a/n: Status update! This story now has a spin-off! Check out Dust and Decepticons: Epiphets of Megatron to get some backstory on this universe's version of the Emperor of Destruction!
Chapter 5: House of Cards
"So uh… Any reason why Prowl's not the one ferrying you around?" Springer asked as he drove down the road.
"It would be pretty conspicuous if a cop car dropped off a Faunus anywhere but the precinct," Koa answered from the passenger seat, "Thanks for holding my things for me, by the way."
"No problem, but why do you need to go to this place?"
"I need to pick up some travel and wilderness survival guides," Koa replied, "After that, I just need to pick up some Dust and weapons, and there aren't that many shops that carry those things and serve Faunus in this Kingdom."
"Sounds rough," Springer remarked.
"You don't know the half of it," Koa stated, "And unfortunately, it's unlikely to change anytime soon. The current system was built to keep Faunus at the bottom, and the Grimm mean nobody's in a hurry to tear it down and replace it with something fairer."
"… Yeah… I can see how that'd be tricky," Springer noted, "We didn't even have monsters drawn to negativity on Cybertron, and affecting societal change was fragging difficult. It was why I joined up with the Wreckers."
"The Wreckers?" Koa questioned.
"Oh! Uh… Hey! Would you look at that!" Springer declared as he pulled up to a stop, "We're at the address you suggested!" Springer's driver-side door unlocked. "Happy shopping! Don't forget to take Blaster with you, or that he can't answer of your questions without blowing his cover!"
"Why are we wasting time on them again?" Ultra Magnus asked as he drove down the street.
"Like it or not, sir, the intel Koa can provide us with is invaluable," Hubcap replied over the radio, "If we want to survive on this planet, we're going to need some guidance. Besides, this way we don't have to worry about accidentally bumbling into a war with the entire planet."
Ultra Magnus grunted.
"Uh, Prowl to Ultra Magnus," Prowl's voice came in over the radio, "I've got a bit of an issue."
"I swear, if you got into another scuffle with law enforcement…"
"It's not that!" Prowl promised, "But we've got company."
Prowl adjusted his rearview mirrors, the reflecting both a white and gold and red and black car approaching from behind.
"I've got visuals on the Battlechargers," he stated, "No idea if they've recognized me yet, but–"
The cars deployed guns from above their headlights and opened fire.
"Scrap!" Prowl cursed as he floored it, "They're onto us!"
"Springer! Get Blaster and get to the rendezvous point!" Ultra Magnus ordered as Koa climbed back into the green Autobot's alt-mode, "Runabout and Runamuck have engaged Prowl!"
The door slammed shut on its own as the green Autobot raced off, swerved around a bend, and took off.
"Is it just those two?" Blaster asked as Koa buckled their seatbelt and held for dear life.
"As far as I'm aware, but that could change at a moment's notice!" Ultra Magnus stated over the radio.
"Uh… How bad are Runabout and Runamuck?" Koa asked.
"Not that bad if multiple bots are facing them," Springer replied, "But a 2v1 is a bad match-up, no matter how dumb the cons are."
Any further musing was cut off by the sound of police sirens.
"Oh, what now?"
"You just went over the speed limit with a Faunus in the driver's seat," Koa replied, "That's gonna get the police's attention."
"… Oh right! Society didn't collapse on this planet," Springer observed, "You'd still have traffic laws."
"How have you not had more trouble with the police?"
"We just followed Prowl's lead!" Springer replied.
A police chase? Prowl observed, I could use this… The Autobot tactician turned on his lights and blared his sirens, and set a course for the car chase. One by one, other patrol cars engaged their sirens and followed after him, putting a buffer between him and the Battlechargers.
Runabout fired off a missile, which crashed through the back window of one of those patrol cars.
BOOM!
The car was ripped to pieces by the explosion.
"What the Pit?" Prowl exclaimed as Runamuck reduced another patrol car to flaming shrapnel, the driver's burned skull shattering against the pavement, "Do those idiots have no concept of stealth?"
Another patrol car was blown to bits as Prowl accelerated, before joining with the patrol cars chasing a familiar, green and yellow armored car.
"Prowl to Springer!" Prowl's voice chimed in over the radio, "Why are all the police after you?"
"We took off at top speed to rescue you, and then the cops started chasing us because I was in the driver's seat," Koa answered as Spring smashed through a police barricade, "How'd you end up behind us?"
"Winding through city streets to try and lose the Battlechargers, joined the chase to try and lose them, and now they're blowing up all the cop cars to try and get to me," Prowl answered as another patrol car went up in flames.
"Just keep on going to the rendezvous point!" Ultra Magnus ordered, his voice coming out of Blaster's speakers, "If Mistrial and Atlese are actually allied, then all this collateral might sour their relationship with the Decepticons."
"Okay, even knowing that most of those guys only signed up to kill Faunus, and that the rest probably work for crime syndicates, it's still kinda disturbing to think about the fact that one or two people are dying every time I hear an explosion," Koa remarked as the flaming chassis of a patrol car crashed into a building.
"Which is why I'm going to need you to find a hiding place when we get out of this city," Springer stated, "If they're this willing to slaughter this many humans who are technically aligned with them, what do you think they'll do to a Faunus who's consciously chosen to side against them?"
"… Remember that thing I mentioned last night about Grimm and negativity?" Koa asked, "Because mortal terror counts as negativity!"
"Prowl! I'm going to try and blind em!" Springer warned over the comms as the last genuine police car exploded.
His exhaust pipe suddenly released a thick cloud of smoke engulfing both Prowl and the Battlechargers.
"How's Prowl going to know when to turn?" Koa asked, "We're gonna have to turn either left or right to avoid that!"
The Faunus pointed at the building directly in front of them, the "Spider's Web".
"Turn left in thirty clicks!" Springer warned over the comms as he kept the smokescreen going.
Springer made a hard left, tires screeching on the pavement, before cutting the smokescreen and hurrying down the road.
Prowl erupted from the smoke shortly after him.
CRASH!
The smoke cleared to reveal that Runabout and Runamuck had slammed directly into the Spider's Web, before both pulled back, Runabout chasing after Prowl and Springer as Runamuck sped down the opposite direction.
"We shook one of them!" Koa remarked.
"But the other's gonna make a u-turn and chase after us as soon as his partner remembers that they have radio!" Prowl warned as Runabout deployed his guns and opened fire, "We need to get out of this city, and fast!"
Springer and Prowl soon reached the edge of the city, Runabout close on their heels.
They passed through the tunnel through the wall and into the forest outside, swerved off the road, and into the woods.
"Koa, I need you to do something for me," Blaster requested.
"Sure!" Koa replied as Springer rolled his driver side window down, "What do you need?"
"Throw me," Blaster stated.
"Excuse me?"
"Throw me out the window," Blaster clarified, "I'll be fine, I just need space to transform!"
Koa picked up the mini cassette player and threw him out the window, allowing Blaster to unfold into his full-sized robot mode and open fire on the black car chasing them.
The front of Runabout's vehicle mode split into two legs and feet as the rest of the vehicle shot up, the trunk folding back to reveal the Decepticon's head as his arms split off of the vehicle's chassis. He pointed his gun at blaster and returned fire, forcing Blaster to dive behind a tree.
Springer swerved further into the woods until the battle was obscured behind a tree, before opening his driver side door.
"Find a place to hide," Springer ordered as Koa's seatbelt unbuckled, "I've gotta help Blaster, and I'd rather you not be in the line of fire."
The Faunus wordlessly complied as Prowl unfolded into robot mode and took aim at the Battlecharger, allowing Springer to drive back into battle and unfold and roll into robot mode.
Koa peeked out from behind a tree as Koa charged the Decepticon, holding down the gun's trigger and blasting him repeatedly, before drawing a sword and slashing across the Battlecharger's chest.
A flash of red covered the Decepticon's body.
"Sorry boys! Runabout's invincible!" the Decepticon boasted, before punching Springer in the chest and sending him flying through several trees.
Koa yelped and rolled out of the way as Springer crashed through the tree they had been hiding behind, allowing the Autobot to land behind him.
"Scrap…" the green Autobot groaned as he rubbed the dent in his chest, "He's got that same forcefield the other cons got."
"What are you talking about?" Koa asked, "That was obviously Aura."
"Aura?"
"It's a power all living things share," Koa explained as Runabout took out his gun and started shooting at Prowl and Blaster, "With enough training, some can shield and reinforce their own bodies with that power, boosting their strength and stamina, healing the body, and even allowing a power shaped by one's own personality to manifest."
"That would explain some of those abilities," Springer groaned, "I'm gonna warn the others not to get too close, anything useful to know?"
"Whenever its used, Aura is depleted," Koa replied, "With time and rest, it can recharge, but you can probably overwhelm him with teamwork."
"Good to know," Springer remarked as he shoved himself off the ground and onto his feet, "Go find somewhere to hide, we've got work to do."
Koa nodded and took off running as the green Autobot rejoined the fray, keeping their eyes in front of them, only skidding to a halt when two soulless, red eyes glared back at them from the deeper parts of the woods.
"Oh shi-"
The Beowolf lunged with a howl, followed by the rest of the pack.
Ultra Magnus and Arcee rushed out of the city and sped through the woods.
"Blurr, Hubcap, J-422, ride's over!" Ultra Magnus declared as he lowered the ramp on his trailer and let the other Autobots drive off and alongside him.
"What are your orders, sir?" Blurr asked as she pulled up to his right alongside Arcee.
"We've only got the one Decepticon," Ultra Magnus stated as Hubcap and J-422 pulled up to his left, "Surround and overwhelm him with numbers and firepower, don't give him any room to ventilate!"
Ultra Magnus unfolded into robot mode and jumped into his armor as the forest became too thick for him to drive through, followed shortly by Hubcap, J-422, and Blurr returning to robot mode to run and dash through the trees.
Arcee alone remained in vehicle mode, pulling ahead of the others as she weaved and bobbed through the trees, her Holomatter projecting flickering out now that she no longer needed it.
Runabout cackled as Blaster landed with a resounding crash.
"Finally! I get to kill one of you fraggers!" the Decepticon boasted as he pointed his gun at the downed Autobot.
"Oh no you don't!" Prowl shouted as he shot the Battlecharger's gun.
Runabout growled and transformed into vehicle mode to drive towards his weapon, at which point Springer sped towards the Battlecharger in vehicle mode, unfolded into robot mode to grab the underside of the Decepticon vehicle, and flipped Runabout onto his back.
Runabout returned to robot mode to push himself off the ground and kick Springer's feet out from under him, sending the Autobot crashing back to the ground, before leaping for his gun.
Blaster growled and expelled all of his cassettes from his chest, letting Eject and Rewind unfold into their Faunus-sized robot modes.
"Take the others and run," Blaster warned as Prowl and Springer clashed with Runabout behind him, "We might not be able to rouse them from stasis lock with our current reserves, but they will die if they're trapped in my body!"
"Got it, sir!" Eject replied as she and Rewind scooped up the other Mini-Cassettes and bolted.
Koa ducked underneath the Beowolf's claw, and screamed as another bit down on their right arm and yanked them back.
BLAM!
The Beowolf yelped and released Koa's arm as the energy blast pierced its body.
Koa gripped their arm as more plasma blasts tore through the air and melted the flesh of the surrounding Grimm, dissolving the pack.
"You okay, Koa?" Rewind asked as he and Eject came to a stop next to the Faunus.
"I think my shoulder was dislocated," Koa replied as they gripped their own arm and tried to pop the bone back into place, "How are things going with the others?"
"Blaster was hurt pretty bad," Eject answered as she inspected Koa's limp arm, "That Grimm appears to have left a red liquid on your sleeve."
"That would be blood," Koa stated, "And it didn't come from the Grimm, it's leaking out of my body."
"Oh…" Eject noted, "Erm, is there anything I can do to-"
"LOOK OUT!" Rewind interrupted as the sound of a roaring engine got louder.
Koa glanced over their left shoulder to find a somewhat triangular, blue airship moving far faster than any aircraft they had ever seen before dive towards their location.
Taken cues from the two Autobots, Koa dashed after their new friends as the airship unfolded into a bipedal robot, the cockpit forming a sort of cone-shaped hat atop the head.
The Decepticon knocked a couple of trees down and kicked up dirt as his feet dug into the ground, sending the trio tumbling to the ground.
"Well looky here," the Decepticon remarked, "Looks like the Micro Masters got themselves a pet."
"RUN!" Eject shouted as she and Rewind raised their guns and fired at the Decepticons.
Koa wordlessly forced themself up with their good arm and dashed back towards the other Autobots, Rewind and Eject following close behind, praying that Runabout had been dealt with.
Prowl, Blaster, and Springer laid on the ground around Runabout, smoke rising from the beaten bodies.
"Well, that was fun!" Runabout declared as he brandished his gun, "Now, who wants to die first?"
The Battlecharger chuckled as he glanced between Prowl and Springer, before glancing down at Blaster's prone form.
"You'll do…" Runabout declared as he pointed his gun at Blaster's head.
BLAM!
Runabout recoiled, his shot flying off into the woods as Arcee leapt from the direction the gunshot had been fired from and unfolded into robot mode, followed shortly behind by an already transformed Blurr holding a smoking gun and an audacious grin.
"Looks like we're at the finish line!" Blurr shouted as she fired a second shot, Arcee aiming her own guns at the Battlecharger and firing as she ran to his right.
Hubcap burst from cover and fired a shot at Runabout's back, J-422 fired several shots to his right, whilst Ultra Magnus knocked a few trees out of the way and fired a blast directly into the Decepticon's face.
Only when Runabout was almost completely concealed by smoke from their gunfire did the Autobots cease their assault.
The Decepticon in question dropped to his knees as his blood-red Aura finally flickered out, his body covered in dents and burns.
"But…" he sputtered out, "I'm supposed to be invincible."
"Funny thing about Aura," Springer noted as he stabbed his sword into the ground and shakily pulled himself to his feet, "According to our expert, it's limited, and you're out." He took out his own gun and pointed it at the Decepticon's head. "Goodbye."
The sound of gunfire distracted him before he could pull the trigger, and Koa ran right into view, followed shortly behind by Eject and Rewind.
Then a cone-headed Seeker knocked the trees down to keep chasing them, pointing his arm-mounted guns at the Faunus and Micro Masters.
Prowl and Blaster immediately raised their guns and fired at the Decepticon, causing the beams from his weapons to veer off into the treeline.
"Give it up, Ramjet," Ultra Magnus ordered as he pointed his own gun between the Seeker's eyes, "We've got you outnumbered and outmatched!"
"Ha! Nice try!" Ramjet laughed, "But with the power of Aura, I'm completely invincible!"
"Tell that to Runabout!" Springer stated, "Speaking of…"
He pointed his gun at the Battlecharger's head, only for the roar of engines to catch his attention.
Three tetrajets approached from above, one gray, one blue, and one purple, all three unfolding into robot mode and landing around the Autobots.
"Well, well, well," the gray one remarked as he landed opposite of Ramjet, the blue one landing to his right and the purple one to his left, "I didn't think those imbeciles could smoke you out, traitor."
"Megatron's the traitor, Starscream," Ultra Magnus stated as he turned his weapons on the Air Commander, "He murdered Sentinel Prime and tried to drain the Sparks of our entire civilian population! And you helped him!"
"Like you're one to talk about civilian casualties after what you did to those poor workers in Mantle!" the blue one shouted as he pointed his Null Rays at the Autobot commander, "They'd done nothing to hurt you, and you slaughtered all of them!"
"What the Pit are you talking about?" Ultra Magnus shouted.
"Enough talk," Starscream interrupted, "Skywarp!"
The purple Seeker nodded and vanished in a flash of light, reappearing behind Arcee to shoot her in the back with a null ray.
She then warped above Hubcap and landed on his shoulders, blasting Prowl and J-422 as Blurr rushed out of the way and dashed towards Starscream.
Thundercracker and Ramjet took aim at Springer and Blaster, striking them with their own Null Rays as Skywarp teleported in front of Blurr and punched the speedy Autobot to the ground.
"Kill her," Starscream ordered.
Skywarp grinned and aimed her nullray at the back of Blurr's head.
BANG!
Skywarp recoiled as the shot impacted her face her Aura the only thing preventing the blast from tearing her head apart. She stumbled, allowing Blurr to fold into robot mode and drive for cover as all eyes turned to the smoking gun in Ultra Magnus' hand.
The Autobot commander lunged forwards and grabbed onto Skywarp's face to shove her to the ground as six null rays impacted his body from three different directions.
"Where's your partner?" Starscream snarled.
"We split up while chasing Prowl and the Wrecker!" Runabout answered.
"Then go find cover and call him!" Starscream snapped as the other Autobots recollected their senses and pointed their weapons at the Battlecharger.
"Oh yeah," Runabout remarked, before folding into vehicle mode (the gunfire piercing the air his head and chest had been inhabiting seconds ago) and driving away.
"Autobots! Retreat!" Ultra Magnus ordered as he fired on Starscream.
"But sir!" Blurr protested.
"We can barely handle these five!" Ultra Magnus stated as he slammed Skywarp's face into the ground, "We can't afford to die here!"
"And we can't afford to let you live!" Starscream declared as he blasted Ultra Magnus' shoulder.
"Get out, now!" Ultra Magnus shouted as he fired a salvo of missiles from the launchers mounted on his shoulders, "That's an order!"
The missiles all detonated across Starscream's body, covering him in smoke as a red light flashed across his body.
Ultra Magnus turned his gun on Ramjet and pulled the trigger as Prowl scooped up Koa and Blaster recalled his mini cassette partners.
Thundercracker attempted to intervene-
BANG!
-only for a blast from Ultra Magnus' gun to strike the side of his head as Blurr, J-422, and Arcee reluctantly returned to vehicle mode and disappeared into the tree line.
Starscream burst from the smoke with a roar and delivered a punch to the back of Ultra Magnus' head, then fired his null ray a second time.
Ultra Magnus' blacked out for a fraction of a second, just long enough for Skywarp to teleport out of his grip and in front of his face, her null ray aimed between his optics.
In a flash of light, the Autobot was laying on the ground, all four seekers aiming their null rays at him and firing.
Each blast paused the electricity in his circuits, temporarily blocking the flow of energon to his brain module and spark chamber.
Even with his armor weakening their blasts, Ultra Magnus could still feel his non-essential systems shutting down as his body tried to conserve energon, his body going more and more numb with every blast. The energon in his fuel stream wasn't getting transported properly with how much the null-rays disrupted the electric current.
I'm going to starve to death on a full engine, Ultra Magnus realized as his brain module sapped the energon from his optics in a desperate attempt to remain functional.
Numb, blind, and going deaf, the barrage of the null rays were rapidly becoming the only stimulus Ultra Magnus had to ensure he was still alive.
He could no longer form a coherent thought as the numbness drowned out everything.
BOOM!
Starscream cried out again as the barrage halted, and Ultra Magnus' systems registered that there was plenty of energon for all his functions.
He wiggled his fingers as the numbness receded, blinked the blindness away from his optics, and pushed himself up into a sitting position.
BANG!
A yellow crystal zipped past Ultra Magnus' head and struck Skywarp in the neck, exploding into an electrical blast on impact.
"What the…"
"Magnus! Get down!" Hot Rod shouted as he burst from the treeline, drawing back the bowstring on a bow built out of scrap metal, a metal rod with a red crystal at the end in place of the arrow.
Ultra Magnus dropped back to the ground as Hot Rod let his improvised projectile fly and nail Starscream in the chest, crushing the crystal against his Aura.
BOOM!
"You cons got nothin' on Autobot ingenuity!" Kup boasted as he loaded another yellow crystal into his gun and fired on Ramjet.
"ENOUGH!" Starscream roared as he picked the warped rods from Hot Rod's improvised arrows off the ground, "I did not come all this way, just to be made a fool by some wretched-" a black and white shape burst from the treeline and lunged for Starscream's neck, followed swiftly by the rest of the pack. "GET THEM OFF ME!"
Thundercracker immediately sprang to Starscream's defense as Skywarp and Ramjet aimed their null rays at the remaining Autobots, only for Hot Rod's arrows and Kup's improvised bullets to obscure their vision with residual smoke and stun them with electric shocks long enough to let Ultra Magnus spring to his feet and sprint past his allies.
"And you said my archery training was a waste of time!" Hot Rod laughed as more Grimm lunged at Skywarp and Ramjet.
"Shut it!" Ultra Magnus ordered.
The Autobots disappeared into the tree line as more and more Grimm piled onto the Seekers.
As the last Grimm faded, a white car drove up to the quartet of battered Seekers.
"Did we get them?" Runamuck asked as he unfolded into robot mode.
"Lord Megatron, I swear! It wasn't my faul-"
CLANG!
The force of the punch sent Starscream flying into the wall of Megatron's office.
"I don't want to hear any more excuses," Megatron growled as he approached Starscream and wrapped his finger's around the seeker's neck, "You were in charge of the operation." He lifted Starscream off the ground. "All of our enemies were in one place." He slammed the air commander into the wall. "NONE of our enemies had an unlocked Aura!" He yanked Starscream's face closer to his own. "And yet you couldn't manage to kill a SINGLE one of them, even when you had Ultra Magnus dead to rights!"
"Please sir! I thought Rundabout and Runamuck would-"
"WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT EXCUSES!?"
CLANG!
The Emperor of Destruction slammed Starscream's head into the wall.
"P-please Lord Megatron… Have mercy!" Starscream begged, "I seek only to help you bring Cybertron to a new golden age! One that will eclipse even the age of peace the Thirteen brought about!"
Megatron leveled a glare at the seeker as Starscream struggled to maintain his ventilation.
"Don't disappoint me again, Starscream," Megatron warned as he released his grip and let the seeker drop to the floor, "Your incompetence cost us the Key to Vector Sigma. Be careful not to forget the mercy I showed you that cycle."
"Don't worry, my lord," Starscream replied as he grabbed the threshold of the door to Megatron's office and pulled himself off the floor, "I never will…"
The Emperor of Destruction turned away from the dented and battered Starscream and walked over to his desk to press a button.
"Soundwave," he ordered, "Have someone take Starscream to see Flatline for repairs. I have personal matters to attend to."
"What were you thinking?" Thundercracker scolded as he stood before the Battlechargers.
"I dunno," Runamuck replied, "What are you mad about?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" Thundercracker snapped, "Mistral is Atlas' ally, and Atlas is our ally! So your reckless behavior in Mistral got several of our allies killed!"
"Well, what were we supposed t'do? Just let the Autobot hide among the cop cars?" Runabout asked.
"Yeah, it's not like anyone important died!" Runamuck added.
Thundercracker growled.
"We're supposed to be better than the Autobots!" he snapped back, "The futures of both Remnant and Cybertron are in our hands, and there's a big difference between making a necessary sacrifice to save more lives in the long term, and recklessly murdering the people we're supposed to protect because you can't keep your blood lust in check for five-"
Click!
Thundercracker paused as he felt the back of his head heat up significantly.
Gradually, he turned over his shoulder, and saw down the barrel of Megatron's fusion cannon, the inside glowing as the Emperor of Destruction held a charge.
"Now, don't stop on my account," Megatron stated, "I still need to decide if I should spare you or not-"
"L-lord Megatron, I-I followed my orders to the letter!" Thundercracker stammered as he raised his hands, "I'm only concerned about how this might reflect on the Decepticons as a whole."
"As am I," Megatron replied, "Which is why Ironwood will never learn of what Runabout and Runamuck did today. Are we clear?"
The heat and brightness emanating from within the barrel of his fusion cannon intensified.
"Crystal!" Thundercracker squeaked.
Megatron smiled, and shut off his fusion cannon, letting the charge dissipate as he lowered his arm.
"I'm glad we're on the same page," he replied as he placed a hand on Thundercracker's shoulder, "Now, go somewhere else, and let me handle this."
Thundercracker nodded and sprinted out of the room.
As soon as he was out of sight, the smile on Megatron's face warped into a scowl.
"I don't care that you killed those people," he stated bluntly, "However, if a single Atlesian operative had witness that massacre, you two would have placed me in a very awkward position for my next meeting with the general.
"I've built up quite a rapport with the man, and he's been so useful to our cause. More useful than you two, in fact."
Megatron grabbed the Battlechargers' heads, and slammed the two together.
"If I have to make an example of you to keep his loyalty, I would do so in a Spark pulse! So do not make me choose between you and him, got it?"
"Y-yes sir!" the Battlecharger's stammered out as the Emperor of Destruction tightened his grip on their heads.
The scowl did not fade from Megatron's face.
"If either of you jeopardize our alliance with Atlas, I will have BOTH of you smelted for ammunition!" he threw the Battlechargers away from each other and into opposite walls, "This is your first and final warning!"
The Emperor of Destruction whirled around and stormed out of the room.
I hope James is having a better day than this!
James Ironwood squirmed in his seat in the conference room as the other four councilors sat on the other side of the desk, the seat he'd normally claim on the far right conspicuously empty.
"Let's get down to business," Councilor Gran of the Kingdom of Atlas, seated in the middle, opened, "Do you know why we have multiple councilors?"
"It's so that each councilor keeps the others in check," General Ironwood answered, "No one member can achieve absolute power."
"Correct," Councilor Sno of the City of Atlas, seated on Gran's left, answered, "However, this system is reliant on a certain level of transparency. As a soldier, I'm certain you must remember the reports you had to make to your superior officers. How you needed their approval before carrying out certain tasks."
"Where are you going with this?"
"What are we supposed to think, when we learn you had been carrying out a top-secret science far to develop a new weapon that will 'render Huntsmen obsolete'?" Professor George Dunder questioned from his seat on the far left, "After all, when one of your subordinates goes rogue, it is usually a Huntsmen who is tasked with subduing them!"
General Ironwood glared at the headmaster.
"That project was classified," he stated, "I was merely following proper protocol in ensuring that only authorized personnel would be in the know."
"Believe it or not, James, we are authorized personnel!" Councilor Gran shouted, "Just as you once needed your commander's authorization to carry out certain operations, you now need the majority vote of the council to carry out massive projects like this!"
James scoffed.
"I don't see why I should involve civilians in military projects."
"Because it is the law, and you are in clear violation of it," Gran replied.
"I argued that you ought to be granted some leniency," Councilor Verm of Mantle, seated to Gran's right, remarked, "It is your first offence, after all. And there's the fact of the matter that your predecessor was more concerned with his own science fair projects than he was in preparing you for the political arena." He leaned forward in his seat. "Of course, your attitude now has me wondering if we should bump the charges up to treason and strap you into a far more uncomfortable chair for a far less pleasant experience."
A spike of fear rushed down James' spine as he instinctively reached for Due Process, grasping at nothing as he recalled that he hadn't been allowed to bring his weapons into the room.
"If you're done digging yourself deeper," Professor Dunder started, "We've elected to give you a chance to correct your mistake and explain your little project and its result to us. If you refuse…" Dunder's gaze hardened. "You can say goodbye to your seat on the Council, and we'll conduct our own investigation to see if we need to charge you with treason. After all…" The headmaster leaned forwards in his seat. "It is awfully interesting how you were the first one on the scene after Team ROZE was killed, and the surveillance footage was erased by the time anyone else could investigate the crime scene…"
James growled.
"I must emphasize that what I'm about to say will not leave this room," he stated.
"In spite of what you might think, we do understand the importance of operational security!" Councilor Sno replied, "So stop trying to make demands you are in no position to make and follow the damned protocols!"
"I wished to surpass my predecessor as protector of Atlas," General Ironwood opened, "To that end, I commissioned the brightest minds under my employ to try and come up with some way to revolutionize the defense of our Kingdom. Dr. Pietro Polendina's proposal was to create a defender with a soul.
"The idea of a defender with the logic of a machine and the Aura of a human appealed to me, so I decided to pursue Dr. Polendina's proposal. Two specimens were created from his research: a device that converts from gun to robot and back again. It is the first nonbiological entity to be capable of generating Aura."
"And how did you create this Aura?" Councilor Gran asked.
"Remember that possible Dust alternative I had my best researchers studying?" General Ironwood questioned, "We found a way to create a 'soul' of sorts out of Energon, although mass-production is not yet feasible with the current Energon cost."
"And the other specimen?" Professor Dunder questioned.
"Before the prototype was first brought online, Dr. Polendina infused twenty six machines with his cells," General Ironwood answered, "Specimen Gamma was the only one to survive gestation."
"I see…" Councilor Gran replied, "Bring both of these 'defenders with souls' here."
"Ex… excuse me?"
"I believe I speak for all of us when I say we need to see these 'specimens' with our own eyes before we pass judgement," Councilor Gran replied, "That way, we can determine the severity of your crimes."
James sighed.
"I'll have them brought here."
"Yeesh, these are yer bosses?" Browning remarked as he and his sibling were placed on the table at the center of the room, "Are y'all gonna be as rude to me as Mr. Ironwood wa-" The technorganic hybrid picked the smaller prototype up and toothlessly bit down on the right shoulder. "OH GAWD ITS EATIN' ME!"
"… What?" Councilor Verm finally forced out as Pietro struggled to pry his eldest child out of his youngest's mouth.
"These are just the prototypes," Ironwood stated as Pietro finally succeeded, and the younger of the two prototypes immediately started wailing.
"That's a baby," Sno stated as Pietro placed Browning down on the table and rocked the wailing baby in his arms and hummed a lullaby, "How badly do you have to assemble a weapon to wind up with a baby instead?"
"It is advanced military technology infused with human cells," Ironwood stated, "As soon as we figure out how to skip to a later development stage, the next model will be far more practical."
"And… How exactly do you intend to figure that out?" Gran asked.
"By running tests on the prototype."
"As in, the baby?" Gran asked.
"It is military technology infused with human cells, and thus property of the Atlesian Military by law," James stated.
"General Ironwood, far be it from me to stop you from shooting yourself in the foot," Professor Dunder cut in, "But given your current disability status, are you absolutely certain you want 'people can become property if they have enough technology in their bodies' to have legal precedent?"
"I…" General Ironwood glanced down at his gloved right hand, "… Shit… You have a point."
"Your lack of foresight aside," Councilor Gran replied, "While I will need to deliberate with the others, I do not currently believe that removing you from the Council will be strictly necessary. However…" He hardened a glare at Ironwood. "If we do allow you to keep your seat, we will be keeping a closer eye on you to make sure this was a one-time thing. Are we clear?"
"Crystal!" Ironwood answered.
"In that case, Dr. Polendina, you are dismissed," Councilor Gran stated, "Please take your child and the military's prototype with you on the way out. General! Wait here while we decide what to do with you!"
The Polendinas left through the door to the hall while the Councilors entered the back room, leaving James alone with his thoughts.
There's only one person who could've leaked that information to the Council, he realized, I'm going to have to have a word with him.
"WATTS!" General James Ironwood barked as he stormed into Atlas Academy's lobby, "Where the hell are you?!"
The various students in the lobby paused as the General of the Atlesian military stormed through their lobby, marching right up to their Weapon Manufacturing and Upkeep Instructor.
"Well good morning to you as well, James," Dr. Watts deadpanned as General Ironwood stomped up to him, "How may I help-"
"Cut the crap Watts!" James snapped as he grabbed the collar of Watts' jacket, "I know you're the one who leaked the classified information!"
"Oh please," Watts replied with a roll of his eyes, "What evidence do you have that I leaked anything?"
"The Atlas Council was very interested in a classified project they had no way of knowing about," James hissed, "You were the only one involved in the project who works directly under another member of the Council. Add in the fact that I didn't pursue your proposal, and you're the only one with the means and motive to do so!" He lifted Watts off the ground. "Need I remind you what the penalty for treason is?"
"What is going on here?!" a new voice cut in. The speaker wore an earthy-red coat over a rusty-brown shirt and pants, brown eyes framed by bronze glasses, and red hair tied up in a bun.
Ironwood growled as Watts grinned.
"Professor Ustic, Watts here has committed treason," General Ironwood stated without turning to face the new speaker.
"Funny, I was under the impression that you were the one who broke protocol," Dr. Watts stated.
"Do not test me!" Ironwood snapped.
"He's telling the truth," Professor Ustic replied as she crossed her arms, "He only shared the information with authorized personell, and you would not have been in trouble for plotting behind the Council's back if you had followed the chain of command. And besides…" She adjusted her glasses, obscuring her eyes behind the glare of the reflected light. "Do you really think that publicly threatening a member of our staff less than an hour after the Atlas Council raked you over the coals is the best way to prove to the Atlas Council that you aren't a violent psychopath plotting against the government?"
Watts chuckled as Ironwood finally noticed that the gathered students had started murmuring and whispering amongst themselves.
The General growled and let Watts drop to the ground.
"I'm still docking your pay," he spat as he stormed out.
"The nerve of that brute!" Watts grumbled as he and Professor Ustic hurried down the hall, "After all I've done for the military."
"Honestly Arthur, I don't see why you still work for that man," Professor Ustic replied, "It's quite clear he's set in his ways."
"I do need to keep Mantle's cybersecurity up to date," Watts replied, "Even after all I've done for Atlas, I still need to work two jobs just to make enough money to move out of that hellhole!" He snarled. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be trapped down there, Tamara, while that fat idiot uses his wealth to play doctor in the slums?"
Professor Ustic hummed.
"I have a colleague," she remarked, "And I have a feeling she'd appreciate your work far more than Ironwood ever will."
a/n: And done! All that stuff with the Autobots and Ironwood's hearing were originally going to be part of the previous chapter, while Ironwood's confrontation with Watts would've been the start of this one. Instead, I split the previous chapter in two and kept the Watts stuff at the end.
And now for replies to reviews:
Z-King: Toaster was too hilarious for me to not include him. I was gonna give him a cameo in this chapter's fight scene, but everything wound up being a bit too chaotic. His absence will be explained later.
Rookie80: To be fair, there's a big jump to make from claiming "Our enemy is using engineered heroics to turn the world against you" and saying "I would personally utilize this tactic". Megatron did the former, but not the latter.