What is this you speak? Late update? Pshaw, I never update late. I post every new chapter exactly when I knew I was going to post them. I am a highly organized, very scheduled person. Therefore I am not late, I am temporarily delayed.
(Translation: Idiot Flame went out half-nekkid in the rain, got a cold, and spent two days camped out on her couch eating lemon bars, reading Insecticomics on deviantart, and repeatedly watching the Jurassic Park trilogy. This did little to help her get better, but she did have a good deal of fun screeching 'ME GRIMLOCK EAT YOU HUMAN!' every time she saw a T-Rex on screen.)
Disclaimer: Well, I own… nothing. -goes off into a corner to cry-
--
Ravage waited, patience corporeal, until the scout and the tactician were several minutes gone. His engine was idling and his entire frame was vibrating- the vehicle mode Rumble had picked out for him didn't like sitting still. This unfortunately clashed horribly with his own style of movement, which could be best described as stalking. It was a manner affected by some of the planet's native organic predators; they had a felinoid appearance surprisingly similar to his own. Rumble, in full-blown annoying-little-brother mode, had had a great deal of fun pulling up pictures off the humans' internet and comparing them to him.
The spy slowly edged himself out of the small gap between two trees that he'd been using as a hiding spot. His matte-black finish had helped him blend in with the shadows, and the two Autobots had driven past on a road slightly more than one body-length away without noticing him. This was probably due in large part to the anti-scanning devices Soundwave had confiscated from Swindle, but Ravage wasn't downplaying his own abilities because of some cheap toys gotten through questionable means by a thief.
The Autobots had set up base in an old warehouse, set off the main road by several miles. Ravage followed the winding road up towards the building, sending a quick transmission of his exact coordinates to the ship. Unless and until Swindle located Frenzy, they were not to communicate with their space-bound team mates without taking the proper precautions. Ravage bounced it off one of the cellular telephone satellites, knowing it would appear to be nothing more interesting than another human on a cell phone, yet Soundwave would pick it up.
After a few moments he was close enough to run a few scans. The medic was still there, and two humans. The odd spark signal was also present, but Ravage wasn't foolish enough to risk an encounter with the Autobot Ratchet. True, he was faster than the medic, but it was better not to invite trouble.
He transformed into his felinoid form and leapt lightly on top of the building, scooting himself far enough in that he couldn't be seen from any angle on the ground. Then he dropped his head onto his paws and settled down to a long wait.
--
Swindle had said to wait.
Starscream stood next to the cell door lock, five of the six digits in the code already put in. He wanted out so desperately, but that treacherous mercenary had said to wait, and he'd had pretty good reasons to do so. Soundwave was still on-board, he'd pointed out, and it was doubtful that Starscream could give the communications officer the slip. Ravage and Dead End were on Earth now but Astrotrain was back and in high fury.
He wasn't a gambling mech, but Swindle was. He had no doubt the former Combaticon would put everything on Soundwave should the seeker run into him while trying to slip out. In fact, his odds were pretty dismal even if he avoided a confrontation; the ship was almost an extension of Soundwave, as much a part of him as any of his little midgets. Getting out would be difficult at best. Then he'd have to deal with the various issues on the planet itself. His jet form was fast enough to leave any Autobot in the dust, but it was also highly vulnerable to human attack. And unlike the roads by which ground-pounders like Swindle traveled, the air through which Starscream flew was closely monitored by humans. A mystery jet with no identification markers was a jet begging to get shot down, and as he'd found on his first visit there, if one shot so much as clipped his wing he was going down.
On the other hand, there was Megatron. As a human.
Both compelling arguments. Starscream stared at the lock and scowled. He wanted out, but he didn't want to get out only to get tossed back in, or worse. So he needed to wait until his weapons were back on-line, at least.
Fine. I'll just sit here and wait and as soon as my weapons come back I'm gone.
He backed himself against the nearest wall and didn't quite sit- he was too fidgety. Although far from the most reliable of mechs, Swindle could be trusted to do what was best for himself. For this reason Starscream was willing to trust the other 'con- he had no reason to want the seeker dead, and he didn't do things without reason. After a moment the waiting became too much and he changed his plans accordingly.
By the time I get the door open my weapons will be back on. I'll just wait right outside the cell.
He actually had no idea when to expect his weapons back, as Swindle had just given him an infuriatingly nonspecific 'soon'. But Starscream was willing to take the risk. He pushed off the wall and input the last number into the keypad. The energy bars hissed and dissipated. The seeker stepped into the room beyond and grinned darkly. True, this freedom wasn't too terribly free, but he was out.
And what are the chances of running into one of the two mechs on board I can't beat? He asked himself as he walked over to the brig door. Very slim, he decided, as he opened the door and wandered into the hall beyond.
Naturally, it was at that moment that Astrotrain came around the corner.
For a moment the two jets stood frozen, the triplechanger trying to process what he was seeing and the seeker cursing Primus and his own impatience. Then the much larger 'con smiled, a promise of pain and torture and all sorts of unfriendly experiences, and cycled out one of his cannons. Starscream tried to do the same and nearly screeched with fury when he received the now-familiar error reading.
So he tried something new, something the human sparklings did to get out of trouble. He pointed just over Astrotrain's shoulder and yelled, "Look! It's Defensor!"
He didn't know which was sadder- that he was forced to rely upon such humiliating methods, or that it worked. Before the triplechanger could turn to face his imaginary opponent Starscream was gone, bolting in the other direction and heading towards an air lock.
The massive doors were hissing shut behind him, leaving him in the bay and preparing for ejection into the vacuum of space, when the computer chirped an alarm. This time Starscream did produce an audio-piercing shriek of rage as the lights went out and the computer shut itself down. He slammed a fist against the screen, sending lines of sparkling cracks webbing across it, but its message didn't change. Swindle had been right; without even leaving the bridge Soundwave had stopped him.
And then, the glorious soft ping of his weapons coming back online issued throughout his CPU.
The hall doors jerked open, manual override making them slow and clunky, to reveal Astrotrain. Starscream steadied his arm, aiming his null ray, and fired. The triplechanger recoiled from the sound and snapped off a few shots of his own, but they went wide as the blasted 'bay doors gave in to the inevitable and were yanked right off their tracks. Starscream transformed and blasted through the new opening, which was barely big enough for him and therefore far too small for Astrotrain, and into the dead of space.
His Earthen jet form wasn't meant for space travel. Starscream had made a few adjustments, but it was still slow and awkward. He pointed himself towards the planet, where he was undisputed king of the sky, and fired up his engines.
The first shot splashed across his left wing and sent him spiraling wildly; the rest missed as a result. He steadied himself and swung around to find Astrotrain in mech form, hanging half-out of the hole Starscream had shot through the 'bay doors.
All the fury and humiliation and hatred the seeker had been containing since Megatron's revival came to the fore. He gave a bellow of rage and peppered the hull of the ship with his own fire, causing the triplechanger to duck back out of the way. The seeker continued his strafing run, leaving dark streaks across the ship's sleek silver hull. When he reached the engines he traded out the smaller guns for explosives. It was a one-in-a-million shot, and he made it.
The chain started in the left auxiliary engine. Several small blasts shook the ship's frame; then the blooming explosions moved to the main engines. From there it was all just a matter of time. The big ship gave a low, keening noise. After a moment the noises all stopped and the cruiser slumped forward, the ever-present thrum of engines silenced. There were no lights, no movement, from the bridge.
In one immature temper tantrum, Starscream had effectively crippled Soundwave's ship.
The seeker sat, hovering in space and gaping at his handiwork. Then he shook himself and once more pointed towards Earth. If Soundwave caught him, the communications officer would use his head as a trophy and his body as spare parts to fix the damage. While he was still alive.
He didn't slow down until he was screaming through the atmosphere, his armor turning brilliant red and his wingtips trailing fire. By then it was too late; he had too much momentum to slow down to a safe speed. He blew through a screen of trees and hit the ground, bounced off, and hit once more. This repeated several times as he skimmed over almost twenty miles of ground. Then he hit water and sank like a stone.
Starscream pulled himself onto the beach and dropped to the sand. He was hurting in too many places to count, most of it due to the least graceful landing of his life. After a moment he got to his feet and staggered a few steps into the nearby forest before almost collapsing into his jet form.
He entertained himself by imagining the human Megatron being kept in a cage until he finally drifted off into recharge.
--
"So… any ideas on how to return to being, ya know, big and scary? Or are organics the new 'in' thing?"
Megatron opened his eyes and slowly turned to look at the yellow Hummer that was currently talking to him. Swindle sounded as obnoxiously amused as ever, his tone a verbal smirk. Under normal circumstances Megatron would shut him up with one hit. Now he could be armed with a jackhammer and the only threat he would pose would be to the mech's paint job.
"As soon as Soundwave joins us, we will retrieve the Allspark piece from the Autobots," he said, because it was just so much easier to simply tell him than refuse to say anything and deal with a subtle interrogation for the next six hours. Besides, Swindle was a smart mech. He'd probably already known the answer before he asked the question. Which was a problem, really. Barricade wasn't exactly stupid but it didn't appear to have sunk in yet that he was currently much more powerful than his leader.
"Get the Allspark piece," the merchant echoed. "Well, that sounds outstandingly easy. And so well thought-out, too. Never would have predicted such a brilliant strategy, which is why you're obviously still the High Commander and I never was. Good thing there are no height requirements."
Swindle, on the other hand, had realized immediately the vulnerable position Megatron was in, and took it upon himself to remind the human of it at every available opportunity. And unless he felt like making a fool of himself, there was little Megatron could do about it. Briefly he wondered if the former Combaticon had gotten word out yet; that he would find a way around Soundwave's communications roadblock was inevitable. The real question was who would use this interesting tidbit of information in a manner that best benefited Swindle himself.
Deciding that this entire conversation had been a waste of time, Megatron turned away from the yellow monstrosity and tilted his head back, studying the deep blue sky. Several hours ago something had happened to Soundwave's ship. Swindle had reported it as the engines failing, but the human didn't believe it. He'd been there for the construction of that ship, had watched his communications officer loom over all the mechs around, his symbiotes running to and fro and putting forth unrealistic commands for the designs. Those engines wouldn't just fail; something happened to them.
"Power's still on, but that thing's not going anywhere for a while," Swindle had said cheerfully. The general implication had been that Soundwave wasn't going anywhere either. He would stay on his ship and focus on repairs, thus delaying Megatron's plan even more.
"Dead End's on-planet," the Hummer announced suddenly.
"Dead End," Megatron echoed. "Wonderful. At least he won't be foolish enough to challenge you."
"Me?" Now Swindle was laughing. "What's so special about me?"
"You could turn him into scrap metal without trying," the human said. He shifted and scowled when the 'con continued to laugh.
"Yeah, sure I could. Problem: he's got his force field generator back on-line. Nothing I got can get through that."
"His generator's on-line? When did that happen?"
"Ahh, very recently."
Megatron turned in his seat to stare at the yellow vehicle. After a moment Swindle noticed this and his mirth faded.
"Define 'recently'," the human ordered coldly.
"What do you want, for me to say I felt sorry for the guy and told him how to fix it before I left for Earth? Fine, I did. Forgive me for thinking about others."
"Except you don't care about others," Megatron snarled. "You use them to your advantage and then you throw them away. What did he give you in exchange for this?"
"What did he have to give me? Not much. Are you trying to subtly ask me if I told him about you?"
"What is the going rate for selling out your leader these days?" Megatron asked coldly. By now he was standing in front of the Hummer's grill. Swindle's manner changed noticeably, from trying to shrink away from the conversation to frigidly defensive.
"If you want someone to say that they would never do something like that, go talk to Soundwave. He's the loyal one; I'm just a merchant. I sell everything I get my hands on. I'm sorry if you're a little upset at this, but you haven't got much to complain about. Until Soundwave gets here, and possibly even afterwards, you're just a human who used to be the Decepticon leader. And I'm pretty sure that one little segment of the Allspark isn't going to change that." Here the mech paused for a few moments, then continued in a hurtful tone. "Besides, I've been nothing but loyal to you so far, which is fairly new for me. Give me some respect, all right? If Dead End knows about your problems he didn't hear them from me."
Megatron almost turned away, but stopped at the last moment. "What does that mean? No one besides us here should know about my 'problems'."
Swindle mulled this one over for a moment, then said in obvious relief, "Oh look, there's two Autobot signals rapidly approaching. Maybe we better get Barricade and get out of here."
"I thought you said they couldn't track you."
"I'm not the one putting out a weird spark signal," came the dry response. "Oi, Barricade! Autobots incoming. Get your trunk monkey and let's move out."
The scout had been sitting off to one side, in light recharge as his self-repair systems fixed the damage of having a freeway bridge dropped on him. He tensed slightly as he came awake.
"Get my what?"
"Yes, because of what I just said, 'trunk monkey' is far more interesting than 'Autobots incoming'," Swindle drawled. "Spaz-con, mutant, annoying little monster, Frenzy- pick one. Just get him and let's get moving!"
They all heard Frenzy give a wild whoop; then he scuttled out of the alley he'd been hiding in and galloped over to Barricade. Megatron had turned and taken two steps towards the scour when Swindle barked out an inelegant curse and started his engine.
"Too late, get in!" he snapped. The human didn't pause; by now he could feel the vibrations of two powerful vehicles approaching rapidly. He ducked through the open door and dropped onto the seat just as the door was slammed shut.
And then two sports cars flew around the corner, a pair of red and yellow streaks that roared up behind the two Decepticons. The red one went on Barricade's far side, the yellow slid between the two 'cons. Frenzy whooped again and started shooting at the yellow side paneling. It did no real damage, but it did leave a long line of dents along the car's flank. Immediately the yellow one gunned its engine and shot forward.
Swindle bit out another curse as he started moving. He plowed through a wooden fence as though it weren't even there and swerved onto the road beyond, slipping into traffic with an ease surprising considering his size.
"We're splitting up," he said tersely. "Easier to handle one of the twins than both."
Megatron caught the armrest in one hand and the steering wheel in another. He pulled himself upright and hastily buckled in. He glanced into the rearview mirror as Swindle groaned. The yellow one- Sunstreaker- had pulled onto the road behind them.
"Wonderful. I get the sociopath one."
"What difference does that make?" Megatron demanded.
"Makes a lot of difference to me. I kinda want to live past this encounter."
"Oh really?" He studied the steering wheel contemplatively. "Well, if you're not going to survive this, tell me now who else knows about me."
"Bigger things to worry about!" Swindle yelled. He pulled off the far side of the road and onto the curb, scattering humans as he sped up. Megatron lifted his gaze to watch as the Autobot tried to maneuver his way onto the curb as well, but was blocked by a garbage truck.
"Not anymore," he shot back.
"Well now I'm going to survive this, so I see no need to answer that question."
"Swindle…" the human growled.
"All right, fine! You really want to know? You don't but I'll tell you anyways. I told Starscream."
"You did what?" Megatron demanded. Had he been a mech, everyone would have been fleeing his vicinity because that tone implied someone was going to die, whether or not they had anything to do with why he was upset. Swindle merely laughed.
"Yes, o glorious leader, I told Starscream. He's probably what blew out the ship's engines, too, because I also told him the code to get out of the brig. He's got quite a temper."
"Where is he now?" the human snapped. The mech gave a sound similar to a snort.
"Like I have any idea. Somewhere on Earth's probably a safe bet."
He took a corner on two wheels and skidded to a stop just in time to avoid wrapping himself around a tree. Megatron kicked his door open and slid out. The 'con said nothing; he merely waited until the human was far enough away and slammed his door shut. Then he merged into traffic, turning again at the road ahead and vanishing.
Megatron retreated until he was standing in the doorway of the building behind the tree. After a few moments Sunstreaker came flying around the corner. He kept going, not stopping to investigate Megatron or turning where Swindle had. After a moment the human sighed and started walking down the street. Hopefully Barricade would have as easy a time ridding himself of the other twin and would come pick him up.
"Excuse me, sir?"
He glanced back and found that he was being followed by a tall human in a suit. Something about him seemed familiar, which irritated him.
"Go away," Megatron ordered as he turned back. "I don't have time to deal with you fleshlings."
"Oh, but I think you do," the man answered. Something stung the back of his neck and Megatron spun around, preparing to beat the human until it stopped following him, except something was wrong. He blinked and frowned at the ground, which was spinning around in an odd manner. After a moment it started lurching from side to side and he could no longer keep his balance. He dropped, somehow avoiding landing on his face, and closed his eyes to stop the nauseating dizziness.
"Okay, boys, grab him and let's go."
"Are you sure we're allowed to do this, sir?"
"The Autobots won't tell us anything, so we'll just have to figure it out for ourselves."
"Oof, he's heavy." Something tugged at his arms, trying to pull him up. "Jesus Christ. Someone get over here and help!"
Megatron tried to open his eyes again and found he couldn't. A warm sort of darkness stole over him and the world around him faded into nothingness.
His last thought was that at least Starscream hadn't found him.
--
"This is not good," Swindle muttered to himself. He was on the highway, going eighty and steadily losing ground to the yellow Lamborghini behind him. "This is not good, this is not good, this is very not good."
-Rumble!-
-We're busy, Swindle.-
-I'm being chased by an Autobot, half-stack, which kinda beats your 'busy'. Does the 'stealth is no longer necessary' rule still stand?-
-Do whatever you want! That's all anyone's been doing anyways.-
If he only knew.
Swindle ducked over to the far left lane. He held himself steady for a moment, waiting until Sunstreaker was too close for comfort. Then he swung himself around, using his bumper as a battering ram. The metal railing didn't stand a chance; it peeled back and away as he slid through and into oncoming traffic. He managed to swing around until he was going the proper direction. Sunstreaker, as he'd hoped, had been too close and going too fast to make the turn.
The 'con slowed and merged into the traffic until he was next to an eighteen-wheeler, which made him feel less noticeable. After a moment he realized that traffic was slowing down, then stopping entirely. For a few moments he was confused. Then he remembered that someone had shot out two freeway bridges that morning, so naturally things were a little backed up.
And then a certain familiar Lamborghini pulled up on his other side.
Swindle felt his slow-boiling temper erupt. Snarling and snapping in rage, he cycled out the cannon and settled it into place. Sunstreaker revved his engine and backed up, putting as much distance between himself and the gun as possible, although Swindle got the impression that the move had less to do with not wanting to get shot himself and more to do with trying to keep the 'con from blasting everything around him.
"You know what's so amazing about humans?" the 'con asked. "No? They don't pay attention. They refuse to believe what is right in front of them. I mean, slagging Pit, I shot down two bridges this morning and they're saying it was inadequate materials or something. And you know what's great about being a Decepticon? It means I can do this."
And he transformed, swinging Motormaster's gun around so that it was braced on his left arm. He put one hand on the trailer of the truck next to him and casually pulled it over, balancing his weight against it as the gun started to power up. Judging from the weight, the trailer was empty, which would make the next part of his plan significantly easier.
"Let's see them ignore this," he drawled, pointing the gun towards the snarl of cars ahead of him.
It was a bad situation, but Sunstreaker had no choice. He transformed, lunging to the side as he did so. Swindle didn't shoot at him, however. Instead he sidestepped so he was standing behind the truck and gave it a swift kick. The trailer, not meant to stand up to such abuse, skidded right off the bed of the truck. Its far end swung around and, before the Autobot could catch up to what was happening, nailed Sunstreaker right in the chest. Another push and the trailer dropped on him, pinning him to the ground.
"Stay, boy," Swindle said to the 'bot. He turned and stepped over the embankment, heading back into the city.
He transformed just outside the city and meandered through a complicated maze of turns and roads, until he was fairly sure he'd lost even the surprisingly dedicated Sunstreaker. Of course, the fact that he was a big vehicle that was two shades shy of being neon yellow did nothing to help his attempts to blend in. Still, he did what he could with what he had. And it worked fairly well until he found himself stopped at a red light and suddenly noticed that Megatron's spark signal was rapidly approaching.
Now he was going to have to deal with that slagging human going off the handle about Starscream again. Only this time he wouldn't have the option of accidentally running over the annoying little thing and blaming the Autobots, since the speed with which he moved implied Barricade had found him.
Several vehicles blew past him. None turned, or stopped, or otherwise gave any sign of recognizing him. And none of them were Los Angeles police cars. If he had to guess, he'd say Megatron was in the big black SUV. Swindle yanked himself over into the right-turn lane, bullying a smaller car out of the way, and fell into place behind the SUV. It definitely had Megatron in it. A quick scan also revealed four other, normal humans, and nothing Cybertronian.
"Oh, this is not good," he muttered to himself. "This is not good, this is-- this is perfect." He eased off the gas, letting another car get between him and the SUV. Honestly, he couldn't have asked for anything better. Megatron had gotten out under his own power and had walked away, knowing the dangers that might be present. And he had fallen to one of those dangers- his fellow humans. What Swindle had needed- to get his leader out of the way- had come true, and in a manner that couldn't even begin to be blamed on him. With a broad grin of anticipation, he contacted his fellow Idiot on Earth.
-Barricade! We got a problem!-
-What?-
-Megatron's been nabbed by a bunch of humans. I can't get him back without doing something that might hurt him too.-
-What?! Where are you?-
-Uh, I'm at- oh slag. Red Twin alert. Gotta go.-
-Wait, Swindle--
Swindle pulled into the far lane as Sideswipe turned onto the road ahead. He immediately began to drift backwards, slowly letting the SUV catch up. No doubt he'd finally noticed the odd signal and was now coming to check it out. So far only his scanner jammer was keeping him out of the Autobot's notice.
And then Sunstreaker slid out from behind the car to Swindle's right. In about three seconds the twins effectively herded him off the main road and onto a much smaller side street. Sideswipe gunned his engine and shot past him while Sunstreaker stopped in front of him.
"This just is not my day, is it?" Swindle asked himself. Then he gave a weak attempt at a laugh as the twins both pulled in a little closer. "Hey, guys. Good to see you both alive and, sadly, fighting fit."
"Hey, Swindle," Sideswipe greeted, and there was a dark note to his cheerful tone. "Wanna guess how many people you killed today?"
"Not particularly," the Decepticon answered honestly. He'd known the twins long enough, and had traded with them frequently enough, that he had a basic idea of their skills. Beating one of them might be possible, as they were both close-range fighters and Swindle carried an admirable arsenal of long-range weapons. But both, up close and mad? The only reason he hadn't shot himself yet was because there was still the off-chance of a minor miracle.
"Twelve." Sideswipe informed him. The 'con bit back his immediate reply, which involved something along the lines of 'a dime a dozen', in favor of silence. It seemed much less likely to get him slagged. After a moment he tried a different track.
"Well. Now you two have a problem."
"A problem?" Sunstreaker scoffed. "You? Don't insult us."
"Not me," Swindle answered. "Megatron."
"Slag it all," Sideswipe murmured. "So he is the one turned human."
"Yeah, he- wait. What?" The 'con would have shaken his head, but he didn't have one in this form. "How'd you know that?"
There was a brief, guarded silence. Then Sunstreaker, ever the conversationalist, gave something vaguely resembling an answer.
"Because."
"Because what?" Now Swindle was starting to connect the dots. The twins, while brilliant warriors, were by no means geniuses. They couldn't have known the odd signal was Megatron unless someone either told them, which was doubtful, or…
"Jazz is back, huh?" he asked. Neither Autobot responded, although he would assume they were having their own conversation. "Well, he's gotta be. You knew what that signal meant, and he's the only Autobot to kick it recently- whoa!"
Sunstreaker loomed over him, having transformed in the time it took him to say two words, and pulled out a nasty-looking energon sword. The Decepticon backed up quickly, nearly ramming Sideswipe, stopping only when a mailbox post bent the wrong way and prevented further retreat. The yellow twin moved with him, each step less a step and more a predatory prowl.
"Okay, bad choice of words, point taken! Sorry!" Sunstreaker considered this apology and seemed on the verge of rejecting it. Fortunately fate smiled on him still.
"Aw, leave him alone," Sideswipe ordered suddenly. "He's no threat to anyone."
"Say wha- yes. No threat, not at all."
The twins had another one of their conversations. Then Sideswipe swerved around Swindle and turned back onto the main road. Sunstreaker paused long enough to make a few comments.
"You know what's so amazing about scanner jammers?" he asked. Swindle hesitated, not sure how to answer that. The Autobot continued. "They sometimes interfere with your self-scanners and make it hard for you to notice, oh, a leak in your main energon system."
"What?" Swindle shut off the jammer and was immediately swamped by a dozen different alarms and warnings. He ran a self-diagnostic and was not pleased with the response. While far from deadly, the energon leak would certainly take a while to repair and even longer to regain the lost energy. Sunstreaker patted him on the hood, like a human patting a dog, then walked away. He tossed one final parting shot over his shoulder.
"Stay, boy."