Decepticon
Detroit City, Michigan
In the distance, the sound of explosions drifted close and then away. The panicked voices of many people could be heard, the law enforcement of Detroit doing their best to calm the situation and keep the pedestrians under control. The National Guard had been called in to help the full-scale evacuation from the city. Smoke was still rising from the industrial park that Soundwave had attacked, and NEST forces were diverting their attention to that location.
A shadow flitted in an alley between two buildings. The only discernible feature was the four glowing red optics centred in the figures head. The shadow stopped near a grass area where police cars had been abandoned, and waited, crouched like a predator.
A Carbon Motors E7 Detroit Police Car pulled away from the scene, blue poly-rhythms shining through its black design before disappearing into a big car park area east of his position. At that moment, an F-22 Raptor with Cybertronian tattoos dropped out of the sky and slammed into the car park.
The Decepticon Dread came out of vehicular form and bounced across the floor, bring himself to one knee before Starscream. His metal dreadlocks and tentacles flicked back and forth angrily. He spoke first.
"What did you do that for?" His voice was harsh and his English seemed stunted.
"I don't have time to deal with your questions, Crowbar. Listen closely..."
Starscream loomed over the Dread, but both were as intimidating as each other. Crowbar was part of an elite team of six Dreads: Crankcase, Hatchet, Dirtbag, Hooligan, and Dreadwind. Dreads were the elite assassin unit of the Decepticon army. They were lethal and skilled in combat and were extremely resourceful. They had an army of Enforcers and Assaulters.
Crowbar had four optics and mandibles like some kind of horrific predator or beast, and his most intimidating feature: the snapping dreadlocks that extended from his head. And his best skill was breaking and entering. "Could have just sent me a comm. This is a waste of time."
"Pay attention!" Starscream snapped. "You are to create a distraction around the stadium. All Autobot attention must be diverted from the NEST facility." Starscream projected a hologram of the city, a 3D map, and marked out the objective location.
"You shouldn't get so worked up, Starscream. You'll blow a gasket." Crowbar said, not interesting in what he had to do, but more interested in irritating Starscream. The tactic seemed to work, as Starscream lost it and punched a car out of the way. It's alarm went off as it bounced along the car parin sparsk. Starscream drew his saw and sliced another three cars in half and spat.
"Worked. UP?! I speak for Lord Megatron, you pile of junk! You will obey me!" Starscream yelled.
Crowbar didn't so much as flinch. "Sure thing, Lord Starscream." The Dread laughed, and the sound came out as a metallic scraping sound heavily remixed by expensive electronics. Starscream flinched at the sound, and gunned his afterburners to get away from the car park, away from Crowbar.
Crowbar slowed and stopped by the railings that separated him from the lapping waters of Lake Michigan. A cold wind blew across the water and the sky became overcast. He sensed Autobots guarding the radar on the other street. He extended his claws and started climbing up the building slowly.
He got to the roof, and walked slowly and soundlessly to the edge. He saw three Autobots guarding a radar/satellite dish below. None had noticed him. He silently drew both plasma claw blasters, and before any noticed, he jumped down and opened fire. His expert shots blinded one Autobot and decapitated the other.
He landed, cracking the tarmac beneath him, and shot again, knocking the blinded Autobot back in the water. The Autobot didn't resurface, so Crowbar guessed his circuits had overcharged in the earthen fluid. Crowbar's attention was snatched as a bigger Autobot came from behind the radar and opened fire with a shotgun, the shot lodging into Crowbar's shoulder.
Crowbar jumped in the air deftly, drawing a spiked weapon and landed on the Autobot's shoulders. The Autobot raised the shotgun and fired, and Crowbar dropped down and slammed the spiked weapon into the Autobot's knee joint. Energon bled out of the wound and Crowbar brought a knife across the Autobot's neck, sending the Autobot to the floor. A part of the car door came off and slid across the ground. Crowbar retracted the weapons, dreadlocks flicking, and approached the radar.
He knew that hacking into the radar would distract the Autobots and bring them all to his location...and they would find nothing. His tentacles-like dreadlocks ripped the covers off the radars base, and jammed into the wires, hacking it. The hack only took seconds and already he could detect a big Autobot presence.
With a clanging sound of metal on metal, he transformed into the Carbon Motors E7 police car and took the abandoned street towards the football stadium, mirror-like buildings rising high into the grey sky.
Autobots turned as they heard the engine, and one walked up as the CME7 police car pulled up. Crowbar knew he would have to kill them before entering the stadium, to reduce the risk of reinforcements. But the Autobot had been fooled by Crowbar's disguise. Within his vehicular form, Crowbar projected the holograph of a human police officer. The window wound down and the Autobot spoke.
"Where are you going, human? Optimus Prime has given us orders to make sure that every human gets out of here alive. It includes the local law enforcement."
Crowbar spoke through the human holograph. "What are you hiding?" He then paused, and chose other words. "There maybe humans taking refuge in the stadium. If you would allow me through to grant them safe passage."
This time the Autobot paused, deep in thought. His blue optics pierced through the holograph, not detecting the presence beneath. The Autobot turned and called a soldier wielding a shotgun over. The Autobot ran over, and stood to attention. Crowbar knew what he was going to say before he spoke.
"We have several Autobots within the stadium, there is-" Crowbar's doors started shifting and the arms broke out, holding bladed spears. The leader began to turn, ordering the turrets to open fire. Crowbar seemed to loom over them, the long dreadlocks extending and snapping. Before the Autobot had fully turned, he threw the spear and tore open the Autobot's throat.
The leader fell, bleeding the blue liquid that was Energon. Crowbar turned and threw the other spear, impaling another Autobot against a glass building. The glass shattered as the Autobot struggled. Like a deadly, trained acrobat, Crowbar jumped high over the turrets and drew both Cybertronian blasters and fired on them. The human weapons exploded into fragments and as soon as Crowbar hit the ground, the impact jolted him into transformation.
Several grenades rolled out in the path of those who pursued him towards the Detroit Stadium. All over the stadium were posters of Detroit Lions, the city's beloved team. The bombs exploded into blue plasma, ripping through the Autobots' legs. He entered the cool dark interior of the passage leading into the stadium, gunning his engines.
He entered the oval interior of the stadium, ripping up the astroturf in which so many players had struggled. Two radar dishes had been quickly constructed, behind the goal zones on each side. Crowbar transformed, sliding around in an explosion of grass. The opposition came swiftly.
One Autobot dropped down from the podium directly opposite the passage, another came from behind the touchdown zone on his right. The podium Autobot swung for him while the other opened fire. Crowbar dodged the shots with ease and took on the Autobot who had jumped from the commentary podium. The Autobot drew the gun on the slightly smaller Dread, who extended a Cybertronian knife and jammed it into his throat. The Autobot's finger pulled the trigger and Crowbar kicked the aim onto the other Autobot.
With the guardians of the stadium disposed of, Crowbar approached the first radar on the right side of the stadium, crushing the spectator seats beneath is feet. The first radar clattered into pieces when he climbed onto the platform. He realized there was nothing to find in the network as he scanned the other radar. He found out that the law enforcement Autobots were 'drones' called Omnibots.
He dropped down into the centre of the stadium, and listened. All transmissions from Mixmaster had gone dead. The last transmissions Crowbar had intercepted indicated that Mixmaster had 'neutralized' Ratchet and was locked in battle with the Autobot weapon's specialist Ironhide. But the sound of heavy feet hitting tarmac made him crouch like a predator and then he looked towards the passage to see a heavily armoured figure coming straight for him: Ironhide.
Crowbar took two steps backwards, drawing both Cybertronian blasters. Ironhide would not be an easy opponent, certainly not to fight or escape from. Both blasters extended to support heavier blaster fire. Crowbar would have to be quick to avoid the black-armoured Autobot.
Ironhide entered, two flintlock-like cannons on his back. His blue optics met the four of Crowbar's. "Punkass Decepticon." Crowbar howled like an animal, the howl echoing through the stadium eerily. And then two cannons revolved on Ironhide's forearms, spinning and ignited.
Decepticon sources had stated that Ironhide had lost these cannons in the airstrike that had ended the Constructicon drones in Egypt. But obviously the sources had been wrong. Ironhide snorted and raised his arms.
Orbs of plasma thundered towards Crowbar and he jumped, opening fire. the staccato sound of his Cybertronian blasters tore into the armor of Ironhide, but with no visible damage. The shots fired by Ironhide tore into the spectator-commentary podium behind Crowbar, tearing through the steel and seats.
Missile launchers flipped out on Crowbar's shoulders and he fired a hail, distracted Ironhide long enough to go for the exit passage. He had been told to divert the attention of the NEST forces, but he had not expected one of Prime's inner circle. He transformed and shot across the car park in front of the stadium, past the dead chassis of the Autobot sentries had killed.
NEST vehicles broke out their pursuit, with several Humvees. Crowbar swerved across the empty streets, and saw pedestrians up ahead. He slid to a halt and took a side street, knowing NEST would have to break off the pursuit to help the civilians. he appeared onto a different avenue, in time to feel a black GMC Topkick C4500 pickup hit him hard.
The impact sent him spinning out of vehicle form and dashed him against the ground. He slid across the tarmac, armour broken. Coolant spilled from his mouth briefly as he struggled up to glare at Ironhide. Even his sight sensors weren't functioning effectively. But he glared at Ironhide with deep malice and his mandibles extended viciously.
"This isn't over, punk. I've known enough of your kind to know you're just as weak as the rest." Ironhide said. He spoke with a British accent. Crowbar's optics rested on an overturned, ruined car and then back on Ironhide. His clawed hands curled.
Ironhide pulled the big flintlock weapons off his back. These were the MechTech prototypes known as 'Heavy Iron 2.0' and could devastate even the thickest of armour, and that is something that Crowbar didn't have. He desired flexibility over endurance. Far above, the sky had darkened and rain came down. Smoke rose up into the skies.
Something came over Crowbar's radio channel; a notification from Starscream. "Mixmaster has failed, but my attack on the NEST base has been successful. We know enough detail to mount our offensive. Meet me on the outskirts of this city...Lord Megatron will be interested. Then, I will speak with our asset." With that, the channel went dead.
Ironhide raised both of the Heavy Irons and fired. Crowbar picked up the car and threw it into the path of the warheads, detonating the car into fragments in a bright explosion. Ironhide covered his face, but when he looked back up Crowbar had disappeared.
The CME7 police car stopped inside a big office building. Here, he transformed, folding out of his vehicular form. His optics were fully back online, and he inspected damage in the reflection of the window. Out of it, he could see the damaged maw of Detroit, devastated and ruined by their attack. Crowbar crouched, and whipped around, tentacle-like dreadlocks snapping when he saw Soundwave walk out of the darkness with Laserbeak perched on his arm.
He had seen the glow of the disks and the optics long before he had seen the silver armour of the communication's officer. The robotic hawk that was Laserbeak chittered and laughed, seeing Crowbar crouched like a demon. Both of the Decepticons heard the sound of afterburners and turned as Starscream made his entry.
"They have been looking for us." He said, throwing the dead body of an Omnibot to the floor. Laserbeak flitted down and rested on the disfigured head. Starscream's fingers clicked; he seem to be filled with glee. "They have recruited more Autobots to their filthy cause. It seems that the deaths of Jolt, their fem-bots designated Arcee unit, and those idiotic Twins meant nothing to them."
Starscream projected information onto the inner wall of a building. It had once been a cafe and office building. "These new units are designated Warpath, Mirage, and the Wreckers: Roadbuster, Topspin and Leadfoot. We don't know the location of the Wreckers, but they are nothing more than foolish engineers for the wrong cause. Prime's inner circle include Ratchet, Jolt, Ironhide, Sideswipe, and that mute imbecile Bumblebee." Starscream spat the name, and Crowbar's mandibles clicked at the mention of an Autobot he wanted to be rid of.
"They are contrite in hunting down and slaughtering the members of our kind, but soon, they will become the hunted. The Autobots will feel what it is to be betrayed, to be hunted, to be broken apart! The humans will lose their trust in them, just as our human allies did...we have enough assets to spearhead Operation Pillar." The projections dissipated into thin air.
"These assets include Barricade, Lockdown, Crankcase, Hatchet, Dirtbag, Dreadwind, Hooligan and our army of Enforcers and Assaulters. The Constructicons served their purpose well; they were nothing but sacrifices to the Autobots." Crowbar bristled, believing that Starscream also meant that he was expendable too. Soundwave spoke over Starscream.
"They were useful. You were not authorized to secure their sacrifice. This will be dealt with on completion of mission." The communication's officer said flatly. Laserbeak flitted back onto his master's arm. Starscream bristled visibly, ready to hit either Soundwave or Crowbar. But this time he managed to get his irate mood under control.
"Optimus Prime is looking for us. I will tell my asset to keep him busy while we escape. We can't risk confrontation with Prime. We will meet north of here, across the border." Starscream said, all the time keeping his optics firmly planted on Soundwave.
"Is there anything else?" snarled Crowbar. Starscream turned on the Dread. "Nothing you should know yet, now move it!" With that, Starscream smashed the glass windows and disappeared into the skies.
