Tomorrow Never Dies...

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, but I do own Charissa Robbins/Saramus, Kaitlyn Powell/Shadowscream, Jose Razo/Shortpunch, Whiplash, Gunbarrel, Divebomb, Thunderwing, Buzzsaw, and Duelor. (Lots of OC's, whatever.)

Chapter Seven: Reborn

Shockwave contemplated for a moment, single optic glowing as he considered his choices.

"There is. But it is considerably longer and potentially more dangerous when the subject is alive."

Kaitlyn frowned, peeking over Charissa's shoulder. "Would you need to kill us to do it? Like Razo...?"

Shockwave considered for a momentonce more, before looking back at them. "It could possibly be less dangerous, although there is the chance of a failure and us unable to bring you back."

"Woah, woah, wait! You are NOT killing them!"

Charissa turned to Whiplash, frowning. "Why would you care? We're just humans."

"Yah? Well, you're human who give me a one way ticket to Megatron's good side, and you dying wouldn't help me much."

Charissa frowned, giving him an annoyed look. "Razo could always help you guys if we died."

"But I don't want you two to die..." Razo mused, twisting his talon fingers together nervously.

"I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him." Whiplash glared to the ex-human mouth contorting into a distrustful frown.

"It's because I'm Mexican, huh?" Razo glared, sticking out his glossa.

"Because you're a human mech, and my studies have shown you to be both untrustworthy and generally unintelligent."

"Unintelligent? I make straight A's!"

"I saw you had a B." Charissa reminded him, flipping her bang away from her line of vision.

"Okay, and a B, but still!"

"You never payed Charissa back for those movie tickets either!" Kaitlyn crossed her arms, sneering.

"Suck it!"

"Yes, but can you solve a four thousand eight hundred fifty three part algorithim within three point four nanoclicks? I can, and I'm one of the less intelligent bots. Shockwave here could kill you with logic, if he wanted to." Whiplash gave a smug grin, smiling.

"Well... I'm fun size! So beat that!"

"Poor, poor Razo..." Charissa and Kaitlyn gave identical facepalms, sighing.

"Beat the little one? I can do that!"

"For once, Duelor, I don't want to end your fun."

"No! No touching of the Razo!" Charissa pointed to Duelor, snarling.

"I can kick your-"

"Shush."

Aw..."

"Why doesn't anyone let Duelor have his fun?" The mech pouted, giving a displeased sigh

"Tell you what, Duelor. I'll let you and Shortpunch duke it out one of these orbitals, just to see who's better."

"Shortpunch?"

"Yes. Shortpunch. You're short, and I can punch you. Shockwave?"

"Stored and official. Welcome to the Decepticons, Shortpunch."

"S-Shortpunch? I don't want to be called Shortpunch! I want to be something cooler!"

"Hee, he's Shortpunch." Kaitlyn giggled, grinning.

"And who said I wanted to be a Decepticon?"

"You did, as soon as you chose Decepticons over death. Of course, it's not too late to change that."

"...Fine." Razo snorted, flipping WHiplash the bird when he wasn't looking.

"So, what're we going to do now?"

"Well, we can give him his new form, or see if you really want to become true Decepticons."

"I like the second idea." Charissa nodded, smirking.

"I'm still not sure I like the idea..."

"I assure you Whiplash, there is nothing to worry about. I will carry out the procedure myself. And you know how efficient I am."

"So…we have to die?" Kaitlyn and Charissa frowned, nervous.

"Not necessarily. The chances of complete success are up, but so is the mortality rate. Staying alive lowers the chances of a complete success, but lessens the chance of absolute death. The choice is yours."

"I say they flip a coin." Shortpunch mused, smirking.

Charissa shrugged, taking a quarter from her pocket. "Heads, stay alive. Tails, die."

"Nah, who needs a coin?" Whiplash grabbed Shortpunch's leg, flipping him into the air. "He lands on his head, stay alive. His aft, you die."

Shortpunch frowned, glaring. "Humph. Asshole."

Kaitlyn frowned, her expression hesitant. "I don't wanna die..."

"I DO! I want to see what it feels like!"

"Eek." Kaitlyn gave a fearful frown at Charissa's statement.

"Up we go!" Whiplash tossed Shortpunch into the air, his body flailing around. He fell behind the counter, out of sight, and all anyone could hear was a crash and a moan. Buzzsaw leaned over the counter, a grin on his faceplates.

"He's kissing the ground! You stay alive!"

Kaitlyn grinned, giving a relieved sigh. "Awesome!"

Charissa frowned, shrugging. "Fine…."

Shockwave turned to the dark room, gesturing with his servo. "After you."

"Mmn... You sure it'll work?"

"I am 99.7% positive that it will, little ones."

They entered the dark room, where Shockwave lifted them up and placed them on the huge berth. A hiss rose from vents on the berth, and both of their visions became hazy. Just before darkness over came her, the last thing Charissa saw was Shockwave's single glowing red optic hovering above her. Then all was black.

X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X

"Ugh..." Charissa blinked, a LONG time later, her head pounding. "Ugh... Where...am I? What...happened?"

Shockwave's voice penetrated the fog in her mind, and a servo helped her sit up. "Congradulations. The operation was a success."

Everything was hazy, and Charissa looked around in a daze. "Shockwave... Am I... Like you? And... Is Kaitlyn alright?"

The strong servo helped her stand, her body swaying back and forth on her feet. "Yes, it's all right, both of you are fine. She's just waking up now."

Charissa coughed, looking to Shockwave. She heard Kaitlyn moan, and the ex-human dizzily sat up. "Mmn... Are...am I alive?"

"Yah, Kait... You are..."

"Ohhhh, my head..."

"Come with me, you two." Shockwave led them to the doorway, the door itself sliding open and letting the light blind them momentarily. They could hear many gasps, however.

"What?"

"Is something wrong?" Charissa frowned, looking to the floro with a shy expression.

Shortpunch blinked, his bloody optics surprised. "No... Nothing at all, girls."

Whiplash could only stare, Duelor turning in suprise, Buzzsaw dropping the vial he was holding with a crash. Deluge looked proud, a razor-thin robot looking at them over his shoulder. Terradive gave them a glance before returning to his datapad, bored.

"Uh..." Charissa was just shy, frowning.

"Where's a mirror? I want to see how we look!" Kaitlyn blurted, putting a hand to her hip.

Terradive walked up with a full body mirror, placing it in front of them, then returned to his datapad.

Kaitlyn looked into the mirror and nearly fell over. She was tall, still not as big as the others though. Her armor was gleaming black and purple, her fingers and toes ending in razor sharp talons. Her head was longish and oval shaped, her optics rosy red and her mouth full of fanged dental plating, a grin showing them off. She had no alternate mode yet, so she mainly just looked like a protoform, without wheels or wings, her body very thin and curvy.

Charissa was surprised, staring at her reflection in awe. She was a bit taller than Kaitlyn, her armor black as night, accented with gleaming silver. Her optics were dark, blood red, her toes and talons ending in even longer and sharper talons. Her mouth was full of fangs like Kaitlyn's, but they were more defined. Her body was thicker but still feminine, a grin creasing her metal lips. "Wow..."

Buzzsaw walked over to Whiplash, pushing the larger Decepticon's jaw shut. "Impressive."

"Woah... Really?" Charissa smirked, walking forward, Kaitlyn following. "This is amazing... THis is just... Impossible, improbable! We're...robots. How? This is just...wow."

"Not impossible. Quite simple, really. I took a scan of your individual brainwaves and thought processes, digitized your memories, and implemented them into a Cybertronian processer." Shockwave explained, crossing his arms.

"Man, I love you guys!" Charissa turned around, giving a toothy grin and laughing. "I'm a huge ass robot! I feel so awesome!" Charissa giggled, slapping Kaitlyn a high five and waltzing over to Whiplash, Shortpunch, and the others. "Isn't this great!" She looked up to Whiplash. "I'm big like you!"

"Heh. Not quite as big."

"Yah? I bet I can kick your ass now!"

Kaitlyn frowned, flicking Charissa in the head. "Oh, shush! What're we supposed to do now? And where to go? Won't your boss wonder where we came from?"

"If he even notices you two."

"Notice? I'll MAKE him notice!"

Charissa turned to Kaitlyn, and they both nodded, pumping their fists into the air, singing out the loud words together.

"LET'S START A RIOT!"

Shortpunch did a facepalm, growling.

"You do that. And don't come crying to us when you find that only you three are tossing chairs around, as no one else wants to annoy Megatron."

Charissa huffed, narrowing her optics. "Well, fine! SO what're we supposed to do then? I mean, I'm a frickin' robot. And I'll make him notice me! I'm CHARISSA FUCKING ROBBINS for crying out loud!"

"Whatever happened to the girls?" Shortpunch randomly asked, looking around.

"I don't know. They probably went back to our room."

"Well let's go then! Show us off, man!"

"I bet I can beat her into sheet metal now!"

"Charissa!"

"Heh, good luck. She's top in servo to servo combat, she'd flip you over in a sparkpulse."

"But first thing's first. You need alternate modes. Shortpunch, that was the only mech form I had available, so you will be taking the form of an armored jeep. We will discuss weaponry later."

"A jeep? I wanna be an A-10!" He pouted, crossing her arms. "Humph!"

Charissa frowned, shoving Whiplash. "I know a lot of fighting styles too!" She paused then frowned. "Hey, why did you rename Razo?"

"Because his name was ridiculous."

Shortpunch frowned, glaring to Whiplash. "And Shortpunch isn't?"

Charissa cocked her head, then smiled. "Since we were basically reborn... Should me and Kait rename ourselves?"

"Sure. I don't see why not."

Uuuuhhhhh..." Kaitlyn thought for a minute, frowning. "Hhmm... If Razo's Shortpunch, who should I be...?"

Charissa was silent, her optics looking to the floor as she contemplated.

"I got it," Kaitlyn grinned, tappign her arm. "I shall be... Shadowscream. Since I love shadows, and I love screamo... Weird, but I like it."

Charissa finally spoke up, looking to the others. "For some reason, Saramus popped into my head. Does it mean anything?"

"Saramus? What made you choose that?"

"I dunno. It just randomly popped into my head, y'know?"

Terradive stepped forward, bartone voice overpowering Shockwave's cataloging of their names.

"Saramus means 'darkness' and 'malignant' in our language."

"It fits her." Shortpunch frowned, rolling his optics.

"I like it." Charissa...now Saramus, nodded.

"Suit yourself."

"Now, you'll need to scan alternate forms. Might I suggest ones with flight capabilities?"

Charissa, now Saramus, perked her head up, grinning. "F-22."

"We have that. And you, Shadowscream?"

"I'm not sure..."

"I think an F-18 Super Hornet fits her." CHarissa said, looking over Shadowscream.

"I'm sure we do. Megatron does like his arial assaults."

"Alright. After that, I'm going to see Mega-whatever. It's time to get known!"

"Heh. Just don't get to close to his left arm. He doesn't like that."

"Uh, why?"

"It's the side without a giant cannon. He thinks it's a weakness."

"Yah, fine. You gonna come? I don't know my place around here..."

Shadowscream and Shortpunch looked to the floor when Shortpunch spoke up. "Well, we don't wanna go..."

"Why?"

"Because you always seem to get us into trouble."

"Fine! I'll talk to him myself then!"

"If she's going, then all three of you are going." Whiplash said flatly.

Shadowscream snapepd her head up, glaring. "Uh, no. We don't have to if we don't want to! She can deal with it."

"Psss, I'm independent." Saramus frowned, tapping her foto against the metallic floor.

Whiplash frowned and nodded to Duelor. The huge Decepticon moved like lightning, grabbing Shortpunch and Shadowscream by their legs and hoisting them into the air, spining them around and tossing them across the room. They slammed into the far wall and slid to the floor as Duelor fired his cannon arm once, blowing a smoking crater in the wall between their heads.

"Now imagine your legs crushed from the pressure of the grab, and your heads where that crater is. That would be Megatron when he's feeling merciful. Would you like Saramus to go through that alone?"

Shortpunch was quiet, then nodded. "Yes."

"Hey!"

"Oh good. This means I have an excuse to shove my drill up your exhaust port! Come here!" Whiplash's drill began spinning as he stomped forward, reaching for Shortpunch with his other arm.

"Bah! Whatever! WHy do you care so much for her anyways? Why don't you just go with her?"

"I AM going with her! Multiple targets means a less likely chance of Megatron damaging my one chance at getting promoted!" He grabbed Shortpunch around the throat, lifting him off the ground. "So you're coming with us, whether I have to do it using you like a puppet on my drill or not!"

"Don't hurt him!" Saramus gasped. "He'll go!"

"He'd better." Whiplash tossed Shortpunch aside, sending him into the counter and turning to the door. "You best get used to that. It's the Decepticon way. You either get strong, or get dead."

"I am strong... And I'm not an asshole either." Shortpunch pulled himself up with a grunt, snorting.

Saramus crossed her arms, glaring. "You don't have to be such an ass, y'know? You act like one of those stupid bullies."

"Hey, I'm doing this to keep you all alive. You either toughen up, or the Decepticons will spit you out like scrap."

"We're already tough! I bet I could drive you through the ground without even trying." Saramus walked over to Shortpunch, putting her arm around him as Shadowscream came behind him. "And you don't have to be a total dick about it, okay?"

"Fine. Prepare for the worst when you meet Megatron. Let's go get our alternate forms."

"Whatever. Let's go."

Whiplash led them all back to the elevator, letting them all inside before squeezing in himself. It was a tight fit, now that they were all robots. The elevator decended once more, sending them even further into the base.

"Mmn..." Saramus frowned, watching as they descended in silence, still astounded by what she now was.

The elevator stopped, the door opening and letting them spill out into a large room. Hundreds of different vehicles saat in the dim room, ranging from supersonic jets and deep space exploration rockets to sports cars and pickup trucks. Buzzsaw led Shortpunch to a thick, powerful jeep, military class, thick armor making it nearly indestructible, large cannon resting on top.

"Woah. I kinda like this..."

Saramus looked around, smiling. "Awesome... Where's ours?"

"Over there." Duelor jabbed a thumb at two jets sitting side by side, powerful and sleek.

Saramus and Shadowscream walked over to the jets, grinning as Shortpunch stood beside the jeep. "Uhm... Now what?"

Whiplash walked behind Saramus, gently pressing the side of her head. Bright lights burst from her optics, waving over the jet. The sound of metal shifting could be heard as she gained strength, height and power with her new form.

Saramus stood slightly taller, her armor a deep black with silver accents, triangular, sleek wings jutting out from her back and above her hair. It looked like she was wearing silver fingerless gloves, her toes and digits ending in talons. Her optics had seemed to grow darker with a tinge of topaz in them, and her head was cylindrical, having a small olfactory sensor and mouth, which was filled with fangs, her two "Canine" teeth more distinct now. Her cockpit was a dark purple tinted with scarlet, and she had a thick but curvy figure, her body sleek and strong.

Shadowscream pressed the side of her head and scanned the F-18 Super hornet, her body shifting and changing. When it was finished, she stood a little shorter than Saramus, her body a dark charcoal and violet. Her optics were a light rose, tinges of violet giving them a mysterious look. Her head was oval shaped, and her cockpit was dark black and violet, triangular wings jutting out from her back as well, just smaller and shorter than Saramus'. Her mouth was filled with short fangs, toes and digits ending in shorter, duller talons, streaks of violet accenting her thin, slim body.

"Woah..."

Whiplash was staring at Saramus, jaw wide open, optics locked onto her. "Woah..."

"Ah! Is something wrong?"

"N-no. N-nothing's wrong."

"Then stop it!" She frowned, looking to Shortpunch, who was simply gawking at the jeep.

"Oh, uh. Achm." Whiplash blinked, shking his head and closing his mouth, glancing away, a slight purple tinging his optics for a moment. He watched as Buzzsaw activated Shortpunch's scanner, the light washing over the jeep. His arms and legs became thicker, and very bulky. His shoulders and hips became wide rectangles, and his entire body had a vaugly refredgerator-esque look to it. The cannon rested on his back, waiting from him to activate it.

"I feel weird…."

"Well, it's you now."

"Wonderful."

Shadowscream stepped up, frowning. "Do we have to go now?"

"Not if you don't want to. Megatron certainly won't care one way or the other. Up to you."

"I want to go... They don't need to though, I can do it myself. I'm independent. And I'll make him care. I'm tired of being ignored..."

"It'll be more trouble for me if you don't all go. You may as well get it over with."

"Fine... I just don't want them to get hurt... Lead us to him..."

"Come on. They went back to the elevator, even more cramped with their upgrades. They rode it for about ten minutes, straight up until the doors clicked open. Whiplash led them down a series of halls, the doors becoming more and more intermittent until it was just blank walls and carved Decepticon insignias.

"Jeez... This is kinda weird..."

"Having second thoughts?" Whiplash inquired, smug.

"No way."

They continued down the hallway, stopping in front of a massive door, the Decepticon visage burned into it.

"...Going out on a limb, but I suppose this is it? DO we...just go in? Or what?" Sarmus asked, swallowing nervously.

Whiplash banged on the door three times, then pushed the door open. "After you."

A/N: Alright, so the ex humans are out to go meet Megatron. Wish them luck! Please, read and review! :}