"Optimus!"
Optimus was brought out of recharge unexpectedly, and it took him a few seconds to register that Technostrike was standing in front of him.
"What is it?" he asked. The young femme seemed to be shocked, scared and angry all at the same time.
"It's Luvyna. Come and see," she said. Optimus was on his feet before she had even taken a step.
"Has she run away?" he demanded, following Technostrike to Luvyna's bedroom.
"No, it's worse." Optimus frowned. What could be worse?
They reached Luvyna's room, and Optimus was a little surprised to see almost all the Autobots standing in front of it, conversing nervously. They all stopped talking abruptly when they saw Optimus, and stepped aside.
"What's going on?" he asked. The door to Luvyna's room was open, but he didn't see her anywhere. He looked to Ratchet. The medic shook his head, and gestured to Arcee, one of the few 'bots small enough to fit into Luvyna's bedroom. She handed him a chunk of wood that appeared to have come off one of the trees outside Luvyna's window. The bark was rough and splintery, but there was no mistaking the three long gashes in the wood.
"Do you remember?" whispered Arcee. She seemed to be unable to say much else. Optimus' grip tightened on the wood, and he did not speak.
Oh, yes. He remembered. He remembered what those claw marks meant very well. What despair they brought to the families who found them in their home. He remembered those marks, and he despised them.
A small noise made him look up. Drifter seemed to be crying. Bumblebee put his arm around the black femme, emitting a quiet chirp. With a jolt, Optimus remembered that Drifter had seen the claw marks in her own home, when she was a young sparkling. His grip tightened even more, and the chunk of wood nearly broke under the pressure.
"What do we do?" asked Bluestreak. For once, he had been completely silent. Optimus opened his hand and looked at the wood.
"We plan. We act. We bring Ironclaw to justice," he said.
"And how—" Chromia began, but Optimus cut her off.
"I will rip out his spark chamber and feed it to him," he said, and Chromia actually took a step back.
