Raptrana
Part Two: The Beginning
"That’s it! Hah-HAH!” Optimus yelled, and ran over to
Awn’néad, who was sitting on a
bicycle, looking over her shoulder exuberantly. Her six-and-a-half-year-old face
lit up with a smile
that, if turned into watts, could sizzle a planet to ashes in seconds.
She had just ridden her two-wheeler for the first time by herself.
Stormblend was watching the two with a smile, and was already planning a
celebration gift
for Awn’néad.
Suddenly, a hovering holo-projector flew up next to him. He turned, and saw the
face of
Electra, his assistant.
“Yo, wassup?”she said, smiling broadly. “I heard Prime yelling, but I saw
nothing. What
happened?”
“Awn’néad just rode a bicycle by herself.”
“And she’s only six?”
“Yup.”
“Tell her that I say, ‘Congratulations.’ I really called you on another
matter, though.”
“And that would be?”
Electra sighed. “Elders are saying that there’s a little punk around. He’s
short, barely taller
than Awn. He’s a real pain in the skidplate, and they say that only you have
the skills to handle him.”
“Hmm. Is there anything else that should help me pick him out of the crowd?”
Stormblend
asked.
“Oh, yeah! The most important fact: He’s got a really thick Brookline
accent. The Elders
either didn’t know his name, or they didn’t tell me. That’s it, though.
Good luck! Electra out.”
The image faded, and the holo-projector flew back down the halls to the
laboratory, where
Stormblend and Electra worked.
Optimus and Awn’néad walked up to him, and Awn’néad ran up to Stormblend,
who swung
her up onto his shoulder, as if she was no heavier that a kitten.
“I did it! I really did it! Did ’ya see me? I rode my bike all by myself!”
“I did see you. I also saw you fall, and skin your knee without crying.
Let’s get that cleaned
up, then grab something to eat for lunch, then you can go back out.”
“Aww, do I have to?”
“Yes, you do,” Stormblend said firmly, but kindly.
“Oh, okay.”
Later that day, or rather, it was night now, Stormblend was pub-hopping, hoping
to find the
bot that Electra was talking about. He found him at the fourth one he went to.
At all the other pubs
that he went to, he had seen friends, but declined any drinks.
“An’ so I said ~hic~ ‘If ’ya even tried ta hook me up wid a ~hic~ anoduh
girl like da last one,
I’d ~hic~ kick ’ya skidplate across Cybertropolis!’ ~hic~ Watcha thinks uh
dat one?” The small bot
was intoxicated, no doubt about it. He could barely keep himself sitting up
straight in the chair at the
bar counter.
The bartender laughed, saw Stormblend, and winked at him. By that, he should get
the
drunken, short, freak-bot outta there, before he started a fight. Stormblend was
a genius at making
compromises, and all the managers of bars and workplaces called him if they
needed any help with
employees, or in cases like this, a drunken freak-bot.
Stormblend sat down next to the small bot, who hiccoughed again, and muttered,
“Pour me
anoduh cold ’un, Screamie,” and promptly passed out.
“I was looking for this one. Guess that I should get him out of here, before
the Elders send
someone else to take my job, huh Novascream?” Stormblend said, smiling.
Novascream nodded, and said in a whisper, “He’s a regular, and I’m afraid
to kick him out.
He brags about being some demolitions expert. He calls himself Pyrofreeze.”
“Gimme time with him.”
“You? You’re Sinead’s kid’s Guardian! I doubt that you even have the
time.”
“I have a part-time Guardian, and young Guardians in training. They’re
basically Candy
Stripers. Some of them are okay, but most of them are way too energetic at
times.”
Novascream smiled, and said, “’Ya want one? On the house, if ’ya get ’im
outta here.”
“Naw, but thanks,” Stormblend replied. “I need some extra sleep. Awn’néad
is going on a
field trip tomorrow, and it’s gonna take all my energy to keep up with her.”
“To where?”
“Sorry, but I can’t tell.”
“That’s okay. See ’ya later, Storm.”
Stormblend picked the small bot up, and said over his shoulder, “If you find
him here again,
don’t give him any drinks, and call me immediately.”
Novascream nodded, and Stormblend left with the short bot under his arm.