With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Someguy Somewhere · Aug 5, 2024

Sometimes laughter is contagious, even when it's on a page. Well done.

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
13th July 2014
20:56 GMT +5:30

"So, ah, yeah." The white Autobot with electric blue decals slumps slightly, his right arm dropping from where he was gesturing to go limp on the table. "He means a lot to Arcee, but he doesn't seem to like me at all."

I smile, and he starts looking uncomfortable.

Ah, interesting. We get a little look inside Slipstream's CPU. This is probably a conversation he wasn't comfortable having with a human, that's for sure. Far too different in their worldviews and cultural complexities.

"See, I know the War's over and everything, but I still get a little nervous when I see a 'con smile like that."

One of me… One of my bodies, the body with all the essential bits in it is sitting in the workshop with Tailgate, Arcee's newly resurrected partner. Tortured to death by that psycho Airachnid, and now wondering why Jack doesn't want to have him on their team. // I'm also watching a film about a little drone driving around a spaceship filled with fat humans. Two channels, one me.

Heh. Enjoying Wall-E? I wonder if the subtleties of the plot make it through her cultural lens. What with all the AI units and conforming to/breaking out of their roles...

"How do you think I feel about letting a couple of Autobots into my home?"

He thinks that over and then shrugs, relaxing slightly. "So… What am I doing wrong?"

Ah, one of those talks. Fortunately, Slipstream has enough experience with humans to set him right on a few details, at least.

"You know, Paul told me this would happen, but I honestly didn't think it would happen this quickly."

"Paul. That's your… Human business partner-."

"Conjunx endura."

"Oh. I'd… Heard something about-." He shakes his head, then looks at me curiously. "I gotta ask: how does that work?"

I would laugh if she said 'Surprisingly well.' but deep down, there's bound to be friction.

"He got a lot of Nebulon implants, I got a avatar module."

He frowns. "What for? You can talk to him just fine as you are. He's the one who needed a modification to feel your spark." His frown deepens. "Do humans have a spark? Is there an adaptor?"

Oh, boy. Are we about to see an expression much like TF:A Optimus when Sari gave him the 'talk'?

I snort with my avatar, prompting Paul to look at her/me. I have her/me wave his concern off. "Given where we are, I think we're lucky they don't."

"Oooh, right." He nods. "Unicron. Do Unicron's creatures have sparks?"

Got to be fun having a body where you can do all those little reactions that you wouldn't do to someone;'s face.

"I don't know. We usually don't leave enough in one piece to tell for sure, and Axlegrease isn't really a researcher."

"Fair enough. So why'd you get an avatar?"

Hmm... Have she and Pull done those things yet? The fun things that confuse cybertronians so much.

"Because humans have their own bonding rituals and traditions, and they're… Some of them are hard to do when we're this physically different."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." And I can't help but smile. He.. doesn't get it. It's… Huh. Yeah, it's a shame that Seaspray didn't survive. It would be nice to have someone to compare notes with. "But what's that got to do with me and Jack?"

I won't go linking to it, but look up the 'Autobutts' series from TheBootyDoc. They seem to manage. And nice name-drop of Seaspray, who in G1 got to briefly experience life as a fleshling...

"Basically, transformer teams are between four and six transformers, right?"

"I've seen a couple that had eight, and when your team mates start dying-. Yeah, okay, I know what you mean. What about it?"

A reminder that it's not just the Autobots that lost friends, there...

"To put it simply, human teams are two, plus the sparklings they're mentoring. They work with other humans, but by their standards that's a different kind of relationship."

He frowns. "Why?"

And the whole 'human sparklings' thing is gonna be fun to explain...

"It's to do with how their-. How they make new humans by combining biological data inside the humans with an internal fabricator."

"An internal-?" He stares. "Is that common?"

Oh, about a 50-50 chance of them having one, yes.

"It's about half of them. You'll learn to spot them once you've been here a while. Humans don't live as long as we do, so they have to build their replacements faster." I shake my head. "If you really want to know the details, you can talk to Paul about it. My avatar is with him right now if you want me to ask him to come here."

Hmm... Wonder how long an average Cybertronian frame takes to construct? You know, typical car-former size?

"No, that's… Fine." He looks thoughtful. "So Jack doesn't like me, because if I'm Arcee's partner then he can't be."

"Pretty much."

And to them it probably sounds kind of silly. But to Jack, being a teenage boy, it's the end of the world.

"Heh." He smiles. "Silly human. How do I tell him he's full of crude?"

"Basically, you can't. It's instinctive, like transforming is for us. If Arcee had called you her team mate, or squad mate, or an old friend, that would have been fine." Probably. "Partner implies that you've got a one-to-one relationship, like how theirs are."

Or like her and Pull, to give it a different spin.

His face gets a bit broody, something I've seen Nova Storm do after a few quarts of high grade. "Everyone else on Team Delta got turned into Terrorcons, so they won't be coming back."

I raise my own mug in salute. "'til all are one."

Well, depending on the council's willingness to experiment with reviving them... Yeah, I suspect they'd be effectively perma-ded.

He nods, and tilts his own towards me. "You?"

I nod back. "Probably. Most of them, definitely. We won't know until we go through all of the wreckage. Nothing either of us can do about it now."

Especially with Megatron more or less scattering Dark Energon all around on Cybertron at one point.

"No. But I can do something about Arcee and Jack." His eyes narrow thoughtfully. "Do humans get a lot bigger as they age?"

"No."

Well, not taller, but they do thicken up a little in some cases. Looking at you, Agent Fowler.

"Are they stronger than they look?"

"I don't have much contact with other aliens." Except Axlegrease, but she's got to be at least ninety percent transformer by now. "They're a lot weaker and squishier than us."

Ah, so she is considered 'not-cybertronian', then, being a Junkion. Have to wonder how her people came about. Old, forgotten colony world, perhaps?

"So… Huh. Okay, so what exactly does your human partner do?"

"He gave me a reason to go on living. Something to do with my life that wasn't fighting a war I didn't really care about any more. Did Arcee tell you a lot about Jack?"

I suspect that had a bigger impact on her than she likes to show. Same with Arcee...

"Yeah, a few things."

"Did any of it involve the two of them fighting side by side?"

Unless he was using the Apex Armour, I doubt it...

"Not… Exactly. He could sneak in places where she'd have been spotted, and… She smiles a lot when she talks about spending time with him exploring the Earth or just hanging out with him." He nods slowly. "Stuff that has nothing to do with the War."

"Paul helped me be a person. Everything I've done since I met him… These are the first things I did… Free. Free of Megatron or that sump sucker Straxus. Do you even remember what you did before the War?"

Yeah, that is a lot more meaningful to her than she likes to let on, then.

"Secure courier. I don't think I'll go back to it, though." He looks at me… What is that? Sympathy? "If I'd been working for Straxus I'd have joined the Decepticons, too. He was the worst."

"No. But he was close."

Ironic, given that in most continuities, he is a Decepticon.

"If you say so. So, is there any reason why I wouldn't want Arcee to be-. To have Jack as a human-type partner?"

"A lot of the things I do with Paul are… Human-bonding things. Things that would seem… Weird to most transformers because we don't work like that. Jack wants to do those things with Arcee."

Including the things that make her avatar form get red-faced?

He thinks for a moment, then shrugs. "Does she want to do those things with him?"

"I don't think she understands exactly what they are."

Ironic, given the design of her holo-avatar 'Sadie', she of the tight racing suit. Probably one of the things that got Jack's attention in the first place.

"Could you demonstrate for her?"

//

"Slipstream? Are you okay?"

I suppose having her Avatar display the reaction she wanted to saves on refinishing the floor...

My body-. I'm-. My avatar body is doing that-. Laughing, on the… Floor? Paul's looking down at me. I manage to get my right arm under control and point it towards the refectory. "Tailgate asked if-. Hah! If we could demonstrate human-transformer 'things' for Arcee." Shockwave's programming makes it/me gasp for a breath I don't need, but that need feels… Weirdly good and… Appropriate, somehow?

...Because that would scratch the hell out of it and her finish.

Paul sighs. "Or we could just explain them first."

What was it that human in that said? "'No one can be told what the Matrix is.' Or in our case what it feels like to have your T-cog adapt your body for human bonding practices."

Man, Humans are going to be a bit of a memetic hazard for some 'bots, aren't they?

"I think I'd like to try starting by telling her."

"Okay." // "We could."

Yeah, save the practical demonstrations for another time. Or direct Tailgate so certain websites. ...They must have some seriously good internet filtering going on if he hasn't found that stuff yet.

Tailgate looks confused. Of course, he's got even less understanding than Arcee.

"But you should probably clear the air with Jack first."

And maybe we should talk to Shockwave about getting him a transtector body prepared as well.

For Jack? Heh. It might remind him a bit of Silas, but I think he'd enjoy feeling so powerful.

Man, they're going to have a fun time introducing Cybertron to humanity, aren't they? All those squishy, organic things they do... I can so see some 'bots being fascinated by it, and just as many horrified reactions. As for Tailgate, Arcee and Jack, I suspect getting them to actually talk about it will help clear the air, though getting the latter two to do so might take some effort.

Ardy · Aug 5, 2024

I wonder if transformers can get drunk or high? It can be a bonding experience between them and the squishy biologicals

Mr Zoat · Aug 5, 2024

@Shivanshu
You know what you did.

Ardy said:
I wonder if transformers can get drunk or high? It can be a bonding experience between them and the squishy biologicals

Yes. That is what 'high grade' is a reference to.

RedX · Aug 5, 2024

I wonder how locked in Transformer 'genders' are. Give Tailgate a smoother chassis and a different voice file and this whole problem might just poof away.

Mr Zoat · Aug 5, 2024

RedX said:
I wonder how locked in Transformer 'genders' are. Give Tailgate a smoother chassis and a different voice file and this whole problem might just poof away.

The term 'gender' only exists for them in the field of xenolinguistics. Radical physical transformations are considered a bit odd and there might be problems regarding what a weak spark can support, but if Tailgate just wanted to be a slightly more rounded car, that would be within the bounds of normal.

BrotherofaStudio · Aug 5, 2024

It seems that Slipstream doesn't mind an audience. I can only imagine how red Jack and Arcee's faces will be once Paul explains the situation to them.

NightmareWarden · Aug 6, 2024

Laughter is a beautiful thing, a wonderful thing.

Mr Zoat · Aug 6, 2024

13th July 2014
22:27 GMT +5:30

"…keeping his bumper clean. Don't think I've forgotten how bad an influence on you he was."

Ah, the directional microphone. And being bonded to its owner so that if you close your eyes a little you can hear and see what's happening as if you were there. Perfect for eavesdropping on personal conversations just in case they've actually done the mature adult thing and had an open and honest conversation about their feelings. Slipstream is usually too noisy to take advantage of it, but since she changed back from 'Earth jet' to 'Cybertronian interceptor' she's been able to include an anti-gravity system that lets her hover or fly slowly but silently.

"That was one time."

They've parked up on the side of a mountain near our base, and are just staring out into the dark. For obvious reasons we sited the base a decent distance away from inhabited areas, but not far enough to make the commute impossible. There are several towns within driving distance, and the new roads that were put in as part of the cost of us basing ourselves here are some of the best in India.

Not that that's saying much…

"Bulkhead's as happy as I've ever seen him working on reconstruction with the vehicons. And Ratchet's working with the Last Autobot preparing wrecks for resurrection. And I still want to know why you have a problem with Tailgate."

"I don't have a problem with Tailgate! It's just-. You know, I haven't seen you for months-"

In Slipstream's rear cockpit seat, I roll my eyes. "Oh, for goodness sake."

In the front seat, little Slipstream glances back. "Why isn't he just telling her?"

"Because he's a teenager whose physical maturity has rushed ahead of his mental maturity. And he's actually more mature than Miko."

"-and I was hoping-."

Their parking area is suddenly illuminated, and then there's a-

TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE!

-noise as… Tailgate transforms and walks closer. "Hey there!"

"Great."

"Jack-."

"No, no, it's okay." Tailgate raises his right hand in a dismissive motion. "I just got done having Slipstream explain a whole lot about human relationships to me, and I want to be completely clear."

Mini-Slipstream snort. "This should be good."

"You're the one who taught him."

"There's only so much I can do in a day. It took you a lot longer to explain things to me."

"I thought that coming on too strong when I was the first person you'd spoken to in years wasn't really on."

Below us, Jack folds his arms defensively across his chest. "Okay?"

Tailgate crouches down, probably trying to reduce the height different but really just emphasising it. "Arcee's my partner in the same way that human police officers have partners, or human soldiers work in fireteams. We work together, and we're good friends. Like she is with Bulkhead and Bumblebee."

"Right?"

"Now, I've never had any kinda conjunx so I can't honestly say I know what that's like, but I don't think about Arcee differently to how I thought about all the other 'bots on our team."

Arcee gives him an unamused look. "Thanks, Tailgate."

"Okay, maybe a little closer because we usually teamed up when Delta Team split into pairs-. What I mean is, how I think about Arcee is like that and not like something else. As far as I'm concerned, you can try and do your human bonding thing and it's all good."

Jack was very clearly not ready to hear it that directly. And from the way her eyebrows just shot up I'm not.. completely sure that Arcee was either.

"Excuse me?"

But at least Jack's relaxed his arms. "Okay. That-. Thank you?"

"No problem!" Tailgate extends his right fist towards Jack and watches him expectantly.

Jack takes a moment, glances at the increasingly bewildered Arcee and then taps his own right fist against the far larger intermediate phalange of Tailgate's ring finger.

Tailgate smiles. "We okay now?"

"Ah. Yeah, okay. Sure."

"Glad to hear it!" He stands up and turns around. "Arcee, my purely platonic partner?"

"Yeah?"

"I got nothing to say about this situation at all. You're even further off the map than usual."

"Thanks, Tailgate."

He waves and then-

TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE!

-drives off.

I nod. "Now that's the adult way to handle things. Polite, direct, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Not letting things fester."

Slipstream and I watch and Jack and Arcee awkwardly avoid looking at each other.

"Shouldn't they start singing about now?"

"I told you, Indian daytime television rots your brain module. We should go-."

TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE!

I can feel her intent… And her location relative to me as I start to fall. So this time I don't even react, just lifting my right arm slightly to that it's easier for her to grab me before I can gain momentum. Slipstream's other hand grabs her avatar as she controls her descent, falling through the air for a few moments before landing lightly in front of Arcee and Jack. Arcee's arms jerk up, but she controls her reaction before her guns pop out, which is a major improvement. Slipstream spots that and smiles before putting her avatar and me on the ground.

"This is an intervention." / "This is an intervention."

Both of Slipstream's bodies speak, which at least makes it obvious to Arcee what the purple human next to me is. Arcee stares at her for a moment, then looks up at big Slipstream, then down to me. "Ah…"

Jack looks at me. "Were you listening?"

I nod. "Of course we were. You obviously need a wingman."

He cringes. "Can I take Tailgate instead? He seems cool."

Arcee raises her hands. "Okay, stop. I think I'm missing something important, and-" Her eyes fix on me. "-you're going to explain what it is or I'm going to start getting angry."

"Short version?" Jack cringes harder as I smile. "Jack wants the same sort of relationship with you that I have with Slipstream."

"Okay, what's strange about that? I've been thinking about requesting assignment back to Earth anyway." Jack's face brightens up. "That was why I brought Tailgate."

"Continuing the short version, humans and transformers form different sorts of social bonds due to differences in our physiology. Transformers naturally form task-adapted teams."

Arcee nods. "I do know how transformers socialise. You may not have noticed, but I am one."

"Humans form clusters based on… Ah… Manufacturing new humans. Jack was raised by his mother. The term 'mother' means-."

"She fabricated him inside her body." I raise my eyebrows. "Miko explained it. I didn't reallyohh."

She looks down at Jack, who -and I'm mildly impressed by this- meets her eyes.

"Jack, I can't do that."

"That isn't-. I know, but that's… That's how I feel about you."

I nod. "The human brain is not a rational thing."

Slipstream nods. "Neither's ours. But in the same way as your brain module thinks he makes a good team mate despite the fact that he's a tiny alien, his thinks that you'll make a good mother for his children despite needing an adaptor-" Her avatar poses suggestively, a motion almost certainly lost on Arcee. "-to be compatible. I'd say 'go for it', but I'm pretty biased."

"And that's… Different to a normal team mate."

I nod. "Different to a normal conjunx endura, too." Her eyebrows raise. "Why did you think I got all these implants?"

Some of the tension leaves Arcee's frame, her eyes not really focusing on anything. "I… I don't know what that's… Like."

I glare at Jack and start frantically pointing at Arcee. And it takes him a moment, but then he girds his loins and walks over to her, resting his right hand on her left leg.

"Maybe we could… Like… Find out together?"

…

I give him six out of ten.

LiamOfOrmonde · Aug 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I give him six out of ten.

You're being picky. That's an eight out of ten.

Whenever Possible · Aug 6, 2024

Now I want to see a Bollywood transformers movie.

Chojin Patriarch · Aug 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
13th July 2014
22:27 GMT +5:30

"…keeping his bumper clean. Don't think I've forgotten how bad an influence on you he was."

Ah, the directional microphone. And being bonded to its owner so that if you close your eyes a little you can hear and see what's happening as if you were there. Perfect for eavesdropping on personal conversations just in case they've actually done the mature adult thing and had an open and honest conversation about their feelings. Slipstream is usually too noisy to take advantage of it, but since she changed back from 'Earth jet' to 'Cybertronian interceptor' she's been able to include an anti-gravity system that lets her hover or fly slowly but silently.

Honestly, that's the sort of system I'd expect to be integrated into a frame regardless of alt-mode. Guess it was too energy-hungry for Earth use. Like G1 Tracks, and his 'flying car' sub-mode. Funny how many G1 bots had that sort of partial mistransformation as a 'battle mode' or the like, actually...

"That was one time."

They've parked up on the side of a mountain near our base, and are just staring out into the dark. For obvious reasons we sited the base a decent distance away from inhabited areas, but not far enough to make the commute impossible. There are several towns within driving distance, and the new roads that were put in as part of the cost of us basing ourselves here are some of the best in India.

To be fair, that's not a high bar to clear, from what I hear.

Not that that's saying much…

"Bulkhead's as happy as I've ever seen him working on reconstruction with the vehicons. And Ratchet's working with the Last Autobot preparing wrecks for resurrection. And I still want to know why you have a problem with Tailgate."

Right, maybe now they'll get down to the meat of it... But probably won't.

"I don't have a problem with Tailgate! It's just-. You know, I haven't seen you for months-"

In Slipstreams rear cockpit seat, I roll my eyes. "Oh, for goodness sake."

I'm sure you're using far worse words in your head, of course. Much to her amusement.

In the front seat, little Slipstream glances back. "Why isn't he just telling her?"

"Because he's a teenager whose physical maturity has rushed ahead of his mental maturity. And he's actually more mature than Miko."

Ah, adolesence. When the fear of being childish overwhelms you, and the ever-present desire for a maturity that always seems so far out of reach...

"-and I was hoping-."

Their parking area is suddenly illuminated, and then there's a-

Ah, someone else sick of them playing 'dance around the issue'? And sometimes, the perfect person for the job...

TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE!

-noise as… Tailgate transforms and walks closer. "Hey there!"

...Is someone with no fucks to give, and knows how to smack his old friend upside the helm until they come around.

"Great."

"Jack-."

Sure, three's a crowd, but this time, a crowd is needed.

"No, no, it's okay." Tailgate raises his right hand in a dismissive motion. "I just got done having Slipstream explain a whole lot about human relationships to me, and I want to be completely clear."

Mini-Slipstream snort. "This should be good."

Just don't get confused and lose attitude control if you start laughing.

"You're the one who taught him."

"There's only so much I can do in a day. It took you a lot longer to explain things to me."

And that was with him plugged into her processor cores.

"I thought that coming on too strong when I was the first person you'd spoken to in years wasn't really on."

Below us, Jack folds his arms defensively across his chest. "Okay?"

I suppose there was also the risk of being, you know, crushed underfoot if she took exception.

Tailgate crouches down, probably trying to reduce the height different but really just emphasising it. "Arcee's my partner in the same way that human police officers have partners, or human soldiers work in fireteams. We work together, and we're good friends. Like she is with Bulkhead and Bumblebee."

Sadly, there's no really way to get on a human's level for a regular-sized bot. The joy of being three or four times a human's size.

"Right?"

"Now, I've never had any kinda conjunx so I can't honestly say I know what that's like, but I don't think about Arcee differently to how I thought about all the other 'bots on our team."

Arcee gives him an unamused look. "Thanks, Tailgate."

Now, Cliffjumper might have felt a little more strongly, but, well... He's not here.

"Okay, maybe a little closer because we usually teamed up when Delta Team split into pairs-. What I mean is, how I think about Arcee is like that and not like something else. As far as I'm concerned, you can try and do your human bonding thing and it's all good."

Jack was very clearly not ready to hear it that directly. And from the way her eyebrows just shot up I'm not.. completely sure that Arcee was either.

Ha! That'd be on par with his mother talking about this stuff. Awkwardness is the natural state of teenagers, after all.

"Excuse me?"

But at least Jack's relaxed his arms. "Okay. That-. Thank you?"

Tailgate bringing that slightly-teasing older brother energy. Smoothing some of the social bumps, only to raise new ones.

"No problem!" Tailgate extends his right fist towards Jack and watches him expectantly.

Jack takes a moment, glances at the increasingly bewildered Arcee and then taps his own right fist against the far larger intermediate phalange of Tailgate's ring finger.

At least he respects the code of the bro-fist.

Tailgate smiles. "We okay now?"

"Ah. Yeah, okay. Sure."

Besides, he turns into a cool muscle car. What's to hate about that for a teenager boy?

"Glad to hear it!" He stands up and turns around. "Arcee, my purely platonic partner?"

"Yeah?"

I can just imagine her giving him the 'knock it off, dumb-aft...' look.

"I got nothing to say about this situation at all. You're even further off the map than usual."

"Thanks, Tailgate."

And now the 'Thanks ever so much' look. I'm sure you can picture them...

He waves and then-

TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE!

-drives off.

Dude even knows when to give them their space. Great bro.

I nod. "Now that's the adult way to handle things. Polite, direct, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Not letting things fester."

Slipstream and I watch and Jack and Arcee awkwardly avoid looking at each other.

...Sadly, neither of them are really adult in that sense. One is too nervous to broach the subject, the other doesn't even know what the subject really is...

"Shouldn't they start singing about now?"

"I told you, Indian daytime television rots your brain module. We should go-."

TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE!

Not really enough people around for a big song-and-dance number. And I doubt either of them are in the right place for a quiet duet...

I can feel her intent… And her location relative to me as I start to fall. So this time I don't even react, just lifting my right arm slightly to that it's easier for her to grab me before I can gain momentum. Slipstream's other hand grabs her avatar as she controls her descent, falling through the air for a few moments before landing lightly in front of Arcee and Jack. Arcee's arms jerk up, but she controls her reaction before her guns pop out, which is a major improvement. Slipstream spots that and smiles before putting her avatar and me on the ground.

at least she can safely transform with passengers. Some bots aren't that skilled...

"This is an intervention." / "This is an intervention."

Both of Slipstream's bodies speak, which at least makes it obvious to Arcee what the purple human next to me is. Arcee stares at her for a moment, then looks up at big Slipstream, then down to me. "Ah…"

Yes, perhaps she's starting to connect the dots. And maybe get ideas.

Jack looks at me. "Were you listening?"

I nod. "Of course we were. You obviously need a wingman."

No, that's Slipstream's job.

Unless you have a jetpack tucked away somewhere.

He cringes. "Can I take Tailgate instead? He seems cool."

Arcee raises her hands. "Okay, stop. I think I'm missing something important, and-" Her eyes fix on me. "-you're going to explain what it is or I'm going to start getting angry."

Ah, finally, she twigs that something isn't being said to her.

"Short version?" Jack cringes harder as I smile. "Jack wants the same sort of relationship with you that I have with Slipstream."

"Okay, what's strange about that? I've been thinking about requesting assignment back to Earth anyway." Jack's face brightens up. "That was why I brought Tailgate."

Well, that's good to hear, for his sake. Unfortunately, she's still missing the critical bit of intel...

"Continuing the short version, humans and transformers form different sorts of social bonds due to differences in our physiology. Transformers naturally form task-adapted teams."

Arcee nods. "I do know how transformers socialise. You may not have noticed, but I am one."

I'm impressed her vocoder could put that much sarcasm into that line without shorting out.

"Humans form clusters based on… Ah… Manufacturing new humans. Jack was raised by his mother. The term 'mother' means-."

"She fabricated him inside her body." I raise my eyebrows. "Miko explained it. I didn't reallyohh."

Oh god, how wrong did she get it? I mean, The Talk, as filtered through a flighty Japanese girl's interpretation...

She looks down at Jack, who -and I'm mildly impressed by this- meets her eyes.

"Jack, I can't do that."

I don't know, with a few adjustments... The scale might be tricky, but your altmode is about the right size...

"That isn't-. I know, but that's… That's how I feel about you."

I nod. "The human brain is not a rational thing."

something that both species have in common, despite their differences.

Slipstream nods. "Neither's ours. But in the same way as your brain module thinks he makes a good team mate despite the fact that he's a tiny alien, his thinks that you'll make a good mother for his children despite needing an adaptor-" Her avatar poses suggestively, a motion almost certainly lost on Arcee. "-to be compatible. I'd say 'go for it', but I'm pretty biased."

I'll bet she is. Humans do have some clever ideas sometimes...

"And that's… Different to a normal team mate."

I nod. "Different to a normal conjunx endura, too." Her eyebrows raise. "Why did you think I got all these implants?"

Given it would probably be a fairly minor modification to a Cybertronian processor, That's saying something.

Some of the tension leaves Arcee's frame, her eyes not really focusing on anything. "I… I don't know what that's… Like."

I glare at Jack and start frantically pointing at Arcee. And it takes him a moment, but then he girds his loins and walks over to her, resting his right hand on her left leg.

Yay, he finally found his guts. Heart's probably pounding in his throat, but congratulations.

"Maybe we could… Like… Find out together?"

…

I give him six out of ten.

Hey, give him a little break, he's only, what, seventeen? How many guys would have that much emotional courage at that age?

And a great way to wrap up this little episode. Finally knocking some sense into a 'will they, won't they' situation. I expect things will be very interesting next time we look in on this alternate, but I suspect that may be a ways off. Give them time to settle into their new normal, and all that. Meanwhile, I'm sure there are other Pauls to meet or return to ahead...

In Slipstreams rear cockpit seat, I roll my eyes.

In Slipstream's rear cockpit seat, I roll my eyes.

Lord Ernest · Aug 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I give him six out of ten.

Come on, for his age and the situation that's a minimum 7/10. I would say 8/10, but he did need a little nudge there at the end.

Anyway, I think this whole situation has been gut-bustingly hilarious but still pretty wholesome. Good for you if it works out, Jack.

FreeGod · Aug 6, 2024

LiamOfOrmonde said:
You're being picky. That's an eight out of ten.

Then what would you give a 4? This isn't a 4 point scale it is a 10 point scale in which 6 means passing, but not impressive.

Lord Ernest said:
Come on, for his age and the situation that's a minimum 7/10. I would say 8/10, but he did need a little nudge there at the end.

Anyway, I think this whole situation has been gut-bustingly hilarious but still pretty wholesome. Good for you if it works out, Jack.

Well if we are grading on a curve and giving handycaps.

Mr Zoat · Aug 6, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
In Slipstream's rear cockpit seat, I roll my eyes.

Thank you, corrected.

Clell65619 · Aug 6, 2024

Whenever Possible said:
Now I want to see a Bollywood transformers movie.

Is the world ready for 50-foot-tall singing dancing robots?

PrinceJonathan · Aug 6, 2024

Clell65619 said:
Is the world ready for 50-foot-tall singing dancing robots?

Given the deluge of woke cultural diarrhea coming out of Hollywood, I'd watch it.

NightmareWarden · Aug 6, 2024

Clell65619 said:
Is the world ready for 50-foot-tall singing dancing robots?

Glory is earned through adversity. Dance, sing- even when the bombs drop.

PDV · Aug 6, 2024

Clell65619 said:
Is the world ready for 50-foot-tall singing dancing robots?

When has that ever stopped Bollywood before?

Mr Zoat · Aug 6, 2024

PDV said:
When has that ever stopped Bollywood before?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dilUbkP-PI

Someguy Somewhere · Aug 6, 2024

So long as this doesn't go full Macross/Robotech with the singing.....Minmei's J-pop was WEAPONIZED in those settings. When the pop star is classified as a option more effective then the BFG wave motion gun, you have Problems.

BrotherofaStudio · Aug 7, 2024

Well glad to see that the air has been cleared between Jack and Tailgate. Paul is right, that is how things should be handled. "Polite, direct, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Not letting things fester." How Jack and Arcee handle things will be interesting and Slipstream is having way too much fun with this situation. Also a Six out of Ten? Really? I think considering how things could have gone, and the fact that Jack was able to look Arcee in the eyes means he deserves a higher score.
Also what does Tailgate look like? At least your version of him?

SotF · Aug 7, 2024

BrotherofaStudio said:
Well glad to see that the air has been cleared between Jack and Tailgate. Paul is right, that is how things should be handled. "Polite, direct, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Not letting things fester." How Jack and Arcee handle things will be interesting and Slipstream is having way too much fun with this situation. Also a Six out of Ten? Really? I think considering how things could have gone, and the fact that Jack was able to look Arcee in the eyes means he deserves a higher score.
Also what does Tailgate look like? At least your version of him?

Considering it's Aligned/Prime continuity...

This

And on another note, I'm kind of wondering about Shockwave with this, getting his head fixed from what the old Council did to it would likely be a nightmare situation considering that it, essentially removed his concepts of morality there and left him an amoral sociopath. Repair that and he'd need some serious therapy in the end to just get him functional.

Mr Zoat · Aug 7, 2024

16th April 2013
04:57 GMT -5

"What foul and forsaken womb could produce such a maliferous monstrosity?"

I was a little surprised that Lord Malvolio was the one who responded to my alert, but I can't fault Mr. Queen for his judgement. Or Lantern Savenlovich for realising that she was way out of her depth.

Biotechnologist bows his head slightly, which my rings helpfully inform me indicates that he's ashamed of his ignorance. "That has been a matter of some speculation, though with so few examples to study little progress has been made. We-."

"They absorb people's minds until they get psychically powerful enough to make themselves unreal, then just ignore the physical laws that would prevent them getting this big." Biotechnologist stares at me while Malvolio continues to study the interior of the eye socket. "What do you mean, 'few examples'?"

"Ancient records. Fossilised remains. Occasional communication intercepts from Green Lanterns. These were shared with us when we located this creature. How do you know?"

"A familiarity with the real operational mechanics of the universe, and direct mental contact with this Mother Star as it died. It's not that hard to work out once you know the rules. I thought that was how you knew to use the Dream?"

"This was an information gathering exercise. We had no certainty that this was possible."

"Are there more monsters of its irksome ilk secreted between the stars?"

"Maybe." I shrug. "The Green Lantern Corps thought that they got them all, then this one turned up. Being optimistic, it's possible that they double-checked their work after they started showing up around Earth, but being realistic, the universe is a very big place."

In front of us, Swamp Thing clears the last of the vines away from Great Mother.

"How is Sector One Six Three Four?"

"I have made good the mad misrule of the wanton warlords and careless churls. Mine authority and autarky are resolutely restored."

"No problem with the Green Lantern Corps?"

"Nay, for a nonce. They hold a virtuous vigil that malefactors and mountebanks may not breach my boarder." He glances my way for a moment. "In either direction. And how fairs the cradle of Creation now that the dirge of despair is expunged from the Earth?"

"Well, it… Could be worse."

"Ah?"

"It could be on fire too."

"Ah." He strokes his chin. "Is there aught mine domains might offer in aid?"

"I… I don't know. The Orange Lantern Corps has a plan for reconstructing a world after a Reach occupation, but this is… Ah… Different."

"What weighs with the wardens of want?"

That makes me stare at him.

"How long did it take you to talk like that automatically?"

He turns to face me with a smile. "I fixed upon it during mine first speech to the masses of mine new home. I had never given a speech, save 'pon the stage. After so many years, I can scarce stand to speak otherwise. But what of mine beneficent boon?"

I… Don't know. At this point we're not looking at starvation. Infrastructure is… Coming online gradually. Training a group of aliens who aren't familiar with Earth standards would… It wouldn't be quick…

In places where governments are still there, fixing things is a matter of time. In places where the governments died off, replacing them is a matter of inclination. The main issue will be places like China where the system is so universal that taking parts of it out has created… In effect, created Balkanisation. People on the spot took control and did the best job they could, and in theory they're almost all loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, but… That doesn't necessarily mean that they're loyal to the particular people who have achieved seniority in Beijing. Or even in the regional capital. There's an internal election coming up, and it looks like it might get bloody.

Surprisingly, Russia's doing better in that regard. Perhaps we should try implementing Mafia Federalism in more places?

"I don't know. I appreciate the offer, but you'd have to ask Batman."

"Great-Mother?" Lantern Son floats up to… His mother, I suppose. She doesn't have a face or obvious eyes, so I'm not exactly sure how that attracts her attention. "Is your mating successful?"

"It is in progress. Analysis of this mate is time consuming."

"We will have a sister?"

"Eventually, yes. Now that the thought-twist aliens are gone and my mind is my own, I see no need to hurry."

I covertly motion for Biotechnologist to back away, but he ignores it and walks forwards.

"Are the records my colleagues made intact?"

"You. You suborned me." The sons in the area begin drifting towards him in a menacing manner. "Explain yourself."

"You are a fascinating object of study. A wonder of biotechnology. I could happily spend years divining the workings of your systems. It is a misfortune for me that research on Star Conquerors is more in demand by my superiors."

"I was a tool?"

"That was not my preference. You are worth study in your own right. But the Dominion has many ships, and few opportunities to study the unreal made real. If I had the data we gathered on you, they may come to feel differently. Your temporal weaving ability in particular would have many uses under our control."

I take a few steps closer.

"Great Mother, have you given thought to what you will do next? We're planning on moving the remains of the Mother Star, so you'll need to make a decision relatively soon."

"I will remain near the World-Of-Father while I complete my daughter. Perhaps longer. Memory logs suggest that there are many interesting creatures here."

Biotechnologist makes an affirmative gesture. "That is certainly true! We had planned future expeditions here."

"Wait, future-?" I frown. "You mean to tell me that you haven't been collecting metahuman DNA?"

"No? None of us have the required specialisation. This work took all of our time. Your species is worth studying, but we have limits."

Great. So either they don't know about it, or it's someone else.

"Swamp Thing? Are you..? Ah. Willing to-?"

"I have little interest in acting as a father to her. But she touches the Green, and that is my domain. I will watch her."

"Thank you."

Okay, I think we're done here. Just need to remove the rest of the Dominion systems, and then we can copy the Green Lantern Corps and throw the corpse into the sun.

Once bitten, permanently shy.

Darko · Aug 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Just need to remove then rest of the Dominion system

"the rest"

Ngamer11 · Aug 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"I will remain near the World-Of-Father while I complete my daughter. Perhaps longer. Memory logs suggest that there are many interesting creatures here."

Biotechnologist makes an affirmative gesture. "That is certainly true! We had planned future expeditions here."

"Wait, future-?" I frown. "You mean to tell me that you haven't been collecting metahuman DNA?"

"No? None of us have the required specialisation. This work took all of our time. Your species is worth studying, but we have limits."

Great. So either they don't know about it, or it's someone else.

"Swamp Thing? Are you..? Ah. Willing to-?"

"I have little interest in acting as a father to her. But she touches the Green, and that is my domain. I will watch her."

Hopefully Swamp Thing will have a defense for this in the future. Though now that we've ruled out the Dominators for what happened to that guy earlier in this episode, the new question is who was behind that. The Kroloteans perhaps?

Darko · Aug 7, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
Hopefully Swamp Thing will have a defense for this in the future. Though now that we've ruled out the Dominators for what happened to that guy earlier in this episode, the new question is who was behind that. The Kroloteans perhaps?

Or maybe the Reach.

Venustoise · Aug 7, 2024

Oh hey, Gary's a dad. Good for him.. that is what happened, right? I'm.. admittedly a bit lost on how Great-Mother reproduces...

.. and there's a sentence I never thought I'd say...

Mr Zoat · Aug 7, 2024

Darko said:
"the rest"

Thank you, corrected.

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