Narrator: As night falls, many people of Earth are asleep in their homes. Meanwhile in their headquarters, the treacherous Decepticons led by their leader, Megatron, are awake and plotting the Autobots' demise….
Decepticon Headquarters: The only noise coming from Decepticon headquarters was the constant beeping of the computer, and the soft humming from the machines that charged the Decepticons as they laid on their berths in standby-mode. The Seekers had their own room for their recharge and it was the closest one to the main computer, and the smallest. Their room could fit Megatron's about five times!
Starscream stirred some as his audios detected a faint rhythm. The beat he could not place…that was Soundwave's expertise…to decipher these types of frequencies. He began to boot up his systems one by one as he listened in…closer…what in Cybertron was that? It sounded almost like what the insects of the planet called "music."
Gingerly unhooking himself from the machine, Starscream pushed himself off his berth and listened. He strained his receptors to pick up more of the resonance. It sounded so familiar yet foreign at the same time. The only occasion he heard something like this before was……when he spied on Jazz! "Wake up, you fools!" He bellowed at Thundercracker and Skywarp as he snatched their cables from them, not taking the same care as he did with his.
Thundercracker and Skywarp opened their optics as they were violently forced to come out of stand-by mode. "What is it, Starscream?" Thundercracker lifted up from his berth to look at his trinemate.
"Do you not hear that?!" Starscream looked at them in disbelief.
Skywarp and Thundercracker exchanged glances, and listened in. There was silence. Whatever their brother heard, they could not. "What exactly are you hearing?" Skywarp asked, confused.
"It sounded like one of the Autobots…" Starscream was beside himself. The music died….only he heard it…maybe his receptors were playing tricks on him?
Chortling, Thundercracker lowered himself back on the berth. "Starscream, you really need to cut back on the Energon." Skywarp followed suit and the two of them once again went back to standby-mode.
"Maybe you are right, brother…"Starscream responded as he went back to his own berth. Just as he was lowering himself, his audio receptors picked up the music again! "There it is!! Brothers, wake up!" Starscream moved quickly to the door. His trinemates didn't respond.
Mutely slipping out of the room, Starscream moved towards the direction the music was coming from. His receptors were definitely not malfunctioned. As he neared, the music became clearer and in the direction that Soundwave was stationed at the main computer console! "No Autobot will get the best of me…." Starscream warmed up his null ray canons.
From the lightning of the computer control room, Starscream could make out a shadow…but by the way the shadow was moving he couldn't identify who it was. The silhouette was moving fast almost with the beat of the music. He figured that the Autobot was around the corner of the entrance to the room. It would be an easy shot for him….they wouldn't detect him until it was too late! "Once I put this intruder offline…the Decepticons will see what a failure of a leader Megatron really is….he is still recharging on his berth….I will end this assault and take over." The flier gleamed to himself as he approached…victory would be his in a few seconds on many accounts.
He pressed his back against the back of the entrance side wall. He had to wait for the right moment……NOW! He leaped around and opened fire. "DIE, AUTOBOT!" He screamed just as the music stopped.
An explosion went off…he surely had to hit the Autobot and end its spark! Once the smoke cleared, his optics detected Soundwave on the ground, battered from the explosion, but otherwise unharmed. However, their computer….not so much. No sign of an Autobot anywhere. Frantically, Starscream began running scans…no other signals detected….just his and Soundwave. NO! There had to be an Autobot there….
"STARSCREAM!" Megatron roared as he pushed the flier hard onto the floor from behind. "What is going on in here?!" Behind him stood Skywarp and Thundercracker…of course they were awake at the wrong moment…
"Megatron…I…" Starscream scrambled to think of something to say.
"Soundwave, maybe you can speak for him." Megatron looked over at the intelligence officer, not giving his second-in-command time to answer.
"Starscream fired….target Soundwave…his lock-on was off twenty degrees…..impact central processor unit." Soundwave replied from where he was.
"He can't even aim right…" Thundercracker snickered. Megatron quickly glared at the other two Seekers, silencing them.
"Starscream, you traitor….you dare to fire upon a fellow Decepticon?!" Megatron seethed, his red optics set upon the blubbering flier before him.
Still on the ground, Starscream looked up at his master fearfully. "You have it all wrong, Megatron! I heard a sound….music from that Autobot, Jazz!"
Cocking his head to the side as he listened to his second-in-command, Megatron glanced back at Soundwave. "Soundwave, any truth to what this worm is stating?"
"No detection of sound or Autobot signal. Zero percent probability to Starscream's statement." Soundwave spoke as he finally rose up from where he was.
"Too much Energon I think…" Thundercracker added in again.
"You tire me, Starscream…" Megatron sighed. "Soundwave, can you repair what this idiot has damaged?"
"Affirmative, Megatron."
"Begin repairs on it."
"As you command."
"Back to recharging….Starscream, you will stay here so Soundwave can keep his optics on you." Megatron motioned the other two Seekers to return to their room.
Silently, Starscream stood up, but as soon as he did, Megatron gripped his neck tightly. "If you EVER try something like this again, you will be banned from the Decepticons….is that clear?" He growled.
"Y-yes…."Starscream choked.
Releasing him, Megatron turned to return to his room as well.
Even though he was not equipped with a mouth, Soundwave, with his back turned, was almost smirking to himself.
Two Earth full axis rotations later….Starscream writhed on his berth as his audio receptors picked up the same sound he heard before. Ever since that incident, he changed his systems to allow his audios to be at full alert while the rest of his body was on stand-by mode. Forcing his systems to boot up despite his energy levels being low from lack of Energon, he rose up from his berth. Megatron had rationed out his Energon because of Thundercracker's remark…he did NOT over-energize earlier…and he did not belong on Torkulon.
"This time…I will not miss…" Starscream warmed up his null ray once again as he silently exited the room, making sure not to disturb his brothers.
Just like last time, he placed himself against the entrance side wall. He waited patiently….he had to make sure that the music would not die….he had to see what was going on. Several Earth minutes passed by, the beat continued to play. He could hear the whirring as well as a mech was moving inside the room. "Now…." He moved swiftly and held up his weapon, but this time he did not fire.
Was his optics deceiving him? There in the room was Soundwave blasting the music from his own playback functionality and his body was moving with the beat. Even though he did not know this, this is what the humans knew as "break dancing."
Starscream could only watch on for two seconds till Soundwave came to a deadly stop and the other side of him was no longer present. "Intruder…" He launched a sonic attack, knocking the flier down from where he stood.
As he fell, Starscream fired desperately in defense, scorching the wall near where Soundwave stood. Moments later, Megatron and the other two Seekers entered the room.
"Starscream…."Megatron fumed.
"Still paranoid about the Autobots?" Thundercracker chuckled as he watched on.
"Do you need someone to remain online while you recharge to protect you from them, brother?" Skywarp added, snickering.
"NO! Soundwave…he was moving to that music and fired at me!!" Starscream pointed at the intelligence officer.
Megatron and the two Seekers looked at each other, then busted out laughing. Soundwave remained quiet. "Starscream, you are an idiot!"
"But it's true, Megatron!!" Starscream pleaded as he got back up, desperately looking at Soundwave to confess.
"Starscream, you are banned from the Decepticons until I decide I want you back."
"You cannot do this!"
Raising his arm cannon, Megatron smiled, "Would you prefer termination?"
Defeated, Starscream stormed out of the base. "Soundwave movin' to music….." Thundercracker and Skywarp continued to laugh as they made their way back to their berths.
"Soundwave…" The Decepticon leader spoke where he stood still in the room.
"Yes, Megatron?"
"Maintain a perimeter around the base…if that idiot traitor is within three Earth miles of our base….make sure his wings are clipped." Megatron ordered as he left the room.
"Understood…" Soundwave replied as he turned back to the computer console, which he repaired. He smirked again…
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