Author's Notes: Hooray for being back on a semi regular schedule! Nothing to report, other than two chapters going out at once. Please comment, favorite and as always, enjoy!
Date: March 14th 2021 Late Morning
Soundwave
He was still human, but that fact wasn't alarming, even after waking up. He was wrapped in a comforting warmth that was almost to intoxicating to leave. But he did want to regain his bearings. It was light again. The simulated sun had risen, and Rhea was still asleep in his arms.
Sleep had been very similar to recharge, save for the lingering lethargy in his joints and on his mind. But it was still worth it. And even better, no one had attempted to reach him. Of course, he had made it so only the most chaotic of events could allow for them to be summoned from the outside. It was still a relief. He had a little more time to indulge in the fantasy.
He readjusted his body in the bed, better cradling Rhea against him. She was so warm and inviting in this form. He nestled into her hair and breathed her in, closing his eyes to better let his mind wander. It was an odd sort of thought, but he noted he was probably the only Cybertronian to have experienced what he had the night before. Was there pride in that thought? Amazement perhaps? It didn't really matter. Whatever kept him in this peaceful space.
Rhea shifted in his grasp, mumbling something incoherent. She did that often when waking up, even in the real world. Her eyes cracked open, spotted him, then she smiled and closed her eyes again, "Mornin'," she greeted groggily, "Good to see Cybertron didn't blow up when you were gone."
"It would be a shame, but far from surprising," he snickered into her hair.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself even closer. She remained that way for a time, and he wasn't going to complain. "Do we have to go?" she grumbled into his neck.
"No," he assured her.
"Good, because you're comfy."
"I assume more comfortable than the real thing?"
Even half asleep, she managed to give him a halfhearted slap on the shoulder. "Different kinds of comfy. This one is the soft you. Outside is the more familiar and secure you."
He drew gentle circles on her back with a few fingers. "Fair enough. So, after our eventful evening, what usually happens now?"
She sort of shrugged, "We continue milking the alone time for all it's worth until something in the real world blows up and drags you away from me."
It sounded like a good plan. "You are the expert in human activities, I will merely follow your lead."
She stirred again. She appeared to be fighting the urge to go back to sleep. But she won the struggle and brought her lips onto his for a quick kiss. "How about this for activities? We shower, eat, then go from there?"
As he promised, he followed her example. She finally clawed herself out of bed, and drug him right along. The hot water from the shower was akin to the soothing sensation of oil. Much like their shared oil bath in the real world, this experience was enhanced with Rhea's presence.
He did identify one downside, and that was the creeping chill that followed the water being turned off. A large towel wrapped around them both was a decent solution to the problem. He remained holding her in their towel wrapped huddle, probably for too long. But he didn't like her shivering, and it appeared to be helping.
Dressed again in loose fitted clothes, he sat at the kitchen bar to watch her cook breakfast. Her hair wrapped in another towel and no longer cold in her puffy robe. There was charm to the simplicity of their pretend human life. They would have to make more time for it.
"And more Cybertronian cultural stuff," she added between bites of egg. "We can trade off."
"I still have need to practice integrating into my own culture," Soundwave snickered, his free arm wrapped around her at the bar. "If you can believe it, I wasn't much of a 'cultural savant' before the war."
"And I was?" Rhea snorted. "Please. When I think human stuff, I think about traveling around and eating food, finding far off places that are even farther then the crowds."
"That is fine," he said. "You haven't had the chance to explore Earth, and that includes the quiet places. You should, before your true Cyberformation. I would like to accompany you."
She perked up at that prospect. "Like, the actual Earth? Hate to remind you, there are loads of people there. Kind of a bummer."
Unlike their perfect virtual world where it was only them. Much like his misadventures with the Autobots in Holoform, he had not been eager to repeat that. "I could get over that," he pointed out. "In fact, I plan on working on that shortcoming of mine. Give me a few weeks, and I am sure I can tolerate being in true human company while masquerading as one of you."
"Only a few weeks?" She hummed, "How do you plan on doing that?"
He shrugged. "Unimportant details. Trust me."
"Oh so mysterious as always," she snickered. She hummed thoughtfully, tapping the but of her fork to her cheek, "Cybertron has oceans, right? Not of water, but similar concept."
"Yes. I can take you to all of them," he promised.
"What is your favorite one?"
He pondered that, "The Mithril Sea. Not as touristy as the others. Secluded places abound."
"So not as many people?"
"Exactly."
She snorted a laugh, "I love how I found you, my anti-social, dorky alien counterpart," she leaned into his shoulder, "But it sounds perfect."
He rested his head onto her. He could not properly convey how grateful he was she had found him too.
A chime above them ruined the illusion of normalcy. He sighed but pulled up the drop menu to investigate what was happening.
"Uh oh, so then something blew up or the war is back on?" she said.
"Despite my original parameters for 'emergencies only' I highly doubt it will constitute one," he tapped the screen and read the quick report. He went rigid, and so did she in kind.
"Not a comforting face you're making… What happened?"
He looked at her, truly apologetic, disappointed, and now worried, "I am sorry, but we must go. Something of significance happened last night."
Date: March 14th 2021 Early Morning in Kaon
Arcee
Their target was utilizing every dirty trick to get away from them. Tossing vendor stands out in front of them, shoving bots on the street into their path. Of course this was Kaon, so his attempts were risky as many startled people recovered and went to shoot after him. A particularly bitter vendor who had his stand crashed into caught their escapee in the left ped with a well-aimed blast. Now he was hobbled, and they were catching up.
The odd bot in their sights pivoted, a little unnerving as his torso basically shifted around so he could aim an impressively large shoulder cannon at them. Arcee dodged without much thought. His weapon took forever to charge. Jazz also wasn't bothered, grinning like a maniac as they closed the distance.
"Like old times? Makes me long for the good ol' days," Jazz said as he jumped a gap in the road their target had blasted open.
Arcee smirked sideways at him, "You and me have very different recollections of the good old days."
The bot in front of them transformed to escape. That made sense, his ped was unreliable. But Arcee was not ready at all for what form he took to escape. An Earth vehicle. A dark green and white American made Tow Truck came out of the transformation and screeched forward to widen the gap between them.
"What the-" she didn't have time to ponder the Con's Earth based form. A large, reconstructed tunnel opening was coming up. One of many entrances to the Kaon underground.
Clobber's engines roared between them, her wheels allowing her larger body to keep up. Arcee assumed the dog was riding shotgun in her armored form. "He's headed for the lower levels!" Clobber shouted to them both, "The lower levels are a maze, we'll lose him if he makes it!"
Arcee hurried in front of Clobber's vehicle form, "Then how about a boost?"
Clobber must have caught her meaning, because she floored it. Arcee jumped up, and heard Clobber transform. She landed ready to jump into Clobber's large grasp. Then with a powerful toss, Arcee was flying at the larger bot in their crosshairs. She turned in the air and landed a hard kick into the back of their target's truck form just before he could cross into the tunnel entrance.
They both tumbled to the ground, but she was prepared to catch herself and roll to her peds. The bot running from them had no such luxury. He crashed hard into the street. Beams and road work buckled as he tumbled out of his transformation, unable to break his fall until a turn in the tunnel broke it for him. For a smaller bot, the crash would have warranted an emergency trip to get medical assistance. But their target appeared stunned, but not down for the count.
That was when Clobber's equally massive and armored vehicle mode came in to save the day in the form of slamming hard into the bot on the ground. He was further crushed between Clobber and the tunnel wall.
Jazz skid to a stop right before the crash site, "Welp, that's one way to end a chase." He activated his guns and Arcee did the same. They trained them on the smashed up bot as Clobber backed up and off of him. She came out of her vehicle mode, one gun servo aimed at the bot, the other clutching a seemingly uninjured dog in a bubble. Whatever padding Clobber was sporting for their Earth pet must have been impressive. D looked nothing but eager to scratch and snarl his way out of his protective shield to get at their target.
"No need bud, we got him… It's not worth blowing your cover over," Clobber whispered to D as he barked behind his bubble like a maniac.
Jazz ignored her one sided conversation with the Earth animal and slapped stasis cuffs onto their target before he could regain his wits, "Nice to finally get to see one of ya crazies alive," Jazz said, patting the odd Con on his faceplates, "You ran off so quick, we didn't have time to get to know ya."
The bot's dark red optics blinked to refocus on them. His dazed expression soured as reality dawned on him. "Get out my face!" he hissed, "All you bots here a bunch of sub Cybertronian scum!"
Jazz whistled, "Wow, who woulda thought you the rude type? And WE are the sub Cybertronians? That's interestin' coming from the guy with corrosive Energon."
"Speaking of that…" Arcee pulled Jazz back a few steps. Their target had started leaking that putrid green oily Energon into the street. If they wanted to take this guy alive, they should probably figure out how to patch that without getting the oily blood on them. "We'll get ya to medic once you start talking. Who are you and where did you come from? Why have you and your friends been lurking around? What are you looking for?"
"Hell of a lot of questions I have to fork over. Keep it simple, I'm slow," the bot cackled weakly.
"How about a name first," Clobber asked gently. She shot the wall next to the bot's bulbus helm, missing by inches, "Please," she added.
Those empty red optics glared at her, "Onslaught. And careful with where your shootin', I just got this head back!"
Clobber tilted her helm, "Hu, not friends with our Onslaught I'm assuming…" she turned to Arcee and Jazz, "We have a guy by the same name. Not this guy, clearly. Our Onslaught is off world."
"Same name, but I'm the better version…" Onslaught said. As if comedically timed to contradict his point, he coughed up his vile green Energon.
"Ok Onslaught, next question. Where do you come from?" Arcee snapped.
"Cybertron. Then Earth… Cybertron again. Ug, not this again…" he rose a twisted servo to examine it. His own life blood was corroding his plating and leeching out the green pigment of his paint job.
"Well, nice ta meet ya big guy. The name's Jazz, and we are going to be your interrogators on this lovely morning," Jazz explained with a smile.
Onslaught gave Jazz a pondering look. Familiarity was in his dimming optics, "Jazz? Aren't ya supposed to be dead?"
"Hu?" Jazz demanded.
Onslaught attempted a shrug, but he was far to broken to commit to it, "Maybe not here… Still too confusin' for me to really get it all."
"Try harder then," Arcee snapped, "You went to Maccadam for his future sight. What did you need that for?"
Onslaught grimaced. He was in pain, clearly. Who knows how long they had until he slipped into stasis lock from his injuries. If his kind even could do that too. "Won't tell ya no more…" Jazz shot the wall on the other side of his helm, making Onslaught jump. "Would ya stop! I already said I just got this head back! Ya ever have your whole head cut off? It sucks!"
"Then talk! What were you looking for?" Arcee snarled.
It was hard to read his expressions. In fact, now that she was paying attention, Arcee couldn't read his field. He wasn't pulling it away to hide his intentions, he just… Didn't have one. What the frag was going on? "We do all this," Onslaught said quietly, "We get Megatron back. That's what she said. That's what they all said. Then we go home, and home isn't all… broken."
Clobber startled at that, "Who said they could bring Megatron back?"
He looked at her, "Nah, not yours. Ours. To get that, we need what they are missin'. This place got a Con named Steeljaw. He got somethin' that will fix everythin'. Plus, more info they need us to get about the 'Discrepancies,' whatever that means," his gaze gained a far-off look, finding a place beyond any of those aiming their guns at him, "I ain't the smartest in the group… but I got this feelin' they are lyin' about fixing home."
Though she couldn't really read him well, she did recognize a softer look, and something in him may have snapped towards the desperate as he gazed back up at them. "Can ya weird Cybertronians help us?"
Arcee's Spark had a momentary hitch of pity. He was dangerous (his own Energon was eating away at his injured body for Primus sake) and his motives were still unknown as he struggled to figure out why he was even here. But he was genuinely desperate, and now he was pleading.
Then Onslaught's corrosive Energon splattered the tunnel wall behind him. Startled, their party jumped backwards to escape the acidic spray. A bomb? A gun shot? What had happened? All of them, even Onslaught, were taken totally off guard. Then she saw the pain hit him. He tapped what little power he had left and grasped at his neck. No, it was what was attached to his neck. An apparatus she hadn't given a second thought until it's color changed from blue to red and his Energon started pouring from under the metal device. It was causing this, and he was clearly attempting to yank it off.
"What in all the Pits?" Jazz demanded of their group, unsure how to proceed. Should they help? That would directly expose them to his Energon.
D's deep guttural snarls grew over Onslaught's plight. Arcee turned from the struggling bot at their peds to see the dog hunched in his ball, hackles raised as far as they would go and ears flat to his head. He was looking off into the darkness of yet another turn in the tunnels.
They all followed the animal's deadly gaze to its source. Under a flickering lamp post was a small form, hand rose towards Onslaught. And that risen hand was not metal.
Arcee blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the human woman standing in the shadows of the tunnels. She had no bubble, like D the dog utilized. No specialized space suit to withstand the Cybertronian atmosphere. Ethnically, she appeared Chinese. Paler than normal skin and hidden under a dark cloak. She lowered her arm back to her side but continued to observe Onslaught's struggling body with disappointment. "Treachery is how you repay my gift of a second chance at life? A pity. Die with the other spares."
"Who are you?" Arcee demanded, ignoring the impossibility of the human somehow standing there without brutally perishing.
The woman's soft gaze found their group, and in those eyes, Arcee recognized a cold darkness that made her very Spark shutter. Despite appearances, this thing, whatever it was, was not human.
"A pity," she repeated. For a moment, lines of electrical current washed over her pale complexion, "None of you have what we need."
She stepped back into the darkness, even with the wall at her back. It didn't turn out to be an inconvenience for her. Her form rippled again, and she fazed through the solid wall, vanishing into nothing. Though where she stood and the wall she had melded into, now were pulsing with the corruption Onslaught's blood also created.
With the woman gone, D calmed down. He turned in his bubble, observing in his canine way, perhaps with pity as Onslaught twitched, bulky fingers slipping on his own Energon. It snapped Arcee away from the impossible, and back to the present.
She pulled a patch kit from her subspace and started for Onslaught. Jazz was grabbing her arm, trying to keep her back. She yanked away and came to Onslaught's side. "We need one of these idiots alive! We have to at least try and save him!"
His red optics were flickering, his attempts to remove the collar had shifted, and he was instead trying to maintain a hold on it.
"Stop, hands down and let me see!" Arcee snapped at him. She shoved him by the shoulder to get a better angle to patch whatever damage the collar had already done. Then she froze, taking in the inner mechanisms of the device fastened around his neck. Onslaught had not been kidding when he said he lost his helm. There was a massive wound, totally cutting through his neck cables. The collar was in actuality, a sophisticated medical device holding his once decapitated helm in place. But now, it was purposely coming undone, pulsing with the same blue energy as that human looking woman.
An injury this bad, Onslaught should have been dead. Hell, maybe he had been, and wherever they came from that just wasn't a big deal like it was here. But now as the collar was only a few unscrewing nuts and supports away from falling away, his helm's ability to remain attached to the rest of him was questionable.
There was no safe way to do this, so she shoved the first patch mesh between the collar and his neck cables to attempt a half decent seal. At once, her digits were burning as she was directly touching Onslaught's putrid Energon. She winced against the intense sting and soldiered on. The rest of her wasn't spared. A hemorrhaging Energon line in his neck sprayed, just missing her face plates and splattered her shoulder and beyond. Needles of pain pricked as it seeped between her armor and into her mesh.
Onslaught's strength was almost gone, but he was still trying to squirm away from her. She cursed at him, slammed his shoulder again to encourage him to stop so she could attempt to save his sorry aft. She caught his wavering gaze. He was staring at the Autobot emblem on her back wings… Wait, her emblem? She looked over, the spray of Energon had hit her disguise patch and deactivated it, revealing her true form. All this Decepticon now knew was her team affiliation. He didn't know she was trying to help.
"Frag!" she hissed, yanking her hands away to give herself a break from the pain of exposure. She riffled in the med kit, struggling to obtain another patch. The collar slipped off and clanked into Onslaught's pooling Energon on the ground.
Arcee gasped. She looked up, expecting to see Onslaught's helm flop right off his shoulders. Clobber's large digits were instead grasping his neck and placing another patch. She hadn't even noticed the bulky bot join her in the rescue attempts. "Ow… Ouch!" Clobber huffed as she was now equally coated in his Energon. Arcee steeled herself for the pain and jumped back in. With Clobber stabilizing the horrific wound, they may actually have a chance here.
"Arcee!" Jazz shouted at her back. He seemed torn, totally unsure what to do. Help, or stop her? At this point he better not, she was already way too deep in this idiotic plan of hers. "Stop and get that poison off ya!"
"Jee, real helpful Jazz!" Arcee snarled over her shoulder, but maintained most of her focus on the wound. She was no field medic. Energon lines were severed, his main spinal strut was cut through, a few hastily placed med patches wouldn't do anything.
"I already commed for help," Clobber said while wincing. "Three Kliks east- ouch! – There is a decontamination line along the tunnel wall, the unlock code is 2010!"
Jazz sprung into action, seeming to have something useful to do finally. While they waited, Arcee took advantage of Clobber's help. She yanked the salve injector from the kit and jabbed the sharp end into the wound. Far from a permanent fix, but it would still seek out bleeding Energon lines and seal them back together, if they were in generally the right place. She could only hope whatever decapitated Onslaught the first time had managed a clean cut.
Speaking of their prisoner turned patient… She found he was somehow still clinging to the last thread of consciousness. And he appeared perplexed. He had long since stopped fighting their attempts, either accepting their help or his death. But now, his optics shifted between Clobber's Decepticon emblem, and Arcee's own team shield.
His optics blinked off for good. Scrap! Arcee rummaged in the kit, now it too was corroding with the green Energon. But the Spark pulse monitor was still working, and she quickly waved it over him, "We still have a life signal, but it's going down."
"We have a good seal," Clobber reported with another pained whimper. She was finally able to release her hold on Onslaught's neck and worked to slowly lay him flat on his back, "Help should get here in time." Once he was in a decent position, Clobber was able to yank herself back and attempt to shake the Energon off her now sizzling hands.
"Helm's up!" Jazz was rushing back, a small ball incased dog leading the charge. Arcee hadn't even noticed the dog had gone with him. He had an unraveling hose, the end of which he had procured from the tunnel wall towards the entrance. Arcee basically threw herself under the stream as he turned it on. The slurry of decontamination was abrasive, and she already assumed her newly polished armor would be worn to the Pits, but at this point she didn't care. It was seeping out the pain as it washed away Onslaught's Energon. She made room in the stream and practically drug Clobber into it too. She was left with a throbbing in each effected area, but it was better than what it had been.
She looked at the damage, and it wasn't great. The metal mesh of her fingers was particularly chard. Moving each digit hurt, but she could still do so. The armor on her servos had managed to protect most of her, but her shoulder joint was losing feeling where that first hemorrhaging Energon line caught her. She sat down in the road, watching as Jazz hosed down Onslaught as well. His outer armor was in no better shape. If he lived, she needed to ask how it wasn't eating away at his insides too.
After Jazz cut off the solution, they were left in a collective stunned silence. "Um," Clobber managed to mutter, "I… I don't know how to report what just happened," she admitted to her mixed party.
"What in the Pits are these guys?" Jazz huffed in total frustration. "Now they got subhumans too?"
"'Not your Megatron'…" Arcee repeated, recent memory of more of these odd bots saying something similar. Like the ones that attacked them at Maccadam's bar. "Not their Cybertron," she grimaced as she picked at the thinner plating of her fingers, and a layer flaked off.
"Clones?" Jazz guessed on his way over to help her. He pulled a clean patch kit from subspace and started work on her hands, "Time travelers?"
"They're looking for 'Discrepancies,' between our version of, everything, and theirs," Arcee assumed, "And somehow, that will help them."
"Whoever 'them' even is," Jazz retorted.
She nodded, feeling hollow as ever as Jazz patched her injuries. The sound of roaring engines and emergency lights of the Decepticon military made her recall how illegal their presence here in Kaon was. Her disguise was busted. Sure, they could argue them sneaking into Kaon was for the greater collective good since they worked together with Clobber to capture Onslaught. But if Onslaught died, which was more likely than not, that was a long shot. Clobber seemed to remember this detail about the same time. She cut off her commlink and went to push them back towards the entrance. "Go back to Iacon, quick! We'll send the report to you once it's authorized, and our factions can figure it out from there."
Jazz snatched Arcee and nodded to her, grateful, "Thank ya, really."
Clobber offered them an awkward smile. "No trouble. And thank you for your help. Let's hope this stuff doesn't leave permanent damage."
Arcee was hesitant, even as Jazz attempted to drag her away, "What are you going to say to convince everyone you caught this guy alone?"
This detail didn't seem to worry her as she smiled down at D, "I'll just say D helped chase him down. He's a killing machine after all. We got quite a reputation in the outer rings for a reason. And the loads of medical supplies won't be hard to explain away. Thunderblast is always getting hurt, I carry around a bunch of backups."
Arcee snickered but trusted her to think of something actually believable as they hurried out. She did risk a final glance over her shoulder to glimpse the still body of Onslaught laid on the tunnel ground. Though he didn't have a field of any kind, and whatever made up his odd Spark was now fleeting, she still pulsed a wave towards him, willing him to live against all odds.
Date: March 14th 2021 Early afternoon, Kaon
Rhea
She followed Soundwave through the halls leading to the Northern Tower's medical wing. As a Cybertronian, she was able to actually keep pace with him, for the most part, anyway. They arrived at a swarm of Decepticon medics and organized chaos that made her nervous. But he pressed forward, and she tried to follow without getting in anyone's way, including Soundwave's.
Everyone parted for him, and they arrived at the Cybertronian equivalent of an intensive care unit. A bot lay on the table at the epicenter. Doctors and autonomous medical equipment swarmed him, all decked out in thick protective meshes as they hooked up the poor still bot with even more tubes and wires. The reason for the protective measures became clear as Rhea clocked the occasional dripping of corrosive Energon leaking from the table. This was one of the odd other Cybertronians.
"Lieutenant Clobber apprehended and also stabilized this one's condition," a doctor reported to Soundwave.
"Will the sub Cybertronian survive?" Soundwave inquired, optics landing on the multitude of horrific injuries, mostly focused around the bot's neck.
"As of this moment, his prognosis is grim," the doctor said, "The subject has suffered a full helm decapitation. The means of his survival at all is still unknown. He is in desperate need of several Energon transfusions, but we are hesitant to do so. His Energon is so different from our own, our Energon introduced to his systems could kill him. And even if we manage to bring him back to consciousness, the chances of the subject having full or any mobility is very unlikely."
"That is not a concern," Starscream huffed from amongst the crowd. He appeared to have already been there, signing documents or barking orders. He strut up to Soundwave's side to better glare down on the subject in question. "All that matters, is if this one will be able to tell us more about his kind and where they come from," he turned to Soundwave, and grimaced. "Lateness does not suit you, Soundwave… I assume," he noticed Rhea sheepishly standing behind Soundwave, and he rolled his optics, "And I was correct. I swear, this human hobby of yours is getting ridiculous. It is starting to inconvenience me personally. You are almost as bad as Autoclave."
"Where is Sharpshot?" Soundwave asked, brushing off the earlier critique.
"I summoned them also. Apparently, I am the only one capable of leading us in these dramatic times," Starscream grumbled.
Starscream was dramatic, so the task did suit him… Rhea pushed that thought along, and found a natural pause in their conversation to interject, "They said Clobber brought this one? Does she know more?"
Starscream pointed them to the next partition, and worryingly, that was towards another wing of the medical facility. The ward was broken up by semitransparent panels that folded out of their way. Seated on a large berth was the familiar Clobber. Her massive frame was crouched as low as she could manage as a doctor worked on her. Some of her armor had been removed, and Rhea saw the damaged mesh underneath being patched.
By her side, appearing to be fighting off a high-grade hangover and a very guilty conscious, was her partner, Thunderblast. D was in his bubble as always, curled up and napping in Clobbers lap, unbothered by the surrounding chaos.
"Are you well enough to give a report?" Soundwave inquired of her.
Clobber jumped, taken off guard by his near silent appearance into her room "M-My Lord, Sovereign, sorry! Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, doctor, I'll stop moving… Um, yeah. His name is Onslaught. The bot, in question, that is. He wanted Maccadam's future sight for something. He, they all, he mentioned more of them, at least he, as in Onslaught, didn't know what really was happening. Then this woman showed up, and D didn't like her…"
Thunderblast laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, again startling her. "Deep invent babe… Take it from the top."
Clobber sighed, "I really don't know how to explain it. A lot happened and most of it was impossible."
"It's mostly on me," Thunderblast admitted with a growl, "I was drunk in the bar all night, and Clobber had to face the freak alone. Now she's hurt. Blame me for any info we are missing."
"What you managed to accomplish is an impressive feet," Soundwave acknowledged, though his tone echoed a hint of suspicion, "That bot is an imposing size, even compared to yourself, Lieutenant. You managed him by yourself?"
Clobber squeaked a nervous sound. Maybe it had intended to be a confident laugh, but it sure didn't come out as one, "Um, yeah, no big deal… I, he got shot, and D helped catch him, and… Please Sovereign don't look at the security feeds," she begged, but alas, he was already halfway through them. Rhea tapped into them also, utilizing their mental link to locate the correct files.
The street side camera facing Maccadam's bar showed a fast-forwarded version of the night's events. Thunderblast jumping up and down on her way into the bar, seemingly spewing serious trash talk aimed at the grinning and confident Grimlock. They never emerged, even as the rest of the patrons shuffled out and the lights dimmed. Some movements stirred inside the bar; a few lights came back on. Then Clobber and D showed up. Maccadam let them in.
And at last, the lumbering bot currently wired up in the ward next door, came crashing onto the scene. He struggled in the doorway, appearing very annoyed with the small entrance until he bashed his way through. He ran back out just as fast, but two bots gave chase before Clobber could make it out the door, and they were unfamiliar.
She watched the chase through Soundwave's mental feed, camera angles changing fast from street to street as the bot attempted an escape from Clobber and the two strangers. All the while, Clobber in real time was talking over the feed, trying to explain and insisting she could retell the tail better.
Inside the tunnel the pursuing party brought the chase to an end and the bot Clobber called Onslaught was pinned. This camera had no audio. But the three appeared in control of the prompt to interrogation in the dark tunnel.
The feed rippled with static. The figures all looked off screen at… Rhea couldn't make it out. Something in the next tunnel was there, but it only showed a distortion on the screen. A blueish black shadow that morphed in and out, never quite coming into focus. Then it was gone, and Onslaught was gushing Energon. The smaller of the two strange bots jumped into action to preform first aid and save Onslaught, soon assisted by Clobber.
The paint and body structure of the aiding bot started to glitch. They had been wearing a hologram meant for disguise. Not exactly unheard of in the seedier parts of Kaon. The same three idiots who graffitied Optimus Prime's memorial statue had utilized the technology. Though it was prone to failure if hit just right, and this bot's tech had just been sprayed with Onslaught's corrosive Energon. The tech finally blinked out.
Arcee?
That was surprising, but whyever she was there didn't really matter, not to Rhea anyway. Arcee and Clobber fought the poisonous Energon effects until the other strange bot, another disguised Autobot she now assumed, came to aid them by ridding their bodies of the corrosive substance.
Arcee and her still disguised friend escaped just before more Decepticon units came to help. They loaded up Onslaught in a transport vehicle, and aided Clobber into her own. Clobber pointed to D, and he rushed off in the opposite direction, probably going to fetch Thunderblast.
That was that.
Rhea came back out from her HUD and looked to Clobber, who looked like she wished that corrosive Energon had melted her into a goop in the Tunnels.
"What was it?" Starscream demanded of Soundwave.
Soundwave, who's expression was pursed but otherwise unreadable, remained focused on Clobber.
"I, had help," Clobber said meekly. "I needed it."
"Pedestrians aided in the arrest," Soundwave said to Starscream finally. Even Rhea was surprised alongside Clobber. Really, he hadn't had any reason to cover for Arcee, considering their recent turbulent history. But it would do well to avoid growing tension between their factions. Soundwave was also halfway through scrubbing Arcee's revealed presence in the recordings. "What was the distortion in the feed?"
Clobber's relief turned back to unease, "Um, a human woman."
Understandably, Starscream and Thunderblast looked at Rhea. What other human woman would be hanging around Kaon after all?
Clobber shook her helm vigorously. "No, no not her. It was, some other human… But, she wasn't wearing anything to protect herself from the air. She wasn't dying either. And she did something that made Onslaught's collar thing deactivate, and it almost took his helm off! Then she like, melted into the wall. No way she was really a human. Thunder… Ya know how D growls that really nasty growl when we were in that one section of space where all the ships were going missing? He did that to her." She looked back to Soundwave, "Onslaught said they were looking for 'discrepancies' to help save their home and bring back Megatron. But he said it wasn't our Megatron… But he was worried they were being used. That's when that human who wasn't human tried to kill him and vanished. And since his helm was coming off… we really couldn't carry on the conversation."
Soundwave was thinking. He staired through the panels into the other ward to note Onslaught's unstable, but still currently active readings.
"I suggest a city-wide scan for Onslaught's comrades. On top and underground," Starscream said. "And this 'human woman.' A human walking around with no protective armor should stick out easily enough."
Soundwave nodded in agreement. "Some may still be lingering in Iacon or other cities. Our intelligence says Iacon is under lock down."
Starscream scoffed. "Well, good for them. Our people are not nearly as lazy. The more optics the better. A reward should motivate our people nicely."
Again, Soundwave didn't argue the plot. "I will speak with Maccadam personally to divulge more information," he turned to the doctor who had until now, just remained waiting for orders, "Allocate as many of our resources to stabilizing Onslaught. I will have Shockwave summoned to assist."
The doctor scurried away with a bow and Soundwave looked to Clobber, who winced, readying herself for whatever was to come, "Lieutenant, exemplary work. I wish you a swift recovery," he turned to address the doctor working on Clobber, as she appeared ready to faint from the relief of escaping punishment. "Maintain Lieutenant Clobber in observation to assure there is no lasting damage sustained from the exposure. And if there are, treat them accordingly. General-" Thunderblast looked up from Clobber, her faceplates still reflecting guilt, "She is in capable servos. I require your presence in the upcoming arial sweeps."
She seemed ready to protest, but Clobber's nod pacified her. "D will protect me while I recover. And keep your comm open, I want to know what you find," Clobber made her promise.
Thunderblast touched her helm to Clobber's, very much against the doctor's advisement, "I will…" she knelt to D, who was groggily roused as she tapped his bubble, "Protect her, my little prince of destruction. Slaughter any who try to bring her harm."
D yawned, then laid his head back down on Clobber's leg from inside his bubble. Maybe that was a yes.
"Communication's Officer," Soundwave addressed. Rhea internally winced and didn't bother hiding it in the Bond. He said it with that 'Decepticon Lord voice,' meaning he was about to banish her away to safety. Either locked in his apartment at the top of the tower like some Disney princess, or back to Earth far away from the danger. She even felt Laserbeak mentally start to protest.
Soundwave's field caressed her, and she calmed, "I will require your live updates regarding monitoring of the city-wide frequencies while simultaneously accompanying me to Maccadam's. Are you capable of that?"
"Yes." She promised. She was, after all, a multi-tasking of legend. And those skills were only heightened in this body. A Cybertronian brain was amazing. 'Thank you.' She made sure to think to him.
She caught the ghost of his smile before he turned to resume Lordly talks with Starscream. 'I did promise you. We are together in this.'
Date: March 14th 2021 late morning, Iacon
Arcee
She winced at Ratchet's probing of her fingers. But she was already in enough trouble, so she grit her denta and bore the pain without complaint.
"Stupid," Ratchet snarled out of the blue.
"Yep," Arcee agreed with a nod.
"Totally ill-advised!" he carried on complaining.
"Totally agree with you," she said.
He had to pause his careful work just so he could turn his full attention onto her with a glare, "To sneak into the Decepticon Capital under the cover of darkness and then knowingly bathe in a highly corrosive substance from unknown corrupted bots! It must be the single most stupid thing you have ever done in all your solar cycles!"
"I'm behind you on this, 100%." She agreed.
"All that matters is she is safe," Bumblebee interjected from his place against the far wall with the others. They had all been banished behind an invisible line Ratchet dictated so they would not be similarly affected by whatever horrific substances she 'bathed' in, as he put it. Ratchet himself was in a protective mesh, working to undo the deeper damage of Onslaughts Energon in the joints of her fingers. "She is safe, right Ratchet?" he pushed.
Ratchet ex-vented a deep, utterly defeated sigh. "From what I can see, her life isn't in danger… But we still don't know enough about this stuff or these other bots. And the top layer of metal alloy comprising your fingers are a lost cause, as is the armor of both your servos AND your left back wing. It will all have to be totally replaced."
"Can we replace it in time for the Memorial?" Arcee asked.
Her idiotic question rewarded her with a particularly pointed glare from Ratchet. "Scrap the Memorial! I am trying to save the finer mobility in your digits! Honestly, if Optimus knew what you did, he would rise from the dead and slap you upside the helm to try and reboot whatever delusional glitching has rooted in your processor!"
"Eh, I don't know Ratch…" Jazz said, leaned against the same banishment wall, "Doesn't seem like something Optimus would do."
Arcee was worried Ratchet had finally reached his tolerance for stupid comments, because he appeared ready to abandon his fine-tuned work to instead deck Jazz. "I don't want to hear another word out of your voice box Jazz, this is almost entirely your fault!"
Jazz startled, "What? The Pit's did I do?"
"You dragged Arcee into that cluster frag of a situation! She, and by extension all of us, would not be in this situation if you had just followed orders and remained in Iacon!"
Jazz dramatically rose both hands and shrugged, "Hey, I was perfectly capable of breaking the Treaty myself. Just cuz Cee wanted to join in does not make me the bad guy here."
Arcee tried not to wince, but Ratchet's most recent ministrations sent a fresh wave of burning pain in her hands and she hissed out a small gasp. The room went silent, the argument dropping off. Ratchet huffed, and got back to work, "Your pain receptors are still functioning. Believe it or not, that is a good sign deeper and permanent damage is unlikely," he finally retrieved a small, pronged syringe and had it inject under her hand plating. After the injection's initial sting, relief flooded her systems and the pain ebbed away.
The door to Ratchet's private medical suite shifted open. Arcee wasn't surprised as Ultra Magnus stepped in. She and Jazz's little adventure was far from a secret. His hard expression shifted from Jazz and then to Arcee. "Are you alright, soldier?"
She shrugged, "I'll be fine."
"I'm ok too," Jazz volunteered.
Ultra Magnus glared at him but walked further into the room to better stand next to Arcee without being too close and without Ratchet's mesh protection. "I am highly disappointed, in both of you for your actions. Only a few cycles before the Memorial and you, two government officials, sneak into Kaon in disguise. What you did put us all, and the Treaty in danger," he ex-vented a sigh, then his tone softened, "That being said, from what you reported, in this one instance, these egregious actions can be forgiven. We can only hope the Decepticon's medical team will save the life of this sub Cybertronian Onslaught, and we can gain the valuable information he carries."
"If they feel like sharing that info," Smokescreen pointed out. "So far, they haven't reach out at all to even say anything happened."
"Unfortunately, we will have to maintain that status quo until the Decepticons offer up the information," Magnus said. "To maintain peace, we cannot inform them two of our agents were there. We will form a panel in the meantime and prepare for their side to reach out."
"Is another committee or panel really what we need right now?" Arcee blurted. Magnus' expression was outwardly unmoved, but she could read the slight shift towards surprise in his field. She took the opportunity to continue, "According to our spies, Kaon is alive with activity right now. They have every bot on the ground and in the skies looking for Onslaught's team, and we here in Iacon have everyone basically under house arrest. We don't have time to sit around and wait."
"These things are dangerous, Arcee," Magnus pointed out. "Look what their Energon did to you. The Decepticon's blatant lack of concern for their people is not the path we will emulate. If they find the others first while we plan out a strategy that insures all our people's safety, so be it. I can assure, if the Decepticon's are successful, it will be success that hinges off casualties."
Arcee glared at her peds, but dropped the argument. It was a waste of time to go back and forth with Magnus. He went on to address the room as a whole, "I will comm you all when you are needed, but first I need to get back and address the emergency committee in person. Arcee, you are on medical leave until further notice. And Jazz-"
"Ready to rock 'n roll," Jazz assured him.
Magnus scowled, "You, are suspended from all information scouting activities until further notice. If you are caught outside of Iacon again, you'll be brought before the committee for permanent reassignment."
Jazz seemed far from worried. "Hear ya loud and clear, boss. I won't get caught next time."
Magnus slowly shook his head in exasperation before exiting the room. When the door closed, Bulkhead shoved Jazz in the shoulder, "Take it seriously, or it'll be a court martial for sure!"
"I ain't worried," Jazz snickered, "They need me to bad."
Ratchet scoffed, even leaned forward and preoccupied with Arcee's fingers, "Pa-lease. No bot is irreplaceable, Jazz. We learned that well enough when we separated from you after the Arc fiasco. You went off on your own, I hardly noticed a change."
Jazz again laughed off the insult, "Good ta know my friends have faith in me! But really, Arcee is right. The Cons'll get to much of a head start on findin' the rest of those crazy friends of Onslaught. So I suggest-"
"Forget it Jazz, the committee has spoken," Arcee growled. Her glare was still locked onto the floor, her posture slumped almost as low. "All they want is to save face right now. Get through the Memorial and go on from there. Might as well just let the Cons handle this one."
"Arcee?" Bumblebee said, and his tone was far too worried to be a good sign. "You ok?"
She glanced up at him, then shook her helm. "I'm fine Bee."
"Then, why did ya shake your helm 'no' if the answer is yes?" Smokescreen pointed out.
Damn the kid for being so observant when he usually wasn't.
"I'm sorry," Jazz sighed, and Arcee looked to him next. Mostly, because sincere apologies were not his thing, so she had no idea where this one was going. "I shoulda helped more in those tunnels. I kinda froze up. I've been havin' more bad days then good ones."
"I didn't hold that against you Jazz, no big deal." Arcee promised. It actually wasn't on her mind at all. She was surprised anything was bothering him.
He cracked a guilty smile, "Good thing that one Con was there with us though. Talk about picking the wrong side, that big one Clobber should be on our team. I will definitely grab her too when I pick ya up from Kaon before the war restarts."
"Um, I feel like if you have jokes, everyone in the room needs the appropriate context so we can all laugh, Jazz." Bumblebee said. He wasn't the only one obviously lost. What Jazz said was vague enough no one here could glean more. When she caught his gaze, even behind his visor, he only shrugged. He didn't have any intention of outing her secret. The inner turmoil and frustration mounting against her own team. How easy it would be to just swap sides. They didn't know any of it. It would be easy enough to brush off yet another whacky thing Jazz said.
She sighed and sat up straight, scanning each one of her friends in the room, "Guys. There is something I need to get off my chest."