Autobot Interim: Gingerbread Girl

[Bumblebee]

Damn it, Bumblebee is struggling to find any musical covers of nursery rhymes. He has a cover of 'itsy bitsy spider', and the limbo song which talks about jack going under the limbo stick.

Not. Helpful.

He plays "Why can't we be friends" again. Take the hint, Nightbeat.

[Screwdriver]

Screwdriver continues to struggle a moment more, but as the yellow Junkion keeps asking why can't they be friends, and Nightbeat mentions the alliance, she calms. Maybe she wasn't found out, after all?

Her face scrunches up as she attempts to speak in something closer to standard Cybertronian. Of course, her accent is still strong, and many of her words are still English because they quite simply have no Cybertronian equivalent.

"Bedivere is correct in that our lord has thrown his lot in with Arthur and Camelot," she explains softly, "but your windows have been shut to me since your castle has arisen! I've even presented tribute to your crowned Emir, but while my gift was taken in, I was cast aside!"

She sounds like she's going to cry!

[Nightbeat]

It takes a moment for Nightbeat to translate that, but he gets the gist of it. He's right, they're supposed to be allies, but...

Okay, a castle's got to be their base. Tribute to the Emir... the body she'd tried to hand over? He'd heard about that...

And then there's the organic blood...

He lets her up, now that she's calmed down. "I think what we have here is a failure to communicate. A big old misunderstanding."

[Swerve]

Swerve is… not really all that calm, but calmer than he was a while ago, as he makes his way back into the city proper. He's cooled off somewhat, at least. That's never a bad thing. …Fragging Kup.

The racer spots Nightbeat, Bumblebee, and that whack-job female who skipped in on the repair work after they landed back at the zoo standing about on the road, probably a good while after they can hear him on the approach. He isn't supposed to be quiet, frag it all, he's just supposed to be fast.

It's a little tough to just drive fast when the road's being blocked by mechs he isn't supposed to try and run down, though. The hum of his engine is very distinctly annoyed as he nears them and cuts back on the throttle. No, he isn't leaving racer mode yet.

"…The smelt's goin' on here?" he demands, only partially interested in the answer. They could be negotiating a three-way data interface for all he cares.

[Bumblebee]

Oh sheesh, the problem was a communication breakdown and here was Bumblebee. Yeah, great. He'll fix EVERYTHING.

What are you thinking... What are you feeling...1

---

^{1Keep Talking - Pink Floyd}

[Screwdriver]

When Nightbeat lets Screwdriver up, she sits down in the middle of the road, indian-style, and looks around at the group. A red and white care drives up and demands what's going on, then the yellow Junkion asks her what she's thinking and feeling... such hard questions!

The girl looks around, frightened and confused, and draws her knees up to her chest before wrapping her arms around them. Her child-like mind only has so many responses to fear... striking out and running didn't work, and now there are more of them. So now she goes with her other option: she pulls the metaphorical covers over her head.

"I have finally learned to get the creeps," she explains, voice soft and frightened.

[Nightbeat]

Nightbeat makes a mental note to study more Earth trivia when he gets back to base. Maybe he can get some ideas on it out of the others. Especially his radio-phonic friend here.

"Look, Screwdriver... We're really not gonna hurt you. Don't know what got you so spooked, but you're safe with us. Safe enough, anyway."

[Swerve]

It was a generic demand to the whole group! …Okay, well, mostly to someone who speaks coherently. Yes, Swerve is looking at you, Nightbeat. Although it's probably a little hard to tell since he's currently a car.

Swerve doesn't pull further forward – well, he can't, really – but he doesn't back off, either. Not right away. He can't help staring, even for only a moment or two. Screwdriver's sitting there scared. Surrounded and scared. The scene trips one too many memory clusters and the briefest of split-second hitches in the high idle of his engine.

The worst part is that he's contributing.

"Just a guess," he rumbles at the detective, and if there's any real concern in his voice, he masks it under his usual irritation, "but bein' loomed over probably ain't helpin' her any." Swerve hits reverse. "If you lot plan to take up the road for a while, I'll just find another way around or somethin'." Hey, the longer he's nowhere near anyone aggravating, the better off he is.

[Bumblebee]

Aww, Screwdriver is frightened.

Bumblebee knows what it's felt like to not really belong anywhere. He tries to sympathize with her.

I'm a creep.. I'm a weirdo.. what the hell am I doing here... I don't belong here...

---

'Creep' - Radiohead

[Screwdriver]

Screwdriver starts to calm down as the others begin backing down, and she looks over at the others with wide and hopeful eyes. "Our worries are over? We can live together in perfect happiness?"¹ she asks.

Well, probably not that. Sooner or later, sons of Camelot disapprove of her games, and often lock her up 'for her own good.' She decides that she can't stay here much longer, but she'll have to vanish when they aren't watching her. She realizes that running when she had had been very foolish...

...but perhaps she can learn from them where to go first.

---

¹ Paraphrasing from the ending to "Hansel and Gretel"

[Nightbeat]

He nods, and makes an effort to run what he's going to say through his head before he speaks. Some of his more colorful lingo seems to have an adverse effect on her.

"Yep. You stick with us, and things'll turn out just right."

Hey, this diplomacy thing isn't anywhere near as hard as Xaaron makes it seem!

[Swerve]

Okay… yeah, looks like they're gonna just stand there. Slagging brilliant.

"…I'm outta here."

And without further ado, Swerve taps the brakes, shifts into first, and veers onto a side street. He'll find himself another way around. Or maybe he'll get "lost" for a while. The radio's been going nuts with some of the wackiest talk he's heard yet; he's sorely tempted to shut it off and just drive around the city.

Very sorely tempted.

---

OOC: You heard the mech. Off he goes.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee cannot find any music to go with the situation, so he simply nods at Screwdriver and offers a thumbs-up. Then to everyone in the area he transmits a short-range transmission that includes his private frequency. Talking on unsecured broadband isn't a great place to transmit that, and sometimes he needs to say things that aren't available on song.

//if you transmit your own personal frequencies i will be able to communicate more with you.//

[Screwdriver]

Screwdriver starts to stand up slowly, although she takes the time to wave a cheerful good-bye to Swerve. She blinks (yes, genuinely blinked - closed the protective covers on her optics and everything) slowly once, then twice, as the yellow Junkion changes his voice over the radio, then tilts her head. Oh, she can do that. She transmits her frequency to them both, not worried about potential consequences.

Then she smiles up at them both and asks brightly, "Are we off to see the wizard?"

[Nightbeat]

Nightbeat follows suit, transmitting his own frequency.

"Oh yes," he says to Screwdriver. "The most wonderful wizard. He's smart. ...And shiny."