Like Old Times

First Floor Lobby -  - Outskirts of San Francisco

With a footprint of nearly an acre, Metroplex's first floor lobby provides ample room for Autobots and allies. The brilliant white walls of the cityformer's various ramps and subdivisions lend a crisp, minimalist boxiness to the tremendous space's periphery. Ample light shines in from the floor to ceiling gaps on all four sides, the elements and insects kept out by the invisible veneer of a forcefield. The entire floor is made of smooth, silvery, segmented panels that reflect light upward onto the gargantuan gearboxes and the recessed hydraulic cowlings that come into use when the city transforms. Everything is quite clean and well-ordered, with clearly designated exits etched in Cybertronian and Standard English bas-relief guiding the unfamiliar to where they need to go.

Arcee has been keeping to herself today. She has a LOT of reports and news to review, and that's just what she's been doing. Being out of the loop from a long assignment just means more catch-up to do.

Springer arrives, with minimal fanfare. There should be more but he's focused on just passing through. He's likely on his way to the Repair Bay, after his latest scuffle. But, to be perfectly honest, Springer is always coming from a latest scuffle. His paint is ruined and chipped, not to mention a few dents and dings here and there. Oh and there's a huge hole in chest of his armor but... the sparking from within there has died down. He just kind of strolls in, hardly worried about how he looks or how bad off his injuries are. He's already raring to get back to business.

Blurr is stasis locked on the floor. No, he's not injured, but it looks like he had too much to drink, too fast. Which for a typical mech would probably just mean some loud-mouthed bickering or 'loosening up', but for the speedster...he's not quite as fortunate in that department. Seriously though, no one really understands how careful he has to be!

"Not gonna say hello, Number 7?" Arcee asks without getting up from her terminal. "And why are you still running around here looking like you're about to fall apart? Don't you EVER get repaired? Some things never change, I swear."

"You know I can't get repaired 'til I try to get sympathy from you, Arcee." Springer doesn't miss a beat as he changes directions to head off in her direction. More than likely just stepping over Blurr. Because that's how Springer do. "Whatcha' workin' on?" is asked, as he leans against the wall behind Arcee's terminal. "Anything special?"

"Oh, it's special all right...about 18 months worth of sitreps, reports...it's so much fun to come back from a long, remote assignment. I'm not sure I'll ever catch up on all of this, but I'm going to try." Arcee swivels a 180 in her seat to face Springer. She seems to be aware that Blurr is stasis-locked to the floor, but to save him further embarassment, she's just going to treat him like part of the room decor until he comes to his senses. If the previous evening's discussion was any indication, he has plenty of reasons to be miserable. "I'll give you /sympathy/," she says with the kind of tone that is usually followed by 'you wiseass'. "So tell me what you've been doing with yourself, hm? Still running the field? Being the winner?"

"Like there's anything else I can do." Springer pops a spring or something like it off his arm and flips it between his fingers. He didn't have a coin handy, okay? He has to have something to play with at this moment. His attention is all on Arcee, though, even while he's smiling like she was never away. "Here. Let me give you rundown of what you missed." Springer smiles and thumbs back at himself. "And now that you're all caught up..." He turns his attention to the Blurr Locked issue and flings the piece of metal in that direction. "... we can start winnin' together like we usually do." Springer is so asking Arcee out on a dat-- er, uh... mission. Yeah. A mission!

The piece of metal *clinks* off of Blurr's leg, and he groans, finally sitting up. Glancing at his internal chronometer, his optics widen and he scrambles to his feet. "Slag it!" he mutters. "Arcee...how long was I out?"

Of *COURSE* Arcee's missed her favorite Wrecker! Of course she has, there's absolutely no question. But she has a certain way of playing coy, because when she lets the other players see what kind of a hand she has, she usually ends up losing. "You are just impossible, aren't you?? Once you've got an idea in your processor, it's stuck in there." She can't razz Rod any more, so Springer's left on the receiving end of her acerbic wit. "Alright, well I don't see why not, I've got some time." Arcee gazes over at Blurr, and frowns in concern as the speedster awakens. "Umm...well, you were in here when I came in here, and that was probably 3 hours ago, give or take."

"Three cycles?" Blurr sighs and slumps back against the wall. Great. Just great. "Ugh..." he rubs his head with his palm, then glances at Springer. "Primus, Springer you look like you went through a waste regulator or something. You should be in the repair bay." he says with a disapproving frown.

"Blurr! Mech, what train hit you?" Springer says this, peeling back from looking as though he was looming all over Arcee and even feigning a bit of interest in whatever he was drinking about or something like that. He's mostly focused on paying attention to Arcee but he can't seem so single-minded. Not right now. "I've got some things comin' down the pipeline that I'm gonna' need both of you for so... say I have a vested interest in your safety." He's mostly talking to Blurr with that one and his hands immediately go up. "Hey, hey. I'm on my way. I just wanted to make sure /you/ were okay, Blurr. You know how much I care." Oh the playful teasing and sarcasm between friends. "Plus, Arcee wouldn't let me past without saying hi. Not my fault!" Grin.

Arcee smiles *very* slightly...it's more of the 'idea' of a smile than an actual grin, a la the Mona Lisa. She stands up, folding her arms across her chestplate. "Springer, did I hear you say you're making plans for us?"

"Uh..." Blurr looks a bit embarrassed at this, and he glances momentarily down at the floor. "Nothing, I just--I can't handle a lot of engex at once, you know...I have be really careful, and last solar cycle I guess--I guess I wasn't." he mutters. "Anyway, what is it you're going to be needing us for?" he asks of Springer, about echoing Arcee's question. "Wrecker business or what?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"I need you and your Intel peeps to get me some info. I sent an official request but uh... you were probably..." Springer pauses and attempts to choose his word carefully. "Taking a nap?" He chuckles and shrugs it off. "But yeah, I'm gonna' be takin' the Wreckers and makin' some runs on Con supplies. Take what we can carry and blow up the rest kinda' deal." He turns to Arcee. "Y'know, /your/ kinda' fun." As if he put this whole thing together to impre-- er, for her?

<p class="MsoNormal">Arcee gives Springer one of those 'shame on you!' kind of annoyed looks, smirking because she knows she doesn't actually have to say it; her look is usually more than enough. "Well, you're right, that is my kind of fun, so count me in. Actually...a word." she says, then she steps over to Springer and begins mumbling something to him, probably in the hopes Blurr won't overhear her.

<p class="MsoNormal">Arcee mutters to Springer, "... Blurr's... of... lately...let... stay... me... this... more... that... earned... right... to the floor... if he..."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr nods. "So you need information on supply lines? Which specific area? You got coordinates? I can find the vulnerable points for you." he takes out a datapad, ready to take note of it. He watches with a frown as Arcee mutters quietly to Springer. Oh, now they're probably talking about him.

<p class="MsoNormal">He sighs and pretends to look bored, turning his optics upward. Did they have to do that in front of him?

<p class="MsoNormal">Springer sighs and gives his shoulders a big ol' shrug. "You cheated. I want you to know that." Yeah, Springer is weak against Arcee. So the playful teasing of Blurr is totally pulled back a few notches. "Anyway, whenever you get some time, Blurr, I just need some intel. You know, spy stuff. Just get me the info. The Wreckers and Arcee'll handle the rest." Springer looks down at himself. "I... should probably get put back together. This hole in my chest is gettin' a little drafty." See, Arcee?! He has turned it around on himself! GAWD!

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr chuckles at the drafty comment. "Oh, Springer...you always have to tease someone, don't you?" he shakes his head. "Yeah, I'll get you the info as soon as your division sends mine the specs on the supply lines. Probably send a recon team out there to see what they can find."

<p class="MsoNormal">Now wait just an astrosecond did he say the Wreckers and Arcee? He smirks. "The Wreckers and Arcee? What, you mechs can't handle the job on your own enough that you need her to help out?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Arcee smiles. Ah, yes, checkMATE. She's going to take this entire situation as a victory; Blurr might be annoyed about it, but too bad, she did him a favor by saving him from Springers endless teasing jokes, which are probably like torture to someone who doesn't want to be on the receiving end of the Wrecker's humor. She steps over to Springer to check out the big hole in his armor. "Now that...is classy. Are you trying to start a trend? How's that working out for you, hm?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Glancing over at Blurr, she chuckles. "Morale, remember?? Morale."

<p class="MsoNormal">"It's workin' out great, actually. There's Decepticons all over the place wearing this same exact thing. 'Course, they ain't walkin' an' talkin' like I am so maybe this fad /is/ dead." Springer just kind of smirks and brushes off the double team teasing tactics. "Hey now. I'm just tryin' to show Arcee here a good time. And everybody knows the Wreckers have the best times." Springer just grins at Blurr.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Hah, well that's true." Blurr smirks. "Speaking of Wreckers. Since I'm doing you mechs a favor, Intel could use some help with Nova Cronum next solar cycle. One of our recon units got pinned down at Thunderhead Pass. You guys are good at taking Seekers out, yeah?" He knows the answer to that one, but he'll hear it from Springer, anyway.

<p class="MsoNormal">Arcee nods confidently. And sure, Springer's going to brag about it the whole entire time -- but much like Sky Lynx, he backs up his brags with action most of the time, and that makes up for it. "I'll be ready to go," she promises. "Couple of things I need to tend to this evening, and then it'll be showtime." And, she thinks to herself, if she sees Springer with that same damned hole in his armor tomorrow, she's going to tease him mercilessly about it. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She heads off to the Command Center, hoping to herself that Springer doesn't cling and give her those same lines, those same, awful, terrible lines. (He's cute, but for Primus sakes, he uses the same database of pickup lines so often I can almost recite them back by memory!)

<p class="MsoNormal">Springer watches Arcee go and just smiles. "Missed her." But with that done, he's looking back to Blurr and seems to be back into fighter mode. And also, the pain can be shown now because he kind of almost doubles over. "Frag... bastards got me good." He gives his head a shake and starts making his way in the Repair Bay's direction. "We'll handle your Seekers for you. Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Blurr. You know how we do."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Perfect." Blurr frowns, concerned when Springer doubles over. "You'd better go get that fixed before you leak out or something." He's probably not that worried about it, but he just had to exaggerate. "We'll need you in top shape for those seekers, you know."

<p class="MsoNormal">Springer smirks a bit and moves to make himself scarce, giving a half-hearty salute to Blurr. "And next time you drink, you drink with me. So I can keep an optic on you." Springer cares. Kind of. And with that,

<p class="MsoNormal">Arcee returns for a quick check, half-expecting to see Blurr stasis-locked to the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr wasn't in there at the moment, but as she walks in he comes out of the gravlift with a datapad in hand. He's been busy preparing for the rescue op in Thunderhead Pass that was to be soon underway. He's moving so fast again, and this time he nearly runs into Arcee. "Oh, Arcee. Sorry about that..." he mutters.

<p class="MsoNormal">"One of these days, it'll be a derby, you watch," Arcee jokes, referring to certain racing games femmes have been known to play which can become quite contact-heavy to the point of knockouts. "Everything better now?" she asks hopefully. "I was trying to get Springer to just leave you alone, but he wasn't taking the hint."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr shrugs. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to his teasing. I mean you know Springer, always like that no matter who he's talking to. Even if he's talking to himself." he says, brushing off the concern. "I know him as well as you do." At least he thinks so.

<p class="MsoNormal">He puts a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to look out for me. But...thanks anyway. I appreciate it."

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus strides out from the Command Center, slowing to a stop at the sight of the other Autobots. He approaches them, stopping just far enough away to respect their space and then gives them a polite nod. "Blurr. Arcee."

<p class="MsoNormal">Arcee chuckles. "Hey, I leave here for a while, and I worry, so I come back here, and...I worry. Some things never change." And suddenly...there's Magnus, making his way out of the command center. She recalled the first night she had returned, and Elita-One had her practicing in the training room and made everyone stop for the 'CHIEF IN THE ROOM!!' thing. Arcee thought the whole thing was ridiculously funny. Sure, she respects Magnus, but to her...he's someone she's respected for her entire life. He's the commander she's served the entire time, and the one she knows best. He's not some figurehead, he's a friend of hers. "Magnus! Great to see you."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr smirks and punches her in the shoulder in a light and playful manner. "Then you worry way too much. We can take care of ourselves, we're soldiers." But of course, he's actually happy to hear that she cares, and is willing to look out for her friends in that way.

<p class="MsoNormal">But when Ultra Magnus enters, who could possibly miss that? The courier throws him a casual salute. "Magnus. Good to see you. Actually, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus looks perfectly satisfied with Arcee and Blurr's familiar greetings. "Certainly, what is it Blurr?"

<p class="MsoNormal">With a mysterious smile, Arcee finger-waves and heads off the way she came, off to go tend to some business now that Springer has stopped orbiting her like some strange satellite.

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr watches Arcee leave with a smile. "See you at Nova Cronum." he calls after her, before turns back to Magnus. "Well, Red Alert's been MIA for some time, and I've been running Intel in his place, but--" He glances momentarily in the direction Arcee has gone.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I could really use an XO right now. Specifically, Arcee's skills could really be an asset to the division. I've already spoken to her about it, so all that's left is approval from high command." Oh, and then there's the small matter of making Blurr official CO of Intel so that Arcee -can- be XO. Essentially promoting him. Is he asking for a promotion? Uh...well, maybe...ahem.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus considers that for just a moment. "Those are all good points. And we know she can handle the job." He looks in the direction she left before turning back to focus on Blurr once again. "You seem to be doing a good job commanding the Intel division as well," he adds.

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr nods in appreciation of the compliments. "Thanks. Yeah, Arcee is more than fit for the job. I...trust her." He looks...drained. Almost as if he didn't even quite agree with Magnus' positive comments regarding his performance. There have been some things...that he wasn't exactly proud of. Getting him to talk about them is another story, though.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus watches Blurr for a moment, but either he doesn't pick up on the cues or doesn't choose to follow them for some reason. Instead he chooses...to change the subject. "I've actually been meaning to ask you about something too. Springer's request for Intel on the trends in recent Decepticon activity and the unusual amount of incidents here on Earth." Well, that's not exactly the way Springer put it. "Do you think there could be some major offensive planned for Earth? The timing couldn't be worse for us, with our own attention dividided between Nebulos and Cybertron..."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr sighs. "I've noticed the recent increase in Earth skirmishes, yeah. I'm going to hazard a guess that Onslaught is or was after something there, since the Combaticons kept turning up. But I'm not sure...I'll have to get with our contacts. See if they know anything." And if they don't they'd better find something. "We still haven't figured out where Trypticon was relocated to."

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus nods in agreement. "The only good news is that there's virtually no chance of the Decepticons moving him near a fortified location in secret. Still, there's just too much of space to patrol everywhere. The truth is, he could be anywhere we're not looking." Magnus shakes his head. "But that's something that doesn't bear thinking about. The other Decepticon sightings on Earth, though...I'll have Teletran go over the recent action reports for signs of any pattern or trend. It's a long shot, but what do we have to lose?" He peers at Blurr again. "I understand quite a few of the recent attacks have involved Blast Off."

<p class="MsoNormal">The courier nods. "Yeah. He...seems relentless." Blurr frowns a little at this. Magnus has a point. What is it with Blast Off these cycles? In fact, he's taking a look at the most recent report from an incident at Tarn, and sure enough, Blast Off was involved. "Heh. Maybe he's trying to prove something, I don't know. I could send a couple of recon teams to Earth to monitor Con activity there."

<p class="MsoNormal">"I'd say he has something to prove," Ultra Magnus agrees mildly. "In fact, judging by some of the comments he's been heard to make - publicly and in intercepted Decepticon comm chatter - I'd almost say that he has a personal vendetta against you."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr smirks at this comment. "Heh...personal vendetta would be something of an understatement." Which might even be an understatement in and of itself. Because Blast Off definitely has a major personal vendetta against Blurr, and in fact considers the courier something of an arch-enemy. He puts away the datapad he was using to view potential candidates for being sent to Earth recon and arches a brow ridge at Magnus. "What's he said that you've heard, anyway? To make you say that."

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus shakes his head. "Nothing specific, just a general series of comments. 'Not even Blurr managed to hit me like that,' and 'Maybe next time they'll send Blurr'...that sort of thing." Magnus shrugs. "It's not unheard of for Decepticons to develop rivalries with a specific Autobot...but it's also not unheard of for them to fight dirty. Just be careful."

<p class="MsoNormal">Yeah, true enough. But if I know Blast Off...he doesn't like dirty fighting. Though I could see him resorting to it if it meant beating me." Blurr chuckles. "I do think he is that desperate. Not sure if you heard, but he did try to take on Fortress Maximus by himself just to get to me, heh."

<p class="MsoNormal">Andi Lassiter arrives in the usual manner: she's being 'escorted' by a security mech. When she sees the pair talking she waves a cheerful hello. "Hi!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus looks surprised at Blurr's comment. "I...he what?" Andi's greeting draws his attention and he smiles at the sight of her. "Hello, Andi. It's good to see you."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr chuckles. "He tried to get past Fortress Maximus by himself just to get to me." he repeats. "I know, crazy isn't it? Wonder if he'd do it the same way if he could do it over again, heh." He looks up at Andi as she arrives. Oh, yeah, that one human he met in the repair bay. "Andi, is it?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Hello, Ultra Magnus." Andi is clearly glad to see a familiar and friendly face. Oh, and the mech who'd been on the injured list last time she saw him. "Hi there... Blurr, right? And yes, I'm Andi. Are you feeling better?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus tilts his head slightly to one side while he waits for Blurr to answer. You can almost hear him internally reviewing recent reports to search for what Andi is referring to.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Sure am, thanks to you." Blurr smiles amiably at the human. "You're definitely good at what you do. Wish I could hang around longer but...got an extraction op to prepare for in a few cycles. I'll be seeing both of you, I'm sure."

<p class="MsoNormal">And then ZOOM. Blurr takes off in the best way he knows how, his body turning into a streak of blue and white.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ultra Magnus raises a hand briefly to wave, then gives Andi a nod as well. "I'm afraid there are a few new reports of the rescue efforts on Nebulos that I have to go over. It was good seeting you again."

<p class="MsoNormal">Andi Lassiter shakes her head slightly at how quickly the blue and white mech leaves, then smiles at Ultra Magnus. "Likewise. I'll be in the repair bay catching up on paperwork if you get off duty before I have to head back home."