Part 10

The medic half rose, one hand reaching out towards the twins. They reacted instantly to the perceived threat, Sideswipe batting the arm away and Sunstreaker following up with a cross-jab punch combination that sent the medic sprawling.

They would have moved in to finish him off if Prowl hadn't jumped in the way, slightly crouched with his arms spread, shoulders hunched and doorwings flung wide to make himself look larger and more intimidating as he fixed the twins with a glare that dared challenge; quickly transmitting a hasty "Stay out!" to the undoubtably worried Autobots outside.

The room was perfectly still as the three Autobots silently contested their authority, Sunstreaker towering over the Datsun and delivering a glare that would have had most Decepticons begging for mercy, while Sideswipe was crouched and about to spring, lips peeled back from his dental plates in a silent snarl. Prowl remained unmoved, his face coldly impassive but his optics hard and dark as cobalt.

Sideswipe looked down and Sunstreaker backed away, both twins recognising the elder mech's dominance. Prowl rose to his full height, keeping his optics locked on the twins and his door panels stiff.

Outside the ersatz padded cell, Jazz, Wheeljack, Smokescreen, Perceptor and First Aid watched in rapt fascination as Prowl silently manoeuvred the twins away from the still prone Ratchet. They had been about to rush the chamber when Ratchet was knocked down. It was only Prowl's uncharacteristically forceful command that kept them outside.

"What's he doing?" Wheeljack asked, his voice a near whisper as if he was afraid of breaking the Datsun's control over the twins.
"I…I'm not sure." Smokescreen answered, his voice similarly lowered and optics glued to every movement played out on the small video display.

"I think I've an idea." Jazz said after a moment. "Any o' ya seen a movie called 'The Horse Whisperer'?"
"I believe not. Why do you ask?" Perceptor queried.
"Well, the dude in it learns t' talk horse body lingo." The black and white explained. "Got Prowl t' watch it with me an' Hound a few years ago. Turns out Prowl did a behaviour study on some o' the critters back on Cybertron doin' some o' th' same kinda stuff. I think right now Prowl's tryin' t' speak twin."

Inside, Prowl had herded the twins a safe distance away from Ratchet, but not too close to the walls. Making sure he had their attention, he slowly relaxed his door wings and shoulders, then ever so slightly lifted his chin so that his throat was exposed- a sign of trust.

"Listen to me." He said, beginning slowly and softly, then altering his tone to one of sharp, parade ground command. "You are Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, Autobot warriors. Do you understand me?"
"Yessir." The twins chorused, centuries of military training automatically responding to the authority in Prowl's voice.

"What happened to you at Polyhex?" Prowl barked.
"We were attacked." Sideswipe reported; knees locked and fists at his sides in parade ground attention.
"By whom?"
"Autobots." Sunstreaker reported.
"Illogical. You are Autobots. Why would Autobots attack you?" Prowl questioned.

"Because…" Sideswipe trailed off and paused for a moment, then gave his head a violent shake. Sunstreaker swayed slightly and blinked. "What? Prowl?" Sideswipe looked at the 2IC, his optics returned to their usual hue of summer sky blue. "What's…"
"Ratchet! Is he?" Sunstreaker interrupted.

"He is dazed, but he will be fine." Prowl replied. "As he has often said, it will take more than you two to be the end of him." He said, a faint smile of relief touching his lips. "But what is of priority is that you remove the root cause of this problem- the program installed while on your mission to Polyhex just before the Ark launch."

"Yes, I remember now." Sunstreaker said, optics hardening slightly. He faced his brother. "Shall we?" He asked.
"Let's." Sideswipe replied. He locked his left hand around his twin's shoulder and placed his right hand at the back of Sunstreaker's cranium, tiny wires emerging from his fingertips and snaking between his helm and the inner casing of his neural circutry, Sunstreaker doing the same for him. One by one, systems shut down as the twin initiated the cerebral link.