Born To Be A Hero

Chapter 14: Laughter

"This is not what I expected when you asked me to lend you the holoform and money," Ratchet crossed his arms.

Ultra Magnus continued driving further into the base, his trailer making odd noises as the buckets of liquids within sloshed around. "You didn't expect me to buy things with money?"

"I didn't expect you to buy art supplies," Ratchet corrected. "What are you planning to do with all that junk?"

"I'm not telling you unless it turns out how I want it to," Magnus answered. "But feel free to leave sanitation devices outside of my berthroom."

Ratchet stopped and tilted his helm. "This isn't like you, Magnus."

Magnus transformed, shifting the paints so that they would fall out of his trailer onto the floor. "I am tired of people telling me who I am. Go back to work, Ratchet. I am busy."

Then he shut the berthroom door in Ratchet's face.

Magnus turned back to his berthroom and frowned deeply. This was going to take a long time. He might as well listen to war strategy records while he worked.

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"Alias," Ultra Magnus approached the human area and stopped next to the railing. "Are you busy?"

She looked up from where she had been picking through her feathers. "What do you want?"

Magnus frowned. "I wish to show you something."

Alias stood up. "Lead the way, Stick."

"Stick?"

She shrugged. "You're usually the stick up other people's butts."

"That is repulsive."

Alias facepalmed. "You're an idiot."

Magnus flexed his jaw. He couldn't decide if the return of her annoying personality was a good mental health sign or just irritating. Rather than making a decision, he opened the door to his berthroom and allowed Alias inside.

"You suck at painting."

"I'm aware."

Alias walked further in, her eyes travelling around the room slowly as she took the art in. Magnus had painted the entire room, from floor to ceiling, in various shades of green with speckles of color splashed across in the form of birds, flowers, patches of sky, and more. Actual wood came out of some of the walls, carved into seats far above the ground. Everything was in terrible perspective and the details were atrocious, but Alias could make it out.

It looked better when she crossed her eyes and pretended it was abstract.

On the other hand, it reminded her of the old days. Back when she and her crew camped out in forests for months on end, living wild and happily in the nature. Of course, Alias had never been in the kind of jungle that Magnus made, with all the exotic birds and plants. Her homes were usually colored with dull greens and browns and sparsely populated, but it was nice to imagine it.

"Why the sudden interest in artistry?" Alias glanced back at him as she ran her fingers over a ladder leading up to a branch protruding from the wall.

Magnus sat down on his berth. "You told me that you missed your clan. I can't bring them here, or vice versa, so I tried to bring the forest here."