Seriously, you didn't think I was going to make a happy femme for every mech, did you? I'm WAY to mean for that...

Read on:

"Femmes: Not necessary," Soundwave tried to sway her, but she had made her mind.

"I'm going to give Cade a girlfriend first. Other than Zee he's been my friend the longest," she declared, beginning her designs.

"She has to be a ground unit, good looking and loyal," she made a few notations, vaguely sketching a motorbike.

"Ask Megatron first," Soundwave urged her.

"He wants more troops, right?" she grinned up at him enthusiastically. "He'll be happy."

"Ask," he insisted.

"Afterwards," she grinned, designing the feminine armor, and holding it up for him to see. "What do you think?"

"I think you should ask."

"Spoilsport," she rolled her eyes.

--

Soundwave had continued to hassle Twenty Three about getting permission, and ended up having to drag her in to see their leader.

"Lord Megatron," Soundwave greeted, Twenty Three on his shoulder.

"Ah, Soundwave, Twenty Three, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he raised his eyebrows as she crossed her arms and huffed. "Is Soundwave not treating you well?" he directed at his daughter.

"She is planning on bringing back the femmes," Soundwave interjected, earning a kick to the faceplate.

"Meanie. I wanted to surprise him," she sulked.

Megatron narrowed his eyes.

"You do realize I was the one to order the deactivation of all femmes back on Cybertron?" he asked her lightly. "What would make you think I would want them back again?"

"Well, I wanted to make Cade and Screamer girlfriends, so they'd stop trailing after me… I already have one designed for Cade…"

"You would be better off spending your time designing warriors," he growled. "We don't need any useless femmes."

"…I'm a femme, aren't I Dad? Does that mean I'm useless? I can fight…" she frowned at him. He was being awfully… well, sexist.

"You are the Allspark. You are very useful, but we don't need any cheap imitations. I'd rather you tried to build up our forces."

"But I am!" she argued. "Femmes can fight! I'll make them as vicious as any mech!"

Megatron frowned.

"You can make ONE and only one. And If I don't like her, I'll deactivate her myself."

A grin made it's way across her face, as she bounced on her toes, grabbing Soundwave's cannon for balance. "Thanks, Dad!"

Soundwave sent him a despairing look as he turned to leave, but his leader shot him a sharp look. He knew what he was doing, after all. So long as they didn't have a base full of them running around, having another femme might be good for his daughter.

He had also learnt something else useful today… If he didn't keep his daughter busy, she could come up with all sorts of wild and dangerous schemes…

--

Barricade was slightly worried.

He had been looking all over for Twenty Three, hoping to take her out for that drive she'd agreed to. But he couldn't find her, anywhere.

He'd asked everyone he could find if they'd seen her, and apparently she'd left with Demolisher earlier that morning, but that was hours ago. Why would she go driving with Demolisher, of all mechs, when she could cruise with him? He thought they were friends…

Well, there was nothing to do but wait in the rec room for them to get back.

"Yo Barricade," Skywarp hailed him.

"What do you want?" he growled, not in the mood for the jet's usual pranks.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger! I'm just bringing you more news on Twenty Three. Or from her, to be exact," he smirked at the edgy cop car.

Why had she gone to Skywarp first?

"Well?" Barricade urged moodily, trying not to look too curious. Sadly, his desperation leaked through.

"Well, lover boy, she has a present for you, and wants to give it to you personally in your quarters," he winked cheekily, and Barricade's jaw dropped in indignation at the implications. "She's apparently passing it by Megatron now – well, that information is about an hour old so you better get moving."

Skywarp laughed out loud at Barricade sprinting down the hall.

--

"Twenty Three!" he shouted, skidding to a halt outside his room. She was waiting patiently next to a black and silver motorbike. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting. Skywarp just told me you were-"

He was cut off by her laughter.

"Stress less, Cade. It gave me a well needed rest," she smiled up at him.

"I'll let you in," he said and hurriedly punched his code into the keypad. He was somewhat nervous, as he'd never had her in his rooms before. "Skywarp said you had something to give me."

"More like someone…" she grinned up at him, and he suddenly felt a rush of emotion. He'd loved her so long… Was she finally sick of Frenzy and Soundwave? His fingers twitched, as he waited for her to elaborate.

"Barricade, you know I care for you a great deal, right?" she started out, wheeling her bike into his room.

His vocal units failed him as he let out an intelligible grunt.

"Well, I've always felt bad that I was with Frenzy when you had no one, so…"

He fell to all fours and crawled closer to her, staring into her eyes from an inch away. Would he finally get what he'd been craving? Perhaps his waiting had paid off after all…

"I made you a girlfriend."

He blinked. "Huh?"

"Transform Silverstreak," she patted the bike beside her, and immediately it started to shift, until an attractive femme stood before them.

Barricade let out a static whine and blacked out.

Twenty Three and Silverstreak looked at each other and shrugged.

--

Approximately three hours later, Barricade slowly came online.

Please just let it be a nightmare… he thought to himself.

Twenty Three frowned, clearly hearing the thought. Why wasn't he happy? Perhaps he was just embarrassed?

Barricade turned on his optics and realized with dawning horror his nightmare was very real… Twenty Three was seated by his side, the strange femme standing awkwardly next to the bed.

"What the frag?" he rasped, sitting up. "What have you done?"

"Calm down, Cade," Twenty Three said calmly, patting his hand. "I wanted to surprise you, but I didn't know it would be this effective." She let a small smirk work it's way across her face.

Barricade shot her a glare. "You surprised me, alright. Just what were you thinking?"

She let her confusion show.

"What do you mean, Cade? You're lonely. I can feel your thoughts, I know you want me as your mate, rather than just a friend. So I made you a mate instead. Now you won't be lonely, right?"

"But I want you, not some random femme. Don't you understand that?" he asked desperately.

"But she's not some random femme, Cade. I made her specifically for you," she argued.

"You don't want me?" Silverstreak sounded shocked. "But- but- "

"Look, can you just leave?" Barricade growled at the femme.

She let out an indignant huff. "How dare you talk to me like that?"

Twenty Three looked between the two. This was not how it was supposed to go at all…

What she had seen in her minds eye, was an image of Barricade immediately falling in love with the sexy femme she had built, them becoming mates, and living happily ever after.

But right now Barricade was reaching for his gun – hang on, what?

"Cade, put that down!" Twenty Three chastised, before turning to her creation. "Streaks, can you just wait out side? I'll figure this out for you."

Once the door was closed, Barricade glared at the remaining female.

"Cade… I don't understand. Why don't you want her?" she asked, forlorn. Her plans were crumbling.

"Why didn't you ask me if I wanted a mate," he shot back angrily. To tell the truth he was rather offended.

"But you do!" she pressed. "I'm telepathic! I can feel everything you feel. I know you've been lonely."

"Lonely for you," he leaned forwards, wrapping his hands around her gently. "I want you, Twenty Three, and no one else. And if I can't have you I won't settle for any less. I'm offended you would think my love for you was a simple infatuation. I love you so much that I'd see you with Soundwave or Frenzy without complaint, so long as you were happy. I'm lonely by choice, Twenty Three. Don't think anyone else could fill this hole inside of me."

The humanoid was struck speechless.

"I had no idea you felt so strongly about this…" she whispered. "I thought I could make you happy with this… I'm sorry. I really screwed up this time didn't I?"

Barricade gripped her a little tighter, and pulled her close to his chest.

"You did," he agreed. "But thank you for trying. It's nice to know you care. But can you please get rid of her? Give her to someone else…"

Twenty Three blinked. "I… don't know if she'd accept. She was made to be your mate. She'll be distraught."

"That's your problem. I don't care if you have to terminate her, I won't put up with any femmes other than you."

"Why is everyone so anti-femme?" she complained.

"I suppose even the Allspark's memory wouldn't cover this. It was after she'd disappeared…" Barricade gently stroked her cheek with a finger. "The femmes, they were all weak, conniving opportunists, who thought they were better than us mechs. They expected respect simply for the fact they were female, where the rest of us had to earn it. The autobots tended to coddle them, which only bred this mindset. Megatron gave the order to destroy every last one of them. I for one, have never missed any of them. I doubt any of the decepticons would welcome your new pet."

Twenty Three frowned. "Can't you just give her a chance?" she begged.

"No," he said firmly. "Accepting a mate is a very personal thing, and I will not accept any other than the one I truly desire. You cannot ask this of me."

Twenty Three sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry… I guess I should go figure out what to do with Silverstreak then…"

"Just deactivate her, she won't be of any use. She's already displayed her attitude when she acted hostile with me."

Twenty Three nodded slowly. "I'll talk it over with Sounds. I… I'm sorry Cade. I really am," she looked away embarrassed and ashamed. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you."

He used a finger tip to tilt her head back towards him.

"Tell you how you can make it up to me," he smiled softly as she stared up at him with innocent eyes. "Go fix up this mess, then meet me back here in two hours."

She nodded. "Okay, but why?"

"Because we still have to go driving. And I want a long heart to heart with you. So come alone, I don't want any cassettes with you, no matter what Soundwave says."

She nodded again. "Yes, Cade. I'll see you in two hours," she promised, and left to go deal with Silverstreak.

--

Silverstreak watched with apprehension as her creator emerged from Barricade's room.

She had been so excited to meet him… yet he had just rejected her. How could he do that? Was she not worthy? Pfft! Her creator had given her a great body! Well, not that she had anything to compare it to, but still! Not to mention she was the only other femme around. It wasn't as though he had a lot of choice.

Well, hopefully her maker had changed his mind. It wasn't as though she had much other purpose in life… Well, if she didn't have that, she'd have to build her own destiny.

Twenty Three looked up at her sadly, and her spark froze.

"Sorry Silverstreak. I guess it was a mistake making you," she sighed.

She felt as though her world was crumbling… She was a mistake?

"I… What? Then what will I do?" she felt energon tears well up in her optics.

Now Twenty Three was looking apprehensive.

"Hey, don't cry on me. There's no reason for that. I'll go see if Starscream wants you," she turned and kept walking, motioning for her to follow.

She walked hesitantly. Was she just being dumped off on anyone?

"Twenty Three? Master?" she spoke shyly, nervous about her reaction.

"Yes Streaks?" she sounded tired.

"What did Barricade say?"

"He only wants me. I'm sorry, Streaks, but there's no room in his heart for you," she glanced over her shoulder, pity in her eyes.

"And he won't change his mind? He didn't even give me a chance," Silver streak pouted. Why would he want Twenty Three and not her? No offense to her master, but she was much hotter. AND she was actually the same size as him. How could he not like her?

"Sorry dear, but there's more than just external beauty," Twenty Three cut in, sounding amused.

What the – Could she read minds?

"Yep," she answered. "I created you, so never underestimate me, child. Although I wouldn't want to kill you, I've torn apart larger mechs in less than a minute. Ask any of the decepticons about Ass-trotrain some time."

Silverstreak blinked fearfully, and remained silent out of shock. It looked like she wasn't going to get as much freedom as she thought…

Finally, they arrived outside a door, which Twenty Three shoved open with a vector.

The room had white washed walls and was filled with tools and junk. It seemed to be a lab of some kind. Standing at one of the desks was a mech with large wings emerging out of his back. He seemed to be enthralled with some piece of machinery he was tinkering with.

Seemingly amused at his lack of perceptiveness, Twenty Three snuck up behind him, and shouted into his receptors:

"Watch out! It's OPTIMUS PRIME!"

Starscream let out a shriek and dropped his equipment, guns at the ready.

"Twenty Three!" he shouted, clearly not amused.

She grinned up at him, unrepentant.

Why was she so friendly with these mechs, yet not with her? Or perhaps this was why the mechs didn't want her, her master had already secured all of them for herself…

"Who's this?" Starscream glared at the newcomer, and she found herself recoiling.

"This is Silverstreak. I just made her, and she's looking for a mate. Cade already turned her down. You interested?" Twenty Three asked, and Silverstreak almost died. Just how tactless could you be?!?

Starscream raised an optic ridge at her.

"Is this some sort of joke?" he sneered.

"Nope," Twenty Three shrugged. "Megatron gave me permission to make one femme and one femme only. You want her?"

This was so embarrassing! It was like she was being sold off in the marketplace to the highest bidder… Only no one was bidding!

"Can she breathe life into inanimate objects and create armies? Has she got any extraordinary powers I should know about?" the jet asked dismissively. "Can she even fly?"

"Nooooo," Twenty Three breathed. "But she's smoking hot. That's gotta count for something, right?" She smiled up innocently.

"Not interested," he turned his back on the femme. "Try TC or Skywarp. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to repair the damage you just caused on my thruster."

"Is that what that is?" Twenty Three peered at it.

"It's still experimental, but it should increase speed by 13. It still needs testing."

"Let me know how it goes," she waved at him, and left, motioning her creation to follow.

She turned the corner, and watched her master walk straight into a short bot, a little shorter than her.

"Zee," she gasped, righting him immediately. He looked away in discomfort.

"What's up Twenty Three?" he asked, deadpan. Rumble soon came running down the hallway, but froze at the scene.

"I… How are you Zee? You look awful," she took a step back, knowing she wasn't supposed to have any physical contact with him.

"I feel awful," he answered honestly, if bitterly, and kicked the ground. "But there's nothing I can do about that is there?" He looked up at the creature standing behind his ex-lover. "Who's this?"

"A femme I made to keep the other mechs off my back. Her name's Silverstreak. I made her for Cade, but so far no one wants her."

"Why would you build a femme? They're pretty useless, no offence," he looked at her curiously.

She shrugged. "It seemed a good idea at the time. I thought if I made Barricade or Starscream a girlfriend they wouldn't be chasing me all the time. I never have time for everyone… And all I really want to do is spend time with you, Zee… But…"

"Don't even say that," he glared at her. "You agreed with Megatron. You left me."

"It's only for a month, Zee. Then I'll be yours again. I promise," she pleaded with him. Why was he being such a jerk about this?

He looked away. "I thought you'd be happy with Soundwave. He's older than me, and higher ranked."

"I don't care about rank, Zee. I care about you. But I can't disobey Dad…" she looked away. "Things will get better. I promise."

He simply shrugged. "We'll see," he answered, obviously not believing her.

Rumble obviously thought it was time to cut in, as he walked up to Frenzy's side.

"So what does our new femme-bot do exactly?" Rumble asked both females, slightly interested. He thought they had every post full.

"Well, entertaining Cade was going to be her main job," she said thoughtlessly, and Silverstreak put her head in her hands. How much worse could things be?

"But Cade doesn't want her, neither did Screamer," she tapped her lip thoughtfully, then glanced back at Rumble. "You wanted a girlfriend, right? How'd you like to take her off my hands?"

Rumble blinked twice, then looked at the femme, who was now banging her head against the wall in hopes of off lining herself.

"I think there's something wrong with her," he said uneasily. "Too crazy for my tastes. Try Skywarp."

"That's what Starscream said," she answered thoughtfully. "I might go see Soundwave next, though. He'll know for sure what to do."

"Sure, go back to your boyfriend," Frenzy spat. "You used to ask me everything," he added, sulking.

She blinked in surprise. "What would you have me do?"

"It's not my call, is it?" he kicked the ground again. Rumble tried to comfort him, but he shrugged his twin off.

"Zee…"

"Just leave it Twenty Three. I don't even know why I still love you, after you left me," he shot her another glare that broke her heart.

"Frenzy! Please understand! This is only temporary!" she repeated, but he glared at her.

"How do I know that?" He spat. "Megatron wants us apart, and he always gets what he wants…"

"I'll talk to him. Please Zee… Just give me some time. I promise-"

"I'm sick of promises, Tee. You can't keep them. You'll never change Megatron's mind, so just leave me to wallow in my misery," he shouted, his temper breaking, and stalked off. Rumble mumbled a quick apology, and hurried after his twin. It seemed they were constantly together.

"Were you mates?" Silverstreak asked quietly after they left.

"I'd like to think we still are, but…" she trailed off, the spun around, an overly happy grin obviously covering her real feelings. "Let's go find Skywarp and TC. They'll be in the rec room, most likely."

Silverstreak groaned and followed.

"What happened to asking Soundwave?" she asked, begging to be let out of any more embarrassment.

"Nah, Zee was right. I'm always asking people for their opinions. I should do more stuff on my own."

When did he say that? Ah well, it looked like she'd be in for more embarrassment in the very near future.

--

"Oi! Everyone!" Twenty Three called out to all the mechs present. Skywarp and Thundercracker were on one side of the rec room, while Bonecrusher and Devestator were on the other. They all walked over to the couple of females, interested in the new recruit.

TC let out a wolf whistle, and Streaks found herself blushing.

At least it was a better reception than that of Barricade and Starscream.

"This is our new femme, Silverstreak," Twenty Three introduced her to everyone. "She is the only femme I will be making, so I need to find someone to show her the ropes. Who's interested?"

Siverstreak bit her bottom lip. So far, no embarrassing comments, but would her luck hold up?

TC and Skywarp began sniggering, obviously having a conversation on a private line, and Silverstreak glared at them.

"I'll show her around," Devestator offered, looking her up and down. She felt sick to her stomach. What was this guy, a construction vehicle of some sort? She looked over at the one called Bonecrusher, hoping to get someone with a little more muscle. He seemed to be a tank or something, and was a little better looking, but he seemed uninterested.

"Alright, that's settled. Silverstreak, you'll go with Devestator. Do whatever he tells you."

Devestator smirked wickedly, and she looked to her creator for support, but she just ushered her along. She felt scandalized!

"Don't worry, Streaks, Devestator will look after you. If he gives you any trouble just come let me know," she waved at them, and abandoned her creation in the midst of several imposing male decepticons. How the slag could this day get any worse?

--

Oh no, poor innocent Silverstreak...

Just to let you know, I HATE all femmes.

Chromia? Pfft! Elita One? Whatevers. Arcee? Don't even get me started...

But I'll mess with her a while before I kill her...

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