Archive of Our Own

Emergency, a Transformers G1 fic
Title: Emergency
Universe: G1
Rating: PG13
Warnings: non-graphic descriptions of heat damage
Characters: Inferno, Red Alert, Firestar
Notes: written for RedxInferno’s February 2011 “Beginnings” challenge.

Thanks to flybystardancer for Tightspot’s name. I needed a throwaway name for the fifth member of the team, and she came through for me. ^_^ Searchlight and Salvage probably aren’t entirely true to Hasbro’s vision for them, but they had names that fit in with what I wanted for the team, so I made them into emergency crew workers for purposes of this fic. Don’t know if that’s a bit of fanon I’ll hang on to for future stories, though.

I’m not 100% sure that this was the piece I intended to write, but it’s what I came up with and I think I’m happy with it over all. It certainly fits into the parameters of the challenge, even if Firestar insisted on crashing the party.

No one knew exactly what had started the blaze, or how it had managed to get hot enough to actually begin melting the building, but there were rivulets of molten metal on the street when Inferno’s team arrived.

Firestar gave a shocked whistle as they looked at the burning building. “There’s no way anyone’s left in there.”

“Probably not,” Inferno agreed. “We still gotta get it put out before it spreads to the other buildings, though.”

“I dunno, boss.” Tightspot looked over the melting building carefully. “I think maybe we need to focus on preventing the chemicals from spreading to the other buildings and letting this one burn out. I don’t think we’re equipped to handle this kind of fire.”

Inferno looked to Salvage and Searchlight. Both mechs were nodding in agreement with Tightspot. Then he looked back toward the building sadly. He hated to let someone’s precious work go unsaved—and it was always precious to the construction teams—but they were probably right.

“All right, mechs. Get the equipment out and start in on protecting the other buildings. Energy shields first, then fire retardant spray.” The team leaded looked over at Firestar. “Get on the line with command and tell them we’ll need a salvage crew down here to clean up when we’re done.”

She touched him gently on the arm. “I will, but don’t you go getting any ideas about being a hero.”

Inferno gave her a small, humorless smile. “Not even my plating’s that heat resistant. Go make that call.”

“Yes, sir.” She returned his smile, equally humorously, and then turned toward their transport.

While Firestar called in the cleanup crew and Salvage, Searchlight and Tightspot started working on preserving the neighborhood, Inferno did a quick scan of the emergency communication frequencies. Listening for calls on that line would be the fastest way to determine if a fire this hot had spread to any of the other buildings without them knowing.

His systems stalled as he heard a weak voice coming across the line. //This is Red Alert of the Iacon security forces, reporting a fire at Stellar Winds Research. Emergency assistance is immediately required.//

The message repeated, and Inferno would have suspected a recording if not for how desperate and exhausted the voice sounded. Unhesitatingly, he responded to the comm. //Red Alert, this is Inferno of Fire and Rescue team Alpha. What is your status?//

Firestar approached him as he was speaking. “Primus below, is someone still in there?”

Inferno nodded as he listened for any reply on the other end of the comm.

//Fire and Rescue, I am currently in the lobby of the research lab, but I am unaware of my exact position. The heat has damaged my optics and most of my sensor suite.// Despite the direness of the situation, Red Alert sounded relieved. //The last of the civilians was evacuated before I was overcome. I am the only being still in the building.//

Inferno knew that the security mech was telling them not to worry about attempting any rescue because the civilians were safe, but there was no way he would leave any mech to a blaze like that. //Sit tight, Red. Rescue’s on its way.//

Firestar looked at him like he was insane. “What happened to not being a hero? He knew the risks when he stayed to make sure the civilians evacuated.”

“And I know the risks going after him. But I’ve never willingly left a mech to die like that, and I don’t plan to start today.” Carefully, he stripped off his more flammable external components. “Douse me with some of those flame-retardant chemicals. I’m going to need all the protection I can get.”

“You need to have your processor examined!” Even as she argued, she did as he asked. They both knew Inferno wouldn’t change his mind.

“Be back before you know it, darling.” He flashed her smile and then ran toward the doors.

Inferno stepped inside the building before he could give himself a chance to change his mind. Immediately, he was slammed with a wave of heat that was so intense it was almost a physical force. He felt his paint crack and his temperature gauge went into the red within kliks. He had no idea how Red Alert had stayed online in it.

“Red Alert? Can you hear me?” He stood as still as he could and dialed up the sensitivity on his audio receptors.

Over the noise of the fire, he could hear a faint reply. “Over here!”

Cautiously, he crossed the room toward the voice. The heat made it hard to see where he was going; giving him false optic readings and creating heat waves that distorted the room. More than once he almost walked into a trail of dripping metal and sinking into the floor in places where the metal was no longer quite solid. He shuddered to think of what would have happened to Red Alert if they had arrived five joors later.

“Red?” He called again, trying to gauge the other’s location more accurately?

“Here!” The voice was weaker, but definitely easier to hear. He had to be closer.

Inferno took a moment to stop and look around the room, trying to pick out the mech against the background of black and molten orange metals. His optics lit on a patch of red and white and he ran across the room. He was relieved when he got closer and the red and white form resolved itself into a mech.

“Red Alert?”

The mech on the floor struggled to rise, but bits of his plating were melted to the floor. “I can’t… get up.”

Inferno wasn’t sure if the lag in his speech was due to exhaustion or damage, but it didn’t matter at the moment. “It’s all right. I’ll get you out of here.”

The smaller mech didn’t answer as Inferno wedged his hands under him. the larger mech could feel bits of armor coming loose and smearing across his palms—burning them in the process—but he managed to lift Red Alert off the floor. Without wasting any time trying to shift Red into a more easily managed position, he turned back toward the door and sprinted.

The heat was doing more than just giving him false sensor readings now; his right optic was offline from the heat and the left flickering intermittently. Fortunately, he had his previous route memorized and made his way back to the door with few problems. The door itself, however, had become a sagging mess of dripping metal.

“Not good.” Carefully, he turned Red Alert so that the smaller mech’s head would be shielded by his body. “Hang on, Red. This is probably going to hurt.”

With that bit of warning, he ducked down over the other mech and ran through the door. He cried out as the dripping metal hit his back plates and turned it into a bubbling mess. Red Alert didn’t make a sound.

A moment later, steady hands were pulling the red and white mech away from him and he was being doused with chemicals to cool his frame down.

“That was insane!” Firestar screamed. Distantly, he realized that she must have been worried. He didn’t have a chance to think of an apology before he passed out into her arms.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When Inferno came back online, the first sight that greeted him was the back of Firstar’s orange and pink head. She was resting across his chest plates, and most likely in recharge. He gave her resting form a soft smile and moved his hand so that it was resting on her back. The femme stirred, but didn’t come back online.

“She was here for all of the night cycle,” a soft voice off to his left informed him. “She’s been quite worried about you.”

The voice seemed familiar, but Inferno couldn’t quite place it. He turned his head to look at his roommate. The mech in the other bed was stripped of most of his outer plating, but there were a few bits of red and white still stubbornly adhering to his head and shoulders.

“Red Alert?”

“Yes, though I certainly don’t look like myself right now.” The security officer gave him a rueful smile. “Thank you for coming after me. I wouldn’t be here at all if not for you.”

“Was nothing.” Inferno returned the smile. “I would have done it for anyone, anytime.”

“Well, this time you did it for me and I’m grateful.”

The words touched Inferno. He had received thanks from survivors in the past, but this seemed so much more personal. “You’re welcome. So, what was a member of the Iacon security force doing at a science lab, anyway?”

“Ironically,” Red Alert chuckled. “I was investigating claims that Solar Winds’ chemical developments had been used in a series of arson fires.”