#he faceplants into a lot astronauts when he get the chance

[raileurta]

Dad unicron

There's not enough fics centered or addressing that Earth's core is unicron in transformers fanfiction. Transformers give off some sort of radiation so unicron must gives offs a lot of it. Who's to say that wouldn't affect life or specifically humanity in some way? Maybe it's why we act so similar to transformers, the reason we are so destructive, why we're so violent, so.... chaotic.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

When unicron first woke up he should have hated all the organics covering his form especially these "humans" but he did not. In truth he felt rather.... fond of them. The more he watched humanity the more he couldn't help but fall more in love. He liked our capacity for violence, the way we destroyed his brother's creations, our grit, but also liked our softer sides; the way we personify objects, how much we love sugar, the way we get excited over menial things.

Humanity was quite a mystery in what they felt and or did at any time for anything. It was quite literally chaos. While we are still quite young he couldn't help but feel proud of our race achievements.

When earth is reduced to husk and no being lived there he can't wait to break out this rocky shell to meet his creations face to helm.

[cleanlenins]

Ectober Day 6: Witching Hour

Words Spoken at the Witching Hour

Chapter 2

Jack and Maddie disproved Ouija boards in College, but why not give them another try? However, fixing their mistakes will take more than just an old board and some candles.

AO3

While her violent outburst had been cathartic, Maddie was regretting her rash decision to destroy the ancient spirit board. She sifted through the ashes, pulling larger pieces of charred wood from the pile and dumping them into the bin. Her gloves were covered in soot and charcoal, the dusty particles sliding over the rubbery texture. She grabbed the planchet, and examined it. The dark ash seemed grey next to the impossible black of the little cursor. She clenched her fist around it and started to toss it into the trash can. But hesitated.

“Mom? Oh my God, what happened here?” Maddie whipped around to see Jazz standing at the door to the kitchen. She had one hand covering her mouth as she gaped at the mess. The table, while still standing, had a huge whole burned into the center. Maddie knew that she must look a sight as well, eyes puffy and red from lack of sleep and soot stains on her cheek.

“We had a bit of an accident with our experiment last night,” Maddie said smoothly. It was what she and Jack had decided to tell the kids until they had a chance to sort through their thoughts. Before they had a chance to figure out if there was any validity to Phantom’s claim.

When Maddie had bought the spirit board, the lady had told her that spirits could not lie while communicating through the object. Maddie had never expected the blasted thing to work, so she hadn’t set up any more trustworthy methods for determining if a ghost was lying or not. An oversight on her part based on her own hubris.

“I thought you guys agreed that you would keep all of your experiments in the lab from now on?” Jazz crossed her arms.

“I’m sorry sweetie. We didn’t realize it was something that would turn...explosive. We will be sure to keep things downstairs from now on,” Maddie assured Jazz. Jazz looked skeptical, but did not press the point. Instead, she skirted around the stains on the linoleum and began to make her some breakfast. Maddie glanced at the planchet still held in her hand, and stashed it in her pocket.

Maddie removed her gloves and tossed them in the special tub she and Jack kept for their hazmat suits. She quickly washed her hands before putting on a clean pair. She rubbed her tired eyes, moving around Jazz to get to the coffee pot. How did she get through so many sleepless nights in college? She already felt dead on her feet. She must be getting old.

She reached to flick on the coffee pot, before jerking away as  the coffee pot shocked her. Not hard, nothing more than simple static electricity. But it startled her.

“Mom? Are you okay?” Jazz asked.

“Fine, Jazzy,” Maddie stared at the machine in shock and reached out to touch it again. No shock occurred. “I think I might need to change the filtrator in the coffee machine battery. It just shocked me a bit.”

“Through rubber gloves?” Jazz raised an eyebrow. Maddie’s mind buffered, looking down at her hands.

“Maybe a more serious issue,” Maddie muttered. Jazz sighed.

“And I was really looking forward to coffee,” The teen slumped, still scrambling eggs. Loud steps were coming from the stairs, and Maddie turned to see Danny walking into the kitchen.

Well, walking probably wasn’t the best word. He was slumped over, backpack hanging from one shoulder. His eyes were rimmed in red and heavy bags laid under his eyes. He slumped into a dining chair, not even commenting on the hole in the table before laying his head in his hands.

“Danny, are you okay?” Jazz asked. Mother and Daughter wore matching looks of concern. The black haired teenager mumbled something incomprehensible. Maddie hesitantly walked over, putting her hand on his shoulder.

He was freezing. Cold enough that she could feel his temperature even through the thick gloves. Maddie swallowed thickly.

“Honey, did you not sleep well?” Maddie asked. Danny sat up, blearily looking up at his Mom.

“Weird dreams,” He mumbled, blinking up at his mom. Maddie rubbed his arm

“What kind of dreams?” She pressed. Danny grunted.

“Just...bad memories. Mistakes.”

“Was it...about the CATs?” Maddie startled, Jazz was suddenly by her side putting a plate of eggs in front of Danny. He looked down at his plate, but didn’t reach for them.

“No. The other thing. The first thing,” Danny said.

“What thing are you talking about?” Maddie asked. Dany didn’t react, but Jazz looked sheepish.

“Danny has had a lot of test anxiety over the last few years. I have been helping him work through it,” Jazz said quickly. She avoided Maddie’s eye and turned on heel to go back and grab another plate. “You don’t need to worry, Mom.”

Maddie looked at Danny, who was pushing his food around on his plate and slumping closer and closer to the table. And knew she was very worried.

~~~

Once the kids had left for school, Maddie unplugged the coffee maker and carried it down into the lab. Jazz had to nearly drag Danny out of his chair, her brother stumbling into her before catching his balance. Jazz had continuously uttered assurances that Danny was fine and did not need to go to the doctor. Jazz had chattered continuously, Maddie unable to get a word in as they slammed the front door behind her.

With a sigh, she set the coffee pot on the table. Jack was already in the lab, looking just as ragged as she. He was pouring over security footage from the lab, trying to find any evidence of Danny being Phantom.

“How’s it going?” Maddie asked. She massaged her hand.

“We really should have labelled these tapes,” Jack frowned. “We didn’t even order them. I keep switching between tapes from the last few months, to one before Danny was even born. This could take days. Weeks, even.”

Maddie nodded. She had been afraid of something like that. Instead of joining her husband by the small tv, she walked over to where she had kept the notes on the spirit board. She rubbed her hands together, before reaching to pick up the top page.

And dropped it immediately. Her hand trembled. Part of her didn’t want to know the truth. Because if all of this was true. If she and Jack had-

“Mads, come look,” Jack said, more chipper than before. Maddie turned away from the papers, holding her hand close to her chest. Jack had a video paused on the screen. He let it play.

It was Danny, when he was five or six. Jack and Maddie were working on a project in the corner, while Danny was running around. He had a toy rocket in hand, making zooming noises as he sent the little astronauts on a space exploration. He prattled on, making up ridiculous plots where aliens attacked, where wormholes opened to other galaxies, where he had to be a superhero to save the earth from a meteor. Maddie smiled at the memory. Until she watched Danny trip over a spare bit of wire and faceplant into the floor. He started wailing, past Maddie and Jack whirling around and scooping him into a big hug. Maddie felt tears in her eyes. She removed one of her gloves to wipe them away.

“What if we failed him, Jack?” Maddie’s voice trembled. Jack turned a baleful look up at his wife before stopping. An expression of shock on his face.

“Maddie. Your hand,” He jumped out of his seat to get closer. Maddie looked down at her hand.

A circular burn sat in the middle of her palm. Small Lichtenberg figures scattered from the center. But the most striking thing was that the figures were pulsing a bright green. Maddie stared at the mark in horror. Once more she felt a jolt in her hands, her fingers twitching, and the mark grew.

“Jack,” Maddie whispered in fright. Jack took her hand in his, examining it closely. “What is it?”

Jack let go of Maddie’s hand, before running over to the notes himself. He rummaged through them quickly. Maddie felt herself shaking, looking down at the unnatural mark on her hand. Jack let out a noise of triumph as he held up a piece of paper.

“Make sure to end your contact with the spirit when you are finished conversing. If not, you may attach the spirit to yourself. This can have many consequences, depending on the power of the spirit. It can result in something as mundane as constant bad luck or-” Jack faltered, gaping at the page.

“What? What is it Jack?”

“-or as severe as dying the same death,” Jack gulped. “Maddie. Maddie we didn’t do any of the things to close the ritual. You’re still connected.”

I just wanted to look inside. I tripped over a wire. I hit the button on the inside. The portal turned on. And I died.

“ He was electrocuted,” Maddie sobbed, hand spasming. “It’s true, isn’t it? We killed our baby?”

Jack had tears streaming down his face as he rushed forward and crushed Maddie into a hug. She sobbed into his chest. In grief. In guilt. In exhaustion. In fear. Her whole body shook with the force of her tears. Had Jack not been holding her, she would have collapsed onto the ground in a puddle of tears.

“We have to find a way to stop this. To stop the connection,” Jack said. He rushed over to the papers, fanning them out so he could see more than one of them at a time. Maddie joined him, her hand occasionally spasming.

The two of them poured over the notes, double checking them with the Nightingale notebook to see if they could find any correlation to the spirit board. But the notebook only condemned the use of such objects, and did nothing at all to say how to counter their effects. Burning it was briefly mentioned on an online source, but considering it was already a pile of ash that seemed unlikely. Maddie and Jack started to comb through more and more sources, each less reputable than the last. As time crept on, the spasms became more painful. The lighting marks spread up her forearm, up her shoulder, nearly touching her neck. Tears were constantly pouring from her eyes as she barely contained herself from screaming in agony.

The two started when they heard the door upstairs slam. Maddie looked up, sweat pouring down her face. Jack slapped his forehead.

“Of course. We should ask Danny. Maybe he knows something,” The man said, sprinting up the stairs. Maddie hobbled after him, leaning heavily into the wall as she made her way up the stairs. She slowly made her ascent, and opened the lab door.

Jazz was talking to Jack, but she was not alone. Sam and Tucker were standing in the kitchen, Danny’s unconscious body held between them. Maddie gasped at the sight.

“So he is like this because you and Mom did some hairbrained ritual that literally blew up in your faces?” Jazz was angry. Her face was nearly the color of her hair, red with the force of her rage.

“Jazz, we didn’t know,” Maddie whispered. Jazz finally noticed her mom entering the room and gasped in horror. Both Tucker and Sam wore similar expressions.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Jazz rushed over to Maddie, offering her shoulder. Jack filled the teens in on what they had discovered, how Danny was now attached to Maddie, and how it was slowly killing her.

“Please, if you know any way to undo this,” Jack pleaded. This was their last chance.

“I do,” Sam said. Jack beamed, eyes brightened with hope. “But we will have to work fast. Things like this have a time limit.”

“How long?”

“We have to separate them before the Witching Hour of the next day, or else there is nothing that we can do,” Sam said confidently. Jack glanced at the clock. It was already six pm.

“That gives us nine hours, right? We should be able to do that,” Jazz said. But Sam frowned.

“I have to go to my house and get a lot of supplies, and it will take time to set it all up. And I can’t guarantee it will work. It’s not like I have ever actually had to do this,” Sam said.

“Please,” Maddie begged, as she looked at Danny’s slumped body. “Try.”

~~~

The setup had taken them the better part of six hours. Every ingredient had to be burned for a specific amount of time. Every line painted on the floor had to be at the perfect angle. The candles could only burn for so long, with certain herbs mixed in. The remains of the spirit board had to be collected into one space. It was time consuming. It was tedious. And there was no guarantee it would work.

Maddie and Danny were not able to help with the preparations. Danny because he had not woken up since Sam and Tucker had brought him home. He was resting on the couch, completely out of touch with the world. Maddie, however, was not in such a peaceful state.

It was taking all of her effort not to simply curl up and scream. It felt like both fire and ice had poured into her veins, both trying to kill her from the heat and the cold. Her skin looked ashen and pale, sweat and tears constantly pouring down her face. She shook and seized from the volts of electricity that started at her hand and burst through her whole body. She couldn’t stop the whimpers that escaped, causing the others in the room to look over at her with concern.

When the preparations were complete, Jack helped Maddie into the middle of the setup. The electric lights in the room were turned off, with only the candles glow illuminating the room. Maddie nearly crawled to the spot she was supposed to be. She pulled out the little planchet and placed it within arms reach.

Sam had done everything she could, but Maddie had made the connection. Maddie had to sever it.

Maddie took the sterile knife and cut the inside of her arm. She let the blood pour into a basin that held the remains of the spirit bored. Her quivering hands spilled some blood onto the floor and not just in the bowl. But not enough to ruin the painted words. Maddie used her fingers to mix the blood with the ash, creating a paint. With trembling hands, she reached one finger onto the floor and began to draw the Ogham script she remembered from the spirit board. Slowly, as she could afford no mistakes, she drew a new board on the floor. Each one had to be in the exact order as the board had been and she had never been so grateful to Jack for taking a picture of the thing before they used it. Inch by inch, she recreated the board on her kitchen floor.

Now, she had to wait. Wait until the blood had dried enough that she could roll the planchet across the words without smudging. Every second was an eternity of pain, every moment a new level of agony even higher than the last. It might have been five minutes. It might have been an hour. But eventually, she could tell that the bright red of her blood had faded to a sickly brown. She risked touching it, and found it completely dry. She grabbed the planchet, and place a single bloody finger on it.

“Phantom, I would like to speak to you today. Please, I beg you, talk to me,” Maddie’s voice cracked. She waited a breathless moment, before the cursor began to move.

Mom?

“Yes, it’s me,” Maddie bit her lip hard as her body was wracked with pain.

You’re hurt

“ I’m fine sweetie,” Maddie lied. She had to finish this. She didn’t know how much time she had. “Phantom, I have said all that I have to say. My questions are complete. I close this doorway. I close this connection. Your spirit is not bound here.”

Maddie thought she heard a gasp, but she didn’t know where. Suddenly, all the candles turned once more into the strange corona glow. The planchet moved once more.

Goodbye

Maddie watched in fascination as the planchet dissolved into dust. The candles snuffed themselves out and the room was filled with darkness. Maddie slumped in relief as the pain seemed to melt away.

“Mom?” Danny groaned, the light flickering on. Danny stood by the switch, rubbing his eyes as he took in the state of the kitchen.

Jack and Maddie rushed him, crushing him in a hug they hoped expressed everything they couldn’t bring themselves to say.

[detectivecarlosreyes]

In Case of Emergency (Ch 2/10)

Ao3  | 1.2k | Eventual Buddie | Status: Incomplete

Prev. Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 2 - Twinkling stars and unfiltered complements An additional moment from ep 2x06:Dosed of what happened in the hours after the pageant with the boys coming down from their hallucinogen high. 

When Eddie gave Buck his key, Buck never would have thought he would actually need to use it. And yet here he was only a few weeks later, half supporting Eddie's loose frame to his door for the reason of drug incapacitation.

It was the day they were dosed by the reptile lady. After they had been cleared by medical, Athena had quarantined them all at the station and was waiting for the effects of the drug to wear off.

Buck had come back to his sense some hours later since the pageant incident with a grumbling stomach and a cottonmouth, feeling off-balance and confused as to why he felt like he’d been drugged.

He found himself on the couch with Eddie who was lying on his back with his head on the armrest gazing up at the ceiling, his legs lying across Buck’s lap, looking well and truly out of it. With one eye squeezed shut in concentration Buck thought back to the reason for his current situation, and eventually remembered a vague memory of being handcuffed and Athena saying something about a hallucinogen.

Buck groaned, scrubbing at his face before running his fingers through his hair, and then eased himself out from beneath Eddie’s legs, making his way to the fridge, noticing Athena on his way, still dressed in her uniform.

Feeling a warm fuzzy fondness towards her for no specific reason, he deviated from his path to give her a one-armed hug from behind eliciting a surprised laugh from her as her attention is taken away from her phone. “Buck? How are you doing there? You seem more with it now.”

“We were drugged. Am I remembering that right?” He asked as he continued on his journey to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, guzzling half of it before setting it down on the counter.

“That’s right, a hallucinogen in the brownies.”

“Well, I can safely say I won’t be eating any snacks given to us by the public anytime soon.”

He turned his attention to the pantry for the muesli bars that he always kept stocked and stuffed a few in his pocket before opening one to satisfy his grumbling stomach.

“No doubt.” She responded, giving him a once over before taking a sip from the mug sitting in front of her.

He leaned his forearms against the countertop and blearily glanced around realising how quiet the space was, “Where’s everyone else?”

“Next shift came in early, Chim took Hen home, Bobby didn’t want to leave until everyone else did so he’s in his office resting as well; and well, you know where Eddie is.”

“Ah yes.” Buck looked back over to Eddie, who was still lying on the couch sleepily mumbling about butterflies. “I’ll drop him off at his place on my way home.”

Athena quirked an eyebrow at the statement, “I should hope that you’re not driving.”

He couldn't help but grin at her motherly tone, “Don’t worry, I’ll order us a ride.”

Athena stood up from the table at that and gave him a pat on the shoulder as she passed him on her way to Bobby's office, “Thankfully you’ve got the next day off to clear this out of your system. I’m going to try again with Bobby. Now that you’re heading home, hopefully he’ll be more willing to leave.”

“Good luck with that.” He called to her retreating form, getting an answering wave of acknowledgment in return.

Buck headed back to Eddie and tapped him lightly on the head. “Come on man, time to go home.”

Eddie peered up at him with a lazy smile making Buck think that either Eddie had a few more brownies than he remembered, or he was just feeling the effects stronger than he expected. Eddie thrust a hand towards him, Buck shook his head in amusement before gripping his forearm and easily pulled him to his feet before gently directing his body to the locker room to gather their things before leading him to sit outside while they waited for their ride.

Eddie leaned heavily into him once they were settled and tipped his head back to look up at the developing stars.

“When I was little I wanted to be an astronaut because I wanted to see the stars up close.” Said Eddie wistfully, cutting through the quiet are of the evening.

“I’ve always loved them, they always look like they’re twinkling.” He continued as he dropped his head on Buck’s shoulder with a fond sigh, “your eyes do that sometimes when you smile too.”

Buck glanced down at him in amusement, brow slightly furrowed at the clearly unfiltered complement. Before he had a chance to reply, however, the driver pulled up into the parking lot, distracting him from his thoughts for a moment as he focused on balancing both their bags on his shoulders while also steering Eddie towards the car.

The drive didn’t take too long, with Buck spending the majority of the time staring unseeingly out the window as he replayed that moment, wondering what Eddie meant by what he said while the man in question was slumped sideways in what looked to be an uncomfortable position against his door.

He thanked the driver when they arrived and asked him if he wouldn’t mind waiting while he got Eddie settled inside to which the man graciously agreed.

Buck groaned when they reached the door, realising that he’d have to dig around for Eddie’s keys in his duffle until he remembered latently that his own keys were in his pocket, holding the very key he needed to get into the house.

Huffing out a sigh of relief, Buck opens the door and drags Eddie inside, thankful that Christopher was already staying at Pepa’s place for the night.

Eddie was easy to direct to his bedroom and happy faceplanted bonelessly onto his bed without prompting leading Buck to chuckle as he pulled off Eddie’s boots before draping a throw blanket over him that he’d snagged on the way to the bedroom.

Quickly rifling in Eddie’s duffle that he’d dropped by the bedroom door, Buck found his phone and drink bottle and set them both on his bedside, putting his phone on charge and checking it for an alarm making sure it was turned on, knowing Eddie wouldn’t appreciate sleeping the day away.

Nodding to himself, Buck turned to leave, flicking off the light when Eddie spoke, half mumbling into his pillow, “I’m glad we’re friends.”

“Me too Eddie,” he answered softly, lightly rapping a knuckle once against the door frame before half pulling the door shut and headed back to the patiently waiting driver.

When he eventually got home, Buck typed out a message for Eddie to wake up to, pre-emptively explaining what had happened in case he didn’t remember, judging from how fuzzy he was himself, Buck wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

With that last task done, Buck fell into bed himself, looking forward to sleeping off the remnants of the drug still in his system, blissfully unaware of how much of the day Eddie turned out to remember come morning.

[gumnut-logic]

Flannel (Bit 17)

Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 | Bit 4 | Bit 5 | Bit 5a | Bit 6 | Bit 7 | Bit 8 | Bit 9 | Bit 10 | Bit 11 | Bit 12 | Bit 13 | Bit 14 | Bit 15a | Bit 15b | Bit 16a | Bit 16b | Bit 17

A bit of exposition and a pile of background research. It should be noted that this tiny little fic is now over 13,000 words long, damnit, and still going. That’s 1000 words a day for thirteen days. I give up. Apparently I can’t do small anymore - though I am blaming Alan for this. He bloody hijacked the fic. ::grumbles lots::

-o-o-o-

Scott acknowledged Seattle Air Control as Virgil banked Thunderbird Two past the huge city. As the chairperson of Tracy Industries, he didn’t fail to catch sight of the TI logo adorning one of the largest buildings in the CBD. The reality of that very building versus their reason for being here was poignant.

Scott had found out later that the mayor their father had been meeting with on that fateful day had been the Mayor of Seattle during the early preparations for the building of that skyscraper. Tracy Industries had taken over the failing Boeing the previous month and Dad had been determined to return the remains of the business to its origin city. It was the first major step in Tracy Industries becoming the megacorporation it was today.

The Cascades splayed out beneath them as city became valleys and ridges. TI had a property not far from their destination and Scott had contacted them ahead of time to let them know IR would be landing there. The response from the site manager was a little bug eyed. If their trip hadn’t been what it was, Scott may have been amused.

He didn’t have the energy.

Virgil’s landing was ever so smooth. Everyone thought Scott was a hotshot pilot, even Scott, but he had to give his brother his due. No one could fly Two like Virgil, not even Scott. The huge behemoth of a cargo plane should be awkward and unwieldy, but under Virgil’s hands she was graceful...in a powerful kind of way.

Hands.

He eyed those hands. They were steady and sure.

Scott had packed the blanket.

He still wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but before he could approach his brother on the matter, Virgil had dragged him out of bed before Scott’s alarm had a chance to squawk, and told him they were leaving in half an hour.

Apparently, he had woken all of them. John, Gordon and Alan were already in the kitchen when he made it down there. Scott’s natural wakefulness had kicked in by then. Gordon, as usual was the energetic early riser, throwing about reheated hotcakes for breakfast. Alan sat in his corner looking like he was questioning his reason for existing at this hour.

John was John. Impervious to the mortal demands of mere time, the astronaut was assisting Gordon.

Virgil was far too active for that time of day. Traditionally, he should be sitting next to Alan trying to not faceplant in his coffee, but the second eldest was possessed with an almost frantic energy.

It worried Scott beyond belief.

Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea.

But almost as if reading his thoughts, Alan caught his eye. The small smile that curled his lips, the faith in his expression...

They left exactly one half hour later.

Virgil’s hands were steady.

Even if his face was pale.

The site manager was obviously nervous. Understandably, if Scott was to be honest. All five IR operatives were arrayed out in front of the man. How often would five board members including the chairperson visit this minor facility?

The thought startled him and he realised that he probably should have visited here long ago. This was his father’s business and each and every facility was as important as the whole.

Hands were shaken, promises of a tour, eyes stared up at Thunderbird Two as if she was some kind of fantasy turned reality.

Scott was grateful to get in the car.

Virgil highjacked the driver’s seat and left Scott frowning. The five brothers ended up in the car in very similar positions to how they had been arrayed in Thunderbird Two.

This was clearly Virgil’s show.

Steady hands curled around the steering wheel.

Highway became backroad, and backroad became haunted far too quickly.

He had been here fifteen years ago. Travelling in the opposite direction in a different vehicle, but there in the distance was the massive Mount Rainier, the ultimate geological feature to blame for the loss of their mother.

He didn’t find out until sometime after the incident, but it had been an earth tremor sparked by that behemoth of a mountain that had caused the avalanche. Lucille Tracy hadn’t been the only victim, but one of the most notable.

Her death had started a chain of events that led the Tracy family to saving others, that led Tracy Industries to be the largest producer of safety equipment in the world.

If his mother and brother had taken that walk today, they would have had the mandatory TI avalanche safety bubble at hand. Their father had overseen its mass production and leveraged the right people to get it legislated. The fact it was a sixteen-year-old Virgil who drew up the initial designs and created the first mockup was only a sign of his little brother’s resilience.

The same device they would each be carrying today had saved innumerable lives since.

Their mother’s death had saved so many.

He stared at the massive volcano that held the ultimate blame and wondered if anywhere, out there somewhere, there was a deity who had done it all on purpose.

-o-o-o-

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