Forming optics saw blue for the first time. The little being blinked its now fully-formed optics, looking around and kicking its little peds. Tiny servos reached out and grasped, a thunderous spark-beat rocking the baby in its film-sac. It strained for the light filtering through bared protoflesh, and though its tiny arms couldn't reach, its audios heard, filtering in the noise and struggling to make sense of the words.
Scientific log, said a deep, monotone voice. A servo rested on the patch of light. The baby squirmed towards it. Operation DE is going well. Megatron would be pleased. The embryo has become a fetus. Weekly injections of the Dark Matter into the carrier has become daily. Soon the fetus will know its power.
The sparkling curled its tiny servos under its chin, tucking in its legs. It didn't like the being with the deep voice, didn't understand what he was saying. And then a scream pierced its audios, making the tiny one flutter its servos and peds in fear. What was once blue was purple, and the thunderous spark stopped beating.
ooo
Shockwave watched emotionlessly as the frail femme who had held on for so long withered and died upon injection, and while she was dead, he checked the fetus. Still so strong, he remarked. He made the note of that to his journal and to Laserbeak, who sat on his desk. "The mother has passed. Unicron bless her." He touched the belly again. "But the fetus remains strong, surprisingly."
Just then, the femme's optics flicked open, all purple instead of the light blue they had been. The femme thrashed and growled, and still, Shockwave remained emotionless and monotone. His voice didn't even hitch with fear as the femme started breaking her restraints. "Dark Energon appears to reanimate the dead. Make note of that, Laserbeak."
The part of Soundwave abandoned him. Shockwave looked out the window and saw Soundwave reconnect with his pet, who was pinging madly.
"Leave me to do the dirty work," Soundwave said to no one. He lifted a syringe and walked towards the femme who still thrashed, foam dripping down from her lips to her chest. The needle slid into her neck and then she was quiet, sedated, her optics glazed and her mouth hanging open. Shockwave watched her for a moment more before walking out of his lab.
Halogen and the other Council members were waiting for him. "What did you discover?" croaked Contrail.
"Dark Energon reanimates the dead, and while she is in this...'zombie' state, the fetus will remain alive. By all appearances, the fetus is well and healthy, though no doubt it will be tainted by the Dark Matter now circulating in the carrier's womb."
Halogen, the leader, leaned forward. He had been the one to act when they had discovered the mech releasing Optimus Prime from prison. He ordered the mech's hands chopped off, ordered his emotions to be drained, and to have a single, glowing red optic to take up his face. The mad scientists were happy to take Shockwave into their servos and onto their lab tables and they did what he asked, save one thing. They kept one servo, because Shockwave was still worth something. Now Halogen had an obedient pet and not a doorstop. Everyone was happy in the end, save his mate and child in the other room, one laying undead and the other playing rat to two experiments: What does Dark Energon do and how far can the Council push Shockwave?
"And," Halogen rasped, "you don't feel guilty for experimenting on your mate and child?"
Shockwave studied them briefly. "No...masters."
Halogen smiled and waved his servo dismissively. "Go back to your lab, Shockwave. You're done here."
Shockwave nodded and walked back into his lap, resecured the femme, and he left her to lay. The fetus was still alive, and the Dark Energon fueled its growth. Shockwave imagined great things from the fetus, which would either become a super soldier or a monster.
ooo
Parts of the femme still remained, like her logic center, though compromised by the dark stuff. She watched her belly expand as weeks passed until one day, she snapped her retraints and curled up in the corner of the room, hugging her belly and stroking it tenderly. Shockwave discovered her and moved her into a cage, and she remained in the corner, feeding off Dark Energon he would dump into the cage if he came in, but if he didn't, a rat that fell from the rafters made for quite the meal.
And then one day, the sparkling forced its way into the world. The femme touched her belly as the sparkling tore its own way out through her belly by her denta and claws. Since the femme was considered dead by her body, it didn't cue the labor when the sparkling was finished developing. So the femme watched her own child tear through her.
What was once blue was purple. The sparkling was purple and black instead of blue and white like her sire had been. She had bright purple optics, shiny white denta hooking into fangs, and sharp claws. The Dark Energon equipped her to be a monster, but when the sparkling thrusted her helm through the hole she crafted in her mother's abdomen and their optics connected, the femmes regarded each other tenderly.
The femme lifted her slowly as she bled out, her life-blood leaking steadily onto the floor, but it didn't matter. She had her baby in her arms, the one she carried for months. She stroked her child's helm, nuzzling it gently as it squeaked and purred, and then her optics snuffed out. Primus collected the femme then, but he left the child.
When Shockwave opened his lab door in the morning and he saw his daughter laying on his former mate's belly, he stood still not with fear or suprise or even awe. He just took a moment to process what he was seeing.
The fetus was alive.
He knelt and opened the cage door, lifting the little thing and touching it all over as he turned it over and over in his servo. Then he walked to the Councilmen, who weren't expecting the little thing to survive.
"Throw it away," they said.
Shockwave found the nearest dumpster and he buried the baby way, way down until its sobs for warmth and Dark Energon could not be heard by any bot.
Primus monitored the sparkling for three days and four nights before he sent someone to collect it. His messenger of choice was Onyx Prime, no stranger to monsters. He dug the sparkling out, carried it to the Core, and together, sparkling and god, they waited for its chance to live. Since the sparkling was of Unicron and Primus was himself, they could not touch, but years turned into eons, and all they did was talk as the femme grew and grew into a tall, thin femme fueled on all the Energon she turned Dark and on her thirst for knowledge.
ooo
Ratchet wasn't interested in stories. He heard all the rumors of a being completely fueled by Dark Matter, he just refused to put stock in something so ridiculous. And that was his opinion until Optimus and Smokescreen came back from their patrol, a femme between them.
They were already practically overrun with femmes: Arcee, Windblade, Nightshade...they didn't need a fourth. But here was another femme, her purple optics wide and looking around, Optimus looking sick and Smokescreen pale, as if they couldn't bear to be around her, and then Ratchet felt repulsed when she drew closer.
"What is this?" Ratchet stumbled back into his computer, staring at her with wide optics.
The femme took several steps back, gazing around at the mechs and femmes that were circling her as close as they dared. "I came seeking the Prime, and he brought me here," she squeaked. "I come from Cybertron, from the Core and-"
Ratchet cut her off. "The Core? Where Primus is?"
"I know Primus," she smiled. "We spoke often."
Optimus looked at the medic as if he had angered his friend by bringing her here, his optic ridges drawn over his half-lidded optics. Ratchet would deal with him later. Primus, no matter how old the Prime got, he was still a sucker for bots seeking answers, refuge...it didn't matter. Prime was naive.
Ratchet bared his denta. "Sure," he snapped, and then he tilted his helm. "Why do I feel sick just by standing to close to you? What blocking technology do you have?"
"Oh, it's no technology. It's just my life-blood." She rubbed at her arm and murmured, "Dark Energon."
That was when Optimus perked up, but the movement must have jostled his tank and made his Energon churn. "Perhaps you can study her?"
"Study her? Prime, I can barely touch her!" But this would solve a few of the questions he had about her and the Dark Energon. He took a slow step towards her, his armor prickling as if he touched a live wire. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"
She just shrugged. "I don't have a name, but Primus said I came from the surface, in Kaon."
Ratchet turned to Optimus, growling lowly. The Prime lifted his helm a little higher. "Would you stop bringing dangers into our base?"
Smokescreen, pale as he was and as sick as he was going to get, wrapped his arms around the femme. "She's not dangerous!" As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, he had to release the femme and run as far away as he could get.
"Clearly," Ratchet growled. Would he ever get smart bots on his team?
Introducing my new OC. Isn't she cute? She just needs a name x3 Until I come up with anything else, she'll just be this funny little femme based off a line I read in Exodus, when Alpha Trion tells the Autobots about Dark Energon. I don't remember where it is exactly.
Honestly, I don't even know why I wrote this, but the line inspired me and I thought it was time to make a new character anyway. So, what do you guys think? I brought Windblade into the crew because I love her so much X3 Welcome to Team Prime, Windblade!
Also, I've had the worst two weeks in human history, so just...don't murder my character. I like her a little bit...she's not my fave, but she's pretty cool. I mean, who else was wondering what a fully Dark Energon fueled bot would look like? I mean, Megs is close, but this girl, whoever the frag she is, she's wicked, you know?
So, yeah...