Soundwave kept her face downturned to keep from making optic contact with any of the Autobots standing in the room, cursing herself as a coolant tear leaked from the corner of her optic and trailed down her cheek agonizingly slowly as she tried to keep from bursting out sobbing as she bit the inside of her lip. She couldn't cry! Not with all of the autobots staring at her!
Turning her faceplates away from the stares, Soundwave refused to look at them, humiliated. Now her entire reputation that she had worked so hard to build, was falling away within a matter of a few moments. She was revealed to be a femme... That she had emotions... That she had weaknesses... That she wasn't invinsible... They were staring at her scars... Soundwave knew that they were. There was scaring from burns around her mouth that extended down her throat and beneath her chassis armour. That's why she spoke through recordings, because her voice would be hoarse and nearly too quiet for anyone to hear from her wounds. Her left optic was clouded and useless, burns around there as well.
"IronHide." Optimus Prime broke the silence, Soundwave casting a glance up at him and then staring back down at the ground. "Perhaps you should return the visor." The Autobot leader said softly, pointedly, the large black mech stepping forward and pressing it over her face, but it would re-attache since his carelessness in ripping it off had torn some of the latches.
Soundwave shook her helm and turned her face away, staring at the other wall as everybot in the room stepped back to stand near the door, only Optimus Prime standing in front of the femme Decepticon.
"Soundwave." Optimus' voice was calm, gentle, as he reached out to touch her, immediately pulling his servo away when she flinched and tried to jerk away, reading the fear in her optics.
"Let ma try..." Jazz's soft tone interrupted, and the red and blue mech looked down at him before nodding and moving aside, the silver saboteur stepping forward. "Hey, uh... Soundwave?" He asked awkwardly as he pulled up a chair next to the femme who's optics flickered to his then to stare at the ground again. "Does... Does ol' buckethead know?" He asked now.
Soundwave was still and silent for several moments as he looked at him then just nodded mutely, still not turning her optics up from where they were fixated on his pedes, everybot in the room surprised at how she was acting... How different she was from what they had always thought.
"Well, uh..." Jazz rubbed the back of his helm awkwardly and just turned to look at Optimus Prime questioningly, the Prime nodding and stepping forward. "Soundwave. If I unrestrained you, would I have your word that you wouldn't attempt to escape?" He asked.
The Decepticon TIC's helm jerked up and she stared at him with lavender optics before shaking her helm once, but the gesture was sharp and made it's point, the Prime venting softly. "Your word that you will not cause trouble?" He asked now.
Soundwave lay still, contemplating... If she escaped, there was nothing to go back to besides him... And maybe even death. She vented softly and nodded again, turning her faceplates away as tears stung her optics again, but she forced it down, servos clenching and unclenching as she ground her sharp denta as the stasis cuffs holding her to the berth were deactivated.
"Jazz... Escort Soundwave to medbay." Optimus Prime ordered as he dismissed the other mechs, who all left without another sound, Soundwave slowly standing upright from the berth.
"Sure, boss..." Jazz answered when Soundwave spoke, her voice causing him to jump and the Prime to stop in the doorway. "Lazerbeak...?"
Optimus Prime turned to look at the femme con now, optics narrowed before glancing over at Jazz. "Return her to him... her." He ordered calmly before vanishing, the silver saboteur left to stand awkwardly beside the recently uncovered TIC, shifting uncomfortably. "Well... Uh..." He glanced at her before shutting his mouth and walking out of the room, stopping outside the doorway and looking back as he waited for Soundwave.
Hesitantly, Soundwave followed slowly behind the other bot, walking out of the room slowly, holding her visor over her face with a servo as the saboteur typed in a code into the console of another door, the door sliding back and immediately Soundwave found Lazerbeak flying over her helm, pinging her desperately through the bond, asking what had happened. Wordlessly, Soundwave ordered the simbiote back to it's usual place, the Cyberbird connecting to her chassis silently now as she turned and stared at Jazz through her visor.
"Right... This wa'." Jazz stated as he turned on his pede and began to walk slowly down several halls, Soundwave having no trouble keeping up with the mech as she was led down to the medbay, IronHide and Blurr following behind her, no doubt as guards, all four stopping outside the medbay as the door slide back and Jazz entered, Soundwave hesitating at the door as she looked around. Her hidden optics took in the setting, Ratchet, Chromia, Moonracer and Wheeljack that all stood around the room, four sets of blue optics falling on her.
Soundwave stood silently in the doorway before a growl from IronHide forced her to move forward slowly into the room, her vents coming in ragged, shallow intervals as she felt as if she was going to be tortured here, her optics widening slightly as a servo hovered over her abdomen a little as she forced herself to try to watch all of the Autobots around her at once, moving over to a corner where they couldn't attack her at her back.
Watching as Jazz moved over to Ratchet and the others, talking in a soft tone, Soundwave observed the room in an attempt to try to find any sort of escape route, venting hard as the discussion ended and Ratchet stepped forwards now. "Soundwave... I would like to finish your repairs and maybe boost your energy levels... But to do so, you need to lie down." The orange and white medic approached as Soundwave tensed, ready to fight back if need be.
Jazz noticed the tensing in her frame and frowned a little, confused as to why she was so jumpy. "Hey, Ratch, uh, don' touch..." He was a little late as the CMO reached out to take the Decepticon's arm, Soundwave erupting into a flurry of movements as she attacked the Autobot medic frantically, IronHide, Blurr and Jazz immediately reacting as they charged the TIC.
Soundwave saw them coming and became even more panicked now, her current state not helping her in controlling her emotions, one servo still holding the visor in place as they approached and she realized she wouldn't be able to fight with one free servo...
A rush of wind for her abdomen reached her audios as IronHide swung his fist for her, the Decepticon dodging and dropping the visor as she struck out to block the blow, still hitting the wall as she dodged the next one, swinging a pede around and giving Jazz a glancing blow off of his shoulder as she spun and blocked Blurr, twisting away from the blows that were being cast her way, desperate as she attempted to get around them for the door.
The Decepticon TIC punched Blurr when he moved in, trying desperately to fight them all off as Blurr jumped onto her back, throwing her off-balance as Ratchet grabbed her right servo and pinned it to the berth, cuffing it.
Soundwave gave a cry as her optics widened with fear as horrible memories flashed through her and she kicked the medical officer in the chassis, sending him backwards to hit his helm off the wall, Soundwave then smashing her back down on the berth, jolting Blurr loose as she brought a pede down on his arm, immediately bringing her knee up into the side of his helm, stunning him.
Remembering IronHide, Soundwave turned to catch his fist in the jaw, crying out as she bounced off the berth and flipped over it, pain jolting up her cuffed arm from the sudden twist as she crashed onto ther berth, the sweet taste of energon filling her mouth as she trembled on the berth, optics wide as she watched IronHide approach her... His bulky form... His stance... She began to cry as she trembled helplessly, holding up a servo, opening her mouth to beg, but shut it again... He wanted her to beg... He loved it when she begged.
"Hide!" Chromia suddenly appeared between them, pushing her mate back. "Stop! What do you think you're doing?!" She shouted at him, the big mech growling and glaring at her. "She attacked us first!" He shouted.
"Look at her, Hide!" Chromia cried, pointing to Soundwave who was trembling on the berth, optics wide and lips slightly parted as she stared at him in horror, which slowly ebbed away until she was just lying there emotionlessly, staring at him without feeling.
IronHide glared at his mate as Jazz stepped up beside him, Blurr getting up from the ground and Ratchet re-appearing now as well, Wheeljack helping him. Moonracer moved over to Soundwave's side.
"Out! All of you, out!" Chromia cried, pointing to the door, Blurr, Ratchet and Wheeljack vanishing, needing no second urging, although both Ratchet and Wheeljack would come back at some point to continue whatever work they needed to do.
IronHide and Jazz remained, the silver corvette silent as he stared at Soundwave in what seemed to be concern, IronHide glaring at his mate before giving a frustrated vent and turning on his heel, disappearing as well as his hot-headed mate turned onto the saboteur. "You too! Out!" She shouted.
Jazz jumped. "Alrigh, alrigh! I'm goin' I'm goin'!" He cried as he left the room, but stood outside the door.
Soundwave's trembling lessened before vanishing completely when all of the mech's were gone from sight and hearing, although she was still tense, as if waiting for an attack. She could feel the optics of both femmes on her, but she didn't speak for a long time as she reached up to touch her split cheek, wincing a little. "I don't like mechs." She spat out, looking at them with an expression void of emotions before she lay back and just stared up at the roof.
Chromia moved up beside her now. "I'm sorra... Hide's a bit of a hard-helmed mech..." She answered as she looked down at the Decepticon TIC, Soundwave only giving a little shrug. "My visor." She answered, Chromia venting softly and holding it out to her, Soundwave holding it over her faceplates as she forced herself into stasis to escape from the autobots, decepticons and herself... But her stasis only brought on the nightmares.
–
"Why do you think she acted like that?" Moonracer whispered as if the Decepticon could still hear them.
"I don' know... She had a strange look in her optics." Chromia answered slowly, frowning a little. "She doesn't seem bothared by us... Only Hide and the other mechs." She murmured as she glanced at Moonracer. "Let's check her over while she canna resist." She added.
The mint-green femme nodded and got a scanner as Chromia stripped off some of the thick, outer armour to check for any hidden wounds that might have been caused during the fight, including her chassis armour as she whistled. "Hey, Moonie... C'mere an' look at this!"
Moonracer looked up as she came back, staring in shock at the marks on the Decepticon femme's chassis and abdomen. "Is that... Bites? Scratches?" She asked slowly as she moved closer and scanned the femme, setting the scanner down to wait for the results of anything beneath the protoform that they might otherwise miss.
"Looks like it, doesn' it?" Chromia asked as she reached out and touched one of the bites, noticing Soundwave flinch in her oblivian. "Somethin's goin' on that we don' know about." She stated, optics narrowing as Moonracer touched one of the deeper claw marks. "Who did this to her? And why?" She asked as she reached for the scanner that beeped the results.
Chromia shrugged as she touched the wounds and reached for some solvents that might soothe them and keep them from getting infected when she noticed that Moonracer was frozen looking at the scanner, optics wide. "Hey, Moonie? Somethin' wrong?" She asked in concern, the other femme looking up at her. "She's carrying..." She nearly whispered, her friend's optics narrowing. "One?" She asked as Moonracer shook her helm. "Split spark... Twins." She said, holding up the scanner.