He'd never really LOOKED at his laboratory. Megatron had waved him dismissively when he'd filed the request to build one; because space was fought over like the two bottom wolvetrons regarding the last of a caribot carcass, he'd gotten something close to the throne room. It had been hammered and wired and programmed with the same care the others took decorating their private quarters. Eventually Starscream's workload and absent-mindedness regarding failed experiments had become accumulated debris mostly ignored. "This place is due for a cleaning," Dr. Arkeville grunted.
Starscream had been trying to dig through the flotsam to find parts for a transmitter and laughed. "That is a spectacular understatement."
Dr. Arkeville didn't laugh. He glanced around and pointed to a pile, suggesting that the piece they wanted might be inside. He did not feel any nostalgia for this place - his lab on Cybertron had been amazing. He missed it. And he would never see it again...
"Prime, have you concocted any other plans to kill Megatron?" Dr. Arkeville demanded.
"Stop calling me that," the larger machine hissed as a pile avalanched and he had to move the human clear. "Soundwave might be listening."
Dr. Arkeville couldn't detect Soundwave's equipment any more, much to his fury. If he ever got his hands on that REAL human once he got his body back...
"Besides, the other two plans didn't work!" His second plan had failed and Megatron's punishment was swift and brutal. Dr. Arkeville had spent a great deal of time trying to repair Starscream that night, while they planned another strategy. Should they fail completely and Starscream had to drop him off with the Autobots, they already knew what would happen: Dr. Arkeville would go to the hospital and then to jail OR 'Optimus Prime' would "accidentally" kill him. He could NOT leave this place. As he looked upon it, it was all he wanted to do. The place was a mess. His existence was a mess. His body - thanks to yet another failed killing - was a mess.
"Dr. Arkeville, I was...thinking...and there's one attempt you haven't made." Starscream handed Dr. Arkeville another tool. "I overheard Ramjet and Rumble arguing about 'That time of the month' and have no idea what they meant, and then Thundercracker said something about it involving you all taking turns doing something. What is it?"
"What IS it? What IS it? WHAT IS IT?" This was too much! He threw the tool at the mech and scowled in disgust. "You mean to tell me you've never demanded physical tribute from your minions?" That couldn't be right!
Starscream dropped his entire armload and took a step back, his hand on his forehead. "PHYSICAL...I thought I was wrong..." He sank to the ground. "That's horrific!"
The human shrugged. "You get used to it."
"When is your day?"
"I DON'T HAVE A DAY! I'M HIS SECOND IN COMMAND!" Oh NO. "Don't you DARE assume that I should volunteer to, either, he'll see that as a murder plot as easily as I have!" Dr. Arkeville was shuddering. "And don't you DARE attempt to-to-"
Starscream leaned on one hand on the floor and crawled to the table the human perched upon and met his eye completely. "What does he do to you?" he whispered.
Dr. Arkeville felt his eyes puff up and begin leaking. Curse this body! His mucus membranes were over-producing and his throat was constricting. His breathing was acting funny.
Starscream was annoyed. Sniveling human, get over it and TELL him! No...he was an Autobot, he must show compassion. He must have compassion. "What happened, Starscream?"
Dr. Arkeville, managed to get his outburst under control after a few moments, but his voice was still high-pitched. "You have to be CAUGHT attempting to sabotage his plan, then he tortures you and when he's bored THEN he has his way with you."
One word pinged on Starscream's radar. "Sabotage? You mean, like refusing to get rid of a human even after being directly ordered to deposit him on enemy lines? Or sabotage, such as leading the battle to a place where the false Optimus can be re-assigned his old body? Except that should this work, you'll be the one facing the punishment..." He didn't feel guilty. He was excited to get his body back and it wouldn't cost him anything- no, no, NO! This is WRONG. He was PRIME. "I cannot allow that."
"What?" startled, Dr. Arkeville ceased his weeping.
"I cannot allow you to be harmed. We will find another way." Starscream rose up and walked over his dropped materials, kicking the broken ones out of the way.
"Another way," he repeated. "Keep thinking."
For all the kindness and nobility Starscream was showing for Dr. Arkeville, he sure wasn't getting much return on investment. Granted, that blasted human form had to take a lot out of the original Starscream, but why did he feel the need to release his stress by abusing him? After Starscream had declared he would not infuriate Megatron to exploit a weakness that had potential repercussions for the original Starscream if the plan worked, Dr. Arkeville called him a variety of names and epithets, the penultimate being "YOU HAVE THE TOWING CAPACITY OF A CYBER-GOAT" and ending with "LEAVE MY SIGHT BEFORE I RELEASE FLUID ON YOU!"
Soooooo now he was wandering the halls, trying to not get caught but at the same time trying to commit the layout to memory. This place was so DARK. It was lonely, too. When he was Optimus he'd always had someone tailing him with something important, and while it was irritating to have to be constantly working, at least he never felt alone. Not superficially.
Noiseless and dark, so that every footfall echoed and returned to echo again, making a racket so unpleasant Starscream felt the need to stop and let it die out every so often. Corners and indentations made him nervous; they were ubiquitous enough that this loud, dark corridor was proof that sneaking into the Deception Base might be next to impossible but once you were inside you could hide for an eon and never be detected.
*CRASH*
He should have detected that. Hear it, no - but there were enough other resources he could have used had he paid attention to all the readouts this body gave him. Powerful gunmetal arms pinned him supine on the floor and pushed harder the more he resisted. Megatron's smirk never faltered.
"Lost, little jet?" he cooed sarcastically, shifting his pelvis a little higher along Starscream's body. "Usually your demands for attention aren't so tepid." He was moving his face closer.
With every last bit of his strength Starscream head-butted Megatron, yanked free an arm to push him back, and somehow swept himself out of from underneath in a nanosecond. He jumped backwards to offset Megatron's leap forward and was able to grab him and toss him overhead and into the wall behind them, REALLY wishing he had his blaster on him.
Megatron, stunned and upside down while embedded in a wall, gave a quizzical expression as he slid down. "Where did you learn that?" he asked, almost to himself. "Enough! Help me up before I obliterate you!" Should he run or render aid to Megatron at his still unperturbed mood? Experience stated to help him return to his natural state. That and he STILL had no firearm. He should have done learned how to use these stupid null rays but Dr. Arkeville was convinced it would be like admitting his weak spot.
Once back on his feet and letting a few more attacks not find their target, Megatron motioned to Starscream to follow him, not bothering to wait for compliance, assuming obedience would be performed. "Would you care to explain your latest temper tantrum - oh yes! The human. You're upset you're losing him."
What Would Starscream Do? Great, another catch phrase of Sideswipe's. He thought he was funny... Starscream hurried to catch up.
"I am. I- I would like to keep him."
Megatron glanced backwards slightly, red eye brightening ever-so-slightly. "What do you plan to use him for?" He chuckled and rounded a corner. Starscream accelerated. "Mazes? Paint testing? Neurology? Does he have an adequate supply of food pellets?"
"He's my pet."
Megatron wheeled on him, fist clenched. "I have TOLD you that we do not keep pets! I am not Optimus Prime, toying with the natives to better further my own agenda!"
Affront brings swift retribution. "Like Shawn Berger?"
"SILENCE!" Megatron hit him backhanded, thank Primus for small favors. "Your pet will die at the hands of the humans, not yours!"
"I WANT TO KEEP HIM!" Starscream howled back, still trying to regain equilibrium.
"For too long I have made exceptions to my rules to facilitate you! AS a FAVOR! No longer!" Megatron's arms went out, almost as though he were giving up and reigning in at the same time.
"I want to KEEP him!" the jet pleaded, feeling desperate again. Soundwave's buzz was encroaching like the hideous herald it was, unless Starscream thought of something FAST. "What must I do to enable that?"
The arm swept forward, hitting him again. Starscream veered away, dodging the majority of the swipe but was caught up by the other arm, which held his body in place long enough to be completely encapsulated. Still stinging and dizzy, he was unable to prevent the first hand from catching the back of his head and pushing him forward to meet Megatron. Starscream let out a high-pitched grunt and nothing else, not pulling away because the panic had somehow frozen him, and the kiss deepened.
Megatron's lips pulled back but his head did not. "You will obey me, or the next time you are prisoner in my hands it will be because I've torn you in half." He pulled away, allowing Starscream to fall to the floor and gasp for air. "The human goes as our spy. Or else."