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Chapter 25

The beginning of a masquerade

Sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, Starscream lifted his torn shirt, doing his best to avoid fidgeting when the warm circle of light illuminated the three gashes that were now adorning the right side of his torso.

Slagging Ravage… a thousand times slag him. Whether he was pretending or not, the accursed Pit-spawned glitch had managed to actually hurt him. Fortunately Starscream's fast organic auto-repair systems had stopped the bleeding and had actually started to close his wounds, but yet that hadn't stopped the female and the annoying Autobot runt insisting that he should see a medic. Finally he had had to comply, otherwise it would have been too suspicious; and now he was in his current predicament, under the observation of the last medic he would have wanted to attend him.

Starscream had never had an Autobot so close, not without a fight involved. He wondered if that moronic medic kneeling before him would tend to his wounds so carefully if he knew who he was really repairing.

"Mmmh… I'm more worried about an infection than anything else," Ratchet said, slowly scanning the young man's mid section. Once again, Starscream made an effort to remain calm. His blood hid the secret of his real identity, but there was no reason for Ratchet to look for Cybertronium in the vital fuel of an ordinary human being. For the Autobot, Starscream's blood had to be just that: red, viscous, ordinary blood…

"How strange," Carly said, standing beside Starscream. "I would've sworn his injuries were deeper… I must have been mistaken."

"Fortunately for him, you were, Carly," Ratchet said before addressing Starscream again. "You were very lucky surviving a direct attack from Ravage, young human. Very few of your species can pride themselves on the same thing."

"Huh… As you said, I guess I was lucky," Starscream said, doing his best to make his voice sound kind. "Was that… Ravage… some sort of cat?"

Ratchet smiled. "He's a cybernetic organism, just like us, but you can call him a cat if you prefer. He's a real nuisance."

Starscream had to agree with that.

"What about his arm, Ratchet?" Carly asked. "Considering the way he fell off his bike, I'm surprised he didn't break it."

Starscream hurried to shake his head. "Er, no… I didn't break it. I couldn't move it otherwise, right?"

"Still, it's better to be sure. Please remove your shirt."

Starscream hesitated but he finally took off his torn jacket and his shirt. He knew the biggest danger of being discovered resided inside his chest. As if it knew he was thinking about it, his hybrid heart began to beat faster than usual. But then again, Ratchet had no reason to focus on his heart, not to mention he would need much more advanced equipment than a regular scanner to detect its little… anomaly.

But even with the danger, Starscream found a reason to smirk when he saw the fleeting but attentive look the human femme gave his bare torso.

Good, she was not indifferent to his charm. From that to having her on her back, the road was rather short.

"Please don't be scared, I'm just applying a purifying solution to prevent any kind of infection," Ratchet said, bathing Starscream's wounded zone with a fresh, white gas. "Your injuries don't look very serious, but I insist it would be better for you to go to a hospital."

Starscream sighed, relaxing with the pleasant sensation the gas immediately provided him with. "I will definitely do that first thing tomorrow morning."

Ratchet extracted a small, white box from his chest compartment and opened it, revealing a curious variety of human medical tools. Starscream was very aware that medics carried the equipment their profession dictated, but he couldn't understand that Autobot fool. He was a Cybertronian medic. Why the hell had lowered himself by acquiring knowledge about the repairing of human beings? Hook would have shot himself in the head, literally, before doing something like that.

"Now I just have to bandage…" Ratchet stopped talking when his comm link activated. "Mmmh, Prowl is requesting my presence to assist Sideswipe. It seems like he received some damage after his encounter with the Coneheads."

"Hey, go to your friend," Starscream said, relieved by the possibility of getting rid of Ratchet. "You've already done so much for me and I'm sure others need your help too. I'm fine, really."

"Mmmh, alright… but make sure to have a human doctor look at those wounds. Carly, would you mind bandaging him?"

"Sure, Ratchet," the blonde girl said, taking the small, metallic box from Ratchet's hands.

Starscream smirked, thanking his good fortune for the first time that night. He had expected to have that femme's hands over him in a very different situation – namely, both of them naked, their bodies intertwined - but that would have to wait. He just hoped he would be strong enough to avoid the temptation of forcing her onto her back and showing her what real pleasure was.

"Lift your arms," Carly said as she sat right beside the young man. She didn't have to look at his eyes to know that his gaze was fixated on her. Those intense, invading eyes that felt like red-hot daggers all over her...

Her discomfort was increasing. His stare felt like prying fingers, almost obscene… Carly knew about his type, arrogant jerks, naïve enough to believe she would be easy prey…

But there was something very different in this Sean Latta, something that seemed so foreign and at the same time so utterly familiar.

She disregarded the thought. Maybe she had breathed in some of the irritating discharge from the gas grenade she had thrown at Ravage in order to help her improvised saviour and it was messing with her mind.

"So those are your robot friends…" the young man said, interrupting her thoughts. "Very interesting."

"The correct term is Autobots," she corrected him whilst she started to bandage his torso. "I take it you had never seen one of them so close."

"Not from this height… I mean, not so close. They are quite big."

"I understand what you mean. I felt the same way when I saw them for the first time, although the first Autobot I met was rather short; Bumblebee, the yellow robot that saved us from Ravage. "

"Right, he arrived just in time…" Sean said; somehow his words seemed forced. "I'm hoping the damage caused by the other robots wasn't so bad."

"Fortunately not, which is really strange considering the Decepticons always aim for senseless destruction. Ratchet said there are no casualties registered and so far the paramedics mainly have their hands full with cases of shock. The material damage, on the other hand, was severe."

"Well, that is good news. Material damage can always be repaired. Human loses, on the other hand…" There it was, his tone of voice seemed forced again. Suddenly, he flinched. "Ouch! Be careful with that."

"Sorry, I guess I was distracted," she apologized.

He smirked again. "Don't worry about it. I can understand I make you feel nervous. I have that effect on females."

Carly stopped wrapping the bandage around him and put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me? Did Ravage hit you on the head as well? What is wrong with you?"

He seemed taken aback by her outburst, but his smirk didn't decrease. "Hey, don't get mad. Can't you take a compliment?"

"Compliment? For yourself, you mean? You know, I only met you a few minutes ago, but I can already tell you have a big ego problem."

He laughed. "That may be true. You are not the only one who has told me something like that."

"Oooh, and call me crazy but I wonder why that might be… Now hold still. I still have to finish bandaging you."

"Whatever it takes for you to touch me again. You have very soft hands."

Carly hesitated but kept adjusting the bandage around him. "Why you…" She shook her head. "Why do I bother?"

"My point exactly," he said, grinning.

Carly sighed, internally asking for patience. She couldn't remember having met a guy able to get on her nerves so fast. He knew his type perfectly: remarkably handsome, cocky, perfect abdominals, well shaped arms… All details she didn't care about at all, of course!

"Forgive me for insisting, but are you sure I'm not making you feel nervous? I say it because your hands are trembling… Not much, but they are."

She stopped bandaging him again. "You annoy me, that's what you do!"

"Relax, relax… I can assure you such is not my intention. You said your name was Carly, right?"

She frowned, noticing once again that the young man's attention was focused on a certain part of her body. "Yes, and for the record, my face is up here, or by any chance are you having this conversation with my breasts?"

He laughed again as he lifted his gaze toward her face. That annoying, arrogant laughter… "Sorry, maybe it's you who makes me nervous. You are very beautiful."

She gave him her best grimace before continuing to bandage him. "Well, thank you! Aren't you kind? Mmmh… what is this?" she said, touching the small whitish scar on his right shoulder slightly. "Let me guess. You were rescuing some other damsel in distress?"

He looked at the scar, the smirk on his face disappearing immediately. "No, this… happened during a fight. I got stabbed. There were four… seven against me."

"Seven, huh? Oh, please don't be modest. I'm sure there were at least fifteen. And I guess you got that scar on your eyebrow the same way, right?"

"No, that was a bug… a big, ugly bug…"

"Sure…" Carly said, once again resuming her bandaging work. "I'd say you have a taste for getting into trouble."

His seductive and insolent smile appeared again. "Maybe… especially if I get to have my wounds tended by such a hot nurse…."

Carly finished bandaging him, making sure to lean heavily on his wounded torso before separating from him with a frown on her face. "Are those your best pick-up lines? Gee, I bet they have done wonders for you."

"You would be surprised… ouch..."

The sound of metallic footsteps behind her made Carly turn around. She felt immediate relief when she saw Spike and Bumblebee approaching from the other side of the street.

She hurried to reach Spike, who was already running toward her. He received her in his arms, kissing her with immense happiness and relief.

"Bumblebee told me you were okay, but I couldn't wait to see it for myself," Spike said, hugging her against his chest. "Sorry I couldn't make it earlier. I was helping a man who couldn't find his little daughter…. but he did in the end and here I am."

"Well, I'm so happy to see you," she said, cuddling against him. Then she felt it, the uncomfortable itch of a very fixed stare behind her back. She felt her annoyance renewed, mostly against herself. Why the heck was she giving so much importance to that tanned, presumptuous jerk?

She turned around and glanced at Sean. "Spike, this is Sean. He saved me from Ravage."

Spike approached the young man and offered him his hand. "Thank you so much for helping Carly. I'll be eternally in debt to you."

"Of course you will," Sean said, reciprocating the greeting, although his words had a pitch of contempt that Spike didn't seem to notice. "Fortunately I was nearby."

"You were very brave," Bumblebee said. "When Ravage attacks, his only objective is the termination of his victims."

"That's what I heard," Sean replied, getting up and shaking the dust of his pants.

"How are you feeling? Ratchet said that your wounds were not very serious but still we are worried."

"I'm fine, I'm fine… your name is Bumblebee, right? Well, there's no need to worry. That metallic beast scratched me a bit, but I'll live."

"Yeah, Bumblebee is my name… By the way, I'm sorry about your motorcycle. We'll see to make sure you get a new one."

"You are so kind… But right now I wouldn't mind some help of another sort. Perhaps Carly mentioned something about driving me home?"

It was with a feeling of deepest disgust and near physical illness that Starscream allowed himself to sit in the back seat of Bumblebee, his newest 'friend' driving him through the busy Portland streets towards his apartment. It was a strange sensation; on the one hand he was deriving a great sense of satisfaction from the fact that his plan had worked thus far, but on the other, he was riding in an Autobot. He had never in his wildest nightmares imagined that he would fall so far so as to actually travel in one.

Having given his initial instructions on how to get 'home', Starscream had descended into silence, gazing out of the window as his companions spoke anxiously of the night's events. It would probably have been in his best interests to listen in on their conversation – to take part in it even – but in truth he was finding it increasingly difficult to control his Decepticon instincts and any 'friendly' discussions may well have ended in bloodshed. That, and his side was beginning to ache terribly; he winced as Bumblebee drove recklessly over yet another bump in the road. Accursed Autobot...he seemed to enjoy the rough ride.

A human emergency vehicle raced past the yellow Beetle with lights flashing and siren screaming wildly; the fifth the Seeker had counted in the last breem. Starscream repressed a smirk as he watched it disappear around a corner. Yes, things were definitely working to plan.

"...Sean?"

A touch on his arm broke Starscream's train of thought abruptly; he automatically flinched before turning to find Carly staring at him intently, her hand gently grasping his forearm.

"Are you ok, Sean?" she asked with a tone of concern, her fingers drifting back to her lap.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, fine..." he replied, internally cursing himself for his lack of attention. "Sorry, I was just thinking about what happened tonight. Still a bit...overwhelmed by it all, you know?"

"I daresay it will take a while to sink in," Carly said kindly, "I've known the Autobots for a couple of years now and it still doesn't feel real at times."

"I'm sure it doesn't."

"Anyway, Bumblebee wanted to know where we're supposed to go now."

Starscream took another look out of the window. "It's just up here a little further; turn right at the next set of lights and then take the second lef…ahhh! Could you try not hitting every bump in the road, please? I'm kinda in a bit of pain here, ya know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Sean," Bumblebee said apologetically, a little light on his dashboard flashing as he spoke. "I'll take it a little slower, ok? That should stop you bouncing around so much back there. But you know, the roads in this district aren't as smooth as others. So it was right at the lights and second left, right?"

"Yeah."

"In other words, we're heading towards that big, black plume of smoke?" Spike asked from his place in the front seat. "Bee, isn't this the area where Prowl reported Decepticon activity?"

"What? What do you mean Decepticon activity?" Starscream cried with mock concern as he craned to look out of Bumblebee's windshield. It wasn't hard to miss the thick, black smoke bellowing into the air, almost smothering the two human helicopters buzzing around the area like flies. He had noticed it ages ago; he was surprised his pathetic human companions hadn't said something about it earlier. Then again, maybe they had and he simply hadn't noticed.

"Those two explosions that we heard just before Ravage showed up…well, they were caused by Decepticon jets," Spike explained, turning in his seat to look back at Sean. "Seekers, they're called, but more specifically, the bastards responsible here are called the Coneheads. Two missiles were launched into residential areas, we don't know why but it seems that they were meant to be a distraction for whatever Ravage was up to."

"Thankfully, one of the missiles hit a vacant building, but the other hit an apartment complex around here somewhere," Bumblebee said, picking up from where Spike left off. "Ooopp, and it looks like we've reached the end of the line here, guys."

The three humans climbed out of the yellow Beetle and stood before the road blockade, emergency service workers and journalists alike scurrying about madly on both sides of the blue and white tape.

"Looks like they've made a real mess of the place," Spike said angrily. "I can't wait till I get the chance to trash those Decepticreeps!"

"You and me both, Spike," Bumblebee said as he transformed into his bipedal form. "Prowl's around here somewhere, I'll find out what's going on."

"Ask him if there's anything we can do to help," Carly said with such humanity it made Starscream want to purge.

Pathetic creatures – and he included the Autobots in that category – so compassionate and righteous...they all deserved to perish and yet, for the first time in the Seeker's life, he was grateful for said virtues.

"Oh no…" Sean said, his voice shaking slightly as he too moved forward towards the barrier. "No…that…that looks my apartment block. The one that's burning...it…it is…"

"What?" Carly said, immediately turning to him. "Oh no, Sean... Did you...Sean, I'm so sorry..."

Starscream desperately fought against his desire to laugh out loud. Exploiting the weaknesses of others; it was all too easy.

"My...my home..." he stammered as both Carly and Spike approached him, their eyes filled with sickening pity. "All of my belongings...everything...everything all gone..." He fell to his knees dramatically. "What am I going to do now?"

Brilliant acting Starscream, brilliant.

"Don't...don't worry Sean, we'll help you, okay? We'll find you somewhere to stay, we'll help you in any way we can."

"Yeah," Spike said as he placed a reassuring hand on Sean's shoulder; Starscream fought his desire to shake him off. "It's the least we can do after what you did for Carly tonight."

Starscream simply nodded his head; he had seen enough victims of shock to be able to mimic it closely.

"Spike, why don't you go and see what you can find out, let Bee know what's going on if you can find him. I'll stay here with Sean; I don't think he should be wandering around in his condition."

"You got it, Carly," Spike said as he placed a quick kiss on his girlfriend's forehead. "And don't worry Sean, you're in good hands. I'll be back soon."

Carly knelt at Starscream's side as Spike disappeared into the ever-growing crowd of workers and onlookers. He could feel the warmth of her body as she wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, her sweet scent teasing his nostrils. Surreptitiously, he glanced at her chest before returning his attention to the ground.

"Don't worry Sean, we're not going to abandon you," she reassured him. "Spike and I were going to stay with the Autobots tonight; I think, under the circumstances, it would be best if you came with us. Of course, we'll have to get permission first, but I'm sure it won't be a problem."

And there it was, the unmistakable sound of a trap snapping around the unsuspecting victim's neck.

"Th...thank you..." Sean muttered weakly, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as he stared intently at the ground.

To be continued.