Prisoners of the Mind: What Happens?
Chapter 4: Talking to Slipstream
The walk to the brig was quiet and awkward; much like the walk to Bumblebee's office. Upon seeing them bots would stop and stare while some turned and ran in the opposite direction as fast as they could.
"Glad to see we have a reputation," Prowl said sarcastically.
"You don't; I do," Bumblebee replied.
Out of the corner of his optic Optimus caught sight of some bots trading credits. "What are they doing?" he asked.
Bumblebee didn't turn around but said, "Placing bets on who will win the fight when Sentinel Prime and Ultra Magnus return."
"Are they gonna fight?" Ratchet grunted.
Bumblebee shook his head. "Not them; but Sentinel Prime and I will definitely come to blows when they return. He will not be happy when he finds out that you're awake."
"Why not?" Prowl asked.
"I can't answer that," Bumblebee replied. "Here we are."
He came to a stop in front of a door with both an electronic keypad and card reader. He swiped a card then punched in a code, allowing the door to slide open. Once inside there was yet another door but this one also had a voice recognition program and two armed guards who stayed as far away as possible from the Autobots, giving each other nervous glances. Bumblebee just ignored them, however, and kept on walking, indicating that they should do the same. They walked through five more doors before they finally reached the brig. Inside were seven cells, each one containing one of Starscream's clones.
The first contained Dirge, who was the greediest one of them all. He looked just like Starscream except for his cranial unit which was triangle shaped. His body was a dirty yellow with teal armor and two guns. "I want your credits," he growled.
Ramjet occupied the second one. Having the nerve to call himself honest Ramjet was mostly light gray with crimson trimming and he had Starscream's cranial unit. Only his was gray. "Idiots," he mumbled.
Having been dubbed "the coward" Skywarp was purple all over. Light purple made up his trim and he cringed as the Autobots walked past him. "Don't kill me," he whimpered.
Sunstorm was, without a doubt, the suck-up of the group. He was a mixture of gold and orange with pink guns and began complimenting the Autobots as they approached his cell. "You Autobots are without a doubt the smartest bots I have ever met," he said admiringly.
Thundercracker was also purple but with some black and a big ego. "I am the worst of all Decepticons!" he screamed at them. "You only captured me because I let you!"
Thrust was pure crimson and his cranial unit had the same shape of Dirge's. A fact that made Thrust jealous as he had wanted to be the only one that looked different. Of course this was because he and Dirge had been built by Swindle and found after the smuggler had ticked off Starscream who had immediately liberated his clones. "I'm the only one worth anything in here!" he yelled.
Slipstream was the last clone and the most deadly of them all. The only femme in the group no one was entirely sure what aspect of Starscream's personality she represented and they didn't want to know. She wasn't a beauty with her gray frame, sea green leg armor and wings with purple stripes running through them that matched her chassis armor. She didn't just occupy the cell; she lounged in it. She gave the Autobots little more than a passing glance before lowering her cranial unit only to raise it back up in alarm as she regarded Optimus and his group. "Orion Pax?" she gasped. "The last time anyone saw you was when you were on your way to be executed."
"Executed?" Optimus let increduilty feel his voice.
"Ahem." Bumblebee cleared his throat, causing Slipstream to direct her gaze at him.
"Dear Bumblebee," she smiled. "It's difficult to believe that you of all bots work for the Autobots now. You were more gung-ho about taking them down then Megatron himself!"
"They made me a deal I couldn't refuse," Bumblebee replied.
Slipstream gave him a look. "You know I don't believe that for a minute. You were the bot that could always find a better deal. And you were always loyal." She stressed the word 'loyal', giving him a dirty look.
To his credit Bumblebee winced. "I guess I deserved that," he admitted with a nod of his head. "But at the moment we have more important things to discuss."
"Such as?" she raised an optic ridge.
"Where Starscream is keeping Sentinel Prime and Ultra Magnus," he said.
Slipstream looked surprised then a sly smile crept up on her faceplate. "You don't honestly expect me to answer that do you?"
"Yes we do," Prowl said.
Slipstream looked at him and her optics widened. "Prowl? What did the Elite Guard do? Put up a sign that said 'Please Steal All Loyal Decepticons'? I mean really, taking Bumblebee was bad enough but taking you? They must have really been feeling really brave. Lockdown will not be happy when he finds out where you are."
Prowl snarled. "Don't mention that murderer's name to me," he hissed.
Slipstream looked confused but Bumblebee explained. "The Autobots brainwashed him into believing that Lockdown is his enemy."
"He's your brother," Slipstream said. "Now go away; I have a lot that I need to do." She turned away from them, indicating that the conversation was over.
"Let's go," Bumblebee said hastily. "We have a lot of work to do."
"He's Prowl's brother?" Bulkhead looked shocked.
"And why was Prime going to be executed?" Ratchet wanted to know.
Bumblebee heaved a sigh. "I'll tell you later; I promise."
Slipstream watched the five Autobots exit the brig then a sly smile appeared on her faceplate. "This is turning out to be interesting," she said. "Very interesting indeed."
A/N: Sorry that it's so late. Please review and let me know what you think!