Prowl checks his chronometer and notices that it is time for him to return to Praxus. He and Torment have been discussing Thundercracker's protection and what they are going to do about the Organization and its members during the last few hours, and they have finally come to an agreement they both can accept.
He rises from the chair beside the assassin's berth and looks at Torment with an almost collegial expression.
"If there isn't anything else you want to discuss wit-"
His words gets interrupted when Darksteel materializes in a purple mist with a passenger on tow, and his spark pulse increases rapidly when he realizes who it is Darksteel has brought with him.
The massive black flight-frame with the distinctive red and white zigzag lines along the edge of the wings turns to face him, and Prowl instinctively pulls his weapon, but the Polyhexian leader is faster, and the director of the Joint Investigation Unit gets slammed forcefully back against the wall when he is hit directly in his chest by a paralyzing high-energy EMP shot.
Talon stares sternly at Torment with a raised optic-ridge while Prowl collapses unconscious on the floor.
"You did not inform him about my arrival?"
"I don't think he would have reacted differently even if I had." Torment says calmly and turns his attention towards Darksteel, who visibly shows how unsettled he is with being in Talon's presence. "I can handle it from here. You are free to go."
Darksteel nods and practically flees when he teleports away.
Talon steps closer, and Torment rises into a sitting position when the Polyhexian leader calmly sits down on a corner of the berth and looks at him.
Every single one of his surgical scars get scrutinized intensely by the hard optics, and Talon reaches out to touch his cheek, but the hand hesitates right before it touches him and Talon meets his optics to wordlessly ask him for his permission.
In this moment, Torment is once again that vulnerable young sire he had been so many years ago after the loss of his creators. He still remembers how he recklessly had confronted the Polyhexian leader and had accused him of killing them.
It almost got him killed when the members of Talon's inner circle drew their weapons on him, outraged at the impudent way in which he approached their leader, while Talon silently had studied him with a raised optic-ridge.
At a dismissive movement of Talon's hand, the weapons had been lowered and then he had been interrogated about what had happened. In the time following his loss, Talon had supported him, had given him a new purpose and turned out to be more than everyone's worst nightmare.
At least to him.
His vulnerability must have filled his optics, because Talon's hand closes the distance between them and caresses his cheek fatherly.
"I should never have let you go, Comet."
A few tears escape Torment's optics at the sound of his real name and runs slowly down his cheek, and Talon breaks character and pulls him into a fierce and protective embrace.
It is unprecedented by Talon to show this kind of affection, and Torment is uncertain about how he should react to it. He stares paralyzed at the Polyhexian leader's heavily reinforced, nearly impenetrable chestplates, before he finally throws caution to the wind and leans into the strong and supportive embrace.
There is nothing to hide.
Talon has already seen him when he was most vulnerable.
"I know I never showed it, but you grew on me, Comet. I have never wanted to be a creator since the risk is too great in our world, but with you, I found it natural to take on the role as a creator. You are not from my own CNA, but you are mine anyway, and I should have interfered the moment you got into contact with Torrent."
Torment looks surprised up at Talon, his feelings on open display, and the faintest hint of a fatherly smile forms on the Polyhexian leader's lips while new uncharacteristic emotions hesitantly are displayed in Talon's optics.
"You are my heir, Comet." Talon proclaims seriously and his embrace turns possessive. "I only chose to let you go because I realized that you needed time on your own to develop into the strong leader you have the potential to be, without being affected by my constant influence."
Torment is speechless as his world gets turned upside down by Talon's proclamation.
This is what Talon wants from him.
Renewed confidence fills him at the trust Talon shows him by choosing him as his heir. There are many worthy candidates among Talon's inner circle, and he can only hope to be found worthy of the faith his adopted creator has in him as the one who is best suited to take over when that time comes.
"The only reason why I chose not to interfere when I were informed that Torrent had sought you out was the fact that you still needed time to overcome your spark-deep hatred towards our society, make your own decisions and learn from your mistakes."
"Were you aware of what he had done to me?"
Talon's expression turns dark.
"No, I first became aware of the existence of the explosive device when they removed it from your spark chamber. Until that moment, I didn't understand why you didn't come to me when you realized your mistake."
Their conversation get interrupted by a faint sound from Prowl when the director of the Joint Investigation Unit slowly begins to regain consciousness, and their cold gazes turn to the downed enforcer.
Talon rises from the corner of the berth, and Torment hears the unmistakable sound when the deadly sharp titanium talons, which have given the Polyhexian leader his name, emerge and envelopes his adopted creator's hands as Talon walks around the berth and over to the enforcer.
He studies Prowl emotionlessly while the director of the Joint Investigation Unit regains more and more awareness of his surroundings and realizes the lethal situation he finds himself in.
He has a choice to make.
He can chose not to say anything and let his alliance with Prowl end here, or he can use his newfound power to interfere and save the enforcer from the torturous death that waits him.
Prowl sluggishly onlines his optics and stares powerlessly as the Polyhexian leader walks over to where he lies on the floor. His frame is still unresponsive due to the effect of the high-energy EMP shot and his processor fights desperately to regain its equilibrium and control over his systems.
Talon's broad wings communicates open hostility and barely restrained fury as he approaches, and he can see his death in the Polyhexian leader's cold and merciless optics.
Talon is, if not the, then one of the most dangerous criminal leaders in their society. The black flight-frame is utterly ruthless and the reason why the Polyhexian Cartel, since he took over its leadership, has grown from a small criminal organization in Polyhex to becoming one of the largest organizations on the planet.
"No one pulls a weapon on me and survives it."
Time seems to slow down as Talon stops in front of him, and he sees his life pass before his optics. His thoughts going to Nacelle. There is an inquiring pulse from his bondmate and he pulses back with regret. There is so much he wants to say now that he faces death, but isn't able to. Nacelle knows the risk of his work. They have talked about it frequently, and especially before they bonded. Working as an enforcer constantly carries the risk of not surviving an encounter with the enemy.
Acceptance fills his spark, and he closes their bond for the first time since they bonded to protect Nacelle from the worst of the painful backlash of his death.
Then time speeds up again at a single utterance.
"Creator."
The soft but commanding utterance from Torment makes Talon hesitate, and Prowl has never felt more thankful for his alliance with Torment than he does in this moment, when the assassin fearlessly defends him against the Polyhexian leader's wrath while the two powerful criminals calmly discuss his fate.
"I need him."
Torment frees himself from the wires that connects him to the various machines that monitor his health before he rises from the berth and walks over to stand beside Talon, looking up into the Polyhexian leader's optics with determination.
His hand touches the titanium alloy covering Talon's left hand.
A move he never before would have dared.
"You have taught me that actions have consequences. I am taking the full responsibility for what I have done and need his help to clean up the mess I have made."
An unreadable expression flitter across Talon's face but is gone as fast as it came, and the Polyhexian leader narrows his optics as he stares down at Prowl while his weaponized hands move with the evident desire to tear the enforcer apart.
"You don't need them to do that. I have been prepared to strike against the Organization for years. We have only waited for you to realize your mistake before we did so."
"I have made an alliance with the Joint Investigation Unit, and I want to honor it." Torment's voice is firm and unwavering, and to his surprise, Prowl sees the deadly weapons retract as Talon finally accepts Torment's request.
The next moment Talon effortlessly picks Prowl up from the floor and slams him hard against the wall, leaning in to stare intimidating into his optics.
"You have saved my heir's life, but that does not mean my patience with you is limitless." Talon hits him with full force in the midsection, knocking the air out of him, and his sight blackens while the pain sears through him.
With a deep groan of pain, he nearly collapses on the floor when Talon releases him, but manages to support himself at the last moment and coughs violently while he recovers from the force of the impact.
The fiercely throbbing pain in his frame is nothing compared to the damage Talon could have inflicted on him if the lethal talons had been out while he hit him, and he knows that he is extremely lucky if he actually survives this encounter.
Then he suddenly realizes the importance of what Talon had said.
Heir?
He slowly lifts his gaze to the assassin, and Torment stares at him with a cold, emotionless and completely closed off expression. It is impossible to read him, and the friendliness there had been between them before Talon's arrival is gone.
It surprises him how much the loss actually affects him, but he has to remind himself that Torment isn't a friend and never will be. Especially not now that the assassin appears to be the heir to one of the most prominent criminal organizations on the planet.
It is well known that Talon has no creations, and among the leading investigative officers involved in combating the widespread organized crime, it has often been discussed who will take over when Talon dies. It is vital information when it comes to their forward-looking efforts against the cartel since criminal organizations like the Polyhexian Cartel tend to change for the better or worse when a new leader takes over the leadership.
What would happen with Torment as its leader?
Before their alliance he would have feared the worst, but not anymore. This is actually the best news he has received for a long time when it comes to the various enterprises, gangs, syndicates, and cartels that are involved in organized crime.
With the right incentive, Torment has the potential to become a leader who can lead the cartel in a new and less conflict-filled direction. Torment is a highly intelligent tactician with a rational approach to problems and has proved to be one of the more reasonable criminals out there, whereas Talon is known to be a brutal strategist with a flair for long-term planning who won't hesitate to use any means necessary to reach his goals. Together, they will pose a major threat, and Prowl knows that they need to do everything in their power to maintain the positive development he already has seen in the assassin when they were speaking alone together six days ago.
It is clear that Athena has had a strong and positive influence on Torment, but this influence can easily be lost with Talon in Torment's life.
He has absolutely no idea how this unexpected creator-creation relationship between the two powerful criminals came about, but it is clear to him that Torment is Talon's only weakness, and that they can't afford to waste the unique opportunity they now have to influence the future leader of the Polyhexian Cartel. If the relationship between Torment and Athena is anything like his and Nacelle's, the assassin will be susceptible to change. Athena is the key in all of this. They need her to keep influencing Torment, to lead him in the right direction. With Talon in his life, there is a high risk that Torment will revert back into his old self without her gentle guidance.
However, no matter how positive this unforeseen development is, it will also complicate their alliance.
Torment will be a direct target for the other criminal organizations the moment Talon officially announces him as his heir. In response to this, the Polyhexian Cartel will close firmly around him to protect him from its enemies until he has received the strictly necessary modifications to his frame, which significantly will increase his survivability as heir while Talon shapes him to become the leader he wants him to be.
At that moment, Torment will be inaccessible to them until he has received the frame upgrade. It will delay their efforts against Torrent, which increases the risk that the Organization begins its attack before they can stop it.
Which means...
He turns his attention to the Polyhexian leader.
...that he will have to negotiate with Talon.
If it is true that the Polyhexian leader has been prepared to strike against Torrent for years as he proclaims, then Talon can become an invaluable ally to them, and it is likely the reason why Torment has arranged this surprise meeting between them.
They have a common enemy, and it might just get him out of this alive.