Loud clanging was heard from down the hallway as the alarm screeched, and the barely conscious Stormflash's optics flickered online as he caught sight of Windracer and Aurora as they entered. The two stopped, shocked, looking around at the disheveled room before seeing the large Dauphin mech splayed out face-down on the steel floor.

"Stormflash!" Windracer rushed forward, kneeling down beside him and flipping him onto his back carefully. The purple, blue, and black Transformer gave a slight groan, optics dimming again. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

The mech's systems flashed warnings across his optic sensors about an imminent stasis lock, yet he forced himself to try to speak. "R... Ruh..." 'Flash broke off, hacking weakly.

The dragon femme turned her head over her shoulder, looking at her second, optics bright with worry. "Aurora, he needs help!" She froze, though, once she noticed the confused, bewildered expression the jaguar medic wore.

Following her train of focus, Windy looked across the room slowly, until her own sights settled upon the prison cell. For a moment it didn't register, but when it did, she gasped sharply, slack-jawed and optics wide. Where was Rumble?! The femme then noticed the dents and craters littering the cell floor, and realized what had happened.

"...H...he got away..." Drawing the Heroes' Commander's attention once again was the weakened Stormflash, who had finally mustered up enough energy to speak. "I... t-tried to stop him... 'M... sorry..."

Windracer's face softened as she shook her head, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry about it Storm, just rest." The new leader did her best to conceal her concern as she heard Stormflash give a groan and relax in her arms, stasis lock finally taking hold. "Aurora - " her tail twitched as she glanced sideways, maintaining composure. It was only a word; but it was enough. The medic disregarded the two remaining cassettes that watched them with silent, eager eyes and knelt down besides the larger vehicle mech, glancing over him with care.

"Battle blades," Aurora speculated silently, a clawed fingertip running over one of the gashes. "It's not deep though; he'll just need some CR time. I'll call Raider and Wildstrike to help since I know you and I can't haul him down to the infirmary on our own... but now we have a bigger problem on our hands."

The Heroes' commander stood slowly, looking towards the open entrance with narrowed optics, the twin sapphires blazing a bright ice-blue. Her tail swept back and forth with apprehension. "Yes, we do. I'll alert the others: there's a prisoner on the loose."

"Attention all Heroes, this is Windracer. Be on alert. One of the cassettes managed to escape and is at large. He managed to take down Stormflash with little difficulty. He is armed and dangerous, so use extreme caution."

'A cassette? Taking down 'Storm? She's got to be kidding...' Raindance thought to herself mentally, looking at her wrist-mounted commlink with a raised optic ridge. "No way I'd let a little scraplet like that get the jump on me..."

The ice dragon sighed and stepped out of her quarters, glancing down the corridor warily. Nothing... Sighing, the femme squared her shoulders and took off to the surveilance room silently.

- - -

"Stupid Autobots," Rumble muttered as he thudded down the wide open hall, his optics darting from door to door frantically. "Needa get outta here before those walking rust buckets find me... Get back to the boss and get the others outta this pithole."

Up ahead, he began to hear something. Footfalls. Not large ones, but light, femmelike ones. At least, that's what he thought. He grinned to himself as he ducked up into the shadows, watching as a turquoise, navy, and silver femme padded in his direction. Rumble smirked again. It seemed as if the femme was going to pass right by the diminutive Decepticon... Until she paused, her bright blue optics scanning the surroundings. Within moments, they fell upon the cassette's hiding spot, and he froze.

"So there you are," she said in a level tone, narrowed sapphire eyes studying the shadow. Raindance turned, facing Rumble full on, claws half extended and ready to strike. "You're kicking up a whole lot of trouble for us, you know."

"Hah!" the scrappy little Decepticon scoffed, hopping from his shadowy hiding spot. His chest seemed to puff with ego, hands on his hips. "Messing around with you Autobots my favorite past-time, but you guys? I know petro-rabbits that put up a better fight! Now get outta my way. I don't wanna smash up a pretty face like yours..."

Raindance's head tilted slightly, listening to the braggart as he boasted. "Oh really? Well - forgive my ... audacity for challenging a fine example of a Decepticon warrior such as yourself, but I'm afraid I can't let you pass."

Rumble eyed her, his chest still puffed somewhat and his confident aire still glaringly apparent. "Listen tootz, I don't wanna rough you up none. If I beat one of your big mech friends, a little gal like you won't stand a chance..."

"Pardon me?" The femme's voice was mocking, bemused, daring him to prove her wrong. She crossed her arms as she then smirked, disbelieving that the little cassette bot had the diodes to talk so tall.

"You heard me, babe. Just let me go, or I'll smash you like I did that useless chopper." Rumble raised his arms, his hands converting to his pile drivers. The mech smirked, waiting for her to submit; only... she didn't.

Raindance gave a soft laugh, her optics blazing with interest. "Oh, I doubt that." And, with a quick shout of the word "Transform!" Rumble found himself staring face-to-muzzle with a slender, blue dragon. The serpentine creature gave an optic-smirk as she watched Rumble's jaw drop, a claw clicking on the ground as her fanned tail swished slowly behind her. "Now I'll say it again, Decepticon. You either return to the cell - or try to get past me."

Rumble slowly edged backwards, Raindance's blue snout following his movement as he did. For a moment, she thought he was going to take her advice and return willingly...

She didn't catch the sly, devious smirk that had slowly slipped across his lips.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

In a dizzying blur of motion, Rumble had swung his piledrivers down and was slamming the corridor at full power. It seemed as if her world was shaking apart at the seams, and Raindance gave a half-yelp, half growl as she dodged a falling chunk of roof paneling. It slammed down where she had been just moments before and threw her to the ground, the sound almost deafening to her audios.

The ice dragon clambered over the debris as soon as the tremors had ceased, taking note of the retreating backside of the tiny cassette as he cackled to himself smugly. "Nice try dollface! Better luck next time! Ha-hahahahaha!"

Raindance growled in frustration and leapt forward, fangs bared as she charged. Normally the femme was calm, placid, and composed, but that womanizing little cassette was really grinding her gears the wrong way. With a roar, she angled her head back, the nitrogen launchers in the dragon's mouth activating and shooting off a steam of bright white ice. (Raindance transforms into a Monster and strafes Rumble. Rumble is slightly damaged (96 power remaining)) Rumble gave a cry of his own as he felt the nitrogen connect with his right shoulder, the ice turning the armor a pale, matted white and freezing the underlying circuits, musclecables, and fuel lines instantly. With his good arm he turned, slamming the pile driver to the ground one last time and sending more corridor debris down... right on top of Raindance.

The femme unleashed a startled cry as she felt her back legs pinned, pulling desperately against concrete and steel that didn't want to budge. Swearing in a mix of Earthen tongues and Cybertronian, she watched as the damaged cassette disappeared down the hallway for good. His mocking, cocky laughter echoed in her audios afterwards.

Section written By Windracer.