Mixer with Mixers

[ginger_firebird]

Nothing, and Mantis will attest to the fact, absolutely nothing in the multiverse ever makes life feel so much better as a bit of alcohol to get the blocked-up words flowing. He’s chilling on a stool at one of the local bars in the Nexus, merrily watching people he’s met congregate like a bunch of cats ready to caterwaul into the wee hours of the night. From an outsider perspective, the gathered crowd of friends and acquaintances must surely say something about who he is as a person and the kind of people hegets along with, but such is not the topic of the night. Nay, this is a wake of a different kind to toast the demise of a she-devil that they’ve all either fought or heard of enough to have strong opinions about. Shots abound, ye merry fellowship, for the witch is dead.

Mantis is sitting with Francour cuddled up in a scarf. The needy little espurr absolutely suffers without a continued assurance that Mantis will always be around, and curious eyes scan the crowd as he gets idle scritches from his progressively drunk human.

Comments

[soundwave_ascendant]

Soundwave pats Ben's shoulder a little awkwardly. "If it's anyone's fault, Ben...it was hers. She chose to do what she did. You told us about her, and I'm certain that if she had come here again, she would've been sent packing."

He frowns. "Especially now that I understand Megatron will be joining us here. He and I have had our differences, although we're working on sorting those out. But even when things were at their worst between the two of us, I would have been first to say he's one of the best to have on your side in a fight."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I'm just sorry she wasn't taken out before she could do more damage." Ben grumbles a little. "Ziggy's hurt. I wasn't as close to Hiro as some, but Rey and I offered to help him. Lotor's better off in the Nexus, and I'm glad she's gone, but the price was high."

"My history in my world isn't what I'd call good, but I'm useful in a fight. I like to think I'd have given her a run for her money or at least tried. But all of us working together would have had her for sure. That's probably why she ran back to her world and shut the door - she probably figured out that she'd be facing dangerous opposition here."

[soundwave_ascendant]

"I know about Ziggy," Soundwave says quietly. "Poor kid. I don't know if they were as close as Ravi and I, but...the thought of separation is upsetting. I'm closer to his parents. Tom and I were talking about it by Pinpoint earlier. I was going to go over there when Glit was falling apart and see if they could help each other, but Tom said that from what he knew of my sensory issues, I wouldn't be able to help.

"Then... Rumble and Frenzy found Lotor out in the Wilds, where they had been up to no good, and brought him back. Lotor said he felt something trying to grab him and resisted it. So there was something or someone behind it."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I don't have sensory issues like you do, but Ziggy's intense and I'm sensitive to others' thoughts from somebody that strong. So I suspect some of his grief rubbed off on me while I was visiting the family. I'll be fine - I just need to get myself looking presentable after a few drinks. I look like a mess." Ben shakes his head. "They were bonded in some way. I'm not an expert on their species, but they bond with their chosen mates."

"Sounds like it could've been Honerva behind this, not just this place closing the portal on its own. She could've both wanted to block reinforcements and try to take Lotor back. I can only hope the universe wasn't destroyed outright, but there's no way to check."

[soundwave_ascendant]

"I would just like to be sure that she is dead," Soundwave says. "Someone who would break the bond between a mated pair for the sake of experimentation. Like Ratbat. Deserves to be. Someone who treats their own children like that, also."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I...don't know, though that's not the answer we want." Ben shrugs glumly. "With the portal closed, unfortunately, there's a good chance we'll never know. But if it was her trying to take him back by force, Lotor chose to stay with Glit, and with you."

[soundwave_ascendant]

Soundwave nods. "It's not his choice I'm doubting; it's whether or not she has other ways to go about her perfidy. I'm worried about them both. Lotor needs Glit, bit Glit needs Lotor, too."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I hope we've heard the last of her, given how many people she's hurt." Ben shudders a little. "But if she does come back, I'm still confident all of us together could send her off. She's scared of us. That's why she fled rather than fight us."

[soundwave_ascendant]

"Good." Soundwave ex-vents. "Glit's filing papers in the morning. He'll formally be adopting Lotor, and Lotor will be a citizen of Destron. If it weren't for the number of duplicate individuals that appear to turn up now--how many Lokis do we have now? I'd be issuing a shoot on sight order for her to every Decepticon under our banner."

At that he smiles wryly. "Weird as the number of Lokis here is, it's probably weirder for Megatron."