Disclaimer: I own nothing – at least nothing Transformers related.
AN: Now you're asking yourself: "Why a special? There are only three chapters so far."
My answer: "Hey, why not?"
A request from Wol Lo.
Corrected by mdnytryder. Thanks.
Special 1: Flat Out (G1)
He knew the rumors. He knew the stories. He knew the jokes, the puns, the insults whispered behind his back….
Starscream, fastest Seeker online, the most maneuverable flyer in the whole Decepticon army, terror of the sky, co-ruler of Vos, prince of the clouds and one of a kind with the winds.
But those were the rarely used titles, at ceremonies, or if he had made Megatron proud – often without realizing it until the moment the giant silver Cybertronian grinned at him, clapped a hand on his shoulder and praised him.
Starscream would sometimes spend hours after that, equally pleased and angry at himself for doing so.
More frequently, his unmatched speed and agility led to cruel mocking from his comrades and enemies alike.
He was only called the fastest Cybertronian because you saw his tailfin more often in battle as his nosecone. His agility made it easier to dodge shots – only to run into Megatron's fist because of one of his failed schemes.
He was a coward, with more practice in running away than actual fighting.
Yeah, he heard it all….
He had to admit, they never had the honor to really watch him fly.
Oh, how Starscream hated Earth….
Here, on this disgusting dustball with its fleshy, squishy, carbonis-based inhabitants, nearly all flyers shared the same top speed, plus minus some.
He could hear the Aerialbots whooping behind him, believing they had him finally, after a long chase around the North American Air Space.
The Autobots had somehow learned about a secret mission he had undertaken. Some sort of an exploration and delivery run combined.
Go to the planet X, Y, whatever, search it for mineral A, B, C and so on, load your empty bomber bay– slag Megatron, he couldn't even rain bombs on the heads of these posers – with them and come back.
Great, Air Commander and SIC of the whole Decepticon army, reduced to a minion of the Constructicons.
This certainly hadn't been in the job description.
But back to his current problem, the wannabe flyers and their deranged world views.
Time to show at least five Autobots why he was feared and admired by Cybertronians of both factions….
He tipped his nose heavenwards, up in the clear, azure sky.
The Aerialbots followed him, even if the tallest seemed somewhat reluctant.
Starscream ascended higher and higher, until he climbed in a perfect, vertical line, up and up in the darkening infinity, the sun glistering on his silvery white paint.
Oh, how he hated Earth with its heavy, dust-loaded atmosphere.
It pulled on his wings, all these little atoms weighing down his whole frame….
The air around him thinned with each meter and the whooping stopped and turned into an uncertain, almost questioning silence as the five red and white flyers struggled with the fast pace, the unfamiliar situation and with their fears.
Starscream, on the other hand, felt wonderful.
It was exciting.
Oh how he had missed this freedom.
The blue sky of Earth certainly had its own charm, but the feeling had never been like this, could have never been like this.
He felt his inner systems shift and adjust as more and more stars appeared all around him in this beautiful, dark world which was space. His thrusters sputtered, readying for the final change that would show the amateurs behind him that they were nothing compared to him.
Starscream could feel his pumps speeding up, processing Energon, oil and lubricant through every part of his body, heating the more sensible systems and setting all his sensors to full alert.
He could feel the warmth of the sun on his wings and backplating and the first freezing touch of space on his underbelly.
It was time….
His thrusters sputtered one last time – then they stopped burning altogether.
For one, long, endless moment he hung between infinity and death….
Then his thrusters wrapped into themselves, changed places with more fragile, but oh so more powerful variants, delicate systems of metal and wire, capable of speeds that would rip his wings right from his body and burn his paint away and melt his metallic skin underneath if he ever dared to ignite them in the thick atmosphere of Earth, which made flying so terrible boring, and limited with its idiotic friction.
His space thrusters came to life with an explosion, silent in the vacuum of near space, and Starscream shot forward with a joyful whoop, away from the blue waste of dust and organic dirt, away from the gaping Aerialbots, into the limitless infinity of space, where he could be what he wanted to be, where nobody was faster than him, not even the proud space shuttles nor any other Cybertronian alive….
His pursuers could only watch in awe as the fiery silver, red and blue jet before them spit flames and became first a streak of blurred colors, then a rapidly dwindling spot somewhere in the far distance.
They hovered in the not-air, not-entirely-space-yet zone and didn't know if what they had witnessed was real, or as surreal as the scream of a star….
I'm not even sure if this works, aerodynamics is as foreign to me as any sort of physics, but hey, I can't imagine how the Seekers were as feared as they were if they hadn't had some sort of space flight capability. And the speed of an Earth jet, even an enhanced one, shouldn't be able to do so.
There is still a poll and I still encourage you to use it and help me. Next time: Silly