Disclaimer: 'Transformers' does not belong to me, It belongs to ye olde Hasbro.
Also, just want to say a big thanks to all the people that have reviewed so far, thank you!! I love hearing what people think.
PROTIHEX: OUTSKIRTS
Having traveled all the way from Autobot HQ in Iacon, Magnus was glad to be nearing his destination. Magnus wasn't small by any standards, so he didn't get around as fast as some of the younger Autobots, but that certainly didn't mean he was slow. Hot Rod had found this out on numerous occasions. Magnus decided it was time to contact Grimlock.
"Grimlock, this is Ultra Magnus."
There was a crackle, and then a gruff voice responded, "This Grimlock."
"I'm nearing your coordinates now. Are The Wreckers there yet?"
Grimlock snorted. "No, Wreckers never on time. Who care about Wreckers anyway?"
"I care because I need to speak with them," Magnus said firmly.
Grimlock laughed. "Magnus hot head."
"Me? A hot head?" Magnus sighed, exasperated. "Grimlock, I'll see you in a breem or so."
Magnus cut off the transmission and continued speeding to the meeting point. Any time spent with Grimlock and his team was often too much time. They were a team that most found difficult to understand and get along with, and they liked it just fine that way. Magnus knew he was in for a stressful time, but he was the best 'bot to do this. Not to mention it was part of his job description, being the Autobots' spokesman and all. He remembered the time Prowl had once tried to work with Grimlock…Things had been problematic to say the least…
After driving along more deserted, dull ground, Magnus spotted the distinctive form of Grimlock ahead. He had his back to Magnus with his hands on his hips, and appeared to be talking to the rest of the team. Grimlock undeniably had a natural air of authority about him. Many mechs had been fooled into thinking Grimlock was lacking in the intelligence department or unfit for leadership simply by the way he spoke, only to be proved sorely wrong. Often literally. Grimlock was actually a skilled commander and strategist. Rumour had it that he spoke the way he did on purpose so mechs really did think he wasn't very intelligent, as Grimlock viewed most of the intelligent as weak fighters. That way, they thought he just did everything through brute force and sheer toughness, the image Grimlock liked to project. There was certainly much more to Grimlock than met the eye.
Hearing the sound of Magnus' engine approaching, Grimlock turned around.
"Well, look who it is. Little Prime," He grinned. 'Bots often got a bit worried when Grimlock grinned. You couldn't blame them.
Magnus transformed to robot mode, grimacing slightly at the nickname Grimlock regularly used for him. He had given up nagging Grimlock about it as it only fuelled his use of it.
"Hello, Grimlock. Slag, Sludge, Swoop, Snarl," Magnus nodded his head acknowledging each of them. Each repaid the gesture.
Ultra Magnus took a quick scan of the area. It was an old, disused factory, or what was left of one. Like most of the area surrounding it, it was falling to pieces. It was probably a factory that had been raided by the Decepticons and left to deteriorate, Magnus processed.
"Me Grimlock and Thrash Force busy. We not wait long for Wreckers. We not have to wait for anyone." Grimlock said firmly.
"Yeah, Thrash Force not do waiting," Swoop added.
"Oh, I know," Magnus smiled, choosing his words carefully, "I know it's…demanding, but please have a little patience, this is important," He finished, turning to face them.
"Hmpf," was all he got from Grimlock, who crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'm going to contact Springer right now, and find out their current position. Bear with me," Magnus said calmly.
Grimlock surprisingly relented a little. "Okay, Little Prime. We wait bit longer. No more."
The rest of his team voiced their agreement with their leader, beginning to weary Magnus slightly. He turned around and tried getting through to Springer. It didn't take long.
"Springer, this is Ultra Magnus."
"Whoaa! This is Springer."
Magnus could hear a lot of noise in the background, mainly the sound of engines gunning and occasional shouting. Just general Wrecker noise.
"Erm, Springer. Protihex, ETA?"
"Oh yeah, we're running a little late, right? Sorry, but we've just had a TONNE of fun with Devastator. ETA…very soon," Springer finished smoothly.
Magnus frowned, "Very soon? Can you give me a more-"
"Keep looking," Springer terminated the transmission.
Magnus sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. He peered around the surrounding area with his big blue optics. Sure enough, a few nano-kliks later, the form of seven vehicles came speeding and flying towards them from the distance. Magnus couldn't imagine the amount of Energon the Wreckers got through. They were constantly on the move and always at top speed. Things with them were never boring, and he could see why Hot Rod often mentioned offhandedly that he 'wanted in' with The Wreckers.
As they got closer, the noise became almost unbearable. Coming up close- too close for Magnus' liking-, they came skidding to a halt, all trying to out-best one another. Twintwist bumped into the back of Topspin, spinning around wildly. Kicking up dust everywhere, they transformed.
"Every time, Twintwist, every time! Watch the fraggin' thrusters!" Topspin complained.
"How does he do it?" Broadside said, shaking his head and flexing his joints.
"With great skill," Twintwist answered for himself, grinning.
"Yeah, the skill of Devastator at a game of hide and seek," Roadbuster snickered.
Springer ignored his teammates, walking up to Magnus with a brilliant grin on his face. Springer was an attractive looking mech with a constant sparkle in his optics. He had an abundance of confidence and optimism, always looking on the bright side of life. The bright side of course being the thrill of combat and destruction of Decepticons.
Springer grabbed Magnus' hand, shaking it vigorously. "Hey, Magnus, how's it going? Long time no see, pal."
Magnus smiled sincerely. "Indeed. Prime sends his regards. Things are okay for the most part."
"Nice, how is the big fella? His arm sorted?"
"Yes, fixed without any complications. Prime is well."
Looking behind Magnus, Springer waved at Grimlock. "Hey Grimlock, how's things with Team Bash Brains going?" He joked
Grimlock shot up straight in annoyance. "You wrong! Thrash Force! Get it right, stupid," Grimlock huffed. The rest of the team stirred slightly, not finding it funny.
"Yeah, same difference," Springer brushed it off.
Grimlock growled, Slag and Snarl latching onto both of his arms, holding him back.
Standing behind Springer were the rest of the Wreckers. Roadbuster was cleaning his rifle, whilst the others dusted themselves down first. They had all evidently just come out of a fight; they were covered in fresh scratches and grime, minor damage and cracks in their armour. All in a days work for the Wreckers. They didn't always come out looking this good.
"Sludge say you guys look like mess," Sludge said pointing a finger at them.
"No slag! We've just had some playtime with Devastator. Funnily enough, he likes to wreck things," Topspin joked.
Grimlock growled, optics glowing. Topspin quietened down.
Taking the silence as his opportunity, Magnus spoke,
"Okay, everyone, just a moment," He said calmly, turning to Springer, "Springer, what happened with Devastator?" He asked.
"Heh, same old. Megatron had the Constructicons working on some Energon pit in Kalis. We went and crashed their party, they got all pissy and merged into Devastator. Nothing we couldn't deal with, huh, Wreckers?"
"Ain't nothing we can't deal with," Whirl answered, clapping his hands together.
Grimlock snorted.
"How did you guys deal with him?" Magnus asked curiously.
"Offered him some Energon Goodies!" Roadbuster joked.
"Me and Broadside distracted the dope in the air whilst the others wound a chain around his ankles. Came down like a tonne of Energon cubes," Springer smiled at the memory.
"Yeah, didn't take long 'til they split and scattered," Roadbuster continued, still focused on cleaning his rifle. His rifle was his baby, just like the rest of his weapons.
Magnus rubbed his chin. "Strange, it's been quiet on the Decepticon front in Iacon. But we've got other problems, which brings me to why I gathered you all here. Everyone, please close in," Magnus instructed, motioning with his large arms for everyone to gather around. They did so, Springer and Grimlock standing either side of him.
"The information I'm about to share with you is strictly confidential and extremely dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands, namely the Decepticons. No one else is to know," Magnus paused for emphasis, looking at them. They all nodded in understanding, except for Grimlock, who Magnus knew just wanted to be awkward.
"Little Prime, get on with!" Grimlock urged impatiently.
"There is a drug- a dangerous one- circulating around some of the rougher parts of Iacon. We're currently unaware if it extends outside of Iacon. Some Autobots have had difficulties dealing with its users. One Autobot, Bluestreak, is still in stasis lock after attempting to restrain one."
A few frowns were evident on his audiences' faces.
"Ratchet has learned that this drug is a type of stimulant, and increases strength and pain tolerance at the cost of the user's self control. They become extremely violent and are indiscriminate in choosing who they attack. One distinguishable feature of its users is glowing neon-green optics. They-"
"Wait a nano-klik," Springer cut in. The other Wreckers were looking at each other.
"Sounds familiar, don't it," Twintwist said.
Magnus narrowed his blue optics.
"Yeah. We encountered some glitch like that. He had glowing green eyes like you described. Was down some road in Kalis," Springer said, rubbing his chin.
Magnus looked intrigued. "Is that so? What did you do?"
"Blew his head off," Roadbuster said plainly.
"Yeah, damn glitch wouldn't stay down! Even Springer got knocked down on his aft," Whirl said.
"Did anyone get hurt?" Magnus asked.
"Probably hurts a bit having your head blown off," Roadbuster said.
"No, any of you?"
"No," The Wreckers looked at each other laughing.
"Though Roadbuster's got a nice ding in his behind," Twintwist added.
Roadbuster turned around and pointed to it for everyone to see.
"He went for us, so we took him out," Sandstorm said, more seriously. The Wreckers were often the type to shoot first and ask questions later.
"Understand though, Magnus," Springer said stepping forward, "He wanted to kill us. It wasn't shooting cyberfish in a barrel business. My guys don't prey on the weak. We've got too much honour for that."
Magnus nodded. "I know, Springer. I don't doubt you for a nano-klik."
Grimlock's attention span, or lack of, was at its limit. "Me Grimlock and team bored, what you bring us here for? So Wreckers can brag and make themselves seem tough?" He complained.
The comment did not sit well with The Wreckers.
"Got a problem with us, Grimlock?" Springer questioned.
"Me Grimlock bash your brains!" He shouted, taking a step forward.
Ultra Magnus stepped in front of him, holding a hand up. Springer stood there, not moving a circuit.
"Grimlock, you will do no such thing, unless you desire some time in the brig," He said, forever the voice of reason. "What I need to discuss with you all is important, there's a lot at stake here. I need everyone to calm down and listen."
Grimlock backed up reluctantly, grunting. "Okay, we listen, but only because we have nothing else better to do and me like you, Little Prime. Now tell us," He demanded, crossing his arms. Grimlock acted like he didn't care a lot, but he always knew when something had merit to it and required action.
The tension in the atmosphere eased slightly, and Magnus breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Prime sent me especially to acquire your help. This is a serious threat we have on our hands. If the Decepticons are able to obtain and utilize this drug, we could have catastrophic times ahead. We know Megatron would just love something like this; it's possible he could cause mass destruction on a scale we haven't encountered yet. Sure, we can deal with a few of these users at a time. But a number of Megatron's warriors? The Decepticon army?"
The faces around Magnus appeared much more serious now, tensions from earlier already seemingly forgotten. The scope of things was settling in.
"What we need to do is contain this problem. We will arrest and detain any user's, or those found with the drug in their possession, and will try and eliminate its production completely. But most of all, we will prevent the Decepticons from learning of and acquiring the drug. I realize how busy all of you are with other duties, but this has become one of our top priorities. We're going to need you to focus on this."
Springer nodded his head firmly, "Of course, Magnus. "
The Wreckers nodded their heads in agreement. They would be ready for anything, as was the nature of the Wreckers.
Springer and Magnus shook hands. "My boys won't let you down. They've practically got Deceptiscum radars built into them. Any Deceps come and try any funny business, we'll take 'em down and out."
"Good. I knew I could count on you," Magnus smiled. Turning to his left, Magnus addressed Thrash Force.
"Grimlock, what do you and your team say?" His smile had vanished. Magnus knew ordering Grimlock about was not the best way to deal with him, it just brought out his stubbornness. Asking him was a much more effective way of getting him to obey orders.
Grimlock was stood firmly with his arms crossed, the others at his sides. His optics narrowed. "We say we ready to bash brain's, what we waiting for?"
Magnus smiled. "Indeed, what are we waiting for?"
KALIS
Above Kalis, two cybertronian jets flew at what would be considered a slow speed for them. If anyone suspected it was because they were up to no good, they would be right.
"I bet there's a whole bunch of 'em at the Energon pits, Thundercracker. How about we take a look?" Skywarp grinned.
The more sensible of the two spoke. "We have to be careful though. We can't be seen snatching them. Megatron's orders."
"Yeah, aren't we all," Skywarp said absent mindedly, scanning below. Thundercracker didn't even bother mentioning that his reply hadn't made any sense. It was a perfect demonstration of Skywarp's lack of concentration and focus.
"No one sees us, okay, Skywarp?" Thundercracker wanted to make sure he understood.
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
"Good, otherwise Megatron will make us into a new footrest."
Skywarp growled in annoyance. "Thundercracker, shut up."
"You think I'm joking? How about that time he made Starscream be his desk for a-"
"Shut up! That's cause Starscream's a whiner. He should be melted down into…er…metal…rods," Skywarp said, struggling to think of something.
Flying over the entrance to an ore processing facility, Thundercracker spotted two mechs in conversation, totally oblivious to the trouble above them…
"Hey, Skywarp, there's our opportunity," He grinned to himself.
"Perfect. It's like taking Energon goodies from a minibot," Skywarp snarled in excitement.
Both diving down suddenly in synchronicity, the two seekers flew at low altitude. They headed straight for the two innocent mechs on the ground with great speed, transforming into their robot modes mere inches before crashing into them. All the two surprised robots saw were flashes of purple and blue zooming towards them. Before they had even had a chance to get a circuit into gear, the blurs of colour had grabbed a hold of them roughly. Megatron had selected these two especially for this mission.
"Let go! What are you doing?!" One shouted, panic stricken.
"What's the meaning of this?!" The other asked.
Skywarp shook the bigger one he was carrying roughly. "Shut up! What is this, 100 questions?"
"If you scream, I'll drop you," Thundercracker threatened.
"How about in those smelting pools over there, Thundercracker?" Skywarp grinned with excitement.
"Please, don't hurt us!" Pleaded the mech Skywarp was clutching.
"Shut up, slagger!" Skywarp growled, kicking him hard. The robot groaned. "Lets have a bit of fun, Thundercracker! I wanna see him melt!"
Skywarp took a sharp left and headed towards the collection of monstrous smelting pools. They were like horrid, swelling scars on Cybertron's surface from above.
"Skywarp! We're meant to be taking them back to Megatron!"
Thundercracker had barely got the words out of his mouth before he saw Skywarp let go off his wailing captive, and watched the doomed bot' plummet into the pool with a grin on his face. It was disturbing to see how like a sparkling's grin that face was right then.
"Haha, 'Cracker, look at his face, he looks funny," Skywarp laughed, pointing.
Thundercracker flew over to where Skywarp was hovering over the pool. His own captive was either in shock, or knew better then to make any further noises.
"Hahaha, he looks like Starscream in the morning," Thundercracker couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, 'cept Screamer don't look THAT good."
If there was one thing the two seekers loved, it was mocking their other member. Especially when he wasn't there to clump them around the head.
Conscious of the time, Thundercracker urged Skywarp along. "We better go and find us another robot, Megatron's going to get impatient."
"Yeah, yeah, won't take half a breem."
The innocent mech Thundercracker was clutching in his steel grip took one last look into the pool with horror, seeing the last of his friend disappear beneath the bubbling the surface...
DECEPTICON HQ – KAON
Amidst a room filled with complex and stunning technology, there laid three motionless robots on cold operating tables. All of the lethal looking tools within the room gave it its sinister appearance and most of the Decepticons tried to avoid setting foot into the room. All but one in particular, that is. Bombshell adored the place; he viewed it as his playroom. It was most often an unfortunate thing to become one of Bombshell's playthings…
Finally, to Bombshell's delight, Megatron came in. He had been itching to divulge his simple, yet workable theory to him, if only so he could engross himself in the work.
"Ahhh, Bombshell. Perhaps you can brighten up my day, unlike those two bumbling fools, Thundercracker and Skywarp. Tell me something interesting" Megatron stopped on the other side of the operating table Bombshell was standing at.
Bombshell grinned. "Why yes, of course Lord Megatron. I believe I have a theory you will find most interesting."
"Yes? Do share it, Bombshell…" Megatron could never place it, but he'd always harboured a deep dislike of the twisted scientist. He found him particularly irritating. However, his usefulness outweighed Megatron's personal opinion of the Decepticon. Megatron was always sure to keep a close optic on him, however…
"My theory is this," Bombshell begun demonstrating with his hands on the subject, "Simply by placing one of my cerebro shells here," He jabbed at the robots forehead, "then injecting them with the drug, we will be able to control them. They will obey us, and use their enhanced strength to do our- your bidding, Lord Megatron."
"You're going to place a cerebro shell in their heads amongst their cerebro circuitry, I never would have guessed…" Megatron couldn't contain the sarcastic jibe. "Good work, Bombshell, however, it better work," Megatron snarled.
The unease between the two was practically palpable. Bombshell looked his leader in the optics. "Of course, Lord Megatron. I will not fail."
His voice irritated Megatron in a different way to Starscream's.
"I trust this won't take long, Bombshell," Megatron turned, making his way towards the door.
Bombshell glared at the back of his leader. "Not long at all, Lord Megatron," The tiniest hint of sarcasm was evident in his voice.
Megatron disappeared through the door, and Bombshell gladly got to work, rubbing his hands together. "Time for some corruption!"
Inside the operations room, Megatron was lounging in his chair, something he very rarely had time to do. Between all the scheming and attacking, well, there wasn't much of a 'between' at all. Standing at his side was his most loyal officer.
"Prime and the Autobots must be quite suspicious now, Soundwave. We haven't made our presence known for a while," Megatron said, absorbed in processing.
"All the better to surprise them, Lord Megatron."
Megatron grinned, hands clasped together. "Ahh yes, surprise we shall, Soundwave, very soon…"
Megatron stopped talking and spun around in his chair at the sound of the doors opening.
"Lord Megatron, the work is complete," Bombshell gleamed, clearly proud with himself.
"Good, about time," Megatron said, despite the fact that it hadn't taken Bombshell very long at all. Rising from his chair, he missed the brief look of annoyance on Bombshell's face.
Bombshell lead the way to the lab, with Megatron and Soundwave following. Passing through the lab door, without holding it open for Megatron, Bombshell spoke again. "All three now have cerebro shells implanted. There's only one thing left to do now; put my theory to the test, put it into action. How you want to do that of course, is purely your decision."
Taking a half interested look at the three test subjects, Megatron snickered. "I know that, you fool. We will put it to the test indeed…in Iacon," Megatron's optics lit up. "Let them loose there. See that they get the Autobots attention somehow. They can all have some fun together," Megatron grinned, already imagining the ensuing struggle the Autobots were going to have, images flickering through his processors…
"This is fraggin' ridiculous."
"What, was ya planning on taking all three out on your own, Sunshine? You ain't that good," Ironhide mocked, trailing slightly behind Sunstreaker.
"Slag off, Ironhide," Sunstreaker growled, "They don't need the entire strike team to take out three glitches. Me and Side's could do this fine by ourselves."
"Why would you want to?" Ironhide never ceased to be amazed by Sunstreaker's lack of humour. To Sunstreaker, something was only funny if someone got hurt, it seemed.
Driving up front, Prowl had been listening. "That kind of defeats the object of a strike team, Sunstreaker," Prowl emphasized 'team'.
"Whatever…," Sunstreaker mumbled, apparently losing interest.
The team traveled in silence for a little while, the sounds of the city playing out all around them. The sounds of their home. The silence made Jazz remember something. "Say, has anyone heard any news on Blue?"
"Nothing. Poor kid…," Kup sighed. "Quiet without him pestering me. Too quiet."
"Ratchet's working hard," Prowl added.
Everyone was left to think for a little while, before Prowl spoke up again. "We are nearing the coordinates. Noise discipline from here onwards. That means the twins too."
Sunstreaker snorted.
"We'll take them by surprise. Remember: avoid using lethal force where possible, Prime wants some detainees for questioning. A dead 'bots is no good for anyone," Prowl sounded like he was about to continue, when a big chunk of metal flew out in front of him.
"What the?" He hit his brakes, and spun out, his side grinding against the object. "Ahh!"
The other Autobots slammed on their own brakes, barely avoiding piling into each other.
"Wooooo!" Sideswipe called.
Prowl was about to issue orders, when he saw a clearly beserked mech come charging at him from the side. His orders changed in an instant. "STRIKE TEAM, TRANSFORM! ASSUME YOUR DESIGNATED ROLES!"
The sounds of metal separating and circuits rearranging themselves dominated the area as the Autobots prepared for action. Prowl wasn't prepared quick enough. "Eurgh!" He shouted as he was tackled powerfully to the ground.
"The other two are coming!" Kup shouted, pointing his rifle to where the first robot had appeared.
Prowl had a look of gritted determination on his face as he struggled to remove the mech from a top of him, his arms quivering from the strength he was exerting to push him back.
Whilst the other three rushed off to deal with the other two threats, Kup and Sunstreaker stayed behind to assist Prowl. Despite his difficult predicament, Prowl had the mission objective first on his mind. "Kup…inhibitor claw…Sunstreaker…" He hadn't finished his sentence before they were both at his side. He was momentarily distracted when he heard Sideswipe shouting. Feeling weaker, he looked to his side and his optics went wide. Kup was preparing the inhibitor claw, but Sunstreaker had his rifle pointed out the mechs head. "SUNSTREAKER, NO!"
Too late. Sunstreaker pulled the trigger, a brief gleam in his optics. Prowl closed his optics to protect them from the flash.
Pushing the headless body off of him, Prowl stood up shakily, glaring at Sunstreaker. "WHAT THE FRAG IS YOUR MALFUNCTION? YOU JUST DISOBEYED A DIRECT ORDER!"
Sunstreaker never answered. He just glared back, smoke still pouring from his rifle.
"I'll deal with this later, we must help the others now," Prowl fumed, rushing off with Kup in tow. Sunstreaker followed behind.
Sideswipe was struggling with the larger of the two remaining robots. Wrestling with him, Sideswipe refused to go down. "Give it up! You can't match my skills, slagger!"
The mech suddenly caught Sideswipe by surprise when he lashed one arm out, dragging his hand down the side of Sideswipe's face.
"Ahhhhh!" Sideswipe screamed, "My optic! I can't see!"
With his right optic put out of commission, Sideswipe was immediately put at a disadvantage. Being at a disadvantage didn't put him out of the fight, however, it simply made it more of a challenge. About to pummel the mech with his newfound annoyance, Sideswipe caught his brother out of the corner of his good optic. "Sunny, I got him," He shouted, straining all his circuits to keep the robot toppling him.
Sunstreaker's face was the epitome of fury. "That's why you let him claw your optic out."
Drawing his fist back, he thrusted it into the robot's back. Sideswipe went sprawling as the robot stood above, roaring. Sparks flew and crackled, electrical moans coming from within his abused systems. Sunstreaker yanked his fist out of the mechs back, getting a few shocks as he did so. Prowl was over in an instant with an inhibitor claw, diving on top of the robot. Sideswipe didn't know if he had ever seen Prowl move so fast.
"He may be damaged, but he can still talk," Prowl spoke whilst applying the restraints. "No thanks to Sunstreaker, we have at least two sources of information."
Sunstreaker shook off his slightly damaged fist. "It's thanks to me you DO have one of those sources. He's lucky he's alive after what he did to Sides."
Sideswipe patted his brother on the shoulder, a silent gesture telling him to let it go.
"Why is it always you two?" Prowl asked, gritting his teeth as he yanked the robot up. "Jazz and Ironhide are managing to deal effectively with the other attacker, why couldn't you?" Prowl was annoyed and wasn't hiding it.
Sunstreaker looked over to where Jazz and Ironhide had the other robot pinned down, whilst Kup applied restraints. He snorted. "Yeah, and look how long its taken them," He knew it wasn't the point, but he didn't care. He just wanted to answer Prowl back.
"Time isn't the main issue here, Sunstreaker, and you know it, Effectively, you've disobeyed one of my direct orders twice: avoid using lethal force where possible," Prowl sighed heavily. "This will be dealt with appropriately when we return to base. I'm not wasting anymore time on you right now." He turned away from the twins, dragging his struggling prisoner over to where the rest of the team were.
"Hnn, whine much?" Sideswipe mocked.
Sunstreaker remained silent, glaring at the retreating back of his commanding officer.
"Almost done," Kup said, wrestling on the restraints. "Done," He stood up, flexing his arms a little.
"Not bad, Kup, my friend," Jazz smiled, despite applying all his strength to keep the mech held down.
"Yeah, not bad for a old timer. Lets get this piece of scrap on his feet," Ironhide said.
The mech struggled violently, but Jazz and Ironhide kept a firm hold of him.
"How's that arm, Ironhide?" Jazz asked.
"Ahh, it's nothing. He just pulled off some armour and yanked a few circuits," Ironhide played down the damage. He would just grit his teeth until he got back to base for repairs.
"Ohhh, you know who looks slagged off," Kup said, watching as Prowl approached. He went to go help him with the prisoner.
"The mission has gone well for the most part. Now we just have to get the prisoners back to base, the missions not complete until then," Prowl stated.
"It's not over 'til it's over," Jazz grinned.
"Hey, what happened to the other one?" Ironhide frowned. "He didn't get away, did he?"
"No, he didn't, Ironhide," Prowl said, turning around. "Perhaps you should ask Sunstreaker."
"Perhaps I will," He said quietly.
Prowl stared over at where the twins were standing, talking among themselves. Sideswipe was doing most of the talking and Sunstreaker was shaking his head a lot.
"Everyone, return to base. After the prisoners are secured, those that need to, go for repairs," Prowl touched the side he'd scraped in the initial contact, testing it. He winced. "Everyone, roll out."
Laserbeak silently slipped away like a shadow from his perch above the scene.
DECEPTICON HQ
Starscream knew exactly where he would be. He was so predictable, and that could get a 'bot killed. That was one of the many things that pleased Starscream about himself; he knew he was anything but predictable.
Entering the lab, he stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips, watching Bombshell fiddle around with some test tubes.
Bombshell didn't even look up. "What do you want, Starscream?"
"No, Bombshell, this may be more about what you want. I have something interesting to propose to you. If you are smart, you will meet me in one cycle at the top. Farewell!"
With that, Starscream left with a devious grin on his face, and an even more devious plan in his head.
A/N: I just want to say thank you to my beta reader, tomorrow4eva, whose help is invaluable to me, and thank you to everyone for reading. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated!