Chapter 7
Caught again!

"Uh... Hello?" Stripes called out. "Anyone here?"

Silence. He cautiously approached the building's entrance, when he heard Bubmblebee on his radio.

"Slag it, Stripes, come in!" He cursed.

"Bumblebee?" Stripes said. He knew right then that his radio doubled as a c.b.
"We thought we lost you! I told you to wait up!" Bumblebee snapped. "Where are you?"

"...I'm in Ieacon." Stripes said, looking up at the tower. "The center of the city... Well, At least I think its the center of the city. I'm in front of a large tower that looks over it..."

"The old council building." Bumblebee deduced. "Alright, go inside the building, but stay there and keep your tunes off unless we need a way to find you. The last thing we need is some Decepticon snatching you up out of nowhere."

"Okay. Point taken..." Stripes said.
Unfortunately, he didn't realize Cross and Razor creeping up on him until it was too late.

Cross and Razor had been silently creeping up, their feet pedes not making a sound. They saw Stripes' display of driving through the city, and had followed. Razor held a copy of the immobilizer in his hand. Granted, it wasn't as powerful as the original, but Megatron said it would do.

Razor got up right behind Stripes as he was talking to someone on his radio. He looked over to Cross. He was in position, and nodded to him. He was taking the shot.

He took the immobilizer and shoved it into Stripes' frame. He cried out in pain, arching his back and grinding his dental bands together. as the current ran through his body. He heard an Autobot yell for Stripes to respond over the radio, but to no avail. Stripes soon went out cold, the foreboding envelope of stasis welcoming him in as he fell into Cross's arms before he even had a chance to hit the ground...

"Stripes! Stripes, come in! Slag it, say something!" Bumblebee yelled, as they raced towards the council building. They had just arrived in Ieacon, and were now on edge thanks to the latest radio transmission they received.

"I've got a fix on him, and two possible targets!" Ratchet said. Bumblebee surged ahead, Arcee right behind him.

They got to the council building, seeing two unknown bots, one with Stripes slung over his shoulder joint. One looked like it was a cop bot, with black and white paint, with siren lights on him. The other he didn't recognize at all.

Bumblebee and Arcee changed modes, aiming their arm cannons "Freeze!" Bumblebee shouted.

"Shit!" The cop bot said "Keep 'em busy, Razor! I need to signal our ride!"

"On it, Cross." Razor said. All the tips of Razor's fingers then opened up to reveal barrels. They were multi-barreled machine guns! "Freeze, huh? How about I just give you 'the finger' instead?" Razor snarled, firing.

"Take cover!" Arcee and Bee dove behind buildings as the street was blanketed by gunfire. Bumblebee then got on his radio.

"Ratchet, we need everyone over here! We need backup! Stripes is being abducted!"

"...And By Decepticons, no less!" Ratchet said.

That's when Bee noticed a shadow loomed over the city. It was the Nemesis.

Bee turned his attention back to Razor, whom was still firing off rounds like no tomorrow. A ground bridge opened up, Cross and Razor running through it as they laid down covering fire. Bee got out from behind the corner he was using as cover, rushing forward in an attempt to get to Stripes before the ground bridge closed.

But it was too late. Cross and Razor stepped through the ground bridge, and it disappeared behind them. The Nemesis then took off, fleeing the scene as it went into orbit.