Nova landed her ship a few miles from the signal. She transformed and drove towards it, determined to prove Smokescreen wrong. Any human involved with MECH deserved to die, and she intended to show no mercy. The signal was coming from one of the green vehicles that she had tagged back at the MECH warehouse. It started to move, so Nova followed it on her GPS. The last place she expected to end up was in a suburban neighborhood. To her surprise, the car pulled into an open garage and a man got out. He was wearing the same black clothing and black mask with goggles. He quickly shut the garage door as if he were trying to hide something. The house adjacent was lit up from the inside, indicating that there were people home. Nova cautiously pulled up along the curb from across the street to watch for activity.

She was alarmed by the sound of sudden laughter coming from the front door. She shifted her rear-view mirror to focus in on two little girls running outside. They had the same color hair and skin and were about the same height. Nova assumed that they were related, probably sisters, in fact. As she watched them chase each other around the front yard, wearing princess dresses and holding plastic wands, she concluded that they were innocently playing a were giggling and having the best time, completely unaware of Nova's presence just a few feet away.

What was going on here? This didn't look like MECH headquarters. Nova hesitated, unsure what her next move should be. The man driving that vehicle was obviously involved with MECH and this was obviously his home. That alone should be enough to attack and tear open that garage door. Yet, Nova remained still. From the window, she could see a man greet a woman with a kiss. The woman was holding a baby. She could guess that it was the same man from the garage, except that he was wearing different clothing and his face was not masked. He was smiling as he reached out to hold his infant child.

The sound of more laughter filled her audio receptors. It distracted her from what she came here to do. Those little girls were not involved with MECH, nor was the woman and baby. It became clear that this man kept MECH a secret from his family. They didn't deserve to die for that. There seemed to be a lot more going on beneath the surface, and Nova suddenly no longer felt the need to get involved.

"Scrap" Nova cursed to herself, as she switched gears and drove off. Not only was this a complete waste of time, it also proved that Smokescreen could be right about her.

Smokescreen perked up as the chamber door slid open, revealing Nova with a pair of cuffs. He knew where this was going, and his body was too weak to put up a fight, so he reluctantly lifted his arms. Once the cuffs were on him, Nova gestured towards the door with her head "Follow me. Someone wants to talk to you."

Smokescreen followed her through the ship until they reached the bridge. It was enormous, complete with high-tech navigation equipment and weaponry systems. There was a long, holographic screen that wrapped around the room with two, oversized chairs placed in the middle. "Don't touch anything." Nova hissed, noticing his fascination. She pushed down on his shoulder, forcing him to sit down. She sat down adjacent to him.

Smokescreen's guard was up. "Nova, why am I-" He began, but Nova lifted her hand to cut him off. She touched the control screen to resume an active call. Immediately, a familiar voice filled the room "Sister, I grow tired of your games. Is Smokescreen with you or not?"

Smokescreen looked up in shock. The screen showed a picture of Wheeljack. He assumed that they were communicating through his ship, since Nova most likely didn't have the Autobot Base on speed dial. "Go ahead, killer. Tell them you're alive and well." Nova said, seeming bored by this conversation already.

Smokescreen considered that this was some kind of trick, but the sincerity in Luna's voice made him forget that idea, "Smokescreen! We were so worried. Are you alright? What did Nova do to you?"

"I'm fine, never better. Your sister saved my life." Smokescreen explained.

Silence on the other end. Nova rolled her optics "You 'bots have something that belongs to me, and it appears that I have someone that belongs to you. I doubt you would have considered a trade if he were dead."

Smokescreen flinched. He knew she was using him, but hearing her say it still hurt.

Wheeljack's voice finally chimed in. "Where do we meet?"

"I take it we have a deal." Nova concluded "Sending the coordinates now. My only condition is that you two must come alone."

"And bring Ratchet too!" Smokescreen blurted out. Nova shot him a surprised glare, and he shrugged. "What if you placed a tracker under my hood while I was knocked out? Better let Rachet check me out before returning back to base."

Nova smirked, a bit impressed. She actually had thought about doing that, but decided against it when she realized it might jeopardize the deal. She was more impressed that he wasn't so naive this time around. "I'll allow it. See you soon, dear sister."

She ended the call, then touched the controls to pull up a map en route to their destination. Silence filled the room around them. Smokescreen stared at his cuffs, helplessly. He lifted his head to stare at Nova, who was focused on navigating the ship. He expected to be thrown back into the brig, but she let him remain seated next to her. "Do you have something to say?" Nova growled, clearly annoyed by his staring.

"That MECH vehicle you tracked down-" Smokescreen began, "how many . . . how many of them did you kill?"

Nova paused, wondering why she couldn't go through with it. Why didn't she just blow that house to ash? "Something came up, so I abandoned the signal." She lied.

Smokescreen looked at her, suspicously. "So you didn't kill any people?"

"Not this time." Nova shrugged, "But I will resume my quest to terminate MECH once I get rid of you."

"Have you considered a different approach?"

"I don't care about the human lives I extinguish." Nova groaned.

"No, I mean, instead of massacring them on sight, you can try to learn more about them. Secretly monitor their activity, maybe even find out who their leader is."

"Why would I allow them more time to do whatever it is they are planning to do with our biology?" She argued.

"Because the more we know about them, the easier it will be to take them down. Who knows? There could be hundreds of humans involved with this organization. You only have a few tracking devices on their automobiles, and that's not enough."

Nova repositioned herself, hanging her legs over the arm of her chair to get a good look at Smokescreen. "I'm not going to share my intel with the Autobots, if that's what you're suggesting."

"No, but you could share your intel with me. This is personal for us. We could team up and take down MECH together."

At first, she thought he was joking, but the look on his face proved he was dead-serious. Nova had to hold back laughing, "Did the humans drop you on your head while they were at it?"

"I'm serious. I have connections with the U.S. Military. I'm sure I can get a hold of any intel they have already. We gather as much information as we can, then strategize a way to stop them for good. "

Nova did not find it funny anymore, just pathetic. "Enough. You seem to have forgotten who you are talking to. In case this whole traumatic experience has caused you some permanent head damage or memory loss, I would like to make it clear that you and I are not allies."

He suddenly felt embarrassed for suggesting the idea. "Yeah, I got that."

"Then why don't I scare you?"

Smokescreen looked down at his cuffed hands "You were the best gladiator in the world, and I looked up to you for a long time . . . I guess I still want to."

"Hope you're used to disappointment." She said, bitterly. Nova prepared for landing as they reached the meeting point. Wheeljack, Luna, and Ratchet became visible from the ground.

The three Autobots stood in a line as Nova exited her ship with Smokescreen. She had her blaster drawn to his back as she pushed him towards them. Luna was holding her sister's weapon as she requested. "I have what you want. Now release him!"

"My weapon first. Bring it to me." Nova demanded.

Luna hesitated before taking the first step forward. She feared her sister was up to something other than a simple trade-off. This could easily be a trick, an ambush waiting to happen. She pushed those thoughts aside as she walked slowly towards her twin. For once, the two sisters stood at an arms-length away and they were not trying to kill each other. Luna handed over the weapon and Nova reached out to grab it. Before the exchange could happen, Solas Prime's blades reacted to both their hands simultaneously touching the handle. The blade between them and the blade on Luna's back began to glow a deep blue color that lit up their entire surroundings.

For a moment, the twins stood there in shock. Neither of them have seen this happen before. Luna believed it was a clear sign, "Perhaps Solas Prime is trying to tell us that these weapons were intended to be kept together."

Nova did not look amused. She pulled her blade out of her sister's grasp. The glowing quickly faded away, leaving them in the darkness again. "Doesn't matter. Solas Prime is dead."

Luna's hands turned to fists, "You bring dishonor to our names, our legacy. I hope you are pleased with yourself."

Ignoring that comment, Nova glanced over at Smokescreen by her side, who had surprisingly remained quiet. She unlocked his cuffs then pushed him towards Luna. He was free to go. Smokescreen wasn't sure how to feel. He knew that he should forget about her gladiator days, and being saved by her, and accept the fact that they were sworn enemies. He also knew that he would jump at a chance to be alone with her again.

Nova looked him in the optics, almost as if she was reading his mind. "Next time we meet, Killer, I'm not holding back."

Smokescreen flashed her a cocky smile "Me too."

"Send Optimus my regards!" Nova called to Wheeljack and Ratchet, who had been watching from the background the entire time. Wheeljack fought the urge to flip her off, a human gesture he had picked up.

She turned to enter her ship. She half expected a fight to break out, but everyone remained civil. Her ship lifted into the sky and she was gone.

The following day, Nova was alerted by a message from Megatron. He ordered her to meet with him aboard the Nemesis.

When she entered the bridge, Megatron was standing at the center, his back turned to her. Several Vehicons stood on the lower level, along with Knockout, Dreadwing, and Soundwave. They all seemed to be staring at her, "I take it this meeting is about me?"

"Why is it that my second-in-command disappeared without explanation?" Megatron growled.

She hated when he replied with a counter-question. In all fairness, she was gone for a few days, silencing all communication with the warship. She could see why he was not too pleased with her. "My Lord, excuse my recent absence. I was dealing with a . . . personal issue."

"I fail to see how rescuing an Autobot behind my back is personal."

Nova glared at Knockout, who took a step behind Dreadwing as an attempt to hide. Despite her warning, he obviously opened his big mouth. "I don't know what you've heard, but I was trying to rescue two of our own. Humans terminated them."

"Yes . . . I know about MECH. Breakdown fell victim to them, and now this. Very unfortunate. Truthfully, any Decepticon who allows themselves to be taken by humans deserves whatever outcome they get." He finally turned around, "What I want to know is why you didn't let them finish with the enemy!"

Nova pulled her weapon from her back, holding it out in front of her, "The Autobots stole this from me. Saving Smokescreen was the only way to get it back. Trust me, between the gawking and constant babbling, it was punishment enough. "

"Smokescreen . . ." Megatron said, thoughtfully "I don't recognize that name."

"He's a rookie, must be new. Can barley hold his own in a fight. I traded his life for my blade. End of Story."

Knockout knew that we would regret telling that Vehicon. Gossip spread like wild fire aboard the Nemisis. He stepped out of the shadows, nervously, "See? There's nothing more to it. Let's put this whole thing to rest. We can all go back to our posts-"

"Nothing more to it? Am I being accused of something else?" Nova demanded. Megatron turned his attention to the others, which implied that it wasn't him making accusations. No one said a word as they exchanged looks. She crossed her arms, waiting.

Dreadwing spoke up, "The rumor was that you were . . . intimately involved with the Autobot. Which would explain why we could not reach you for days."

Nova's optics grew wide as she repeated the words slowly "Intimately involved? That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Which one of you imbeciles came up with that one?" She didn't expect anyone to respond to that. She narrowed her optics, "It isn't wise to be spreading rumors about your Commander, especially since she has a way of finding out who started them."

Knockout knew he was screwed.

Megatron ordered for everyone to leave the room. He wanted a word alone with Nova.

"You honestly didn't believe any of that scrap, did you?" Nova asked, leaning against the wall across from him, "I'm insulted they came up with it."

"Not for a moment, but it did give me an . . . idea." Megatron paused, meeting Nova's curious gaze. He went on, "You were the one to suggest experimenting with phycological warfare. Instead of attacking the Autobot's physically, we go straight for their Sparks . . ."

"When I spoke to you about this, I was referring to the elimination of their human pets." Her theory was that killing the human children would consume the Autobots with grief and leave them emotionally damaged. They would become vulnerable.

Megatron did not agree, "And have the Autobots use their utter rage against us? The human lifeforms are beneath us. I have no interest in them."

"Then I'm not following."

"I'm talking about earning your enemy's trust. Manipulating one spark in particular. From what you have mentioned earlier, he is already fond of you."

Nova glared at him like he was crazy, "You can't be serious. You want me to be-friend Smokescreen."

"You gain his trust, you gain an unlimited source of Autobot intel. It will be your job to learn about their strategy, their weaknesses, and most importantly, their location. Optimus possesses multiple relics that rightfully belong to us."

Nova did not like the sound of this, "Smokescreen may be naive, but he is loyal. He will not engage with me if he thinks I am a threat to his team."

Megatron smirked "Then convince him that you have other motives. Use MECH as a common foe, pretend that you are going rogue, I don't care what you say. I have taught you to be a master of deception. Of course, I would recommend all of your interactions to be done in secret. Lead him on to believe it is a forbidden friendship, perhaps one that could blossom into something more."

Nova stared at him in disbelief "If this is some kind of cruel punishment for my recent absence, I can assure you, it won't happen again."

"Not a punishment, rather an . . . experiment." Megatron clarified. "There is no one else more suited to execute a mission like this. You are a skilled performer."

"It sounds like I don't have a choice, now do I?" Nova snapped, clearly irritated at this point.

Ignoring her comment, he continued, "This ploy stays between us, Nova. Report to me on a daily basis from this moment on. I want updates on your progress. Understood?"

"Yeah, whatever you say." Nova waved him off as she went to make her leave.

She reluctantly stopped when Megatron called after her, "You are no longer my protege." Megatron reminded her, "You are my second-in-command. I expect you to start acting like it."