"Alright, Knockout, what is it this time?" Bumblebee asked once everyone was assembled. Steeljaw stood to Bee's left, arms crossed and tail curled around pedes, its tip twitching ever so slightly. Starscream stood to Bumblebee's right, servos bound by stasis cuffs.
"Why did you say it like that?" Knockout asked, then he noticed their faces. They all knew he was about to spring something on them at the last minute, again. "Well, it's more of a thing for Steeljaw and Screamer, but I also thought it would be best for you to know, too, Bee."
"Know about what?"
Knockout opened his subspace compartment and reached inside. He pulled out a dark purple orb with a bright blue/green aura surrounding it. He tossed the object to Steeljaw, who caught it and started looking it over. Bumblebee and Starscream's optics widened as soon as they recognized the device.
"A Lightbender?" Steeljaw said, turning his attention back to Knockout.
"Where on Cybertron did you find one?" Bumblebee exclaimed. "Lightbenders are rare, highly prized items. They are far from cheap… how did you manage to afford this?"
Knockout stiffened. He figured Bumblebee knew the facts, and would get suspicious if somebody was in possession of one...
And he was right.
"Knockout, where did you get the Lightbender?" Bumblebee demanded.
"Uh… Perceptor?" Knockout nervously replied. Bumblebee just stood there, dumbfounded.
"I… but… how did you get a Lightbender from Perceptor?"
"He lent it to me? So I have to bring it back when we're done with it."
" . . . Why?"
"I… may have told him that it was for an experiment."
Bumblebee cupped his faceplate in his servos and shook his helm.
"Knockout," the yellow bot groaned.
Meanwhile, neither Steeljaw nor Starscream bothered to hide their amusement.
"What?" Knockout exclaimed. "It's not like I completely lied, exactly. The Lightbender is for an experiment: this mission. I mean, the mission is sort of an experiment, or at least the precursor to one. Besides, with both Starscream and Steeljaw on board, I knew I had to get another one somehow..."
"Wait, you already have one?"
The room fell silent. Bumblebee, Starscream, and Steeljaw were all staring at Knockout. The red mech avoided optic contact for a minute.
Scrap.
"Yeah..." Knockout trailed, rubbing his helm. "About that… that brings me to the other thing that I wanted to bring-up."
Bumblebee looked about ready to knock KO out.
"This is the last, last-minute surprise! I swear! Please don't ruin my finish!"
Bumblebee vented and calmed himself down.
"Alright. Tell us."
