Title: Ricochet
Part 1: The Race
By: Ceris Malfoy
Summary: In which we learn Starscream has influenced more than just Megatron's life. As for Blurr, well, there's a reason he's so fast.
Inspiration: Was reading All HAil Megatron Vol. 3 and got to Blurr's short story. Noticed 'Screamer was in it, and my Older-than-dirt-'Screamer decided he wanted to play. So play he did. XD
Status: WIP
Continuity: IDW's All Hail Megatron, major AU
Time-line: Set just after A Different Beginning.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
"Final checks."
Blurr stands there silently, feeling the currents of data rushing through his systems, checking and re-checking every last part of him to ensure that he is perfect.
"We're clear. Readings are good."
His team of three mechs move around him, rushing back and forth between monitors with all the grace of ones who have done this same act many a time. He pays them no mind - his processor focussing on his goal. Soon he will be out there in the arena, the roar of the crowds cheering him on as he moves the way he is made to move.
That is all that matters.
"Prepped and ready. Blurr?"
Cold crimson optics study him, thin lips quirking into an even colder smile. The Vosnian Lord needed no introduction - he was the stuff of legends, and the personal nightmare of every sparkling. Blurr shivers as an equally cold voice asks his caregivers, "What's his designation?"
His processor stalls, his spark leaps in its casing, and he knows without looking that he is beginning to tremble - it is only long practice that keeps the tremors so fine that his team does not notice.
"Do it," he says, voice empty and impassive.
Wires connecting him to the various machines around him disengage. He stands firm, ready.
Lord Starscream taps his claws thoughtfully against his thigh; his gaze never leaving Blurr's terrified form. "He is built for physical speed and agility. What of his processor speeds?"
The buzzer sounds, and he moves. Faster and faster, until soon he was nothing but a blue streak of light, a blurred reflection of the course he was moving through. There is nothing that will keet up with him: not his rivals, not his friends, not even the ghosts that haunt his memories.
Sharp claws trail over his frame, and he is beyond terrified. He wants to run, to get as far away from this seeker as possible. He wants to run, but his systems won't obey him; he is frozen under the steady, predatory gaze.
The disquieting feeling of clawed servos running delicately over his body has him moving faster, determined to outrun the demon that haunts him. The other racers are too far behind him now, the end was coming up...
...effortlessly he crosses the finish line and draws to a stop.
The crowd around him explodes into a cacophany of cheers and applause, and the noise helps to drown out the words that haunts his every waking moment.
"This one," that cold, cruel voice says. "I want this one."
Uh, I think... I think I might have an issue with making Starscream creepy. XD And believe me, he will come out creepy in this fic. Kind of pedo-ish, but not really a pedo. (Thank god.) Megatron will have an appearance at the end of this - which will be either chapter 4 or chapter 5, I haven't decided yet.
I was tampering with the idea for awhile of making Blurr a Decepticon. I might still do so, but it won't be in this fic, and it won't be with Older-than-dirt!Screamer. If I do end up doing that, there will be poRnz. Lolz.