"Canada, Sink!"
Narrated by Decepticon and Constructicon Hook
~*~
The whole thing was ridiculous, and I kept expecting to pull out of recharge at any second. I still could not fully get my processor around the fact that we were human - because all of our mass had to have gone somewhere! It couldn't have just vanished. Then there was the fact that most of us were ten-times as old as the oldest human, and yet none of us appeared to be elder in our human forms, why the twins and Rumble even seemed to be human children. Children! The absurdity of it all! On top of it, if there was room, Starscream had now ordered the lot of us to leave the base. We had recruited and contaminated the rest of the Decepticons (namely the rest of my fellow Constructicons) and were now walking directionless through the Canadian forest in nude human bodies.
"Starscream," Scrapper snarled, picking up his pace so as to walk next to our 'leader'.
"What!" Came the predictable response. Starscream jerked his head towards him so quickly his hair moved away from his neck for a moment and I saw again that nasty burn scar that wrapped all the way around his neck. The crystal, EOS, baffled me too. What was he, exactly? Sentient, sure, but was the crystal itself the being or was there another life-form inside the crystal? Or was the crystal simply a vessel for the sentient being?
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Walking into a human town... like this?!" Scrapper shouted, indicating himself angrily. He stopped short and leaned backwards as Starscream rounded on him, poking him into the chest until he began stepping backwards.
"Don't question me, Scrapper! I have my orders and you have yours! I'll shred your puny human hide into scraps of flesh if you bring it up again!" He turned to address the rest of us, red eyes locking on with each before moving to the next. "I've been assured that we won't be bothered. I don't know how, so don't ask me - but those are your orders! Stop questioning me or I'll terminate all of you and do this MYSELF!"
I cocked my head to the side and watched Starscream turn again on his heel, and stomp off, shoulders hunched. It took a moment before the rest of us picked up our paces and followed him. Of course the twins were right at his hips, and his other Seekers hadn't approached him since the fiasco in his room. I didn't blame them. It was truly frightening to witness, I cannot imagine having been in their place at the time.
So I resigned myself to the fact that I would spend all day questioning the things that had happened and the many things which were undoubtedly about to happen, and tried to enjoy the idea. I liked a good problem, a good challenge, but this one was beyond me. I had been, ahem, we had been exposed to a strange bacteria or disease, according to Starscream and his damned crystal, and this disease was somehow able to enter our mainframe and corrupt our systems without being uplinked or downloaded to us. Then, not only adapting itself enough to completely mutate Starscream into a biological life form, it learned, grew and spread so quickly that by the time we were passing the contagion to Scrapper and the other Constructicons, it was only a matter of seconds before the transformation began.
Then of course there was the question we all asked, either aloud or repeatedly to ourselves, that had yet to be answered by either Starscream or EOS: Could this transformation be reversed? Starscream had completely avoided the question every time it was posed to him, and no-one dared ask EOS to his face, er, surface, so we had no idea. I assumed, however, that either Starscream knew it couldn't be, or he didn't know any more than we did. He was dodging the question like he always did, leaving me to believe EOS didn't trust him as openly as he made it seem he did.
I heard a small noise to my left and turned my gaze curiously.
Ah yes, Soundwave's micro-cassettes. I was beginning to feel like they were being drawn to me the longer they stayed away from Soundwave. It was not entirely unpleasant, after all I had the feeling they would continue to do as I ordered in his absence, but I was in no mood to baby them. I did not want children, nor did I want to be responsible for them. I was free of ties, and that's how I liked it. Beside me Longhaul muttered something to Mixmaster, but it wasn't for my audios apparently.
Back to the cassettes, they had been nothing but sour and silent since we found Soundwave's room deserted. Rumble had shouted and thrown things, and at one point had tried to attack Starscream, only to be thwarted once more by EOS. The idiot had strips of flesh charred away on his chest, face and arms. He would have probably been terminated by EOS if Ravage wouldn't have talked some sense into him, figuratively, I mean. She'd practically pinned him down until he'd calmed from anger into ugly human sobs, leaking from his human eyes. I found I thoroughly disliked that bit of human engineering - crying. It was an ugly, useless thing.
Ravage loped slowly beside Rumble now, his hand on her head as if clinging to her for life. Above the duo the other three once-micro-cassettes fluttered, silent as well. It was hard to read expression on any of their faces, save Rumble's and he (Oh, how did the humans put it?) wore his heart on his sleeve. He either didn't know or didn't care that anyone who looked once at him could read his every thought. He had mastered the art of crying silently, however, and I almost enjoyed the way his tiny face looked as the tears rolled silently down its length.
I stumbled to the side with a grunt as Scrapper elbowed me in the side.
"What in Primus's name was that for?" I bellowed, though I did it softly enough so as not to alert Starscream. Scrapper narrowed his human eyes at me and looked pointedly in the direction we were walking. I hadn't been aware that I was so obviously staring at Rumble, but apparently he'd noticed, and felt my attention should have been on our destination.
I agreed, after I saw what lay ahead of us.
Starscream was leading the whole bloody troupe of us right into the heart of a small human town! Just at the edge of the woods, where Starscream himself seemed to have stopped, there was a paved road, and just beyond that the street became lined with shops. What made matters worse was that he could not have lead us out at night when people would not be around, no he had obviously researched and discovered the time when this particular little town was most busy - for certainly it seemed to him that was the best time to have us cavort around in our pink, fleshy bodies!
"He's going to get us all scrapped." Longhaul moaned.
"I'm really starting to doubt his sanity, now more than ever." Bonecrusher added, and I could practically feel him roll his eyes.
"Well, if you all feel so strongly about it, why don't you go tell him to his face?" I provided smugly, knowing that would shut them up if nothing else. I would still have to listen to them grunt, sigh and complain quietly to each other, but at least I would not be an expected participant. They had been shown, just like the rest of us, a good example of the power EOS had, and they were none too eager to displease him and feel his wrath again. (For they had all needed to be restrained so that they could be contaminated, and Primus I don't blame them. Had I known what was going on I wouldn't have gone willingly either!)
After another second or so of hesitating, it seemed Starscream found his determination and he set off across the road. The twins, almost sewn to his hips, looked as if they wanted to hesitate further, but trusted Starscream for some reason unbeknownst to me, and followed him faithfully. I was next in line to cross the road, but there was no way I was going to blindly follow Screamer onto the asphalt. I wanted to watch him and the twins for a moment, make sure he knew what the sigma he was doing. The Constructicons all halted behind me, and I could hear them mumbling to themselves, wondering what I was doing. Scrapper muttered that he had half a mind to leave me behind if I was going to be stubborn. I don't think he really intended me to hear. Rumble and Ravage paused too, the later looking up at me almost as if waiting for orders. Thundercracker and Skywarp, still silent and brooding, hesitated and I knew they were wondering if it would be safer to wait, or safer to move around me. Apparently they decided they would rather wait then put themselves any closer to Starscream, and held fast.
For his part Starscream tried to look confident as he strutted nudely across the road, trailed by children. To my utter shock and further bewilderment, nothing happened. Nothing. The cars did not stop. They didn't honk their horns or try and swerve wildly out of the way. The people just ahead on the streets didn't turn to look, not even the ones facing him. It was as if he was completely...
"Invisible." Scrapper muttered.
"It's got to be EOS's doing." Whimpered Bonecrusher. "And who knows how far that cloak reaches!" With that he and Longhaul pried themselves out of our little caravan halted at the curb, and caught up with Starscream. We received only a quick glance over their shoulders which told us everything was, apparently ok.
"Are you going to pick up the pace, Hook, or do I have to kick your aft across the street?"
"Stop bothering me you irredeemably inept sycophant." I growled, waving over my shoulder so that my fingers smacked Scrapper in the face before starting across the street myself. As expected Ravage, Rumble and the other micro-cassettes followed me blindly. Scrapper, Scavenger and Mixmaster all shoved into each other as they attempted to follow in my wake, and I needn't comment on Thundercracker and Skywarp.
Technically, I suppose, I should not have felt shamed at my nudeness - after all as a Cybertronian I did not wear clothes, and so the lack of them should have meant nothing to me - however upon witnessing all the other humans parading around in their brightly colored and obnoxious garments, I began to wish for some of my own. It was very akin to the feeling I had gotten once in the academy, when a friend of mine finally relayed the information that my lower panel had been open ever since I'd set optics on our substitute-instructor. Yes. Quite akin to that actually. Again I was momentarily aware of the fact that such a thing should not have bothered me, really shouldn't have surfaced at all, really, because no-one was actually looking at me. I was not getting that look. It was still there though, and unfortunately it seemed as if I was the only one suffering from such exposure.
"Starscream, what's going on?" Scrapper growled, moving past me to push through the other Decepticons until he grabbed Starscream's arm and spun him around. Physically I knew that Scrapper could take Starscream with no problem, especially in these human bodies. He could have probably crushed the Seeker's head between his hands with ease. However EOS still hung threateningly from around his neck, and I knew Scrapper had forgotten this little fact when he approached, because the moment Starscream turned around a glint of light caught the crystal, and my fellow Constructicon was reminded in less than a nano-second just how powerful that crystal was.
"Scrapper, I would strongly suggest you move your hand if you know what's good for you." Starscream threatened in a dark voice that was not like him at all. I watched as he and Scrapper exchanged glares, a small stand off, if you will, and eventually Scrapper took a step back. I noted quickly the expression on Starscream's face, for possible later reference. He seemed more tired than anything, perhaps not physically but emotionally. I wondered for the first time just how connected he and this EOS were. Did the Seeker ever have a moment alone now? He'd done it to himself, in any case, it was no concern of mine.
Scrapper, no matter how strong or capable he was, seemed to have lost a little common sense when he made the transformation. He pressed on.
"Why can't anyone see us?"
"Would you rather they did?" Starscream snapped back quickly, almost as if he was expecting the question. The rest of us had formed a small circle of sorts around the duo, and we took up most of the curb. Oddly enough the humans did not bump into us like I assumed they should have had we been invisible, they walked around us! I almost ripped at my human hair in frustration, for now it appeared we were visible, but they simply didn't care! I narrowed my eyes at Starscream, very eager to hear his response now.
"No, I-I just... I think we'd all be a bit more eager to follow you and th- EOS unquestioningly if we understood a bit more about what exactly was going on here." He explained, and for once I was impressed. The fool had used his words like an adult. Good for him. Starscream was not impressed, however, and he had the audacity to laugh in Scrapper's face.
"Why should we have to tell you anything? Megatron sure as scrap didn't share any of his plans with anyone, not even his second in command, so why should I do the same?"
"Because you have striven to prove yourself a better leader than Megatron, and what a better way to do so than actually trusting you soldiers with important and useful information?" The words were out of my mouth and I was moving forward before I really knew I was doing it. I regretted my insanely quick wit for a second as I realized I was putting myself and those could-be treacherous words that much closer to EOS. It needed to be said, though, so I had said it. That was really the only reasoning I could come up with, and so I went with it willingly. I'd play the part.
"Oh, would it now?" Starscream snarled in that voice of his that somehow carried over to his human 'counterpart', per se. He crossed his arms over his chest, just below EOS, and fixed me with a rather unnerving gaze - which was something coming from him.
"Yes, well, part of what made Megatron such an inefficient leader was his inability to trust anyone. He was paranoid, as I'm sure you're well aware. With you, you see, we understand where you are coming from. We know that you, as well as we, were on the receiving end of Megatron's wrath and if you would but trust us a little, now, before we have fully decided upon whom we truly ally - the ball is in your court." I shrugged lightly, well aware that each and every one of the Decepticons was now staring at me. Including Scrapper, though he looked positively fumed that I'd stepped in on what was obviously supposed to be his shining moment. I gave him a barely noticeable smirk - he noticed, of course, and crossed his arms noisily over his bare chest with a 'humph.'
I seemed to have thoroughly confused Starscream, either that or he was listening to EOS speak in a voice we could not hear, because he had frozen on the spot except his eyes, which seemed to be scanning the sidewalk as if he was reading something there. I followed his gaze for a nano-second before taking another, very small, step forward and clearing my throat.
"My logic is -"
"Flawed, Constructicon."
I took a quick step back, not even attempting to hide my shock, fear and defeat as EOS 'spoke' once more. I lifted my arms as if to shield my chest, and backed up into the large form of Longhaul. He grunted at me, but made no move to push me away or shove me forward. He was actually a rather comforting presence, like a wall behind me that I could use to my advantage, for I was quicker of foot and wit than he, and if EOS tried anything I could dive to the side and use the big brute as a shield.
"A soldier with intelligence stops being a soldier." EOS said calmly, and, unfortunately, I knew he was telling the truth. A little ruffled by the expression, and clearly having no understanding of what he truly meant, Bonecrusher took a small step forward and pointed at the crystal.
"A-are you callin' us all stupid?" He snarled, not even an ounce of threat behind his words. He was just a scared little Cybertronian speaking up to hide the fact that he wanted to curl up and go to sleep until things were all better. He could be rather endearing, I supposed.
"No, Bonecrusher." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "He meant intelligence as in information, not wit or smarts, which, unfortunately, you lack anyway."
"All you need to know is that as long as you do as you're told, I will not let any harm befall you."
"And what about our bodies, since you're being kind enough to grace us with your voice?" I asked, and though my words were spiteful I tried to keep my tone polite. I did not want to be on the receiving end of anything he had to dish out, and yet I could not seem to completely quiet my tongue. Scrapper had said on more than one occasion that I 'asked for it', but the truth was I simply knew better. I knew that my intelligence stacked far above that of my peers and fellows, and so I simply had to speak up, in hopes of inspiring them to learn with my advanced vocabulary and rousing intellect.
The laugh that proceeded my answer chilled me to the very core - if, that was, humans had cores. I didn't know, and honestly I wouldn't sleep any worse if I never found out. I might, in fact, sleep easier - because that would mean I had escaped this 'predicament' with no lasting effects. The sooner I could feel my own metal hide, the better.
"Let's make sure you don't stick out like the idiots you are first, mmm? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." As Starscream nodded at nothing, and then turned to keep walking, I realized for the first time that perhaps this EOS was not as all-powerful as he claimed to be. Was he, perhaps, as under-informed as we? Was he working for a higher power? Of course the very thought that there was something or someone out there able to control a being with such a frightening power made me shudder, but it was something to consider. A little byte of information to store in the back of my human mind - like so many other little bytes. I had to start writing these down or my slippery human brain would begin to forget them.
So we again fell into step behind Starscream as he led us down the sidewalk, being avoided by humans who ignored us, for all intents and purposes. My head was starting to ache at the temples, so I tried determinedly to focus my attention on something else because running those questions through my mind only made further questions, and in a minute I was going to explode into a tornado of questions - and that wouldn't be good for anyone. More than that, I wasn't in a rush to be terminated that was for sure. The others fell again into step around me, and I found I could feel them thinking the very questions I didn't want to ask. It was making it excruciatingly difficult to not think on them.
Our manipulated leader led us down the sidewalk for a long stretch of time. I could see the sun beginning to set over the buildings, the sky taking on a rather dazzling array of colors as the planets continued to shift and rotate. It was stunning compared to the sunsets on Cybertron - we had grown up witness to dull grays and gray blues and dark reds. A purple sky reminded me just how far from home we were, and I felt the strange ache of homesickness. I had not been popular on Cybertron, especially since I had been built and not born as were all my fellow Constructicons, but all the same I longed to feel my feet on that cold, metal surface. I longed to breathe in the dark air, thick with exhaust fumes and the smell of burning oil. This was no time to be dwelling on such things, but at least I had stopped asking questions. At least I was distracted by my wanton longing for Cybertron.
My meanderings did not have far to wonder, however, for our little caravan was soon stopped as Starscream turned and entered a human building, trailed by the twins. Scrapper stopped and looked at the door before looking up at Starscream and raising his eyebrows. The dark-haired human Decepticon gave him a look like he expected Scrapper knew what to do, and then he continued deeper into the 'shop'. Scrapper frowned and held open the door, waving in the other Constructicons before me. Bonecrusher ambled in first, followed by the paranoid and neurotic Mixmaster. Growling low that this was all completely insane, Scavenger shoved Longhaul through the door and followed, stomping loudly. I looked down at Rumble and Ravage and waved them in ahead of me, clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth. I cocked a human hip and looked at Scrapper.
"Are you just going to stand there and hold the door all day?" I grumbled, watching him narrow his eyes at me. He shrugged.
"So what if I am?" He leaned forward a bit and jerked a thumb inside the shop. "I just wanted to make sure it was safe before exposing my hide to this crap."
"Good idea." I agreed, before grabbing his arm and pulling him through the threshold with me. I heard Skywarp make a sound, the first noise he'd made in eons, as he caught the door. I released Scrapper's arm once we were both too deep within the building to make a run for it, and felt him hesitate before snapping it away. So it appeared the big boy was nothing but a big baby after all, looking for a little comfort, was he? Ha. After what he'd done the last time I'd offered to bond with him, he would be lucky if I so much as touched his lower panel ever again. Unfortunately, I remembered with a painful twinge, we didn't have lower panels anymore. We had dangly bits of flesh and muscle. Just thinking about my own human 'organ' made me walk funny for a nano second. Starscream's smooth and lilting voice brought me out of my thoughts...
"W-we desire clothing, flesh-creature." He said, and though his voice was loud (perhaps louder than necessary) he sounded damned scared. I assumed EOS was telling him to do things without really assuring him that they would work. Brilliant tactic, that. I cocked my head to the side as the rest of us stopped in our tracks and noted for the first time that aside from the human behind the counter, we were the only patrons in the store. I placed my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes as the woman behind the counter turned a blindingly fake grin towards Starscream and the rest of us.
"Then please, have your pick, eh." The woman cooed as if it was a rehearsed line. Again I found myself unable to stop, myself, from wondering if she had really just opened her mouth and said it or if EOS had 'said' it for her. I suppose it didn't matter one way or the other, but I couldn't help but wonder. If he could influence humans in such a way, maybe even control their actions to an extent such as thus, what else was he capable of? I began to shudder at the idea that we had only seen the tip of the iceberg of the power of a lackey. What did this ... crystal have planned for us, indeed. Starscream turned towards us and my thoughts were silenced.
"Alright, Decepticons - cloth your disgusting human bodies." He commanded.
"What?" Scavenger questioned, looking to the rack of clothes on his right and pulling disdainfully at one. "You mean you want us to put these things on?" He grumbled. He was met with an icy glare from Starscream, and when that yielded only silence, the Seeker reached towards the crystal for a more pleasing result. Scavenger dropped the garment he'd been indicating and looked away.
"Do it quickly." Starscream amended. "We don't have time to spare."
"So, we're on a schedule now?" Scrapper grumped close by, though it was for only my ears. I tilted my head towards him, but didn't give him my full attention. "EOS not powerful enough to stop time for this little shopping expedition? Do we have a train to catch?" I smirked a little and took a step forward to inspect the human clothes. Scrapper did have a sense of humor, I had to give him that. He was dark, like myself, and dry, like myself. Though he wasn't as biting or snippy as myself, but no-one could be built perfect.
I frowned as I thumbed through the shirts on the rack I had selected. I was no expert on human fashion, but I did enjoy watching their TV shows and that made me more savvy on trends than any of the others. I'd never really considered however, until just that moment, which clothes I would prefer if I was ever forced to choose, and so I began to think back on all the humans I had watched on TV. What had my favorite characters worn? It made me feel like an imbecile, really, trying to picture myself in those clothes because, of course, I did not see myself as human, I saw myself as what I was, a Cybertronian, and the idea of a Cybertronian in humans' clothes was, at the very least, laughable.
"Not bad!" I paused and turned to look over my shoulder as Longhaul's voice broke the silence of the shop. He was clapping softly at Mixmaster, who had been the first to put on the human garments, and was now attempting to look himself over in a body-length mirror. Longhaul was still nude as a human child, his long black and silver hair hanging down his back, but he'd donned a baseball cap at least. He was trying, I suppose. As for Mixmaster, he had chosen quite well, if I do say so myself. The short and tiny human/Decepticon had chosen a plain white shirt with buttons up the front, and rather baggy light blue jeans. The ensemble went well together, and was bottomed by a pair of large, leather, steel-toed boots. I hummed in approval.
"It almost makes him look attractive," Scrapper agreed from the rack behind me. I turned to look at him, quirking a brow. He caught my gaze and stood up straight, no longer leaning on the top of the rack. He shrugged and made a face.
"I'm not aloud to think so?"
"That's disgusting you rock-sucking hysterical mass of warbling inanity." I quipped, returning my attention to my search for clothes, ignoring the other Constructicons as they gathered around the dressed Mixmaster and asked for help. I felt Scrapper move up behind me and rolled my eyes as he attempted to pretend he was looking at the clothes on my rack. He pressed his fleshy body up against mine and I gagged at the sensation - loud enough for him to hear. He chuckled and I felt him breathe on my neck hotly.
"What's the matter, Hook? Not into the kinky stuff?"
"Scrapper, you know full well what does and does not arouse my lower panel, now, if you would please pull your odorously offensive flesh-bag off my back - I have shopping to do." This seemed to satisfy Scrapper's curiosity for the moment, and he mumbled something under his breath as he too approached Mixmaster, only in order to further scrutinize his outfit. I pulled a shirt much like Mixmaster's from the rack and studied it for a moment. The fabric was light, but at the same time I understood that it would provide adequate protection against the cold. I pried it off the hanger and tossed the useless metal thing aside before pulling the shirt on slowly, one sleeve at a time. It felt... pleasant enough, I supposed. It did make me realize that I had been rather cold until just then, but now having clothes on I felt much better. I shrugged my shoulders to properly align the damn thing before starting to work on the buttons down my chest.
Finishing the job I moved towards one of the long mirrors and lifted my eyes to take in my reflection. I had to first get over the absolute absurdity of looking at myself not only in clothes, but as a human with my bottom half still completely, nude, but once I was able to focus in on the part of myself I was attempting to focus on, I found I rather liked the way it looked. It fit snugly over my chest, but not too much so that I felt I would rip out of it should I decide to actually do something. I tilted my head to look at my arms, they were sculpted human arms, and they looked rather delightful in the sleeves. However, I decided I did not like the sleeves rolled down, and began the slow process of rolling them up, pausing every fold to smooth them neatly.
"Hook, we're shopping for clothes to make ourselves blend in - not preening." Scavenger called from behind me. I looked at him in the mirror and narrowed my eyes at him.
"Far be it for me to want to actually look like an educated human, not a slob of a homeless bum like the rest of you. Mixmaster, I suggest you tuck that shirt into your pants.." I was rewarded with a strange look in my direction as Mixmaster wondered just how I'd been able to see him with my back to him, and then he noticed the mirror and scoffed in my direction. I watched him for a moment more until he did as instructed. It did do wonders for his unfortunate build. I much preferred his normal body.
"Hook, catch!" I turned just in time to receive a face-full of cloth. The velocity of the throw made me stumble backwards, and feeling the carpet slip from under me I landed on my human aft in a most ungraceful heap. The laughter of my fellow Decepticons burned my human audios as I reached up to slowly pull the cloth from my face, only to see the lot of them laughing at me. I humphed loudly, attempting to show them I didn't care what they thought, and moved slowly to my ugly human feet. Once standing and properly balanced, and still ignoring the raucous laughter around me, I inspected what I'd been tossed. Pants. Jeans, much like the kind that Mixmaster had found for himself, only I got the feeling these would fit much more snuggly than his. I turned them over in my hands a few times before deciding to try them on.
"Yes, yes, laugh all you want." I sighed, thoroughly annoyed. "It just proves exactly which of us is the bigger bot here." I finished, feeling as though I was teaching children. The laughter died off over the next few moments, or perhaps I just imagined it did as I stepped into the jeans carefully - not wanting to lose my balance again. Pulling them up carefully around my human organs and zippering them closed, I again looked at myself in the mirror and immediately began tucking the hem of the shirt into my pants. Yes - I imagined I was quite attractive for a human male. The jeans were snug around my legs and aft, which was something I had learned human women enjoyed, all I needed now were a pair of the boots Mixmaster had found for himself. I turned and almost ran into Scrapper, who was grinning at me in an almost mischievous way, a box in his hands.
"What?" I snipped, looking him up and down upon realizing he was now fully clothed as well. He looked, well, dare I say attractive. He too had donned a white shirt, but it was tighter than mine, stretched even more taunt across his chest and made him look big and brawny. The sleeves were short, but not rolled up - they were just made short. And he wore the same pair of jeans I did, and they looked just as good on him.
"You want boots too?" He smiled, shaking the box teasingly in front of me.
"And - what exactly do you want in return for said boots, Scrapper?" I growled, deciding to play along because I was far too tired to argue. He smiled at me and leaned close so that none of the listening ears could hear him, and after chuckling hotly he made his request.
"I give you these boots, the last pair of those steel-toed ones, and you've got to help me fully figure out how these bodies work."
"You are a truly disgusting example of perversion at its finest, my dear Constructicon."
"Boots?"
"Yes, thank you." I muttered, reaching out and taking the box before he could stop me. I heard him snicker, laughing to himself as if he'd won some kind of contest, before walking away again - to find shoes for himself I imagined. Putting on the boots was not nearly as easy as I imagined it would be, and during the time it took me to figure them out, all the other Decepticons had dressed. Ironically enough my fellow Constructicons were all dressed roughly the same - white tops of various sleeve lengths, jeans, and boots - all of them tan and steel-toed except for Scrapper. He wore black boots that were easily twice the size of ours, but lacking the steel. A nice trade, I assumed. Skywarp and Thundercracker had decided to dress in colors that much resembled their old paint jobs. Thundercracker had found a hooded sweater of teal blue, there was a logo of some kind on the front but I didn't recognize it. He wore black pants that looked like they were a jean material, and they matched identically the ones that Skywarp wore. However the Seeker with an only slightly slighter build had pulled a thin button up shirt from the racks, much in the style of my own. His shirt was a dark purple, a good deal darker than his own purple, so dark in fact in looked black. I would have confused it for such if not for the presence of horizontal black lines running the length of the shirt. Starscream had almost followed in the steps of his fellow Seekers - at least, his pants were exactly the same. His shirt was whiter like ours, but it was... I don't know how to say this - fluffy. His sleeves puffed out at the cuffs, and the collar was extravagant. He did not have his shirt buttoned all the way, however, and in the crack towards the top EOS could be seen as clear as day. Then, of course, there was Rumble. He looked as if he was attempting to hide in his clothes, for he wore a dark red hooded sweater like Thundercracker's, only his was easily two sizes too big, and his hood was up - making him look like he was swimming in the damned thing. And his pants were way bigger than Mixmaster's. How he ever thought he was going to walk in those, I don't know.
"Decepticons," Starscream said hoarsely, once seeing we were all dressed. "Let's go."