robothell | A Prime and (co) Captains

Entry tags:

optimus prime | luckyfaceplate

A Prime and (co) Captains

Who: Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Rodimus
Where: Red Alert's Clinic
When: After his meeting with Sentinel
What: Optimus has a meeting with Megatron and Rodimus about..recent events.
Warnings: It's co-captain don't forget that please dear god

With Sentinel taken care of, Megatron and Rodimus were his next points of interest. After some questioning, he'd learned of Megatron's location in the medibay, and had asked Rodimus also to meet him there. The main thing? Optimus wants answers. He wants to know what exactly went down.

And that question becomes even more vital with Megatron in the medical bay. No one just threw up a fight with Megatron, 'special' energon or not, and a fear tugs at the back of his mind as he enters. He knows who it is, deep down, but a small...small part of him wishes it wasn't. Bee's little mishap had tipped him off, and his fear when leaving to talk to Cybertron had seemingly come true. Maybe he should have been here to help him...

Things he could worry about later.

Seeing Megatron on the medical bed certainly was...odd. It both seems like just six months ago that he was, getting his body fixed from the events of Dark Cybertron. And yet...no matter how many times it happens, Megatron always seemed too resilient for that.

Hmm.

"Megatron."

All he had to do was wait on Rodimus. But that didn't make this any harder to take.

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"Optimus." Megatron inclines his head slightly, cordial if not exactly friendly. He's sitting up, and while he looks a little battered – he still needs the glass in his left optic replaced, for one thing – on the whole he's on the mend. Tarn definitely left that encounter worse off than he did. "What brings you here?" he says, as if he doesn't know.

By now, cordial was the most he could expect from Megatron. Four million years of war didn't make you best friends for life, even if it did seem to tie you together by destiny. The sight is...rather hard to take on the eyes. Megatron had been damaged by someone who wasn't him.

He'd been damaged fighting for...what mostly was an Autobot ideal.

His eyes divert from the bot's injuries before settling on his eye(s).

"I suppose it would be redundant to say I've returned from my trip."

"Perhaps a little," Megatron agrees, sitting up a little straighter. It still makes him kind of uneasy being damaged like this around Autobots, for all that it's hardly new. "I take it you've been briefed on the situation with Tarn."

"I'm missing some details, but I heard the news." He idly pulls up a chair next to Megatron's berth, seating himself down. Elbows put to his knees, he rests his chin on his hands, looking at the injuries.

"Bumblebee alerted me to his presence. I'd...hoped any confrontation would have waited until after my return."

So I could have helped you.

"Impatient as always, aren't you."

Megatron gives him an even look.

"If by 'impatient' you mean 'unwilling to see how many more Autobots Tarn could maim before you got back', then yes. It needed to be dealt with."

"Then I'm more than grateful that you handled it."

It was true. Bee had only barely scraped by, and not many are as good at escaping as he was. His tone could only hint at the amount of relief that Megatron had been there...

Speaking of. Those eyes narrow.

"But you should have lost."

A very faint, grim smile crosses Megatron's face, and he leans back against the head of the berth, meeting Optimus's narrowed optics without a hint of contrition or shame.

"I had my systems purged," he says. He sees no point in beating about the biologically improbable metallic space shrub. "Considering the close proximity of threats like Tarn and Sixshot, along with who knows what else is prowling around this planet, it seemed rather impractical to deliberately keep myself artificially weakened." A slight pause; a nod; "I assumed you'd agree," he adds blandly.

A hand goes up to the bridge of his nose, venting in and out a 'breath' to consider this. By all points, Megatron had a point. Keeping a fighting force weakened in this place--especially with Tarn and Sixshot running around--was a foolish move. But there's one part of this equation that doesn't add up: Megatron himself.

It would be sensible if it wasn't Megatron.

And that's where Optimus gets conflicted.

"You're right. As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. I'm going to need your help in this world, more than I first assumed. I didn't anticipate Tarn, and in order to protect everyone..."

There's a hint of defeat.

"Then I need to ask you something."

Megatron has the decency to keep the hint of triumph on his own face to a minimum as he watches Optimus deliberate his way to the only conclusion he can really come to.

He clasps his hands in front of him, and nods. "Yes?"

His eyes bore into Megatron, as serious as...well, as he always is. There's no hesitation in his voice, and it's almost demanding an honest answer back.

Not that Megatron would give him any different.

"Can I trust you? Can I give you this part of your life back? Can I give you this much power and expect you to be the Autobot you claim to be?"

He points to the badge on his chest.

"If you falter on any one of those, remove that badge."

He hesitates. He does hesitate. His hand comes up to his badge. Bumblebee's badge. But his one good optic stays fixed on Optimus's, and his expression doesn't falter, even as he considers, very carefully, that he's been having second thoughts about this whole Autobot thing, after his confrontation – confrontations – with Tarn. He wants to demonstrate his commitment to change, and he wants to be held to that commitment the way that this badge forces him to be. But it's beginning to feel as if that's meant abdicating responsibility for the people who followed him.

Slowly, he lowers his hand.

"It is my sincere hope, Optimus," he says, "that I will not disappoint you."

Which is roughly the same moment that Rodimus bursts in, not paying attention to anything as he gestures with a hand that's clutching a glass of energon. What can he say, he was thirsty and it's not often he gets a ping from Optimus even when he's in the middle of scrounging something up from Maccadam's. Nautica had done wonders with the place, and he thinks Swerve would probably be jealous if he knew.

"Alright, so I want an official number - how many of you," and he gestures towards Megatron, just in case there was any doubt. "Are there around here? Because I'm up to four currently, but I'm just waiting for one more to surprise me." It is also five Megatrons too many, because negative Megatron is the optimal number of Megatrons.

Hey guys, did you miss him?

Edited 2015-02-25 07:53 (UTC)

Well, he was going to have a rather touching moment with Megatron. Maybe share something about how proud he was of the warlord's ability to turn everything around. That maybe redemption was not too far beyond his grasp. Those were the things that were certainly GOING to happen. That is, until Rodimus decides to finally show up. And the moment he hears that voice, his earpieces seem to perk to alert, eyes widening.

His gaze darts to the younger Autobot, and then Megatron. And....then possibly to a passing younger!Megatron checking on other patients. And then maybe to the window to make sure that alternate universe Megatron wasn't breathing on it.

...

"It's good to see you showed up, Rodimus. But...I'm afraid Megatron is not going anywhere for awhile."

There's a gesture for him to grab a chair and pull it up.

"Please, take a seat."

Megatron actually looks a little taken aback to be interrupted, as if he's concerned Rodimus might have overheard their conversation, but he relaxes a little when it's clear he didn't, his expression settling into a look of faintly disdainful irritation. He's about to ask Rodimus what he wants when he realises that by all appearance Optimus has summoned him here, presumably to talk to both of them at once – presumably about what happened, as if he and Rodimus have equal responsibility... which, he reminds himself, they technically do, because they are, as co-captains, equals.

He sighs heavily. How the hell has his life come to this.

"I'm afraid I haven't been keeping count," he says stiffly.

"Too many," is his response as he throws himself into a chair, arms crossed over the top of the back and resting his chin on them as he surveys both Megatron and Optimus. So. This is... weird. Cool weird. Sort of.

But definitely weird.

"So, get caught up on what you've missed?"

Cool weird was certainly a word for it. Optimus leans his elbows on his knees as he stares at the floor, thinking hard about what Megatron had said. He truly believed him, deep down--maybe that was naive of him. But in those words, he'd heard the Megatron "with an R" he'd heard so long ago.

"For the most part. I know of Tarn's existence, and from the looks of it...he's been busy while I've been away."

Optics flick up to Megatron, and then to Rodimus.

"Has the situation been merely postponed or dealt with completely?

"That's a very clean way of asking whether I killed him," says Megatron, looking evenly at Optimus. There's a pause; he clasps his hands together, and lowers his gaze. "I didn't. He surrendered."

"So postponed," Rodimus supplies. "I know, right?"

He can hardly believe it himself.

"I figured that mentioning death in a medical bay seemed ill placed." His eyes flick from Megatron to Rodimus, straightening up.

But this complicates things. Tarn isn't likely going to stop.

"What was his condition? Can we expect anything before you recover?"

And then a glance to Rodimus. "And have you had any entanglement with him?"

"He couldn't stand," Megatron replies, a little curtly, as if irritated by the implication that he might not have beat the shit out of Tarn. "I had to carry him back to where he insisted his allies would find him, and unless they were hiding themselves exceptionally well it doesn't seem as if he has a lot of them. He'll be in for repairs a lot longer than I will."

"And Megatron's already said he'll make sure Tarn won't go after anyone else." Rodimus points out, waving his hand in Megatron's direction. "So unless he can't or decides he's not going to, which could happen," he trusts Megatron about as far as he can throw him. But he is the only thing that can keep Tarn from making his way through his crew, so Rodimus is begrudgingly coming to terms with his usefulness. "Tarn's not a problem right now."

As for that last question, however: "Ratchet welded my arm back on. I'm fine."

That's a yes.

"Then I trust him, Rodimus. End of conversation." On that, at least. His eyes turn to Megatron, as if now they could silently finish their conversation from before. There's a nod of affirmation, figuring that was all that needed to be said between the two. Megatron was keeping to the Autobot ideal, and he would respect and hold him to that.

...

Wait. That head SNAPS right back to Rodimus, as if he didn't hear him correctly.

"What did you do."

Megatron nods in return, solemn and grateful.

... And then there's the issue of Rodimus's arm.

He sighs.

"The first time we ran into Tarn," he explains, "neither of us were equipped to fight him off. I can only assume he didn't know that, because I managed to scare him away, but..." He shakes his head, glancing at Rodimus. He isn't petty and immature enough to get into the details of how Rodimus totally brought it on himself by provoking Tarn, but he kind of wants to.

"I set him on fire. Sort of," Rodimus says as if that completely negates the previous part of the encounter. But he shrugs, hand coming up to rub at the now-less shiny weld around his shoulder.

Good job on being the better bot, Megatron.

Honestly, if Megatron weren't there to...not-deny it, Optimus would have seriously thought Rodimus made it up. Sort of. It's actually the perfect thing for Rodimus to do all things considered.

Fingers go to the bridge of his nose as he vents in, air eventually venting out in a 'deep breath'.

"I see. I'll just assume it's been handled and leave it at that."

Because that's not the pressing issue. "Were there any other casualties? I have seen Nautica in the medical bay as well."

"Nautica," Megatron repeats, frowning. "What was her condition?"

"Stable," Rodimus fills in. "Er, well, I think she's fine. Just a bit--" He waves a hand in the air that's a gesture to indicate high out of her mind. Regardless.

"She said she was attacked by a Megatron," and it's at this point that his attention goes from Optimus to Megatron. "So unless you've been busy beating up people who don't have a chance in hell in doing any actual damage, you wanna help fill me in?"

Optimus watches Rodimus a moment before carefully...imitating, as if that would somehow translate whatever he was trying to say. "I think what he's trying to say is she was...rather well medicated."

A little too well.

But Rodimus's next statement makes him thing, tapping a thumb on his faceplate. "I assume Megatron had nothing to do with it--this one, I should say. And as for his past self, I can't see her willingly taking medicine from her attacker."

That's two on the list to cross off.

"There is one I've met."

Megatron watches Rodimus and Optimus make that ridiculous gesture one after the other with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face, kind of like he feels as if he has just witnessed something he shouldn't have.

MOVING ON,

"I've met another one as well," he says, looking a little concerned, "but he seemed about as harmless as the... younger version of myself." He wrinkles his nose slightly. Somehow describing the situation is worse than actually talking to his past self face to face.

"Gonna repeat myself here: there are way too many of you wandering around for anyone to actually sleep well at night." JUST IN CASE ANYONE MISSED THAT. But Rodimus frowns, fingertips pressed together in front of his face for a second before they fall and he leans back in his chair.

"Did either of yours have eyebrows, no nose, and call himself Megatronus? That's the last one I've got." He's got a sneaking suspicion that's the one Megatron is talking about which means there could be a fourth one. A fourth one, and Rodimus internally groans at the idea.

And in another stunning display of 'these two should never be in the same room', Optimus's own fingers reach up to pinch the bridge of his nose--just above the faceplate as he slumps back in his chair.

"I know of one by the same description, but he called himself Megatron. It seems that while we have a past and present version of Megatron as we know him, there is another. Another with a split history."

Seeing as this is coming from almost out of nowhere, he leans forward, arms on legs again as he stares at the ground. "When I arrived there, before my trip to speak with Cybertron, I was confronted by someone with that description, calling himself Megatron. He wasn't of our universe--thankfully--but he seemed to not discriminate in his...rivals. Brash, violent, crazed"--a sigh--"He called himself and myself a god. Tried to take whatever chance he could at attacking me."

A look to Megatron, blue eyes glinting with slight mirth. "You're just as theatrical, at least."

"I have never called you a god, Optimus," says Megatron, arms folded, frowning sourly. "But this one's dangerous, then? Unless there's more of them skulking around out there then that's probably our culprit."

"Technically you're all dangerous," Rodimus helpfully points out. "But if this one's going to go around and beat up Autobots unprovoked we've got a problem. We might as well give him what he's asking for."

Punching. Please let him punch something.

Edited 2015-03-12 15:26 (UTC)

Please don't start he went through round one of that and it was creepy and uncomfortable for everyone involved. Although what Rodimus says rings in his audio receptors, turning to face him.

"Rodimus."

He wants to say 'no'. Don't get him wrong, he believes in Rodimus and has never doubted his abilities. There was a reason he never sent anyone personally after Megatron during the war--he knew the outcome. But he'd proven himself against Nova. In all aspects, he had no right to really doubt him.

~~except the whole breaking the Matrix thing~~

He exvents before looking back up again at the both of them. "If you feel you can handle yourself. Nautica is part of your crew, after all." His gaze shifts, to Megatron and gives a single nod. "I will fight in your place, then."

Megatron hesitates. He wants this alternate Megatron dealt with, because of course he does, but... the idea of it being taken care of without him doesn't feel right. He doesn't like it. Some part of him wants very badly to assert that if there are more of him here, he's the top one, and the rest of them should be afraid of him.

It is very hard to remind himself that that's not who he's supposed to be any more.

"... Can you be sure that will be enough?"

He lets out a vent of air he didn't know he was holding, ready to defend his right to be a part of this particular fight. That's one argument he won't have to have and he looks almost surprised at the fact.

"If it's not then we'll go and beat him up again. Worked for Tarn, didn't it?" At least he's assuming it's going to work for Tarn, because he'll come after both Megatron and Tarn himself if he has to if it doesn't.

Optimus looks at Megatron, knowing just what the other mech is feeling. Megatron had pride, he'd always known that, and having him go fight this battle in his stead...

"We'll certainly send a message, Megatron. And if I can defeat him, that means that he was not worth your effort."

And now to you, Rodimus. "You are to follow my lead."

Aw, Optimus, you always know exactly what to say

Megatron gives him a really? sort of look, but it's clear he appreciates it anyway.

"All right," he says, as though this is up to him. "I sincerely hope he's not worth it."

"No," he says, arms crossed and defiant. You should have expected this, Optimus. You really should have. "She's a member of my crew. He's a Megatron, but he's not our Megatron. Which means that whatever responsibility you think you have to beat his face in doesn't exist."

So there. He's quiet for a moment, and then turns to Megatron because, hey. He's got an idea.

"If I wanted to punch you really, really hard and wanted it to really, really hurt - where would I do it?"

Asking Megatron where to punch himself? Yeah, this is a good day, and Rodimus can't help the smirk that's spreading across his face.

Edited 2015-03-22 00:32 (UTC)

He somewhat did, and it's more a cause for frustration that Optimus really didn't need tacked onto his list of stress. But Rodimus had a point as well. "You're right, I have no say over what you do--but I hope you will cooperate with me, and not leap into action without a plan."

His eyes ease up at Rodimus. "I do not want to see you in the hospital because we are not on the same wavelength."

...

But the subject's changed, and Optimus is willing to give his input. "I've always found the upper abdomen to be a good bet."

Optimus...

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A Prime and (co) Captains

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