Megatron had been fully against this at first. The Decepticon femmes were highly respected warriors, and should never be forced to take part in such a thing. But when he had found out the prize for the winning team of this 'beauty pageant' was a year's supply of Energon - something the Decepticons were in great need of at the moment - he had agreed.
That nosey, obnoxious reporter, Circuit, was sponsoring a Cybertronian beauty pageant, saying his network had a timeslot to fill and he really didn't want to give Swindle another sales program after receiving numerous complaints from bots who had made purchases from the program, claiming the products they had bought always malfunctioned. So, claiming it would be a good distraction from the constant Autobot/Decepticon conflict, Circuit had approached them about taking part in a beauty contest, a way of engaging in a nonviolent conflict.
Megatron rolled his eyes, recalling how Prime had readily agreed, saying it would be a good idea to engage in something 'without violence for once'.
Now, Megatron leaned on the wall outside the Iacon Communication Service, where the contest would be held, waiting for others to arrive. He was beginning to regret his decision to take part in this foolish contest, he could simply just hijack an Energon plant for the fuel they needed. Then again, it would be interesting to see Prime's reaction when the Decepticons defeated the Autobots in yet another confrontation.
Finally, Astrotrain landed near the building - ten minutes late - and Megatron cringed further when a femme stepped out of the shuttle door.
"We should just save time and declare me the winner now!" Thunderblast said, stepping out of the shuttle with a smirk. "Starscream, hurry up!"
Starscream reluctantly appeared behind the femme, carrying a large container. "What's in here anyway?" Starscream grunted.
"Polish". Thunderblast replied.
"Is it necessary to bring so much?" Starscream grunted. "It weighs a ton!"
"Oh, it's nothing my big, strong mech can't handle!" Thunderblast chirped, giving Starscream a pat on the side of his face. She then made her way to the door of the building, with Starscream close behind, groaning and muttering to himself.
Megatron grinned to himself. Seeing Starscream in such distress made this whole ridiculous situation worth it.
"I am not doing it!" Chromia spat.
"The contest calls for four Bots and four Cons", Ironhide said. "We only need one more representative!"
"Well, find someone else!"
"The contest starts in ten minutes, I was counting on you!"
"I have never liked the idea of those vain, pointless beauty contests!" Chromia said. "There are more important things to worry about!"
"I can't argue with that, but Prime already- "
"Forget it, Ironhide!" With that, Chromia stormed out of the Autobot rec room, leaving Ironhide alone and frustrated.
Ironhide really couldn't blame Chromia for getting mad at him, he should have discussed it with her earlier. And she was a highly trained Autobot, not some fashionista, asking her to take part in a beauty contest seemed almost like an insult.
"Are you two ready?" Jazz asked, walking into the room. "Prime's ready to head out".
"You guys go ahead", Ironhide said. "And you're gonna have to find a replacement for Chromia, she refused to go".
"I told you she wouldn't do it". Jazz said. "Tell her to forget about it, I'll track down somebody else. Actually, I'm not sure why she refused, it's just for fun, and it's not like anyone is accusing her of being frilly. Anyway, we're headin' out, see ya!"
Ironhide raised a hand in farewell as Jazz left, deciding that, as mad as she was, he'd probably better leave Chromia alone for a few hours. Or days.
"Welcome to the first ever Ms. Cybertron competition!"
Starscream leaned on the wall outside the wash racks in the Iacon Communication Service building, waiting for Thunderblast and ignoring the voice over the loudspeaker. He felt this contest was a ridiculous waste of time and had told Megatron so, but that bucket of bolts never listened to anything. While the Autobots were distracted, the Decepticons could be launching an attack on their base. Starscream would have launched the attack himself, proving he was better suited to lead the Decepticons, except for one thing - Thunderblast. The femme had demanded Starscream help her prepare for her victory and he'd reluctantly agreed. Starscream sighed. He honestly didn't know what he saw in the femme, but the two had been dating off and on for months now.
One by one, the three other femmes represiting the Cons - Flamewar, Trickdiamond and Esmeral - had exited the wash racks, but still no sign of Thunderblast.
"Are you ready yet?!" Starscream asked, pounding the side of his fist on the door.
"In a minute, Pookie!" Thunderblast called.
"Do not call me that!" Starscream snapped. He hated those stupid nicknames, he didn't know why Thunderblast chose to use them.
"See ya, Pookie!" Skywarp quipped as he ran by, heading for the audience seating area.
Starscream grit his teeth, fighting the urge to run after his brother and strangle him. This was going to be a very long day.