Increasing Capabilities

The three minicons had turned out to be invaluable to her! They were so eager to please, intelligent – and very handy repair bots. During this 'down time' the four of them had searched the internet for ideas. And after much debate and discussion, the little bots had performed quite a few modifications and upgrades to her systems.

She now had an expanded secondary power system, which was capable of supplying her with a steady flow of energy – even during full combat situations. They had installed 2 more extra power cores and power conversion ports, so that the excess power generated from the solar-cell film, could be converted into energon and stored for future use. With all of this extra power available, they'd decided it would be a good idea to upgrade her laser cannons. She could now fire bolts almost as powerful as Galvatron himself. And the drain only came from her primary power core, which the first of the new backup cores would immediately start recharging the primary – even as it drained. They had also worked on her long-range sensory array network, increasing her range by over 100%!

The minicons wiggled with delight as she ran her fingertips gently over them, buffing the new coat of wax. She owed her little team quite a bit of gratitude, and knew that pleasure and appreciation was the paychecks they desired. Her new sensory array was working wonderfully, and that's when she spotted the Decepticon cruising near her location.

"It looks likes we have some company, my friends" she said smugly, then transformed into jet mode, and with her three eager little passengers tucked into her cockpit, she teleported towards the Deception's current position. She came back into normal phase next to the Decepticon flyer, her cloaking system fully engaged; proceeding

to study him, as she tracked his progress closely.

Autobot Observations..

"Optimus, bad news." Springer came striding into the repair bay, his expression one of dead seriousness.

Optimus looked up, "What is it?"

"Looks like Galvatron's getting involved, we just received a report that Cyclonus was spotted." the green chopper stated.

Negotiations.

Raptor tracked the large purple Decepticon for several hours, listening as he mumbled to himself his ideas on how to find her. She was amused by this Decepticon, for

he seemed far more intelligent than that Scourge, and seemed to have a greater amount of calm patience. She recalled all of the information regarding the interpersonal workings of the Decepticons, as well as their personnel list. So this is Cyclonus, Galvatron's right hand man. She smiled haughtily as she continued to follow him. For there was only one reason that she could think of for the high ranking officer to take the risk of being in Earth's air space – and that was her.

In his rantings concerning his former leader, and his boasts about what he did while he was a ghost, Scream had given her quite a bit of good information about this particular Mech. Apparently, he was not only Galvatron's main military Commander; but

Periodically, Galvatron also used him as the focus of his rather sadistic forms of pleasure. Probably to keep the fear of him fresh in Cyclonus's mind! Raptor snickered.

As night fell, Cyclonus landed near an abandoned warehouse. Raptor followed him inside as he looked around to see if it would make a good base of operations for him.

"So, who dares encroach upon my hunting ground?" A female voice said.

Wheeling around defensively, Cyclonus warily scanned his surroundings. He did not like being surprised by any Mech, much less a Bounty Hunter! "I am Cyclonus, Commander of the Mighty Galvatron's Elite Guard. I demand that you show yourself!" he demanded.

Musical laughter filled the room. "My, my.. That's an awful long title you have." The dull gray/green Seeker decloaked herself, leaning up against a wall with her arms crossed, cocking her head in amusement.

He narrowed his optics at her audacity, but swiftly reminded himself that Galvatron wanted her. After seeing what she'd done to the Autobots when they had captured her, he had some respect for her abilities. So he relaxed and lowered his weapon. "I assume that you are the Bounty Hunter named Raptor?" he stated more than asked.

A smile spread over her façade as she nodded silently. "I assume that your comrade Scourge has already told you that I'm not done with my business here. And that I prefer to meet at my leisure." She stated, indicating her displeasure at his interruption of her 'hunt' of Autobots.

Hostility toward her implied insult flowed through him, but he controlled his urge to smash her face in. No, this situation needed tact. "Galvatron does not like to wait, when he is eager at meeting such a fine stalker as yourself," he complimented.

Cocking her head, she thought of having a little fun with this one. "It's been a while since I spared an equal. Perhaps I shall forgive your unwanted interruption of my hunt; if you would humor me with a good match."

His optics widened, for a sparring match always interested him. He nodded to her as he went smoothly into a defensive stance, circling facing her, testing her with fakes.

She moved with the gracefulness of a hunting cat, balanced lightly in her crouched stance. Gauging the powerful movements of her male adversary, she knew he was as strong as the big Autobot ground Mechs. There was no chance of her matching his strength. And the whole point of this sparring match was to merely prove that she was an equal to him. She didn't have to win – just had to make it a tie. Adjusting her strategy, she vied for speed.

He came at her, grappling with her hands. In a blur, she twisted away, easily freeing her arms. Suddenly, her thruster came up out of no where, her swift side kick to his face plate catching him off guard.

Warily, he backed off. Not used to these strange fighting tactics. He'd never fought a Mech who used her thrusters in place of punches, and sloggers she was quick with them! Thinking back, he remembered that human-creating ninja bot that the Decepticons had once stolen. That ninja bot had fought like this. Narrowing his optics he studied this new ninja creation of Starscream's. She was indeed going to be a valuable procurement. But did he have to conquer her to attain her loyalty? Blocking another kick with the swipe of his powerful arm, he tried to get inside her zone, where she couldn't kick him. Swiftly, the Seeker whirled and flipped in the air, going up over him, and landing on the other side. Cyclonus barely blocked her next volley of kicks.

She grinned as she circled him, trying to find an opening in his defenses. "I'm impressed by your swiftness in judging my fighting style," she complimented, as she leaped up and spun in a roundhouse. Putting his forearms up, he protected his body.

As she touched the ground, Cyclonus tried to land a few punches, which she barely managed to block with her arms. From her compliment he ascertained that she was most likely just interested in testing him – no more no less. So perhaps a return compliment was in order? "For a Seeker built so light, you hold your own well against more powerful opponents," he complimented back.

Spinning around him, she suddenly went down and spun her leg, trying to catch his legs and knock him down. Anticipating her move, he leaped up and over her, landing on her other side. Swiftly, he tried to grab her wing, but the femme deftly swirled it away from his grasp. "The key is speed and balance. With it, a smaller Mech can defeat a much more powerful opponent," she explained, again dancing out of his grasp. She met his optics, judging his reactions…

He finally landed a good hit on her shoulder, but the Seeker merely used the force of his punch, to flip herself over and land in a crouch. Then she was back on the offensive again, causing Cyclonus to back up in order to avoid a quick series of well-aimed kicks. "You're style is very unusual, yet highly efficient." Cyclonus mused, as he now went on the offensive, causing her to retreat slightly. This tit-for-tat on their different styles was so refreshingly different then what he was used to in the con ranks.

She laughed, ducking under his last punch and bringing one of her hands up hard on his chin. Spinning away before his counter attack could get her. "There is an old saying: That to make one's unarmed body into a complete weapon – is to walk without fear amongst your enemies." Jumping up, she almost landed a front kick to his chest.

Blocking her thruster, he countered with a one-two punch sequence. His hard left catching her solidly in a wing. "A very intriguing idea highly suited to a true loner such as yourself."

Spinning backwards to absorb the shock of his blow, Raptor spun in a blur of a kick counter-attack. Finally, she managed to get a solid hit on his aft with her right thruster, as she spun around him. "Yes, I do tend to find that others interfere terribly with my missions."

He chuckled, blocking her second kick at his aft. Grabbing her leg, he tried to swing her, but she simply went into a back flip, getting her caught leg out of his grasp. "Yes, Starscream was never good at stealth, now was he?"

Coming down into a crouch, Raptor cocked her head in amusement and snickered. "That slogger was so terribly arrogant; he deserved a few Sidewinders up his aft." She had heard about the stunt the two jets had pulled, and had understood that they had done it to also give her an alibi as well. By Cyclonus's reaction, it was the alibi she needed.

As she came at him again, Cyclonus sidestepped and shoved her. Causing her to overbalance, compensating, she went into a roll, coming back up in a ready crouch. "It is only arrogance if you cannot back up what you say." He muttered, intending for her to realize that the Decepticon forces could back up every threat – with action.

Grinning, she nodded. Barely blocking his quick attack, she spun round and almost tagged his shoulder. "True, but only a fool threatens action. For to take an opponent by total surprise is far more efficient." Her momentum carried her full circuit, and she danced lightly around him.

He frowned, not liking her connotation. Going on the offensive again, he blocked her kick and swung in a quick series of punches. In the blink of an optic, she twirled behind him, as he spun; he stopped dead in his tracts, for she had a laser sword digging into his breast plate.

Twirling the sword lightly, she bowed respectfully to the surprised Decepticon. "You are a truly impressive fighter, Cyclonus."

Eyeing her strange weapon, he returned her compliment.

They sat across from each other. Both having earned the respect of the other, Cyclonus still eyed that impressive blade with keen interest. Suddenly, the blade deactivated and transformed into three diminutive bots, who settled themselves comfortably in her intakes, looking at him with interest. His optics widened slightly in surprise.

Nonchalantly, Raptor pulled an energon cube from one of her bays. She took a swig and then tossed it to Cyclonus. Nodding to the three minicons, she grinned. "These are the only comrades I need in a fight, for they know just when they're needed."

The purple Mech took a sip of the energon and tossed it back to her. His optics roved over her air frame with an even greater interest. In general terms of beauty, she was merely average by all standards – but to the Decepticon – her deadliness in combat made her quite striking indeed.

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