Megatron had been on the way from the throne room, and heard a commotion, namely from Starscream. Ordinarily he would have ignored it. He and Knockout often antagonised each other to the point of a scuffle or two. But something about Starscream's voice alerted him to the possibility that something wasn't right.
He only heard that tone when the seeker was scared. This time he sounded panicked. As much of a pain in the aft his second in command was, it was still worthwhile to investigate what was going on.
The warlord walked around a few corners to find, of all mechs, Soundwave pinning the seeker to the wall and about to lunge. Megatron didn't have time to yell. With haste he grabbed the armour on the top of Soundwave's back and threw the Third-In-Command at the nearest wall.
Starscream widened his optics when he realised he had been freed, and saw that Megatron had put himself between the two mechs.
"M-megatron!" He exclaimed in shock, "but, how did you know I needed assistance?" In gratitude he placed his hands on the grey mech's arm.
The warlord tensed, though his gaze was on the rising mech.
Soundwave hopped up with little effort, but his footing wasn't stable, most likely from the dizzying impact with the wall.
"I heard a commotion." Megatron answered just before the third in command lunged.
There was little method in his attack however, and the warlord grabbed him and threw him down, then pinned him to the ground with his foot. Soundwave's struggles continued until a bit of pressure convinced him to do otherwise. He spotted the features of a Terrorcon and glanced at his Second-In-Command. "Have you been bitten?"
Starscream's wings flared, indignant.
"You knew he was one of those!?" He glared, "And you didn't think sharing that information was important?" He crossed his arms and turned away a little. "Hmph!"
If Megatron could roll his optics, he would have.
"Do you think I'd let him wander, unquarantined, if I did?"
Or he'd have him killed, if he was as mindless as the Vehicons had been. Strangely enough Soundwave appeared sentient. To a degree.
So, now what? Megatron regarded the mech below him for a few moments. He could feel Starscream start to fidget, no doubt about to ask him something.
"What do you have planned for him?"
"We restrain him. If he wants fuel so badly I'll oblige him."
"You what?"
Starscream sounded confused, but the warlord ignored him. He eased his foot off the Third-In-Command, only to give a powerful punch when the silent mech went to rise. Soundwave went limp as Megatron hoisted him up and started heading toward the medbay.
Knockout had been alerted with a hasty comlink beforehand to get prepared, but he still tilted his head when he saw Megatron walk in the medbay, holding an unresponsive Soundwave. Starscream followed close behind, oddly silent.
"Uh, what happened?"
He crossed his arms as the slender mech was put on a berth and restrained.
"Soundwave has been infected by one of the Terrorcons," he replied, "and we were just discussing ways to keep him under control."
There was a look the grey mech gave, and the sports car quickly figured out its meaning.
"Are you sure it's wise, my liege?"
In principle the plan could work; feeding with Megatron's own fuel, tainted with Dark Energon could control the newly fledged Terrorcon, but it could also mutate him further with disastrous results.
It was a risky gambit, and worth doing as a last resort only.
"What would you suggest?" He humoured the medic with a gruff tone. Knockout, despite his vanity and selfishness, was skilled at his job. And it didn't hurt that the tactic might bait Starscream into offering another option.
"Seeing as how Dark Energon started the whole ordeal," he replied, giving Starscream a dirty look, "perhaps we can try fuel that is not already, ah, contaminated, with it." He tilted his hip out of habit, careful of the use of the word 'contaminated'. "At least until we can find a cure for his condition."
That begged the question of finding a volunteer. . .
All three went silent, but Megatron already knew where the discussion was going.
Three. Two. One.
"If I may, Lord Megatron," Knockout bowed a little out of respect, "I think it would be fitting that the volunteer would be the one responsible for this happening."
Starscream flinched when realisation hit.
"W-what!? Megatron, you can't be seriously be taking his side!" He growled, pointing at the medic with a venomous gaze in his optics, "he was the one who used the Synthetic Energon!"
Knockout met the glare with his own.
"Don't you dare blame me for your own stupid actions!"
"Enough!" Megatron rubbed his temples, already getting a headache with their bickering. "Starscream, just let him take some of your fuel."
The seeker pouted and looked away, furious, but said nothing.
Soundwave onlined to hear a couple of voices in what sounded like a banter, accompanied by a brief yelp. He looked around and saw Megatron, who appeared to be equal parts amused and annoyed at said banter.
His silent gaze roamed further to find Starscream sitting on a berth, crossing his arms with indignation, with wing twitches, a clear sign of irritation. Knockout was heard rather than seen.
"Here, try this." The silent mech turned his head to see the medic beside him, who offered him a half full cube of Energon. Wait, that wasn't Energon.
Immediately his hunger took over, and his visor shifted enough for his mouth to appear.
Knockout tilted the cube close enough to allow feeding, though looked like he was about to bolt at a moment's notice, while Soundwave eagerly took in its contents, unaware of anything else until the empty cube was moved away.
Once awareness returned to him the spymaster regarded the others with mild confusion.
"Care to explain why you hid your condition from us?" Megatron asked.
The symbol of a question mark appeared on his visor for scarcely a moment before it dissolved. Memories came back in snatches, and his attempt to answer was interrupted as Megatron continued, "I find it hard to believe a Terrorcon managed to get you." If there was one tone to pick up from this it was one of disappointment.
Soundwave shook his head. A large red cross flashed on his visor.
Megatron had walked closer as he talked, and paused when his subordinate denied the allegation. The warlord held the mech's head and tilted it to the side, revealing a small scratch, almost self-repaired.
"Superficial damage. Caused by Airachnid." Soundwave had almost forgotten about it. He had given himself a scan afterward, but found himself clean. He'd suffered worse in the gladiator pits so going to Knockout over something he deemed simple wasn't worth wasting both their times. Now it seems that had been a huge underestimation.
"Well everything seems to be in order." Starscream said in a nervous fashion to excuse himself. He hopped off the berth and started to walk out.
Megatron called out after him in a half hearted fashion.
"Organise some Vehicons to look for traces of Terrorcons while you're leaving."
He smirked when he heard a small huff of displeasure from the seeker.
"As you wish, Master."
The warlord let go of Soundwave's head as Knockout spoke up.
"With your permission, I can run tests to figure out a cure. If there is one."
"Do what you have to, but take precautions. We can't afford someone else to get infected."
With the Insecticons gone and the army thinned by the previous infection they couldn't afford another blight of Terrorcons. And he wasn't sure how long it would take the seeker to take advantage of the fact his Third-In-Command was out of commission.
Knockout went to work as Megatron left, starting with acquiring some of Soundwave's fuel for testing. If he could figure out more about the Terrorcon virus, then hopefully he could figure out a way to reverse it.