Sorry about the looong wait. I've only recently been bitten by the writing bug again. The next couple of updates are ready, just need a bit of tweaking.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Firefly watched her troops invade the city streets with the kind of precision that made her proud. She turned to her lieutenant.

"Stay in radio contact." She pushed away and took to the sky.

The once beautiful city stretched out beneath her in a sad mockery of civilization. She flew over the western gates and watched as more of her soldiers streamed into the buildings. It would take a while to search through the whole city but this time Elita-1 would not be able to escape. The information was as fresh as could be.

A dark smile spread across Firefly's face as she thought of the various things she would do to the Autobot leader when she was captured.

Hours later Firefly was lounging on the roof of the city's tallest tower when she got the call. Immediately excitement flowed through her systems and she launched herself off the building's ledge.

The communiqué had come from the north-eastern sector. She saw Trip-wire waiting for her.

"Where are they?" She demanded as she landed.

"We located a base hidden beneath the streets." He pointed to a hole in the ground. "Barricade, Stormcloud and Blackout have already descended to secure the prisoners."

Firefly grinned at the word 'prisoners'. Clearly her faith in her informants was well rewarded. "Stay here, keep the Decepticons from running amok."

Her lieutenant nodded She stepped out over the dark void and dropped through, her thrusters activating and lowering her gently to the debris ridden floor below. Anticipation ran like hot currents along Firefly's circuits as she gazed into the Autobot's lair. It wasn't too different to the last one they had invaded. Except this time it wasn't empty.

A light shone from a room, flickering as someone passed in front of it. The sight of three femmes in stasis-cuffs off to one side greeted her; Blackout's gun was almost touching the face of one Autobot.

"Very good." Firefly purred as she studied the kneeling femmes. Her optics narrowed. "Where is Elita-1?"

A pair of angry blue optics glared up at her. "She's long gone, you two-bit excuse for a femme."

Firefly backhanded her. "If I want sass, Firestar, I'll speak to my lieutenants. You just need to tell me where Elita is and the likelihood of your going offline lessens."

"A couple of Autobots headed for the back before we could fence them in." Stormcloud reported.

She tore her optics from a smug looking Firestar. "And where are they now?"

"Barricade came through their secondary exit as we came through the front. He would have caught them as they tried to escape.

Firefly turned back to the group of femmes triumphantly. "Escort these three to Darkmount's dungeon and have a team come down here to remove everything of value from this dump."

She left the protesting Autobots in the hands of the brothers as she went looking for her main prize. Elita-1 and Chromia hadn't been among the already captured femmes. Barricade must have them by now.

She heard the sound of scuffling and multiple footsteps echoing down the dark hallway. Switching on her external lights, Firefly could see one large mech with a smaller one on each side.

"Success, Barricade?"

"To a degree."

Firefly frowned and waited for him to be fully revealed in the light. A slight green femme cowered on his right side whilst a tall red and black one sized her up from his left.

"Roulette, it's been a long time." She said, momentarily distracted from her prize.

"It has." The dark femme agreed. "I see being deactivated worked out for you."

Firefly shrugged. "Every acid cloud has a platinum lining and all that."

The elegant femme inclined her head but didn't reply.

Firefly turned her attention to Barricade. "Where are the other femmes?"

"They escaped. These two let themselves get caught to give the others a chance to get away. I sent mechs after them."

A familiar sense of thwarted rage began to build in Firefly. Elita-1 had escaped her again! How was that possible? She pushed her hate and anger into the black little ball in her chest.

*Trip-wire, form a search party. Two Autobots have evaded capture. Also check radar, I want to know if anything goes off planet.*

Elita was smart. She wouldn't stick around with so many Decepticons in the vicinity. She'd have gone into hiding somewhere. Maybe with the other Autobot rebels.

*Sir, I have just received confirmation that a small pod exited Cybertron's atmosphere two breems ago.*

Frag! Where was that little bitch going? Obviously Roulette wasn't going to give her any sort of answer, the ex-Decepticon was staring resolutely forward. Firefly grabbed the little green femme's chin, forcing her to look up.

"Where did Elita-1 escape to off world?"

Fear shone from the wide blue optics. "I don't know. Maybe Earth, to Optimus Prime. Please, I don't know anything."

Firefly pushed the terrified Autobot away from her. Earth, once again the little ball of organic matter was part of her problems. Maybe it was time to see what was so special about the mudball.

"Put them with the others. Then send a transmission to the escaping pod. Tell Elita that because of her cowardice, her comrades will be paying for her war crimes."

Barricade nodded and pushed the Autobots ahead of him.

"My Lord, we've found a treasury."

Firefly turned and followed the soldier to a previously closed door. Her optics widened at the collection of art. Many of the objects that had once graced Darkmount's halls were here along with some Autobot pieces. Her optics latched onto a painting that had sat on the wall of her personal quarters. Red armor and a charming smile.

"Have it all transported to Darkmount. Do not damage them."

The soldier nodded and signaled three others to join him. Firefly left the treasury and stomped out of the underground base. Anger still tickled along her servos, again Elia-1 had escaped her. Again. She shot a random Decepticon to ease her fury.

She transformed and rocketed into the outer atmosphere. The lack of gravity was liberating and Firefly glared out at the darkness. Elita would reach her sanctuary but Firefly would be close behind her. The thought was comforting.

Firefly strode into her fortress and headed straight for the Command Center. It was time to move forward. They'd been sitting here for cycles and she was restless for results.

The Decepticons saluted as she passed but they barely registered in her brain. The doors slid open and she marched across the room and into Barricade's office.

"Barricade."

"What is it?" He grunted, not looking up from his work.

Firefly braced her hands on the desk and leaned in. "Get the team ready. It's time to go to Earth."

Barricade looked up at her. "We've finally got Polyhex back into efficient operation and you want to abandon it?"

"I'm not abandoning it. I'm making sure it will always stay under my command. We need Megatron's acknowledgement to have immunity. Shockwave's just waiting for a chance to destroy me."

Barricade's hard red optics stared into hers. Firefly knew she could rely on him to give her the truth of his thoughts and not just what she wanted to hear.

"We have duties here that require attention. Not all of us can afford to take off in search of our ambitions."

She looked down and saw his fingers splayed over a report from the brig. "I know you take your responsibilities seriously, Barricade, that's why you are so indispensable to me. However, I need a strong show of support on Earth, only Primus knows what the status quo is like now. How will it look when my second in command isn't at my side? Hand the femmes over to Trip-wire until you get back."

"They'd eat him alive."

She glared. "Fine. Assign someone else, I don't care who, but you are going to Earth. I've given orders that nothing is to change without my permission. Prep the team, that's an order."

Firefly stalked into her own quarters and paused. There was so much to do before leaving for Earth and Megatron. Polyhex would be secure in Trip-wire and Tracer's hands. She wasn't as concerned about Shockwave as she'd intimated to Barricade. Shockwave would have enough to deal with once she executed her plans inside his territory. Diesel was already in place to instigate the minor rebellions that would keep Shockwave busy until she returned.

She stood in the middle of her quarters and looked around. Why had she come here? Her optics strayed to the hidden room attached to her recharging quarters. It held all the precious artifacts that she hadn't sold back to the Autobots yet. Some of her favorite pieces were also in there. They'd stay there until she returned and cemented her position in the Decepticon empire.

She opened the secret door and stepped inside, her optics surveyed its contents. Her gaze paused on the image at the far end.

Sideswipe's trademark grin stared back at her. His swagger caught almost perfectly in the still image. Firefly had admit once again, Sunstreaker was an amazing artist.

She turned her back on the artwork and made for the door. She was almost there when something internal stopped her and turned her around. Her optics darted around the empty room as if someone might catch her, she went back to the painting. Firefly carefully lifted it from its place and carried it out into her quarters. The hidden door slid shut and she was left staring down at Sideswipe's grinning face.

The next one will be longer.

Please review, I really appreciate them

TammyCat