Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does. The Efforts and their story, how ever, are mine.
Chapter 26: Fight Back
The Cafeteria of Breaker Labs, having been the largest room in the entire complex, had become the wreck room and diner for the Decepticons. This fact was obvious now as Decepticons and the Efforts alike gathered that morning to drink their share of energon. No tables had been constructed just yet for the mechs, so most sat on the floor or stood around drinking their energon. They had just gotten off of rationing the energon as they had finally gathered enough energon to be in bounty of it, but they were still a long way from filling the thirty energon storage units. Today was going to be a raid-less day, the first all week, where everyone would be set to some task or another to help expanding the base further down and around the land. Rumor had it that one of the echolocation-specialized mechs had detected an enormous cavern below them and Megatron was going to have several diggers work to make an elevator shaft down to this cavern where they could begin construction of a space craft. Rumor also had it that Megatron already knew what to name this potential spacecraft: Reborn Nemesis.
Now the Efforts sat to one side in their own exclusive, mysterious, respected club, sipping energon from laboratory beakers and vials and talking amongst themselves. Mextron and Smartmouth, as usual, soon came into an argument, but that was to be expected.
Flickword, the stutter-tongued, moth-looking Transformer, was standing on his lonesome to the side, across from the Efforts, and sipping his energon, keeping his optics locked on the floor and his antennae drooping to prevent detection from others. But his meek quietness did not allow him that pleasure.
"Hey, Flickword!" a Decepticon barked, coming up to Flickword with two others following him. "Nice work with the energon processing, buddy. Everything tastes nice and sweet."
"R-R-R-r-r-really?" Flickword asked, his antennae perking hopefully. "T-t-t-t-t-thank-"
"Oh shut up, stutter bug," the mech snorted. "Can't even say a single word decently. Can you even think without stuttering?"
"Y-y-y-y-y-yes, I-I c-c-c-c-can-"Flickword began to reply, somewhat insulted.
"Hey, boss, why's the dork have funny bristles and wings like that?" one of the other mechs asked in a rude tone.
"T-t-t-t-they're a-apart-"Flickword started.
"Because he's a freak, that's why!" the lead mech boomed, suddenly back-handing Flickword's energon cube from his hands.
Flickword turned is head, watching the cube flip in the air as purple energon streamed out of it. Thus distracted, he was unable to block the blow to the abdomen the other mech dealt him, bending him double with a hiss of air pressure systems releasing air. Transformers turned to watch the fight. Some drew closer to cheer it on. Mextron and Smartmouth fell silent to watch the scene.
"Hey, Mex," Shadowleap whispered to Mextron. "Isn't that one of the guys you talked to?"
"Yeah, so?" Mextron asked, watching as Flickword tried to get to his feet, only to get kicked in the side and knocking him to the floor.
"Shouldn't you do something?" Cartwheel asked.
"No," Mextron replied. "It's time that Flickword learned to stand on his own feet."
Flickword looked up sadly with baleful optics filled with pleads for help at Mextron. Mextron's red and silver eyes stared coldly back at him, telling him that he was on his own—he had to fix his own troubles this time. Flickword tried getting up again, but got kicked even harder as the jeers from his bullies continued.
"Look at you! Slagging fairy wings like some dork!" his bully snarled. "Why Lord Megatron let's you live beyond energon processing is beyond me! You can't even talk right, you idiot!"
Flickword's optics zoned out as he remembered what Mextron had told him. No one was going to save him except himself.
"Decepticons say 'show some spine and kick their aft'!"
"Next time you think 'Autobot vs. Decepticon', think, 'lie down and curl up into a ball while they kick me vs. kick their aft'. Which do you want, Flickword? Are you going to stand up for yourself or lie down and take everyone's slag for your looks and speech?"
"S-stop," Flickword whispered.
"What was that twitter tongue? What was that?" the bully snarled, kicking Flickword with each sentence. "What did you stutter out, ugly? Huh? What did you say? What did you say?"
"ENOUGH!!" Flickword bellowed.
He exploded from the floor in a burst of pale purple and yellow metal, jumping onto his attacker and slamming him onto the floor. Everyone jumped and shouted in surprise as Flickword clenched a fist and began bashing it into his bully's face, over and over and over and over again. Megatron, Shockwave, and Starscream, discussing battle tacts as they came to the cafeteria, fell silent and broke into a run to see what was going on. They stopped short in surprise when they saw Flickword beating the slag out of the bully.
"S-Stop p-picking on m-me!" he was yelling. "S-stop k-k-k-kicking me, s-s-stop hurting-hurting m-me! If-if you e-e-ever d-d-do it again I'll-I'll-I'll k-kill you! Y-You hear me??"
"Someone get him off of that mech!" Megatron bellowed.
Two Decepticons brave enough to listen hauled Flickword off of the bully. He continued kicking and struggling as he screamed at the top of his audio receptors.
"The n-next person who-who makes f-fun of me, I'll-I'll kill them! You h-hear me? I'LL KILL THEM!!!"
"Take him to one of the solitary confinement cells until he calms down," Megatron ordered. "And some one get that sorry sap bleeding all over the floor there to the medics. As to the rest of you."
He flicked his red optics over the remaining, stunned Decepticons as Flickword and his unconscious bully were taken away. Everyone else was looking around, somewhat confused about Flickword's uncharacteristic outburst and guilty with Megatron's optics burning on them.
"Is there anyone here who can tell me what happened?" Megatron asked, turning his head this way and that to scan the crowd. "Any one?"
No one spoke up.
"Fine. Then no one is allowed energon until someone speaks-"Megatron said, turning away to leave.
"Sir!" one of the mechs suddenly exclaimed.
Megatron turned to him. "What is it, Solarflare?"
"Well, sir," the femme Seeker said, "Brawny-and-bleeding over there and his group gained on Flickword and began to beat him up for his looks and speech. Then--it was weird! Flickword just went haywire on them and beat the slag out of him! He wasn't going to take it anymore!"
"Hmm…" Megatron mused. "Looks like that moth has what it takes to survive after all," he muttered quietly, but easily heard in the cafeteria's silence. "Alright," he announced. "Energon ban lifted. As you were."
Megatron turned to leave, but he tossed a glance at Mextron before he left with Starscream and Shockwave on his heels.