DISCLAIMER: I don't own Transformers, nor do I own Kenny Chesney or the song She Don't Know She's Beautiful.
This is a series of semi-songfic short stories and also a bit of an experiment at a TFA Starscream/D-Cal pairing. It actually isn't my first time writing a sonfic, but this is the first time I've written one to a TF thingie. This will actually be a series, each with the verse of this one specific song. Anyway, here's part one. D-Cal is MY OC, so don't use her unless you have my permission.
"We go out to a party somewhere
The moment we walk in the door
People stop and everybody stares
She don't know what they're staring for"
~Kenny Chesney, She Don't Know She's Beautiful
(A/N: This first part takes place during Transform And Roll Out, Part 1)
"Megatron is a fool who has been chasing a ghost for centuries," Starscream sneered, gazing at the yellow space ship displayed on the screen, "I seriously doubt we will find this 'AllSpark' aboard such an insignificant vessel."
"TRAITOR!" Lugnut barked, "Megatron is wise! Megatron is bold! Megatron will return the Decepticons to Cybertron and is-"
"And wipe our homeland clean of the stench of Autobot tyranny," Blackarachnia busquely interjected, "Blah de blah blah blah!"
She placed her hands on her hips and remarked, "Did you memorize that speech, Lugnut, or is it hard-wired into that thick, one-track processor of yours?!"
A blast shot at Blackarachnia. She ducked, but not in time for the blast to miss her arm. Most of her forearm was coated in a thick layer of ice. "As usual, Blackarachnia," a calm, accented voice commented, the owner of the voice approaching, "Your demeanor is as unpleasant as zat accursed organic mode of yours."
"Blow it out your actuator, Three-Face." Blackarachnia replied, shattering the ice with a hiss and a motion of her hand.
A click-whir sound acompanied the spinning of the accented bot's face. His previously blue, calm-looking face was replaced by an angry, visored red face. The angry bot immediately yelled, "Ze name is Blitzwing, insect! Remember it, 'cause it will be the last thing you're gonna hear before I-"
The click-whir sounded again as the angry red face was replaced by a black face with glowing red features. The face grinned maniacally, interrupting its previous track of the sentence with, "Express my feelings in song!"
Blitzwing began to do a goofy little dance and sang, "Ze itzy bitzy spider crawled up ze water spout!"
Everyone started clamoring and yelling at Blitzwing and then each other. The three-faced bot just continued singing, "Down came ze rain and washed ze spider out!"
Suddenly, the door whooshed open, revealing the approaching form of their imposing leader, Megatron. They all immediately turned to face him. Starscream's gaze, however, was drawn to the female Decepticon following closely behind Megatron. Her helm was black with a streak of elecric blue running between a pair of horns on her head and down to just above her red visor. Her forearms and lower legs were black with elecric blue kneecaps and elbows. Her legs widened below the knees and resembled bell-bottom pants in a way. Her feet were large and boot-like. Her hands were also black, with elecric blue fingers. Her shoulder armor was black with electric blue trim and her pelvis was black with an elecric blue stripe on each hip. Her chassis was also black, but had a blue-tinted window on it, and the rest of her torso was grey, with a single electric blue stripe running down the front. Her grey arms and thighs each had a series of elecric blue lines that formed a shape similar to the outline of a coffin. In the grey void in the center of the blue shape on her right thigh was a Decepticon insignia. He didn't recognize her, Starsceam thought that she was quite lovely to behold.
Starscream and the other Decepticons stood up straight as the duo drew closer, silent but for the thud of their footsteps. The femme fell in line next to Starscream as Megatron stood in front of the screen. The seeker snuck a glance at the femme. He put his face in its most seductive expression and gazed nonchalantly at her. The horned female glanced at him in confusion and cocked her head slightly, apparently either not used to such glances being directed at her or oblivious to the meaning behind them. Starscream was about to begin flirt with her, but then she suddenly gave him a brilliant smile. His expression quickly moved to confusion as his speech synthesizer suddenly siezed up. Strange. No femme had ever affected him in such a way before. Starscream had no time to ponder this thought as Megatron suddenly spoke up. "Starscream, report."
Starscream's attention moved away from the femme and over to his leader. "Energy readings off the scale, my liege!" said Starscream in a honey-coated voice, "Shall I fire on the Autobots?"
"Cripple their ship, but do not destroy it." Megatron replied, "Yet."
"Yes, yes, yes! Brilliant strategy, oh wise and great leader!" Starscream gushed, sucking up to his leader. One of the ship's cannons was prepped and then fired.
Before Megatron left to enter the ensuing battle, Starscream watched the strange female walk away. Strangely, he found himself wondering if he would ever see her again.
((A/N This part takes place during Megatron Rising, Part 1))
Starscream relished the frantic struggles of the yellow Autobot as he dangled him dangerously over the precipice up on Sumdac Tower. He ignored the Autobot's comments and turned his gaze to the smoking debris below him. Scowling, Starscream exclaimed, "I should have pulled the plug on Megatron while I still had the chance!"
He glanced at the yellow Autobot and pondered aloud, "So… do I help the Autobot take him DOWN,"
Starscream tossed the yellow Autobot over his head and into his other hand and juggled him back. Starscream then continued his personal debate, "Or serve Megatron until a better opportunity presents itself?"
Starscream watched Megatron continue to hand the red and blue Autobot's aft to him for a while. He punched the Autobot out with the power of the AllSpark-energized key. He turned his face to the sky and cried out, "To me, my loyal Decepticons!"
Starscream noted Blitzwing and Lugnut fly over to Megatron. He glanced at the squirming yellow Autobot in his grip. "Ah, it looks like my decision's been made!"
And with that, Starscream tossed the little pest away, transforming and flying over to his fellow Decepticons. Noticing how Lugnut was currently on his knees grovelling, Starscream smirked and decided to take the amusing opportunity that presented itself. He landed straight on top of the grovelling behemoth, causing him to crash into the ground. "I am ready to serve, as your ever-faithful second-in command." Starscream declared, walking over to Megatron.
"Ah, Starscream," the Decepticon overlord replied dryly, "How fitting to have you by my side as I finally take my revenge on the one responsible for my 50 stellar cycles of helplessness and humiliation!"
Megatron aimed his cannon at the downed red and blue Autobot. The cannon began to charge up. Suddenly, Megatron's fist flew towards Starscream. The seeker froze, not expecting his betrayal to be revealed.
Before the glowing fist could make contact, however, a black blur shot out from the shadows and he felt a heavy foot make contact with his head, knocking him to the ground. He was kicked, causing him to roll over onto his front. His arms were suddenly wrenched upward and behind his back, painfully too. He felt somebody sit down on his back, holding tightly with their knees and swiftly wrapping a cable around his wrists, after which it was fastened securely. All of this happened in less than five nanokliks. A soft female voice spoke up from behind him. "Please, my liege," The voice pleaded, "Forgive me for interrupting, but I wish to request that you allow me to punish this traitor! I am very well qualified and certainly have the knowledge to make his punishment most painful!"
Megatron looked irate, but he listened to the persuasive femme-bot's words. Gradually, his face took a look of contemplation. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before finally answering, "Permission granted. You will oversee and carry out Starscream's punishment at 0500 megacycles in the next solar cycle."
Starscream felt his female captor remove herself from his back. He saw a pair of bootlike feet, closely resembling a cross between the steel-plate-toed boots and sneakers that the organics wore. A pair of wheels on each of her heels completed the odd look. His optics moved up her legs, over her torso, and up to her face. His mouth dropped open in amazement. It was the exact same femme that had followed Megatron onto the bridge over 50 stellar cycles before! Her appearance had changed slightly. The previously light gray areas on her limbs and torso had become dark grey. Most of the blue on her helm had disappeared, leaving only the blue spot on her forehelm. Her visor was thinner and longer, giving her a more shrewd appearance. Her lower legs had narrowed and the blue stripe on her torso had disappeared entirely. Her hands had changed from light grey to black, and her fingers were dark grey instead of elecric blue. Her horns had become longer and more prominent, pointing back at an angle similar to the ears of an earth fox. Dispite his… inconvenient situation, he found himself thinking that she was even lovelier than before.
1300 megacycles the next day
Starscream was tied and restrained in a dark room, his weapons removed and his thrusters deactivated. A glowing red v-shape appeared as a door opened with a whoosh. As the shape grew closer, the details became clearer. It was the femme from before. She walked up to him until she stood toe to toe with him. Horns not included the top of her head only came up to the top of his chest. He gazed down at her light grey face, trying to peer through the impenatrable red visor. She frowned, and looked directly into his optics. She pulled an energy blade the length of her forearm out of subspace. His optics were drawn to her full black lip components as they parted to form the words, "I'm sorry, Starscream."
An instant after that came the first slice of the blade into his body. It was only just the first part of the torture that was to come, the torture that wouldn't end until nearly three solar cycles later.
Starscream sat in his temporary 'quarters' in the Decepticons' new underground 'base', plotting as he cleaned his null laser blasters. He heard a knocking just outside the doorway. A familiar female voice inquired, "May I come in? I'm not here for trouble."
Starscream sighed. It wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter. "Go ahead."
The femme walked in and turned to face him, wringing her hands uncertainly. It was several cycles before she finally spoke up. "About what I did after the incident at the tower. You know it was nothing personal. You betrayed Lord Megatron and had to be punished. Offlining you was not the answer."
Seeing an opportunity, Starscream sidled up next to her. He smirked seductively at her and replied, "Why'd you 'save' me, then? Couldn't stand to see such a hansome mech go offline?"
The female laughed, a lovely but somehow eerily familiar sound. She punched him hard in the arm, though it was clearly meant in a friendly manner. "Oh, Starscream, you're such a joker!" She giggled, "You always used to make me laugh."
Her chuckles subsided and she explained, "Actually, I couldn't let Megatron offline you because you're too skilled a soldier, too valueable an asset to the Decepticon forces to allow you to go to waste."
And with that, she turned and walked away. Just before she exited through the doorway, she stopped and looked over her shoulder at the seeker- his face was expressionless, but inside he was perplexed. The femme smiled at him. "Well… that and I kind of missed my old instructor."
She resumed her exit. As she left, she waved at him and said, "Later, Screamy!"
Starscream froze. The words she had said…the way she had said it… he finally remembered where he had heard her laugh before. It had been a long, long time ago when he had first heard it coming from the speech synthesizer of a tiny black femme sparkling that Megatron had given him to train. The Decepticon second-in-command's mouth dropped open. In barely more than a whisper, he gasped the name of someone he hadn't seen since her early adolescent stage. "D-Cal?"
Realizing the awkward implications of his actions, Starscream gave a loud groan. The femme he had made passes at was D-Cal! He had flirted with D-Cal! The beautiful femme he had been so attracted to was not some stranger, but D-Cal! The femme he had tried to entice to his berth on more than one occasion, only to find that she was completely oblivious to his intent and advances, was actually the incredibly annoying sparkling he had trained all those hundreds of stellar cycles ago! He facepalmed in embarrassment and groaned, "Oh, slag me!"
But still…
Giving in to the urge, he left his 'quarters', leaning against the wall, watching the sway of the now fully trained stealth operative's hips as she walked away. After all, Starscream reasoned, what was the harm in enjoying the view?
She don't know she's beautiful
never crossed her mind
She don't know she's beautiful
no she's not that kind
She dont know shes beautiful
Though time and time i've told her so
~Kenny Chesney, She Don't Know She's Beautiful
