Chapter 6
A/N: Hello everyone! How's it going? Anyways, I'm basically done with my classes for the semester, so this means I have more time to write and work on character concept art more. Anyways, I don't own TFP or YJ.
/comms/
"Synthesized voices."
Nemesis, July 7, 14:47PDT
"Sir, this is Agent Fowler. I'm in route from the Autobot Base, I'll brief you in person."
"Autobot Base, eh?" Starscream mused. Tilting his chin up, he looked towards the TIC, a smirk on his face. If it weren't for his idea to increase surveillance, then this golden opportunity wouldn't have presented itself. "Bring in this Agent Fowler, so he may brief us instead."
The Spymaster gave him a curt nod, this time not bringing up any argument against this order. No doubt he knew an opportunity like this would not present itself again, and Soundwave would never pass up the chance to ensure the success of his liege.
Smirking, the Seeker turned, red eyes glancing over the screens in front of him. Yes, this was perfect. After extracting the information they wanted from Fowler, they could dispose of him as well as the irritating alliance with those other meddlesome humans. There would be no such need for it once the Autobots were out of the way, compared to them, taking on the Justice League would sparkling's play. And then they'd have no difficulties conquering the rest of this pathetic rock. "Humans, always the weak link."
-.-
Autobot Base: 14:58PDT
"Aw what now?!" Kid Flash whined, slamming his new hand of cards down on the table as the alarm blared loudly, causing several of them to cover their ears as Bulkhead ran from the room.
"Can you turn it off?!" Superboy called as they reluctantly followed the Leaguer towards the source of the noise.
"It's an SOS…from Fowler," Bulkhead answered biting his lip as he looked over the controls, though he didn't need to do anything as the alarm stopped as soon as it came.
"Can you trace it?" Aqualad inquired as the others rubbed their heads, trying to handle whatever residual ringing was going on in their ears.
"Scan was incomplete," Bulkhead replied with a shrug, "Oh well."
"Oh well? Seriously?" Emerald exclaimed, her jaw dropping.
"Fowler's a jerk!"
"Ok, that may be true, but whether we like the guy or not something's happened," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "And, need I remind you Fowler is the liaison between the government and the League. Mean, he knows our location, as well as the likely locations of other major League secrets like the Zeta Tubes?"
"And did we not just see how fast Fowler chickens out," Kid added. "He'll squeal."
"But we lost the transmission, Fowler could be anywhere."
"Maybe not," Robin said stepping up to the controls and typing. "About five years ago, the government began to chip their agents, like owners do with pets. And, their mainframe would have his location, at least down to a two mile radius depending on the accuracy." Smirking, he tapped his finger against the keyboard, "I'm in."
-.-
Nemesis
Fowler grunted as he was tossed forwards, his elbows banging against the cold, dark metal of the chamber. Looking up, the Agent scowled as he saw a lithe frame cloaked in the darkness. While he had never met the man in person, he knew enough about the Decepticons to recognize one of their highest-ranking officers.
"Welcome," a voice purred as glowing red eyes appeared from the darkness, "Agent Fowler."
They already knew his name. That was not good. But, even though now he was in a relatively safe—or it was supposed to be—desk job, he still had enough experience to know the start of an interrogation when he saw one. And, from how Prime and the Doc spoke, 'Con interrogations were anything but humane. Sitting up, he pretended to wipe dirt off his jacket as he glanced around the room.
It was dark, barely illuminated by a dim blue light and the glowing red eyes of the Cybertronian before him as well as the two guards standing just behind him. Though, through the darkness, he could make out chains reflecting the dim light, no doubt meant to restrain prisoners like himself. However, there was the obvious question as to why they took him specifically…though he had a strong suspicion as to what that reason was. "You treat all your guests this nicely?"
An amused chuckle reverberated throughout the chamber as Starscream turned, looking down his nose at him with a sneer, "Any friend of the Autobots."
Well, at least his suspicions were confirmed. Now he needed to wait until back-up arrived—assuming his distress signal got through that was. "Autobots…is that one of them coin-operated, wash-my-own-car places?"
"Oh, so that's how it's going to be, hmm?" the man sneered stepping into the light. Fowler grimaced as talons grabbed his chin, the sharp tips curling into his skin, threatening to break through it as he was lifted to meet glowing red eyes against black sclera, "Apparently no on has told you I have no appreciation for human humor."
With a scoff, Fowler grunted as he was dropped back to the floor. His mouth felt dry as he rubbed his throat, still feeling as if the talon prodding it was still there and he could feel warm, sticky liquid collecting against his fingers. The wounds, thankfully, seemed superficial at most. For right now, he was just grateful the madman hadn't decided to sink the talon in his neck just a bit further.
"Make sure our guest is…comfortable."
Agent Fowler took a shaky breath as he heard the clicking heels stroll away as he glanced behind at the two guards standing behind him. Even though he couldn't see their faces behind the masks of their helmets, he imagined they were wearing wolfish grins as they cracked their knuckles and reached for the chains.
-.-
Autobot Base, 15:08PDT
"Got it!" Robin exclaimed, causing the rest of them to perk up from where they'd been sitting as they waited for results. "Latitude: 39.5 and longitude: 116.9." The computer clicked as he typed the numbers in, and the team turned as they hear a whir watching as the glowing blue portal activated.
"Wait here," Bulkhead ordered grabbing his helmet and getting into his car.
"Aw! C'mon!" Kid Flash whined.
Bulkhead merely tossed him a glare as he got into the car, before opening the door again, "Kaldur! You're in charge!" Turning on the engine, the Autobot sped through the bridge as it closed.
Aqualad sighed, turning to the others, "Well, then I suppose we have the run of the place for now. Emerald, since you and Robin are here more than the rest of us, perhaps a tour is in order?"
"I mean, no problem, but Wally's probably already ran around the place multiple times," the ginger Lantern shrugged, "Right cuz?" Turning to the spot next to her, she blinked as she registered the missing presence of a certain speedster. "Wally?"
The others all looked around, brows furrowing, "Where'd he go?"
-.-
Unknown Location
"Fowler?" Bulkhead called stepping out of his truck as he scanned the rocky landscape for the agent. However, he didn't have to scan long before blue-green eyes widened as he spotted the massive warship peering out from a bend in the canyon ahead. "The whole Decepticon shebang." Slipping back into his truck, he pressed his palm to a different lever and he watched as several screens flickered to life around him as metal shifted.
The bipedal vehicle shook the ground nearby as it moved forwards, ducking behind a larger rock formation. Peering out, Bulkhead tapped a screen, zooming in as red circles locked onto potential targets. Decepitocon troops, about six currently on the ground; Primus only knew how many more were on board that ship, which was, no doubt, where Fowler currently was.
A scanner flashed and Bulkhead pressed himself closer to the rocks, watching as a red blip got closer, before seeing the soldier pass by on the screen. Fortunately, he wasn't noticed.
Unfortunately, Bulkhead did notice something else, something that shouldn't have been there. "What's the plan?" Kid inquired, a wide grin on the young speedster's face as he crouched behind a smaller set of rocks.
And, unlike Bulkhead, the speedster paled as the sound of a blaster powering up, slowly turning, Wally gulped as he came face-to-face with the bright violet glow of a massive cannon aiming down at him. He'd been spotted.
"Oh…I'm whelmed aren't I?
"KID, MOVE!"
Wally yelped as he leapt over the boulder, heat filling the air behind him as pebbles rained to the ground as the spot he'd previously been standing was now a smoking crater with embers glowing on the inside.
The soil beneath his feet quaked with the impact of something, causing the speedster to skid to a spot as he whipped around to see if Bulkhead was ok. Sparks flew as he watched metal claws slash at the green Autobot as it tried to get up, and metal groaned as they traded powerful blows before Bulkhead pinned the soldier again. "Kid look away!"
"But—"
"Turn your head away!" Bulkhead ordered again.
Before he could ask why, Wally's eyes widened as he watched Bulkhead released the hand holding the cannon and slammed it through the other's chest. Pulling it out, the speedster could only stare in awe as he saw massive cables spark as Bulkhead pulled them out, brilliant blue liquid dripping off the cords as sparks flew off, setting the fluid alight with flame. It was amazing to see the components of how the "transformers" as he liked to call them worked. They must've taken years to design. "That was so cool."
-.-
Jasper, 15:16PDT
Bumblebee sighed as he leaned back into his seat, drumming his fingers along the steering wheel as he looked over the streets watching people pause in the street, some taking pictures, others staring. Probably tourists, most of the locals tended to continue on with their day—unless they were his classmates at his school, their obsession was unnerving to say the least.
Though, at this rate, he'd take a crazy fan or something. Because, there was nothing going on. No robberies, no muggings, heck, he hadn't even seen anything drug related or even remotely worth investigating when he did a quick scan online over potential illicit activities. At least then he'd feel like he wasn't wasting his time out on patrol.
/Arcee, Bumblebee, do you read?/ Bulkhead called.
Oh thank Primus, tell him his friends accidently blew up the microwave or something so he could go back and hang out.
/Loud and clear Bulkhead/ Arcee replied.
/I have a situation/
In his car, 'Bee pumped his fist. Finally, something entertaining. He knew Emerald or Rob would come through for him and blow something up on "accident" so he could skip patrol.
There was an exasperated sigh on Arcee's end, /Bulkhead, they're kids, human kids. Even though they have superpowers, they can't be that hard to entertain. Just do whatever/
'Bee raised a brow at that comment, because clearly Arcee had not spent enough time around him in his friends to know their attention spans. Some days he swore they collectively shared a braincell between them.
The reply Bulkhead gave had him slamming on his brakes and doing an one-eighty as he stared at the screen in shock. How? Just how? He knew his friends could be hard to entertain sometimes, but there was no way they'd been gone long enough to do that.
Arcee clearly didn't believe it either cause he could glimpse her holding her hand up to her comm, jaw slack. /You're where? He's where?!/
Neither waited for Bulkhead's answer as they put petal to the metal and sped back towards base.
-.-
Autobot Base
"You don't think…?"
"Yep," Emerald answered, rubbing her temples as she felt a migraine coming on. Honest to God, she knew her cousin didn't have an ounce of commen sense at times, but seriously, this was beyond unbelievably stupid. Even for Wally's low standards. She'd told him enough about the Cons to make it obvious that going against them wasn't a playdate. Heck, she'd seen the wounds the 'Bots would come back with sometimes. And they had been fighting them for eons.
"What should we do?" Superboy asked. "We can't just leave him. Bulkhead might not even know he's there."
"Knowing my cousin, Bulk will know he's there," the Lantern deadpanned, crossing her arms.
"Just how bad are the 'Cons?" Superboy spoke up, his brows furrowed.
"Bad," Aqualad replied grimly. "I have never seen them in action myself, but I've heard the stories from the Leaguers who've glimpsed them."
"The coordinates are still locked in if we want to go after him," Robin chimed.
"Well, he didn't leave us a choice seeing as he'd get himself killed without us," Emerald huffed floating into the air. "Fire up the bridge, Rob. We're going into the light!"
-.-
Nemesis
Fowler's arms ached as the chains around them seemed to tighten with every passing moment as his feet dangled below him, nowhere close to reaching the ground. The tips of his fingers were already beginning to tingle as if they were going numb, no doubt his current restraints cutting off blood flow.
Though, focusing on his aching arms was a relative distraction from the rest of the cuts and bruises marring his body. The cuts Starscream gave earlier throbbed as blue and black bruises began to bloom around them and sharp pain would come from his jaw whenever he tried to move it. Fowler didn't even want to picture the tapestry of bruises along his chest and back from the beating he'd taken—and that was even with the 'Cons holding back their full strength so they wouldn't accidently kill him.
"Agent Fowler, I have one single request, that will save your family the pain of grieving," a familiar voice drawled, sounding bored. A sharp talon dug into his chin, causing a small trickle of blood to seep out as his head was forced up to meet Starscream's mocking smile, "Tell me the location of the Autobot Base."
"No problem," he replied pulling his head away as soon as the claw retreated, "but I need to ask you something first."
Red eyes flashed brighter as a wide grin split the man's face as he stepped closer, "Yes? I'm listening."
The agent couldn't stop the smirk slowly forming on his face, "I have an issue with the customer service around here. Can I speak to the manager?"
Starscream blinked in surprise before his eyes glowed with rage. "I make the decisions here! I am in charge!" the 'Con Commander snarled, backhanding Fowler, causing bloody spittle to spatter on the ground below.
Copper filled his mouth and Fowler spat, red droplets falling onto his shirt and the floor below him as the left side of his face throbbed, setting every nerve alight with pain. No doubt, Starscream definitely broke something, however, he wasn't sure how bad though with the rush of heat from the sudden swelling. But still, it would take a lot more than this to break him.
Though his heart sank at the next words. "Bring the prod."
Perhaps pissing off his captors wasn't his best move.
"I will ask nicely one last time," Starscream snarled grabbing his throat. "The Autobot base, where is it?!"
"Sure thing, right after you eat my star spangled shorts," Fowler replied spitting in his captor's face.
The Commander made a sound of disgust, quickly wiping his face as red eyes blazed with fury. Fowler watched warily as a soldier approached and Starscream snatched a thin rod from his hands, turning to face him with a malicious grin. "Perhaps this," he pressed something and Fowler gulped slightly as he watched sparks of electricity leap off the rod's tip, "will make you more cooperative."
Fowler braced himself as the end of the prod moved towards him, he knew torture was an option. He just had to be able to handle it long enough for back-up to arrive. Still, even with his mental preparation, he couldn't stop the scream that ripped itself from his throat as the electrified prod made contact with his abdomen. He was distinctly away of the smell of something burning as his muscles spasmed violently, causing the tightening chains to rattle.
"As I suspected," Starscream mused, "energon and human nervous systems don't mix."
-.-
"Primus, what's taking Arcee and Bumblebee?" Bulkhead grumbled as he peered around the rocks, hoping that they wouldn't be spotted again.
"Dude, the Cons could be putting the clamps on Fowler right now," Kid Flash pointed out. "Let's just storm it."
Thankfully, Bulkhead was saved from scolding the teen as the bridge opened. "Good, they're here."
However, instead of his two comrades racing out from the bridge, he was instead greeted by the sight of four colorful teenagers hopping out. "I think my bones are vibrating," Superboy muttered rubbing his shoulder as he stood up.
"You get used to it," Emerald shrugged before stopping as she looked up, eyes going wide behind her mask. "Holy cow."
"What is that?" Robin muttered.
"That, Rob, is the Decepticon warship," Emerald replied with a grimace. Maybe they really should have thought this plan through more. Especially now she was noticing motion on the deck. No doubt soldiers getting ready to blow them to smithereens.
