Author's Notes: Happy weekend once again! This is on the long side for a chapter, the more the merrier! As always, please let me know what you think, comment and enjoy!
Agent Fowler
"My baby was found in North Carolina!?"
Fowler yanked the cell phone away from his head so the screaming woman on the other line didn't burst his ear drum. He grit his teeth and gave the base's medical center he stood next to another forlorn glance. He had been at the medical facility's front entrance on his way to check on Rhea when his phone buzzed. It was Rhea's foster mother, Justine Karens, who somehow got his personal number.
Of course, when they discovered Rhea's identity and found her in the missing child data base, her foster parents were informed. There were people in branches under him who were supposed to deal with Rhea's foster parents while Fowler focused on her recovery and what she may have been subjected to while in the presence of a Decepticon. However, he had been told, and now learned firsthand, Justine was more than a handful. She had called her way up through each government branch until she landed on him. She couldn't get any higher than him, unless he put one of the Bots on the phone. Though extremely tempting, Fowler repressed that thought.
"Yes, Mrs. Karens… Rhea was found on the North Carolina coast, but she's been involved in a, er… accident, and is currently in the hospital-"
"Is she alive?" the California woman demanded before he could finish.
Since Rhea had been injured by a Cybertronian fire fight, Fowler had considered telling Rhea's foster parents the truth, depending on their temperaments of course. Then he spoke with them. Now he was throwing together a more down to Earth story of how Rhea got so terribly hurt. "Yes, she's alive. It was a car accident Mrs. Karans… I was actually just headed to the medical center to check on her-"
"I don't understand! Our car was found in Nevada, and you said she's in North Carolina. Which is it? How was she in a car accident if she didn't have a car?!" Justine Karens snarled.
"There is still a lot we don't know, Ma'am. As I stated, I was on my way to speak with Rhea in person so we can maybe shed some light-"
"She's been off her medication for over three months!" Justine shouted, and Fowler pulled the phone away from his ear again. "She'll be talking complete nonsense without her medication! I need to be there, or my lawyer needs to be there if she is going to talk to anyone! She's mentally ill! She can't talk for herself! I need to speak with her first. My husband is booking a flight to North Carolina right now, which facility is she located?"
Fowler winced. That would be quite impossible, since Rhea was no longer in North Carolina, but instead had been Groundbridged to a Nevada Military base. He certainly did not share that information as he tried to continue. "Please, ma'am. There is no need to fly to North Carolina. We will return her to California once she is well enough-"
"She. Is. Mentally. Ill! She needs me or her doctor with her!" Justine repeated with the tone of someone reprimanding an ignorant child.
Fowler finally had to release a sigh. This was getting nowhere, and Rhea may have fallen back asleep during this forty-five minute back and forth with her caretaker. "Mrs. Karens. I will give you her doctor's number, and you may direct all your questions regarding her current state to him." He said and then gave a silent prayer to the doctor he had just offered up as sacrifice to the woman's anger. He stated the number twice, despite repeated interruptions, and then quickly hung up after giving a stern goodbye. Then he set his phone to silent just in case.
Fowler took a deep, grounding breath. "Lady is crazier than my old drill sergeant back at basic training." He mumbled to himself before he pushed open the front doors to the medical facility.
Feeling more apprehensive by the second, Agent Fowler flipped through Rhea Jackson's case file during the short trek to the elevator. The Bot's depended on him to discover something from this girl, but the more he read about her, and after speaking extensively to her foster mother, the less confident he was in his abilities to do that. Apparently, her biological father's death exasperated her mental illness to the point of near complete adult dependency. Her California doctor said she could be violent and lash out, and without her medication could not remain focused during a one-on-one conversation. Of course, this only made him more irritated at her California caretakers, or more so than he was already. If Rhea had been this dependent on around the clock care, how in Uncle Sam's beard did her foster parents allow her to wander from their house and into the custody of the Decepticon's third in command?
A nurse allowed Fowler into the girl's room and he steeled himself for the worst. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but when he entered, the young girl looked up from her bed. She seemed quite coherent, if not still loopy from sedatives and surgery. As calmly as he could, Fowler pulled up a chair next to her hospital bed and offered a friendly smile. "Hello, Rhea. I'm Special Agent William Fowler, with the United States Government. I'm glad to see you are awake. Can you understand what I'm saying?"
She was fiddling with her IV line, the bed sheets, or anything she could get her fingers on. Though her body was agitated, her whole unhindered focus was on Fowler. "I understand you just fine." She said, very clearly. Fowler resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow.
"I know you've been through a lot, and I'm sure you're scared." he continued carefully. "But I want to promise that you are safe now. I was hoping to learn a little bit about what you have gone through, while in the custody of… the large hostile robot."
Rhea's eyes narrowed at him. "Soundwave's never hurt me; I was always safe with him even though he was a Decepticon. I only got hurt when I met the Autobots." She informed him.
Fowler hadn't been ready for that well informed answer at all. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "So… you know about it all?"
"Yeah, so don't patronize me. How are Soundwave and Laserbeak? I want to see them."
"They are in Autobot custody and are being questioned. And I'm sorry, you can't see them right now." Fowler answered.
Rhea's cold gaze began to tremble. Now she looked fearful. "Please don't let the Autobots hurt them. Soundwave is trying to make things right. Please…"
"It's really not up to me," Fowler explained softly. "But I can pass along what you say."
A knock on the door interrupted him. A nurse peeked in. "Rhea, your mother got done talking with the doctor and wants to talk to you. The phone is by your bed."
"My mother? That's impressive of her, since she's been dead for almost ten years." Rhea said and attempted a weak shrug.
"Your foster mother, dear." The nurse explained with a huff before ducking out.
Fowler glared at the bedside hospital phone that blinked with an incoming call. Even without talking to her directly Justine had found a way to interrupt him.
Rhea was staring at the blinking light, then looked up at him. "Can I take this?" She asked.
"Of course," he said.
Fowler didn't have time to get up and give her privacy. Rhea placed the phone to her ear and said simply, "Piss off, Justine," and despite her shaking limbs she slammed the phone back onto its housing. Then she shoved the whole device to the ground for good measure.
Fowler considered the broken phone on the tile floor, then glanced back at Rhea with a raised brow. "Home life that good hu?"
Rhea leaned heavy into her pillows, the small amount of activity seeming to have sapped what little strength she had. "Soundwave and Laserbeak were way better company. They never called me stupid or locked me in my room for days. They never banged pans over me when I was asleep because they knew I hate loud sounds or used me for government money. They are my friends, and it's really ironic it took a pair of alien robots to treat me like a person."
Fowler tried to keep his face neutral as he took in everything she said. "So, your foster parents in California abused you?"
"Yeah, you could say that. They used my autism as a tool and treated me like I was less then human because of it. But I'm not just mad at them. The whole system failed me. I took my life into my own hands. They tried to keep me as a dependent for the rest of my life, so I chose to liberate myself. They are horrific people, and I won't go back. I'll just keep running if you send me back. I live with Soundwave now. He will protect me. I'll leave Earth all together if I have to." Rhea bit the inside of her lip, breaking their eye contact as tears threatened to spill over her lashes. She blinked them away when something seemed to dawn on her and then she quickly added, "You said you're with the government? Jim and Justine have also lied on their taxes for at least the past five years."
Despite the tension, Fowler laughed at the last comment. "I'll pass that along to the right people… but now, Rhea, I could really use your help. How much do you know about what is going on between the Autobot's and Decepticons?"
"Probably not enough," she admitted. "But I know there's a war going on, and Soundwave was on the run from them. And before you ask anything else, I'm not going to tell you anything that will incriminate Soundwave and Laserbeak. Send me to jail or some secret government prison camp. Both would be an improvement over Jim and Justine's house. But, I won't betray Soundwave's trust."
Fowler nodded numbly. He had been afraid of that. Though it seemed Rhea was far more competent than Justine had said she was, she was choosing to withhold what she knew. That left him and the Bot's back at square one. It seemed this Cortical Psychic Patch would be the only option left to them, no matter how much damage it would do to their prisoner. Under normal circumstances, Fowler wouldn't have given this news a second thought. This Con had personally done him dirty a few times. His bird drone Laserbeak had been the one to drag him to the Decepticon war ship where he was tortured by Starscream. Then Soundwave himself knocked him into the wall when he had first escaped the Autobot base with Ratchet as a prisoner.
But his feelings had shifted somewhat, seeing the Con through Rhea's eyes. For whatever reason, this girl cared for Soundwave. She was smart and empathetic, and she saw something good in him. After losing both her parents and then enduring five years with the Karens, (Fowler couldn't handle 45 minutes on the phone with Justine) he worried what losing Soundwave would do to her.
Fowler stood from the chair and gave the blanket over her knee a pat. "I understand you don't want to say anything that can hurt your friend. And you aren't going to prison. Please, excuse me."
Rhea gazed down at her bedsheets, her eyes reflecting fear and sorrow. Fowler stopped in the doorway. "I'll, pass on a good word for the Con to the Autobots… and for whatever it's worth, about your home life in California, I believe you."
"Thank you." Rhea whispered to his back as he gently closed the door.
Soundwave
He had no idea how much time had passed since he was first sedated for repairs. There was no more pain, but the Autobots had kept him in a semi drugged state, to maintain his complacency no doubt. Though he was conscious, mostly, his current situation did hinder the progress he was making remotely hacking into the Autobot database. Under normal circumstances, he would have had the cuffs and energy shield deactivated in no time. He assumed this may be the reason behind the sedatives. The Autobots had learned from his last imprisonment it would seem.
Despite the drug induced handicap, he managed to connect to Laserbeak. The Autobots probably assumed the concrete walls were thick enough to sever their symbiotic connection. It was yet one more thing they were wrong about.
Laserbeak had asked about Rhea, and Soundwave had nothing to offer to ease his Minicon's worry. He didn't even know if Rhea was still alive. He was now relying on Laserbeak to hack through the firewall to release them both. That was one good thing about the Autobot's archaic assumptions about Laserbeak's intelligence. They didn't bother drugging him. They didn't assume they were dealing with another Cybertronian of higher cognitive abilities. "My progress is at fifty percent, Master Soundwave." Laserbeak informed him, updating Soundwave on his progress by every tenth digit.
Somewhere beyond Soundwave's limited spectrum of awareness, a door opened. Then the energy shield dropped. Soundwave forced himself into a sitting position, so he didn't feel so prone. From the fog, the yellow chassis of Bumblebee appeared, knelt in front of him. Soundwave vaguely registered someone's firm grip on his shoulder.
"Soundwave," he thought he heard Bumblebee say. "Rhea is going to be ok. She's under Agent Fowler's protection right now."
Even though he didn't fully trust his auditorys, relief flooded every circuit in Soundwave's chassis. Reha was alive. He mentally conveyed this information to Laserbeak. The Minicon was relieved beyond words, silent or otherwise. Though enemies with the Autobots, they had at least served a purpose in saving Rhea's life. It was a task which was beyond Soundwave's own abilities before. This was a fact he still hated.
Soundwave tried to refocus as he felt himself removed from the cell. It became bright around him. He assumed he was outside. That didn't last for long as doors closed behind him, and he was laid down against a flat surface. His cuffs released but his servos were quickly immobilized by his sides. He put together he was being strapped to a berth. He was going to be interrogated. He had wondered when that would eventually happen.
Something was pumped into his veins, and full consciousness smashed into him. After being given the reverse agent of the sedatives, he was finally able to assess his current situation. He was in the Autobot's Earth base, which was a larger than average human military hanger. He was indeed secured to an interrogation table, Autobots dissecting him with their glaring optics. Well, this situation was familiar.
Now that he was sufficiently immobilized, or at least to the Autobot's standards, Soundwave filled the tense silence with an unbroken glare fixed on Knockout, who was now standing among the Autobots. He had spotted his ex-Decepticon comrade almost instantly when he came to his senses. His paintjob was hard to miss.
Knockout had been pretending to read an information pad, but finally glanced Soundwave's way with a vent. "You're somehow scarier without the mask," Knockout said.
"And YOU are a traitor." Soundwave informed him coldly.
"No, I'm a survivor." Knockout corrected. "Plus, my talents are finally recognized among this new company. I don't have to worry about getting my paint peeled if I make one slip up. That makes the insufferable Autobot team building meetings and constant human company tolerable."
Soundwave didn't lift his judgmental stair, that promised more than peeled paint if Knockout came any closer. Even restrained as he was, Soundwave assumed Knockout came to a similar conclusion, and maintained his distance.
The Autobots had not begun any type of interrogation yet. Most loitered in whispering voices that they assumed Soundwave couldn't hear. He had quickly gathered they were waiting for their prompt to leader Ultra Magnus to arrive, who would be Soundwave's main questioner. Aside from the Autobot commander, there was still one bot missing from their ranks. Where was the Prime?
Soundwave scanned the hanger, and located the group of human children, all around the same age as Reha. They remained on the elevated catwalk, far from his own corner. They, in turn, were watching him. The shortest among them, wearing clear optic coverings, seemed the most curious, as if he were toying with the idea of speaking to Soundwave directly but couldn't summon the nerve.
A human sized door to the hanger opened. A dark pigmented human arrived. Agent Fowler, Soundwave knew him as. This was also the human who would know of Reha's current condition. Soundwave tried to glean anything of Reha's wellbeing from his expression.
Agent Fowler gave Bumblebee a flat look. "Rhea doesn't want to share anything she may know. But, she is putting in a good word for the bot of honor." With the comment, he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Soundwave. "She wants to see him too, but I figured that was probably a bad idea."
"Absolutely not! Way to dangerous," Ratchet said quickly.
Soundwave turned his helm as far has he was physically able to glare daggers at the old medic. Was the Autobot suggesting Soundwave was a danger to Reha, as in, he would purposely harm her? The accusation bit him deep, but he held back any snarling words that threatened to break his calm demeanor.
"Why?" came the questioning voice of one of the children. It was the light skinned female, who had her arms crossed as she looked across the room at Ratchet. "Seems to me Soundwave and foster kid were pals. He even saved her life. Yeah, I wouldn't let him pet sit for me any time soon, but doesn't she deserve to know you guys haven't chopped him up and made him into an oversized floor lamp?"
"Miko, Pa-lease," Ratchet vented, but he was interrupted by the same human.
"If the Cons had captured me and Bulkhead, you better believe I would be pounding down the doors to get to him." The human girl, Miko, said seriously.
A buzz from Agent Fowler's cellular device interrupted the back and forth between bot and human. Soundwave focused on him again. The call may be more news about Reha. He was unsettled when Agent Fowler made a wincing expression.
"I told my assistant not to let her call my phone anymore. By the stars and stripes, this woman is driving me crazy." He grumbled and let the phone ring itself into stillness.
"Who?" The tallest of the human children asked.
"Reha's foster mother. When we found out who she was we informed her foster parents in California, and the woman has been ringing my phone off the hook ever since." Fowler sighed.
"You snitched?" Miko gasped, then narrowed her eyes at Agent Fowler. "She ran away for a reason I'm sure."
The phone buzzed to life again. Fowler pursed his lips as he considered the number on the small screen. "She's trying to book a ticket to fly here, despite me telling her not to."
"Do not let those humans near Reha," Soundwave snapped. The outburst was enough to bring the room's focus onto him. Even Knockout, who had been busy with his own work, glanced over his shoulder with a raised optic ridge. Soundwave calmed his tone and continued. "If she is kept away from me… that is acceptable. But those humans are a danger to her wellbeing. As the human designated Miko stated, she left their care for a reason."
Soundwave noted Agent Fowler's knowing expression. He silenced the phone and took a few careful steps towards Soundwave's table. "How do you know they are a danger to her. Did she tell you?"
Soundwave said, "If Reha is well enough to speak, I assume she informed you as well?"
Agent Fowler nodded.
"She escaped their exploitation. That is how I found her." Soundwave insisted. "But if you do not take her word, or my own, consider this. Reha knowingly spent her time in the company of a hostile alien force, rather than her so called caretakers. That act alone, speaks volumes."
"Not a bad point." The tallest human adolescent said with a shrug. Soundwave had determined this human was named Jack.
"No matter what is going on, we'll protect her," Bumblebee assured Soundwave. The back and forth stopped, Soundwave's focus on the yellow and black bot. Bumblebee approached him, pulling up a crate to sit on. "But right now, Soundwave, we need you to help us. Cybertron is in danger of fracturing again. You need to know more then you're telling us."
Soundwave considered the Autobot's plea. So, it seemed they would not wait for Ultra Magnus to begin the interrogation. He assumed the young scout was going from a 'good bot' angle, trying to sway him to give away Decepticon secrets with an air of helpfulness. He knew this was a trick. But he struggled with the conflicting emotion he had for the bot before him. This Autobot, Bumblebee, stabbed Megatron. If not for the ethereal powers of Unicron, Megatron would have been offlined permanently. But he also saved Reha. Soundwave found his allegiance torn in half. At the very least, Bumblebee seemed the most reliable to gain his own information regarding what was happening on Cybertron.
"I don't know anything. I can't give you what I don't have." Soundwave said simply. The lie brought about a rare pang of regret in him. He was not obligated to say anything… he had to remind himself of that. But a small voice deep in his consciousness disagreed. They were both trying to stop whoever had taken over the Decepticon forces on Cybertron. Though politically and morally polarized, Soundwave grudgingly acknowledged Bumblebee wanted what was best for Cybertron, just as he did.
Soundwave was shocked by his own inner thoughts. Was he actually considering Bumblebee's plea?
Bumblebee vented in frustration. "You said you talk to Megatron?"
"He talked to Bucket Head?" Bulkhead asked. "That's reassuring."
"What did Megatron tell you exactly?" Bumblebee pressed.
Megatron had told Soundwave a lot. He knew the Kaon underground was more than likely where the insurgence was camped. Aside from that, Soundwave knew everything there was to know about the Decepticons, the information all logged away in his processor. "He told me little." He said instead and ignored the voice of protest growing louder in his mind. "Only that he wants nothing to do with the Decepticon cause. I asked his permission to restore order. How I would go about that, I have not yet decided. That is all I know."
"Would you like to try another story, Con?" demanded the authoritative voice of Ultra Magnus. The large commander entered the room from the opposite hall, a data pad in his clutches and Soundwave in his sights. He synched the data pad into the larger console and at once Soundwave recognized the information downloaded onto the large screens. It was his message he had sent to the Decepticon ship, the Renegade. The Autobots must have gained a great deal of Decepticon tech to decode his transmission so quickly.
He tried to remain stone faced as his decoded words echoed for everyone to hear.
"Transmission sent from Earth. I am Soundwave, requesting immediate pickup from nearest Decepticon starship to my location. Be informed, Megatron has relinquished command over the Decepticons to myself, Megatron voice print follows…"
Megatron's own words resonated through the hanger. "Then consider this a promotion. You lead them now …I'll leave it up to you. As I said, it is no longer my burden."
Soundwave's message resumed. "To effectively lead, I require information regarding the interlopers on Cybertron."
The response from the Renegade played. "Message received, Megatron's intentions for transferred leadership, acknowledged. Decepticon forces divided. Conspiracy among higher command. Stable leadership needed and urgent. Further communication risky. Moving into rendezvous and brief in person, Lord Soundwave."
The recorded voices ceased, and Soundwave became acutely aware every pair of optics were fixed on him. This did not bode well. Worst of all, Bumblebee was gawking down on him with a look Soundwave could only describe as betrayal. So the Scout believed everything he had claimed before the truth was revealed? Aside from that kind of blind innocence being horrifically naive, the look the Autobot gave him elicited more guilt he didn't know he had.
"So… Megatron made you leader?" Smokescreen asked with an air of disbelief. Soon enough he started to chuckle. "I wonder what Starscream would think of that. I kinda want to be there when he finds out."
"It would seem," Ultra Magnus intoned. "We have in our custody not the ex Decepticon Communication's officer, but the Decepticon leader himself. And due to the unstable Decepticon leadership on Cybertron, many Cons have defected and are still loyal to the old regime."
"This… this is great news!" Ratchet said with an outburst of enthusiasm. "We have the head of the Decepticon forces. This will be a good bargaining chip to gain information from other Cons."
"And best part, this should be enough to get the New Council off our backs," Bulkhead said with a chuckle.
A feeling of deep, dark foreboding iced into Soundwave's Spark. It had been an off servoed comment, but it stuck in Soundwave's processor like a spear through his helm. "What 'New Council'?" Soundwave demanded of the ex-wrecker.
"It's an emergency task force," Bumblebee explained with a hollow shrug. He still seemed upset about Soundwave's deception. "It exists to expedite political issues and assist in the more logistical side of Cybertron's reconstruction. Overall, it is there to make everything run smoother."
"Who are they?" Soundwave went on to question, and he could feel his resolve to remain outwardly neutral begin to crack. Bumblebee gave him a confused look, as if he didn't comprehend the simple question. "The members that make up this new Council, who are they?" Soundwave specified.
"Why does that matter?" Arcee asked with an arched optic ridge and crossed servos. "You sad Megatron wasn't voted on?"
"If you must know," Ultra Magnus said with a growl. "It is a group made up from democratically elected Autobot officers, save for two among the party, who were members of the original Cybertronian Council who managed to escape on the Ark before they fell to Megatron's many raids. Those two older leaders have graciously offered their political expertise to help lead the new Council."
There had been few times in Soundwave's long life, where he was rendered almost completely dumfounded. Hearing what the Autobot commander said, and then mentally replaying the clip just to make sure he had heard it right, Soundwave could almost feel a major fuse blow in his neuro cluster. "You reinstated members… from the old Council?" he didn't bother hiding the venom that had leaked into his tone.
Soundwave was thoroughly disgusted. He felt he had a right to be after enduring a four-million-year war to assure such a thing never happened again. Megatron had taken such great pains to dismantle the old system, to break it down so Cybertron could finally move forward. Those unyielding bots that sat on that original Council had kept Cybertron suppressed, refusing to allow progress to encroach into their realm of power. They preached peace, but he recalled seeing many of their faces in the luxury box that overlooked the Pits of Kaon, cheering for spilt Energon with the rest of the roaring fans. Throwing around high-end bets and toasting high grade Energon when a gladiator's Spark was ripped out. Two of those Councilbots were now on this new council, back in power.
A four-million-year war.
He could hardly wrap his processor around it. The Autobots had no idea what they had rekindled. They had just opened the door for the old system to come back, just as Megatron warned it would if the Decepticon cause ever faltered. In recent weeks, with Rhea's insight, and even Megatron's new outlook, Soundwave had started to accept the Decepticon cause had shifted during the war. They had lost their way. He could accept that. Once the Decepticon usurper on Cybertron was dealt with, he fully intended to realign his cause where it needed to be. But this. There was no redeeming this egregious oversight on the Autobot's part. These fools within the hanger may be oblivious to what they had drug back from the Pits, but Soundwave knew better. Nothing would ever change in the Autobot's hands…
Soundwave broke the glare he had fixed on Ultra Magnus and looked to Bumblebee. He could relate to the feeling of betrayal the young scout had towards him not moments ago, because he now felt the same. Soundwave had shared a comradery with him, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it. That connection had been significant enough to almost make him crack and share what he knew. Now he felt like a fool. How could he have ever thought, even for a nanoklik, that the Autobot's could handle Cybertron's future?
Ultra Magnus stomped over to Soundwave, who staired past him defiantly. "Enough of this nonsense. The Decepticon ship that is coming to rendezvous with you, when are they arriving?"
Soundwave took a cue from his old self and remained silent. These fools would get nothing else from him.
"Soundwave, come on." Bumblebee said at his side. "You need to help us."
Soundwave staired at him again with disgust, and he was sure betrayal shown through as well. 'How?' he wanted to scream at the yellow bot but suppressed it. 'How could you have been this naive? You were fighting for what you thought was right, how could you let this happen?'
"As head honcho, Soundwave should have the access codes." Knockout chimed in. "I'd imagine Megatron gave them to him. That's something the self-appointed Con leader on Cybertron won't have."
"Access codes?" Ultra Magnus demanded of Knockout.
Soundwave snapped his helm to the side to glare warningly at Knockout. The silent threat was simple, but very affective. Knockout wilted under his gaze.
Ultra Magnus stepped between them. "What do you mean? What did Megatron give him?"
Knockout fumbled, but no longer in Soundwave's murderous sights, he spoke. "Megatron kept literally everything worth knowing, passwords, Decepticon life signals, ship data, Energon stores and hidden locations, basically every Decepticon secret, all with him in a series of files he never parted with. Not like he trusted anyone else with it. He could only access some info at a time, but Soundwave would be able to handle it all in his processor without blowing a fuse. If he's the official, Megatron appointed leader, He would have it now."
"With all that, we could eradicate the Decepticon threat for good, the new group and the old!" Ratchet said, utterly amazed.
Ultra Magnus whirled around to face down Soundwave. In turn, Soundwave mirrored the glare. "You have three options," Ultra Magnus explained. "We can use the Cortical Psychic Patch and damage your processor in the process, torture, or you can hand over these access codes willingly."
"As recent memory serves, your attempted interrogation on me did not go well for you Autobots the last time." Soundwave reminded them coldly. "No torture you Autobots can manage will break me, and though regrettable, I am perfectly willing to destroy all I possess before you can connect me to a Cortical Psychic Patch."
Soundwave's defiant focus remained locked on the Autobot commander, who stood over him, his own fury prominent. Both wills were unbudging.
Knockout vented loudly. "Or fourth option. You can drag his human pet over here and torture her until he spills something."
Soundwave's Spark jolted in his chest. He tried not to let the panic show on his face plates. Inside he was reeling at the thought of Rhea hurt in any way. To his relief, almost every Autobot turned their focus to the red bot and snarled.
"We. Don't. Hurt. Humans. Knockout!" Arcee snapped. Going by her inflection, it was definitely not the first time this sentiment had been conveyed to Knockout.
"But did no one else see how Soundwave reacted when I even suggested it?" Knockout fired back. "Primus! You couldn't even fake it long enough to make it work. You want results? I can guarantee Soundwave has never had a more exploitable weakness in 4 million years then he does right now."
"Did you ever see the fights that took place in the Pits of Kaon, Knockout?" Soundwave asked, his voice cold and his optics locked onto his ex-comrade.
"Um…" Knockout stammered, clearly confused by the seemingly random statement.
Soundwave elaborated. "Megatron was the only bot I could not defeat. But he taught me well in the arena. I pride myself for my impeccable memory, but even I don't recall how many Sparks I ripped out in that gladiatorial pit. If that human is so much as bruised, the bot responsible will know true pain before their Spark is added to the tally I have accumulated."
Knockout let out an involuntary whimper, then slowly retreated behind Bulkhead and Wheeljack for cover.
"No matter what," Bumblebee stated sternly. "We won't hurt a human. We will never stoop that low. If we ever get to the point where we are considering it, then whatever we are fighting for has been corrupted. We'd be no better than the Cons."
"So we're back to where we started?" Bulkhead muttered. "Soundwave won't spill anything, some random lunatic is trying to take over Cybertron, and we have an unknown Decepticon ship headed to Earth, on top of everything else."
"I can chase the Con ship down in the Jackhammer. It'll give me something useful to do," Wheeljack offered with a shrug. "What do you say, Miko? Want to take shotgun and help shoot down some Con…" he faltered. Soundwave glanced up, and saw the Wrecker was staring at the now empty Catwalk. The human children were missing. "Where'd the short pikes go?"
Reha
The nurse at Reha's bedside hummed a nonsense tune while she reconnected her IV line. So far, the doctors had been useless when it came to gaining any kind of information. Reha was exasperated, but still she tried again with this newest nurse. "Please, can't I just see if Soundwave is ok?"
"You need to rest," the scrub clad woman insisted with a soft, patronizing tone. "You already hurt yourself trying to get out of bed. How about I get you the remote to watch some tv?"
"I don't want to watch tv!" Reha snapped. She scratched at the white and uniform hospital sheets until her fingertips hurt. "I want to see Soundwave! Where is Agent Fowler? At least let me talk to him."
The nurse gently patted Reha's knee. "I'll grab the remote for if you change your mind." She insisted before exiting the room.
"Ug!" Reha slammed her head back into the pillow, and instantly regretted the move when it rekindled her previous headache. She rubbed her hands together, her IV's making the motion difficult, which frustrated her more.
She huffed a sigh. The room was lacking anything that could assist in an escape. Despite the sickly-sweet attitude of the previous nurse, she had been right. Reha tried and failed to get out of bed on her own. If she could get a wheelchair, or anything that could carry her… She closed her eyes, defeat biting at her. What did she expect, the doctors would just let her wheel herself out the doors, wires dangling behind her like a sad Macy's Day Parade float? She was helpless, and Soundwave may have already been killed.
"He's stronger than that," she whispered, opening her eyes. If she raised enough attention, she could at least demand Agent Fowler back. For that to happen, she had to become a nuisance. She pulled the pulse monitor off her middle finger which made the machine it was connected to beep in alarm. "Oh no, I'm flatlining!" she yelled out towards the open door. She spilled the water pitcher on her bedside table onto the floor. "My stitches popped! Oh god, blood's everywhere!" She was ignored. She sighed again, then reconnected the pulse monitor to stop the beeping. It wasn't helping her headache.
"Reha, right?"
Reha startled. Standing in the doorway were not medical professionals, but three teenagers around her own age. The shortest teen was hauntingly familiar and seemed to be the one who spoke. He adjusted his boxy glasses back up the bridge of his nose, and the motion made her remember.
"You're the tungsten kid, from Derrell's shop. Raf." She said with new realization.
"That's me." Raf confirmed with a shy smile.
"What, how are you even here?" Reha questioned. Though she didn't know where exactly in the United States 'here' was, she couldn't imagine the odds of running into the Nevada teen inside whatever military base surrounded them.
"We're friends with the Bots," the tallest teen explained, running a hand through his messy black hair. "I'm Jack, and this is Miko."
Reha blinked as she digested the statement. Bots, as in, Autobot? She gasped. "Really? Do you guys know if Soundwave is ok?" she asked hopefully, sitting up in her bed despite the discomfort such an action caused her.
"Yeah, he's fine and being extremely unhelpful." The accented girl, Miko said with a huff.
"It's why we're here," Jack interrupted Miko. He stepped closer, eyeing the water on the floor so he didn't slip. "The bots are questioning him, Soundwave that is. They need his help to stop some insurgence on Cybertron."
"But he is being thickheaded and stubborn," Miko added, crossing her arms for emphasis. "They have gone in circles for, who knows how long and getting nowhere. We three figured you may be able to talk him into helping, since your buddies… By the way, you do know he's on the wrong side, right?" she asked, raising a thin brow at Reha.
"It's not my place to judge Soundwave," Reha said back. "I also can't make him do anything."
"Well, you better think of something, before they start putting the clamps down on him." Miko said. Jack elbowed her in the ribs, but it was too late. Reha was already panicked.
"They're going to hurt him? No! Please, you have to talk them out of it!" Reha pleaded. "I know the Autobots and Decepticons are enemies, but… but he hasn't done anything wrong."
"While you've known him maybe," Miko huffed. "You should have met him a year ago when he had Megatron to impress."
"But everyone has to start somewhere with redemption," Raf said to Miko. He turned to Reha with a somber face. "I get we have different perspectives. We only know the Bots, and you befriended a Con. We all want to think our friends are the righteous side, but, right now, that isn't what's important. Cybertron, the home for both Autobot and Decepticon, is in jeopardy. They just revived it, and things were really turning around for the better, but that may be in danger if both groups don't come together and save it as a team."
"Well spoken, son." Agent Fowler said as he appeared in view from the hall. He gave the kids a grin. "I assumed I'd find you three here. And I overheard your conversation and agree. The bots are getting nowhere, and the longer they fight, the closer an unknown Decepticon vessel gets to Earth. Knowing the threat level to Earth is my job, but if the two sides can come to some sort of agreement, that danger is lowered significantly. Just seeing you, may change your Con's mind, and make him more likely to help our team. As a bonus, he'll be in less trouble if he does. I know this is a lot to take in, but we're the good guys, really. We're trying to help."
Reha glanced down from the group. Her hands rubbed the sheet between her fingers, feeling the grooves of the thin fabric. It satiated her nerves for a time. "Let me see him, and I'll see what I can do." She said at last.
