AN: For whatever reason I keep picturing Ravage sounding like Kate Siegel, so if you want to put a voice to the voice then there you go.
Ravage came to awareness all at once, refusing to panic when she found she couldn't move. Flatline was onlining one system at a time to make sure everything was running properly, and Ravage bypassed him to turn on a few things all on her own.
Since they were still connected, she could feel Flatline's surprise at her being awake, and then his annoyance when she bypassed one of his neural blocks and started a deep scan. She trusted his abilities, but it was still reassuring to get the readings and verify that everything was just the way she liked it.
Flatline pulled out of her processor further and allowed her senses to come back to her, letting her process the immediate rush of feedback before returning her mobility to her. Ravage took the opportunity to create neural pathways to her new hardware, analyzing the feedback on her HUD as she figured out how to use the vocal synthesizer. Flatline closed the connection between them, removing the chord from her port.
:You should give your body some more time to acclimate to the hardware before using it,: Flatline cautioned through a comm.
When she finally opened her optics, it was to find Miles standing just a few feet in front of her. His arms were crossed against his chest and he was giving her Displeased Look #5, which meant he was a little hurt but also slightly amused and not wanting to show it.
Ravage had been hoping that Flatline would be done before Miles got home. It would have been funnier if she had been up and moving before he had arrived, and he would have been much angrier.
"You're a rotten bitch," Miles accused.
Ravage pushed herself up so that she was sitting on her haunches, the middle of Miles' work bench warping under her weight. She hopped off of it and took a moment to stretch all of her limbs out—in part to make sure that her repaired back leg was as it should be, and in part just to annoy Miles further.
"You would have worried needlessly," Ravage bared her teeth in the facsimile of a grin, "And got your emotions everywhere."
Miles' eyes widened at her voice, and Flatline let out a sigh but didn't bother to comm her again to tell her off because he knew she wouldn't listen.
"Not great," Ravage tilted her helm to the side as she listened to herself. She accessed her vocal synthesizer and tweaked a few things before trying again, "Now… ah, there. Much better."
She had gotten a little used to how she sounded when she used Miles' phone, so she got her voice closer to that. Distinctly feminine, but a little deeper and less robotic.
"Barricade," Ravage called.
It was already too cramped in Miles' garage. Flatline took up most of the space, hovering as he was in his bipedal mode. There wasn't room for Barricade to bring his actual body in, so instead he formed his holoform directly next to Miles, making Miles jump. Flatline turned away from her, assuming he was dismissed.
"I plan to elect myself as leader of the Decepticons," Ravage announced.
Flatline turned his helm to stare at Ravage so fast that a cable in his neck creaked dangerously, and Barricade's own surprise led to his holoform nearly dissolving on the spot. She watched in some amusement as Miles got curious and stuck a hand through his middle and wiggled his fingers.
"Megatron is dead," Ravage pointed out needlessly. "If we followed the rules of succession, that makes Starscream the new leader of the Decepticons, and where is he, exactly?"
"Somewhere on Pluto, last I heard." Barricade said slowly.
"Exactly," Ravage shook her helm. "He's gone off to the end of the solar system and is about as useful as he ever was to the cause. The Decepticons on Earth have been lying low for years due to a lack of numbers and solid leadership."
"But what about Soundwave?" Flatline sounded flabbergasted, "Neither of you explained where he is, but he has rights to leadership after Starscream."
"Lost," Ravage dismissed. "And even if he were here, he wouldn't want to try and fill Megatron's spot. He would prefer to stay in the role he's in now."
"And what do you plan to do about the Autobots?" Barricade asked.
"Nothing," Ravage grinned up at him.
"Nothing?" Barricade repeated in disbelief.
"I see no reason to continue a losing war, especially since the current Autobot command would never allow functionism to come to fruition again. It will only end up with more dead, and us stuck on a planet with a dominant species that largely does not want us here."
"This is just going to cause two separate warring factions within the Decepticons," Flatline protested. "Not everyone is going to want to stop fighting, and most won't want to buddy up with the Autobots. Some of the 'cons want to kill the humans as it is, and I can't exactly blame them after what they did to Megatron! No offense, Miles."
"None taken," Miles responded, clearly amused.
Flatline went on, "And even in our own ranks, there are some who will think following a beast 'former is below them."
"The undesirables will weed themselves out for me, then." Ravage could only see that as a positive. "After all, why would we want war hungry glitches to be our comrades? Or those that look down on me for how I was created? Or even those who are too stupid to look past what some humans did to our leader, as if Shockwave, Starscream, and some of the other 'scientist' haven't done worse to our own people?"
She continued, "The Allspark is gone, and we must evolve to survive. Any leader who cannot accept that does not deserve the right to lead. If we can learn to make human allies then perhaps we can even leave this planet and find a new one for ourselves—after Miles is gone, of course."
Barricade and Flatline both stared at her for a long moment, and Ravage gave them their time to consider her stance or come up with any other questions.
Barricade spoke first, "You already know you're stuck with me."
"And I thank you for it," Ravage admitted. It didn't hurt to be genuine every once in a while, after all.
"You're both crazy, but—" Flatline put a servo over his optics, as if he couldn't believe he was going through with it. "But, I'm in, too. I'd much rather you over Starscream any day." And then a light finally went off in his processor, "Wait, is that why you called me here?! So you could have a medic on your side?"
"I've no idea what you mean," Ravage lied.
Miles rolled his eyes, "Y'all never told him he was invited to stay? No wonder he's not been that keen on bonding."
"We figured he'd figure it out!" Barricade groused.
"It's not our fault he's an idiot," Ravage agreed.
"You two are the absolute worst at communication," Miles sighed.
Ravage ignored him, "In the near future, I plan to make a broadcast summoning any Decepticons who wish to join me. Before that, I plan to get in contact with Optimus Prime and let him know of my intentions and that the two of you are claimed by myself."
"And just how do you plan to talk to Optimus Prime?" Barricade snorted.
"I have my ways."