Work Text:
Another day on the Lost Light and another problem, although this one was luckily not quite as universe breaking, nor disastrous as most others…however Brainstorm might have begged to differ.
After laboring over his work for hours on end he remembered that he needed a specific tool and with but a simple push of a button he would have lowered himself down however nothing had happened. A series of rapid, annoyed presses of the button later until it finally cracked, clearly broken, and knowing he was strapped in the rig well enough he could not transform into his alt-form, Brainstorm had finally decided to call for backup…reluctantly and with no air of severity or panic as to not get a too upfront ‘i-told-you-so’.
This is just a minor issue…he thought to himself as a digit ran along the wires holding him up, pulling at them occasionally to make a sharp twang in the tune of a song he heard at Swerve’s once. Just a little snag that I’m sure-
The doors to the lab opened behind him as he unfortunately found himself unable to turn around, but brushed it off as if he was deep in work still, addressing whom he had commed for aid: “Ah, Chromedome it’s just a minor thing. I’m pretty sure it’s the main hoist on the roof which-“
“Chromedome?” A familiarly monotonous yet stern voice met Brainstorm which made him go still, vocal processor shutting off immediately after hearing his voice. Scrap. “What ‘minor’ thing?”
“Oh it’s….it’s nothing, Percy.” Brainstorm waved a servo, giving an uneasy chuckle and putting special loving emphasis on Preceptor's name as if to ease his suspicions at anything occurring, which did precisely the opposite of that.
“Hm. You work upside down?”
Really, Primus?! The first time he manages to see me work from the ceiling and it’s like this! Thanks… “Yes! Yes I do, I quite accept the challenge although it’s hardly proved to be one and I believe it even improves energon flow-“
“I would check with Ratchet on that one.” Perceptor stated, a tinge of doubt to his tone as he walked forward, not seeming too outlandishly impressed with the elaborate (and now broken) rig that Brainstorm had himself in. He stood over next to Brainstorm, pointing to a tool at his desk. “Would you mind if I borrowed this? Swerve paid my lab a visit…and broke nearly everything he touched.”
“Of course, of course!” As Perceptor took the tool, nodding a thanks and giving it a once over, but as he turned to walk away, Brainstorm thought of something. It had been a while since he commed Chromedome…going on an hour or so now.
“Say, do you know if Chromedome is busy? I commed him earlier, nothingseriousno, nothingatall, but…if you get a chance to send him my way that would be appreciated, Percy.”
“He’s out with Rodimus, some planetary expedition. A small outpost. Oh, and the planet has a strange electromagnetic field that is messing with all the comms so they’re down. Some of the technicians are working on it.” Without another word Perceptor began to walk further away, before Brainstorm asked another question.
“How long are they due back?”
“A week or two, they needed more than a few days for the historical research Rewind was up to.”
Frag. Frag. Frag. No way I’m asking him to get me down…Annddddd no one comes in this lab except for Chromedome and Rodimus but they’re gone, Ultra Magnus once a cycle for inspections (which he just did yesterday), and…
“Percy…”
“Hm?”
“Would you mind handing me the quantum regulator? The little one, green, kind of over by the- yep that’s it, that’s the one, thank you, Percy.”
Perceptor nodded, turning to leave again before he stopped halfway across the room, tapping the borrowed tool on his thigh strut as if pondering something before he finally spoke. “Brainstorm, get down.”
“What? Oh no, Perceptor it’s fine, I’m just fine right here-”
“Come down.”
“I’m…good.”
“Mh hm. Now.”
“I… I’mfine.” Brainstorm murmured as he crossed his arms, still not giving up on his ruse, despite that it was clearly long since up by now. Perceptor cut his gaze to Brainstorm as he walked up next to him, his helm level with Brainstorm’s own who simply avoided optic contact, turning his helm back to his workstation.
“Do you have something to say?”
“…No….good day, Percy.”
“I know you’re stuck.”
“I am not. I am just having an…extended work session.”
“If that’s what you call being stuck and not able to ask for help.”
“I am NOT-“
Perceptor let a breeze of air exhale through his vents as he cut off Brainstorm's further objections with a pointing digit towards the control panel that was around Brainstorm’s side. Where the broken buttons were, more specifically.
“Mh hm.” Perceptor repeated as he looked back to Brainstorm and composedly raised his optic ridge to a still doubtful look. This time however he did not speak any more as he took the borrowed tool and walked out of the lab’s doorway, metallic pede-steps echoing in the room as he went.
Once the door closed with a swift, hydraulic sound Brainstorm was left alone once more, servos flying up to cover his faceplate and mask as he pondered his rare moment of stupidity. This is Perceptor I’m thinking of, of course he knew I was stuck! How do I get down now, because the next time he comes in I NEED to be down…
Brainstorm eyed a wire that ran from a power strip on the ceiling to a piece of lab equipment on the table.
Perhaps if I can grab that and use it to tug myself free from the rig…hm that power line does have enough energy in it to fry me if I snap it so perhaps I should try another route…Brainstorm thought for a moment as a few of his digits traced the thin wire in an intimate caress with death.
Hmmm…In an instant his servo snagged the wire harshly, getting ready for a major pull… it’s fine, I’ll be fine, I’ve survived worse lab accidents than a little wire.
The sudden sound of the door echoed through the lab right as Brainstorm, who was oblivious to it, threw his other servo around the wire and gave a hefty tug, causing a rain of sparks to come down onto him from above.
Better make the next one count. He pondered as another voice sounded from behind him.
“Don’t. You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Perceptor! Yes, no…just- everything is well, I just needed to adjust this here thing-a-ma-jig, one second-” Brainstorm waved his servos in a dismissive motion as if this was no such big ordeal as he latched both hands onto the wire again for another pull. Right as Brainstorm gave a hearty tug there was a loud creak, snap of wire, and then an even louder bang that echoed through the lab and made Brainstorm’s audial sensors ache. However he knew that wasn’t the only thing that would be aching; he felt the hoist snap suddenly, sending him careening down onto his work station with a loud clatter and sickening screeches of metal on metal, a pained moan issuing from him afterwards. I definitely dented something…maybe a thruster or two.
After rubbing a servo to his helm, optics just beginning to refocus, he looked at Perceptor who seemed to be a blurry red blob at the other end of the lab.
“You see, Percy, I never put myself in a situation I cannot get myself out of…w-wait did you…?” Brainstorm saw the long barrel of one of Perceptor’s rifles within his hands, casually pointed down now, come into focus as he began putting the pieces together of what actually happened.
“You shot at me!”
“Shot at the hoist.” Perceptor corrected as he walked over to Brainstorm, “I shot at the broken hoist, only so that could be avoided.” He nodded upwards as he rested his rifle upon the now wrecked workspace, leaning his weight to one side as he looked over his rather flustered compatriot. Brainstorm followed his gesture and saw that the wire had snapped, but when it did it must have brought down most of the power strip with it. If Brainstorm had still been up there, it would have smacked right into him. A little insecticon caught in a high voltage trap. A narrow escape that would not have occurred if not for a particularly good shot.
Percy’s shot.
“Oh…that would have been…”
“A slow painful death. You would still be stuck, but no one would be able to safely get near you to get you down. That’s why I brought this.” Perceptor tapped the side of his gun as he took off his scope monocle, giving it a blow of air from his vents as he casually cleaned it.
“How did you know I would be stuck that way? I didn’t grab that wire until after you left-“
“Because, Brainstorm, I know you.” Monocle returned to its regular place, Percy gave Brainstorm a matter of fact look, “As soon as I knew three things: 1) that you were stuck, 2) that you weren’t asking for help, and 3) that there was that wire right in front of you, I knew. Call it a hunch. Call it intuition. Whatever you like.”
A pause of silence passed between them as Perceptor went from having a somewhat I-told-you-so look run across his faceplate before it disappeared as quick as it came, replaced by his usual unflinching, composed gaze. It made every passing second of the quiet, that was only interrupted by the occasional clangor of Brainstorm righting himself on the worktable, have a growing awkwardness as he stood there. Finally Perceptor cleared his vents and put a servo on Brainstorm’s shoulder plating as Brainstorm sat upon the work bench, brushing a variety of chemicals off of himself, luckily none of them seemed to be dangerous as he took a rag from the station and began wiping the mess off of himself. A slightly gelatinous blue substance was proving to be particularly difficult to get off.
“Oh scrap…” Brainstorm mumbled as he realized it was taking his signature teal paint off, leaving grayed, matte metal showing in its wake. “I just got that touched up too after that last lab explosion…”
“Are you…well? In one piece, anyway?” Perceptor asked as he bent Brainstorm slightly over from a small amount of pressure to his shoulder to get a view of his side and back, making sure there was no major damage. With his wings it was hard to see all of him so Perceptor put his hand onto one, moving it to the side to make sure the rest of him wasn’t in too bad of shape.
“I think I am in one piece, but my- ow! ” Brainstorm let a yip of pain slip from him as his chassis moved with his bend towards Perceptor, causing Perceptor to stop mid-action, holding the wing steady as he cut his eyes in analysis of what had been injured.
“It’s your wing-to-body fairing from what I can see. The housing is cracked all the way to your chassis…your left thruster is bent too.” Perceptor let out a soft ex-vent taking a few paces away to grab something from a drawer. “I can tape it up with some of this extra woven meshing, at least until you get to the infirmary.”
“But I haven't even measured the output of this round of testing, Percy!” Brainstorm protested, gesturing with a servo to his now ruined workspace, clearly not seeming to have noticed that it currently looked like the Wreckers themselves had just done a smash and grab job through it. Perceptor nearly caught himself giving a chuckle, settling for a content look of ease as he turned Brainstorm back around on the table, attaching the meshing material around his wing and to his body in a tight bind that prompted a few pained groans from Brainstorm.
“That round of testing is no better than scrap now, look at it Stormy. Ratchet first. This needs to be cleaned up too before you go back to messing around here.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go to Ratchet-” Brainstorm got off the table with a flinch as he stopped in his tracks, optics wide as he looked back to Perceptor who stood a pace or so behind him.
“Wait, ‘Stormy’? That's a first for you, Percy.” Brainstorm noted with an air of accomplishment at gaining this nickname from Perceptor, who simply ex-vented again, grabbing his rifle and placing a servo to Brainstorm’s spinal strut as if herding ‘Stormy’ towards the infirmary as he rambled on.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but what about ‘Brainy’ or…Brainiac, Genius, Prodigy, oh what about Mastermind even-?”
“Stormy.” Perceptor upheld his opinion with his usual tone of nonchalance as he walked alongside Brainstorm down the hall.
“Hm, okay… Stormy.” Brainstorm let a laugh slip from him although it was laced with static as if he was trying to hold it back. He threw his servos before himself in a dramatic motion, vocal processor deepening slightly for dramatic effect, “Watch out laws of time and space because here comes the thunder!”
Another sizable ex-vent was issued from Perceptor as he shook his helm slightly, however unlike many of the other times he had done this act recently, he was smiling this time.
The first time in a long time.