Chapter 27
A/N: I just own the story, nothing else!
/comm/
Telepathy/thoughts
"Synthesised voices"
October 15, Abandoned Mine
"I doubt after the fiasco y'all caused, Zatara won't be letting Zatanna back into base for awhile," Emerald stated as Robin and KF finished explaining what happened.
Hearing the heavy thuds of Bulkhead's and Arcee's vehicle armor they turned to see them walking out of the mine they were investigating. "By all appearances, the mine seems to be stripped," Arcee said.
The chestplate of Bulkhead's armor opened and he popped out of the cockpit, holding the energon scanner. "But I'm getting a signal, it's faint, but it's definitely energon," the Wrecker replied.
"Makes no sense, by the looks of it this was one of the first mines, and it's been abandoned for awhile now," Arcee frowned. "And Cons never leave even a sliver of energon behind."
"SWEET!" Wally shouted running in.
"You've got to be kidding me," Arcee sighed.
"It is Wally," Erica shrugged.
"Kid Flash, get back here!" Bulkhead called going back inside and chasing after.
"It would be interesting to see," Emerald said as Robin nodded.
"You know if it was…" he began.
"Safe? A stripped mine is structurally unstable," Arcee said.
"Then we shall step lightly," Kaldur smiled.
Arcee sighed. "Not a word to your mentors."
As they went in, two jets flew down, transforming into Megatron and Starscream. "Lord Megatron, far be it for me to question your intentions, but I don't understand why we've returned here after all this time," Starscream stated. "Alone."
Megatron just glanced at his SIC before he began walking in.
"Every last trace of energon was exracted from this mine, there's nothing left," the seeker continued.
"Indulge me Starscream, won't you?" Megatron asked continuing on into the mine, making the nervous SIC fallow.
-.-
"Wally?! Wally!" Bulkhead called.
"This place is awesome!" the speedster said running up onto Bulkhead's shoulder. "ECHO!"
"ECHO…Echo…echo…"
Rolling his optics he looked back to his scanner. "Arcee I got something." No reply.
"Ok, maybe the acoustics aren't that great," KF shrugged.
"Well, we're here, Doc's gonna want a sample," Bulhead sighed heading over to the wall. Pulling out his wrecking ball he started mining.
-.-
"Bulkhead?" Arcee asked. "Bulkhead do you read?" No answer. "Scrap. Mineral composition down here is causing interference."
"Don't worry, he was probably calling to say he found my idiot cousin," Emerald chuckled.
"Or that he found the source of the energon signal," Aqualad corrected.
"Either way, we know he found something," Robin pointed out.
"True," Arcee shrugged. "C'mon, let's keep going."
-.-
"How interesting," Megatron said as he saw the several drills they used for mining still within the abandoned mine.
Starscream flinched before shaking in false anger. "Those incompetent fools! This mining equipment should've been relocated! Why is it still here?!"
"A most valid question," Megatron stated coolly noticing how the seeker once again flinched at his voice.
"My apologizes Master, I believe Soundwave was in charge of coordinating transport," Starscream huffed. A low growl gescaped from the Warlord's throat, as if his TIC ever made a mistake. "But in fairness, in your absence we all had to assume additional responsibilities, clearly mistakes were made."
"Yes…clearly," Megatron replied before slamming his fist into the wall and pulling out a chunk of energon. "What was it you said? Every last trace of energon extracted?!"
"Lord Megatron, I can explain."
Megatron bared his fangs. "Explain what?! that you've been hoarding a supply of energon for your own personal use?!"
"No…you see…I…"
"DO NOT TAKE ME FOR A FOOL STARSCREAM! I have been wise to your transgressions from the beginning, it is because of you my little sister wants my head on a pike! Not only did you demolish the Youth Sectors against my orders, but you ripped the Dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to assassinate me, and you tried to raise your own undead warrior with it. It is no secret that you lost an arm in the process, which you did manage to retrieve after destroying your failed attempt."
"YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!"
"Soundwave is quite resourceful when it comes to surveilence, I can assure you. The fact is Starscream, despite your trechary for these many millennia, I've let you live because I took delight and was amused by your string of failures. But you've become tiresome, predictable," Megatron said aiming his cannon towards him. "You've hit Rock Bottom."
"MASTER PLEASE! GIVE ME ONE MORE CHANCE! I BEG OF YOU!" he exclaimed falling to his knees in a bow.
"You have ceased to be of use to me Starscream, so you shall certainly cease to be," Megatron replied.
Starscream covered his head with his arms turning away only to spot Robin, Aqualad, and Emerald standing there as Arcee turned the corner. Fallowing his gaze, Megatron narrowed his eyes at them before roaring and swinging his cannon at them.
Making a shield, Emerald and the others ducked behind a wall. "Stay down!" Arcee commanded.
"I got this," Emerald smirked before flying past Megatron in a green blur and the appearing in front of him with a massive frying pan. "HI!" Swinging it down onto his head, the warlord fell as she quickly drew a mustache on his armored face before flying back to them.
Seeing his chance Starscream ran for it, as Megatron got up. "STARSCREAM! YOU DARE ABANDON ME?!" he shouted shooting in his direction.
Seeing her chance Arcee and Robin ran out her shots hitting his back as Robin's bat-a-rangs exploded. He swung back around but a whip of water knocked his hand up sending his shots into the ceiling.
And the mine began to cave in.
-.-
Emerald and Aqualad got up coughing once the dust cleared. "Arcee?" Aqualad called. "Robin?"
No response.
"Guys?!" Emerald shouted.
No reply.
"It seems we have all been separated, and our comms do not work. We will have to find the others before we run out of air," Aqualad stated.
"You mean before you run out of air, my ring protects me in space," Emerald reminded.
"Which way should we go?" Aqualad asked looking around.
Emerald lifted her ring and began scanning. "I'm getting a life signal from this way," she said leading the way.
-.-
Wally coughed as he sat up. "Did I do that?" Bulkhead asked.
"I don't think so big guy," he replied.
"You alright?"
"As I can be," KF huffed as he looked up. "How bout you?"
"Just peachy," Bulkhead ground out as he held up a massive rock that would crush them if it came down.
"Whoa…"
"Don't worry Wally, I've got this," he reassured.
"Any ideas on what caused this?"
"Only Primus knows, let's just hope the others are safe, cause we can definitely use an assist."
Wally nodded. "Just keep raising the roof, I can get us out," he said starting to pull rocks away from the entrance.
-.-
Starscream coughed as he finally dug his way out. Turing around and looking back down, he began laughing histerically. "Predictable Master?! Is that what you called me?! Well now who's hit Rock Bottom?!" he laughed. "What's that?! I couldn't hear you beneight all the rubble! Farewell Lord Megatron! May you rust in peace!" Turning to walk away he froze. "…But you have survived far worse…if you do manage to free yourself you'd blame me for your accident and there's no where I can escape your wrath, or worse yet, your mindless fallowers will come looking for you! And take credit for your rescue! Credit that could rightfully be mine! Agh! MEGATRON!"
-.-
"Arcee?"
"Bulkhead?"
"Wally!"
"Robin?"
"Still nothing," Aqualad sighed as they entered a vast cavern. "Anything on that life signal?"
"Well it's Cybertronian, I can tell that much," she replied flying over a drill. "The signal's coming from here." Making a drill construct, she began to drill through the rocks.
-.-
Wally's limbs shook as he lifted another rock, taking a few steps back the rock slipped and he fell back, gasping for air. "Kid Flash! That's enough!" Bulkhead scolded.
"Don't worry 'bout me Bulk" he said waving him off, "I'm fine."
"No you aren't."
"Chill, I just…need to…rest…for a sec," he huffed sitting down.
"Wallace, listen to me, there's no fresh air down here, if you use up the oxygen too fast…" Bulkhead trailed off.
"We'd suffocate," Wally stated.
"Correction, you would, Autobots don't need to breathe when in our armor, and even then, we can turn off our breathing capacities for a full twenty-four hours" Bulkhead reminded.
"Right! Smackdown in space! That was awesome…ok…how about…if I just slow down, and breathe less," he said crawling over to a rock and trying to lift it.
"No, you need to stop, now!"
"I can't Bulk…I have to get us outta 'ere," he said leaning back in exhaustion.
"Kid don't worry about me," Bulkhead ground out as he felt the shifts and creaks in the arms, "I'm fine…hear that?"
"Sound like…"
"Drilling, it's got to be Emerald, Arcee, Robin, and Aqualad," Bulkhead said trying to be positive.
"We're in here! …here" Wally tried to shout.
"KF, grab something and bang it on my foot, can you do that?"
"But what if I hurt you?" he said lifting a rock that didn't seem as heavy earlier as it was now.
Bulkhead chuckled. "Hey I'm tougher than I look, besides, I'm actually sitting in the middle of this thing's chest. That's just part of the armor. Now give it all you got."
Nodding, Wally began pounding the rock against the metal.
-.-
"Oops," Emerald said as she pulled the drill away and Aqualad saw why.
"I suppose helping out the less fortunate is out of the question," Megatron said looking at them. "Well, if that is the case, you might as well kill me now. I garuntee you will never have a better opportunity than right now."
Emerald and Aqualad glanced at each other, one in uncertainty, the other trying not to burst into laughter about the mustache drawn on his face.
"Well? What are you two sidekicks waiting for? Think of the glory, seize the day! Optimus would."
"No, he wouldn't," Aqualad replied. "Not like this. Let's go."
"I'll be sure to share the details of our meeting with Optimus the day I tear out his spark!" Megatron taunted. Seeing they weren't coming back he maneuvered himself to start chipping away at the gap.
-.-
"That's it! Keep going!" Bulkhead encouraged.
Wally lifted the rock again for another go, when a hiss made him stop. "What was that?"
"Nothing! Keep at it!" Bulkhead said as his arms started shakining.
"Bulkhead, what's going on?"
"My arms…they're starting to give."
"Are you alright?" Wally asked.
"Fine, just a dull ache from keeping this up. Help's on the way! Just keep banging," Bulkhead stated. Nodding Wally picked the rock back up and continued his task, before sliding to his knees. "They any closer?"
Getting up Wally tried to pinpoint the direction of the noise. "I can't tell, the sounds all…" he trailed off as he fell again. The sound finally came at the rock wall.
"Yes!"
"They found us!" Wally gasped in relief.
They were proven wrong as the remaning rocks came in and a familiar laugh echoed around them. "Put any doubt of my alligance to rest Lord Megatron!" Starscream said looking in to find an Autobot and sidekick instead.
"What's he doing here?" Wally gasped as he took in fresh air.
"Kid get behind me, now!" Bulkhead ordered and the speedster vanished behind his legs as the Con broke in.
"Well, well, if it isn't Bulkhead and his pet," Starscream sneered. "My, you sure do have your hands full."
"Do whatever you want to me Starscream! But let the human go!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"Seems the human would rather stay," Starscream said reaching for him, only for Wally to duck behind the other leg.
"Don't push me Starscream," Bulkhead threatened.
"You like playing with the big bots don't you boy?" Starscream said as he reached for the boy again.
Bulkhead lashed out, kicking him back into the wall. With a groan he adjusted his postion to where the boulder was resting on his shoulders.
"THAT'S IT AUTOBOT! I WILL—!"
"What? You'll what? Kill me and make this whole room collapse on top of us!" Bulkhead snapped. "Kid Flash! Run!"
Wally shook his head, burying his exhausted form into one of the seams in Bulkhead's armor.
"Yes Kid Flash, run, I'd love to see you try to be as fast as the Flash," he teased.
The sound of drilling came again and a green drill ran right into Starscream, knocking him back. "Emerald! Aqualad! Get Kid out of here! Now!" Bulkhead ordered.
Emerald flew over and made a construct to help hold the ceiling up as Aqualad picked up his friend and ran back up the tunnel.
"Well girlie, do you like to play with the big boys like your friend there?" Starscream asked as the girl helped Bulkhead hold up the ceiling, taking most of the weight on even portions of her construct columns.
"Na, I just beat them up," she smiled making a baseball bat and slamming him into the wall, the columns still standing strong.
A gun charged as Arcee and Robin came in. "I wouldn't move if I were you," she smiled.
"Middle of the room," Robin ordered. Slowly getting up the cowardly Con stepped in front of Bulkhead gazing at the three aiming weapons at him warily. "Raise your hands!"
"Aw."
"Suck it up buttercup," Emerald smirked as Bulkhead collapsed to his knees and her constrcust disappeared as he took the burden.
-.-
"We could end it, here and now," Arcee said as they looked at the entrance.
"Pity I forgot to pack grenades," Bulkhead growled.
"Would Optimus…you know…do it? Finish them?" Robin asked.
"No, he wouldn't, not like this," Arcee sighed.
"But he wouldn't rescue them either right?" Wally groaned.
"Let's go," Bulkhead said.
-.-
Starscream whined against the immense weight pressing against his shoulders. Turning his head, he jumped slightly as he saw Megatron gazing at him silently.
"Master, you're alive! Thank the All-Spark!"
Megatron stood there silently, but a small feral grin was creeping to his lips.
"I did not abandon you Master! I returned! To save you!"
"Save me?" Megatron asked.
"Look into my Spark Lord Megatron, my intentions were true. Please! Have mercy!" he begged as his leader's eyes narrowed with a sadistic smirk.
