Both Megatron and Bombshell are more than thrilled at the short spectacle they've just witnessed thanks to Laserbeak's surveillance. Even though they lacked the audio due to the distance between the fighters and the Cassette, it's obvious Prime was trying to 'play nice' with the robot.
On the one servo, that's good. But on the other, it's bad too.
Good, because it looks like the Decepticons will get their servos on the stolen world energy chip.
Bad, because their leader seems to be growing more and more attached to the human-made robot, and thus is less likely to dispose of it anytime soon.
That won't do. At all.
"Bah, it'll burn out fast, after the way Bombshell overtook its circuits," Starscream spits derisively, effectively riling the Insecticon up.
He can only hope he's right, not due to lack of respect for Bombshell's work, but because keeping that thing… Although, perhaps, and that's a really small chance, if they were to keep their puppet and turn it into an effective enough menace, the humans would be cowed enough to drop any and all of their future robot soldier programs.
Maybe.
Megatron's voice cutting through the Insecticon's angry tirade makes the Air Commander focus once more on the present. And Starscream finds himself hoping their leader is right, that they'll get that chip before—if—the drone does burn out.
But there's a tiny detail Megatron seems to have overlooked. And as his loyal and helpful Second in Command, how could Starscream let it slip?
"If it returns, you mean," he points out, because Prime and some of his Special Operations mechs, including the Third in Command, are after it. "It's not so good—"
—when compared to a real Special Operations Agent.
That's what he was going to say, but Megatron's fist almost against his faceplate forces the Air Commander into silence as his leader glares down at him.
"She's good enough to replace you whenever I choose," Megatron snarls, soon turning back to the screen, back bared carelessly to his 'treacherous' Second.
Starscream can't do more than gape.
Replace… me?
With a snarl of his own, the Air Commander purposefully rests his servos on his pelvic plating to keep them from curling around Megatron's neck cables.
He's not thinking straight. I can hit him on the helm until he gets some sense back later, once the world energy chip is either on our servos or lost along that drone.
Or I could just shoot him and take control of the Decepticons now. It would definitely save us some trouble.
Laserbeak could just swoop in to get the chip and leave the robot to distract the Autobots. Or I could send Skywarp to teleport them back to the Victory and have the drone dismantled for spare parts.
Yes, that could actually work…
Lost in his musings, Starscream is once more jarred back to the present by Megatron's voice. This time, their leader is laughing as they watch the robot keep the Autobots, who seem to be missing the Head of Special Operations, at bay by disarming them with its throwing stars and their own hesitance to harm it.
Which, the Air Commander realizes, is the only reason the drone has been so successful until now. The moment they decide to shed their 'kid gloves', the ninja is done for… and the world energy chip will be lost to the Decepticons, and far more heavily guarded should they try again.
He's about to suggest having Laserbeak retrieve the precious cargo—or send Skywarp to teleport the robot out of the melee—when Megatron opens his mouth again.
"You're definitely on my replacement list, Starscream. She's everything I've always wanted."
He's not joking. He's radiating victorious glee and accomplishment.
Alright, that's it.
"Replace me? Never!" Starscream shouts, jumping on Megatron to deliver a strong enough punch to throw the larger and heavier mech to the ground.
Before Megatron can recover, he has one null-ray aimed at his helm, the snarl still on the Air Commander's faceplate daring him to strike back.
To be sincere, that's exactly what he's aiming for.
When Megatron gets too crazy, the best way to bring him down from space is to get him to burn enough energy for him to think clearly again.
Though Starscream isn't over simply shooting him into stasis so he can deal with this whole disaster with the robot in peace. Megatron's more than a little compromised this time, if he can't see the Autobots holding back is the only reason the drone has got as far as it has.
"Skywarp, Thundercracker, grab him!"
Wait, what?
Before he can decipher that Megatron won't be fighting back, Starscream is pulled away from their leader, still on the floor, by his Trine mates.
Megatron, the Slagmaker and Prime-slayer, refused to beat his treacherous Second back in place? Or… could it be that he felt actually threatened by the Air Commander?
… No, can't be. Right? … But… since when does Megatron accept—least of all request—anyone's help when dealing with me?
"Soundwave, Bombshell. Activate the cage," their leader growls, sitting up, and silently compliant, the Cassette Carrier turns to the controls and does something and—
An iridescent beam shoots towards them, and Thundercracker and Skywarp move away just in time to avoid the energy bubble coalescing around the Air Commander.
Trapped. Trapped. Trapped.
Like that has ever stopped Starscream before.
"You can't keep me in here, Megatron!" he shouts, snarling once more, as he moves a bit inside this 'cage'.
He can feel all his sensors tingle from the energy all around, but there doesn't seem to be anything really dangerous about it. So, he decides to deal with it the way he usually does this kind of things: Shoot it until the energy overload burns the generator and shuts it down.
Unfortunately, the instant his null-ray hits the bubble's surface, Starscream finds his frame racked by a wave of burning energy coming from all around, a pained cry escaping before he can process things.
The energy isn't being sent back to the generator. It circles in the bubble's field and is returned to the source, with painful retribution.
"I don't see why not," Megatron answers after he goes silent, once more back on his pedes and smirking triumphantly, pointing at the trapped Seeker. "That cage was something I rigged up for the Autobots, but I'd like you to have it. Think of it as a… a farewell gift," he adds, turning his back to his now harmless Second to check on the screens, and Starscream's snarl darkens with promises of agony. "Now, what did I miss…"
A click, and the screen with the stats of the cage showing all green changes back to Laserbeak's feed.
Just in time to see the Autobot Head of Special Operations drive up to the robot, communications dishes protruding from the sides of the back of the car, while the drone falls to its knees. Before it can recover, the green scout has an electromesh net thrown over it to tangle and completely immobilize the ninja like Ravage has found himself in way too many times, to the Cassette's annoyance.
It takes them but a couple of nanokliks to realize that, while Ravage isn't strong enough to break free, it seems the mesh actually interferes with the robot's motor controls, because it's twitching jerkily and uncoordinatedly in vain efforts to get it off.
Trapped. The robot lost, the energy chip lost, and all because Megatron was too busy fawning over a toy—no matter how well built, a toy is still a toy—to be blinded to the fact the Autobots were pulling their punches.
"No! They finally got her!" their leader exclaims, and Starscream snarls silently at his back, engines growling softly in brewing anger at his skewed priorities. "We must rescue her and retrieve the world energy chip at once," he snarls, making it clear that his priorities are, apparently, not so skewed, because at least he still remembers about the chip. "Decepticons, prepare for battle!"
And that's all the hint they need for Starscream's Trinemates and Bombshell to transform and Soundwave to step away from his permanent position at the computers, both him and Megatron changing to their smaller alt modes so that the Seekers can transport them.
The roar of engines takes longer to vanish than the Fliers themselves, which means it takes Starscream a moment to hear his enraged shrieks.
"—rip you to spare parts, Megatron! I'm going to shove that fusion cannon right through your bucket-shaped empty helm!"
A beep cuts his tirade, and startled at the sound, the Air Commander whirls around to face the screen—and feels his spark stop pulsing.
Because the tiny new window that has popped open under the visual feed Laserbeak is still retransmitting is a countdown.
It… Megatron's not planning on actually blowing up the base with him still inside, is he?
But that's when he notices the graphics behind the feed, the ones belonging to the cage's parameters, and he finally realizes what is going on.
With a strangled sound between a huff and a chuckle mixed with a relieved sigh, Starscream relaxes minutely.
"That Soundwave. Always getting me in his debt."
"Well done, Autobots. Nightbird is contained and unharmed," Prime praises once they're all back on their pedes and Jazz has returned to root mode.
It didn't take the saboteur long to catch up, but apparently, it took the others even less to find the robot and… Well, Jazz had been about ready to give it all up and try to hide in the deepest and darkest hole he could find out of embarrassment at his fellow Autobots' so-called battle skills.
However, the short ride and the knowledge that Prowl was backing him up had given him enough calm to actually think things through. And thus, he had found a possible way to end it all once and for all without disobeying Prime.
That his sonics had rattled the robot enough to actually subdue it instead of just distract it had been a bonus, and its reaction to the electromesh Hound always kept on him in case Ravage popped out of nowhere was even better.
All in all, a perfect solution.
This, he supposes, is why Optimus is standing by his side, a servo on his shoulder plate in reflection of the same pride in his field.
However, when Jazz looks up at him it is with the blankest of expressions.
A couple of nanokliks later, Prime takes his servo off the saboteur, hesitation replacing his previous emotions.
"Well, I must apologize. You were right, we could take the Nightbird without damaging it," Jazz finally says, turning to look at the writhing robot, and he can feel the Optimus relax.
"I am glad to hear—"
"However," he cuts, voice icy, as he turns to look up at his leader with a menacingly deep blue visor that makes Optimus tense warily. "I am not forgiving and forgetting, Prime. Not this once."
"What—"
"I am no one's tool," he hisses, aware of the rest of their forces busy tying the drone up in the net, and thus not eavesdropping.
Optimus looks startled at that, before confusion fills his optics for a nanoklik – and realization replaces it with a gasp.
"Oh, Jazz, no! No, that's not what I meant, I—When I said I knew what you were capable of I meant this," he explains after his initial stammering, as he gestures to the tangled-up robot, dirtied but undamaged. "I meant that I knew you were able to capture Nightbird, I was sure you could find a way to do it without cutting her motor wiring or using any other damaging disabling techniques, inconsequential as they could be. She is, after all, a prototype, a delicate piece of machinery that could very well become permanently useless if we tried to subdue it without knowing all about it. Jazz, I never meant to imply… I'm so, so sorry."
For almost a full klik, the saboteur can only stare, dumbfounded and at a loss of words, into his leader's pained, apologetic, and utterly unable to hold a lie baby blue optics.
"But—You said you know how I work, and that if I couldn't think of a way to get Nightbird without damage—"
Optimus sighs sadly, and Jazz's voice box refuses to keep working.
"I meant for you to stay as support. I thought you were talking about deactivating Nightbird when you said you would 'take care' of her. You've been… I don't know, tenser? Yes, you've been tenser lately, jumpier, more… Jazz, is everything alright? Is there any way I can help?"
And once more, the saboteur finds himself staring into his leader's pleading and worried blue optics.
"That… was a Pit of a misunderstanding," he mutters, rubbing the side of his helm with a groan. "Look, let's just go back to the Ark and get this whole thing dealt with before anything else, alright?"
"Very well. But Jazz, know I'm really sorry about—"
"Don't. Just… don't. It was a misunderstanding, and we both were at fault there. Let's just—"
A shot and a yelp, and both officers turn to see the robot being dropped back to the ground as the other Autobots reach for their weapons. Cliffjumper is on the ground, sitting up, he world energy chip lying on the dirt in front of him, and a blackened mark on his chest plates.
And up on top of the canyon, Megatron, surrounded by Thundercracker, Skywarp, Bombshell, and Soundwave, snarls down at them.
"Keep your servos off my property, Auto-klutz."
UPDATED 09/01/2023: Corrected Grammar.
AN: Bakuhatsu: 'Explosion' in Japanese.
Long wait was long, but finally have the next chapter! One more left, maybe an epilogue too. Oh, and you can all blame Starscream for the delay, he didn't want to cooperate.
Giddy: Excellent guesses, and as you can see, you weren't exactly wrong ;)
As for the possible story of sentient!Nightbird, let me give you some advice: Don't compare your writing to anyone's. The first try may not always be succesful (or as succesful as one would like), but that doesn't mean it's not good. Besides, the only way to improve is to keep writing :) (And I know that this is 'what everyone says', but it's the truth).
And about that 'gleeful, bouncing Megatron' story... I'm happy to announce I have almost 10k words already written, and they're just the introduction XD It'll be another multi-chaptered story, as soon as I get some others finished and can focus on it fully. Thanks a lot for the idea, because it gives me the chance to tackle more topics than just the original prompt :D
