proof. We both know you're not going to just take my word for it, but that's all I can really give you."

"Oh?" Ratchet's voice is lazy now, settling into his boots with his arms still crossed and watching Starscream's face.

"If I'm not going to take your word for it, then why bother showing up here? You think I'd deliberately endanger myself and the two other people who live here?"

Starscream's expression drops some. Why? Just why? Ratchet had a point and was certainly being reasonable, but he was outspoken enough that it caught him off guard. Starscream's initial plans for just barging his way in, didn't seem to be working.

"Because I didn't know where else to go. It was a toss up between you and the kid, Bumblebee and he already seems to be stalked by the other me. So what do you want me to do? Turn over my weapons? Is that going to make you feel 'safe' ?"

He sighed and it wasn't even an overly dramatic sighed.

"What do you want?"

Ratchet heaves a deeply put-upon and thoroughly dramatic sigh before he shakes his helm.

"If you do end up staying here, you will abide by house rules, you will not antagonize Bumblebee or Milly, and you will respect my patients' privacy if I need to kick everybody out to see one in here. Are we absolutely crystal clear?"

Oh good, Ratchet is finally agreeing. That is one less thing for Starscream to worry about, but wait --

"Bumblebee? Doesn't he have his own room? And who is Milly?," he has so many questions. But he figured Ratchet would come up with a bunch of rules. This wasn't Starscream's first time stuck in a confined place controlled by Autobots.

Doesn't make it any less annoying though.

"Bumblebee and Milly are roommates, and their habsuite was damaged so they are here pending repairs," Ratchet says, his tone forbidding. "Milly is an organic with Cybertronian-augmented systems. They are both friends of mine, on top of being here first. If that's a problem, feel free to return to your designated quarters."

"I didn't say there was going to be a problem. I was just asking. I didn't even know Bumblebee had a roommate," Starscream responded with a small grumble. He also didn't know they were talking about completely different Bumblebee.

This might turn out to be a bad idea. Starscream has those from time to time, but too late now until he figures something else out.

"All right, all right, keep your paint on," Ratchet says, watching Starscream almost curiously.

"So, Tarn spooked you bad enough that you're willing to play nice with two Autobots and an organic to put yourself out of range, huh?"

Now that Ratchet has calmed down, he starts to wander around the room and be nosy at everything.

"Less spooked and more that Tarn is some sort of lunatic. A fanatic who hangs bodies on his wall. That isn't normal even for a Decepticon," he pauses for a beat, "except for maybe Megatron. He would probably do that."

"I told you," Ratchet says, sounding aggrieved. "Not even our Megatron is that weird. It's best to just steer clear."

"Are you sure? Did you know him during the height of the war?"

If Starscream had a brow, he'd quirk it. While people can change, and it's obvious this Megatron has, there's nothing to say he wasn't just as terrible as the one Starscream knew.

"Well enough. Look, I didn't say he wasn't crazy, just not... quite that type of crazy."

Ratchet shakes his head.

"He made Tarn what he is, but I think Tarn pretty much went completely off the rails all on his own steam."

"The Megatron I know got a kick out of torturing everyone and turned into a complete lunatic. Though the last I saw he was spewing garbage about being wrong and not being for vengeance anymore," He waves a hand almost dismissively.

"Tarn seems almost mild by comparison, but I don't like the idea that he can explode someone's spark. Especially mine."

"Well, apparently you're completely safe, so lucky you," Ratchet snaps, his patience fraying slightly.

"Tarn isn't 'mild' by anyone's standards, and the faster you internalize that the less trouble you'll be in. Just because Tarn doesn't have an army at his back right now doesn't make him not dangerous."

"I never said he wasn't," Starscream snapped right back.

"Blast it all. Why are you so antagonistic? I'm not doing anything. If I thought he was in an way not dangerous, would I be here? I haven't done anything to any of your people since I got here. And while I do not expect anyone to particularly like me, I would appreciate it if you'd all stop treating me like an idiot."

Starscream doesn't have much patience to begin with, but even has certain limits.

"Look, you're the one who waltzed in here, informed me that you 'accidentally' antagonized the half-crazed zealot-torturer who I specifically told you to stay away from, and then told me you're taking up residence in my habsuite! I genuinely cannot overstate how dangerous Tarn is and you tell me you think he seems 'mild by comparison' to anyone and you expect me to treat you like some sort of genius? I'll thank you to not take how the rest of my crew treats you out on me, and if you don't want me to treat you like an idiot, please stop acting like one."

Ratchet folds his arms, his optics narrowing slowly.

"Look. Fine. You can bunk here until you find somewhere else away from Tarn. I'm not going to make you stay with him, particularly not if he's pissed at you. If he can't kill you with his voice, he's perfectly capable of finding another method, and I don't want to have to clean up the mess."

If there's one thing Starscream is actually starting to learn, it's to not piss off Ratchet. To think the Autobot Medic sounds almost scary when upset and considering Starscream spent a great deal of time around Megatron that's says a lot.

So he stares much like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before finally responding, "Uh ... Okay. I'm sorry?"

Which is an unusual response for him, but he really does not know how to respond to Ratchet snapping back at him and being right about everything he said.

Ratchet looks a little nonplussed at the genuine apology, from a Starscream of all people, but he shakes his head a little.

"Don't worry about it. I just don't want Tarn having an excuse to make anybody else a target--things are rough enough for Riptide and Tailgate."

"Are you concerned for my safety? Or just concerned you'd have to be the one to put me back together?"

Ah yes, Tailgate. The confused Autobot. Starscream can't be convinced that kid is a Decepticon. He practically has "HI I'M AN AUTOBOT" stamped all over him in bright neon letters. And Starscream fully believes Riptide's stupidity brings about his own problems. He's like Skywarp only dumber which is an amazing feat in his eyes.

"Let's call it a combination of the two." Ratchet turns a hand palm-out in a releasing gesture, one corner of his mouth curling. "I'll leave it up to you to decide what percentage is what."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

backdated

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject