The leash slips in this chapter, and two forces that were previously contained are now free to roam: Swindle's desire for freedom and his willingness to do anything to get it, and the twins. In the next chapter these forces will clash epically. Also a far more subtle power is in effect: Ravage. Forgot about him? I didn't.
Very soon Primus will have his required chaos, probably just in time for him to get his hands on the Allspark shard. Given his goals and motivations, I can't help but think of him as another bad guy, but as he is a deity- I hesitate to say 'god' here- it's his responsibility to do what's best for the majority, right? And his long-term survival is definitely in the interests of the majority. So what side of the line does he fall on? His future actions decide that quite firmly, but for now… he's nice and mysterious, he is, which is exactly how I wanted him.
Disclaimer: Wow, lookie here, I still don't own it.
--
For the third time since he'd gotten up, Sam dialed in his home number. For the third time, he snapped the cell phone shut just before it made the call. His parents were safe, he knew. They'd refused to come back to the Autobot base with Captain Lennox, so Ironhide had parked across the street and was keeping watch on the house. The 'bot could certainly handle himself; he was the best qualified to guard Sam's parents. And Sam had to be extra careful, as Jazz had reminded him, for by now it was a safe bet that Soundwave could hear every phone conversation in the world. Once Soundwave, a die-hard loyal mech, learned of Megatron's demise, Sam would become his number-one target. There was no point in giving the 'con any more information than he already had.
None of which did anything to lessen his concern, or stop him from fiddling with his phone.
"Hey, Sam," Sergeant Robert Epps called to him. "Stop torturin' that thing and come play a few hands."
Sam glanced at him. He, Lennox, and Mikaela were playing poker- the two men had been amused to find that the teenage girl could hold her own against them. Sam, however, didn't know how to play and was too distracted to watch and learn. Jazz had been the opposite; he'd picked up the game within minutes, and had been banished when the others realized that he'd been applying his cunning and mental agility to come up with various ways to cheat. The saboteur now reclined across the nearby couch, watching and occasionally commenting.
"No thanks, I'm good," the boy responded. The older men exchanged knowing glances and returned to their game with the ridiculously high stakes of M&M's.
It was a little after nine a.m. and they were all trying to find something to do that didn't require use of the TV or computer, both of which could be monitored. Besides, the twins had taken over the rec room, declaring that they would keep watch for anything resembling Decepticon activity before banishing everyone else. Ratchet had gone to the med bay and was fussing around in there- the humans could see him and hear his muttering through the open doorway- preparing it for the inevitable wounded he would be tending to. Prowl was pacing around and forth in a matter reminiscent of a caged tiger while Bumblebee sat in his car form near the couch, probably just watching the humans.
They were all waiting for something to happen, Sam knew. He just didn't know what would happen first, or if he could stand the wait itself.
"Hey!"
Sam nearly jumped out of his skin at the yell. He turned in time to see Sideswipe stick his head through the doorway.
"What do you want?" Ratchet, looking as thoroughly rattled as the teen felt, snapped at the twin as he came to stand in the doorway. Sideswipe ignored this hostility.
"It's starting," he said simply, his tone surprisingly grim.
"What happened?" Mikaela asked, but no one answered. Instead they all followed the warrior as he ducked back out and headed down towards the rec room.
"We got communications blackouts," Sideswipe reported over his shoulder. "Cell phone coverage vanishing and AM radio waves going off the air. GPS and other location satellites are no longer responding at all. Landlines are randomly shutting off, and internet connections go in and out. Everything is just shutting down."
"Like last time," Jazz mused. "Only now they're bein' more careful 'bout it. Last time everyone knew when everythin' went off-line. This time it's all subtle. Most of th' people prob'ly think it's just a bad connection or somethin'."
"Exactly," the twin replied. "And they're being picky about their targets, too. Most people only loose their cell service and internet connection for a few minutes. The government can't get any of it to work."
"Soundwave's doing this?" Sam asked, catching Jazz's gaze.
"Yup. Told ya, he's a scary one. He knows what he's doin'. He's hackin' and monitorin' cell phones an' internet use, which is why people are gettin' it back. But he ain't lettin' th' government communicate with itself, since they're the ones with th' best chance t' hurt him."
"And the AM radio?" Sam wasn't sure he understood everything Jazz was saying, but he got the basic point. Soundwave was wrecking havoc on the world's communications so there would be less organized opposition to whatever he was planning.
"They learned their lesson," the saboteur answered flatly. "Satellites can be hacked easy, but radio waves- they're generated on Earth, an' not by machines connected t' th' internet. An' they're how th' humans brought th' 'cons down last time. I don't know how, but he prob'ly found a way t' get on th' air. This was most likely just an experiment to see if he could mess with th' radio. Problem is, he succeeded, so CB's out."
"This has been happening since yesterday afternoon," Prowl put in, still as calm and rational as ever.
"Yeah," Sideswipe agreed. "So there's nothing new there. But now there's this."
They reached the rec room before anyone could ask Sideswipe what he was talking about. Sam saw the giant screen TV and the news report on it and felt his stomach lurch.
Sunstreaker was standing in front of the screen. He glanced towards them, then sidestepped so he was out of the way. "Happened twenty minutes ago," he said, his voice for once lacking its omnipresent sneer. No one answered him; they were all too busy staring at the pile of cars and torn cement that had once been a freeway bridge. The screen had a scrolling marquee of information at the bottom of the screen. Sam felt slightly ill as the words 'seven confirmed dead, dozens still buried' rolled past.
"Is this being recorded?" Prowl was still all business, and Sam momentarily hated the tactician for being so remote. He instantly regretted it; Prowl's no-nonsense manner was probably going to be a big help in the days to come.
"Why?" Mikaela's voice shook. Her entire body shook, Sam noticed abruptly, and he slipped a tentative arm around her shoulders. She tensed, then relaxed and leaned into him.
"We may need this later," the tactician answered simply. He shifted his gaze to the saboteur. "Jazz, is there any way to determine who might have done this?"
Jazz moved over to the screen, considering it silently. After a moment he turned to face them.
"Looks like someone shot out th' supports to th' closer bridge, here and here." He tapped the screen in the appropriate places. "One shot went flyin' off, but th' second hit th' road behind th' supports. Th' second road couldn't support itself an' collapsed. Collateral damage only; th' main goal was th' closer road."
"Collateral damage," Epps echoed in disgust. Jazz frowned as he realized how his words might be perceived, then shrugged helplessly.
"We're talkin' 'cons here, Sergeant. They don't care 'bout th' casualty count." He turned back to the screen, muttering something that sounded like 'give me a minute'.
"Where's Prime?" Lennox demanded suddenly. "Those Decepticons wouldn't attack if they were facing him, right?"
"Presumably not," Prowl agreed mildly. "Both Dead End and Swindle are considered to be of above-average intelligence, and after his encounter with Sideswipe Astrotrain is in no shape to challenge anyone. Even Soundwave himself would be inclined to retreat from a fight with Optimus Prime. However, he is currently retrieving the Allspark fragment."
"So call him," the captain offered, and Prowl stiffened. Sam had the feeling they weren't going to like what he had to say next. He was right.
"I cannot," the tactician replied. He continued over the dual protests issued by the men. "Soundwave is closely monitoring all of our communications activity. Even though he doesn't know what we are saying, he would be able to deduce the current situation if we were to contact Prime. This is an ideal moment for Soundwave to press his attack, either on us or Optimus. I will not make targets of either."
"Does he even know what's going on?" Sam tried. Prowl didn't quite look at him.
"I don't know," he answered simply, and in those three words Sam heard the same pain and anger and helplessness he was feeling. Suddenly empathizing with the 'bot, the teen bit back the angry response he'd been about to unleash.
"Okay, I think I got it," Jazz said. He had somehow captured an image and pulled it into the corner so he could study it better. A glance at Sunstreaker and the image filled the whole screen. "See this here? Used t' be th' support pillar."
"It's gone," Mikaela, still pressed against Sam, pointed out. Jazz nodded and grinned at her.
"Exactly. It's gone. It's not crumbled, it's gone. See, if Bee'd shot th' pillar it'd've collapsed on itself 'cause he hasn't got th' power t' do more'n that. But it didn't collapse; it vaporized. That's more Ironhide's level."
"Astrotrain's got that kind of firepower," Sideswipe had folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head to one side as he considered the riddle Jazz was presenting him. "But I thrashed him pretty good. I'd say he probably went running right back to their ship."
"Soundwave could do that," Ratchet added contemplatively. "But he's not on-planet yet."
"An' mass destruction ain't his style," Jazz nodded. "He's more a 'roll out th' big guns if nothin' else works' kinda mech, an' whoever did this didn't try anythin' else first."
"The other two are only mid-level warriors," Prowl said as he frowned. "Neither of them possess the firepower required."
"Maybe not, but one of 'em's got th' entrepreneurial spirit t' pick up somethin' like this," the saboteur countered.
"Swindle," Sunstreaker hissed, his hands curling into fists.
"Wait," Sam objected. "I thought you said Swindle wasn't as bad as the rest of the Decepticons."
"I did," Jazz agreed sympathetically. "An' he's not. But don't forget, Sam, he is still a Decepticon."
"Hate to interrupt, but take a look at this." Epps was standing in front of a laptop set on a nearby table. He glanced up and gestured for them to come over.
"So this is an elementary school in Cincinnati," the sergeant said as he showed them a video image of a large building. "About ten minutes before the freeway thing, a yellow Hummer crashed through the fence and wiped out part of their playground."
"So?" Sideswipe prodded. The 'bots were too big to see what was on the small laptop screen and so were standing in a half-circle behind the cluster of humans. At the red warrior's question the five exchanged glances.
"An elementary school's basically a learnin' center for sparklings, Sides," Jazz explained, and Sam was momentarily struck by how well the saboteur fit in with the humans even though he wasn't technically one of them.
"Anyways, the big deal is that this Hummer had no driver," Epps continued. "And the teacher who found that insists the car talked to him. Then it did this."
The video was low-quality; instead of a continuous feed it caught an image once every few seconds, like an ATM camera. The images were black-and-white and grainy, but at least it was positioned perfectly. They watched in silence as the Hummer appeared on the road beyond the fence, sliding out of control. It went over the curb with ease and took out the fence with its left side. After a moment of fishtailing it slammed into the support poles for a set of monkey bars, folding them almost double before finally stopping.
"Did you see…" Jazz began, then stopped as the video went on.
The kids had seen the Hummer coming and had thankfully given it plenty of room. For several shots nothing happened, then a man strode across to the vehicle and yanked its driver door open. He climbed in, probably looking for a driver, and there was another pause.
Then the Hummer rolled a nasty-looking gun out of its undamaged side, settling it across the roof and pointing it towards the school.
"Oh my god," Mikaela breathed. "He doesn't…"
"No," the sergeant said quickly and they all relaxed. Indeed, on the screen the man was stumbling away and the Hummer was withdrawing the gun, no shots fired. The car peeled itself off the metal poles and headed out through the hole it'd made in the fence, turning back onto the road and continuing its previous path.
"Definitely Swindle," Jazz said firmly.
"Why is that?" Lennox frowned at him curiously. The saboteur shrugged.
"Any other 'con would've shot th' school anyways. But Swindle, he's a businessmech through an' through. Won't do anythin' that might come back t' bite him unless he's got a really good reason. Back up th' video, t' before he made his grand entrance. Right… stop! There."
Sam blinked and peered at the screen. There was another car on the road, halfway out of the picture at the top.
"That's Barricade," the teen murmured in surprise.
"Yes it is," the saboteur agreed cheerfully. "An' that…" he played the video until the Hummer appeared. "Is Swindle. They're both Decepticons, and 'Cade's been waitin' for backup, yet he's runnin' away."
"What are you two muttering about?" Bumblebee asked suddenly, and everyone in the room noticed all at once that the twins were standing off to one side and, from the looks on their faces, plotting something devious. They exchanged a quick look and straightened up, Sideswipe steeping forward slightly.
"We did some research, and we figured out that we can get to Cincinnati in five hours."
"What?" Mikaela asked incredulously. "Cincinnati is, what, two thousand miles from here? How fast do you plan on going?"
"About eight hundred miles an hour," Sideswipe answered calmly, and there was a pause while all the humans tried to wrap their minds around this.
"Can they…?" Sam began, but Prowl obviously had figured it out.
"Even if you were going to Cincinnati, which you're not, you would be driving. Not riding in an airplane."
There were four voices giving a simultaneous 'oh' as the four true humans suddenly understood. Jazz wrapped his arms around himself and grinned.
"C'mon, Prowler, what could it hurt? Soundwave's still in orbit an' prob'ly ain't comin' down anytime soon. It's just Swindle an' Barricade. Maybe one of th' cassettes, or Dead End at a stretch. No match for th' Demolition Duo here."
Prowl actually looked as though he were considering it. Jazz saw this and continued, pressing his point home.
"'Sides, we can't not do somethin'. They shoot out a bridge an' kill seven people an' we do nothin', they're liable to start wonderin'. We can't show any weakness, any hesitation, or Soundwave'll be all over us."
That decided it. Looking as though he weren't pleased with either choice, Prowl turned to the twins. "Keep it contained," he ordered grimly. "Try to stay out of the city, and don't transform unless you need to. The point is to chase them off-planet, not annihilate them, so spare the fireworks."
Looking like a pair of hunting dogs that had just slipped their leashes, the twins nodded and gave vague agreements and were out the door in a red and yellow blur.
"So what about us?" Mikaela asked. Prowl gazed at her thoughtfully for a few moments, then abruptly transformed.
"Sam," he said, and the boy started in surprise. "We're going to your house to retrieve Ironhide and your parents. I also suggest you pack a bag with whatever you may need. Until Soundwave is dealt with, it would be safest for you to remain here."
"Yeah, speaking of that, is it okay if I brought my wife here?" Lennox asked. "I don't trust the government to be able to protect her."
"I understand," Prowl replied.
"That's Prowl-speak for go ahead," Jazz chipped in. Lennox nodded and started to turn away, then paused and turned back.
"So should I take Bumblebee or something?" he asked hesitantly.
"I would prefer to go with Sam, in case I need to speak with his parents," Prowl responded. "Bumblebee would be a safer choice than Ratchet."
Lennox nodded and glanced at Bumblebee. The scout transformed and the two were gone almost as fast as the twins.
"So it's gonna be just us an' th' doc-bot," Jazz said to Mikaela and Epps. He grinned at the looks he got and turned back to the TV. Sam watched them for a moment, suddenly afraid to leave. Things were happening too fast, he thought. If he left now nothing would be the same when he got back.
Then he shook it off and slid into the car- best not to think about the fact that it was a living being, not while sitting in it. The door gently clicked shut and they were leaving and everything would be fine when they got back, as fine as it could be under the circumstances.
Sam wrapped his hands around the steering wheel and rested his forehead against the back of the chair. Everything will be fine, he told himself. Just fine.
Denial being such a powerful weapon.
--
Barricade was certainly having a nice long chat with Frenzy, Swindle thought irritably. He could sense the back-and-forth on his scanners but couldn't tap into it. This annoyed him for reasons that were beyond comprehension. Probably because these two were turning into far more trouble than they were worth.
The original plan had been to go back to the warehouse were Swindle had first transformed, but right as they were pulling into the lot Frenzy vetoed the idea. So instead they'd gone back onto the highway and were heading into the city proper and Swindle getting to the point of total annoyance. He wasn't the vain type normally, but he didn't care for the damage caused by the impact with the fence and those metal bars. And Barricade definitely needed a few hours for his auto-repair to catch up.
"All right," the scout said suddenly, and Swindle drew his wandering attention back. "We've decided to tell you, since we clearly have no choice. Megatron is with us."
Swindle considered this for a few moments. "According to Starscream, Megatron is with no one. He said something about a human destroying him and the Allspark…"
"He was right," Barricade answered, and Swindle laughed despite himself. The one time the seeker chose to tell the truth about Megatron's demise, and no one believes him. No wonder he'd seemed so frustrated.
"All right," he said after pause. "So he's dead. And yet he's here."
"Yes. Here and alive."
"Well, it was kinda obvious that Frenzy's a little off-center, but you almost had me convinced that you were just annoyed into doing everything his way. No worries, Soundwave'll probably be able to unscramble your circuits."
"My circuits are not scrambled," Barricade snapped irritably. "Megatron is here and alive and, Primus only knows how, he's human."
"Uh huh. Not selling the circuits-not-scrambled part here, 'Cade."
"You'll see," came the dismissive response. Swindle gave a mental shrug and inched closer to the scout's bumper in case he made another dash for it.
They pulled into a parking lot behind a department store, one of the few places downtown where a 'con could transform without being seen. Swindle hadn't yet told Barricade of the new addendum to the original orders. That, he'd decided, was something best kept to himself.
There was indeed a human standing in the lot; a fairly big one by the species' standards. He was certainly taller and broader than most Swindle had seen, and he practically oozed strength and contemptuous power. Swindle ran a few basic scans, then a few more he technically shouldn't be able to, and settled himself low on his tires.
"Now that's freaky," he muttered. The human sneered and stepped forward.
"Swindle," the creature drawled in Megatron's voice. "Been busy, I see." He reached around and rapped one fist against the side panel under which the cannon lay in wait. Swindle smiled to himself. It had to be Megatron.
"Yeah, business has been good," he agreed brightly. The human stepped back and scowled at him.
"So good you're robbing your fellow Decepticons?" he snapped.
He'd recognized the gun. Oh well. "I rob everyone. If I treat one mech better than the next I'm playing favorites. Never a good thing."
"I wasn't aware Motormaster even associated with you," the human countered frigidly. Swindle suddenly understood the meaning behind this convoluted exchange.
"Hey, he was long past dead when I found him. He went up against Ultra Magnus and lost in a big way. Sadly, his force field generator was in almost as many pieces of the rest of him, but at least I saved the gun."
"How sad," Megatron said tonelessly. Barricade, meanwhile, was slowly inching away from the former Combaticon. Apparently he'd only just now thought to wonder where most of Swindle's toys came from.
Swindle suddenly tired of this game. He transformed and stood, towering over the human. To his credit the little thing didn't budge an inch.
"So." Swindle leaned over and poked at Megatron gently. The human slapped at his finger and scowled. "Megatron, huh? This is… well, this is different."
Megatron folded his arms across his chest as the mech rocked back on his heels and grinned. There would be trouble here. Unlike Barricade or Soundwave, Swindle wasn't particularly loyal- he had, in fact, become a Decepticon because it had been that or a slow and painful death. To keep him in line his superiors had always used one of two methods: bribes, highly effective due to Swindle's mercantile nature, or threats of physical harm, which was cheaper and easier and thus employed far more often than the first option. Unfortunately for Megatron he had neither the size nor the resources to apply either method.
Swindle had the upper hand. He'd trumped Megatron just by existing. This was too good to be true, and certainly far too entertaining to be kept to himself.
"Well, you really got lucky," he informed the human. "About Soundwave, I mean. It could've been any one of a hundred 'cons and you get the one who is loyalty guaranteed. Slag, even Screamer isn't gonna bother you with him here."
"Starscream is here?" Megatron tilted his head to the side and considered the former Combaticon. Swindle shrugged.
"Depends on how you define 'here'. He's 'here' the same way Soundwave is 'here'. Not on planet, but out in orbit. Your oh-so-reliable Air Commander irritated your communications officer and got his tailfins tossed into the brig."
The human was watching him oddly, which irritated him. He wasn't an idiot; killing or disobeying Megatron was a quick way to make Soundwave his number one enemy. No, if he wanted some form of profit from this mess he needed to be far more subtle about it.
"So I'm gonna contact Soundwave now," he said conversationally. "Mind telling me what I'm supposed to tell him?"
Megatron was staring at him, no doubt wondering about his easy compliance. Finally acknowledging that he could do nothing to force the mech to answer that, he shrugged and responded.
"Tell him what I've been saying all along," he said. "That he needs to get down here. And do not even think about mentioning the human part."
"Oh, no worries there," Swindle laughed. "I'm not gonna be the one to tell him his all-powerful leader is now an organic thing." While the all-powerful leader in question was trying to figure out if it was worth the trouble to take that as an insult he transformed back into vehicle mode and rested heavily on his tires. Keeping his mirth in check proved challenging, but he managed to update Soundwave as to the current situation. The eavesdropping Rumble expressed much confusion and continuously asked repetitive questions until Soundwave got tired of it and booted him off the line. Swindle decided this seemed like a fine idea and signed off before he gained the communications officer's full attention.
Then he put in another call. One of the many things he'd done to irritate Soundwave had included hacking and hijacking some of the officer's internal lines. Being clever, a quick learner, and thorough in covering his tracks, Swindle had managed to create his own private Soundwave-proof line that he could use to contact any mech within range. After three or four uses the communications officer would pick up on it, but he only intended to use it twice. He shot off a signal that gained his first target's attention.
-What do you want?- came the surly demand. Swindle chuckled.
-Ditch the attitude, I've got something to say that you really, really wanna hear.-
-Like what?- Swindle ran a quick scan and continued only when he was confident of the privacy.
-Like Megatron on a platter-
-Megatron is dead-
-Humor me.-
-Fine. What do you want?-
-You've got nothing to bargain with right now. Don't worry, I'll collect later.-
-I wasn't worried. I don't want anything from a backstabber like you.-
-Backstabber?- Swindle put as much hurt and offense into that one word as he could. The other mech laughed derisively. -I'll admit, I'm not the most trustworthy 'con, but it's a little odd for you to be calling me that, isn't it?-
-Get to the point, Swindle, if you have one. I have things to do.-
-Like what?- There was a long silence after this, and Swindle ran another scan. Still nothing. Having made his point, he carried on. -I told you Megatron didn't stay dead. I didn't say anything about how he's continued living.-
-What do you want?-
-Don't you worry about that. It'll be Soundwave footing this particular bill.-
-You want Soundwave dead?-
-I want out- Swindle corrected. -I'm tired of this army slag. I want to be a Neutral again, but that isn't gonna happen with Tall Dark and Silent looming over me. I want you to cause a distraction- you're good at those. And I'll just… slip away.- Which was nothing close to his true plan, of course, but telling this particular mech the truth was a very bad idea.
-Fine. What have you got for me?-
Miles above the surface of the planet, within the bowels of the Decepticon ship, still sitting in his boring cell, a certain seeker listened to what Swindle had to say. And then he started to laugh.
--
-Hey, Dead End. I've got a pretty big favor I need to ask.-
Dead End lifted his head and peered around tiredly. A fully-repaired Astrotrain had found himself deprived of his normal victim and so had begun harassing the former Stunticon, leaving him with a reluctant respect for Swindle and the slag he put up with. After about three rounds of faceplates-meets-solid-object Dead End had retreated to his room.
-Swindle?-
-The one and only. I've got news for you and you aren't going to like it, but first I need you to do something for me.-
-Like what?-
-Like slip a certain seeker the code to unlock a certain cell door.-
-What?- Now he was wide awake and not liking it one bit. He glanced around, well aware of how closely Soundwave monitored all communications. -No!-
-Aw, c'mon. Where's ol' Doom 'n Gloom at? You know, 'we're all dead anyways, so I might as well do what Swindle wants'.-
-Soundwave--
-Can't hack this line. I made sure of it.-
-No, Swindle. You don't have anything I want. Besides, there's a difference between being doomed and being suicidal.-
-See there? That's what I want. Tell me about how we're all doomed.-
-Why?-
-Honestly? You're much more malleable when you're depressed.-
-Goodbye, Swindle.-
-Force field!-
Dead End paused in the middle of shutting the line. He was used to Swindle blurting out odd things- the mech had the annoying habit of switching from internal to verbal comm. lines mid-word- but something told him this wasn't like that. -What?-
-You remember when Jazz hacked Menasor's mainframe and planted a virus that shut down all your force field generators?-
Did he remember that, ha. As soon as the saboteur had left his little gift, Menasor had fallen apart for the last time. Motormaster had figured out the Autobot's trick within moments and had headed off, determined to find the saboteur and start removing limbs. Unfortunately for him, he'd had his fatal encounter with Ultra Magnus along the way.
-Well, I came upon Motormaster not too long after that. Or, at least, parts of him. One of those parts was his generator. I've been working on it, and while it's too damaged to work, I found a way to counteract the virus. I can pass you the code lines you'll need if you do me this one favor.-
Dead End considered this. His force field had been immensely useful, and would undoubtedly continue to be so if he got it working again. If nothing else it would keep Astrotrain at a tolerable distance. After a moment's debate he came to the inevitable conclusion.
-I want the code first.-
-Sure, I'll send it up. Soundwave should be too busy keeping watch over Ravage to catch you talking to Starscream.-
-It doesn't matter if he catches me- Dead End responded calmly.
-No, wait, let me guess: you're doomed anyways.-
-We all are-
-Thank you, Dead End, for that vote of confidence. I can't begin to tell you how reassuring it is to hear such uplifting words.-
-By the way, you said you had news for me.-
-Hmm? Oh, I did, didn't I? Yeah, I've got news. You won't like it.-
-I never like it. I never get any good news.-
-Oh, please. Primus himself could come down and grant you eternal invincibility and you'd still find something to complain about. But anyways, this time you really won't like it.-
-Just tell me- Dead End ordered.
-Apparently I'm staying here for a while. Soundwave seems less than amused by this, and his plan appears to be to not give us what we want, which is him on this planet. He's decided that sending his minions after us one by one is much more effective. Unfortunately for you, you're up next.-
-What?- Dead End was back to alarm.
-Yeah, you're joining the Idiots Stuck on Earth party. We have brochures if you're interested.-
-Oh, I'm dead.-
-Brig, Dead End. Code. Starscream.-
-I'm dead, I'm dead- he muttered to himself. Swindle's irritated snarl filtered down the line.
-Not yet, but you're getting close. Brig!-
Dead End got his feet under him and wandered into the hallway, keeping one optic open for Astrotrain. He made it down to the brig without incident and stopped in front of Starscream.
"I'm dead," he stated baldly. The seeker grinned, fierce and dark.
"And Megatron's human. I guess we all have our little problems."
That may be so, Dead End thought morosely, but his little problem was about to become very big and very real.