Well, I found myself thinking more about my Shattered Glass universe again. I'd considered what sort of characters would join up later on if I ever continued it, and I realized that I'd forgotten a character. They need a "Smokescreen" to have shown up during Season 2, and I didn't have one. So now I'm fixing that!

This character never showed up in the shows, and she doesn't have much more than a toy bio (and even that's rather vague), so I'm basically just making this stuff up as I go.

(Let's be honest though, "I'm making this stuff up as I go" describes a good two thirds of what I do here…)


New Recruit

For all that the Autobots were widening their search for the Nemesis, life aboard the Decepticon warship was oddly calm. Miko sat with Frenzy on Soundwave's shoulders as the spy cruised the internet, looking for any pictures of Cybertronians that humans might have captured.

Oh, there's one! Miko pointed as she leaned forward. They got your good side, 'Wave!

Absently, Soundwave reached up to steady the little girl - part baby sister, part adopted Cassette - and nodded. "Look ma!-well this is- awkwaaaard." Evidently someone with a cell phone had been present during one of his last missions, and had caught him in a Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot pose.

"Ooh!" Frenzy blinked, very happy to have both optics again, and tugged on Soundwave's helm-spikes. "Do the thing with the thing!"

A pale blue visor turned to meet him with a confused static noise as the silent mech parrotted Frenzy's words back at him. "Thing with the thing?"

The Cassette nodded vigorously. "Ya! Do thing with picture and monkey!" Failing to get his point across, Frenzy reverted back into his native Cybertronian, in which he was fluent.

Soundwave nodded in understanding and raised his servos like a maestro about to conduct a symphony. His human and his youngest deployer looked at each other and giggled in anticipation. Then, with a flourish, the spy typed quickly, replacing the photograph with an animated image of a monkey in a top hat, dancing to Colonel Bogey's March.

He reached up and high-fived Miko as the nearly-thirteen-year-old cheered, Yes! The tap-dancing monkey strikes again!

From the lower half of the command bridge, Knock Out's stern voice floated up to them. "Pictures of Soundwave on the internet are no laughing matter! What if Goldbug saw those and used them to track you, huh?" The moment he said it, he regretted bringing up the uncanny spy and, by association, the treacherous Liaison Darby.

Thankfully, the spritely trio ignored him, and he didn't have the time to go up and make them pay attention as he was more focused at the moment on his very stubborn best friend.

"Come on, Breakdown, you need to exercise that leg, or it isn't going to heal right!" He glared at the heavy Decepticon, who glared right back. The yellow optics softened somewhat when a younger voice pitched in.

"He's right, Pop. If you don't keep using that leg, the nanites are going to find routes around the circuitry to keep energon flowing and in the end it'll just be deadweight. You don't want that, right?" Jack crouched at the edge of the overhanging walkway built for humans and stared down at his grandfather.

"No," Breakdown sourly mused, "I don't. But I would look pretty sweet with a sword cane."

"No you wouldn't!" Knock Out snorted. "We've been over this. How many times have we been over this? I'm the dapper one, you're the grumpy one."

Jack snickered and winked at Breakdown. "You sure about that, doc?" He laughed and scrambled back out of reach as Knock Out made a grab for him. Swinging down from the walkway, Jack landed on Breakdown's shoulder and slid over the armor to look him in the eye.

"Come on, Pop. Just five more minutes of this and then we can go shoot stuff!"

Through all of this, Megatron stood at the helm of the Nemesis and pretended not to hear the chaos that developed around him. It made him less of a target for shenanigans if he acted as though he was too busy to be dragged into another bout of "Unhand that science!" "It wasn't my fault!" "Frenzy hit me!" etc. Ravage lay curled up at his pedes, half asleep and out of reach of grabby little organic-Cassettes with paintbrushes.

The homey feel of the bridge was broken somewhat by an alert call from somewhere on the planet's surface. Airachnid's voice echoed over the comm systems as Soundwave amplified the signal.

"Lord Megatron, June and I need some backup. The mission has taken an...unexpected turn."

Megatron frowned. "Report, Airachnid. Have you found the source of the energon surge?"

This time, June answered. "We most certainly did. It's an Autobot prisoner isolation-pod….and it's open."

"On the bright side," Airachnid's voice pitched in again, rather more chipper than it had a right to be, "The stealth paint Starscream invented is working quite well! If it weren't that I'm terribly fond of purple and black together, I'd keep the green look." She laughed at June's scandalized, "Mom! This is a mission, not a fashion show!" and repeated the potential need for backup.

Glancing back at the occupants of the bridge, Megatron made a snap decision. He set the ship to autopilot and left his post.

"Pax Minor, open a Ground Bridge to Airachnid's coordinates. Knock Out, you will come with me, in case the pod's occupant requires medical attention. Soundwave, contact Starscream and have him meet us at the coordinates." He paused, and then added, "Preferably after leaving Sierra somewhere safe, but if that is not possible we will make do."

Why not have Wildrider go along? Miko asked, peering around the edge of Soundwave's helm.

"After the stunt he pulled with Jack and the Dinobot that shot Breakdown?" Knock Out all-but-shrieked, "Not a chance in the Pi-" he caught Megatron's stern glare and amended his statement to, "Not a chance!"

The incident in question had involved Jack slipping into the smaller starship, Sky Claw, in hopes of some peace and quiet after Breakdown was brought in half dead. The ex-Stunticon had been ambushed by Dinobots under the direction of Goldbug's deployer, who seemed oddly intent on questioning Breakdown before the battle went ill. Fearing for his "grandfather's" life and carrying a guilty suspicion that the mind behind the attack was a man he shared half his genetic material with, Jack had gone to seek solitude for a while.

Unbeknownst to the human, Wildrider had gotten a lock on Sludge's location and was out for revenge. He'd taken off in the Sky Claw and was halfway to Madagascar before he even realized he had an unwitting stowaway. There had been a brief - but intense - battle between the Dinobot and the Stunticon, and in the end Jack had used the ship's rockets to obliterate the robotic apatosaurus. The aftermath, with several angry parental figures, an unrepentant Stunticon, and a deeply troubled human boy, had not been pretty.

Wildrider was currently confined to quarters, as Megatron did not exactly trust him around the humans at present, thus necessitating the need for Starscream to leave his patrol early to aid Airachnid and June.


June growled in frustration, popping up from behind the boulder she was using for cover and firing her rifle at the swarm of Autobot Scrounge drones pouring out of the forest.

"Gah! How are there so many of them?" she snarled, dropping one only to have another take its place. She was so focused on the battle at hand that she didn't even notice the Ground Bridge behind her until a cheerful voice startled her.

"Well, Junebug, I think it corresponds to the human phenomenon known as the "clown car"." Knock Out grinned down at his favorite assistant and crouched behind the boulder with her and Airachnid.

"Nice of you to join us, Knock Out," the older femme remarked. "Is that husband of mine still giving you trouble?" She leapt over the boulders and spun quickly, impaling one drone on her serrated extra legs and webbing another to a tree.

"Oh, no more than usual," the medic replied, standing ready with his equipped drill as Megatron waded into the battle to back up Airachnid, "Jack keeps him from getting too unruly." He yelped suddenly and dropped to shield June as a blast of blue fire rocketed over their heads.

"Look out below!"

With this scant warning, Starscream dropped from the sky and transformed halfway down. He landed in a fighting crouch at his customary post: Megatron's right hand.

"Air Commander." the schoolteacher-turned-gladiator acknowledged calmly.

"Lord Megatron." the younger warrior answered.

Megatron fired his fusion cannon, then stepped aside in a practiced motion as Starscream followed up the blast with a strategic grenade and one rocket. There had been a time when Megatron had been accustomed to fight on the field in perfect synchronization with all three members of Starscream's trine. But time and tragedy had taken their toll, and the old strategies had to be adapted to three, and then to two.

"Is Sierra safe?" he rasped, dodging a blast and firing rapidly enough to drive the Autotroopers into hiding among the trees.

"Safe is a relative term, I'm afraid," Starscream sighed, "I left her with a MECH outpost in the neighboring county." The Seeker leapt into the air and behind one of the many boulders, barely avoiding having his wings singed. "So what's the story here?"

"Downed Autobot prison pod," Airachnid darted past the two and swung herself up into the trees, which provided her with a better vantage point from which to fire. "And it looks like the 'Bots want whoever-it-is back."

The three Decepticons and June fired repeatedly at the drones as Knock Out tossed grenades, but the red and orange troopers rushed on in a mindless onslaught, intent on reclaiming the isolation-pod, as if unaware that the prisoner was no longer trapped inside. Back to back, Megatron and Starscream moved in weaving circles, firing and dodging by turns as they fought to keep the Autobots away from June and the pod. A shout echoed over their helms from the ridge, catching the attention of the combatants.

"Gangway!"

A slender figure waved from the hill, then transformed. The black paint would have helped the newcomer disappear into the forest's shadows entirely if it had not been for the bright orange flames painted on its front. Knock Out went rigid beside his comrades, recognizing the paint scheme from outdated personnel files.

"Oh dear," he sighed, "It's going to be one of those missions."

Before anyone had a chance to ask the medic what he meant, the motorcycle unfolded mid-jump into a slim femme enthusiastically wielding a Stanix Type 20 pistol-sword. Even Airachnid's optics widened slightly when she recognized the femme, and she took a step back, having taken notice of the direction in which she fired.

"Back up, back up! Fire in the hole!" the newcomer hollered, "Decepticons, hit the deck!" With that, she leaped over the fuel trickling from the isolation-pod and set it alight with two shots.

The pod exploded into a column of blue, sending a shockwave rippling out in all directions. The Decepticons bunched together behind the boulders to shelter the smaller members of their band - namely Knock Out, Airachnid, and June - and the remaining Autobot drones were blown away, scattered across the landscape. When the world had gone quiet once more, squinched optics eased open to find the black and orange femme staring out at the mess with an odd expression as she dusted herself off. Her engine stuttered and coughed a moment, filtering out the fumes, and she rubbed two clean circles in the sooty residue on her faceplate.

"Welp. That was a little bigger than I intended. Eh, live and learn!" She turned to face the others and her optics lighted on June's suspicious face.

"Oh. Um...hi?" the femme dropped to her knees and stared down at the woman. "What the scrap are you and why are you so adorable?"

"Hi, human adult, and genetics," June answered dryly. At Knock Out's rough bark of laughter, her lips quirked upward into a smile. "My name is June. Nice to see another femme...besides Mom, that is. Were you in that prison pod?"

"June, huh?" The strange Decepticon seemed young, maybe the age Skywarp would have been had he been alive. She tilted her helm. "I'm Fla-" she broke off suddenly, catching sight of Starscream standing beside Megatron. "You!"

"Brace yourself," the warlord said dryly.

"Brace myself? What do you me-OOF!" Starscream windmilled his arms wildly as he was suddenly punched in the midsection with a fair amount of force. Gasping slightly, the white and red Seeker staggered back a step. "What was that for?!"

Fists clenched, the smaller figure glared at him. "You jerk! You and your brother just disappeared when you went to rescue Shockwave. We all thought you died in the Bridge explosion!"

Awkwardly, Starscream held up his hands to fend her off. "Flamewar, I can see that you're upset. Perhaps your time in an isolation-pod has given you undue time to reflect on your irritation? Regardless, I apologize for...er...worrying you."

"Worrying me?!" It was only the intervention of Airachnid that kept Flamewar from grabbing Starscream by the throat. "You left me alone on the ship with the DJD! Those poor doofuses can't even help an elder cross the speedways without something going wrong!"

"Now Flamewar, is that really-" Knock Out's argument was curtailed by a sheepish cough from the accused.

"No no, she actually has a point about the DJD." Starscream muttered before turning his optics back to the irate femme. "Flamewar, if we had been able to contact the ship, we would have. But we landed here, and ended up joining up with Megatron's team on the Nemesis." He shrugged. "It couldn't be helped."

Instantly, the hostility faded from Flamewar's bright optics. "Wait, Megatron?" For the first time, she looked at the rest of the group and realized who had been watching the exchange in silent amusement the whole time. If she had been human, Flamewar would have flushed scarlet in embarrassment. "Oh scrap, I'm such an idiot."

Pulling free of Airachnid's restraining grip, the younger femme saluted crisply. "Sir! Flamewar reporting for duty, sir. And I apologize for trying to kill the Air Commander."

Behind her, she could just barely hear the spider-femme muttering something about "teenaged June all over again", but she ignored it.

Megatron nodded solemnly. "You wear the symbol of the Cybertron Guard now, Flamewar. I take it you joined the homefront resistance?"

Flamewar nodded eagerly. "Yes, my lord! Although...well, it was really more of a boot camp by the time I jumped in. Mostly I got sent out to scout with whoever was left on-planet though. There aren't many Decepticons left on Cybertron, sir. The ones that haven't taken shelter in the Rust Sea ruins just evacuated. The Quintessons offered us asylum, and Boltax believed it would be safest." She looked away, servos twitching.

"Boltax is wise," Megatron reflected in a low voice, "I trust his judgment." He turned away from the group and contacted the Nemesis through his comm, calling for a Ground Bridge, then faced them again.

"Starscream, go collect Sierra before Agent Cobray tries to draft her into another one of her hair-brained schemes," he sighed, "The rest of you, fall in."

With an embarrassed chuckle, Starscream transformed and sped off to "rescue" his human from the overly energetic MECH agent - on loan from their sister organization, COBRA - as the rest of the Decepticons slipped through the green vortex behind their leader.

No sooner had they set foot on the bridge than little Miko snapped her fingers and flung them out wide to shout, Another girl! Awesome! At this, Jack looked up and blinked in surprise.

"Uh...hi…" he said slowly, then turned questioning eyes to Megatron and his mother. The silver titan nodded once, letting the boy know that the femme was one of them. Jack quickly relaxed and offered Flamewar a smile.

"I'm Jack. Or Pax Minor, depending on who you ask. That's Miko, and I'm gonna guess that you know everyone else. What's your name?"

Flamewar beamed as she introduced herself, and before long was deep in conversation with the young humans.

"I can't decide whether I'm glad the kids have another friend closer to their age, or whether I'm worried that they might be a bad influence on each other," Airachnid remarked dryly, leaning back against the bridge railing next to Megatron. The titanic mech allowed himself one brief smile as he looked down at the femme who had supported him since the beginning of the Decepticons.

"Flamewar is young yet, but she is a Decepticon to her very core. It is true that she has much to learn, just like the children, but I am certain that they will learn in time." The smile grew sadder for a moment. "Though time may not be on our side for much longer. I sense that Optimus will make his move soon."

"We'll be ready, my lord," Airachnid assured him, optics scanning the open space of the bridge for her sparkmate, "All of us."