Thanks to everyone who has been reading through on this story. Reviews are much appreciated since this is my first attempt. Since I plan on continuing this story for a while, any feedback will help me to better develop it further.

I own nothing but Heatseeker, Wingnut and a Honda Civic SI which I am convinced is actually a Decepticon plotting world domination while parked in my garage. That car is EVIL. :-)

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Blotches of color dance before her optics, shifting, changing and merging together as if they were participants in a cosmic dance. Beyond the quiet, she hears buzzing, whistling and something else. Something far away. Was that laughter? Her head feels like it's shrinking or about to explode. She really can't tell the difference as right now they feel about the same. The one thing she can make out clearly is her own voice. She's groaning in pain and sputtering. What was that? Who...? Oh. Through the colors she can see the ceiling to the comms room and realizes that she is again on the floor and on her back. She puts her hands over her face to ensure it' still there and laughs at the absurdity of doing do. Just because her brain gets fried doesn't mean all of her does.

She tries to get up and barely succeeds using the desk to lift herself up, she fails and falls back down. Her body is just too weak. Not once but twice! TWICE!!! Auuugghh. I can't believe he... yes, I can. Agh. My head hurts so bad that I can't even get angry anymore. Help. Someone? Hahaha. Right. She lies on the floor laughing, like anyone would come help. She turns her head to the side and sees Soundwave sitting back at his station, doing what he does best, watching everyone and everything. She in turn, watches him, hating him, since it's really all she can do for the moment.

A few breems go by before she gains the energy to clutch her way back up into the chair. A cycle passes before she feels capable of standing up. Giving Soundwave a very wide berth, she makes her way out of the room and down the passageway to her recharge bay.

She hopes no one saw her staggering attempt at walking back. She would have appeared drunk, thankfully enough. But even that is something she doesn't do often enough to be inconspicuous. The door closes behind her, she falls down and grabs her head again as she leans her back against the base of the recharge bed. The pain is unbearable and there is no cure for it but time.

She hears the soft hiss of the door opening behind her and she quickly stands up, banging her head against the edge of the bed causing her to swear. Ow! Oh, thank Primus. It's only Starscream. What the pit is he doing in here?

"I hear you had a little run in with Soundwave, eh?" He asks looking mildly amused

"There was nothing little about it and he hit me twice. Hard at that." She is squinting her optics.

" What did you say to set him off?" he is chuckling. "Twice."

"He tired reading me, again, and I told him 'I may not be able to put icy tendrils of pain through your mind but I can put a warm knife through it.' I don't think he cared for that too much." Her anger was growing with each passing moment of recollection." Then I called him a fragging mind scrambling bastard."

Starscream let out a small wicked laugh, "Once wasn't enough was it, Heatseeker? You had to go for another. I didn't realize you were that much a fan of pain." He looks at her with an amused grin.

"Pleasurable pain? Yes. Pain that humiliates me as I lie on the floor squirming in it's grasp? No." She looks as if she is about to race out of the door and introduce Soundwave to one of the knives she mentioned earlier.

"Calm down, calm down. You did have it coming. Don't say you didn't. After what you did to that little mouthy, pest Rumble. You've had it coming for a while. Even I was impressed with how long it took for Soundwave to get angry enough to repay you." He paced around her. " By now, he's surely told Megatron who, I am sure, is very pleased that you were brought to your defiant knees. He'll find someway to harass me about it later." He shakes his head. "That will not leave me very pleased."

" I didn't do it to reflect on you. I did it because I felt I needed to stand up for myself." She was definitely getting angry again. " I hate them both. Soundwave... always watching, listening, using our thoughts against us to win favor with Megatron. Megatron, everything is never enough for him." A dark, menacing smile plays across her face. " Soundwave does have skills we can use. You can use. But Megatron..." She lets her last words drift into nothingness. "I dream of the day he is no longer."

A menacing glare slowly takes shape on her face. Still obviously feeling the pain in her head, her face is contorted from it but her smile is pure evil. She looks him in the eye and says, "I serve you. One day we will all hail, Lord Starscream." Any chance he had of punishing her for the embarrassment her actions may cause him, she hopes is disappearing with her words of loyalty. She knows this game well. Put him on a pedestal before he gets angry and he maybe he won't put you on your aft. Aft kissing has become one of her finer qualities the last few vorns. She has learnt well from the master of it.

He smirks at her. "And what, pray tell, is your plan for dispatching our mighty leader?"

She searches for an answer and after few astroseconds finds something not quite resembling one, "I haven't thought of one. Yet."

He steps back, raising his hands up, "I didn't think so. I know you'll leave that part to me."

Heatseeker nods and shoots him a small wicked grin. She knows how much he loves plotting. Her head starts pounding again and she puts one hand on her head in an attempt to ensure it isn't about to explode like it feels like it might do any second. "I think it's time for a recharge. That's all that will make the pressure in my head go away."

Starscream nods in agreement, adding in,"you do look a little rough."

She walks over to the recharge bed and sits down on the edge of it. "After my 'charge, can I leave for a while?" her voice is tired and her request sounds half hearted but the pain that is evident in her voice she hopes is enough to make him agree.

"Yes. But don't get lost."

"I promise I won't." She lays down and closes her optics, hearing the door softly swish behind her. He's gone and didn't hear her soft spoken but pained, "Thank you."

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She'd been wandering around on the abandoned roads for about a two cycles when she first felt as if she were being followed. Yet, every time she turned around to look behind her, no one was there. She heard no footsteps, saw no shadows, heard no voices but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was there. A few more kliks passed when she found somewhere to sit. It was quiet here. No fighting, no battle torn buildings. Just an undamaged and neutral area on the edge of a destroyed region. The perfect place to gather her thoughts.

She still feels the presence near hear. Even though she had recharged after her encounter with Soundwave, her head still pounded unmercifully and she still felt drained. The mere idea of a fight, even in self defense, just isn't settling well with her at the moment. Not caring if she sounds insane or not, she calls out in an aggravated but tired voice, "Look, I don't know who you are or what you want. All I know is that you've been following me for an awfully long time and it's pretty annoying." She waits but there is no response.

Irritated, she switches her optic mode to thermal, if anything is out there she'd be able to see it now. She looks around her from right to left when she sees him. The thermal form of a mech is leaning against the wall to her left, not too far away from her and facing her direction. There is a shifting field of energy around him. Ha, a cloaking field that explains it. She returns to her normal optic mode and he is gone. Slightly entertained by this discovery she laughs as she switches back to thermal, he was now moving towards her.

Now slightly alarmed, she speaks threateningly to the stranger, "Stop right there unless you want me to unload a couple of rounds in you." She holds up her left arm and points it at the form approaching her, her hand disappears and a plasma cannon reappears in it's place. It starts to spin as she powers up. Obviously seeing this and recognizing that she was more than willing to use it, the form stops. "Thats right." She says slowly and carefully to the mech. "My weapon can see through your cloak. I see you as well so I think right now would be a good time to introduce yourself."

The colors of his form shift in her vision. She watches the cloak disappear and returns her optics to their normal mode. Standing in front of her is a blue and white mech with an obvious Autobot insignia on his chest. He doesn't raise his weapon at her but she still doesn't lower hers. "Who are you, Autobot?" She remains seated. " And why are you following me? You better answer fast."Her cannon was ready.

"My name is Mirage. I was following you out of curiosity." His unique voice is unnatrually calm considering that he has a cannon pointed at his chest. Mirage's body language has the same air of self importance as Starscream's. She finds this quite amusing. "You try to tell me that a Decepticon femme wandering around by herself isn't the least bit odd to you?"

Hmm. Cheeky son of a glitch... She stands up, being a bit taller than him, she looks down her red eyes trying to bore their way into his spark and practically growls, "Does it look as if I can't handle my own, Mirage?"

He raises his hands to her, not defensively but to accent his point, "I'm not here to fight you. I only followed you to see why you were wandering about," he looks closely at her face as she squints in pain again," obviously injured. This is the last place I expected to come across a Seeker. Alone. It's strange." He isn't the slightest bit scared of her and that intrigues her.

The pounding in her head starts again, she sits back down and raises her hand to her forehead. She lowers her left arm as it changes back to a hand again. She's not up for a fight and the Autobot hasn't armed his weapons. "Can you still be heard if you speak while you are invisible?" she asks him, a look of worry crossing her face.

Mirage eyes her carefully before responding with a suspicious sound in his voice,"Yes, why?"

"Then please do so. If I'm seen conversing with an Autobot, I'm going to have nothing but trouble unless I end you shortly there after. Being accused of talking to myself, I can deal with. I've dealt with worse. I'm not in the mood for killing today." She looks off into the distance and mumbles, "surprisingly enough." When she turns back he is gone. "Are you still there?" She is tired and doesn't want to keep switching her optic mode, it'll lead to worse pounding in her head if she continues to do so.

His disembodied voice answers back, "Yes, now tell me who you are and why you are here."

She nods and looks around seeing no one still. "My name is Heatseeker and wandering around is normal for me. I do it so that I can think in peace. I'm sure you can imagine that peace and tranquility aren't commonly found amongst Decepticons." She snorts at the thought of everyone actually being silent and argumentative for once." I usually keep to abandoned battle fields but lately, I'm tired of the destruction I see." He doesn't respond, she but she continues anyway, "We're destroying our home one city at a time. If we continue, there won't be anything worth fighting for anymore. For either side. Just a dead hulk in space, populated with the ghosts of it's past." She doesn't know why she is sharing this with this complete stranger.The enemy none the less. If she killed him right now, no one would look twice, but having a conversation with him is playing with fate.

This simple conversation is treason enough in the eyes of her so-called comrades.

Mirage doesn't know what to think. Should he believe this Decepticon? Deception is in their nature but she could be telling the truth. She also seems to tired or injured, he isn't sure but she keeps rubbing her head and wincing. He takes a chance that she is telling the truth. "Ah, doubting your purpose I see. No wonder you needed to get away to think. Doubt amongst your kind isn't exactly a good thing." He sighs also sounding tired,"I'm tired of the war as well. I wish we could all get it over with and agree to whatever we need to to get back to leading normal lives. But only Primus only know's when that may happen." He notices that dark cast on her face seems to lighten a bit at hearing his words.

Her grimace clears a little and lowers her hands to her lap, "I'm glad I'm not alone. Ha. Well, I am amongst the Decepticons, I'm sure of it." She stares off to a nowhere neither near nor far, then stands up, rubbing the back of her neck and wincing again, "I have a weird question for you. Do you guys have any telepaths that make a sport of scrambling your logic circuits when the mood strikes them?"

"Um. No. Not that I'm aware," he gives her an odd look. She's right, that was a weird question. He doesn't ask her to elaborate, though.

"Consider yourself lucky." She lowers her hand and sighs," Look, Mirage, this conversation didn't happen. Normally, I wouldn't have let you lived longer than it took for me to see the insignia on your chest. I can't explain it, but this isn't normal for me. I don't expect you to keep it to yourself, I am the enemy after all. But should it get back to..." she looks away and then down appearing sullen. She can feel the change in his demeanor.

He feels the weight of her words and doesn't doubt them but feels that there is more to her than what she has let out thus far. "I understand" he assures her.

She turns to the direction of his voice, "I must go now. Maybe we'll meet again someday." She doesn't hear his response, doesn't know where he went. She walks away and then transforms back to her jet mode to return to base.

All she thinks about during her flight back is the conversation with the Autobot. Why she even spoke to him, she is unsure, but she worries that even that was too much. She berates herself for talking to him, but what is done is done. She can't fix the past now. Her mind disagreed but her spark felt the need to talk to him. Maybe the war is finally twisting my logic? Or maybe she is that tired of it all. She doesn't know, but the confusion is setting itself into her mind. What is her spark trying to tell her? She doesn't know but she understands that if ever she needed to keep her thoughts to herself, now is that time.