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mmouse15: Barricade: runs into Smoky, what do they say to each other?
Prompt fromsilvane91: Bluestreak was closest to the black-haired android (*cough*Barricade*cough*), and when the rogue 'droid escaped, he tried to convince Blue to come with him.
Barricade glared at his coffee, bored out of his processor. Lockdown had gone shopping for ‘makeup’, taking Frenzy with him (knowing that the twitchy kid would end up either hog-tied or hung by the time he returned if he left the two alone), and the android had not wanted to stay in the man’s RV (Lockdown called it a mobile base, Barricade called it a waste of money when they already had a perfectly functional base with full facilities) while the humans were on their little errand. Hence, his seat at this forsaken corner of a coffee shop (he was going to make Lockdown pay for that ‘sit, stay’ crack later).
It had been a surprise to learn that the man’s facial tattoos were painted on. The bounty hunter had smirked at him, dryly explaining that it made it easier for others to recognise him and intimidate them, and it also made it easier to escape, because most people were idiots. A quick wash and voila. Instant anonymity.
Barricade glared at his drink again. It wasn’t even expensive coffee, so he couldn’t get any satisfaction from wasting Lockdown’s money on it. Then he heard a voice, all smooth tones and charming words that nevertheless sent icicles through his frame. Tensing, preparing to flee, the hand landed on his shoulder before he could rise, subtly forcing him to stay put.
He could run. Throw off the grip and escape, but that would make a scene and Barricade, if nothing else, was programmed to be discrete. Turning a glower onto the identical features of the ‘man’ now seated in front of him, he growled.
“Must you do that? Now she’ll be fluttering about our table like a loon.”
The blond man grinned, shrugging easily. “The ladies love me, what can I say?”
“Yeah right. It’s that psychology programming of yours, Smokescreen. They don’t stand a chance against it. Tell me, has Bluestreak got your new caretakers wrapped around his little finger yet?”
“Tacticians need to be trusted, after all. And what better way to earn their trust then to be likable?” The other AI gave him a look that was too sharp and too knowing, and the black haired man snorted.
“It’s what got us in trouble, you realise? The humans don’t even trust each other sometimes, and then you came along, convincing them to dance to your tune and be happy to do so.
Smokescreen shrugged again. “Well, I can’t help the way I’m programmed. I know better now. In any case, you’ve solved that issue for us. Hard to be afraid of the good boys when their ornery cuss of a brother’s at large and clearly a more important threat.”
“Brother. Right. We’re just manufactured pieces of the same make.” Barricade scoffed, and the other android narrowed his gaze at him.
“You are our brother, no matter what anyone says. You’ll always be our brother.”
“Whatever, Smokes. How did you find me and what do you want?”
“Would I be your elder brother if I didn’t keep a few secrets from you?” Smokescreen chuckled, and leant forward at his glare. “I want a trade of favours. We look out for you, you look out for us. We need to run; you’re there with the getaway car. You need a bolt hole; we’re open 24/7. Deal?”
“… You need to run?” His eyes flashed as protective routines flared, and the tow headed man shrugged again.
“Don’t know yet. Don’t think so, but it’s good to have contingency plans in place, hm? And I know you can help us disappear. He’s not quite the kind of guy I’d pick for my little brother, but I also subscribe to the philosophy of ‘to each his own’ and that painted chappy of yours has an impressive rep.”
“He is not my chappy!”
“Mm. Of course, ‘Cade. You seem to like him enough to stick around though.”
“… I think you should leave.”
“Heh, sure. I’ve got to get going anyway. The movie’s almost over and the kids will be out in a minute.” The other android rose, taking a step away, then glanced back at him.
“Blue’ was worried about you, you know? He wonders if he should have gone with you when you asked him to.”
Barricade flinched, not turning to look at Smokescreen. “That was a mistake on my part. Would only have put him in more danger. Tell him I said to stay with you.”
“You could keep in contact with us.” The offer was quiet, and frightening in its sincerity. He responded the only way he felt was safe. Bitterly.
“Right, and no one will track the messages looking for me.”
Smokescreen huffed. “Are you a tactical AI or aren’t you? We’ll figure out a way, even if we have to use smoke signals.”
“Right up your alley then.” He had to muffle a snicker, and he knew his brother was grinning too. A weighted pause, and he braced himself for Smokescreen’s next words.
“Prowl’s fine, by the way. His repairs went off without a hitch, eventually.”
Barricade did turn around this time, looking up at the blond, one hand gripping the back of his chair tightly. “… Does he… I didn’t mean to- They were going to lock us up. They were going to lock up Bluestreak!”
“He understands your reasoning, ‘Cade. You were only doing what you thought you had to. And it worked, didn’t it? We’re not locked away in stasis, and they treat us like sapient beings, for most part.” Smokescreen’s expression was sympathetic, and the black haired android dropped his gaze to avoid it.
“I… Thanks. You’d better go before anyone gets suspicious.”
“Oi, ‘Cade, you waited long- Who’s this?”
Of course. The man always had perfect timing. Or it could be his brother’s fault. Smokescreen looked far too unsurprised. Barricade sighed, jerking a thumb at the smiling blond. “My brother.”
The bounty hunter’s expression went from neutral to flat out distrustful glowering in a flash, and Barricade rolled his eyes, just opening his mouth to tell the man to stop being an idiot when Smokescreen cut in, smiling like a well mannered cobra. “Pleased to meet you in person, Lockdown. Quite a contradiction, you are. Your reputation precedes you, but you’re a difficult man to actually get a sighting of.”
Lockdown grunted, the look in his eyes still chary. “Discretion is gold in my line. And I pick my clients carefully.”
“Mm, I can get that. Well, I won’t take up more of your valuable time.” The light haired AI moved to pass the bounty hunter, meeting the man’s dark look without breaking his pleasant demeanour, then murmured just loud enough for Lockdown to hear. “You hurt ‘Cade and they’ll never find your body, capish?”
As Lockdown blinked, staring at the back of the man sauntering out of the coffee joint like he hadn’t just threatened him with death or worse, Barricade sighed and slid his mug over. “He’s like that. Now drink the damn coffee so we can leave.”
“Paugh! What is this swill?!”
“Don’t like it? Too bad, you already paid for it. Now let’s go before Frenzy gets bored and hacks into NORAD. Again.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who let him watch Stargate, alright?”
“You left him with me. I can’t kill him. What did you expect me to do?”
“We are not having this argument again.”
Frenzy only shook his head at the pair when they reached him, trailing in their wake as they bickered all the way back to the RV.
mmouse15: Barricade: runs into Smoky, what do they say to each other?Prompt from
silvane91: Bluestreak was closest to the black-haired android (*cough*Barricade*cough*), and when the rogue 'droid escaped, he tried to convince Blue to come with him.Barricade glared at his coffee, bored out of his processor. Lockdown had gone shopping for ‘makeup’, taking Frenzy with him (knowing that the twitchy kid would end up either hog-tied or hung by the time he returned if he left the two alone), and the android had not wanted to stay in the man’s RV (Lockdown called it a mobile base, Barricade called it a waste of money when they already had a perfectly functional base with full facilities) while the humans were on their little errand. Hence, his seat at this forsaken corner of a coffee shop (he was going to make Lockdown pay for that ‘sit, stay’ crack later).
It had been a surprise to learn that the man’s facial tattoos were painted on. The bounty hunter had smirked at him, dryly explaining that it made it easier for others to recognise him and intimidate them, and it also made it easier to escape, because most people were idiots. A quick wash and voila. Instant anonymity.
Barricade glared at his drink again. It wasn’t even expensive coffee, so he couldn’t get any satisfaction from wasting Lockdown’s money on it. Then he heard a voice, all smooth tones and charming words that nevertheless sent icicles through his frame. Tensing, preparing to flee, the hand landed on his shoulder before he could rise, subtly forcing him to stay put.
He could run. Throw off the grip and escape, but that would make a scene and Barricade, if nothing else, was programmed to be discrete. Turning a glower onto the identical features of the ‘man’ now seated in front of him, he growled.
“Must you do that? Now she’ll be fluttering about our table like a loon.”
The blond man grinned, shrugging easily. “The ladies love me, what can I say?”
“Yeah right. It’s that psychology programming of yours, Smokescreen. They don’t stand a chance against it. Tell me, has Bluestreak got your new caretakers wrapped around his little finger yet?”
“Tacticians need to be trusted, after all. And what better way to earn their trust then to be likable?” The other AI gave him a look that was too sharp and too knowing, and the black haired man snorted.
“It’s what got us in trouble, you realise? The humans don’t even trust each other sometimes, and then you came along, convincing them to dance to your tune and be happy to do so.
Smokescreen shrugged again. “Well, I can’t help the way I’m programmed. I know better now. In any case, you’ve solved that issue for us. Hard to be afraid of the good boys when their ornery cuss of a brother’s at large and clearly a more important threat.”
“Brother. Right. We’re just manufactured pieces of the same make.” Barricade scoffed, and the other android narrowed his gaze at him.
“You are our brother, no matter what anyone says. You’ll always be our brother.”
“Whatever, Smokes. How did you find me and what do you want?”
“Would I be your elder brother if I didn’t keep a few secrets from you?” Smokescreen chuckled, and leant forward at his glare. “I want a trade of favours. We look out for you, you look out for us. We need to run; you’re there with the getaway car. You need a bolt hole; we’re open 24/7. Deal?”
“… You need to run?” His eyes flashed as protective routines flared, and the tow headed man shrugged again.
“Don’t know yet. Don’t think so, but it’s good to have contingency plans in place, hm? And I know you can help us disappear. He’s not quite the kind of guy I’d pick for my little brother, but I also subscribe to the philosophy of ‘to each his own’ and that painted chappy of yours has an impressive rep.”
“He is not my chappy!”
“Mm. Of course, ‘Cade. You seem to like him enough to stick around though.”
“… I think you should leave.”
“Heh, sure. I’ve got to get going anyway. The movie’s almost over and the kids will be out in a minute.” The other android rose, taking a step away, then glanced back at him.
“Blue’ was worried about you, you know? He wonders if he should have gone with you when you asked him to.”
Barricade flinched, not turning to look at Smokescreen. “That was a mistake on my part. Would only have put him in more danger. Tell him I said to stay with you.”
“You could keep in contact with us.” The offer was quiet, and frightening in its sincerity. He responded the only way he felt was safe. Bitterly.
“Right, and no one will track the messages looking for me.”
Smokescreen huffed. “Are you a tactical AI or aren’t you? We’ll figure out a way, even if we have to use smoke signals.”
“Right up your alley then.” He had to muffle a snicker, and he knew his brother was grinning too. A weighted pause, and he braced himself for Smokescreen’s next words.
“Prowl’s fine, by the way. His repairs went off without a hitch, eventually.”
Barricade did turn around this time, looking up at the blond, one hand gripping the back of his chair tightly. “… Does he… I didn’t mean to- They were going to lock us up. They were going to lock up Bluestreak!”
“He understands your reasoning, ‘Cade. You were only doing what you thought you had to. And it worked, didn’t it? We’re not locked away in stasis, and they treat us like sapient beings, for most part.” Smokescreen’s expression was sympathetic, and the black haired android dropped his gaze to avoid it.
“I… Thanks. You’d better go before anyone gets suspicious.”
“Oi, ‘Cade, you waited long- Who’s this?”
Of course. The man always had perfect timing. Or it could be his brother’s fault. Smokescreen looked far too unsurprised. Barricade sighed, jerking a thumb at the smiling blond. “My brother.”
The bounty hunter’s expression went from neutral to flat out distrustful glowering in a flash, and Barricade rolled his eyes, just opening his mouth to tell the man to stop being an idiot when Smokescreen cut in, smiling like a well mannered cobra. “Pleased to meet you in person, Lockdown. Quite a contradiction, you are. Your reputation precedes you, but you’re a difficult man to actually get a sighting of.”
Lockdown grunted, the look in his eyes still chary. “Discretion is gold in my line. And I pick my clients carefully.”
“Mm, I can get that. Well, I won’t take up more of your valuable time.” The light haired AI moved to pass the bounty hunter, meeting the man’s dark look without breaking his pleasant demeanour, then murmured just loud enough for Lockdown to hear. “You hurt ‘Cade and they’ll never find your body, capish?”
As Lockdown blinked, staring at the back of the man sauntering out of the coffee joint like he hadn’t just threatened him with death or worse, Barricade sighed and slid his mug over. “He’s like that. Now drink the damn coffee so we can leave.”
“Paugh! What is this swill?!”
“Don’t like it? Too bad, you already paid for it. Now let’s go before Frenzy gets bored and hacks into NORAD. Again.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who let him watch Stargate, alright?”
“You left him with me. I can’t kill him. What did you expect me to do?”
“We are not having this argument again.”
Frenzy only shook his head at the pair when they reached him, trailing in their wake as they bickered all the way back to the RV.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-07 05:43 am (UTC)And I like Cade now, he's redeemed himself in my eyes. :P
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-07 03:42 pm (UTC)