Chapter Ten: Caught
"Mornin', Guard."
I groan as something heavy leans on my midriff, and I slowly realign and on-line my optics. I can tell I'm still on Lockdown's ship, and I'm strapped down yet again to one of his examination berths. Lockdown himself is currently leaning on my midriff, wearing a sick, amused grin.
"You think you're such a hero," he said, baring his freakish teeth at me, "don'cha?" I don't struggle against my bonds; rather, I answer him,
"I guess so. What'd you do with the others?"
"Oh," he said casually, inspecting his claws, "you know. Paralyzed 'em, shoved 'em in a cell somewhere. I didn't have my fun with the brat like I wanted, but whatever. I have your little boyfriend to play with now. You can watch if you want. Maybe if he sees you, he'll reach ov—"
"That's enough," I snap, disgusted and irritated. I knew he was going to take us all captive, I'm not stupid. I just couldn't bear to see that little Autobot get hurt like that. I keep my body relaxed on the berth; I'm not going anywhere, so I might as well get comfy. Lockdown continues to smirk at me, and it starts to really creep me out.
"WHAT?" I snap again, turning my head to glare into his twisted optics. He laughs for the billionth time since we've met and answers,
"Nothing, Autobot, nothing. I'm just trying to envision your face when you watch my hands dance on his chassis, my glossa licking his sensitive neck, when I ki—"
"STOP!" I scream at him, enraged, "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" This time I start to struggle, anything to break free and kill this sick fragger. He laughs yet again and whams his elbow into my midriff. I would give anything at that moment to be able to bend over and hold myself, but all I can do is scream in pain and swear at him and writhe in agony. It's pathetic, and he absolutely loves every second of it. He's a sadistic freak who loves to inflict pain upon his unwilling prisoners.
An idea. A flash of light in my processor—of course! I pray to Primus this will work…
"L-Lock…d-own…" I gasp, trying hard to form comprehensible words, "If-If I l-let you…have your w-w-way…with me…will you p-prom…ise to let the others g...go?" He stops laughing and stares at me in shock. He's thinking about it, which is good enough for me, and he's mulling it over in his head, I can see it in his optics. He rubs his chin in thought, then his optics run over my entire body.
"Hmmm…Perhaps, Guard."
"Jazz."
"What?"
"My name is Jazz." He grins.
"Very well, Jazz. I do my thing and I'll release them. One at a time, in a way." Wait, one at a time? In what way?
"Explain," I demand. He shrugs and answers,
"What, you think one overload is going to free them all? I've been alone for a very long time, Jazz. One overload per Autobot. So that's…the old guy, the brat, the fattie, the Prime, your boyfriend and you. Six altogether. Think you can handle it?"
If I had been standing, my jaw would have dropped. I can do it, yes, but I don't want to. I remind myself that it's to rescue and protect the others, and if being forced to do this is what it's going to take, then so be it.
"Oh, one more thing," he adds, "they get to watch. Once we're done, I'll let you all go. Of course, I'll be wiping your CPUs so you can't tell Ultra Magnus, and at that point, I'll probably go kidnap him. Megatron will pay beautifully for the old mech."
"You sick fragger…." I growl, but he waves his hand and ignores me.
"No, no, there's no need for such hurtful words, Jazz." He starts to walk off, probably to bring the others in for the inevitable show, and so I wait. I off-line my optics, I try to think happy thoughts…I think about Prowl. How is he? He must be worried, frightened and angry. I don't want him to see this, I don't want Lockdown to hurt me, or anyone for that matter. Why are bad guys always so much stronger? Why is one villain able to bring a whole group of us to our knees? How do they do that?
The thoughts swim in my head as the sound of shuffling feet nears the main room. I can hear energon chains rattling, and I realize Lockdown must have everyone chained up to one another: no one can escape. It would have to be a group effort, and not everyone on the team is fast. Lockdown is smart, I'll grant him that.
Everyone enters the room, bewildered and nervous. Bumblebee stands right next to his leader and the two huddle against each other. Bulkhead and Ratchet are wearing the angriest faces I've ever seen. Prowl—
Oh, holy Primus. Where the Pit is Prowl?
There's a cackle and a clang somewhere behind Bulkhead, who yelps in pain and steps to the side, making room for Lockdown to enter with Prowl pressed against him, his arm wrapped around my darlin's neck. Prowl's hands are attempting to pry the arm off, but of course it is to no avail. Lockdown is far too strong and far too large for my little Cyberninja to break free.
"Jazz!" he cries out, trying to pull away from his captor, "Jazz! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, sweetheart. What about you? He hurt you?"
"No. What's happening?"
"Shut it, both of you," Lockdown snaps, tightening his hold on Prowl's neck and choking him slightly, "unless you want me to rip out your vocals/"
"No," I reply angrily, "but tell me what you're doing with him." Lockdown looks down at Prowl, then says,
"What, this little thing? I'm giving him the best seat in the house. He'll see every little thing I do to you. You'll get to see him when you rear your head back. It'll be great for both of you."
"NO!" I yell angrily, "Don't you dare! This is between you and me, Lockdown!"
"What are you doing!?" Prowl roars as Lockdown chains his wrists and ankles to the wall, "WHAT IN PRIMUS' NAME ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Playing, of course," Lockdown answers casually, as though we're having a discussion about inflating energon prices, "Jazz and I are going to play. And you get to watch."
"Primus…." Prowl gasps, "you can't do this. Lockdown, please, there's no need to—AUGH!"
Lockdown smacks him across the face, then grabs his chin in his claws and hisses threateningly,
"Do not tell me what I can and can't do, Autobot. If you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll have my fun with you right after I'm done with him. Got it?" Prowl glares at him, optics probably narrowed angrily behind his visor, and gives no answer. Lockdown glares back, and for a moment, they engage in a staring contest, but no one ever sees who the winner would be, because in that same moment, Lockdown roughly pulls Prowl's face close to his and does what I've wanted to do since I laid optics on him.
Prowl's first kiss is stolen by this sadistic, evil, worthless piece of slag. Something violent instantly fires up in my spark, and I can feel the strange strength of angry hatred coursing though my circuits. I have a good view of Prowl's shattered, disbelieving face, and it fuels the once dormant beast within me. In almost one quick movement, I somehow manage to break free of my bonds as though they were made of thin metal sheets.
Lockdown's kiss lingers for a few seconds more, and then he feels my fists against his head and my knees ramming themselves into his side. He loosens his grip on Prowl and stumbles down to the floor, where he looks up at me with awe and fear. He knows he's crossed the line, I can see it in his optics, his fearful expression. Lockdown knows he is royally fragged, and there's no way around it.
With a roar, I begin to beat the slagger senseless, ignoring his pleas and cried for mercy. Instead, I yell back at him,
"WERE YOU GOING TO LISTEN TO MY PLEASE FOR MERCY? WERE YOU GOING TO SPARE ANY OF US OUR LIVES? OF COURSE NOT! YOU FRAGGING AFT!" My fists plunge into his face, his chassis, his legs, and every part of him they can reach. I refuse to stop, even when I hear Optimus Prime and his team yelling over Lockdown's cries. No, I tell myself, I will not let up. This miserable creature has made our lives a nightmare for long enough; it's time to put him in his place.
The beating continues until I hear Prowl's voice break through the shouting and the screaming. He calls my name desperately, trying to gain some control over the wild beast within me. I pause for a moment to look up at him, and decide to stop altogether when I look into his optics. I can see it's hurting him inside to see me act so violent toward another Cybertronian. I realize that in that sudden moment, in that burst of angry passion against Lockdown, I had become Lockdown. I back away from the damaged bounty hunter and look down at my hands, stunned just how much oil is caked on them and how much is spattered all over my body. Lockdown's body is leaking profusely. Ratchet is yelling to me to let him go so he can patch the hunter up; Ultra Magnus wants his aft alive.
Slowly, almost zombie-like, I move over to Ratchet, optics never leaving Lockdown's shaking body. I pick the locks of the energon chains like the skilled mech I am, and the medic gets right to work. I release Optimus, and then run over to Prowl. I quickly pick the locks on his restraints and pull him into a tight embrace. He returns the hug and presses his lips against my cheeks before burying his face into the curve of my neck.
We stand in each other's arms, trembling, and it's not long before we both start to sob like sparklings. We're both so tired of Lockdown. All we want is some time alone, no fears, no distractions, no interruptions. Just safe, free time to spend together, and so far, nothing has been working out for us.
"He's all patched up now," says the medic behind me, "and I've off-lined his primary functions for the moment. He can't see or hear us, and he can't move. We can transport him outta here and get him to Ultra Magnus. Speaking of Elite Guards, where's that aft-headed Sentinel Prime? Didn't you tell him to call for back-up?"
"Yeah," I answer quietly, "but in all honesty, Sentinel's too stubborn to take orders from me. I doubt Magnus will be up there when we swim back to the shore. What matters is that we have Lockdown. Let's go."
Without being asked, Bulkhead transforms and says,
"I can take Lockdown. I'll be able to fit out the doors. I want Optimus and Bumblebee to stay with him, too."
"Sure thing, big guy," answers Bumblebee. Ratchet and Optimus load Lockdown inside Bulkhead's vehicle mode, then the little Autobot and Optimus climb inside to keep an optic on the villain. Ratchet leads the way out, followed by Bulkhead, then me and Prowl. The ride back up is slow; Bulkhead is having some difficulty driving up the slope, but he pushes on like the trooper he is, and eventually we all make it back to the surface.
The first thing we encounter is an attack on our optics. The area is drenched in bright, artificial light from several bigger search-bots from the Elite ship (I notice for the first time how awful the lights look after spending so much time under the Earth's sun), and Ultra Magnus is standing there in the middle of it all. Seems Sentinel called for help after, albeit a little late. Optimus and Bumblebee climb out of their giant friend, unload Lockdown, allowing Bulkhead to transform back to robot mode. Magnus extends a hand to me and Prowl to help us out of the water.
"How are you all holding up?" he asks, oblivious to just how sick our experience was. I shrug and answer,
"Magnus, I'm not one to complain or criticize much. I don't even like to swear that much. But damn it, where the frag was everyone?! We could have been killed down there." Magnus looks taken aback, but he quickly regains his composure and answers,
"Jazz, we only just got here."
"I can see that," I retort, flashing Sentinel a nasty look, "I'd like to know why." I've never spoken so poisonously to my Commander before, and it'll probably earn me a few days in the brig. But I just don't care. I want to know why help didn't arrive sooner. Magnus' face tightens, but then he relaxes and says,
"Jazz, I'm sorry. I have no excuse. We were late in hearing about it, and we were late in acting."
"Damn right you were." Prowl grabs my arm in protest—he doesn't want to see me sent to the brig for my behavior, but I refuse to shut it just yet. Magnus tries to continue his apology.
"Jazz, I understand. You're angry with me, with Sentinel. It's—"
"Sentinel," I yell as I turn my attention to the coward, "why in the fraggin' name o' Primus is everyone late? I gave you a direct order, and you refused to acknowledge it!" I point a finger at my fellow Guard, and he stands there with a meek expression slapped on his face. He fights the urge to tremble as I storm up to him, leaving Prowl and Magnus standing together to watch. In fact, I notice everyone is watching, save for some of my men who are loading Lockdown into a portable cell.
"I didn't…I wasn't…Jazz, I figured you guys would have been able to take him on. I mean, he's one guy! What could he possibly do?"
"A SLAGGIN' LOT," I growl as I stride right up to him, sticking my face up to his, "He may be one mech, but he's damn strong. And his ship is full of nasty surprises. He took us out with the flick of a switch, Sentinel. You would have emptied your fuel tanks in fear if you had been down there."
He looks like he's been smacked in the face. He's shocked, and so is everyone else around him. I hear Prowl whisper something to Magnus, whose face falls into sudden understanding. He walks over to me and extends a hand.
"Jazz, calm down. Let's just go back to the ship and talk it out, all right? It's clear you need to vent, but please, not out here. There could be humans watching, and the last thing we need is more bad publicity." I release some pent up air in my systems and allow them to whirr down as best they can to a calmer state. Prowl walks over to me and takes my hand, then whispers something comforting into my audio. I nod and answer Magnus,
"All right. Let's go." We all transform to our vehicle modes and take off back to the ship.