re_alignment_logs | (no subject)

WHO: FoC Perceptor and Grimlock
WHERE: Perceptor's Lab
WHEN: After the whole Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Police Force Destiny thing.
WHAT: Grimlock tantrums, Perceptor's lab pays the price. Again.
WARNINGS: Updated as needed.

It had been a long day. All he wanted to do is drag himself back to the lab and bury himself in work. That would be perfect. An evening locked in his lab where he didn't have to think about anything except the next step in the process or the next part of the experiment. He needed this. After everything that had happened lately... this was exactly what he needed. No one should bother him. All things considered, the only ones with keycodes to his lab had either gone missing or were laid up in the medical bay.

... Or Grimlock. But Grimlock had no reason to seek him out, theoretically.

He paused, before he actually entered the lab, browsing his Link one more time. Someone might have needed assistance. But from the looks of things, the medics had it well in control. No need for him to go blustering into their space -- he could go check up on the patients after a while. They needed rest anyway.

He keyed in his code, waiting for the door to hiss open.

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When the door opened... all he could do, at first, was stare in utter dismay. So this marked the second time something had absolutely destroyed his lab. Perfect.

That fleeting thought aside, the next was to back up. Quickly. Grimlock was the last bot he expected to see in his lab, much less one he expected to see smashing it. A long step backward took him out of the doorway, theoretically out of range -- until he figured out what Grimlock's new range currently was. He'd only seen it once before, and that had been shock enough over the link.

"Grimlock!"

Calling out to him couldn't hurt, right?

"What in Primus' name are you doing? There are volatile supplies in there!"

... That probably could hurt. But the notion didn't really register until the words were out. He took another step back, hands held up in a gesture of irritated placation.

Grimlock's massive head jerks up when he hears his name, but for a moment there's no recognition. There's just the huge beast with a mouth full of sharp teeth and powerful talons. He snarls, baring his teeth, a machine with a little blinking light still caught around one tooth.

He jumps up, crushing the table under his weight and then vaults off it, charging at Perceptor. At the moment, he was perceived as a threat and a nuisance, no longer really remembering that he was there to see him in the first place.

Oh. Perfect.

There's a split-second moment in which that thought flits through his processor, accompanied by a brief flash of cursing and mental bemoaning the second loss of his lab, his work, everything he'd accumulated. But ramifications and such can come later.

Like when he's not being charged at by an angry, transformed Grimlock even he has difficulty recognizing, in this state.

As the table gets crushed, the tank is attempting to duck out of the way, to where the door seals are. He's big, but he's nowhere near Grimlock's size. Even before the other bot vanished -- not to mention, he doesn't fight. Whereas, that just happens to be Grimlock's specialty.

His best chance, in this instance, is to just try and get out of the way.

"It's Perceptor! Grimlock, stop... this! You know me!"

Shockwave had taken Grimlock and transformed him to be his greatest creation. Even before his conversion, the leader of the Lightning Strike Coalition was a seasoned warrior. With the modifications made to him, much of his processing power had been rerouted to his strength.

He's faster than most would expect for a cybertronian his size; he's over on the other side of the room before Perceptor's barely moved. He snarls, swiping his tail in a large arc. It smashes into a few more machines, crushing them in, and then he lunges, jaws open--

Then pauses.

He seems confused suddenly, tail lashing irritably, then roars loudly in challenge as he expects it to be returned.

Not as planned. None of this is. He doesn't even get a chance to smash his palm against the door seal keypad before Grimlock is there. Just there.

He just stares. Yellow optics go wide, his shoulders thrown back, staring into the open jaws.

Well damn.

Something more fitting should have flitted through his head. There isn't time for it, though. He braces himself -- But nothing happens. Grimlock just roars at him. All he can do is keep his hands up where they are, displaying open, empty weapon ports.

Even if he wanted to, his vocal processor couldn't produce that kind of sound.

Grimlock waits.

And waits.

And waits for Perceptor to do something in return, tail slowly lashing back and forth. He turns his head, optic cycling as he looks at the smaller mech, studying him. Was he food? He snorts, venting hot air against the scientist's face. He could swallow him half and half, but something told him this wasn't food.

He grumbles, turning, and the stomps off as he loses interest. Grimlock nudges some of the debris around, getting comfortable, then turns around in a circle, two. Ah, good.

He lays down.

"Swoop hurt."

The scientist just stands there, in return, staring at him. He doesn't want to move, lest Grimlock decide this is going to suddenly go back to a fight. He doesn't even move his hands.

Even when the hot air washes over his face. He can't help but grimace though. That's not as pleasant as he'd -- no. Not the time.

He remains standing there even as Grimlock moves away, though his shoulders begin to relax. He lowers his hands, very slowly, eventually beginning to edge his way into the room.

"Is he...?" he asks, slowly, cautiously. He doesn't enter the room any further than just inside the door. Not yet. "What happened?"

At least there was speech, now.

His head hurts so much that he can't even comprehend what Perceptor said. Grimlock growls low with displeasure, his huge engine rumbling. His optics dim so low he might be mistaken for powering down, but then his plates abruptly shift, throwing him back into his robot mode.

"...What?" he rumbles, lifting a hand to press it against his helm.

He remembers everything, of course. It was more like someone else was steering his body while he was trapped inside, barely conscious. It shook him-- things barely made Grimlock anxious, but the thought of losing himself to the things Shockwave had done to him.

He lifts his head, looking at Perceptor, then around the lab.

"Sorry." He grunts, then hangs his head.

The sudden shift earns a slight frown from the scientist. He stays where he is, hands still held up in that same gesture. Only when Grimlock speaks again does he take a cautious step forward, looking up at the big warrior.

"You were speaking of Swoop," he said, cautiously. "I asked you what happened to him... Do you recall that?"

He kept his tone level, neutral. As if he were speaking to a dangerous animal -- which was sort of the case, to be perfectly honest. He'd have put a hand on Grimlock's arm, if he thought it wouldn't get the limb torn off in the process.

"It isn't the first time something wretched has happened to my lab," he said, by way of assurance. "We can rebuild later... I suppose."