Overthrown
Carly fidgeted with a glass of wine.
She regarded Dylan then with a scowl. "Can I go to the bathroom?"
Dylan was pacing near the balcony and turned to her with a cold look. He seemed anxious and occasionally glanced at his phone. "What?"
"I need to pee."
Dylan waited for a brief moment, contemplating just letting her sit there and suffer a little more, but didn't like the possibility of listening to her complain and merely gestured to one of his guards. The man nodded and Carly stood up, glaring at him as she started to walk away.
"I'm a big girl." she snapped.
Dylan watched her go before he took a spot on the couch in front of him. He started to pour a glass of wine for himself before glancing up at the tops of his eyes, noticing Terra standing there, perfectly still. Her goggles were gone, those violet eyes regarding him emptily.
"So...how long have you known them?" he asked.
Terra didn't answer.
Dylan sighed. "I don't have to be the bad guy," he offered, attempting conversation, "This is just a way to survive. You've probably seen us at our worst, I can imagine. So I see why you would like the idea of letting us all burn." He noticed the brief reaction in her gaze - the mild blink and barely parting of her lips - and smiled. "Yeah, I know a lot about you, Project Seven. Megatron did a little digging for me; told me what to expect from you. A thing like you could be put to better use than just doing odd jobs for our US government."
"I do not desire to speak with you." Terra answered, glaring at him.
"You just did." Dylan laughed.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Come on. Show me what you're made of." Dylan encouraged. He looked over to one of his guards, a massive, tall man with thick muscles and a deep, intense scowl. "You! Come here."
The guard approached and regarded Terra with contempt.
"I want you...to hit him." Dylan gestured to the guard.
Terra looked at the guard and the man swallowed somewhat. "No." she said. "I am not a thing for your amusement."
"On the contrary, you are." Dylan argued, smirking at her. "I know that you wouldn't want me to have Sam killed, would you?"
Terra barely reacted, but the rapid blink in her eyes gave her away.
"Oh, I think I see," Dylan smiled, leaning forward. "I get it. Since Sentinel killed your precious Ironhide, you've lost your edge. You're a broken dog. You've let them tame you to the point that you can't even - "
Dylan was cut off when Terra suddenly punched the tall guard in the throat. Dylan watched in shock as the man's eyes rolled up in his head and blood poured from his mouth before collapsing to the floor. He knelt down and felt for a pulse before grinning broadly.
"Amazing!" he exclaimed. "All that power, wasted on the Autobots! You can be - "
He turned and noticed that she was in his face now. So close, he could see the irises in her eyes.
"Don't...test me." she said, lowly.
Carly and the other guard walked in and saw the scene. Her eyes widened.
"What happened?" she exclaimed.
Dylan stood up and took her wrist, forcing her into the couch. He was miffed by Terra's words. "I want you to sit down. Don't move." he ordered. When his phone rang, he brought it to his ear and walked out to the balcony. "No...I'm watching him drive up right now."
oOo
"They said they were here for our resources, to rebuild their planet." Carly said, as they entered an elevator.
The pillar stood between them and Terra regarded it impassively.
"Yes, but really one resource in particular. One unique to our planet." Dylan explained.
Carly blinked once in realization. "Us?"
"You're very smart," Dylan sneered. "You see, they can't rebuild without a slave labor force. How many rocks up there in the universe offer six billion workers?"
Carly stared at him in disbelief when they stepped onto a balcony, two of Dylan's guards pushing the pillar on a set of wheels. "What are you talking about? We can't transport people." she exclaimed.
Dylan looked bored already. "They're not shipping people. They're shipping their planet here."
Carly and Terra looked up, seeing Megatron perched on the side of the building. In the distance, Carly noticed Sentinel approaching. She looked toward Terra, noticing the woman bristling where she stood. Dylan was fascinated with the reaction, but merely chuckled instead.
"Oh. Oh my God...what's Sentinel doing here?" Carly gasped.
"Watch," Dylan ordered. "They're spreading hundreds of pillars around the globe right now. In just a few hours, they're gonna launch them into orbit and bring Cybertron into our atmosphere. The red one there - " He gestured to the pillar behind them. " -controls the rest. He triggers that, it starts the whole thing."
Megatron leered down at them and gestured with one hand. "Be gone, insect operatives. Your work is done." he ordered.
Dylan gave a bow. "Your Excellency..." When he turned and ushered Carly aside, he muttered under his breath. "He's such a dick."
Terra started to go, but Megatron stopped her. "Not you."
She frowned, turning.
"Stay. Let's...catch up." Megatron hissed, grinning.
Terra glanced back at Carly with mild concern, but found herself lingering. Megatron was silent, observing Sentinel making his way toward the highest point of a building across from them. At his command, the pillar drifted toward him and Terra watched him with cold, murderous intent.
"Ahaha..." Megatron chuckled. "Does the taste of the kill still boil in your insect life fluid?"
Terra bristled where she stood. "Sentinel Prime belongs dead."
Megatron merely laughed at that. "As most Autobots." he agreed. "But trust me. He serves a purpose greater than petty revenge."
Terra was silent.
No, he does not.
She wandered back into the penthouse and noticed Dylan and Carly arguing. It finished with Dylan warning her that if she didn't do as the Decepticons commanded, she would be dead by their hand and Dylan would sit by and allow it to happen. Terra glared at him.
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that, Dylan Gould," she warned. "I would not be pleased if any harm came to Carly Spencer or Sam Witwicky. If you do anything that may result in this girl's death, I will strike first and kill you in her place. Rest assured, I have been known to be creative in doing so."
Dylan paled somewhat.
"If you kill me, you'll have Decepticons on you like flies on shit!" he told her.
"Your assistance is merely a means to an end," Terra replied, calmly.
Carly shook her head. "Terra, don't do anything crazy! They'll kill you if you try!"
Terra smiled gently at her. "Yes, you're correct. But I'm quite willing to accept that outcome."
Carly's eyes widened.
oOo
Chaos began when Sentinel activated that pillar.
Decepticons rampaged throughout Chicago streets while Dylan, Terra and Carly observed from the penthouse. Carly gave Dylan a dirty look.
"You want this to happen?" she snapped.
"I want to survive. I want forty more years," he snapped back. "You think I asked for this? I inherited a client."
Carly smiled smugly at that. "Yeah, and when Cybertron's here and we're all their slaves, I guess they'll still need a human leader."
"Don't jinx me. You want to survive, you listen to me."
An explosion nearby rocked them off of their feet. The servants screamed as they were thrown as well. Dylan's dogs barked with fright and scattered across the floor. Terra could see Decepticon ships passing through the city, tendrils danging from their hulls. She had never seen such a sight before.
"Get the dogs outta here now! Get them in the back!" Dylan shouted.
Once they were back on their feet, Carly smirked at him. "Ahh. I guess they didn't tell you about this part, did they?" she sneered.
Dylan glared at her. "You think I'm at every meeting?" he snapped. he began to pace back and forth and Terra watched him emptily as he did. "Look, I'm safe. They said I was safe."
...For now. Terra thought.
oOo
She hadn't slept. Truth be told, Dylan hadn't either, but he found it a little unnerving that Terra had been staring at him the entire time, as if she was waiting for him to let his guard down. Yeah, he knew she wanted to kill him. That was evident based on how she stared at him with those violet eyes reflecting a coldness that chilled his bones. History told him she was patient and waited to make a kill for days on end. They'd only been waiting for a few and he was sure she'd wait for much longer before finding the chance.
Well, he would just have to make sure she never got that chance.
"Hah! I'm just so sick of this!" Dylan snapped, moving to the fridge to retrieve an apple. "I'm just sick of waiting."
Terra chuckled with contempt.
Suddenly, Sam appeared from behind the counter top, armed with a handgun. Terra's eyes widened in disbelief and needless to say, Dylan was shocked. But he calmly ate his apple and regarded Sam with amusement.
"Where is she? Where is she?!" he bellowed.
Dylan smiled a little. "You've got some balls."
Carly was just stepping into the kitchen when Laserbeak transformed from a television screen. He screeched and dove at Sam. Terra moved, but several guards tried to interfere. It became chaos as gunshots went off and the last thing she saw was Sam going right over the edge of the balcony.
"No, Sam!" Carly screamed. "No!"
Terra had just taken out several of the guards and stared at the spot Sam used to occupy, horror on her face.
Just then, the sound of a powerful engine filled the air. Everyone watched as Sam appeared again, standing on a Decepticon ship. He beckoned with two hands.
"CARLY!" he cried. "Terra!"
Carly and Terra ran for the ship. Terra grabbed her arm and they vaulted over the balcony, landing hard on the ship. Laserbeak dove after them with a furious screech and Terra seized him by the neck, her fingers sliced up in the process. She smirked down at the bird.
"Time to die." she said.
Laserbeak squirmed and thrashed, screeching as Terra pressed her thumbs in his optic sockets, tearing the wires before she ripped his head off in one swift pull. Dylan ducked as Terra flung Laserbeak's head in his direction. He watched as she regarded him with a promise.
"Run, Dylan." she mouthed. "I will find you."
