Rejoice! An update. Should come quicker, now that I have more time.

It was around 10:30 PM and he was still awake. He'd been lying in bed thinking about the robots that had taken over his garage and apparently his house. His world and his home had been turned upside down. He had many, many questions, but the big one wasn't that nice, nor did she like to talk to him it seemed.

They obviously meant a lot to Mikaela, as she stood for them so vehemently. For her, he decided he'd try to get along with them. He didn't want any rifts and he figured he could get used to this. At least he hoped he could.

At some point he'd finally drifted off to sleep.

She was curious and still awake. She glanced to her sister and brothers and then to Barricade. All of them seemed to be in recharge. Slowly she made her way to the house and went in. She looked around at everything, wondering how it all worked and such, but didn't touch – not yet. She didn't want to wake anyone. Blacklight had told her about the box that he touched one time, and it played incredibly loud music.

She continued going through the house until she spotted someone in a bed. She'd seen Mikaela and Miles sleep, Even Jess, but she wanted to see if this human slept the same. He was new and therefore, he was interesting.

Mark, who'd been sound asleep, suddenly woke when he felt movement in his bed. His eyes opened slowly to find his covers shift, and something moving up toward him. He stilled, watching as worry crept up in him. At first his barely awake brain thought it was some kind of gremlin, however, this was bigger than a gremlin. It didn't dawn on him that it could have been a Sparkling in his state of mind.

He saw it move again and this time more quickly. He also moved quickly to the side, nearly falling off of his bed to get away from the movement. Suddenly, a little head popped out from under the covers, its little red optics were well-lit in the darkness. Sonar chirped at the man. Mark, let out a surprised sigh of relief and then a growl in annoyance. Not a gremlin. Or at least, not a gremlin you'd see on TV. An alien gremlin.

Immediately, he knew it was one of those Sparklings. Annoyed they would come into his room at night, he whispered harshly, "You little shit! What are you doing in my bed? Get out!"

Sonar watched the man a moment longer in amusement and then with a big smile, she chirped at him again before climbing down and turning for the door.

A few moments later, Blacklight, who'd heard the commotion, stepped slightly into the door to see Mark sitting in the middle of his bed with a deep-set frown. "You'll have to forgive them, they don't see other humans much," he told the man.

"Are you kidding me? In the middle of the night? Just get out of here… I'm too tired to deal with this now."

Blacklight moved and shut the door behind him. Mark flopped back onto his pillows, hoping no other baby aliens would think it was fun to sneak into his bed. He wondered if this was normal. His musings were cut short he heard a clatter, and then a rather chirping and buzzing and then a loud squeal waking the rest of the house – if not the entire neighborhood.

Mark heard Mikaela yell, "Blacklight, what was that!"

Barricade had also been woken to the cry, she growled loudly when she realized what had happened, "You little monsters get best get your afts down here now!"

The rest of the night was silent and without incident.

Shockwave knew Starscream was watching him. He was on his best behavior when he knew Starscream was paying special attention to him. If he wasn't watching him, he was off flying or in his office repairing his computer. He didn't act like a leader at all in Shockwave's optic and that needed to change. The young Seeker was way too flippant and seemed to have no control over the Decepticons. The ex-commander would play along with them if it meant he'd get what he'd want. He was scheming to fix the Decepticons and right the wrongs Starscream had done.

What Starscream didn't know was what Shockwave was doing when he wasn't being watched. He knew the Seeker couldn't watch him all the time. Sometimes they say one can be watched too carefully. He knew how to work around this.

Shockwave also knew Soundwave was paying attention to him. It was going to be hard to around the telepath. This annoyed him and slowed him down because when dealing with Soundwave, he knew he had to be a lot more careful.

He roused Blast Off to get Starscream's attention so he could do what he needed, and what he needed was information that Starscream was avoiding giving up. He'd prod those he figured that didn't like him as much. Any information would be worth it.

"Soundwave," Shockwave said, nearing the door. "I want to talk to you."

Soundwave abruptly looked his way, "Shockwave: Entrance denied."

"I should be able to come and go as I please," he said as he stepped into the room. "Should I report to Starscream that you are hiding information in here?" he asked, quickly looking around, getting as much information about Soundwave's quarters as he could.

Soundwave quickly stood and walked toward him, she roughly shoved him, forcing him to hit the wall behind him and closed the door, locking it. "Out!" she said in a raised voice. All who'd heard her looked in the direction of her room.

Now that they had privacy, Soundwave's attention went back to Rumble, who was still feeling the effects of what happened. Different sharring tools had been laid out but remained untouched. The small mech was still unsure as to what was happening to him. He felt different and he sure looked different. "What happened to me?"

"I believe you are a multi-changer." The telepath assumed. For a moment, she wondered if Frenzy would have been one as well.

He was still very weak and lethargic from his changes and couldn't change back just yet. "Multi-changer? Like Sixshot?" he asked.

Soundwave gave a curt nod. Her attention was on him a lot more than Shockwave lately, and she was very irritated that he had tried to walk into her quarters more than once without permission. She'd start locking the door every time now. She had kept Rumble in her hold when she was wandering around the base to hide him and keep him comforted, which seemed more often than usual. If he was out, he was in her quarters hidden from prying optics, recharging most of the time.

Soundwave stayed at her desk, admiring the new changes in the twin. He looked very interesting to say the least. If she could sum it up to earth animals, she would say he would be a cross between a monitor lizard and a lion or large cat. His spinal structure had barbs that weren't there before. From his lower back and spreading out across his body the further up, it was all lizard looking, while his back end looked more like Ravage.

The next day in Tranquility was full of more in-depth talks about how Mikaela met them all. They were actual aliens! He'd learned the truth about Mission City. The Autobots, the story of the Autobot and Decepticon war for the Allspark, Megatron's defeat, and how one young man had done it. She went on to explain things afterwards up to where she met Barricade and Blacklight and the twisted life she was gladly a part of.

Curious about the situation he'd been brought into, he wanted to learn Miles' part in it as well. He'd met him a time or two, but never would have thought he was in anything like he was. The young man surprised him when he had also gone on to tell how he'd met Barricade. He explained that the Decepticons seemed to get a kick out of scaring the hell out of people. He then went on to explain his meeting with Barricade's mate, Starscream, the leader of the Decepticons.

Mark was slowly coming to terms with the fact he had aliens living in his garage, four of which were extremely bouncy, creepy babies that crawled into bed with you at night. Mark wanted to learn what he could about them all. He'd come to like Blacklight the most as he seemed to be the more sociable of the bunch and less inclined to get into trouble.

The other three however… Were, as one would say, 'wound for sound'… all the time…

Mikaela had given Blacklight permission to be in the house so long as he didn't destroy anything. Unfortunately, he spent that time chasing the triplets around because they would sneak in and get into stuff. Several times, there'd be the sound of running and then strange buzzes before there was either a crash or a Sparkling running for dear life out the door.

Sometimes Mark would attempt to converse with the femme, but she would still refuse to speak to him. When he asked why, Mikaela told him that she was very distrustful of humans. He had asked what caused it, but she didn't tell him. She figured Barricade would if she wanted him to know.

Barricade on the other hand, was only wondering when Mark would leave. He was never around this long, and it was irritating her. For Mikaela's sake, she didn't stomp the man. He was nice and all, but he also wouldn't shut up when all she wanted was to be left alone.

He had asked why Barricade was refusing to talk to him. Mikaela was honest about Barricade. She didn't like to be bothered much, especially by people she didn't know. She explained about the Decepticons' temperament. She also told him that the femme was easily annoyed, and his best bet would be not to tick her off.

He'd taken caution and figured that if Mikaela said was true, he'd wait for Barricade to speak to him. Blacklight still conversed with him, but not much.

Finally, he'd decided he was going to work on the Chevelle, since he was only back for a few more days, even if he had to do it on the outside of the garage. He'd grabbed a few rags and headed for the door.

Barricade was already missing her quarters at the base. She sat a little lower on her shocks while the triplets recharged, realizing she was also missing her mate's company. She'd gotten so use to his constant annoying presence that without it now, it was beginning to irritate her. Usually, he was bothering her about something.

Even though she was still enjoying the time alone, she wondered how long it would take the Sparklings to want to fly. Starscream was so quick to want to get her out of the base that he hadn't taken them for a flight. And depending on how long they would be here, the garage would not sustain three sharring Sparklings. It barely sustained Blacklight.

She wasn't sure what he intended to accomplish by sending her here in the first place. Shockwave was bound to figure it out sooner or later. Maybe she was just pessimistic about the whole idea of sending her away.

Unfortunately, Mark, the new guy, was the one to incur her wrath. He couldn't even go near the garage without her growling at him or some strange object flying at him. He nearly missed a wrench that she had thrown through the door. He wondered how she did it.

At the base, it started already. There was a loud yell and then a clash. Starscream quickly found himself between Cyclonus and Blast Off, aiming weapons at them both. The two of them were in an argument about something, and it had quickly turned very violent. "Care to tell me what's going on?"

"Good…" Shockwave purred, watching Starscream's reaction and wanting to see his display of weapons. "Enough, Blast Off."

In the short time being on Earth, Shockwave learned a lot and shared the information with Onslaught. Especially the truth behind why Swindle was killed. Needless to say, Blast Off was going to start trouble and Cyclonus caught on, deterring him.

Blast Off seemed to yield to Cyclonus.

"It's done," Cyclonus snarled at the other mech before walking off.

Starscream pointed at Blast Off in a silent warning before retracting his weapons and leaving.

He studied everyone who was already on earth and compared them to the ones who'd come in with him. After careful consideration, he believed that maybe Starscream's programming was messed up in some way and he needed to fix it. Shockwave was uncertain about getting any information from Starscream's 'Cons. For some reason, they stuck up for him as strongly as they had Megatron, but it was still different somehow. Almost all of them refused to answer his questions that they considered 'personal', something he was beginning to doubt he could get. However, the last one that he'd spoken to held promise.

Shockwave waited for a time he could speak to him alone. He was persuasive enough to get what he wanted and knew some of them weren't all that bright or just didn't know how devious Decepticons are supposed to be. No one needed to hear what would be said between the two. He made sure none of Soundwave's minions or Starscream's, for that matter, were close by. He pulled the mech to an empty room and closed the doors behind him. "You're part of Acid's trine, one of the Rainmakers, yes?"

"Yes, I am. What do you want?"

Shockwave grinned. He knew that not all the Rainmakers liked Starscream even on Cybertron. He wondered if this one was the answer he was looking for.

Shockwave knew this rookie Seeker would give him information. He'd watched his interactions, his attitude, and he learned this Seeker didn't particularly like Starscream for some reason. "I've been watching you. An air about you tells me you'd do well in a higher rank. Maybe I can do something about that seeing as Starscream basically ignores you… You all seem to be more like a pawn. Unable to do anything except behave. What kind of life has he made for the Decepticons? You were once so proud and feared. Now… He's destroying what we lived for."

"I don't fully agree with him, either. I'm only here because of Acid. I only listen to Starscream because Acid demands it of me. What do you want?"

"I want to make some changes,"

The mech tilted his head slightly in interest, "How can you? Starscream made it clear about your own rank. Starscream obviously really hates you. What do you plan to do? Overthrow him? Good luck,"

"Let's just say I have friends in higher places than even he could dream to be. And as such, what I say will be, I can promise that."

"There is no one higher," the mech replied with doubt. "Besides, if Starscream finds out, he'll kill you."

He can't kill me,"

"Probably not."

"I have kept many secrets while I have been in the Decepticon ranks just as some others have kept theirs." Shockwave looked over to where Soundwave walked outside then went back in after grabbing something. "Even now Starscream doesn't know the truth. As smart as he is, he still wouldn't ever have figured it out. Of course, there is higher. Much, much higher. If he knew about it, I'm sure he'd take it for himself."

"His aspirations I don't think are taking over the universe," the Seeker shrugged, "I mean, maybe at one time, but he has changed."

"I don't trust him. No one should. You should remember how he was while he was under Megatron."

"I don't think you have the means to do anything about his leadership." The Seeker looked around to see if there was anyone else close by.

Shockwave gave the Seeker a grin. "I never come unprepared. If I can complete my mission, there is power out there beyond even your wildest dreams that could be yours in an instant. I only ask one thing of you…"

How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

Shockwave smirked darkly and reached into his subspace and pulled out a small, purple glowing object. "This is dark energon."

The Seeker knew the stuff. It was supposedly a myth, but his readings of the object showed it had some sort of power. The mech was interested. A way to have power like that? Why not? But what way? What did this mech have to offer that Megatron wouldn't even have known about? "What would that be?"

There was a dark flicker to Shockwave's smaller optics. "Be loyal only to me,"

Crush scoffed. "Loyal only to you? How do you propose I do that? Acid would know everything through our bond."

At that, Shockwave grinned. He reached into his subspace again and offered the mech an injectorvial, a tool used to inject substances into the Energon lines of a Cybertronian. "Use this. It will shield you from your leader."

The mech took the vial and looked at it, "What does it do? You think he won't know the bond is blocked?"

"He won't know." Shockwave offered it to the mech, "Try it."

After a few seconds of touching the bond, he waited for a reply. Nothing. The bond was completely untouched in a way that was unidentifiable. "It… it works. How do you plan to overthrow Starscream?"

"Haven't you noticed the Decepticons I brought with me are different than the others?"

"Yeah, but I thought it would take them some time to switch. Why?"

"Because they're loyal only to me. As you have to listen to Acid, they have to listen to me."

"I don't think you'd have enough sway…"

"Why don't you leave that up to me, hmm? Do we have a deal?"

Agreeing with Shockwave, the mech nodded, "Very well, you got yourself a deal. On the promise that you'll protect me. If they find out I'm helping you, I'm dead."

"You will have our protection."

"Okay, what is it you ask of me?"

"First, I want to know the shady things going on since Starscream took over."

"I don't really consider it shady. He's made a truce with the Autobots. He's stopped killing. He even seems to have made peace with the local wildlife on this planet. I'm not sure of his motives. His programs are still hard to interpret sometimes. He's taken to protecting the femmes and allowing them to choose their own mates. Barricade chose him, just as Thundercracker-"

Shockwave started, hearing the name connected with femmes. "Thundercracker? Are you sure?"

"Yes. She's chosen Skywarp as her mate. She is sparked by him, even."

Shockwave wasn't entirely sure how to feel about this information. Thundercracker was a femme? And Sparked by Skywarp, thought to be the last of his kind. "So, tell me more about Barricade…"

"Barricade?" Crush was hesitant. That was a hard one. She was special, even to the rest of Starscream's troops. "You're asking a lot. I want this to be worth my time. How do I know this isn't some trick?"

Shockwave reached for his subspace and pulled out the glimmering item he had.

He didn't think Shockwave had anything better to offer. His optics went wide. The mech eyed it hungrily. "Is that what I think it is?" When Shockwave nodded, Crush's optics lit up. Shockwave knew he'd had him. "The Matrix," he said in awe. "I can have it?"

"Sure," Shockwave shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn't know what he was giving away. "I stole it from the Autobot territories. If you tell me what I want to know, it's yours. I have no need for it." Shockwave purred in a lie. Of course, he would never give it up, but if this mech was stupid enough to think he would, he'd let him believe it.

The mech was a well of information. He'd told him everything he knew. The Sparklings and how special the Allspark Sparkling was.

"What about this Allspark Sparkling? How did that come about?" Shockwave asked, trying to downplay his excitement.

"As far as I know, she was conceived in an instant from a shard of the Allspark that Optimus had." He hadn't known about the Allspark energy in Starscream, Barricade or Jazz. Shockwave's grin grew wide at the mention of her. That was his answer. When Crush had told him everything, Shockwave turned and went to leave… and he'd kept the matrix.

Shockwave stood, watching across the hills. He considered what the mech had told him with a sinister grin as he eyed the item in his hand. He began to chuckle when he thought of how much of a fool he'd been to actually fall for it.

"What about the Matrix?" Crush asked, seeing the mech ready to leave.

"What about it? Shockwave tossed it in the air playfully and caught it, putting it away. "Thanks to you, it seems Starscream will get what's coming to him." Shockwave smiled darkly at him and abruptly left.

No one knew about their talk and the mech involved knew better than to say anything to anyone else. He stared off in the direction Shockwave had disappeared. Deep down, when Shockwave left with the Matrix, dread slipped into his Spark. What had he done? He should have known better. The mech frowned and looked around once more.

That night, Shockwave had had the chance to talk to his minions again that had not made their presence known to Starscream. He'd also managed to get the other 'Cons who'd come in with him aside and brief them.

The next day, Mark went outside to find the bay door open on one side where it was completely cleared out. Barricade was in her Mustang form sitting on the other side, leaving the other bay free. He peeked in, looked at Barricade and then back to his Chevelle. For a moment, he stood there. Barricade's voice startled him, "If you're going to work on it in here, I suggest you move it so the door can be shut."

The man's brows shot up and he nodded. Big-bad-evil-scary Barricade didn't seem as mean as she was. He immediately went for the ramps, slid them into the garage, and got the car. Before he could get out of the car to adjust the ramps, he saw a small black and silver body move in front, making him slam on the brakes. He watched as Blacklight moved them, looked up at him and then nodded. He gave him a smile, surprised and thankful for the little one's assistance and pulled the Chevelle all the way in and up.

Mark went to work on the car's engine. He needed to take a few parts off and replace them. Blacklight was staying near Barricade for now, watching him. Mark went about going for tools. By the time he'd turned back around, a little black body was standing there holding up a tool. He chirped at him.

Mark glanced at the Sparkling and then back to his Chevelle, "Gonna have to put that away, so you don't lose it. Don't need that right now." He reached for the tool and Radar handed it to him. He set it back in the toolbox and proceeded toward the car. It was amazing to him how something so young could be so smart. He glanced over at the toolbox. "How about the vice grips – the smaller ones."

Radar happily reached for them and handed them to him, "Perfect." He said, reaching for the tool offered. "If you want to help with getting tools for me, it's a start." He said with a smile, using the vice grips where he needed them.

Just as he leaned over the engine, he heard that strange, dark sound that the Mustang made when she changed forms. He did his best to ignore her, even though he felt slightly more nervous than before. He could hear her move and heard her chirping and beeping to her Sparklings.

Each time he happened to glance at Barricade, he noticed she was watching him. He started to feel rather uneasy after the first 5 minutes. The next time he looked, he frowned at the smirk on the Femme from his obvious agitation. "Is this how you make friends?" he asked. He really didn't expect a response.

"It's fun to watch you squirm." Barricade told him. She had noticed he seemed to be warming up to Radar.

Surprised, she'd responded, he didn't look away from the engine, "Mika told me Decepticons delight in scaring people. Is that why one of your Sparklings climbed into bed with me?"

Barricade didn't answer. For about 20 more minutes, Barricade watched the man. Mark had since relaxed and now she was just watching as he worked with Radar while waiting for Mikaela. The Sparklings were standing back, but their little optics were staring at the car. It looked so fun to play in!

Barricade watched them. She then looked at the car as she considered what they were thinking, and then she glanced momentarily at Mark and wondered what he could do about it. She'd pretend she knew nothing and looked away, pretending to find interest in something beside her. At that very moment, she let out one small, almost unnoticeable chirp.

Prowl cruised in the direction he hoped his sister was hiding. He had left the Autobot base, bound for Tranquility. He wanted to find out updated status from her about Starscream's situation, plus, he wanted to make sure she was all right. The Autobots were now aware of Shockwave and so far, none of the Decepticons had made any contact, which was making Optimus and himself nervous.

"Why you…!" Jazz' voice called over the Officer Spread link, "How'd ya do it?"

"It would be illogical to tell you Jazz." The tactician replied with a smirk as he kept driving. Jazz had no idea where he was or how to find him with a little of Hound's assistance.

Scurrying could be heard around the garage. Mark was taking mental notes of where the sounds were, because that told him where the two other smaller robots were hiding. Mark nearly slammed his head off of the hood at the sound of a horn. He grumbled something and then moved to look where he found the Chevelle covered with two small bodies that didn't belong. He wasn't sure how he could have missed them climbing onto the damned thing. He looked toward the driver's side of the interior finding small red optics peering at him. "You!" he called, knowing it was the one who'd pressed the horn, "get out of there!"

He could then hear snickering. Sonar tilted her head and smiled at him. He could also hear one of the other ones moving down the trunk of the car. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take it.

Barricade kept a close eye on his annoyance as well. She was getting a kick out of it, because there wasn't much he could do. If they became too annoying, she'd call them off.

Elsewhere, in the middle of the desert where he wasn't seen by people, Sixshot was still wandering aimlessly. He was quite interested in what this area had to offer but he was also bored. He'd made his way up the side of a mountain, which turned out to be a plateau, only to find the Autobot known as Hot Rod sitting down there. What a coincidence! "Slag," he muttered to himself. He knew this youngling knew something about Shockwave and wasn't telling.

Sixshot decided he would talk tonight.

Hot Rod stood not far off, apparently ignorant of him being right near him. Sixshot aimed weapons at him silently as he approached, making sure this young mech wasn't going anywhere without his know-so. "Nice evening, no?"

Having never run into the mech before, he did not know his voice. Hot Rod turned quickly, weapons emerging to find himself face to face with a beast mech that stood a bit higher than him and looked to mean business. "Put your weapons away." Sixshot told the youngling in a no-nonsense tone.

Hot Rod stared at this mech before him. He had a blue visor with blue optics, but he wasn't any Autobot he'd ever seen. That meant he was the elusive six-changer. He knew he would run into him eventually, just… not now. "You-You're Sixshot, aren't you?" Immediately he knew he was screwed if he'd planned to leave. He backed up a step.

"Am I?" the beast mech asked, then also stepped back and transformed.

Hot Rod watched, his optics not deceiving him. This was most definitely Sixshot. "No! You're the one! You work for Shockwave!" Hot Rod shied from Sixshot as the mech approached once more.

"Do I now…" Sixshot's shoulder shifted and formed into a barrel keeping aim on the Autobot, making Hot Rod twitch. "Goes to show how much you Autobots really know, doesn't it? How you go around and assume things which couldn't be farther than the truth and wonder why you idiots die. Tell me what information you have on Shockwave."

Hot Rod stared at the mech's glowing barrel for a moment, wondering where it could have come from. "Why?"

"Curiosity's killing me."

However, something was off. Why would he be asking for information on Shockwave if he worked for him? What were the chances Sixshot would be all the way out here when and where he was? Come to think of it, "What are you doing out here?"

"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you… Actually, if you don't tell me what you know, I might have to do it anyway. Now since no one but us knows we are here, and you're largely outnumbered, you're mine."

Stalling, Hot Rod then asked, "Does Starscream know you're out here?"

There was a deep, irritated growl from Sixshot. "You must be under the mistaken impression I won't shoot you. Ask me one more thing and you'll find out why you Autobots hate me." Sixshot replied in a menacing hiss.

"I don't have much time, however if you can keep your mouth shut on where I am, I'll give as much as information as I can at the moment, deal?"

Silence greeted his question, finally Sixshot said, "Don't lie to me. I'm more trigger happy than your weapon specialist. And now that you know who I am, you now know I am not one to be toyed with."

A gleam hit Sixshot's blue optic behind his visor. What kind of Decepticon was he? "Follow me," As they walked, he commented to him, "Let's be straight here. I'm surprised, given who and what you are; that you don't know about Shockwave's more hidden agenda."

Sixshot knew what Shockwave had with him and perhaps this Autobot might have a clue as to what he wanted to do with it since Soundwave hadn't reported that it was in her possession yet.

As Hot Rod sat down on the ground, Sixshot gazed at him for a moment and then sat down across from him, he wanted to ask what the Autobot was doing out here, but decided that information on Shockwave was more important, "What do you know?"

"Believe it or not, I am only half-Autobot…"

Sixshot gave a quirked optic ridge through his visor, "That's your big secret? You're half Autobot? Big deal. I didn't come asking about you. I don't care about you. I want to know what you know about Shockwave."

"Fine, I'm half Cybertronian…"

"And I don't care…"

"But you should. Because so is Shockwave. Shockwave's optics are the same as mine." Hot Rod paused at Sixshot's slight confusion. To be clearer, he removed the lenses covering his own optics. They were amber in color. "In fact, Shockwave isn't even from Cybertron. It's a long story. As strange as it sounds, he literally made a deal with the devil in order to obtain his power. He's nearly invincible."

"Well, so am I…"

"No, I mean like supernatural power." Hot Rod offered.

"Supernatural?" Sixshot asked skeptically. He'd never heard of that kind of power until he'd come to Earth. "Like magic?"

"Yeah, like magic," Hot Rod agreed.

This was turning fun. Half Cybertronians and gods… It wasn't like he had anything better to do than listen to the mech tell him a story. "Ha! I could beat him to a pile of metal."

"I'm not so sure of that,"

"Yeah, well, you don't know me that well,"

"Listen, Sixshot," Hot Rod interrupted, trying to get his point across. "He's what we call a Dark Spark Collector."

Just what the Pit was that supposed to mean? Sixshot had never heard of it. "I can make quick work of him. I will soon get my chance I hope,"

"What I'm telling you is true. He gets others' Sparks for his real master, Unicron, which in turn makes him stronger. Being a Decepticon, you guys wouldn't notice disappearances and murders in your own ranks."

"You're right, we didn't." Sixshot admitted. He wanted this Autobot to keep talking. Even if it sounded like a fairytale, he could still let Soundwave know and she could decide for herself.

"Yeah. The Autobots noticed it. No one could do anything. All instances revealed nothing of the killer or killers."

"So, who's this big boss that gives him 'supernatural' power?"

"Unicron,"

"Are you kidding me? Unicron?"

"I have no reason to lie to you,"

"Starscream's forces are enough to destroy him if he gets out of hand." Sixshot said. "No one can stand up to that."

"I'm sure that 'out of hand' deal is coming real soon." Hot Rod said, looking out across the horizon in thought.

"How do you know?"

"Shockwave wouldn't come here unless there's a reason." Hot Rod informed, "He must be looking for the Allspark. He could still use it somehow."

"What would he be looking for that for?"

Hot Rod shrugged. "With his power, I couldn't be sure."

As Prowl arrived, he noticed both garage doors were shut. He could also sense Barricade inside. Barricade herself had shifted to look out the window. She let out a growl. "What are you doing here?"

Paying too much attention to the car and the Sparklings over the car, Mark hadn't heard the truck pull up. He stood up straight, looking to where he could barely see a light bar on a vehicle. It was a police vehicle. Quickly he moved away and nearly fell into the toolbox, "Cops?"

Barricade looked over at Mark and then to the cruiser sitting outside. "That is not a cop," she told him. He relaxed a little.

"Runner," Prowl called. "I know you're here,"

Mark was a little confused, "What? Who is that?"

"That is Prowl."

Barricade transformed and the bay door opened. As it did so, Mikaela and Miles had both just come down. "Prowl,"

Prowl also spied the human inside the garage. He was unsure of speaking about such information in front of him. He didn't know how much he knew. "Hello."

"So, where's Jazz?" Miles asked.

Mark listened. What was with the names, anyway? Barricade, then Starscream, then Prowl and Jazz? What was next?

"I escaped," he told the young man. His attention then went to the reason he had come, "Starscream hasn't updated with Optimus. We are beginning to become concerned,"

"'Screamer is fine. Your concern is noted. Now scram." The femme replied. She watched Radar scurry into the Chevelle. Soon after, Typhoon and Sonar followed. There was giggling while they romped around, getting Mark's attention when the shocks squeaked.

Mark, worried for the interior of the Chevelle, ran to the car and leaned in, nearly getting a small claw embedded in his forehead. "What are you guys doing? Shoo! Get out!"

"Runner, I think its best you come to the Autobot base so we can talk more in depth."

"Why would I want to go there? There's a vast desert that's unoccupied. We could always go there instead." She glanced back at Mark, who was half in, half out of the Chevelle reaching for the Sparklings who were refusing to leave the car.

"It's a safety precaution,"

"Fine. I'll get there when I get there. Until then, you Autobots need to mind your own business. And don't tell anyone I am here, although I have a sneaky suspicion your little magnetic femme knows."

"She isn't my femme." Prowl stated sternly.

The femme didn't believe a word of it, "Of course she's not." Barricade laughed at her brother outright, "Get out of here, idiot."

Sixshot stood in silence a moment, trying to make sense of what Hot Rod was telling him. It was obvious he was becoming annoyed. Finally, he growled and said mockingly, "You talk fantasy slag, Autobot. Plus, I don't care about your own creepy, alien quarrels. Making deals with Unicron and all that… I need to know how powerful Shockwave is and why you think he is. So far, you've given me nothing but fairy tales." The assassin stood up. Obviously, this mech knew nothing.

Suddenly, Hot Rod shook in pain, "Shockwave must not know I am still alive!"

"What the pit do I care." Sixshot watched with little concern, feeling he only learned that Shockwave was perhaps not full Cybertronian, but something else. He knew he'd need to tell Soundwave about this. "Here's the deal, youngling." The multi-changer spoke coldly, "I couldn't care less of you lived or died. Shockwave is a threat to my agenda; this is why I make it my concern. If you know what's good for you, you and the rest of the Autobots will stay out of my way. Tell anyone you saw me, and I'll see to it you regret it. I find out you're lying to me…" The mech's voice trailed off. He looked out in the direction of Nevada.

Hot Rod watched Sixshot leave as his optics went offline.

He was getting annoyed that he had to sit around and wait for confirmation from the mechs he'd slipped by Soundwave. One group had parted before they reached the planets to ensure they'd be missed while the others had been hanging around the meteor belts. Shockwave used what he liked to call his 'cover toy' he'd stolen from another planet. He knew Soundwave wouldn't be able to get by that technology. No one knew of their entry, and no one would know their operations until it was too late. And that wasn't even his ultimate surprise.

Shockwave was delighted to find out about Starscream and the fact he'd taken Barricade for himself. He was equally delighted to hear of the Sparklings – the white one in particular. Starscream was a fool to think he could keep such information from him.

The mech even mentioned Thundercracker and Skywarp, how she was sparked by him, but they were not mated. A wicked grin came to his face as he thought about the blue Seeker. Perhaps teleporters wouldn't go extinct. He'd need to keep Skywarp as well, just in case… for that case.

And here Starscream thought he really had a handle on things… Shockwave would show the idiot who was who when it concerned the Decepticons. So far, his invisible mechs were going around destroying things here and there, wreaking havoc, but not enough to alert the Cybertronians to their shenanigans. They were lucky to have not been caught and if they were seen… well, suffice it to say the dead couldn't talk.

Shockwave began to formulate a plan. He stared at the matrix of leadership… After some careful consideration he decided he wanted the white Sparkling, as it was the only way to continue with his first plans. If it died, he didn't care. First, he had to catch it. He was sure the Sparklings would be with Barricade – but Barricade was hiding and the idiot mech he'd spoken to hadn't mentioned where… except Tranquility.

"Starscream has a white Sparkling. It's probably with the femme. Get it for me."

After three days in Tranquility, Barricade started to get fidgety. She was tired of hiding here. What harm would it be to go to the Autobot base, instead? Starscream just asked her to leave. He hadn't given her directions as to where she should go. Besides, she'd be safe in the company of them. So, she decided to go see her brother and get the talks over with. She didn't know why the incompetent Autobots couldn't just go and ask Starscream themselves. Nevertheless, the trip wouldn't be in vain. After her brother's retort, she wanted to talk to Jazz. The Sparklings would be a perfect lure for the saboteur.

Miles idly heard her start her engine, "Sup?" he then glanced to Mikaela.

"Tired of being here. I'm going to the Autobot base. At least I can be myself,"

"Don't… don't be yourself…" Mikaela replied with a smirk. She opened to driver door, "Coming?" she asked Miles.

"Nah, I'm gonna hang here a while longer."

"I will definitely be myself now…" Barricade replied. Mikaela smiled at Barricade's reply. She then shrugged to Miles, "Suit yourself," she sat down in the prow and they left.

Miles remained at the house for guy-to-guy talk with Mark before he left for work again.

Out in the desert, between Tranquility and the Autobot base, a mech smiled darkly as he spotted an evil-printed police Mustang barreling into the open. It was the target he was looking for. He judged the best form of attack as she came into his range. Barricade hadn't seen him, as no one would think a random mech no one had ever seen was going to suddenly pop up.

So who voted it was gonna be a Rainmaker?