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shadow_vector2010-11-30 12:04 am
Erase!
Bayverse
Mindwipe, Vortex, Clocker
no warnings
In which Vortex's repartee falls flat and Mindwipe takes everything too literally (for as long as he can remember) for
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linnet_melody 's prompt: Mindwipe. Here he is!
Mindwipe stood, arms folded over his chassis, patiently waiting. His yellow HUD blinked ‘Obey Vortex’s orders,’ every 10 kliks. That seemed simple enough, he thought, for possibly the hundredth time. He remembered that this had some time limit. And if he forgot, he knew that Skystalker would come find him. He knew that. Beyond the feeble grasp of his faulty short term memory, that knowledge had sunk with a sure and comforting weight. Someone…would come for him.
But until then his job was to obey Vortex. And right now, Vortex had told him to stand still and look intimidating. Which Mindwipe had interpreted to be: stand still.
Vortex was doing a much better job of being intimidating, Mindwipe thought, watching the sneering copter circle the chair to which the Autobot prisoner was chained. Vortex moved slowly, letting his feet grate on the decking as he moved behind the prisoner. The mech whipped his head from side to side, trying to spot Vortex.
“So, Clocker,” Vortex said. “You know…nothing.”
“Yep.” Clocker feigned a lightheartedness that even Mindwipe saw through. “Don’t know a thing.”
Vortex slammed his hands down on the back of the chair, causing Clocker to flinch. “You certainly don’t know what’s good for you, Autobot.”
Clocker laughed. “What you gonna do? Kill me?” The bluster had a bit more weight behind it.
“Kill you? What’s the fun in that?” Vortex gave a laugh. “Actually, that would be kind of fun. But it would be over way too soon.” He flashed a wink at Mindwipe, who cocked his head, confused. Was this an order? Mindwipe nodded back, hoping it was the right response. What was he doing here? Oh, right: obey Vortex’s orders.
“Whu-what’s that mean?” Clocker twitched as Vortex flicked his helm.
Mindwipe shrugged. He had no idea. All he had to do was follow Vortex’s orders.
“What it means,” Vortex said, leaning forward, purring in Clocker’s audio, “is that I let Mindwipe here have some fun with you.”
Fun? Mindwipe blinked. This Clocker did not look like he was much fun. Maybe he didn’t remember what ‘fun’ was? Mindwipe ran a quick search. No, he had a pretty decent file of ‘fun’ things logged into hard data. Most of them recent. Most of them with Skystalker. A few with Sunspot, including that little color game he liked to play. But none of those really…seemed to fit with Clocker. Especially not things in the Skystalker sub-file. But he didn’t have orders to talk, so he stopped the “I do?” before it left his vocalizer. He shifted on his feet, trying to look more…umm, intimidating.
Vortex chuckled. “See how eager he is, Clocker?”
Mindwipe did not feel particularly eager. Eager was for mechs who could anticipate a future. Which he had…just enough self-awareness to know that he did not have.
“I’m not afraid,” Clocker bluffed.
Vortex tipped his cheek in something like a wink. “I’d love to say ‘ you will be,’but…you won’t even remember it.”
Clocker snapped his head to one side. “What? That doesn’t even make any sense!”
Vortex looked up at Mindwipe, expectantly. “Right, Mindwipe? He won’t even remember?” He made a strange gesture with his head.
Mindwipe tilted his head. Was he allowed to talk? Was that an order? He was supposed to follow orders.
Vortex’s mouth folded, impatiently. “Right,” he sighed. “Mindwipe, you know what to do.”
“I…do?”
Vortex’s visor flashed in anger. Was he…mad? Why? Obey Vortex’s orders. Had Vortex given any orders? The copter slammed his hands on the back of Clocker’s chair, shoving it down, Clocker finding himself thrown onto his back. The Autobot yelped as his weight crashed upon his bound wrists. “Mindwipe,” Vortex snapped. “Do your thing,” he gestured with his arms, wiggling his hands. “On him. For frag’s sake, do you need me to explain that, too?”
His…thing. OH! That thing! He nodded, relieved that he’d figured it out but still a little surprised at Vortex’s ire. Why was Vortex upset? All he’d had to do was give a clear order.
He opened the execute-file for his solenoids. Current began humming through the electromagnets on his arms. A subroutine popped up, listing questions. “What level of functionality would you prefer?”
Vortex eased back, mollified. Obey Vortex’s orders. Right. “Hm. Is there a way you can keep him conscious but just…not in control of anything he does?”
“Yes.” The appropriate sequence began blinking. Mindwipe’s cortical induction node powered on with a soft hum. He felt his brow warm, tingle. Ah! This he remembered. This was…beyond rote memory, into his hard wiring. He must have done it thousands of times, stripping a mech down to a shell he could control. Or just…crack for data like a nut.
Vortex grinned again, apparently all the bad feeling forgotten. “Do that one, then.” He bent down over Clocker. “We’re going to change your name to ‘Puppet’,” he sang.
“I, uhhh,” Mindwipe hesitated, induction node faltering. “I can’t change his designation at that level of cortical wipe.”
Vortex twitched bodily, one hand jumping as if trying to ball into a fist, the grin imploding. “Rhetorical threat!”
“Rhetorical?”
Clocker snickered.”I’m supposed to be scared of you guys?”
“Shut up.” Vortex kicked Clocker’s arm, the blue armor cracking. “You, Mindwipe. Do that thing we talked about. Now.”
Obey Vortex’s orders. Right. “Yes.” The induction node brightened, and he reached for Clocker’s form, both with his solenoid-laden arms and with the pulse of his induction node.
Clocker’s face showed the first glimmer of fear. “Wi-will this hurt?” His optics were glued to the baleful red of the induction node glowing on Mindwipe’s forehead.
“Oh, I hope so,” Vortex said. “I really, really do.”
Clocker tried to shrink back into his chair. “G-get away from me. I don’t like you.”
“Aww, well, that’s a shame,” Vortex gloated. “We don’t like you either.”
We don’t? Who is he? Mindwipe pushed the question aside. Follow Vortex’s orders. Follow the subroutines. They could be trusted.
He could feel his induction field wrap around the Autobot’s cortex, beginning the process of stripping firewalls. The outer layers shredded easily under the combined power of the magnetic field and his program hack.
“STOP!” Clocker thrashed, frantically.
“Oh, we’re going to stop because you told us to, right.” Vortex smirked, tapping a foot.
Mindwipe blinked, looking away. “We-we are?” An order, right? Obey Vortex’s orders.
“NO! Primus blast you, Mindwipe. Do it. Now.” The foot-tapping stopped, the toe angling dangerously toward Mindwipe’s leg.
Vortex, Mindwipe decided, was a really, really temperamental mech. There was a time limit, at least. Or…Skystalker would come get him. Because, well, Vortex seemed…a little off.
“Yes,” he said, meekly, and turned back, induction node blazing red. The room hummed with the power of his solenoids, current spiraling down the electromagnets in his arms, warming, vibrating through them. Clocker howled, and then went unnaturally quiet.
“Done yet?”
“Almost.”
“Can you…maybe erase the last decaklik of time from his memory? Like…completely?”
Mindwipe didn’t remember what had happened in the last deca but…he somehow felt that maybe that would be best.
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My favorite line: "Eager was for mechs who could anticipate a future. Which he had…just enough self-awareness to know that he did not have."
Ohhh, he's still so broken on the inside. *pets the huge fellow, then finds a color game for him to play*
Thank you!!!
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I didn't know whether you wanted sort of cracky or angsty so...you got this instead. o_O
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This was great! ♥ ♥ ♥
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I also really like Mindwipe. He tries so hard, and for the most part he succeeds. And I love how he comes to the conclusion that there's just something off with Vortex.
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