Author's Note: If there's such a thing as mechanical gore, this one has it. There's a little more of this note at the end so I don't give a lot away. As always, thanks for reading and for commenting. Transformers belongs to Hasbro and Takara.
A Blessing and A Curse
By: Quetzal1
Chapter 9
Ride the Lightning
xxxxxx
"I don't have to hunt him or fight him first?" Stormvolt asked.
"No, I don't think you would fare so well against a thinking opponent. Why? Do you have a problem with eliminating this piece of scrap?" Galvatron asked, assuming a tone that suggested she had better not, although, in the back of his warped mind he expected a degree of unwillingness but he wasn't sure why.
"No, Lord Galvatron. I only wanted to make sure I understood your terms, that's all."
"Well now you have them, so get busy!"
This wasn't right.
Oh, don't tell me that after all you've learned and all you've been through, you're going to start up that nonsense again.
Damn, you're talky today. And yes. Look at this loser. He's tied up and defenseless and I don't even know who he is. I'm supposed to just walk up and kill him?
The femme was standing directly in front of the unfortunate mech. The Sweeps had withdrawn to a safer distance, not wanting to risk getting hit by stray laser fire. They knew that as a general rule, seekers tended to prefer a more impersonal method of dispatching an enemy, rather than a physical approach.
xxxxx
The small Autobot, named Dart, had only joined up with his faction a few months ago. Previously he had been a neutral, but witnessing the destruction caused by the Decepticons prompted him to change several opinions he had previously held. He had been a good student, being instructed firsthand in soldiering by Kup and studying anything he could find about the subject on his own time. He also spent a lot of time on target practice and was becoming a very good marksman. His latest task had been to go to a large asteroid not so far from Cybertron with the objective of surviving there a week on his own. Once daily he called back to headquarters just to let them know he was okay. If he passed this test he would be qualified for scout duties. The idea of getting to go to strange new places and study them appealed to his curious nature. There were so many worlds to explore and now that the Decepticons were not much of a threat, it would be so much more pleasant.
Having been on the asteroid for several days already, he had thoroughly explored it and found that there was no one else around. It was lonely but also peaceful. The problem with this was that it led to feelings of complacency. It had been easy for a pair of expert hunters like the Sweeps to sneak in and wait for the right moment to grab him, having become aware of his presence days ago. The 'bot had been standing on a low hill, surveying the landscape when a blast hit him and knocked him facedown. He immediately began trying to send a distress call but the shot had disabled his communicators beyond repair. The wound hurt a lot but wasn't fatal. There had been only a tiny amount of energon lost. The small mech tried to stand and was violently shoved down again. He had been blindfolded, beaten and chained and didn't know by who until the blindfold was removed later. His spark hitched and nearly froze as the first thing he saw was the Sweeps. He knew about them of course, and all the other Decepticons. Why would they want him? Dart tried to be brave.
"You know the others will come looking for me," he said, doing a fair job of keeping his voice steady.
"Yeah, if they knew you were gone," one of the Sweeps said.
"They'll know," Dart said, not realizing that they had heard him call headquarters and sign off with, 'I'll report again same time tomorrow.'
"Eventually, I'm sure, but by the time they notice, it'll be much too late for you."
And then they had left him alone. He could hear the other Decepticons nearby. They sounded very worked up by something. The chains that bound him were augmented by others that held him fast to a big rock. The mech struggled and fought as hard as he could to no avail. His wounds hurt and he just wasn't strong enough to get free. The only thing left was desperate hope that headquarters would attempt contact and send someone looking for him when there was no answer. But how would they know where he was? This was looking very bad indeed. Pretty soon, it looked a lot worse. He heard some huge cheers and then it was quiet. Various Decepticons began to approach from the opposite side of a large rock formation on his left. They merely looked at him. None of them were speaking to him or each other. A sizeable crowd gathered, its members just waiting around. Suddenly they parted to reveal none other than Galvatron.
The tyrant drew very close and stood there a few moments before addressing him.
"I do hope you're comfortable, not that it matters. You'll be out of your misery soon enough."
"What do you want from me?" Dart asked in a small voice. He was thoroughly scared now. Beyond Galvatron he saw Scourge approach and then the Sweeps, who took up positions on either side of him.
"Have you ever heard the term, 'sacrificial lamb'? Because that's what you are, my diminutive friend. You will have the honor of being the final step in the creation of a new Decepticon."
What did that mean? Were they going to do something to his processors and convert him to their side? Was he an experiment of some kind? As Galvatron walked away, he began his struggles anew only to be interrupted by another voice shortly thereafter.
"It is hopeless. Why don't you try to die with some shred of pride intact, or is that beyond you Autobots?" Cyclonus said with disgust, as he looked the mech over before joining Galvatron and Scourge off to one side.
Dart continued to try to struggle free and received only the amused chuckle of a Sweep as a reward. What was going to happen now, and what were they waiting on?
Galvatron suddenly leaned back and shouted: "Do you need an invitation?" And then they were joined by a femme who Dart had never seen before. Weren't those extinct? She stopped near the despot and the Autobot overheard the instructions given before she came over to stand in front of him. Her optics glowed dimly as she stood there, hand on hips looking as though she were considering a difficult problem.
"What's your name?" She demanded.
"I … it's Dart." The seeker nodded at his response but said nothing more.
What do you care what his name is?
I don't know. I guess I was just curious.
Your curiosity is only going to make this more difficult. His name is of no consequence. You're doing it again. Human standards of conduct do not apply to you anymore, why can't you understand that?
Hey it's not like I've been anything else for very long.
And if you don't get on with it, you won't be what you are for much longer.
As though hearing this exchange, Galvatron added conversationally: "You know, that Autobot scum is dead regardless, and if one of us has to do it, you will join him."
"I'm sorry mighty Galvatron, I'm just trying to decide the best way to go about it."
"Surprise me."
You're just stalling.
Fuck yeah, I'm stalling.
This would be a wonderful starting point you know.
For what?
Why, for your own personal reign of terror. You've sworn revenge for your friends, so why not start here? Inflicting pain upon this waste of metal would undoubtedly relieve some of your own.
Yeah, but I was thinking of killing those guys on more equal footing.
Don't be ridiculous. They would not extend you the same courtesy. You cannot pick and choose. Either they are the enemy, every single one deserving death on sight, or you are no Decepticon. And it's much too late to back out now, so establish your terms boldly. The first among them should be no mercy.
Maybe. The idea did have a certain appeal. Stormvolt approached the petite mech and began to circle around behind him, lightly dragging a taser contact across a section of his shoulder that wasn't covered by chains.
See how he flinches away? He's petrified. That is not the demeanor of the righteous, it is that of a guilty coward. And he should be afraid. He does not deserve your mercy or consideration.
Could be the case, I guess.
No, it IS. And you know it is not out of the realm of possibility that he may have played a part in the destruction of Thundercracker and Skywarp.
You think so?
"Hey you," she said, reaching up to shove Dart's head roughly to one side. "Were you in the battle at Autobot City on Earth?"
"No," he replied sounding hopeful.
See?
So what? He could be lying, that is what they do after all.
True. She could feel her hesitance turning into anger. These sons of bitches and their treachery were the cause of everything wrong that had happened.
Yes they are responsible. And consider this, … somewhere, this miserable little slagger has friends, the way you used to. Instead of sounding angrier as it went, the voice was beginning to speak in low, seductive tones.
I still have friends. You're forgetting Rumble and Frenzy.
Yes, but it isn't the same, admit it. You were never as close to them as you were Skywarp. I suspect this maggot has no clue of what it is to lose something like that.
No, I bet he doesn't. Anger was quickly becoming rage and then that peculiar out of herself feeling began. The femme spread the fingers on each hand far apart and gently rested them on Dart's head like a fortuneteller with a crystal ball.
Not only that, but I daresay there's probably even someone who loves this wretch. Why shouldn't they know how it feels to have that snatched away? Let someone else share your misery. It's only fair.
"Yes, I think you're right," she said quietly.
"What?" Dart asked. He heard her speak, but didn't understand what she said.
"I said; 'Say hello to Optimus Prime for us,' you despicable glitch," Stormvolt growled quietly, leaning down to speak into his audio sensors so no one else could hear. The small would-be scout had time to notice that her voice sounded quite different than it had previously but this reflection was short lived as she spoke to him again.
"Now… BURN!"
xxxxx
Galvatron had told her to surprise him and that is exactly what happened. He watched as her optics began to grow brighter and she placed her hands on either side of the prisoner's head. He was fully expecting her to rip it loose from its mountings but instead, bright, bluish white streaks of electricity began to dance outward from her fingertips and surround the head and face of the Autobot.
There was a collective sound of astonishment from the crowd as the Autobot's blue optics exploded outward in a fine spray and jets of pale fire shot from the empty sockets and gaping mouth. Her victim had screamed, but only briefly before his vocalizers melted, his voice rapidly fading to garbled nothingness. The Decepticons thought (and some hoped) she would stop now and she did, but only long enough to remove her hands and switch to the two cannons. The lightning was too bright to watch for long but everyone got a good look at the end result.
The little Autobot spasmodically jerked as the power overloaded his neural circuits and was only still when the metal in his joints began to fuse solid. In the end, he was an unrecognizable, burned out hulk. Even the chains had melted, permanently welding him to the rock. There were uneasy murmurs throughout the crowd. Wildrider in particular was feeling rather concerned after his earlier trick with the energon. He hoped she could take a joke.
Stormvolt backed away, only slightly wobbly, but very tired and dazed. At least she hadn't overextended herself. There was no charge left for voltage scatter, but everything else was okay just a little lower. It had been like earlier with the Chaar spider. She didn't really remember what she had done. One minute fury and then the next thing she knew, something had been fried. It suddenly occurred to her that possibly it wasn't her rotten temper causing this.
What did you do?
But the voice was silent.
What bothered her even more than the possibility that she wasn't always in charge of herself was the fact that she had just roasted that little guy alive and didn't feel all that bad about it. Perhaps because it was him or her and in spite of how screwed up things were, she still wanted to live. However, she didn't look at him again.
There wasn't any cheering this time. The crowd kept well away from her as she walked over to where their leader was waiting.
"Now that's what I like to see," Galvatron said, optics alight and small sparks popping near his head before turning to the crowd "Decepticons, I give you our newest warrior."
There was cautious applause.
He gave the order to return to Chaar when the noise died down, but not before leaving instructions for his officers. "Get rid of the bodies somewhere or some way that they won't ever be found," he said to Scourge and then to Cyclonus: "She's your problem now. Let's see if you actually know anything." And with that he joined the rest of his departing minions.
"I'm your problem? What's that all about?" Stormvolt asked, indignant.
"It will be my job to see that you live up to your potential," Cyclonus replied. And was he ever seeing vast amounts of that. It was also slightly disturbing to realize what had nearly happened to him. What he saw here explained why she had just put her hand over his, instead of cowering away when he felt like instilling some discipline earlier. "But I think you've done enough for now. I will issue you your insignia and energon rations and then you may do as you like until tomorrow."
xxxxx
Back on the rooftop of what she was already thinking of as home, the femme applied the last emblem to her armor, centering it on the chest plate.
"Looks good on ya," Rumble said, as he and Frenzy popped over the ledge and onto the roof.
"Thanks."
"That was somethin' else," Frenzy said.
"Galvatron said to surprise him," Stormvolt replied, smiling wryly.
"Yeah, I bet he wasn't expecting deep fried Autobot," Rumble snickered.
"Do you guys know who he was?"
"Nah, I never saw him before," Frenzy answered.
"Is that getting to be common?"
"Probably there's a lot more where he came from. I know a bunch of neutrals have been coming back since they heard the Autobots took over Cybertron."
The flier considered the information, which seemed peculiar. Wouldn't news like that scare everyone away?
"But anyway, we just wanted to say congratulations."
"Yeah, you're official now," Rumble added.
"Thanks, guys."
"We better get going. Soundwave doesn't want us hanging around here too much just yet."
"Why not?"
"Well, since the boss acts really interested in you, it might be better if we stayed away and off his radar, y'know? Until he loses interest, anyway."
Stormvolt nodded. Indeed, she planned to do likewise as much as possible.
"Okay, later," Frenzy said as the pair went over the ledge again and flew off at low altitude so as to not be noticeable.
Alone again, the femme sat down and attempted to drink the weak looking energon before going offline to recharge. She took a large sip and nearly had to reverse the intake. Blech! It was awful. Hadn't these guys heard of filtering? Holy crap! Hard to believe anyone would steal it and that it was actually rationed. She would have to ask about it later. It had been a truly whacked last couple of days. Nothing was like it used to be.
xxxxx
"Isn't there supposed to be a ceremony or something?" Stormvolt had asked earlier, knowing from stories told by her late friends that when new graduates from the academy got their insignia, it was the kickoff to days of epic over-energizing on high grade and all the nonsense and debauchery that came with it.
"Perhaps once, but not any more." Cyclonus replied, handing her several purple faction symbols and a pair of dimly glowing energon cubes.
"Oh."
"Be careful with those. Once they are in place they can not be removed," the mech said, gesturing toward the symbols as the femme held one out near a wing experimentally.
"I think I'll put them on the front and back," she said, craning her neck around, trying to get an idea of how it would look and thinking of her friends. The purple would clash with the blue, as was the case with Thundercracker, but that was okay.
"You will never get those on correctly yourself," Cyclonus said, shaking his head. "I can apply them if you like." He did not want her to look sloppy, especially if Galvatron was making the seeker his responsibility.
"Uh, yeah…okay," she said, handing over four of the symbols cautiously. She had not forgotten that almost every time they were together, he had done something unpleasant; tackling, shoving and he would have tried to hit her if not for the intercession of Galvatron.
"Turn around and stand up straight."
Stormvolt did as instructed and wondered if he was really being helpful or if this was a trick. She was already regretting accepting his offer, expecting to be struck for some bullshit reason or that he would unintentionally injure her. She flinched when he placed a steadying hand on the trailing edge of her left wing.
"What?" He asked, noticing the twitch and removing his hand. "Do you have some kind of damage?"
"No, it's nothing."
Cyclonus carefully attached the decals on the front and back of each side, rubbing them afterward to remove any air bubbles and ensure proper adhesion but being mindful that wings were touchy things. He stood back and tilted his head to one side. There! She looked much better.
The femme was surprised that she wasn't finding it unpleasant at all. In fact, after the beating she had taken today, it actually felt sort of nice and …good lord, what was she thinking?
I'm just wiped out, that's all. It's been a messed up couple of days. She thought, expecting the voice to have something to say but it maintained its silence. Maybe it was broken.
"Thank you," she said, as she looked over his work.
"Get going. You will need to be fully recharged for tomorrow. And if you do not consume that energon, I suggest you find a good hiding place for it, because there will be no more for two days and your brethren will steal anything not welded down."
xxxxx
It took a little while but the seeker finally got all of the energon choked down. Was this what they were all living on? It went a long way in explaining the general malaise that seemed to be affecting most of the population here. It was so weak it would take more than her reservoir could hold to get even just a tad over-energized. Hopefully there wouldn't be any ill effects.
So, for better or worse she was in. Nothing was like she had been told or had expected. All that hoping and waiting and searching and now here she sat, on the rooftop of some trashed out building on an equally trashed out planet, drinking substandard fuel, missing her friends, fighting for a cause that may well be lost with a new leader who maybe was actually the old leader, just in a new body and totally insane. Yeah, that about covered it. It would be difficult, but once again in the name of survival she would have to make an effort to ingratiate herself with those who controlled things. And she would also have to try harder to not think so much like a human. As for the late Dart, she would make an effort to not think of him again, ever. It would be nice if she could just plain stop thinking for a while. That wish was soon granted as she slipped offline and into recharge, while diagnostic systems ran a complete scan just to be safe. What was planned for tomorrow was anyone's guess, but it was certain to be a very long day.
xxxxxx
Author's note continued: When I wrote in Dart, I liked to imagine him as either Wheelie or Blur because both of them really, really got on my nerves (especially Blur.) I know every character can't be as cool as Jazz, or Wheeljack, but come on! But in the name of trying to stick to canon as much as you can when you have your own character, I made someone up.