Clever Thing | TFP AU

Chapter 4

"Optimus! Optimus Prime, sir!"

Optimus paused in the middle of signing a document and looked up just as one of his messengers burst into the room. Concerned, he set down the datapad and rose to his pedes.

"Yes? What's wrong?" He asked, placing a firm servo on the young mech's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. The poor mech looked frazzled!

After taking a few deep vents, the messenger spoke. "I just received word from Prowl that Ratchet's gone missing! Students at the academy found his usual belongings scattered across the hallway and he never showed up this morning. He wasn't answering the door at his habsuite either."

Optimus stiffened, remaining silent as the information soaked in. He almost didn't believe it, but the slight pang of fear in his spark told him to. He was already heading for the door by the time he had made his decision.

"Tell Prowl I'm on my way." He said to the young mech before disappearing down the hallway.

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"Ya called, Prime?" Ironhide said as he walked through the front doors of the academy, glancing at the slight crowd that had gathered outside before closing the door behind him.

Optimus was standing with Prowl and a few other police officers, who were busy analyzing the scattered datapads on the floor.

"Yes, I did." He replied without looking up, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I want you to come with me and investigate elsewhere. There may be more clues to help us understand what happened." He looked to Prowl, who was beside him with a datapad in hand. "Prowl, stay here and continue analyzing this quadrant. Contact me if you find something."

The police bot nodded. "Got it. Good luck, Optimus."

"Good luck to you as well. Let's move, Ironhide." Optimus said, gesturing for Ironhide to follow him as he began walking down the hallway. He carefully examined the walls and floors as he did so, keeping an optic out for any sort of clue that Ratchet was there.

After around a few minutes of walking, the two Autobots came across their first clue.

"Energon." Ironhide mused, squatting down to get a better look at the few splatters on the floor. He furrowed his optic ridges into a frown. "Somethin' about that ain't right, Prime..."

"What is it?"

"See for yourself."

Optimus took a knee beside the red mech, peering down at the energon. He could immediately see that it was discolored, but there was something else as well.

"It shouldn't be this loose..." He murmured.

"Pardon?"

"See how the energon still looks fresh even though it's been there for quite some time? It should be coagulated by now, but it isn't. Strange..."

"Want me to run a sample to Perceptor?"

"No." Optimus said, standing up. "I'll get a sample and take it to Perceptor. I need you to continue searching for more clues."

"Gotcha. I'll be here if ya need me."

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It had been twenty minutes since Optimus had given the sample to Perceptor. The scientist was now analyzing it under a microscope and seemed to be taking notes as well. While Optimus was normally a patient bot, he was anxious to know what the results were. Ratchet could be in trouble and he didn't want to waste any time.

"Alright." Perceptor said, breaking the long silence. "The energon is not Ratchet's, but an Insecticon's."

Optimus raised an optic ridge and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. That was a relief, but what was an Insecticon doing in Iacon?

"Do you know why the energon is discolored and not coagulated?" He asked as he stepped over to the table that Perceptor was working at.

"Because it's mutated." Perceptor said with a slight grin, a gleam of excitement in his optics. "I don't know how, but this Insecticon somehow became mutated, which must've messed with its behavioral programming. What it was doing at the academy, I have no idea. But, I do have a theory."

Optimus opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by his comn link buzzing. "I apologize." He said to Perceptor before pressing the side of his helm. <<Yes, Ironhide?>>

<<Optimus, you gotta get over here and see this.>>

<<On my way.>>

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By the time Optimus got there and saw what Ironhide was talking about, Knockout had already been called in to investigate. Since Ratchet clearly wasn't available at the moment, the former Decepticon was the next best choice. A good one, too, because he had some experience with Insecticons and the dead one in the corner certainly wasn't an unusual sight for him.

"What did Perceptor say about the energon?" Ironhide asked as Optimus strode over, his hands on his hips. He wasn't too fond of bugs, especially giant ones, so he kept his attention elsewhere.

Optimus watched Knockout examine the Insecticon corpse for a moment, optics furrowed in a slight frown. "He said that it was from an Insecticon and that it was mutated."

"Mutated?"

"Correct. While we still aren't sure how, we have enough to know that this wasn't any ordinary attack. This was planned."

"If you two are done chatting, I've got a COD for you." Knockout piped up, strolling over to Optimus with a datapad in one hand and a scanner in the other.

Ironhide looked confused. "What's a... COD?" He asked, scratching his helm.

Knockout rolled his optics and sighed dramatically. "It's a medical term for 'cause of death'." He huffed. "Now, for the actual cause of death. This bug's circuitry was fried. And I mean fried. I've never seen anything like it aside from bots who've been electrocuted by enormous amounts of electricity. Someone really wanted to make sure that thing was dead."

Optimus nodded and stroked his chin thoughtfully. This mystery was going deeper than he thought it would and it brought him no closer to finding Ratchet. He sighed softly and let his arms dangle by his sides. "Thank you, Knockout. I'll have Prowl help you transport it to a lab where it can be studied."

"My pleasure, Optimus." Knockout said with a bow before returning to the dead Insecticon's corpse.

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Oooh, things are getting juicy!!

I hope y'all are just as excited as I am lol