Brainstorm: The Lost Light's resident genius.

The readings, when they come, are definitely a bit odd. Eject’s spark hasn’t grown in size or power, but he’s not showing any sign of nearing his breaking strain. The systems that now comprise his body are as energized as any fully healthy mech’s, but they seem to be drawing their power from some undetectable source. It’s puzzling, to be sure, but it doesn’t seem to be having any ill effects on Eject’s body.

Scanning Eject and testing vitals turned out to be a bit more challenging then at first - what with Brainstorm having to lift First Aid up on the berth and back down to fetch something else and that went on for a while - but at last, everything had leveled out, and now First Aid sat on the edge of the berth, cross-legged as he held his reader in his lap.

"So, you actually are coming across as perfectly healthy, Ej!" He informs happily. "There seems to be an undetermined source of power helping you along. I can’t tell what it is, but I can tell you that it’s not affecting your health in the slightest and shows no signs of weakening. I’d keep my optic on it just in case, so if you have any pains in your chassis, or a ringing in your audios, you should definitely come back for an emergency operation.”

He cranes his neck to look over First Aid's shoulder at the read-out, just wanting to "double-check" the medic's findings. It's not that he doesn't trust First Aid, of course. It's just a precautionary measure.

Clearly, the virus that took Rewind's and Eject's life before still has Brainstorm spooked about these sort of things.

When the other mech seeks his gaze and cocks a brow ridge, for a moment Eject is nonplussed. He’s so used to sharing physical affection not just with First Aid, but with Rewind, with Ratchet, with Wheeljack, with anyone who needs it, that it doesn’t occur to him that Brainstorm might not think of such a thing as routine. 

When it finally hits him, though, he can’t help but be faintly amused. He’ll have to talk to his friend later and clear matters up. The former minibot doesn’t want to make Brainstorm any more uncomfortable, but luckily First Aid has given him a means of ceasing their public cuddling without being rude or curt about it. “Sure thing!” He shifts a bit and looks to First Aid. “You want a lift to one of the tables, or would you rather handle it yourself?”

So First Aid sat upright - placing himself exclusively in Brainstorm’s lap for a moment, before he slid off his legs, scrambling to stand and stretch himself out for a little bit, the handle on his back flicking.

He's not exactly sure how he feels about this new development, but getting down to the business of checking his friend over to see if the change in size has effected his spark... Well, it's a welcome distraction.

All things considered, he’s pretty happy right now. It feels very nice to be able to curl around the entirety of First Aid protectively, and even though Eject can feel a terrible ache rising in his spark at the knowledge that this sensation is transient, he’s determined to hold onto it while it lasts. He’s near two of his dearest friends, some of the few friends he has left, and he’s learned over the course of the tumultuous year to value their company while it lasts.

So, he indulges in it, splaying comfortably between the two mechs, smiling so his mask moves, tickling Eject’s abdomen the slightest bit. “Your welcome, Brains. Means a lot to me that you’re here.”

Eject has been there for First Aid countless times - especially when he dropped out of a tear back into the Lost Light from the Peaceful Tyranny - and even though it was especially traumatizing for the medic, he distinctly remembers lying through his teeth at the minibot. He feels like that now, but he doesn’t bring it up, instead continuing to rub his hand over Eject’s middle, softly. 

He knows most mechs don’t have metallomesh armor anymore, and if they do, its on a dermal level to protect wires from getting caught in armor joints - but Eject’s tummy is nice and smooth and separated into different plates, and fun to run his hand over, so he continues.

First Aid's use of Eject's old nickname for him comes as yet another surprise, and perhaps because of that, he instantly replies with an almost disbelieving "Really?!" before he can stop himself.

"I mean, well, of course you would!" he adds, not-so-successfully attempting to deflect attention from his previous gaffe, "Having the pride of Kimia's engineering division around is always a good thing, after all."

"Alright, that sounds like a plan!" he said and redrew his weapon, holding it at the ready.

Unfortunately for the two of them, sometimes even good, solid plans can go awry.

Atomizer took a shot when he was satisfied that the creature had been cornered, but neither of them had expected the nameless being to suddenly launch itself directly at Brainstorm's midsection. The arrow just barely missed its target, and the jet instinctively recoiled in sheer surprise instead of attempting to catch it.

When he looked down at the area where he'd felt the creature land, Brainstorm was stunned to find that it was no longer there.

He scoots a little closer to Brainstorm after the pat, bringing them into one nice, snug group. He doesn’t fit as neatly into the curve of Brainstorm’s waist as he would if he were his normal size, but the jet is still surprisingly comfortable to lean on. Chuckling, he responds, “Sure thing. I’ll let him know pronto.” He pauses, cocking his head to one side, and is silent for a few moments. “Looks like Rewind noticed, too. I’ll go talk to him about it in a bit. That’s going to be interesting,” he finishes dryly. 

"Thanks Ej," he says warmly, rubbing his mask gently against his chassis plating.

It occurs to him that Brainstorm is also of the mask-wearing social class, so First Aid leans over to rub his against the blue jet’s arm lightly. “And thank you too, Brains. For being here,” he adds quickly, before settling back against Eject.

"It'll definitely be interesting. Heh, you could probably carry poor Rewind around now," he chuckles, "I'd pay to see that."

First Aid's sudden nuzzling of his arm comes as a bit of a surprise to Brainstorm. It feels almost like the cybercat he once owned when he was younger. Not an unpleasant feeling, no, but people (or at least people who he hadn't been friends with for a while) aren't usually so physically affectionate with the scientist because of his reputation as someone strange at best and crazy and dangerous at worst. To have the tiny medic so comfortable with him so quickly is almost shocking.

Something in Brainstorm’s peripheral vision moved, and he looked over to make sure he hadn’t been seeing things. “Atomizer, over there!”

Sure enough, the small yellow creature appeared from the shadows in between a filing cabinet and began racing around the room.

He knew this to be fact from his experiences keeping (or rather attempting to keep) pets… And also from one that time he’d tried to take the booze drone with him to a beach party on Hedonia and it started shooting arrows at everyone. He’d forgotten that he modified it to do that himself and thought it was having a panic attack.

"We're going to have to herd it somewhere. Keep your optics on it, I'll clear this corner over here." Backing away and then quickly turning around when Atomizer seemed to have a handle on things, the engineer pushed cabinets and equipment away from the nearest corner of the room. After making a clearing, he turned back to Atomizer and the scurrying creature.

"Okay. When it comes over this way, try closing in on the direction of the corner while I do the same from the other side. It should back into that clearing and then you can take your shot."

"There are some metal crates over here… a glass jar holding what looks like a radioactive spark or something. It’s kinda cool but… possibly not a good idea to pop it open. Oh hey, how about this incredibly silly-looking thing?"

"It doesn’t look very dangerous. Wonder why it’s back here…"

He held up what looked to be some sort of net gun.

Something in Brainstorm's peripheral vision moved, and he looked over to make sure he hadn't been seeing things. "Atomizer, over there!"

Sure enough, the small yellow creature appeared from the shadows in between a filing cabinet and began racing around the room.

"Whoever it is, he can’t be too clever if he got himself locked inside." Nonetheless, Atomizer made sure his bow and quiver were within easy reach before proceeding with the lock pick.

The first few combinations he scanned failed, indicating that either the locks had been changed too recently or that someone else had attempted to break into the room.

With the next combination, he heard the door click and promptly withdrew his arrow, readying his bow instead.

...Nothing.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Brainstorm quipped, "I'm kind of disappointed."

Room 113 looked the same as it always did, save for a broken container in the far corner by the shelves. The scientist nudged Atomizer lightly. "No Cybertronians here, but it's possible that that little creature's hiding somewhere. You search the right side of the room, I'll search the left. Okay?"

"There’s only one way to find out. Come on, we’ve got to find that thing before it does any serious damage!"

Grabbing Atomizer’s arm, Brainstorm half dragged the archer with him out the door and into the halls. As he scrambled to get to Room 113, the scientist couldn’t help but feel ill at ease at how deserted it was.

"Where is everyone? This is usually the busiest hall in the whole station!" There were no alarms going off; nothing to indicate that Kimia had been evacuated or overtaken by anything. “And there are hardly any lights on… What the hell is going on here?!"

"Maybe everyone else vanished through the tears like on the Lost Light?" he guessed. Somehow, this explanation didn’t quite feel satisfactory.

"Ah, no, I don’t know. Didn’t it change all the time too?" He wasn’t sure if he ever knew it in the first place. “But I think I got this…"

He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and unscrewed the head, revealing an elaborate lock pick, a useful tool for someone who always gets his crossbows taken away an assassin.

The taller mech watched in fascination as Atomizer unveiled his surprisingly detailed and complex lockpicking device. "Ooo, nice! I don't think I've seen that particular arrow from you before. Very clever. Will you let me give it a look later?"

Just then, a quiet shuffling noise was heard from the other side of the door, followed by watch sounded like glass breaking.

He looks up to Brainstorm, unable to resist a grin at the enthusiasm in the other’s voice. Eject has no clue what the deal is with Brainstorm’s briefcase, but he knows it’s a very important thing. it’s quite obvious that his taller friend is very… taken with First Aid’s new alt mode. “I might hafta beat Ace to it, though," he quips. Eject is, for the moment, unaware that he’s said anything especially self-depreciating, which is just a testament to how accustomed he is to despising his own natural frame. 

Brainstorm has his work cut out for him in that respect. 

The new minibot rests against Eject comfortably, looking up at Brainstorm. He’s tempted to invite the scientist down, but… the medic assumes that Brainstorm doesn’t have social anxiety and doesn’t really want to cuddle on the medbay floor. Oh well. It’s just that some mechs find it weird.

"I’m glad to know I have a ride if I wanna go anywhere, thanks guys." First Aid chuckles, groping for and finding one of Eject’s arms, dragging it over his middle in a half-hug, making himself cozy. Carefully, he lets his EM field pulse against Eject’s soothingly, nearly melding the frequencies - both to soothe Eject and himself. 

Then First Aid reaches out to him, asking for him to sit beside them and, well, Brainstorm finds that he can't resist the happy and welcoming look on the smaller Autobot's face. First Aid's new form being kind of adorable helped a lot too.

Primus, when did I get to be so soft-sparked?

The scientist slowly descends and sits cross-legged to one side of Eject, patting his friend's shoulder plating as he gets comfortable. He gently pats First Aid's head as well, almost reflexively.

Atomizer temporarily forgot what he was talking about because Brainstorm’s hand was suddenly on his butt and it was very, very distracting.

"There's only one way to find out. Come on, we've got to find that thing before it does any serious damage!"

Grabbing Atomizer's arm, Brainstorm half dragged the archer with him out the door and into the halls. As he scrambled to get to Room 113, the scientist couldn't help but feel ill at ease at how deserted it was.

"Where is everyone? This is usually the busiest hall in the whole station!" There were no alarms going off; nothing to indicate that Kimia had been evacuated or overtaken by anything. "And there are hardly any lights on... What the hell is going on here?!"

"You know, if you look at it upside down, it looks kinda like Sureshot… If Sureshot had one eye. And a moustache." He tilts his head to the left again. “Although from this angle it looks more like a glockenspiel to me. Either way, it doesn’t go with the room’s décor at all."

Giving the wall one more disapproving look, he turns back to Brainstorm.

"You’re right, it’s definitely Kimia. A detail like that seems too specific to make this an alternate universe, but something about this place is still o—" He hears something crunch beneath his step and glances down to find the broken clopsfish container.

The teal jet listened to Atomizer while getting a good look at the room. Why was no one else there? The mess hall on Kimia was usually open at all hours since the staff there all had wildly different schedules. At the very least, one of the kitchen workers should've been around...

The crunch under Atomizer's foot instantly got Brainstorm's attention. "That wasn't what I think it was, was it?"

A closer inspection proved that, yes, that was indeed the remains of the container. Taking a hold of Atomizer, the weapons engineer carefully held him upright as he lifted up the other mech's foot and checked underneath for the remains of the strange creature.

However, there we no traces of organic entrails.

"Yeah, First. Being little is the worst," he sighs, “but you’ve got smarts. You know what you’re doin’, and bein’ little ain’t gonna keep you from helpin’ folks! Besides, it’s only temporary. You got enough goin’ for you that size ain’t gonna hold you back." 

He can think of so many things that each of them should take pride in--part of Brainstorm's job is being able to see talents and advantages in people and using that information to craft the perfect weapons for them, after all--but for some reason no one else seems to see that. On one hand, Brainstorm takes pride in being able to figure things out before others can. But on the other hand, it's annoying that he has to work so much to make people see what he does.

The jet makes a mental note to talk to Eject about it again some time. Obviously their previous discussion didn't sink the point in enough. And if there's one thing Brainstorm's known for, it's persistence.

First Aid's words about being carried instantly bring him out of his train of thought, though, and before he can stop himself from speaking, he blurts out, "Yes, of course. I'd be happy to!"

Then First Aid has both of their attention, and Eject withdraws his cables, watching as his now-much-smaller companion’s plates shift, whirring and rearranging and… oh. Oh, he’s… well. 

To be honest, First Aid was hoping he’d be some sort of cool fighter jet. Clearly, this was not the case. Haha, case. Puns.

After a few minutes of the first aid kit shifting in place, First Aid manages to trigger the catch release, and falls open - sure enough, he has quite the hefty tool arrangement inside, all sorts of metallomesh patches, disinfectant, multipurpose scissors and disposable welders. 

It’s with a hefty - and kind of cute - sigh, that the medical kit shudders and plating explodes outward in his transformation sequence, leaving First Aid sitting on the floor, hands pressed between his knees and legs splayed as he stares at the ground.

Just as Brainstorm's urge to pick First Aid up borders on becoming irresistible, the little medic switches back to robot mode. He holds out one hand to help the other mech up, silently hoping that neither of the other two noticed his fingers twitch while staring at First Aid's new alt.

Last time he tried to move in one of these rifts, he ended up randomly triggering his transformation sequence and experiencing it in slow motion while hearing upbeat music playing somewhere in the distance. It was weird.

"You saw it, though, right? That was a tear. It had to be, and we fell through and now we're...here." The taller mech peered through the darkness, trying his best to figure out why it felt like he'd been here before.

It was very dark, true, but there were machines around them adorned with small, glowing red lights and tables and chairs neatly placed in rows.

Wandering from Atomizer's side, Brainstorm walked over to what looked to be a button for the lighting in the room. He pressed it and--

Oh.

OH.

"I knew I recognized this place." He walked back over to where he'd landed, hands on his hips. "Kimia's mess hall. It's gotta be. That mark on the wall over there is exactly like the one Rad made that one time when he got overcharged at the staff party a few years back."

Sure enough, a sloppily carved piece of graffiti that looked very, very vaguely like an Autobot symbol was in the far corner of the room.

"Do you need help with those or— Alright." Atomizer decides to think of a name for the starfish while he waits for Brainstorm. Perhaps he could call it… Not feeling particularly inspired by the thing’s woogling, he then remembers reading somewhere that organic creatures like this are usually gonochoristic and proceeds to stare at it, trying to determine if it’s male or female. He doesn’t have much success there either.

"Ready!" he replies and picks up the creature’s container, half-opening it as he walks over to Brainstorm. He realizes he’s not entirely sure how he’s supposed to hold it and glances around, looking for a test tube holder or something. Something else catches his eye.

"Wow, was the linoleum in here always this color? I’m not sure I approve of this design choi—"

"Huh? The floor's the same as alwa--"

And that's when Brainstorm's optics trailed to the floor and caught a glimpse of a moving mass in the strangest shade of mauve he'd ever seen before a flash of light overwhelmed him. An odd falling sensation came next, and it was very hard to tell what exactly was going on. He caught a glimpse of Atomizer floating--or was it falling?--in front of him and the container careening out of his grip.

The next moment, he heard and felt himself clatter onto a hard floor. "Oww... What the fraggin'--?!"

Looking around, he seemed to be in a dark room...and not the lab he and Atomizer had previously occupied. Somehow, though, the place felt familiar.

"Maybe we could x-ray it? Or would it drain the machine before we get the chance to see anything? Guess it’d be best to avoid annoying the medics…"

He nods as Brainstorm explains his theory. “That does seem probable. Would that mean it’d do to a Cybertronian what the others did to your tools?"

Brainstorm put one hand in his hip, cocking his head to the side. "Extremely likely, I'd say. Maybe to a lesser extent, but there's no way I'm going to try that out personally to see. I've already had one lab incident today thanks to Whirl. I don't exactly want another."

The weapons engineer's grin grew even wider. "You're speaking my language, friend. Just let me go grab a few tools and we'll get started!" With that, Brainstorm rushed off to the storage closet. A few moments of shuffling and clanging sounds later, he reappeared in the room with some lab instruments in hand and quickly grabbed a small testing chamber from a nearby desk.