Showdown

Echo's first official spotlight episode! Takes place between "Speed Metal" and "Predatory". If you haven't read "To Protect And Heal", you might want to! Otherwise this will probably be very confusing!

Warnings: Violence, Cybertronian swearing, creepy undertones (as always, with Knockout).

Pairings: None that I actually wrote…unless you think KnockOut/Breakdown is canon.

Rating: T for robot violence and KO being his usual creepy self.

"normal"

thoughts

radio

::comm::

Location: Southern Arizona

Echo's engine hummed quietly as she made her way back to the groundbridge coordinates. She was in a good mood; her patrol had gone quickly, there had been no sign of Decepticons, the assignment was to a nice warm location, and best of all, this road was practically deserted, so she could go as fast as she wanted. She wasn't into racing, like Bee and Arcee, but that didn't mean she would pass up a chance to ignore human speed limits. They were irritating anyway. For once, it didn't seem like the day could possibly get much better.

Her internal sensor beeped, indicating a contact. With an internal sigh, she pulled to a stop and turned the sensors to maximum, scanning the area for whatever had triggered the signal.

"Well, the day might not be able to get better, but it just got worse. Frag it."

Echo transformed and spun to face the two cars that were speeding toward her, taking a fighting stance. A slight shiver ran down her backstrut at the thought of fighting alone, but it wasn't like she had a choice; her comm system was being scrambled.

The blue and red vehicles skidded to a stop and transformed less than ten yards from the young Autobot. She glared at them fiercely, hiding her fear.

"KnockOut, Breakdown. What's the rush? Off to kidnap some other defenseless little human?"

KnockOut's lip components curled into an evil smirk. "Well, look what we have here, Breakdown. A pretty little Autobot, all alone in the middle of nowhere. That doesn't seem like the safest arrangement to me."

Breakdown chuckled. "Think we should let Prime know he needs to keep a closer optic on his troops?"

"Why not?" Knockout's smirk grew as he unsubspaced his energon prod.

Echo activated her wrist-blades. They weren't really made for battle, but they'd do at least as much damage as KnockOut's weapon. "You want a fight? Bring it on."

Breakdown's gun powered up as he moved sideways, stalking her. She kept one optic on him, backing up a few steps so that she could keep the red Decepticon in her vision field as well.

"Oh dear, look, Breakdown. I think she's scared," KnockOut taunted. "No need for that, little Autobot. I don't usually damage pretty automobiles...not too badly, anyway!"

Echo dived to the left as the blue 'Con fired, just barely dodging the shot. She rolled and came up on her pedes...only to be slammed back into the ground as KnockOut landed on her. Out of the corner of one optic, she saw the energon prod swing down, and twisted desperately, unbalancing the Decepticon medic. The prod hit the rocks only inches from her face, and KnockOut's pede scraped painfully along her midriff plating as he stumbled. Intakes cycling rapidly, Echo rolled out from under him and struggled upright, pointing her right blade down at him. "Why don't you pick on someone your own - ah!"

Breakdown's shot ricocheted off the rocks just above her head, sending debris raining down on the green femme. She dived backward and twisted around, landing on her servos and knees. When she looked up, the 'Con was standing over her, a savage grin on his face.

Fear fueled Echo's instinctive reaction. She lunged upward, stabbing deep into his knee joint, and was rewarded by a yelp of pain. As Breakdown stumbled, Echo pushed herself to her pedes and transformed, wheels skidding in the dirt as she turned hard. Unfortunately, she didn't think about KnockOut until his energon prod caught her front wheel, forcing her into a transformation. She landed hard on her back, staring at the sky as she tried to get her gyros to stop spinning.

The red medic knelt over her, still smirking. "Not the best fighter, are you, little Autobot? What a pity."

"My name's ECHO!" she growled. "And this is just the start!" With the last word, she activated the laser scalpel on her left hand and lashed out, slicing across KnockOut's faceplate. As he jerked back, she raked her sharp fingertips across his chestplate, tearing away strips of paint. Knockout screeched in fury. "HOW DARE YOU?" The energon prod slammed down into the side of her neck, sending pain shocking through every circuit. The last thing Echo saw was the Decepticon medic's sadistic grin looming over her.

Location: Autobot Base

"Bulkhead, has Echo checked in yet?" Optimus Prime looked at the large green Autobot, who was playing some kind of video game with Miko. Jack and Raf were sitting off to the side, looking at something on the younger boy's computer.

"Uh...don't think so," Bulkhead answered absently. "HEY!"

Miko giggled. "Gotta pay attention, Bulk'."

"Hmm." Optimus turned away and looked at the monitor again. "That isn't like her."

Bumblebee beeped and whistled, raising a brow ridge in a gesture of concern. His leader nodded.

"You may be right. I don't want Echo to think I trust her less than anyone else, but..." Optimus glanced toward the humans. "I would rather have every member of my team safe and angry at me, if the alternative is to have them offline."

The hum of the groundbridge activating filled the room. Optimus turned back to see Bumblebee standing by the controls. The yellow scout half-smiled and gestured toward it, beeping softly.

"Bulkhead, you're in charge here. Do not leave the base, unless you're called for backup," the Autobot leader instructed. "Ratchet and Arcee will call for pickup soon. If we're not back, tell them we've gone to check on Echo. Understood?"

"Yessir." Bulkhead looked up from his game long enough to answer.

"Bumblebee, stay close. If there is trouble - and I believe there may be - I will need your help." Optimus waited for the scout's affirmative nod before transforming. "Alright. Roll out!"

The green glow surrounded the two Autobots for a moment. When it faded, they were on an apparently deserted road. Optimus scanned the area quietly, remaining in vehicle mode.

Bumblebee whistled nervously. Optimus agreed. "No sign of her. However, there is a residual energy signal. Echo was here, not long ago."

After running one more scan, Optimus transformed. "Bumblebee, transform, but remain alert for any humans."

As the scout obeyed, the huge red and blue Autobot surveyed the area, noticing that there were three pairs of tire tracks. "Hmm. Echo wasn't the only one here. Bumblebee, do you have any way to tell who?"

Bumblebee beeped a negative. Optimus sighed. "Neither do I, but one thing is certain, they weren't humans or Autobots." The Autobot leader stared off into the distance, his concern growing. The youngest, least experienced member of his team would have stood no chance against two Decepticons, both of whom were significantly bigger than the cycleformer if the size of the tires was any indication.

A loud whistle caught his attention, and he turned to see Bumblebee standing a little ways off the road, gesturing toward a large rock pile. The rocks on the lower part were broken and crushed, and a scorch mark marred the upper section.

"There was a battle here." Optimus examined the rocks. Bumblebee knelt and pointed. Streaks of green and red paint marked the ground.

"Echo's shade of green. How many Decepticons have that shade of red?"

The scout whistled and beeped.

"KnockOut. I should have known. That means the other was most likely Breakdown." Prime scanned the area again. "Minimal energon. She is online."

Bumblebee gestured frantically back toward the road, beeping loudly. Optimus activated his comlink. "Bulkhead, I need you to bridge us back immediately. Echo has been captured by the Decepticons."

Location: Nemesis Medbay

Echo onlined slowly, her vision blurring for a moment before clearing up. She was lying on her side, on a hard surface, with her servos pinned behind her. She didn't have to test it; the weight alone told her that she was stasis cuffed.

A cautious glance around told her she was in some sort of medbay, probably in the Decepticon ship. A heavy footstep alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone, and she hurriedly offlined her optics. KnockOut's voice echoed through the room.

"No worries, Breakdown. Leave Starscream to me."

Breakdown's deeper voice rumbled angrily. "It's too much risk. He ordered us to stay undercover, but no, you couldn't pass up a chance to take a hit at the Autobots. Now we have to deal with her, and thanks to you, we can't put her in the cells."

"Ahh, you worry too much." KnockOut's tone was placating. "She's not much risk, not like, say, Prime."

"No risk? In case you hadn't noticed, she just about took my leg off! And that's not counting what she did to you!"

KnockOut growled angrily at the reminder. "Oh, I noticed! It took forever to buff out those fragging scrapes!" Echo tensed slightly, afraid the psychopathic medic would attack her right there in revenge, but he seemed to get some measure of control back.

"Still, that was luck. She's one of their medics; she's no fighter. As long as she's in those cuffs, she can't do anything. We, on the other hand..." KnockOut trailed his fingers slowly across Echo's shoulder and down her arm. Fortunately, the stasis cuffs prevented her from shivering under the servo that rested on her side as KnockOut continued talking. "As a medic, she has information. Information we could use."

"It's not worth it. Why not just finish her right now?"

To Echo's immense relief, KnockOut moved his servo away. She could hear him walking away. "Just trust me. When she wakes up, I'll show you."

Ohhh no you don't. Echo cautiously onlined her optics. KnockOut was all the way across the room, and she could just see Breakdown's leg out of the corner of her left optic. Neither one was paying much attention to her.

Her wrist-blades were disabled, according to the warnings popping up in her HUD, but the laser scalpel in her left forefinger wasn't. Maybe the Decepticons had missed it, or maybe they didn't know it would do any damage. They obviously hadn't known her coding made her immune to stasis cuffs, after all.

Well, watch this, 'Con. Or don't. The scalpel activated silently. Echo carefully flicked her finger up toward her wrist. OW! Okay, the cuffs are a little further down. Ignoring the slight trickle of energon on her arm, the medic slid the scalpel down into the stasis cuffs. The well-cared-for blade sliced through the cuffs easily.

Ha! No risk? I'll show you, KnockOut! Echo shut down her optics again as KnockOut turned back toward her. This could still go very, very wrong if he noticed the broken stasis cuffs, or if he saw that she was online.

"Ahh, go find something to do, Breakdown. Quit worrying. I'll call you when she wakes up."

"Fine." A door opened, and Breakdown's heavy footsteps receded through it. It closed again, and Echo waited until she could no longer hear him. Okay...steady now. Remember what Cliffjumper taught you: you only get one shot, so make it good. She onlined her optics, looking for a weapon. There. Apparently KnockOut wasn't very neat. Didn't he know leaving a large screwdriver within a prisoner's reach was asking for trouble?

"Well, now." The red medic was slowly walking around her. Amazingly, he still hadn't noticed that she was free. "Let's see, little fembot, what information do you have in that pretty little head of yours, hmm?"

Five...four...three...

"Ahh, you're awake!" KnockOut leaned down and smirked. "Well, well, well. How does it feel to be all alone, with no one to protect you?"

Echo smiled back up at him, enjoying his confused reaction. "Who ever said I needed protecting?"

Two...now! With one quick motion, Echo lunged for the screwdriver. She got her fingers around it and slammed the handle down on the crest of KnockOut's helmet, as hard as she could. With a rather feminine screech, the Decepticon staggered backward. Echo rolled back, away from him, and fell to the floor. When she pulled herself to her pedes, KnockOut was standing between her and the door, a snarl on his white features.

"Just what do you think you're doing, femme?"

Location: Autobot Base

The groundbridge hummed to life. Optimus Prime turned to enter it, but was stopped by Bulkhead's voice.

"Shouldn't we contact Ratchet?"

"No, Bulkhead." Optimus turned to look at the huge green mech. "There's nothing he can do. Inform him if he returns before we do, but otherwise, keep it to yourself. Bumblebee, let's go!"

Less than a minute later, both of them were crouched behind a large rock formation, staring up at the Nemesis. Bumblebee clicked and beeped, gesturing toward it.

"Not yet. We need to find a way to get on board without alerting every Decepticon to our presence." Optimus studied the surrounding area, noticing the way the rock walls came close to the ship. "Right there. Transform and follow me."

The yellow sports car sped ahead of the semi, skidding to a halt right at the base of the wall. Optimus transformed and grasped a rocky projection firmly. "Bumblebee, follow -"

The sentence was cut off as laserfire ricocheted off the rocks just above the Autobot leader's head. Two Vehicons, probably guards, had seen them, and were now firing down on the two Autobots.

Bumblebee beeped and whistled in alarm, returning fire rapidly. Optimus gestured upward. "Go! I'll follow and provide cover fire. Your primary mission is to locate Echo and rescue her. Understood?"

The smaller Autobot clicked an affirmative and practically shot up the wall, scrambling toward the ship. Optimus was somewhat slower, but well before either of them had reached the top, both Vehicons had fallen. It was a long way down.

"Here's the entrance. Stay behind me, Bumblebee."

Location: Nemesis Medbay

Echo tried to sidestep, looking for a way out, but KnockOut blocked her path, smirking. "Well now. Do you really think you're going to get out of this all by yourself?" Practically purring, the red Decepticon 'medic' reached for her arm. "Come on, now. Be a good little girl and you won't get hurt."

"Hands off, you creep!" Echo smacked his servo away with the heavy screwdriver. "Get away from me, and maybe you won't get hurt!"

"Ooh, that's harsh, isn't it?" KnockOut sneered. "Now, now. No need for all that – "

CRASH! Echo kicked him as hard as she could in the midriff, scraping deep into the dark red paint and denting his chassis. Unfortunately, it didn't move him away from the door, but it did push him out of arm's reach.

"Just. Get. AWAY!"

"Arrgh…" KnockOut stared down at the scratch and dent. "You little…you'll pay for that!"

"Oh, I'm sure," Echo taunted, every cable tense with adrenaline. "What're you going to do? Surgery?"

"I just might!" A second later, the energon prod was swinging toward her neck again. She was ready for it this time, and ducked, trying to grab his wrist.

"Oh no you don't!" Echo missed his wrist, but moving the prod out of her reach had thrown KnockOut slightly off balance, allowing her to get out of his reach again. "You'll never use me to get information! I'll wipe my own memory core first."

KnockOut lunged back toward her, sadistic grin spreading across his narrow features once more. "Think that would stop me?"

Location: Nemesis Hallways

Optimus glanced around a corner, gun raised, but saw no one. "Their security isn't particularly good here, but I suspect there will be more further inside. Bumblebee, do you have any idea where the Decepticons' medbay might be?"

The scout whistled, confused.

"KnockOut is the one who captured Echo; he'll probably be in the medbay or near it. He may have taken her there with him, hoping to get information, or simply be holding her prisoner there. Even if she is somewhere else, the odds are good that he will be able to tell us where."

Bumblebee beeped confirmation and started in the correct direction. Optimus followed a few steps behind, watching carefully for any Decepticon activity.

Two turns and three hallways later, Bumblebee's optics widened and he glanced up at Optimus with a sharp beep. The Autobot leader nodded. "I'm picking it up too. She's not far away. Maybe even very close, since these corridors seem to be scrambling the signal. Let me take point."

The scout obediently dropped back, allowing Optimus to lead the way. The Autobots carefully made their way down the hall, checking behind them repeatedly for any Decepticons following them.

Unfortunately, Breakdown chose that moment to limp out of the corridor leading to the medbay – and crash straight into Optimus.

Startled as he was, the Autobot leader reacted immediately, yanking Breakdown out of the corridor and slamming him against the wall before he could attack. "Bumblebee, go!"

The scout transformed and sped down the corridor Breakdown had come from, looking back briefly to see Optimus dodge a strike from the heavy hammer and take another swing at Breakdown.

Location: Nemesis Medbay

"No!" Echo dived sideways, evading KnockOut by less than a foot. She swung a fist at his shoulder, but he grabbed her wrist and spun, jerking her off balance and throwing her against the bunk.

"Ow…"

KnockOut gestured to the deep scrape she'd put in his paint. "No one does that to me and gets away with it." He took a step toward the stunned femme, looming over her. "So let me show you what happens to pretty little 'bots that upset me."

Desperately, Echo tried to push herself upright, only to stumble backward. "Get AWAY!"

"Make me," KnockOut sneered, reaching out toward her.

Running completely on instinct and terror, Echo transformed and revved her engine hard. The motorcycle practically leaped forward, front tire skidding on KnockOut's forehead crest before he fell backward under the unexpected assault. The femme didn't bother transforming to open the door; she just slammed through it, leaving a jagged hole. She could hear the Decepticon yelling curses after her, and sped up, swerving around a startled Vehicon and racing down the hallway.

A familiar horn beeped ahead of her, and she hit the brakes, transforming and skidding to a halt. "Bumblebee!"

The yellow scout nodded and whistled, gesturing to her scraped paint and the cut on her arm.

"I'm fine, we have to get out of here! KnockOut's coming, and I have a feeling he's not in a particularly forgiving mood."

Bumblebee beeped his understanding and motioned for her to follow him. Transforming again, Echo pulled up next to the other Autobot, engine revving. "Did you come alone?"

Several beeps indicated a negative, although the medic no longer needed the answer. Optimus and Breakdown were blocking the corridor, exchanging rapid blows and, in Breakdown's case, insults.

Optimus turned his head just in time to see the other two racing toward him, and landed a powerful blow to Breakdown's torso, hurling the Decepticon back across the corridor and into a wall. "Autobots, fall back!"

The trio sped back down the hallway toward the exit, as Optimus opened a comm line. "Optimus to base, I need a groundbridge immediately!"

Relief flooded through Echo at the sound of her father's voice. ::I thought you were going to rescue her, not start a full-scale battle! Groundbridge coming up.::

Engines hummed behind them, and the femme picked up a familiar energy signal. "Sooner rather than later, please…we've got two angry 'Cons right behind us!"

::Bridge opening.:: A second later the dark hallway was filled with the green glow, and Echo sped up, entering the bridge just in front of Optimus and Bumblebee.

The three Autobots skidded to a halt in the center of the base, transforming to robot mode as the groundbridge closed behind them. Ratchet spun around and all but ran across the room, pulling his daughter into a hug. "Echo! Are you all right?"

"Nothing a few minutes' work won't fix," she murmured quietly, leaning her head against his chest. "That was just…I don't ever want to be captured again."

Ratchet tightened his grip. "Don't you EVER try to take on a Decepticon alone again! Call for backup, or if you can't, just get the slag out of there. When I thought I'd lost you…well, just don't ever scare me like that again."

"Yes, Dad," Echo responded, smiling slightly at his tone. "I'll do my best."

Location: Nemesis

Breakdown settled down on the berth, wincing at the dents Optimus had left. "Slag it all, you lost her? This is the last time I listen to you."

KnockOut hissed angrily, rubbing at one of the scrapes. "Trust me, this isn't over. She'll be back…and it's personal now."

So what do you think? Review and tell me please!