part two

The doors to the Decepticon brig slid open. Megatron walked inside to stand before his captive. Prowl hung from his wrists, chained to the wall so his pedes barely touched the floor. The Praxian was a mess – much of his chassis armor had been removed or mutilated, and what was left was covered in energon. His left doorwing was beyond repair, the panel shredded and the joint shattered. By this time, his hands were probably useless as well, considering he'd been hanging there for two weeks. A small smirk crossed Megatron's faceplates.

"Are you enjoying your stay here, little Autobot?" he sneered. Prowl didn't react to his jibe, merely stared calmly back at him. Megatron's smirk turned into a scowl. "You are pathetic. Have you already retreated back into your mind? You'll find you're no safer there than in the real world." He reached forward and grabbed Prowl's forearm, puncturing the metal with his claws before giving it a sharp jerk. The armor tore free, revealing the energon lines and delicate wiring underneath.

Prowl didn't flinch.

Megatron's gaze darkened. He raised his hand and his fingertips pulled back, revealing the connections underneath. "I could always just jack into your processor and take what I want." he purred, tracing the exposed connections across Prowl's helm. "I've been told it's the worst kind of agony, to have another invade your mind. What secrets do you hold? What would I learn if I was to connect to you? Codes and schedules, no doubt, but other things, perhaps?" He leaned closer so he was whispering in Prowl's audio.

"Would you like me to take a romp through your mind? This is the nicer option, I suppose – I could always force my way into your spark and search through your soul." Megatron smirked as he pulled back. "Would you prefer that?"

Prowl merely looked at him.

Megatron snarled. "Barricade! Get in here!"

The doors opened again, and this time Barricade entered into the small brig. "Yes, Lord Megatron?"

"Hold him down."

Barricade moved into position, pinning Prowl's shoulders to the wall. "What are you going to do, if I may ask?"

Megatron growled. "I'm going to jack his processor." he bit out. "By the time I'm done, we'll have all the information we could ever need – and the Autobots will have nothing more than the broken shell of their Tactical Officer." Barricade nodded grimly and adjusted his grip.

"He should have just talked." he muttered.

Megatron smirked. "Exactly." He slid his hand up to Prowl's helm, the connections extending and seeking out inputs to Prowl's processor.

Barricade had seen Megatron jack other mechs' processors before. The unfortunate mech would normally start screaming and attempt to fight the intrusion, attempt to pull away in horror and fear. Such attempts at defiance would not last long.

He lowered his optics. He didn't need to see the vicious joy that would cross Megatron's faceplates every time a victim gave way to him.

Megatron screamed. Barricade snapped his helm up, staring in openmouthed shock as Megatron's entire body froze, twitched, and seized. His fingers were still dug tightly into Prowl's helm, unable to break the connection. Suddenly his fingers broke free, and he fell to the ground in a shaking pile, unable to stand. He whimpered softly.

Barricade could not stop himself. It would mean his death later, but for now – he just couldn't help himself.

He burst out laughing.

Prowl's blank expression was replaced with a small, almost nonexistent smile. For the first time in two weeks, he spoke.

"A lesser mech, and he would have been the empty shell." he mused.

Barricade grinned at him. "Remind me to never frag you off." he teased.

Megatron forced himself to his pedes, staggering a bit before catching his balance. Energon was trickling from his helm, his optics blank. With a small sigh, Barricade opened a comm. link with Hook.

::What do you want?::

::Good morning to you too, Sunshine. Megatron needs you in the brig.::

::He hurt the prisoner that badly then, did he?::

::Nope. The prisoner hurt him. I think there might be processor damage.::

There was a full pause as Hook processed that information. Then Hook burst out laughing. ::I warned him about underestimating the Autobot. Must have tried to jack his processor.::

::Yep. And I had about the same reaction you did.::

::I can just imagine that. I'll be down there in a minute – don't leave Megatron alone down there. No matter how funny it would be, we really don't need someone like Starscream finding him.::

Barricade smirked. ::Are you sure?::

::Barricade!::

::Okay, I won't leave him alone! Sheesh, no one can take a joke around here.:: With that, Barricade cut the connection. He turned his attention to Prowl, who was still watching him with that small smirk on his face.

Barricade grinned. "With a trick like that, you would have made an excellent Decepticon." he said.

Prowl merely smirked at him. "You flatter me."

/-/

In the Autobot base, Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz, and Red Alert held a meeting. Jazz crossed his arms over his chassis, glaring daggers at Red Alert. "There is no way that Prowl's a goner." he said flatly. "Just because he was captured once before – "

"You don't know that Prowl won't break this time!" Red Alert protested. "Statistically, after two weeks, either the Decepticons have killed him, or that he killed himself to keep the information from them! Prowl knows the risks!"

Optimus held up his hand to keep Jazz from saying something he might regret. "Prowl can withstand physical torture, and considering what happened last time, he will not be vulnerable to jacking again. He has his upgrades."

Jazz smirked. "Good upgrades, too, I might add."

Optimus nodded. "Point. In either case, I want my SIC back, and we will come up with a plan to get him back. It's just a matter of working together."

Ironhide raised his hand. "Um, Prime? Usually Prowl's the one who makes the plans. We just follow them." he said.

Ratchet nodded. "We've never had to rescue him before. Last time he got himself out."

"He may just git 'imself out this time, too." Jazz murmured.

Optimus sighed. "Perhaps, but I will not wait. Prowl is too important to us to play with his life. So, any ideas?"

They went to work once again.