Franky Got Feathered



Two days ago...out in the southwestern US, there was a Decepticon incident. Triggerhappy, under the guise of being heavily wounded, crashed into the terrain in Yosemite National Park. The EDC were called to investigate, and did their job well, airlifting Triggerhappy to their base in Nevada. While the damage was real, while the interrogation that followed was predicted, while the gut instinct of Cross and his agents all screamed there was an issue at hand...there was still damage dealt. The Con had smuggled a large bomb into the base, and did some good structural damage to it.

While this was an unfortunate, but predictable event, it wasn't highly damaging to the EDC, no million dollar prototypes destroyed, no assassinations occured. But something DID happen afterwards, because as the base underwent its recovery and repair, Sophia-II, and its driver, General Franklin Cross went missing. The General's temperment notwithstanding, this was not his way or style to do things. It becomes clear that he is missing.

The sceneset is the Southwest still, noonish on the second day after the bombing. If the Cons had him, he's been in their custody for over 40 hours or so, which means he's probably dead. Unless a third party has him, if so...they're not telling

Meanwhile, a groggy and disoriented General awakens in a hospital bed, restrained. The area he is in is dark and cool. Worked stone walls and steps. For him, the room would be considered spacious for living or such...For the mech within, it was a bit cramped.

A pair of light blue eyes emenate from the darkness, beyond the hot light that illuminates the General. "I hope you weren't injured too much, General. I thought it'd be best if we had another talk...away from the Autobots." A glint of red is caught in the light for a moment, "Primus help me, I don't want to do this, but you've had this coming for a while now..."

Franklin Cross wakes up in the hospital bed, and he is indeed groggy at first. But when he tries to sit up and finds himself tied to the bed, he soon surges back to full consciousness, struggling at the restraints. "Errggghhh, what the hell is this!? Where am I?" It's then that he looks out into the darkness across from him, seeing a pair of blue optics staring at him. "So the Autobots have finally decided to come after me. Or one of them, anyway. I guess the other ones didn't have the brass balls to go through with it and you decided to play vigilante, right? Well, get on with whatever you're going to do, robot. I'm not going to give you whatever it is you want."

He catches the glint of red in the light. "Wait a minute..." he mutters. Is that.... no, that's not possible, surely the Autobots would lock him up after that debacle! Wouldn't they? "...who are you?" Overhead, there flies something very much like a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drone, only more futuristic, and painted a flat, matte black.

EARLIER

Apocryphacius stares blearily at the drone on the deck of the light aircraft carrier, the EDC McCartney. He has more stitches than he cares to count, bandages, and an IV drip. After a long, spacey moment, he says, "It is neon. Get it painted black."

A pair of flight crew exchange funny looks, and one points out, "It's... grey. With a blue stripe."

"It is /neon/. I want it black," Apocryphacius insists.

NOW

Apocryphacius should not be out right now. He should be in the medical ward. He especially should not be wandering around Nevada with an incompletely tested and recently repainted drone plane. However, when the news reached him that general Cross has no reported in, Apocryphacius had a panic attack. General Cross is the only one, these days, who treats him with any measure of common decency and respect. The way other people treat him is... not something he is going to think about right now. Hopefully General Cross just did something stupid, like get his tank stuck in a ditch. He holds a radio in one tentacle - his onboard radio is still broken from the incident with the machetes and the salt and says, "EDI. Just on a hunch... squawk ident. Not your EDC ident. The other codes you have."

The drone plane's voice, which is oddly animated and lively, rings out over the radio, "The other one? But you said to forget that one! It's just a glitch, isn't it?" Apocryphacius transforms into his Apocryphacius  mode.

Hubcap paces the area, pausing occasionally to trail a hand across the ground. "Nothing coming in on the ground. Air's the next best bet."

Ambulance  prowls the area several streets over. <> he radios to Hubcap. Aid's no tracker, though. He's picked up a few things from Streetwise, but there isn't much hope of him finding anyone without serious help. The unnamed Bot scowls in the darkness, his optics narrowing. "Do we all look alike to you now? Because none of us are 'alive'?" He scoffs to himself. "I'm just sick of it...I'm sick of you. Before you came along, the EDC and the Autobots, we were chums, we worked pretty well together...I *thought* we were friends." The large figure paces back and forth in the darkness. "But then something happened." A grey finger points towards Cross, "You happened. I don't know...if it was the orders you took, or if you really had something to do with Marissa's illness. Either way, I'm getting some answers." The figure sighs again, "I *really* don't want to have to do this." There was a shuffling of motion off to the side, a large bird...a vulturebot specifically, ruffled his cyberfeathers. The mystery figure again sighs, "I think it'd be a very good idea for you to be telling us the truth, like..right now."

Autobot Battlecruiser hovers in an area central to First Aid and Hubcap's search efforts, studying data coming in from Streetwise and Groove, as well as the scout, Wolfwings. <>

 Laserbeak says, "A transmission flickers onto one of the major networks of Earth, obviously a cut-in transmission it shows a dark room...a struggling man. Some sort of hulking figure looms over him.  There is a voice, disguised by filters, that talks over the background.  "WITNESS...WITNESS THE SECRETS OF MAN, THE SECRETS OF ROBOT. PEEL BACK THE METAL, THE FLESH, AND WE WILL FIND THE SOUL HERE." %R Footage plays of Triggerhappy, locked in confines by large magnets.  The footage is paused, played side by side with Franklin Cross, General of the EDC as he lays restrained in a hospital bed.   Triggerhappy writhes in pain.  "TORTURE. A TACTIC DISAPPROVED OF BY THE GOVERNMENTS, USED WITHOUT MERCY...BY BOTH SIDES. WHAT RESPECT IS THERE FOR TWO SOCIETIES WHEN THEY REDUCE EACH OTHER TO MEWLING MASSES? WHAT DRIVES THE EDC INTO DOING SUCH INHUMANE THINGS, SO SHORTLY AFTER THE U.N. ITSELF DECIDED TO AMEND THE GENEVA CONVENTION?""

Franklin Cross props himself up onto his elbows, which is about the most he can move in this position. "Something happened? Yes, something happened. YOU happened. You landed on our planet. You brought your war with you. You have caused the deaths of countless humans. It doesn't matter what your intentions were. We aren't friends. Friends do this to each other. You brought this on us and I mean to bring an end to it."

He scowls at something he briefly notices in the darkness. "Is that... that's the birdbrain that dragged me over here! You're working with the Decepticons!? Now I see... oh, yes, I see now. This is how it starts, is it? The point where you two finally decide to join forces against the squishies, it's finally here." He smirks at the figure. "Well, buddy, in that case, given that your two sides are a bigger threat than ever, there is no way in hell I'm going to tell you a damn thing. You should be more worried about what we'll do to you once my friends find me, and they will, trust me." "Apocryphacius, you should not be out right now."

So says Lt. Reynolds as she tromps along beside the squid-alien, her heavy power suit boots leaving deep footprints in the Nevada sand. The broadcasts come in, and are projected on the inside of her faceplate, at which point Melody frowns.

"Okay, whoever kidnapped the General wants to make a point. It's propoganda- is there any way we can see if it's time-stamped? For all we know, this has all been pre-recorded." Apocryphacius , who is searching on the ground, wheezes over the radio, "I am aware that I said that. Just humour me, EDI."

The drone plane laughs over the radio and says, voice chipper, "Oooookay. Well, if you say so!" Then the Reaper drone transmits the ident codes for a Seeker who, as far as the Decepticon forces know, went missing after the destruction of the EDC Eilson Air Force Base in Alaska. A Seeker who was presumed dead. Seeker Eddy, Function: Fluid Dynamics. He was fond of sinking ships with whirlpools. Any Decepticon in the area will get a little notification of Eddy squawking ident to check in.

While EDI is following cryptic (to him) commands, Apocryphacius has a freak-out over the radio message. They have to find Cross before Cross's head explodes to avoid torture! Cross would totally do that. Apocryphacius would not put it past him. Apocryphacius throws his tentacles in the air and radios over the EDC channel. He says petulantly to Melody, "Captain Reynolds, I am not going to rest while my general is in danger from /robot scum/." Hardhead has arrived. "Robot scum?" Melody echoes. A brow is raised, but she otherwise remains professionally impassive. "Well, it's entirely likely that other, nicer robots may be the ones helping us find General Cross. We can't afford to make this...personal."

She shakes her head, and then pulls in a deep breath, steeling herself for the chaos to come. "So, we can't trace the signal...yet, at least. What about the footage?" She hmms. "There's got to be something in there we can use..."

Autobot Battlecruiser watches the transmission, scowling the way only a frustrated spaceship can. <> As he speaks, he picks up on two additional signals, both EDC: Melody and Apoc. <> Thrusters light up, and the cruiser lurches forward, heading in their general direction...in fact they'll proably be able to see him by...their next pose! Ambulance  pulls over to the side as he receives the transmission about Cross's whereabouts. He wants very strongly to ask Hubcap how the tracing is going, but he also doesn't want to interrupt the master at work, and so he refrains. He does, however, chit-chat idly with Scattershot. First Aid is ready to move once they have a bead on the General's location. Hubcap, being on the small side, has managed to find somewhere to huddle up and focus on the airwaves. Interesting. As the 'Code-Whatever-Get everyone the hell into the field' hits Hardhead communicator, the taciturn Headmaster breaks off his patrol route appearing near the location of Scattershot and First Aid. The shuttle that deposits the Headmaster breaks off into the distance resuming its mission.

Hardhead speaks into his communicator, "First Aid, Scattershot. On scene, locked and loaded." The figure accuses back, "Just like you joined forces with the Quintessons? Oh, I don't like the Cons, never have. They're tyrants...they're warmongers." Again Cross sees the finger before him, "You're little better, Cross. You got a chance to make this right though." There's a sweeping motion in the shadows, Laserbeak sits up straighter, "I'd soon as cook a bird as talk with it. But he wants answers...and so do I." The shadowed figure pauses, "What...did you do to get an alliance with the Quintessons? How long have you been working with them? What do they want?" There's a shudder from a wall, as if a heavy metal fist slammed into it. "You colony dropped your satellite on our planet, you....you monster!"  Laserbeak says, "The footage continues, Cross restrained from his position, calls out to an unseen figure.  *excerpts follow of the footage*  Cross remarks, defiant  "oh, yes, I see now. This is how it starts, is it? The point where you two finally decide to join forces against the squishies, it's finally here." He smirks at the figure. "Well, buddy, in that case, given that your two sides are a bigger threat than ever, there is no way in hell I'm going to tell you a damn thing. You should be more worried about what we'll do to you once my friends find me, and they will, trust me." The shady figure accuses back, "Just like you joined forces with the Quintessons? Oh, I don't like the Cons, never have. They're tyrants...they're warmongers." Again Cross sees the finger before him, "You're little better, Cross. You got a chance to make this right though."   The voiceover continues, "LIES AND DECEIT, AMONG ALLIES. THE TRUTH IS, NOBODY REALLY TRUSTS EACH OTHER. INHERENT FEAR RULES BOTH PARTIES. THE HUMANS CREATE WEAPONS THAT CAN DESTROY ROBOTS, THE ROBOTS FEEL FEAR, BETRAYAL. IT IS SIMPLE TRUTH, WE CANNOT LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE."" Apocryphacius  twitches and adjusts one of the many bandages that currently ring his tentacles, and he checks that his IV drip bag is still taped securely to his dome. His faces whirl around, and he says pleasantly, "Oh, my apologies, Lieutenant. I realise that I should be more sensitive about our wonderful allies who are faultless and without sin. Why, one might even call them... innocent."

"And I have Sharkticons now! Who are hungry. All the time. Eh-heh." He steeples a pair of his tentacles. "As a complete aside that has nothing to do with my previous verdict of innocence, of course." With a different set of tentacles, Apocryphacius pulls out his construction toolkit. "Look, if they are smart, they are going to be bouncing that signal through at least a dozen different relays to mask the source of the signal, but that means that there are going to be multiple origins for the same signal, so if I look at the relative intensity of the signals and compare the Doppler shift..."

So now he is building Mad Engineering as he searches.

The drone above just continues its search patterns, occasionally trying a showboating trick move out of boredom.

 Hubcap says, "So, do you have anything for sale, or?"

Apocryphacius  transforms into his Apocryphacius  mode. Franklin Cross just laughs at the robot who seems a hair trigger away from squishing him. "Oh, boo hoo! I dropped a satellite onto your enemies' city. What do you care? You should be glad I'm taking care of them for you, since the Autobots have never managed to be able to do the deed. Besides, what did you expect? This is war, and you've hardly got the right to condemn us for it when the Decepticons used that monster Trypticon to level P'yongyang. So kiss my ass, robot."

He gives a light shrug while sitting back on the bed. "What do I want with the Quintessons? Well, turns out they're not so happy about the little AI rebellion they went through so long ago, and the fact that the Decepticons blew up their homeworld just like they'll do to Earth one day. They want payback. We want payback. So why not? Why not join forces? And besides, thanks to their cloaked ships, we took those Decepticon dumbasses completely by surprise. The looks on their faces while the puny flesh creatures were slaughtering them..." He grins at the supposed Autobot. "*Priceless.* But not as satisfying as it ought to be when you realize their feelings are nothing but fakery." Combat: Apocryphacius  compares his Technical to 85: Failure :( Combat: Hubcap compares his Technical to 85: Success! Upon receiving his orders, the Headmaster begins running towards First Aid's location, during his sprint he pulls out his two Shatterblasters, preparing himself for whatever comes next. "First Aid." Hardhead says as way of greeting and acknowledgement of the Autobot Medic, his expression neutral. While the two sides start working their analysis, Hubcap manages to power through the scanning arrays, beating the EDC to the punch. It becomes clear the two sides are both doing the same job. The difference is, one side has had more success than the other. In Nevada there appear to be three different transmitters in the area, that may provide relevant clues if there are more relays going on. Each one denoted simply, A B and C. It is up to the Bots currently to decide what to do with these target locations. Battlesuit  SHOULD ask the obvious question of: why do you have Sharkticons? But...she doesn't. Not now, at least. She lets the mad scientist go into...mad science, and nods. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Though honestly, she knows she's mostly here for the part AFTER they find Cross. You know, when it gets messy.

<Earth> Scattershot says, "Autobots, rendevous with Hubcap and proceed to point C. We have a positive ID on Cross."

Laserbeak glares at Cross. The hardball moment comes. Shock therapy is given to Cross, painful but not debilitating. Laserbeak knows many ways to get information, and disorientation or sheer panic are more likely to yield unreliable data. He wanted Cross mad, he wanted him to let loose more juicy tidbits. The mystery bot who may or may not be Sideswipe presses again. "You *know* what the Quintessons have done to us. You'd rather see us in chains, enslaved...in their hands. You stubbornly refuse to understand that we're living creatures...Fine, I could talk till I'm rust in the face..." His faceplate is touched by the light, just a little. "What happened with Faireborn? That Doctor you had on the Swordfish. Violen. You knew he was a monster, you knew he was causing plague just to cure it. You knew that and you invited him to the Olympics anyway....His ship is still docked up there, isn't it? So how'd you learn about him, huh? What was the buyoff there? Money?..." He pauses, "No, you know what, I just want to know if it was your idea, or the Security Council's. They're the ones pulling your strings. You report to them, right? Like at the big Hearing, every time they got a reaction they didn't want....you got the scowls. They're resting it on you. Did the Security Council order Marissa Faireborn debilitated so you could take control?"

Ambulance <First Aid> watches the television transmissions in sullen silence, but as soon as Scattershot gives them their orders, the Protectobot pulls out of his parking spot and activates his lights and sirens. He's now cutting through traffic like nobody's business. Dropping into his Tank Mode, Hardhead rolls out behind First Aid. While he doesn't have a fancy light or siren, the shear sight of a fancy futuristic tank rumbling through the streets is sufficient to scatter the traffic.

If Melody actually asked, the Sharkticons are 100% General Cross's fault. Apocryphacius resents them because now First Aid thinks that Apocryphacius is an awful slave owner and also the Sharkticons keep getting into messes that Apocryphacius has to clean up. (Also, the Sharkticons are spooky.) His faces shift around again, and he replies to Melody, "Oh yes, Lieutenant. You can keep your weapons ready to subdue those miserable wretches who took the General. I want to see them at World Court. I want to see them locked up. Forever. Which is a long time coming."

Then he snaps, "- gallium-condemn it!" as one of his weak, shaking tentacles accidentally drives his soldering iron into a delicate circuit of the device he is constructing. Apocryphacius looks up in time to see Scattershot, and he whispers over his radio, "EDI, follow him."

The drone plane complies.

Apocryphacius follows more slowly, still vainly trying to build an operational tracking device. Apocryphacius <Judgement Face> transforms into his Apocryphacius <Wrath Face> mode.

Battlesuit <Melody Reynolds>, for the record, doesn't have her weapons at the ready. Yet. She's still in 'search' mode! Though between an errant transmission on an open channel, and Scattershot's own approach...well, it's enough for Melody to figure it out.

"Apocryphacius, I think the Autobots are ahead of us on this one." She says- and with that, she bounds into movement- her hydraulic-enhanced legs going into a steady, long-strided jog as she matches Scattershot's course- hopefully towards wherever the General's hidden! Combat: Apocryphacius <Wrath Face> compares his Technical to 85: Success! <Decepticon> Misfire says, "Hypothetically, if we volunteer our Nebulan /partner/ and something goes sideways, do we get a new one?" Franklin Cross spasms briefly in the hospital bed, but can scarcely move with the bindings holding him down. "Rrrrarrrrghhhhnnnn...." Finally the voltage ceases courses through him. "Go to hell you robotic pussy!" Cross screams at the Autobot, spittle flying from his mouth. "Don't have the guts do it yourself, do you? You're making the bird do it, aren't you? Go transform into a rod and shove yourself up into your own fuelpipe!"

In response to the questions, Cross's chest heaves as he listens. "Faireborn? I... no, I don't know anything about that Strardigarvarius character. She got sick, I tried to treat her. I tried to keep her safe, alright? Without me she'd be dead, you understand? Dead as a doorknob, and these... these ACCUSATIONS... are completely unfounded.... And... for the record, I answer to the UN as a whole, so you have a problem with me, you file a petition with them, though you might not get far after this, SIDESWIPE. Oh, sorry, was I not supposed to notice? I can't tell you soulless robots apart." Hubcap darts out from cover quickly, and hops up onto Hardhead's side. Kneeling on the armour, he tries to maintain a signal, so he can coordinate. Apocryphacius <Wrath Face> manages to locate the three possible broadcast locations, though it takes getting angry at his equipment to make it work. He reasons aloud to Melody, "I already assigned EDI to tail Scattershot," which is point C, "I would like you, sir, to go to this point," and he points out point A on a glowing screen, "and I will go here," and he points to point B, "if that is acceptable by you." Apocryphacius <Wrath Face> transforms into his Apocryphacius <Darkness Face> mode.

"Two out of three isn't bad." Melody says, nodding in agreement. "Just be careful, Apocryphacius! Retreat at the first sign of hostilities- once we have the General's location, we can call in backup." ...hopefully. It's not like the EDC's the best staffed organization at the moment!

And thus, Melody bounds off in after her assigned point, going as fast as her hydraulics will take her! <Decepticon> Contrail says, "It should be /our/ farce, sir." <Decepticon> Shockwave says, "Decepticons will be ruled as non-sapient, and Nebulons as sapient. Nebulons are required to be sapient as a gesture of galactic political good will." <Decepticon> Shockwave says, "The only unclear question in my mind is what pre-determined result has been chosen for the Autobots." <Decepticon> Misfire says, "Ohhh...I see. Then Aimless is like, super smart. A savant! Totally sapient-y." And that's when Apoc's and Melody's incoming alerts scream to life: A rocket fires past them, originating from behind them. Scattershot, thrusters to full to follow Hardhead and company, doesn't even see it coming, despite a lot of radar function. It slams into his armor, sending the cruiser reeling.

<<SCRAP. Ah've been engaged by the EDC. Continue to point C. Ah'll handle things here.>>

MEANWHILE IN AUTOBOT CITY... Wolfwings pops into Scattershot's office. "Hey Bottlethrottle, you ready to...Bottlethrottle? Hrm. Guess he's out in the field with Scattershot. Weird."

Scattershot scrambles after Apoc, locking on. A warning. <<Thought we were friends, Quintesson? The hell was that all about?!>> Point C. The Autobot Destination. Not too far from the Autobots, given a high speed siren and a freaking tank, it is needless to say traffic lets you pass! Point C is a transmitter amplifier, cordoned off with a high wire chainlink fence. From the outside, it looks small, quaint. A small shack sits next to the building...human sized. If there was anything on site here, it'd have to be analyzed further. There was always the chance of some piggybacking signal or relay jump. Between First Aid and Hardhead, they're able to make pretty good headway through traffic. <<'Engaged'?>> First Aid radios back. <<Well tell them that the Council of Vagueness ordered us to find Cross! Does the right hand not know what the left hand is doing on Earth anymore?>> First Aid's frustration is starting to seep through. Pulling over to the side as they reach Point C, First Aid doesn't hesitate by flipping into robot mode and hopping over the fence in a single bound. Photon pistol out, First Aid conducts a quick scan of the area to ensure they aren't about to be ambushed. Ambulance <First Aid> flips up into robot mode. <Decepticon> Geo says, "What if I were to volunteer, just to see?" <<Hubcap, welcome onboard>> Hardhead continues to roll towards the location. <<Scattershot, try to keep collateral damaged to a minimum. Theoretically at least, we still want to be guests on this planet.>> Upon reaching the fence, he reverts to his Robot mode and follows First Aid over, his weapons drawn. "First Aid, be careful." He cautions the adventurous Protectobot. <Decepticon> Shockwave says, "Permission granted, Geo." Hubcap continues to track down electronic leads even as he raps his fist against Hardhead's armoured hide. With a grimace, he notices that his custom channel isn't seeing much in the way of data transfer. Therefore... <Decepticon> Geo says, "My databanks of human studies are quite full and diverse; I am willing to offer my life to the Decepticon cause, and if these sapience-tests are rigged, as you fear, then perhaps we can turn THAT back on them as wel." "What?" Melody looks upwards as that rocket streaks upwards. "Someone's firing on the Autobots! Must be Decepticons!" She scowls, and then stomps forward, pouring on some more speed into her accelerator suit, pushing it as fast as she can manage. The unknown assailant will have to wait until she rescues the General! <Decepticon> Shockwave sounds doubtful, "Perhaps, Geo. You may take the test, but expect them to move against you once you 'fail'." <Decepticon> Geo says, "Of course. It is to be specifically expected within a 92.5% probability. However, I am already formulating a number of contingencies." Apocryphacius <Darkness Face> listens to Melody and files her orders away as 'to be ignored if inconvenient', which is unusual for him, as he is normally very mindful of proper protocol. At the first sign of hostilities, retreat be condemned - he is going for his demolitions kit. The rocket is a surprise to Apocryphacius - he does not have to fake his shock. Looking at Scattershot even from afar makes him twitch, and he sputters incoherently, <<You. You. You are... /neon/! Your colours are just... I... uhm... I mean. I have no idea what is with that rocket. Maybe it is the Decepticons, as the Lieutenant suggests. Anyway, go on and lock on me if you like. Go on and /fire/ if you like. I am certain that I still have something left to bleed, and while I live and bleed, I have a job to do, /Autobot/.>> He tries to continue on to point B.

EDI has a top airspeed of about 555 MPH, which he uses most of the time, being rather impatient in personality. When/if he reaches point C, he will circle above in the sky and do some bored snap rolls. Point A. Point A is not too much different than Point C. It is a radio transmitter that is a bit bigger than the other. It has a small setup, a two vehicle garage, and a high electricity 'danger' warning on the fencing. Judging from the rusty gate, and the fairly obvious discovery of the fence not actually being electrified, it appears this point is in disuse. Though without proper investigation on the inside, it would be hard to rule it out. <Decepticon> Contrail says, "Keep in mind that a valid contingency plan is 'have someone else in the air willing to give you a ride out and blow the entire place to smithereens'." <Decepticon> Geo says, "Of course, Contrail. I would have nothing lese. I was going to gather members of the Air Corps and perhaps the Combaticons. Also, Buzzkill and I have worked extensively together, and her small form would be ideal for espionage within for assistance." Point B is actually a Television station, public access. It's a fairly good sized building, your tax dollars at work and all. Next to it, there is a small parking garage devoted to the staff cars and such for it. KTNF is about as low budget as you can get, the antenna itself is out of date, and probably doesn't have the proper safeguards to prevent signal jacking. On the inside, the pedestrians are watching the broadcast as others in the nation..the world do. Confusion seems to reign supreme. The Autobot in the darkness puts his big meaty hands on the bed, shaking it with his touch. "Then how'd she get an alien disease three months before the Olympics? Huh? This Doctor guy, he was on the other end of the galaxy four Earth months ago. Suddenly he's here, he's treatment for the Olympics. Someone knew. Someone had connections to this Strag...Stravavarius..." Barely noticable, Laserbeak squints. The Bot who may be Sideswipe..or another large red angry Bot almost laughs, "You knew his name, Cross. YOU. KNEW. HIS. NAME. That's not something you just remember off the top of the head." His voice grows cold, "You did it, Cross. You infected that poor woman. How could you?" He turns his back to the bed. Another shock crackles over Franklin, letting light dance about the room for just a few scant seconds. Battlesuit <Melody Reynolds> keeps moving! She flexes her legs, and then makes an enhanced *JUMP!* over the rusted gate, even doing a quick somersault in midair for good measure! She pulls her battle rifle off her back, and wastes little time in kicking the door to the garage in! <Earth> Laserbeak says, "Cross's chest heaves as he listens. "Faireborn? I... no, I don't know anything about that Strardigarvarius character. She got sick, I tried to treat her. I tried to keep her safe, alright? Without me she'd be dead, you understand? Dead as a doorknob, and these... these ACCUSATIONS... are completely unfounded."  Searing electricity sends his body alight as he is tortured on screen!  The Bot who may be Sideswipe..or another large red angry Bot almost laughs, "You knew his name, Cross. YOU. KNEW. HIS. NAME. That's not something you just remember off the top of the head." His voice grows cold, "You did it, Cross. You infected that poor woman. How could you?"" Combat: Battlesuit <Melody Reynolds> compares her Accuracy to 70: Success! Franklin Cross realizes too late his error as Sideswipe (or who might be Sideswipe) explains it to him. "I... well, I might have heard of him from a... medical journal somewhere..." Sweat rolls down his face. "I... I did what I had to do to keep her alive, robot! You couldn't possibly understand the dilemmas I was faced with! The powers demanding things of me, you don't understand, so SMUG and self-righteous. I'll bet you've never had to make a hard choice in your entire damn life--" He's cut off as electricity surges through his body once again.

"AAGGHHH! You son of a bitch!" Cross seethes, his face full of fury. "You want to know the real truth? You want to know what we're planning? You really want to know?! I'll tell you, oh yess I'll tell you, and it won't matter, it won't make one damn bit of difference. I'll tell you just to see the look of horror on your damn face. SO HERE IT IS--" Autobot Battlecruiser transforms, touching down in front of Apocyphacius, rifle in hand. "Ah always had a bad feeling about you, Quintesson." He scowls. "Tigers don't change their stripes, especially when they can change their face." He clicks the safety off. "So were you always a piece of tentacle trash, or did a reunion with dear old mom and dad turn you nasty?" Scattershot transforms into an awesome TECHNOBOT! Fists! Hammers! Shoulder lasers! Melody finds something unusual in Point A. Inside, while the building looks out of disuse, there is just something wrong....It takes her a few moments to home in on what the problem is. The problem...is a cable. A cable strung carelessly from a wire that leads outside, spliced in. Common sense dictates to Melody, that no professional, no technician in this type of environment would do something so careless, it blocks the freedom of movement anyone working here would need. The telltale cable dangles across the room before going downstairs, where there is darkness...and hushed words. First Aid only partly listens to Hardhead's call for caution. He's about to open up the shack to see what's inside when he gets the call from Hubcap that this isn't the place. Muttering under his breath, the Protectobot vaults over the chain link fence again and lands on all four tires. "Point A, guys." His siren whirls as he leads the Autobots towards their next objective. First Aid folds down into Ambulance mode. Slinging his weapons back into subspace, Hardhead begins to make his way after First Aid. Upon reaching the streets he drops into his tank mode, rolling after First Aid. "Understood." The tank's engines rumble as he plows after the faster Autobot. The robot form of Hardhead almost seems to collapse to the ground as the body of the robot folds into an odd looking tank. For a fraction of a second, the head of the robot jumps off and becomes a humanoid figure who slides into the cockpit of the tank which encloses on the figure. Apocryphacius <Darkness Face> fumbles for his EDC hang-badge when he sees the radio station and inwardly curses his species. Oh, if only he had been a human! Species angst aside, Apocryphacius decides that he is going to go examine that antenna to try to determine if it is the source of the signal or if it just a relay station, and if anyone tries to stop him, he is just going to politely, single-mindedly ignore that person.

Even if that person is the Autobot that Apocryphacius just dared to shoot him?

Yes, even so. He says aloud, "/Robot/, I am going to examine the antennae here, because I wish to rescue my General and bring his kidnappers to trial at the World Court. I hope to see them imprisoned. Now either let me work or shoot an enlisted EDC serviceman. Your choice." He then tries to move forward and do exactly what he said he would: check out the antennae, flashing his hang-badge at any humans who might wonder what he is up to. "Huh." Melody looks the cable over...and then, carefully, she prowls into the room, following the cable downwards- she activates a low-light mode on her faceplate screen. It's not nearly enough to grant her proper night-vision, but it's better than nothing. And so, she carefully prowls her way down the stairs, hoping the servos of her armor aren't too loud- she's just an infantry trooper, not a stealthy spy! Either way, at least she has her gun at the ready...who knows what she'll find? Scattershot gives Apoc a nod. "Be my guest." Scattershot uses the time while the Quint works on the antennae to look around. Anything crazy he might see? Laserbeak leans in towards Cross, the Bot interrogater in the area reflexively doing the same. The vulture pointedly ignores the footfalls he hears coming, there were secrets to be learned, his lasercore cycled up higher as the truth came so close to revelation. The lights clicked on suddenly, an automatic sensor meant for caution. And there revealed before the bird...is a suit of armor...and a rifle. And there before Melody...is a General, a bird...and a suddenly very confused Decepticon gumby painted sloppily in red.

The gumby puts up his big hands over his head as he stumbles backwards, "Don't shoot me!" Laserbeak recoils from the surprise intrusion as well, he was so close to knowing the master plan! He looks across to Melody, then his head snaps back to Cross. It was time to fulfill a second objective. His eyes lit with his dangerous laserbeams. If Melody wanted to keep the General from being killed right then and there, she needed to act immediately. <Earth> Laserbeak says, "Cross seethes, his face full of fury. "You want to know the real truth? You want to know what we're planning? You really want to know?! I'll tell you, oh yess I'll tell you, and it won't matter, it won't make one damn bit of difference. I'll tell you just to see the look of horror on your damn face. SO HERE IT IS--" Suddenly the lights flicker on, an EDC trooper in a battle suit is on scene in the distance.  One can only imagine the cheers of the masses as rescue comes at last, and on screen for everyone!   A figure off to the side, screams "Don't shoot me!"  Static fills the air, the hiss of lasers flash either towards or away from Cross, and there is silence....and there is silence for those watching, for those waiting...silence." Hubcap has managed to reach point A, mostly because he was hoping for a lift home, partially as he wanted to dangle Cross out the airlock so he might finish that sentence. "The big secret is that we're going to use your own--" Cross begins, seeming to relish the revelation he's going to drop on them, but then Melody Reynolds busts in! This changes everything! "REYNOLDS! Get me the hell out of here!" He struggles against his bonds, thrashing helplessly in his chair. And naturally he notices that Laserbeak is about to turn his attention back to him and live up to his namesake!

Because Laserbeak shoots lasers from his eyes. W--er, well, it *makes sense.* <Earth> Hubcap taps his finger against his lips. "I'm sorry, you were saying?" "General located!"

Melody barks out the find- even as she pulls the trigger! Not knowing just WHAT she'd find, she'd had her non-lethal options primed first- and so, she pulls the trigger by reflex- there's a *FOONK!* of her underslung grenade launcher, and she snaps off a stun grenade across the room! In such close proximity, well...it's bound to be messy.

Still, with her visor already polarizing against the sudden glare, Melody rushes across the room, vaulting over the bed to place herself between Cross and the Decepticons!

Combat: Laserbeak appears from the shadows... <Decepticon> Laserbeak says, "!" Combat: Battlesuit <Melody Reynolds> strikes Laserbeak with her Stun Grenade attack! Combat: Battlesuit <Melody Reynolds> (Melody Reynolds) used "Stun Grenade": A Level 1 RANGED attack. Combat: You took 4 damage. Combat: Laserbeak has been temporarily incapacitated.

Arriving at the coordinates, Hardhead reverts to his robot mode, his weapons once more drawn. He tilts his head as he studies the area, a perplexing frown crosses his face as he notices all the signs that the Autobots are late to this party. The sound of faint weapons fire reaches the Headmaster's audio receptors, he then looks at Hubcap. "It appears you are second best this cycle." He intones to the smaller Autobot. The tank almost seems to pull a wheelie as the front treads lift off the ground. The fancy transforming sound rings out as the tank quickly folds out into a robot. For a brief moment, it appears a humanoid form leaped out of the cockpit and became the Robot's head. The transforming sound finishes and now stands Hardhead.

<Decepticon> Contrail says, "Right. Decepticons, prep extraction for Laserbeak!" <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "Whatsamatter? Buzzard forgot how to fly?" <Decepticon> Contrail says, "Well, he isn't as fast as, oh, /you/." <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "Ain't that the truth.."

The grenade hits the off-guard bird solid, sending him into energon convulsions. Comically, he slumps forward, off of his high perch on a low pipe, hits his head on a conduit and tumbles down onto his back with a metallic CLANG! Mysterious Gumby makes a dash for the loading door off to the side, pushing Cross aside as he does, the bed falling over on its side as he brusquely moves. Moments later, he appears from the garage bay, stomping into the daylight...and he is painted a bit like...Sideswipe. Realization crosses his face as he stops in place, seeing the assembled forces outside. "Oh...Slag..." He says resigned. Ambulance <First Aid> jumps into robot mode in a nice synchronized move with Hardhead (and possibly Hubcap if he joins in). Sprinting after the Headmaster, he says, "I hear gunfire. Come on!" The Protectobot rushes forward, jumping over the same rusted gate Melody did a few minutes ago. Ambulance <First Aid> flips up into robot mode. Apocryphacius <Darkness Face>'s faces switch around at the news from Melody, and he radios, "EDI, to Lieutenant Reynolds's location. Now. Prepare to provide fire support /if/ needed. Weapons authorization code D-1."

"Really?" the drone says giddily at the prospect of being allowed to use his weapons, "En route!"

Apocryphacius, for his part, abandons the antennae at point B and heads off to just go hover his own way to point A. He does not ask Scattershot for help, because he does not expect that it would be given, if he asked for it politely. Tentacle trash. /Idiot Autobot/. Apocryphacius <Darkness Face> transforms into his Apocryphacius mode. <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "I dunno how some of you freaks manage, taking a few hours to fly around a planet and all." <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "Or even worse, those of you that have to -drive-." <Decepticon> Astrotrain says it like a dirty word. <Decepticon> Contrail says, "I'd say that being able to go under highway overpasses is nice, but..." <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "Highway overpasses are lame." <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "Never did find one that could hole up a freight train." Franklin Cross isn't going anywhere, really! All he can do on that bed is thrash around some more. Even so, when Melody imposes herself between the Decepticons and himself, he's all too happy to see her. And, really, there's nothing awkward about Melody being on top of him while he's tied up in bed. Nothing at all. She's in her *armor,* that makes it okay.

"Ms. Reynolds, I don't know how you found me," Cross says, "But I'm glad you did!" <Decepticon> Astrotrain *hold up <Decepticon> Triggerhappy says, "Couldn't you just fly over it?" <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "Sure. Or I could drive through it. That's more fun." <Decepticon> Astrotrain says, "Driving through a lot of stuff is more fun." <Decepticon> Triggerhappy says, "Nothing to complain about there, then." "Just doing my job, sir."

Melody tracks Laserbeak and the gumby with her rifle until they're out of view- she even goes so far as to thumb her rifle back to regular lethal bullets- but she doesn't start firing at the decepticons yet! No, she's got a mission!

And so, Melody tromps over to Cross' bed- she takes one hand off her gun, and a knife flicks from her wrist, all the better to slash through Cross' bonds! "General, can you walk?" She says, voice filtered through the speakers of her decidedly unsexy armor. No fanfic should be written about this, really. Recovering from the initial stun, Laserbeak lets out a pained SQUAWWWK! as he takes flight. Melody's rifle was the only discouragement Beaker needed to try to bolt, and so he does. While the Autobots start to do whatever it is they want to do with the lone surrendering coward Con, Laserbeak starts to engage his flight as fast as he can, roaring out of the garage, where all can see him. Following First Aid, a red blur gets his attention. Pivoting the Headmaster levels his twin Shatterblaster's at the poor gumbies head, a cold, cold, cold scowl on his face appears as his barrels gleam for a moment. "Move and be deactivated." Hardhead's voice is cold and distant. Franklin Cross shakes as he rises up from the bed, though whether it's from rage, pain, or fear isn't quite clear. "Hnnngh... hnnngh... Yes, I think I can, just a little 'shocked' you might say. Heh!" He peers around her at the gumby con, eyes narrowing hatefully. "THAT guy... Ms. Reynolds? *Kill* that goddamn Decepticon. He was part of this, he has to pay for what he did!" First Aid draws his photon pistol, standing at Hardhead's side to back up the Headmaster's threat. Hubcap has managed to dodge security by misleading the internal systems. Currently, the cameras show empty hallways. Yes, that makes it easier for evildoers to infiltrate, but hey, Hubcap's on team good. Right? Battlesuit <Melody Reynolds> looks at Cross for a long, long moment. "Here." She finally says- and she reaches down to her utilty belt, finally drawing a sidearm pistol- given that it's a battlesuit-sized sidearm, the proportions are...large, but that doesn't stop her from handing the weapon to Cross anyway. "Stay behind me. They may still be waiting outside." And with that, Melody creeps back upstairs and out of the garage- only to see the giant robot standoff outside.

"Hoo boy. This is going to gety ugly." The Gumby keeps his hands up, quipping once, "Parley?" He makes no other motions....okay actually he does, With a curse of "Slag it!", he goes to transform into a forward-angled wing jet. A risky move, a stupid move. We will always remember Fakeswipe the Gumby. Apocryphacius manages to makes it to the outside of Point A, wheezing and huffing. There is a coppery taste in the back of his current mouth. He pulls out his voltmeter to check the electric fence. Not actually active. Huh. Then he grabs his chain cutters to just cut a way in. This is taking too long!

From above, EDI reports cheerily, "I have overwatch! Need anything exploded yet? I could do that really well!"

"...no," Apocryphacius grumbles, squeezing through the hole he has just cut. First Aid doesn't hesitate as Fakeswipe the Gumby transforms into jet mode, squeezing the trigger on his photon pistol to send several bright flares chasing after him. "Darn it," Aid mutters, annoyed that the Seeker didn't surrender when he had the chance. Out of the corner of his optic, he sees the damage done to the building. He knows Cross is in there. "Right," Cross says through clenched teeth, taking the large pistol in hand. And once it seems that Melody doesn't seem to want to follow his orders, Cross immediately raises the gun to the gumby, ready to shoot him. Since the gun's so large he braces it against his shoulder to help with recoil, and--oh! Fakeswipe's trying to escape! Well, it doesn't matter, Cross would have fired anyway.

BLAM! goes the gun in Cross's hand, nearly knocking him over. A momentary distraction as Hardhead speaks into his radio, allowing the Decepticon the chance to transform, turning back to the Decepticon, Hardhead just pulls down his triggers, sending round after round towards the Decepticon. For the moment, he appears to ignore Cross and Melody. Between the hail of gunfire, the gumby never stood a chance. Parts of him crumple to the ground as his engines ignite then seperate into their components. One engine rockets up towards the heavens. At least PART of him made a getaway.

First Aid immediately holsters his gun and rushes forward the instant the gumby goes down. Transformers are a hardy bunch, and it's clear what he's hoping for. "Cease fire! I'll see if I can stabilize his condition!" The Protectobot shouts, already drawing out his medical tools. Moving after First Aid, Hardhead stands over the wounded gumby his weapon tracking to what remains of the Gumbies head, his finger tightens around the trigger, he looks back at First Aid. "Doc. Back away." He looks at the Doctor, for a fraction of a moment. "He is gone First Aid. Let him meet his maker."

First Aid ignores Hardhead's advice until he's done his own examination. "You'd be surprised what Cybertronians can sometimes live through," he says, kneeling before the gumby... well, several parts of the gumby. "But in this case I'm afraid your right." Aid stands up, as his scans have told him all he needed to know.