A/N: In response to a reviewer, I'm taking the time to get this out there.
Yes, the Predacons having spikes and valves while modern Cybertronians don't is going to be canon to Come And Get It 'verse.
Given the close focus of the story, fitting a Megatron reaction in wouldn't work since he kinda took off after the movie, but if he did know what happened, uh, he would at least feel retroactively guilty about going along with Shockwave's plan regarding Jack's transformation.
Warnings include: Mech Preg, triggering content, Non-Consensual touching, victim-blaming, character death (you know the one.)
He could smell Jack, the closer he got to the fortress that Skylynx and Darksteel led him too. There were faint traces in the ground, which would have been too subtle to notice even if he had searched this area. It made him curse having wings as the scent would have only been blown away by the gusts.
Predaking scrutinized both of the younger Predacons. Their alternate modes clearly denoted that the other fossils had been mined for endomatter, but here and there he could spot traces of Jack in them. Darksteel's infuriating defiance reminding Predaking all too strongly of Jack now that he could put a name to why his insolence annoyed him.
When he entered the fortress, different scents began to waft over him. There was that wretched Starscream's, Shockwave's, and both Darksteel and Skylynx's, but what caught his interest was the last one. It...it was Jack's, but it smelled off. Too sickly sweet, but perhaps that was only the result of pregnancy.
Predaking tensed up when the thought registered. Presuming Jack was still carrying was one thing, as was taking at face value what either Darksteel or Skylynx told him was the truth. But if it were… "Stay out here. I have things to discuss with Shockwave."
Skylynx nodded, but Darksteel scowled. "And what are we supposed to do?"
Predaking growled in warning. "Stay. Here." He glared at him, using his height to loom over Darksteel. Though he might have been Jack's son, he lacked the bearings to stand up to him, as evidenced by the way the younger Predacon frowned and shrank back reluctantly.
With a final glare to both of them, Predaking made his way deeper into the fortress. All the scents he had recognized converged strongly onto his destination, and when the door slid open-he froze.
Something primal surged to the forefront of his mind, instincts he had long fought to bring to heel awakening. Two widely spread thighs pulled back the valve folds to allow a small peer inside to the blinking interior nodes. Predaking felt a rumble start up in his chest, but as thoughts of touching Jack began to form in his mind-he violently shoved the urge away.
Disgust formed in the place of lust. You are better than this, he berated himself. He was not some mindlessly naïve beast that could be lured into obedience by the promise of lying with his beloved. I will not fall for that again, Shockwave.
The mech in question had glanced up when the door opened, and when he spoke, there wasn't any change in his posture or tone. "You survived your battle with Lord Megatron after all."
"I did." Predaking said tersely. His optics moved from Jack's valve to his abdomen, stomach plates kept open by a clamp of some sort. Inside though he could see the silver frame of a growing protoform, curled up and draconic features beginning to become more pronounced, while Jack's face was slack but uneasy even in recharge. "What is this?"
"Due in part to your presumed demise, I acquired the endomatter from the Predacon fossils to start the new Project Predacon. The results of the first trial were Darksteel and Skylynx, but this time only one Predacon has been conceived." Shockwave explained, not seeming to care about how Predaking found him, or didn't think it relevant.
Predaking though felt his fury growing, but he kept his tone calm. It was difficult as he was under no illusions about what 'screaming and begging' implied. "Yes, I met them. They brought me here and I was…curious as to how they came to be, specifically in their current states."
"It was quite simple. After they emerged, Starscream placed them into the hyper evolution chambers to speed up the process of aging them. It delayed their mental development, but the results produced made it easier for them to follow commands."
Predaking frowned deeply, the words putting him even more on edge. Darksteel and Skylynx were essentially still sparklings in adult bodies, brought upon by the forced aging process. "And…how many trial runs have you done?"
"Two." Shockwave replied, and Predaking looked at him incredulously. "It was only logical that…" he paused for a moment, "Ripclaw's body would have a higher chance of achieving conception if his mating protocols were online." He didn't seem to notice how still Predaking became as checked the energon drip attached to Jack's arm.
The Predacon's thoughts were a storm of rage and revulsion. He had not thought the situation was so much worse than he'd expected. "You raped him." he stated coldly.
Shockwave glanced at him. "Would you have done differently?" he grabbed a hold of Jack's thigh and pulled it further back, forcing the pelvis to thrust out and caused the folds to spread wider. "Is this not why you allowed me to install your reproductive fluid? Would you truly have resisted mounting him?"
Predaking tensed up, his whole body coiled tight. Shockwave's goading infuriated him, because he did want Jack. Not like this though. He'd been a fool to have been blinded by his desires, of letting the promise of having another of his kind to start a family with cloud his judgement and taint his every action.
He could still see Jack's face in that moment when the truth finally hit him, of just how unwanted his feelings truly were-of what Jack believed he would do to him. Jack had looked so terrified…and it was not hard to imagine his expression as Shockwave loomed over him…
Predaking's features hardened. "Step away from him." he ordered, his tone not changing from its chilly disdain. "You will not harm him anymore."
"To harm him would imply that he did not want it." Shockwave said evenly. "For every stimulation I gave him, his body reacted positively." His servo snaked down the thigh to the valve, and Predaking growled when the thumb rubbed into the nub. Jack's whole body shuddered, a sharp gasp slipping out but he did not wake. "Even in stasis, his body will become receptive to any stimuli."
The certainty with which he spoke of, it only fueled the fire inside. "You have raped him even while he was unconscious?" Predaking asked, his tone becoming sickened.
"It can hardly be called rape if his body finds it pleasurable." The mech's index digit curled around the other side of the anterior node, and rubbed it with both his thumb and digit. Jack's body shook, frame held in place by magnets lined along his sides, but his head rolled to the side, whimpers slipping out, a shiny dark fluid beginning to seep out of the valve, and Predaking clenched his fists as the sweet scent invaded his olfactory sensors. "You've been panting after him ever since he was first injected with the Predacon endomatter; why resist your instincts now?"
That did it. Predaking's restraint was already stretched thin, but those words shredded what remained. He stalked forward, his frame tense even as Shockwave removed his servo. Predaking ignored him though, his optics focused solely on Jack's face and the anxious expression that seemed permanently etched into it. I will do what I can to ease your suffering…starting with this.
Predaking lifted his servo, outstretched it-
-and smashed his closed fist into Shockwave's optic.
The force of the blow knocked the mech back, colliding with his computer console. His optic was cracked, shards knocked loose by the impact. "What is the meaning of this?"
Predaking scowled at him as he moved to Jack's side, keeping himself between both mechs. "You assume I am still the naïve fool I had been before, that you can use my love for Jack to hurt him as you have."
"You are a still a fool." Shockwave said bluntly, but his digits curled tightly at the console edge when he got to his pedes. "To deny your instincts is to deny your right to survival. Do you truly believe mating him would have ended in anything except holding him down?" Predaking scowled at him, but the scientist continued undeterred. "In the time your predecessor lived, it very likely would have been common."
"This is not then!" Predaking snapped, fury continuing to rise. "Nor am I him. I will not excuse that I have hurt Jack in my pursuit, but I will not lower myself to your level."
Shockwave stared at him, optic blank and lacking any discernable emotion, the cracks only further making him appear highly unsettling. "Then I cannot allow you to interfere with the specimen's progress."
Predaking's optics widened, and he only managed to crouch down at the last moment before a plasma blast was sent flying overhead and hit the wall, chunks falling to the floor. Incredulity didn't last long, and rage was back at the forefront of his mind. He can dare claim Jack is important and attack me when I am right in front of him? He growled and lunged forward.
His claws only grabbed air as Shockwave ducked to the side, and Predaking howled as a plasma blast caught him in the side. He glared at the scientist, who only aimed his cannon at him again. "You are quicker than I thought." Predaking growled.
Any reply was cut off when Darksteel and Skylynx rushed in through the door, looking wildly around at the damage. "What the scrap happened?!" The former yelled.
Predaking narrowed his optics for when a split second Shockwave turned at the sound, and he shot forward. He grabbed a hold of the cannon, claws wrapped tight and he threw the mech into the wall, a sudden jerk being all he felt as the gun was ripped off.
Predaking growled as he tossed the cannon aside and let his own servo turn into a blaster. He reached the crumpled form, sparks flying from where wires and cables hung out of the shoulder socket. Predaking reached down and grabbed Shockwave by the neck and lifted him up, scraping him against the wall. The cracked optic flickered as Predaking shoved his blaster to his chest plate. "And his name," he hissed, "is Jack."
With a single pulse, metal screeched and twisted as it melted away. That red optic flickered once more, and faded to black as the spark did.
Predaking narrowed his optics again, and he let the empty husk fall to the floor. His gaze turned to the two Predacons standing by the door, both blinking as they glanced between the corpse and Predaking.
"So…what now?" Skylynx questioned.
Predaking vented deeply. Rage simmered down, and his optics softened as he looked over at Jack. His blaster reformed into a servo, and he ripped one magnet holding Jack's leg up off, and gently eased the joint back down and straightened the leg out. He reached over and repeated the process with the other magnet, and made sure that Jack's thighs were pressed together to conceal his valve.
"I do not think it would be wise to move Jack, given his current state." Predaking glanced at the developing protoform before gazing back at the two Predacons. "You will both dispose of Shockwave's remains, and I will bring the Autobots here. Their medic will be helpful in aiding Jack."
He certainly didn't like the idea of the Autobots being around Jack, not after they'd failed him, but it wasn't as though he had done any better with finding him.
For the first time, Darksteel looked at him with something other than defiance. "Is he going to be okay?" he frowned and glanced down at Jack. "Starscream said he was, but…"
"That is for the medic to determine." Predaking replied. Physically Jack could be fine, but there was no telling what he would be like when he was brought out of his coma. He gazed at Jack's face, and for a moment he wasn't sure who this next part was meant for, "I will return soon."
He just knew this was a promise he would keep.