A/N: Just a few more introductions of characters before the action begins. BTW, implications of rape and torture, but nothing graphic. Also Lancer and Glyph are actual Autobot femmes I found on tfwiki, look em up! Reviews are requested and appreciated. I won't post the next chapter until I get at least three reviews.
Femmes and Sparklings Chap 4 – Uncle Optimus?
Leo – Rah
The small yellow and brown Exige made her way to the rec-room of the base, pausing every now and then to look out the windows of the base, observing the terrain of the hidden mountain valley.
'Earth is so different. Can't wait till I get to explore!' she thought, walking down a large hallway, fairly certain she had gone the right way. Leo-Rah pushed through a set of double doors on the left, finding herself in a huge room. Inside there were tables scattered around, a few 'TV's,' Energon dispensers, couches and a dance floor.
"Sweet!" Leo-Rah grinned to herself, and made her way over to a table where some of the other femmes were sharing Energon. Beta, Wildside, Quicksilver and the musical twins were softly conversing in Cybertronian as Leo-Rah approached.
"Hey femmes," greeted the Exige, and slipped into a spot next to Beta. The green and white Eos smiled serenely at her and offered her a cube of Energon.
"Leo-Rah, finally you come out of your room. I've been waiting for you girl," smirked a black, green and gold Ford Gt-40. Leo-Rah grinned back at Wildside, asking, "Who's your victim? I know you've got something devious prank-wise in that processor of yours."
"Who...me?" Wildside said innocently. She sniggered, mimicking a 'lips zipped' gesture.
"As long as you don't mess with our speakers again Wild, we don't care," scoffed Muse, writing down a section of beats to some lyrics on a datapad. Lyrica was next to her red swirled twin, looking over her shoulder, approving the selection of rhythm.
"But it made Elita laugh."
"And made me fagged off. Remember I landed you with Aquaris? Don't get on the wrong side of my speakers again," warned Muse, handing the datapad to Lyrica, who took it and nodded before subspacing it.
"Guys, don't start again. I think we all heard enough of this the first time around," said Quicksilver quietly.
"Quicksilver, tell Muse, she can't take a prank."
"I can, but not when it's to do with my speakers. You know they are my primary weapon, Wild," Muse groaned, hoping Wildside would drop it.
"You should all just shut up. Your annoying prattle can be heard from my table," whined a slightly bratty voice. The model- like, colourful Mini, Delira, had approached their table during the debate and was now looking disapprovingly at them.
"Shove your high-class 'noble' attitude where the sun don't shine, Delira," growled Muse. Lyrica quickly placed a placating silver hand on her sister, internally asking her to calm down.
Delira scoffed. Beta smiled at the pink, purple and gold model assuringly. "Please ignore them Delira. Negativity isn't good in the middle of a war," said Beta.
"You're a pacifist and optimist, Beta. Your words mean nothing," Delira said, before turning sharply on a high-heel and marching back to her table, nose in the air. Wildside cruelly imitated the model's walk, much to the amusement of Leo-Rah and the musical twins.
"What's got Delira looking like the Con's scatched her paint?" asked Arcee, coming up with her best friends, Firestar and Flare-up. They pulled in to a table next to Leo-Rah's.
"Just me 'n' Muse 'discussing' the prank on her speakers," smirked Wildside, slouching down into her seat comfortably. Muse sighed in exasperation at the mention of the prank again, much to Leo-Rah's amusement.
"You'd think she wouldn't be as picky. We're not cramped on the Star anymore at least," murmured Flare-up.
"And the fact we still function," added Beta.
"Cheers to that!" said Firestar, raising her cube. The femmes clinked their cubes together and drank.
"Heh, you femmes look like humans out of this TV show," chuckled a masculine voice. Jazz had walked in when the motorbikes did, but instead chose to observe first. The Zodiac sister at the table locked her optics with his.
"You were quiet," she said simply. Jazz shrugged. He did it all the time.
"Well, I am a saboteur. Much like your sister Cancera. You are Leo-Rah, yeah?" asked Jazz. He had heard of 'Starblaze' the entertainer, but no-one had actually really known of the femme herself. The fact she was there intrigued him. And she wasn't bad to look at either.
"Yeah...Jazz, right?" Leo-Rah shot back. Jazz smirked in answer, discreetly admiring the femmes form. He always admired femme forms. She was small, but not tiny. Brown sensory panels on the sides of her helm looked like a lion's mane. Brown streaks on her forearms and calves stood out against the yellow of her armour, enhancing her shape. Blue optics stood out against the soft gold of her faceplates. She was not a statuesque beauty – but she was pretty damn fine.
"What's Earth really like? The terrain, you know?" asked Beta curiously. Jazz tore his optics away from Leo-Rah to register the archers question. He shrugged again.
"From what I saw of it before was put on bed rest by the Hatchet, pretty rockin. Con's hate it though, cos everything's too organic for them."
Quicksilver read between the lines in his words and questioned quietly, "What happened to put you on bed rest?"
Jazz gave a harsh laugh, "Like I say with the humans, what's with the 20 questions? Don't you gals worry 'bout it." He seemed to remember something and quickly notified the femmes, "By the way, got a comm. from Prime. Elita would like to see all femmes, Autobot and Neutral, in room G2, next hallway, in about 10 minutes, Earth time. Make sure you guys adjust your chronometers, let the other femmes know, and...Welcome to Earth," the saboteur winked, before ducking over to talk to Blaster next to an energon dispenser.
"Huh..." murmured Arcee. She looked at Firestar and Flare-up, wondering if they had noticed that Jazz was not completely his usual self. Maybe Elita would know if something had happened. Firestar and Flare-up both gave her small nods as conversation resumed around the table.
Leo-Rah was staring after Jazz. She might not be emotionally perceptive like Tauri and Cancera, but some part of him felt like a facade. The laugh when they asked why he was off duty...not real, forced. The all-rounder frowned. While the saboteur had been talking, she had been curious about the real him. He seemed charming, but was that a facade too?
The lion coloured femme took in the TIC's frame. Shiny silver plates, electric blue visor – an optic injury? – and a built physique, Jazz was fine on the optics. But what was he like, Leo-Rah wanted to find out, uncommonly curious for once in her life. Disbanding her train of thought for the moment, she resumed laughing with her friends.
.
Optimus Prime - office
Optimus Prime was one very satisfied mech. Having a bondmate who missed you as much as you missed her made for some interesting reunion interfacing results. Still, the flamed commander couldn't complain, not when he was so content. Things were starting to look up.
See, Optimus Prime had hid a little secret from his troops. He had not expected this many femmes alive after the destruction of Airol. At most ten femmes. But to have 52! It almost felt like they had won the war.
'You just feel that way because Elita just fragged your processor out,' smirked a little voice in the back of his processor. Optimus sighed in contentment. Not even datapads could wipe the smile off his face. Reaching to the switch on his desk, he made a little 'open' light come on above his door. He wanted any of the new arrivals to re-introduce themselves to him and have a talk if need be. Not even 5 minutes after he switched on the light did the door chime sound.
"Come in," Optimus called out, clearing a few datapads out of the way so he could rest his elbows on his desk.
An ivory mech with burnt orange Cybertronian tattoos stepped through the open doorway, bowing his head in respect.
"Greetings sir. My name is Maelstrom," said the Pagani Zonda. Optimus nodded and gestured to the chair opposite him. Maelstrom sat down.
"Interesting tattoos. That one I can't make out, but the others...Justice; Peace; Courage. Fitting for the Autobot cause," acknowledged the Peterbilt commander.
"What can I do for you?" asked Optimus. Maelstrom said nothing for a minute, staring at the desk, before meeting his optics with his leaders.
"I believe I may have some information to share with you in the whereabouts of one of Elita's original femmes," the young ivory mech said seriously, wanting to convey the gravity of the situation. Optimus's sensors picked up their frequency and he became more alert, inclining his head. "Do I have full confidentiality sir?" asked the younger mech.
Optimus made a noise of agreement. "How did you happen to come by this information?"
Maelstrom hesitated for a bit, then blurted out, "I'm this Autobot's son and she told me her full stroy before she offlined. Sir, this is a bit of a lengthy tale, so I would appreciate no interruptions or questions until the end. But please believe me sir, on the validity of this, and in my alliance with the Autobot army."
Optimus's optics narrowed at the last statement, but nodded his assent.
Maelstrom went on, twisting his hands together slightly. "The orange Autobot Lancer is my mother. The mission that she and Glyph went on and both were supposedly killed was actually an ambush by Shockwave and Soundwave. Glyph had the easier fate than my mother Lancer. She self-offlined herself, but before Lancer could also follow, Soundwave prevented her, placing a mind stop in her internal switch. They melted Glyph down and used her parts to make the Decepticon spy Flipsides."
"What happened?" inquired the commander before he could stop himself.
Maelstrom cycled air through his vents heavily before continuing, "Lancer was taken back to Kaon, back to the prisons under Megatron's base. The cells were empty, she was the only one there. She still couldn't self offline, even though she wished she could. They left her alone for a few days, giving her just the barest minimum of Energon to survive."
"Then, a mech came down. He...started to torture her in the cells. Electro whips and blades were his favourites. Then, one day, she stopped screaming at his torture, so he did something new. He forced her to interface with him." Optimus's optics widened in surprise, 'Con's never cease to stoop to a new low.'
"He also forced her to spark with him. It killed her inside to feel him in her spark, but when I was a youngling, she had gotten pretty good at blocking the bond. The Con didn't care about any grounders or other form of contraception, so Lancer found herself with spark. She decided to keep me, knowing I was an innocent spark. In the time before my emergence, she built a small hideaway in the wall by using the rusted cast off Con armour. The two times Hook visited her were to give her my protoform body. He had originally been sent by my creator so that she could stay functioning, and eventually he promised he would help her to look after me. Said sparklings should not be involved or harmed in a war until they were mature."
"Lancer was a true testament to Autobot courage, sir. Though she was a scientist and warrior, she managed to have me – with secret help – and raise me until I was a late youngling with light armour. She named me after her favourite weather event. She kept me hidden that whole time she was in the cells. Even though my creator did come down to hurt her, he only did it on what he called 'special occasions.'"
Maelstrom stopped, cycling more air through his vents in a nervous manner. "I grew up on my mothers knowledge of Cybertron. When I was almost into the 'teen' age, Lancer wanted me to escape. She knew she couldn't hide me for much longer, I was getting older. The opportunity came when Hook 'accidently' left the cell door open and a ventilation shaft plan on the floor. He's nasty, but not to young bots. Anyway, I escaped and went out into Cybertron for the first time."
"She told me to find a mech called 'Perceptor,' one of her friends from the science labs. I had to ask around a lot and many bots looked at me strangely, before I made my way out of Kaon and caught a hovercraft with a Neutral mech who knew Perceptor."
"What happened to Lancer?" Optimus broke in again, a sinking feeling in his spark.
The ivory Zonda swallowed before saying, "Not one orn after I found Perceptor, and he set me up with a job and everything, I heard some Con's in an alley discussing an event where an 'Autobot femme was found offlined in the cell.' Listening in to their conversation, I heard that my creator had come to see her and forced her to spark merge, but he had discovered the scar on her spark that meant she had a sparkling. He was outraged and bellowed at her questions as to where I was. She did not say anything. So he beat her until she was barely functioning. He then...apparently...ripped off her chest plates and simply plucked her spark out." A small tear of coolant leaked out of the Zonda's optic before trailing halfway down his cheek and disappearing into a seam.
"I...I've only told this to Perceptor, forgive me sir. I...I...felt the loss in the bond after the realisation. I had thought it was fear, but now I knew the truth."
"Elita will be very distraught at this news. I am glad that Lancer's sacrifice has not been in vain, Maelstrom, you seem like a good, honest mech," said Optimus gently. Inside, he was angry at the actions of this warriors creator. At the thought, his spark gave an ominous throb.
"Maelstrom, did you know whom your creator is?" the leader rumbled, wondering why a dark, cruel chuckle that sounded familiar floated through his processor.
Maelstrom was silent, looking at the right side of the room, biting down on his lower lip in hesitation, fearing for his leaders reaction. Steeling himself, the orange tattooed mech turned his helm slowly to look the Prime in the optics.
"My creator...(oh Primus give me strength)...is Megatron. You are my Uncle Optimus."
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A/n: I hope at least one of you saw that coming. Ok, next chappie is Optimus's reaction + the whole plot bunny that's been hopping around in my brain.
And isn't that little blue/purple review button so…..click-able?