[ OPEN LOG ]

[buffthis]

Who: Knock Out and YOU!!!
Where: All around L.A.
When: All day, TODAY
What: That talking sports car who is actually a giant space robot people have been talking about lately is out and about in L.A., being way less discreet than a Decepticon should.
Warnings: Inappropriately sensual is Knock Out's game. Approach with caution.

It's been only a few weeks since Knock Out arrived in L.A. after an extended tour in Europe, but he likes it already. He hadn't expected the vehicles around here to measure up to the ones he'd grown fond of in Italy and Germany, but the luxury car expo he'd tracked in L.A. had been a sight to behold. Admiring the glossy, flawless finishes on all of those perfect automobiles had nearly had him in fits of jealousy.

And the roads here. Knock Out can drive for miles, endless stretches of black asphalt that positively sing under his tires for hours on end. Yes, he thinks he could get used to this...he could stand to stay here for awhile.

Five years lounging around on Earth has made him slightly careless, and he hasn't been as discreet as he ought to be. But it's hard to contain himself when there's so much entertainment to be had on this planet. He can be found screaming down the California highways or cruising around the city -- occasionally, he'll send his holomatter avatar out to interact with the local life forms.

Comments

[buffthis]

Ugh, Alternians -- do things ever go predictably with them? As far as fleshy life forms go, they're even worse than humans. Knock Out's entire chassis jerks as he flinches at Sollux's claws digging into the seat, and when he sees that knife, he leaks a little coolant. Scrap. His voice shifts gears entirely -- no longer quite so menacing, but now nervous and a little fearful.

"Whoa, whoa -- haha, hey now -- let's put the knife down, shall we? Let's...talk about this like reasonable people. Just -- not the upholstery, all right?!"

[nitrodamus]

Sollux scrambles into the passenger seat where he has more room to move, still pointing his knife at nowhere in familiar as he clutches himself to the seat. He really has no idea who is actually talking to him, and only some of the words are ones he understands.

"Who are you? What you doing? Don't touch me!" Why is the car moving? He doesn't like that. "Where are you?"

He jabs the end of his knife against the display.

[buffthis]

"I'm right here," Knock Out spits out, both increasingly agitated and nervous. He really wishes he could get that knife out of Sollux's hand, but something tells him transforming right here in the middle of a busy street would be a fantastically bad idea. Humans. "You're in me, kid. Oh -- don't tell me -- you've never met a Cybertronian before, have you? And I thought you all knew who we were. I mean, it's been a couple hundred years since I laid eyes on any of you, but Alternians are hard to miss..."

[nitrodamus]

In him? In him. The word 'Cybertronian' gradually settles into his mind, and its a moment until he finally realizes what that word implies. As a child, he wasn't as well versed in alien species as he could be, but when it came to Alternia's public history of expansion, their conflicts with Cybertron were notable.

He growls, insect chittering coming from his throat. The knife stays aggressively in hand.

"Robot! Fuck you, robot! I've got you!" he hisses, both threatened and relieved to actually know what he's dealing with. The Cybertronian seems threatened and that's what's important. "Don't do things!"

[buffthis]

Oh, for the love of Primus, this is getting old. The initial threat of the knife digging into his upholstery had cowed Knock Out temporarily, but Sollux's unwillingness to calm down and talk like a reasonable person (then again, when had he ever known Alternians to be reasonable?) is starting to make him more agitated than he is afraid. He can't eject the troll without making a public scene, and as flashy as he comes Knock Out has some sense of discretion -- and he has a feeling that if he can't get Sollux out of his cab, he's going to have more to worry about than a few ripped seats.

"I think that's enough of that," Knock Out snarls, his voice going cold. His engines turn over, rumbling to life, and without warning the seatbelt leaps across Sollux's chest, buckling into place. It won't hold him down for long, but it might keep the knife-happy troll at bay for a little longer. "Since you won't listen to reason and you won't leave, we're going to have to do this my way!"

Knock Out pulls out from the parking spot with a screech of tires, tearing down the street at an alarming speed -- heading for somewhere considerably less populated, where a ten-foot-tall robot won't be quite so conspicuous.

[nitrodamus]

Now if anything was capable of making Sollux just completely lose his mind, it was that. The seatbelt buckling around his chest drags him straight into wild, homicidal, self defense territory, and his panic and anger suddenly reach an all time high. He starts screaming in shrill insectoid tones and starts stabbing everything stabbable, and even some things that aren't.

He tries to cut the belt off of himself, but after some fevered struggling he realizes pulling it over his head is easier. His thin body starts writhing out from beneath it, Alternian curses streaming from his mouth at an alarming rate.

Realizing that the car is moving too fast for him to jump out of, he dives beneath the dashboard and starts trying to pull out wires. (Or whatever passes, in a robot.)


Already a far way behind, the CONDOR agents in charge of watching Sollux are alarmed to see the car their target entered speed off. They'd been waiting for him to calm down before approaching, but now things seem to have escalated considerably.

"Requesting backup," one of them says into their headset. "Gemini appears to have jacked a goddamn vehicle. I knew I was going to hate alien watching duty."

[buffthis]

Knock Out lets out a few pained yelps as Sollux starts tearing up his upholstery -- he can take it, sure, but it doesn't feel good, and he cringes at the thought of what a mess his interior is going to look like when this is over. He's going to need a body shop pronto.

"Hey -- hey -- hey! Watch it -- you lunatic! What is it with Alternians?!"

Luckily for Knock Out, he has speed on his side, and it's a fortunately short time before he pulls into a relatively secluded area, wasting absolutely no time in transforming back to his default mode -- around Sollux, skillfully moving him from cab to holding him securely in one metal fist. At only ten feet tall, he's not the most impressive Cybertronian around, but he's large enough to hold the troll in one hand and glare at him, optics sharpening.

"Now," he says, his voice scathing, "we can talk."

[nitrodamus]

Sollux shrieks, losing his knife in the chaos of the car abruptly changing shape around him. His sunglasses have fallen off in the chaos too, and he stares at the robot holding him with trepidation.

He struggles, his feet kicking in the air, and his hands uselessly scratching and pounding against those metal fingers.

"Down! Down! Let me go down! Fuck you! I going to wreck you up shitty!"

[buffthis]

Now this is more like it. This is how Knock Out prefers his fleshlings -- weak, struggling, and totally at his mercy. Not going to town on his luxurious interior upholstery with a steak knife.

"Oh, I think you've done quite enough," Knock Out drawls, tightening his grip on Sollux just slightly. "Trust me, I'm going to have to go to a lot of trouble to fix my interior... And I don't think you're in a position to be giving orders to anyone. So pipe down and listen, troll -- because I'm only going to say this once."

He brings Sollux up to eye level with him, holding him close enough to his face that Sollux can probably see the cycling of his optics. "You don't touch my upholstery. And you never touch my finish. Or I will crush you like the miserable bug you are."

[nitrodamus]

Now that he can't do anything, fear is starting to win out over the adrenaline and aggression. He lets out a frightened gasp at that squeeze, still trying to pull himself loose but growing increasingly tired and fumbling. He leans away from the robot's face, flinching.

"No! No! Help!" He can't see anyone around, but he can scream. "Help me please!"

[buffthis]

Knock Out lets out a cruel laugh, smirking at Sollux. "Not so tough when the knife's in the other hand now, are you? How's it feel to be this helpless, hm? Maybe next time you'll think twice about pulling a knife on a bot who was just sitting there, minding his own business!"

[nitrodamus]

Sollux hisses back at that laugh, furrowing his brow angrily despite his otherwise fearful expression.

"What you going to do?" he spits. "They'll get you! You're shit fucked!"

[buffthis]

Knock Out leers at him, obviously amused. Payback is sweet, and this might as well be a steaming cube of high grade energon to him. "What, you mean your little Alternian Empire?" he sneers. "So sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you're a little far from home."

[nitrodamus]

Just then, there's the sound of feet scuffling across the floor as a CONDOR emergency team unveils itself, flooding in and forming a row of pointed guns, bullets chambered. They seem pretty surprised - this is not at all what they were expecting - but from their expressions they are prepared for a fight and mean business.

"We've got you surrounded," one woman barks. "Put the troll down and put your hands up."

[buffthis]

Oh.

Well, this wasn't supposed to happen. He's not supposed to get caught. Cruising around in his alt mode is one thing, but being spotted -- no, cornered in his default mode, holding an alien child...not exactly one of Knock Out's shining moments. And by the looks of it, it's the authorities. Well, scrap.

Knock Out doesn't waste any time -- the second he realizes he's cornered, he tosses Sollux into a nearby cluster of bushes and transforms immediately in a whirl of clanking parts, gunning it for the road again. He assumes the humans will clear a path, but he's honestly not that fussed about hitting a couple of them if that's what it takes to get out of here.

[nitrodamus]

The CONDOR agents do, in fact, leap out of the way - just in time for Knock Out to steamroll right through. A few of them fire shots after him, while the others go to collect Sollux, who is looking bruised and scraped from the fall.

He fights them at first, so wound up that he's forgotten the context of the situation. It's only when he's too tired to do it anymore than they managed to drag him into one of their cars and take him back to somewhere safe for questioning.