I think it's done?

Finally, things are moving proper. Typhoon has getting closer.

Get Ready.

Get set…

Prowl had followed the assassin from further behind. Enough to be noticed, but not enough that Sixshot would consider him a threat. He didn't know him well enough to think he might not turn around and shoot him. He watched, curious what the mech would do. When he settled to leaning on a wall of an exterior building, the tactician stepped closer.

He knew that he was being followed, it was just that he didn't care. Sixshot found himself to be oddly angrier than he thought he should be. He wasn't entirely sure why, either. Was it the fact Starscream was in danger? Was it the fact Barricade was barely alive? Did it really have anything to do with them at all? Why was he so fucking angry, anyway?

He glanced up at the tactician who followed him and gave a fake smile with his optics through his visor. "Now I have a reason to kill him."

A raised optic ridge. Prowl tutted. "You sound strangely gleeful about that." It was odd, coming from the assassin, and Prowl had to wonder if he'd hit his head somewhere between the conference room and here. "Not that you need a reason to kill someone."

Sixshot didn't often kill without a reason. He was an assassin, not a psychopath. And to Pit with the Autobots if they believed any differently. "Of course, I am. You know how long I've been holding onto this one set of energy ammos just for him?" He was only half joking. It wasn't like he could actually hold 'special energy' for one target.

Though, if only Prowl had known how much that Autobot had been pissing him off, maybe he would understand why he wanted him dead.

Eh, who was he kidding.

"And you're happy about that fact?" a rather bland expression crossed Prowl's face. "Why don't you at least wait until after the fight with Megatron?"

Sixshot's voice suddenly changed into the cold calculating mech that Prowl had learned about, "I owe him."

Prowl pinched an optic at him in thought. Why did this mech, hated by just about every mech and femme known to Cybertron, waltz into everyone's lives and begin to exist? Prowl hated to admit it, but they were becoming comfortable with him, and that was discomforting in a way.

"Why are you here?" he finally asked.

Sixshot gave a surprised look at the tactician. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to wreck the next one that pisses me off."

Prowl heard amusement in those words, but he wasn't sure how much amusement. He also didn't want to push the mech, not knowing what he would do. "So far, you haven't killed anyone."

"So far," came the reply with a noncommittal shrug. In that answer was all Prowl needed to hear. Sixshot was telling him that just because he hadn't, didn't mean he wouldn't. That, and he didn't fear retribution for his acts.

In the Autobot med bay, Hook stared at his teammate in slight irritation. Well, more like wonder, but still irritation. It was unbelievable, but sure enough, the Allspark had altered him into a 'her'. Given this wasn't the first occurrence; it wasn't wholly unexpected. The leader idly wondered if all of the ones brought back to life had been changed into femmes but quickly dismissed it as it would complicate things in a big way. He made the tan Constructicon sit on a berth while he examined her. "Did you know anything about this, 'Crusher?"

Of course, the other Constructicons were curious what was up with Bonecrusher, but Hook refused to let them in to find out. He wanted to thoroughly check and make sure nothing was wrong. He also checked to make sure there weren't any accidents from forming Devastator earlier. He knew how intimate gestalts were and knew how the Sparks functioned as one. An accident absolutely could happen. Primus help them all if one of them managed to spark her. He was sure the planet itself would tremble in fear.

"No," Bonecrusher answered honestly also looking down to her modified systems.

"You know what this means?"

Bonecrusher only glared at Hook petulantly while he continued his examination, "I don't care. I want to know how it happened."

"Shockwave used the Allspark power in Starscream's Sparkling to bring you back to life. It's not unheard of, apparently, for it to alter genders, just as it did with Jazz." He tapped her chest, a sign she could close up.

Bonecrusher didn't move a moment, looking up to Hook with hesitation, "Jazz is a femme?"

"Yes," Hook chuckled at her stillness.

She scrunched up her face, grumbled something, and then glared at the wall with annoyance, her arms folding roughly over her chest. "Don't tell the others about this."

"They're going to find out eventually if they don't already know," Hook informed. He was right, no matter how much Bonecrusher didn't like it.

"Yeah, well I rather it later than sooner," the tan femme replied.

After about an hour and working with Wheeljack, much to the resentment of Bonecrusher, they'd come up with a way to shield the femme Constructicon's Spark in case Devastator was needed again. After all this with Megatron, he would take her shield down and allow her to do what she wanted.

"Rumble!" Blacklight called. He remembered some things that Shockwave told Starscream, and he left Barricade to find him. He hated leaving her, but Rumble had asked him to tell him everything. He was sure at the time that he'd told him everything, but when he got to thinking about Barricade and how anyone could have helped, he remembered some other things Shockwave had said.

He did find him, in a room. In that room, Soundwave was also present with other Sparklings.

"Blacklight, what are you doing here? I thought you'd stay with Barricade."

"I didn't want to leave. But this is also probably important."

"What?"

"Shockwave told Starscream that Star-Mates have a special mark on their Spark." Blacklight looked up when Soundwave turned toward him. The telepath seemed very interested in what he had to say, so he continued, remembering what Shockwave said. "He said that my creators' protector, the one who can identify the mark, was killed because they would have protected them from danger or Unicron." The Sparkling turned his head to Rumble. "Who is Unicron?"

"A god," Soundwave replied instead. Blacklight's story was almost exactly like Hot Rod's. Both of their stories were lining up exactly. Except where Soundwave had informed Hot Rod of Shockwave's hunting tendencies.

Blacklight looked up at Soundwave in fear, "A… a god?"

"Affirmative."

"What is 'the will of Primus?" Blacklight then asked.

"Unknown," Soundwave replied. She wanted to know herself. It was in that rhyme that Hot Rod mentioned.

"Shockwave said they're the will of Primus. What does all of this mean?"

Soundwave folded her arms, still looking down at the Sparkling. It was Rumble who answered, getting Blacklight's attention. "That we are in way over our heads at this point."

Skywarp found out that Optimus Prime was in the conference room and headed right for it, barging right where he was talking to Prowl, Bluestreak, Jazz and Ironhide.

Just the mech he needed to see. "Skywarp," Optimus said with slightly annoyed surprise. He wasn't sure if barging in on others was something common at his own base, hopefully he didn't make a habit of it here.

"Why hasn't anyone gotten my leader?" Skywarp demanded, anger rising the more he thought about it.

"We can't."

"Why not?" He was irritated to hear that they hadn't at least tried to go and get him by now. They had the numbers, and, as Thundercracker also told him, they had Devastator.

"Because his safety is at risk."

"Okay… then what are we doing about 'Screamer?" Skywarp imagined they had their reasons, and they wouldn't be stupid enough to think that his safety wasn't already at risk. There must have been more danger than he thought. Thundercracker had told him they had some plans, but nothing was set in stone as of yet.

"We were just discussing that. Let's take this outside where there's more room to talk. We will need everyone who isn't damaged."

"Most everyone is at full functionality," Bluestreak announced helpfully. "Ratchet and Hook work great together."

Optimus Prime exited the room, followed by everyone else. He headed toward the largest part of his hangar where all could hear. Others gathered out of curiosity. When they stopped, Skywarp turned to Optimus, "So… what's the story?"

Bluestreak suddenly piped, "You mean you've come up with something, Optimus?"

"Yes, Bluestreak."

"How is Starscream being retrieved? It'll be a lot easier with Skywarp here …"

The Prime looked at Skywarp, nodding to him, "Bluestreak is right. All of this depends on you, now."

Skywarp was already annoyed at Bluestreak for interrupting. He asked with a glower towards Optimus, "On me? Why?"

Optimus then spoke, "Everyone thought you had been killed, Skywarp. I'm sure even Megatron believes that. He won't be expecting you. Someone has to be able to get in and out undetected quickly. You are the only one who can because you can teleport."

Skywarp gave a doubtful laugh, trying to make light of a serious situation. He looked down, feigning interest in the floor. "Ahhh… About that…"

"What about it?" Jazz suddenly asked, reading his body language.

The black Seeker frowned and looked back up, fidgeting, "Uh… I can't teleport anymore." His voice ended in a squeak, showing his discomfort with even mentioning it.

The room fell quiet. No one even moved. It couldn't be true, could it? He was their answer to saving Starscream! It was as if their last hope had been squashed in that last sentence.

"Can you repeat that?"

"No!" Skywarp growled, frustrated.

"What do you mean you 'can't teleport'?" Bluestreak asked in surprise. "Since when can you not teleport, Skywarp – that is your designation, right? Because you're a grid rider?"

Skywarp furrowed his optics, offended, "…Since Sunstorm shot me. I nearly died, you slagaft." He paused in thought, "I don't like you very much… I suggest you stop talking." His annoyed glare faded as he looked back to Optimus, explaining, "Sunstorm took out my teleporting core. I lost all of the element to be able to teleport. I leaked it all into this dimension. I don't know the repercussions of that."

Will, Rob and Jess had walked up to the group with Miles and Mikaela towing further behind. They were interested in what plans were in action about Starscream. They already knew they would not be involved, but it was still good to know the plan of action. They had been listening as well as discussing different strategies, bringing up ideas with Optimus as they thought.

Hearing Skywarp, Jess asked, "That sparkly shit that was seeping out of you? Is it dangerous?"

Skywarp nodded to the human and then shrugged. "I don't know." The Seeker answered honestly. He was taught to never mix dimensional core technology, as it could be disastrous, but his creators were never clear on what he shouldn't mix.

"Well, if you can't teleport… What can you do?" Rob asked.

"Fly around… shoot things… typical Decepticon stuff…" Skywarp answered with another small shrug. Rob gave the Seeker a hiked brow, in which Skywarp answered, "Actually, with my systems repaired, I can teleport again. The only problem is that my teleporting core is empty." his voice trailed off as if he considered the idea a lost cause, "In order to get my system's functioning, I need to get to the grid between dimensions."

"What?" Rob asked and then paused, thinking about what Skywarp had just said. "Wait, wait, wait, hold up," he interrupted, "You literally teleport between dimensions?"

"Yeah,"

"How do you get there?"

Skywarp furrowed his optics at the question. "…I teleport," he answered wryly. "Somehow I thought me banging between different places would have given that away…"

"So, in order to be able to teleport, you need to get to that place, but you can't get there because you don't have what you need?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, there's that dilemma."

"This dimension might be able to create it. I'll need the assistance of the only thing on this planet that stands a hope of creating it though."

"And what's that?"

The Seeker let out an audible gust of air in a sigh. He knew how well monitored and defended the place was. "…A particle accelerator."

"A particle accelerator? Like CERN? What in the world would you need one of those for?"

"It's the only thing on your planet that should be able to make the stuff I need," Skywarp stated as if it were obvious. "I'm not like the others…"

"We knew that…"

Thundercracker, who had peeked her head out since Runway was in her hold, grinned devilishly, "Oh so that's why you're so strange! You're from a different dimension!"

Skywarp frowned at Thundercracker, however behind that frown was a malicious grin and he pointed at her. "Right…" Skywarp gazed down at the humans who looked fascinated. "I'm an (Cybertronian), which literally translates to "Inter-dimensional Grid Rider", or what humans call a teleporter. My kind isn't even from this dimension. My being here is an accident from a long time ago."

"Ain't that some shit!" Robert mused with a grin. A creature literally from a different dimension.

"Ha. You should have heard him when he first came back online. Asking if we were in a different dimension and shit. Freaked me right the fuck out." Jess chuckled.

"Back to the point," Will nodded to Skywarp, "Isn't CERN in Switzerland or something? I don't think you can waltz right up and get what you need, Skywarp. They're gonna suspect a giant robot."

"The USA has one running right now in New York."

"Again, giant robot and the general public don't mix."

Sadly, they were right. Skywarp frowned again, "So now what? Can't your stupid government do something?"

"We work the problem. Optimus is right, they need you." Will said. "I've heard the other plans, and none of them they can come up with will ensure Starscream's safety. They're too afraid of him being killed if anyone shows up."

"But Mirage…" Skywarp trailed off. "Can't he get an optic on what's going on there?"

"Shockwave has the area bugged, 'specially for cloakers an' spies," Jazz grunted in response.

Will looked around at the other humans then up at the Seeker and nodded. "Hey, lemme make a few phone calls about the accelerators, okay? We can try and pull some strings, see what we can do. Do you even know what you're looking for?"

"Soundwave can help," Skywarp said, glancing at the femme. "I've already looked into exotic materials that your scientists know about. This is stuff they haven't even begun to explore. Soundwave can likely deduce the formulas and calculations needed to create it."

Will immediately grabbed for his Cell phone to see what he could do to get Skywarp what he needed. He stopped and turned when he realized he had no idea what he was asking for, "What was it called?"

"I dunno," Skywarp shrugged, "Gridwyrm Energy. I just call it stuff… There's no real translation of what it actually is in this dimension," the Seeker shrugged.

"I can't go asking them for stuff, Skywarp… is there something to compare it to?"

He thought about one that the humans could relate to, "I guess the only comparable thing would be the resonant energies released from a black hole. I only need a miniscule amount to get into the grid. From there, I think I'm good." Skywarp shrugged again. "I hope. I was born with it, so I've never not had it."

Will spun completely around and stared at him, "Are you serious? A fucking black hole? Like supposedly unstable, suck up the planet and then everything else?"

"Yeah, and I'm a stable supply of it. Well, parts of it," Skywarp quipped. "Normally."

"Dude, you are anything but normal. You are the strangest fucking thing I have ever heard of," Rob said with a chuckle. "No offense, man, but am I getting this right? You're an inter-dimensional being that lives in this dimension and you're a walking black hole?"

"Kinda, sorta, yeah," Skywarp answered. He then smiled at the man, "Kinda cool, isn't it?"

Will smiled back with a nod, "Sure is, but I'm not bribing the government so they can make you a science experiment."

"Wouldn't dream of it, but I'm happy to know you care," the Seeker sneered with a toothy grin. "I'm just gloating about how much more superior Decepticons are to humans and their technology."

"And here I was just beginning to think everyone was getting along…" Will smirked.

Skywarp returned the smirk. "Oh, we were? Since when?" he mocked.

"Listen, you get what information you can from Soundwave, and we will see if there's anything the government can do to help you get your… stuff."

Although they were already moving quickly, the time to act had shrunken with the news from both Blacklight and Hot Rod, and it was shrinking ever quicker. With every hour that passed, stress was beginning to show in everyone. Deciding to tell everyone about Shockwave and the Star-Mates, Optimus had called a meeting early. It was outside, where all could be included. A crowd of Officers from both factions gathered on one side. Optimus was standing next to Soundwave. The Prime and Second in Command to the Decepticons standing next to each other was meant to say what words couldn't convey. Although it made him uncomfortable, he did it to show that they were in this together to get Starscream back and be finished with Megatron. Again.

"Everyone needs to hear what we have to say,"

Soundwave couldn't care less how anyone felt standing near her. She wanted them all to know that she would be willing to do what it took to get Starscream back. If that meant standing next to the Prime, then so be it. She looked down the line at all of them after they gathered. Those who arrived stared right back at her and Optimus.

Skywarp joined her along with Thundercracker. This was their trine mate, after all. Other Decepticons who were not privy to the conversation with Hot Rod were also joining this talk. They needed to know just as much as the officers if this was to go right.

"It has been brought to our attention that we lacked vital information on Shockwave."

"What kind of information?"

"Starscream may be in more danger than first thought. Both Starscream and Barricade, in fact."

"From Shockwave?" Dirge had asked, looking in the direction of the med bay in thought.

"Shockwave is a threat to them both, even with Barricade here. He has done unspeakable things to Starscream already, and if we do not get him now, we may never have the chance."

"Why the change?"

"Because, we have learned that Shockwave kills Star-Mates."

"Kills them? Like deliberately?"

"Yes, I'm afraid to say," Optimus replied.

"Disgusting,"

"What's the plan Boss bot?" Jazz asked.

"Skywarp," Optimus nodded toward the teleporter, "as you already know, you will have the most important job of them all."

Skywarp gave a prideful look. "I get to rescue the Youngling."

"Indeed," Optimus agreed. "You will go in, get him, and bring him here immediately for medical treatment. First Aid will be standing by. I suggest Ramjet also stays back to help take care of him. Wheeljack," Optimus addressed the engineer, "you will also hang back here and help the medics with anything they need. I have a feeling your expertise will be required." The Engineer nodded.

Ratchet will be with us for medical purposes if necessary. Hook will also not be available because of Devastator, so that leaves you three to at least stabilize Starscream when he arrives." The Prime said. Ramjet, Wheeljack and First Aid nodded.

"The more you can do to stabilize him, the better."

"You're expecting him to be in bad shape?"

"After what we heard, we are hoping we will get him in time. Blacklight has told us his condition that he saw. I imagine it is much worse by now."

"Most of you will be fighting the fight. There are those that will have specific roles."

"Seekers and heavy weapons," Optimus nodded to the warriors, "you will back up Sixshot with Bruticus and Piranacon. You are to keep the combiners occupied so they are not paying attention."

"Wait, wait," Skywarp interrupted. "Thundercracker needs to stay here."

Everyone looked to him then to the blue femme, "What? Why?"

"Because, she has given birth and needs to take care of our Sparkling." He said that with pride. "No arguments."

The others looked at Thundercracker. She figured some had suspected when her and Soundwave first arrived, but now Skywarp had announced it. She wanted to go, but she also knew with Runway being so new, that she needed to keep herself protected here.

"No arguments here." They all understood the importance of a newborn.

"Devastator will be on scene, but we will not use him unless necessary." Hook then told them all, making sure they would not depend on him.

"Megatron and Shockwave are mine." Soundwave then stated.

"You're going to need help," Thrust informed her.

Soundwave shook her head. "Not this time. The rest of you will take out the stragglers."

Others in the room gave her a questioning look. "What makes you so certain?"

Soundwave didn't answer. She was confident in her ability to destroy both of them. She would, in fact, be revealing more of herself than she originally planned, but maybe it was time for all of them to know what she was truly capable of.

"I say the best thing we can do is go all out. Megatron is probably expecting something by now." Ironhide then said.

"If – when we can get the item Skywarp needs, someone will need to distract Megatron and Shockwave while he gets in and gets out. Then, and only then, everyone else will be free to attack." Prowl told them.

"Radio silence until we are in range." Optimus then said. "Mirage, you will be ahead of everyone to make sure the path is clear. They can't know we are coming until after Skywarp has gotten Starscream."

Ironhide looked at Motorhead, then to the rest, "I don't care about surprise, surely there's no way we can lose! We have Devastator!"

"This needs to be as covert as possible until Starscream is rescued. It cannot be said enough that Megatron will absolutely kill him if he suspects anything. Consider him the mission." Optimus then said.

"Well, of course, he is the leader of the 'Cons."

Optimus shook his head. "You don't understand. This goes a lot deeper than we originally thought."

"Meaning?"

"Star-Mate Sparks are special. They can be captured."

"… captured?" Slingshot asked, disgust on his faceplates.

"Yes." Optimus replied, not wishing to go into details.

"How?"

Jazz glanced at Slingshot, knowing the discomfort in her leader, and then asked Optimus, "When are we doin' this?"

"As soon as the others have been briefed and Skywarp is ready," Optimus adjourned. "We will return here to discuss further as soon as Skywarp has his Gridwyrm energy. I also want to share the information we got from Hot Rod and Soundwave to everyone who wasn't in the previous meeting."

"Decepticon Officer Spread-link secured: Activated. Distance: Limited. Main Decepticon Spread-link locked down."

"Score!" Came a voice.

Immediately, Soundwave pinged for Starscream. There was no response.

Shit.

Will, Jess and Teri were already talking to higher ups about getting what Skywarp needed. When the Seeker finally got to talk to them, Will had some rather bad news, "Hey, uh, we tried, but I think we might need a little ah, assistance…"

"What kind of assistance?"

"The kind Soundwave can probably help with."

"Why? I thought your government was the end all be all?" Skywarp had to give a small smirk at that.

"You know that isn't true, man." Will said, "Listen, they can't do anything because the machines can't get up to speed fast enough for what you want. They're saying it's impossible."

"I'll show them 'impossible'…" He made a show of stomping off. Soundwave could help.

Standing in front of the closed bay doors, Skywarp figured if she could 'convince' a few computers to work for her, she was his best bet. He entered, his optics falling on Barricade before he looked up at Soundwave – who was getting minor things tweaked. The telepath showed no outward signs she'd seen him, but she was watching him.

Feeling her attention was on him he asked, "Do you think it's possible you can help me get the stuff I need from the particle accelerator?"

"Clarify mission," Soundwave droned.

It was probably going to be difficult since the speeds they'd need exceeded the machines' abilities. She would need to change the information while it was running and somehow get the end result back to them without being seen or noticed. This, all in all, would definitely show how good Soundwave really was. "The particle colliders on this planet can create the stuff, but humans are backwards and can't get the accelerator to run at the speeds I think we need. The closest functioning one is in New York."

"Brookhaven Particle Collider: online. Clarify item required,"

"Uh… The materials collided to make Gridwyrm energy." He flipped his wrist, exposing the key node Soundwave would need. "I have some of it, but I don't have all of it. Pretty sure you can fix the formulas for what I need."

Soundwave looked at the key-node and then back up to Skywarp's optics. "Do not pull information." She told him, turning so he could access her information port.

"I like my processor functioning, thank you very much." He inserted the key and turned, his optics dimming as he passed the information Soundwave would need.

Downloading the information from the Seeker, she pulled all pertinent information on how Grid Riders functioned, so she would know exactly what needed to be created. After a moment, she backed, considering his request. "Quantification: Possible. Request: reasonable. Mission: accepted." The telepath knew that without his teleporting ability, the mission would already be over. She typed a few things on her arm to set things in motion.

"You can?" he asked with excitement. He honestly hadn't expected her to agree with him.

"I will," Soundwave replied, checking in on a couple of satellites close to New York. It was doable, but she would need help.

Skywarp grinned wide and then literally jumped in excitement, "Yay!" He then bolted to give the good news. The telepath watched him go and decided to talk to the only other one who could help her in this endeavor.

The femme made her way to Blaster. He was busy working with the Autobots' communications panels. Stopping behind him, she watched him work. Their panels were more 'press button' type, and she took a moment to watch his hands fly over the controls, idly wondering how he could keep up with demand without being directly connected to the system like she did at their base. It was the music that annoyed her more than anything. "Your help: required."

The music suddenly cut off and Blaster turned. He'd known she was there, but unless she said anything, he wasn't about to change where his attention lied. "Whatcha need my help for?"

"Connection to Brookhaven Particle Collider: Both needed to connect. Your objective: stand guard of the information."

"Oh, for the energy Skywarp needs," Blaster said as realization dawned on him, "what would you have me do?"

"Limited connection: allowed to myself and the satellites I will use temporarily. We both need to access the servers, including the ones that are stand alone. I will access the stand-alone ones with a tight beam link from a satellite. You must scramble the information if it leaves the machine. Do not allow the humans to keep it."

"You do know the humans don't have access to technology for tight beam transmissions like you're suggesting, right?"

"Satellites were modified while I retrieved Skorponok." Soundwave stated simply. "We will use those."

"Sneaky…" Blaster was amazed that she was willing to share how she was so good at what she did. He wondered if he could learn a thing or two from her. "You also know their technology won't allow the machine to get to the speeds you need. They're gonna know their being messed with."

"Underestimation." The femme scoffed silently.

"You know what you're asking will be super hard, right?"

Of course it was going to be difficult. But she also figured the humans would be too excited to understand what was going on. "I will be manipulating the machine and causing the reactions needed. The humans will be informed to cryststore it."

"Again, they don't know what they're doing."

"Information will be supplied for this task."

"What's going to stop them from gathering the information while we are accessing it?" It was a valid question. "Humans can obviously read with their Mark I eyeball, you know." It was inevitable that they couldn't keep all of the information from the observation panels while they worked.

"Probability is low they can duplicate it in time."

"They do have cameras."

"Erasable."

"True. But we still might be detected." Blaster warned. Also, a good possibility. Soundwave was sure the humans would have no explanation for what happened.

"Erasable." Soundwave repeated.

Blaster knew Soundwave had more abilities than he did. He also knew that she could get into systems he couldn't and wondered if it was that telepathic ability she had. "This won't hurt the humans, will it?"

"I will run the collider like the low-tech one we had in Crystal City." Soundwave informed, ignoring the question.

Blaster raised his optic ridges at hearing that. "You're probably going to break the thing, running it like that. I don't think the humans can build something to withstand what you're about to do."

"Consequences: not important. Starscream's rescue: important."

"Will humans be hurt by it?"

"Human casualties are not my concern. Starscream's safety is."

"Optimus is going to have a fit," he said to her and shrugged. He didn't like the idea of humans being harmed in this process, but he was also as aware as everyone else about the dire need to get Starscream from Megatron and Shockwave. On the other hand, he was kind of excited to do this. He wasn't allowed to break into the humans' systems – Optimus had said so. So, he honestly didn't put up much of a fight. "Very well. Let's do this. If you break it, you've bought it. Follow me."

Soundwave was led to another room. This one was full of monitors of all different sizes. Why in the world did they need so many control panels? Each monitor had different information on it. It almost reminded her of her quarters. Almost. From there, Blaster sat down, reaching for different buttons and such and tapping various monitors. The first monitor he touched showed an aerial view of the facility.

"Show me the satellites you intend to use," Blaster instructed.

Soundwave did as bid of her, reaching for a different monitor and tapping at it. At the same time with the tap, she released a cable into the screen's port, quickly bringing up several squares of images. Five of those satellites would be what she'd need.

The two worked together to get everything in order, including sending a priority email 'from' the Secretary of Defense to the facility they intended to raid.

In New York, scientists scrambled over an email they'd received from the Secretary of Defense that morning. The email contained information on a new 'test' they were to run, and they were excited! This test supposedly was to change vital programming on the machine, intended for it to be able to collide from a standstill in a few hours instead of a few months. The files also contained information on a new element.

Every scientist and engineer were in a frenzy to try it.

Top programmers of the institute immediately got to work on the new protocols to get the machine to move faster. None of them knew that it was being assisted, and they didn't need to know that information. Working through the night, the tests came back positive. They were able to ramp it up to over full speed in a couple of hours instead of months.

Inputting the proper subatomic particles with microscopic particles, they were able to collide them and succeed after only a few tries. Strangely enough, the machine would not save settings they had set. The people were frantic to find out why and panicked at not being able to keep the information. They tried external hard drives, thumb drives and even cell phones, but nothing would hold the information, as it disappeared shortly after they'd downloaded it. It frustrated them all, and they were about to give up, but some decided they would actually write down the information. Though, some formulas that they tried to copy would go to a different screen out of their view.

Soundwave and Blaster made it as hard as they could for the humans to copy the information. In fact, Blaster was having more fun than he should have, and he swore that if Optimus knew what he was doing that he would be in deep trouble. It was harmless fun.

While people were dedicated to actually writing formulas, others were still working to see what the new element was. They'd gotten specifics about it and learned it had something to do with alternate realities and quantum entanglement. Some of the information supplied was false, as well, hopefully leading the humans down a path they would take years to discover.

Unfortunately, Soundwave had to give some information to them, because, as Blaster pointed out, they would be able to physically see it, and she couldn't stop all of it from coming through on the machine.

The scientists were even more surprised to find that they had to 'capture' these particles in this state in a frozen crystal. Weirdly enough, it wasn't any kind of special crystal – it was quartz. After a few more runs and using a crystal, they successfully captured the energy that Skywarp would need. They didn't know much about it, as other scientists were studying the numbers. Soundwave had assured that they wouldn't be able to keep the information, as she would destroy it as soon as the crystal left the facility – and humans had been sent for it before it had been completed. Until then, she saw no harm in them studying it, because it would take many, many years for them to even come close to what it had created.

Strangely, after the energies had been captured, a group of unknown men with high clearance walked in and gathered the crystal, much to the dismay and anger of the scientists. They left as abruptly as they came in.

Shortly after, as par the course, the accelerator began to malfunction and slow and would no longer run at the speeds it had. In fact, after a few more seconds, it shook violently before it shut down completely from a failsafe – and never started back up again, no matter how much the scientists and engineers tried. Many, many processors were fried beyond recognition.

The engineers were blaming the techs, the techs were blaming the engineers and the scientists, the scientists were blaming the quantum realm. Everything was a mess. They were all in agreement that someone had done something to it or hit a button and destroyed the everything, but alas, it had been an Autobot and a Decepticon on the other side of the country.

Soundwave, according to Blaster, was now the proud owner of a broken particle collider. Yay.

Skywarp paced, impatiently waiting to hear about the Gridwyrm energy he needed when Will came running to him. Jess looked down from Skywarp's shoulder. "Hey, the runs were… uh successful." Will called with a smile and glanced in Soundwave's direction. "It's now broken, somehow."

"Broken?" came a random voice. "How do you break a particle collider?"

"I'd say ask Soundwave. She probably knows all about it."

Skywarp grinned, "When will it be here?"

"Secretary Keller worked with a few upper officers and had it placed on a UAV. The UAV is cleared to fly." He looked at Soundwave expectantly.

"A UAV? That's going to take forever! Hours! We really don't have the time!"

"Go get it yourself, then."

Skywarp plopped down on his aft in disappointment, tossing a small piece of metal he'd found. It slid across the floor, clanging off the wall. "It'd take even longer if I went."

Soundwave typed a few things on her arm and an antenna twitched. "UAV: 4 hours, 21 minutes," She walked to the other side of the building.

Time was ticking. And ticking fast.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to any Cybertronian or human, for that matter, a Seeker was on her way back to Nevada with her new pet. They had been flying off and on for a long while, and because she was still inexperienced, sometimes Cessnas were flying faster than she was. It was exhausting to both her and Tyler.

Baby steps, she kept telling herself, using a human term.

Something new was taking place within her, and she knew she couldn't fly much longer. She knew she needed to land. And soon. Plus, her human needed to relieve himself and get sustenance. The only problem was that she had no idea where to land, or how to accomplish it safely. Her previous attempts were terrifying to Tyler and herself. "Tyler…" the femme spoke softly, waking the human.

Tyler opened his eyes to the same blue he'd been seeing for a while. He stretched as much as he could. Immediately, he could hear what he could only explain as sputtering. "Hey, everything alright?"

"I need to land soon." Typhoon said to him. Her voice seemed shaky and strained at the same time.

It took him another moment to comprehend what the Seeker was saying, "Shit," he drawled out, remembering their other experiences.

Hearing his exasperation, she tried to explain herself. "Landing isn't ingrained in our processors either,"

"I can tell," he murmured. "You're fine. We've managed to land before without crashing. Where are we?"

"I have no idea. Though my mapping puts us in the midwestern part of the US."

Tyler looked out the large window and down, there was large open land, some boulders and plateaus dotted the area. Quickly, he came to the conclusion that he had no idea where they were either. "Doesn't seem to be many people out here."

"I'm thankful for that. It's not very peopley."

"Don't you mean populated?"

"Peopley, populated. Same difference."

He pointed toward where a town was not far off. Food. "How about out of sight of that town, but close enough I can walk?"

"I can try."

"Why don't you try hovering or something this time? Trying to roll to a stop didn't work out so well last few times."

Considering what the man said, she thought it possible. "Starscream can do both. I'll try," she told him.

Tyler held on for dear life as Typhoon began getting slower and slower in the air and began dropping altitude. He felt her vibrate and sway in the air. "Shit, please don't crash!"

"I don't intend to," the Seeker stated nervously, carefully watching how close to the ground she was and how fast she was going. Hopefully no one saw them.

The inexperienced Seeker touched down softer than either of them expected, her body bobbing slightly. He heard her flight systems begin to shut down and her canopy cracked open. "I suggest you get out as soon as you can."

"Trying to chase me off?"

"For now."

"I see how you are," he joked, jumping out and then down then stretched. He looked around, "I'd say it was a good landing. We're still alive!"

"For a moment there, I was doubting it." She then began transforming to stretch herself.

Tyler walked a ways away; the need to relieve himself wouldn't wait until he got to the conspicuous single round bale they'd landed near. This must be someone's farm. "Keep your sensors peeled, huh? There might be people close." Realizing what he'd said, he shook his head. It wasn't as if he was talking to K.I.T.T.

"They're not. There are no signatures of any type for at least a mile." She then considered the distance, "a mile isn't too far for you to walk, is it?"

"I'll be fine. You do what you… need to do, huh?"

Mindlessly scratching at her chest, the youngling moved around, watching Tyler walk off. She was sure she would be fine. She'd had changes before and nothing bad came of it. It felt good not to use her thrusters. The young femme sat down, not wanting to walk either. She really didn't want to move at all. Again, she scratched at her chest, realized what she was doing and looked down.

A wash of something she'd never felt before rolled over her processors. It made her uneasy and she swayed. Static invaded her optics to the point she couldn't see and the weakness she was beginning to feel was very real. Her body shivered and what appeared to be electricity began sparking over random places on her body. She made some kind of clicking sound and started stumbling backwards until she fell on her aft.

Something was intruding into her mind and her Spark started to burn. None of her changes ever felt like this. The burn became a sharp pai and it felt like her Spark was bring ripped apart. Dizzy, and not seeing straight, she looked down at her chest as it parted, and from what she could see, it looked like her Spark was separating from itself.

She began to panic, wanting to move, but curiosity and horror had her optics fixed on her Spark as it continued to split apart, two new chambers smaller than the main one rising up and behind her Spark. When they were finished moving lines and tubes began to coil and uncoil, moving about until they connected with the new chambers.

The two chambers ignited, one had a soft green color, the other a lavender color. She stared at them a while longer, studying them, trying to understand what had happened. Energy still coursed over her body, and she began to feel pinches everywhere over her form. That distracted her enough to look away from her chest.

About an hour later, Tyler had returned to the femme he'd left. She was sitting on the ground, her arms over her knees and her hands clasped. She looked over at her human in the distance. His eyes grew wide as he approached. He clearly remembered her being smaller. She was much larger now. Her body was even more defined. Her legs seemed to have more metal in them, appearing to be able to steady them. She had flaps and rudders; her thruster system was different and glowed a soft pink color. And well, for a robot, she was real pretty. She was also taller. Much taller. "I hope you stop growing," Tyler said in slight awe.

"I think I'm done."

"Done?"

"Done growing. I'm an adult now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. My Sparks tell me I'm done growing."

"Sparks, as in more than one?"

"Yeah. I have three Sparks now." She opened her chest for him, showing him her new system.

For a moment, he couldn't stop staring at the main almost white Spark. A flicker caught her attention, and his eyes wandered over the small purple Spark and the small green one. "What does it mean? You're even more special?"

The white femme gave a soft chuckle, "I'm still learning that part."

A few hours passed by. It was nearly night when the UAV slowed as it came closer and landed. Skywarp was watching it excitedly as it slowed and then stopped. He spied the container that had more warning signs than Starscream and reached for it. All of those who were expecting something big to happen were rather confused when the Seeker simply ate it.

… Warp Core Systems: Online. …

"Really? That's it?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. What were you expecting? Some kinda firework show?" Skywarp quipped.

… Warp Core Element: Gridwyrm Levels Nominal. …

"Well, no, but…" what had he been expecting? Eating it was low on the list, though.

Skywarp took a moment, feeling his mixers and systems absorb the energy. His teleporting protocols began accepting it. He smiled more and more as his warp core began spooling up. Oh, how he'd missed that feeling. He really hadn't noticed how much until he could feel it again.

… Dimension Grid System: Ready. …

He then gave a cheeky grin to those who were watching and in a bang of displaced air and lightning, he was gone. A few seconds later, he found himself where he wanted to be, "Hey, it worked!"

Thundercracker looked up from Runway, who was playing with her claws, to her soon to be mate, "Go get our 'Screamer back,"

"That's the plan!" Skywarp walked out with a grin to show the others.

He watched the Predator, which was being sent back to its base of origin. He was ready now. "So, we ready to kick Megatron and Shockwave's afts back to Cybertron?"

The Decepticons were ready. The Autobots were awaiting orders from Optimus. They were all ready for this.

Suddenly Acid Rain came from inside the building with Wheeljack. He held up a small test tube with a green substance in it to Ironhide, and then flicked it in his direction. The Weapon Specialist didn't miss a beat as he caught it. "You might want to try that,"

"What is it?"

"It'll help with damage from your cannons." The green Seeker told him. Ironhide gave him a weary look, "Wheeljack worked with me on it, come on, I'm a Weapons Chemist!"

"Do I look stupid to you?"

"Is that a trick question? Put the liquid in your injector system and let it do its magic."

"How do I know it won't blow up my cannons?"

The green Seeker growled in irritation. "Listen, if you really believe I'm going to make things worse when we both have the same goal, you need your processors reformatted. I want Starscream back just as much as everyone else. Do you think I'd really cause more issues?"

"Yes,"

The Seeker shook his head with a roll of his optics, "Answered your own question. Take the damned things."

The tactic was simple. Distract Megatron and Shockwave long enough to get Skywarp in and out. The rest would be a piece of cake, but the important part was getting Starscream out. They didn't know his condition but assumed he was in bad shape. The medics at the Autobot base had a full crash kit, expecting anything.

The convoy approached the Decepticon base in overwhelming numbers, immediately alerting Megatron and Shockwave to intruders. The Decepticons held back and the Constructicons were even further back. All except Soundwave.

"Soundwave is here," Vortex said, looking out of the main doors.

Finally. Megatron folded his hands behind his back. He didn't know why it took so long, but now they had finally come. "Yes, he is. Why don't we give him a warm welcome,"

When they stepped out, they just stopped and looked. Other Decepticons came up behind Soundwave. The Stunticons, Seekers and other Cons were as if awaiting orders. They stopped just behind her.

The Autobots stayed back while Soundwave lead the group of Decepticons closer. Before she got to him, she hit something on her arm; her wave sensor rose and then dropped again. She stopped in front of the tyrant.

Skywarp flew out of view of the convoy now that Megatron and Shockwave were distracted. He raced, going as fast as his thrusters would burn. He had to get to him.

When he got close enough to teleport, yet far enough not to be noticed, he banged between dimensions and reappeared in the brig where he suspected Starscream to be. Hoping that the noise he'd made didn't attract attention, he moved quickly, just in case it had been heard. He'd expected to feel Starscream through their trine-bond, but he couldn't, and he feared the worst. "Please, please, please," he begged quietly as he approached.

Looking everywhere, he stopped when he saw something in the shadows of one of the cells. Dread and sadness crushed his Spark as the darkness revealed to him the mech that awaited a jailbreak, "Aw, no… 'Screamer…"

They may have already been too late.

Aaaand Go!

They've finally gotten to Starscream. And Soundwave, I think is about to give Megatron and Shockwave the beatdown of their lives. Fairly certain she doesn't need help. Should be entertaining.

FYI I threw a wrench at her. The next chapter will reveal more about Soundwave, her devotion and her full telepathic power. I feel bad for anyone who's pissed her off… wait… no I don't.