Dead Weight

Sat Aug 11 2033

Forum of Enlightenment - &lt;Iacon&gt;

The Forum of Enlightenment represents the center of Iacon's community. It is here where public meetings and rallies often takes place, just as it had in the original incarnation of Iacon. This entire region is divided across dozens of levels, each connected by floating highways that circulate the population throughout the metropolis. Most of Iacon's residential sector is also located in the southern area of this region. Despite the Cybertronian civil war, the inhabitants of Iacon continues their best to maintain their everyday life and contribute to the war effort as non-combatants. Floating collapsible highways web through the Forum of Enlightenment, connecting into other highway networks that lead to other areas of the city. Noteworthy areas of interest are the Chamber of the Ancients to the west, the City Center to the north, and the various paths leading towards the outskirts of the city-state.

Contents:

Monumental Stairway

Scattershot

Backfire

Hubcap

Elita One

Small Drone

Obvious exits: Fly &lt;Up&gt; leads to Sky Above Iacon. &lt;S&gt; leads to Iacon Plain. &lt;W&gt; leads to Chamber of the Ancients - &lt;Iacon&gt;. &lt;N&gt; leads to City Center - &lt;Iacon&gt;.

Grimlock has arrived.

On one of the lovely new sculptures of Iacon reborn, a grisly tableau presents itself. Several car-lengths away, there are splattered droplets of energon, slowly cooling in the night. Closer to the sculpture itself, there is a spreading pool of energon. On the statue proper, there chained is a coneheaded Seeker, or what was once a coneheaded Seeker.

The colours are dulled in death, but it looks like it may have once been a blue-grey and black coneheaded Seeker, perhaps with red optics and ambivalent knees and a F-35 alternate mode. Of course, it is even more difficult to determine these things than usual due to the pale slicks of energon all over the Seeker and the massive injuries.

The Seeker's optics hang out of its sockets, though the wires are still connected. The Seeker was likely able to watch its own death for as long as it lived while dying. Its turbine blades have been yanked out of its engine and pinned through various major fuel lines and important wires. This was death by a thousand cuts. The least important injuries seems to have been inflicted first.

Checking the watch schedules will reveal that this body was chained here between watches with no witnesses, and that a new construction project of a Monumental Staircase prevented any security footage from capturing who left the body here.

Autobot protocol dictates that the nearest high-ranking officers be alerted whenever there's an emergency situation like this one. Unfortunately...Grimlock happens to be one of the nearest high-ranking officers. He tromps on up to the crime scene, and gives a grunt, looking it over with his expresionless faceplate. "Okay." Grimlock rumbles. "Me Grimlock say him Repugnus did it." He rumbles, and then leans forward, and pokes the poor seeker, curiously. "Pretty gross. But why us care again?"

Grimlock adds on: "CASE CLOSED."

"Well, for one thing big guy, the Olympics ceasefire starts soon. Timing is a little odd to be finding a dead Con on our front porch." Scattershot strolls in behind the Dinobot, finishing off a flask. "Yep, that's pretty damn fishy, Ah'd say. Does he look familiar? Anybody you bit an arm off of before?"

Pink Techcar &lt;Elita One&gt; drives along the roads of Iacon, headlights on and operational as she putters along. It hadn't been that long since the Bot High Council had their meeting, and Elita One did what she could to placate the others, to urge them to think deeper on the subject. Blades had surprised her more than anyone, taking a stance against her, and followed it through without insult, injury, but instead with thought and logic. It surprised her, perhaps the two weren't so different....Elita had to cut a Con more than once, she mused. Grimlock appears on the road ahead, along with some other lights, other bots of some kind. She transforms, using the momentum to skid to a stop. "Grimlock...why are.." She pauses in her questioning, seeing the sight before her. Examining it, she turns back to the Dinobot, "Who did this?"

The futuristic car breaks open in the middle, as the legs form upward. Her hood shifts into her armor plating with her arms coming together at the last, turning into Elita One's robot mode.

The dead Seeker may look familiar to some, but if they recognise it, they haven't seen it for a few years now.

Also, it was significantly less dead then.

Hubcap stands stock-still, staring at the dispatched Decepticon (assuming it is so,) while rubbing his chin with his hand. "We care, Grimlock, because this has happened on the cusp of the Olympics, an event dedicated to furthering peace and co-operation amongst all. Even if the Quintessons /do/ usually try to invade afterwards." He glances quickly around at the gathering crowd. "We need to seal off the scene, limit access to investigators so they can do their jobs, and prevent contamination. This needs to be handled delicately."

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Discotheque exclaims, "Oh my! These satellite images of the Forum of Enlightenment are... well..."

"Uh. Me Grimlock bite lots of people." He shrugs, and then scratches at his head. He looks over at Hubcap, then Elita one. "Like me Grimlock say, him Repugnus do it. Him am really creepy and stabby and stuff." Another pause. "Buuuuut...it no Olympics yet, right? So it no really count!"

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Impudent Fool Backfire says, "Images?"

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Discotheque transmits some pictures of some Autobots milling around a body that might just be a Seeker. It's all rather blurry. Thankfully.

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Astrotrain says, "Another seeker got his ticket punched at Iacon. Big whoop."

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Impudent Fool Backfire says, "By Scourge's righteous beard, that's the MISTRESS!"

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Astrotrain says, "...the what now? Sorry I don't speak stupid."

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Impudent Fool Backfire says, "To me, my comrades! We shall recover the fallen and visit PUNISHMENT to the guilty!!"

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Astrotrain says, "Wait wait wait."

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Astrotrain says, "You wanna retrieve the body of a dead seeker, in the middle of -Iacon-. Where Omega Supreme has set up shop since the whole Crystal City mess?"

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Impudent Fool Backfire says, "The time for hesitation has passed, Triple-Trouble! For the EMPIRE, we must act!!"

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Astrotrain says, "I think this is a fantastic idea and Backfire should lead it. I'll uh, catch up later."

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Discotheque says, "Returning to the scene of the crime, eh, Backfire?"

Scattershot phases out his flask, and shrugs at Grimlock. "Hey, you and me? One more dead Con. But especially with all of this EDC garbage, we gotta at least look like we can keep things stablized." He gestures towards Hubcap. "What he said."

Kneeling down, he shakes his head. "Ah don't recognize him. 'Course they mostly look the same to me on account of them being slagheap Seekers." Glancing back at Elita, he shrugs. "Earth alt, but this here is your neck of the woods. Friend of yours?" Finally, lighting a cigar, he sighs. "Hubcap make a call to Nightbeat's team. We'll hold the scene until they've arrived."

Elita One sighs, putting her hand up to Grimlock. He was a terror in battle, and frankly still had a lot more sense than some Bots she knew, but...this wasn't his thing. "Grimlock, I'll handle this with your leave." ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL, Elita doesn't wait for a response, "Someone's stirring up trouble before the truce. We can't put it past the Cons to do this themselves for some self-justification for an assault, but we can't eliminate either side from doing this." Approaching the gumbies in the area, she starts delegating, "Get this Seeker analyzed, we need to know weapon of death, time..." She turns to another, "If the cameras show nothing, look for radar ghosts, if he was carried in, that inconsistency would register." She motions to the body, "After the medic team has a chance to examine it, let's get it set up for removal, last thing we need here is a smoking laser barrel."

Elita One adds, "Can't tell, doesn't have the right lines for Cybertron, but we'll find out."

FAR OVERHEAD...

Leading a trio of gumbie Seekers, the orange and brown F-16 dips low and turns scanners towards Iacon below. &lt;&lt;I -knew- this stunk of a conspiracy.&gt;&gt; the larger Seeker intones to the rest, &lt;&lt;Doplarrrr, run preliminary scans on the Autobottom base underneath!!&gt;&gt; he orders, arming primary weapons systems.

&lt;&lt;Bzzt.. according to scans from my Underscanner 5000, it appears Discotheque's imaging was spot on.. bzzt.&gt;&gt; Doplarrrr reports, the small purple Seeker falling in line with the rest.

Transforming, Backfire strokes his imaginary beard (that is thirteen times more righteous than a Sweep's) and peers downward at the situation. "Gah, Astrotrain's cowardess knows no bounds!"

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Scavenger says, "Good luck man. If there's anything left to salvage after you're done wi-- done, I'll come pick it up."

&lt;Decepticon&gt; Impudent Fool Backfire says, "Returning? No, dear Discotheque.  ARRIVING!"

Hubcap raises a hand to cover his optics for a moment. "Grimlock," he says, "If it /were/ Repugnus, I have little doubt that he'd have proudly signed him name using their spilled energon." He glances vaguely upwards as he overhears unsettling news. "And the Decepticons certainly don't seem to care that 'it doesn't count.' As their rabble-rousers are rousing the rabble." He pauses again and glances at Grimlock. Then coughs slightly into a fist. "I mean, /INCOMING!/"

"Oh yeah. Hmmm. That make sense, him Repugnus like tell people." Grimlock shrugs, and allows Elita to take control of the investigation, mostly because it doesn't involve getting to punch things, and is therefore boring. Grimlock tenses in wary anticipation, however, as Hubcap speaks up. "Oh?" he says, reaching for his double blaster. "Where? Me Grimlock love good fight time!" he glances around- his own senses not nearly as keen as Hubcap's, and therefore the flying 'cons are just more shiny stars in the sky!

Loadout has arrived.

"Slag. Hold fire, we can't let this escalate." Elita One gestures up high, "They want answers, we do too, whatever sabotage this is, we have to outthink it." She gives a stern look to Grimlock, "Keep it in check, get me?" She surveys the body for a few moments, hoping for some clue to work with before the inevitable accusations and confrontation.

Scattershot gives Elita One a bit of a look as she basically starts talking over him, raising an optic ridge. "Pushy chick, ain't she?" He watches her bark orders, taking a draw from his cigar, energon smoke sizzling into a small cloud above him, settling around Grimlock's snout. Also this pose happens before the Cons show up. "Well, since ya'll got things handled, Ah've got things to take care of elsewhere." He smirks with a salute to Elita One before transforming and taking off. &lt;&lt;Strafe, Ah'm en rote. ETA 36 astroseconds.&gt;&gt;

Scattershot is headed towards... Debris?

Bonecrusher has arrived.

Scattershot leaps to the air and transforms into battlecruiser mode. Lasers! Missiles! Cannons!

Scattershot has disconnected.

Lowering down from the skies, Backfire's arms are crossed over his chest and *tink* every so often against the canopy. "Attention, you foul insipid Autobots.. hand the corpse of my beloved Mistress Catechism over to my troops and I.." he trails, pointing to the three gumbie Seekers behind him who have also transformed into robot modes.

"And I will not raze this -entire- sector for this VILE treachery!" the simpleton finishes, still gazing warily around at those collected. Plus some extra attention to the seemingly limp corpse that was Catechism.

Yup, it's her.. Sadface kneecaps.

Combat: Backfire sets his defense level to Protected.

"Alllllll I know is that there had better be something for me to BUST UP!" Bonecrusher flies after Backfire, on orders from Scrapper to accompany, arms punched out in an awesome flight pose. "A dinobot, a pink lady, and a Hubcap, yeeeehhh, I dig it. Ohhh, I really dig it. Who's ready to beat up?! Cuz Bonnnneeeecrusherrrr's reeeeady to put on the hurt! DIG IT!"

Grimlock grunts, and despite Elita's 'orders,' he levels his gun at Backfire and his seekers- he's not firing YET, but...well, it's close. Bonecrusher's appearance gets another grunt from the dinobot, and he takes a step forward, putting extra 'loom' in his stance. "Hnn. Four jets. One Constructycon. Me Grimlock. Seems even odds!"

&lt;&lt;First Aid reporting, Elita. Message received. I'm en route now with a forensic team.&gt;&gt; It isn't long before the sounds of distant sirens can be heard, and shortly thereafter First Aid and a team of medical vehicles and police cars roll up to the scene, all transforming into robot mode. First Aid's gaze is immediately drawn to the dead Seeker that's been propped up on the statue. Despite the grisly scene, First Aid does not appear particularly perturbed by it. Dead bodies can't really make him uncomfortable. Decepticons, on the other hand? "Start setting up a perimeter," he tells one of the police bots. "I don't want the crime scene contaminated more than it has to." The Protectobot heads over to Elita. "I see we have company." He glances at the Cons. The still living ones, that is.

Combat: Elita One compares her Intelligence to 75: Success!

/ receptors flicker as she speaks over comm, &lt;&lt;We have Cons here now, they're angry and they want answers, get here fast, First Aid.&gt;&gt; She regards Backfire, still well out of her right in terms of rank, "We fully intend to release the body to the Decepticons, after we learn who did this deed." She frowns mentally, He wants the corpse back but didn't demand to know who did it? Sure the Cons were butchers, but if there was real rage, why wouldn't he have demanded to know who did it. She examines the form, "This isn't right." Without touching the corpse, she looks closer, pointing at it, "This chain isn't one of ours...and unless you Cons started revamping your style, I think some third party...." She ponders, Who else could....the Junkions perhaps? Were there even any on Cybertron currently. &lt;&lt;This chain needs analyzed immediately. Its not of our make, and probably not Con made either.&gt;&gt;

Hubcap glances back at the corpse, quickly, as he waves a hand frantically at Grimlock, indicating that he back off, and hoping he does so. They can tell who that is? Then looks sharply at Elita. "Well, while I think we have no objection to ultimately turning the, ah, the body over to you, as representatives of the Decepticons, I'd suggest allowing our forensics team to examine it first. Although I'm sure they'd agree to allow a qualified Decepticon to observe or participate.

Scavenger has arrived.

"Learn? Autobots are INCAPABLE of such a feat, if so.. surely you've had realized the glory that is the EMPIRE by now." Backfire barks back pointing Elita One out, adding "Surely."

Lowering down a bit more, the Seeker eyes the corpse again.. and the position of those gathered. "Furthermore, why would I trust your findings anyway? It was FOUND IN YOUR CITY!"

Lowering down a bit more, "And people say -I'm- dumb!"

Bonecrusher doesn't care about bodies and doesn't care about medical examining protocols. Also, he doesn't care about Backfire. But, he lands a short distance behind the Seeker, trembling. He can practically feel all the stuff there is to break in his servos...It's, well, it's a little overwhelming. He points at Elita One. "I don't know what any of this is about lady, no... No, I'm don't. But I know a few things that it is and could be very much about, and one of those is BEATING YOU UP! Yeeeah...Gonna beat you up real good."

Grimlock stares at Backfire and Bonecrusher for a moment- conveniently, through the sights of his gun. Again, he's not shooting...but he's not paying attention to Hubcap's frantic waving, either. "WELL." Grimlock says, and looks over at the mangled seeker again. "So. Uh. How many Autobots do this? Seriously, it gross. Me Grimlock no do that, 'cuz me Grimlock am PROFESSIONAL. Just rip head off. DONE. And him Repugnus no do it, 'cuz him would tell us. And, uhh....who else would do things?" Grimlock looks over at Hubcap, then First Aid. "Like...him Seaspray?"

One pathetic Decepticon present, one more en-route. It seems as though it might be pity party for the Decepticons today. &lt;&lt;Guys, I'm just coming to see if there's anything we could reuse.&gt;&gt; Scavenger warns ahead of time, flying towards the scene of the crime before landing. "Okay. Like. That one's looking like one of ours, I'd like to take him back. Just a matter of principle. No need to get vio--" Of course he's said that only for Bonecrusher to start with the threats of violence. Expectable, but it makes getting the body so much more difficult....

Combat: First Aid compares his Intelligence to 75: Failure :(

Combat: First Aid compares his Technical to 75: Failure :(

Elita One points back to Bonecrusher, "You're in the middle of an Autobot city, don't. press. this....Also we have Grimlock right over there...." It was like dealing with a Wrecker, had to use basic logic and short words... She returned her attention to Backfire, "We're going to get to the bottom of this, death has its place in war, but not as a circuit-scrapped trophy. If you're so smart, look at what we've found, this chain, for example, isn't forged in either of our general styles, something odd indeed, most likely not Cybertronian at all." She looks over the body again, this time looking for answers in the trauma itself, blunt force, energy, caseless rounds? Certainly there was something that could help provide doubt...

First Aid nods to Elita, "Yes sir," he replies, not questioning her being in charge within a second. The Protectobot steps up to the chain, careful not to actually touch it. His left optic transforms into a telescoping monocle and zooms in. "Ah ha. I remember seeing this sort of thing a while back. Definitely not Autobot standard issue, but Decepticons are known to use it." He leans back, standing up straight again. "Not to say someone else couldn't have grabbed it, of course."

Hubcap shakes his head sadly at Backfire. "We've had nine million years to learn not to trust each other, which is why I suggested Decepticon participation in the investigation. If you cannot trust us, surely you can trust your own, fellow Decepticons?" He smiles, charmingly. Then his face falls slightly as his allies employ not-so-subtle threats.

Combat: Elita One compares her Technical to 75: Success!

"Pfffffft, a Dinobot? I've got a Devastator." Backfire smiles, working his way closer to the corpse and jutting his thumb over at Scavenger and Bonecrusher. "That chain? Dude, it's a chain! Who put you in charge anyways?" the Seeker comically looks around, "Isn't Fortress Maximus or like Magnus around somewheres?"

Another step, and another. Finally Backfire activates thruster'd feet and makes a mad dash for the body!

Combat: Backfire compares his Strength to 50: Failure :(

"An Autobot City, ooooooooooooooooooooooooh yeeeah....Yeah, I dig that, a whole city to turn into dust. I CAN PRACTICALLY FEEL THE STRUCTURSE COLLAPSING AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL that's right." Bonecrusher looks back to Scavenger. "Ain't gonna be nothing left that's usable, brother, no. No way, no how." When Backfire sprints for the corpse, he does his part to strike the CONSTRUCTICON ACTION POSE!

Stumbling forward, Backfire tugs furiously at the body.. but forgot to UN-CHAIN it first. Staggering backwards, the Seeker holds one arm out in caution and the other braced against his lower back.

"Ah, my back.. my back!"

"Miiiight want to remove the chains, Backfire." It's a sad day when Scavenger outsmarts you, but apparently this boy is feeling bright today. Backfire isn't much competition either, so yeah. The action pose is joined out of habit, though it falls a bit flat without the others here, though they're probably nearby what with two out of six being on the scene already.

"They're also really well made," First Aid says of the chains while Backfire tries and fails to pull the body away from them. "What's our play here, boss?" he asks Elita.

Grimlock remains unimpressed. He growls softly beneath his proverbial breath, but refrains from murdering any more Decepticons, as that might be a little...inconvenient. "Uh." Grimlock stares at Backfire as he tugs at the chains. "It...it look like them Septi-cons no send smart people for look at stuff. That mean it not very important, right?" Another pause, as Grimlock mulls the situation over. "That mean me Grimlock get to beat them up?" he asks, hopefully.

Grimlock remains unimpressed. He growls softly beneath his proverbial breath, but refrains from murdering any more Decepticons, as that might be a little...inconvenient. "Uh." Grimlock stares at Backfire as he tugs at the chains. "It...it look like them Septi-cons no send smart people for look at stuff. That mean it not very important, right?" Another pause, as Grimlock mulls the situation over. "That mean me Grimlock get to beat them up?" he asks, hopefully.

Hubcap folds his arms and glares around thoughtfully. Okay, no-one actually seems to be paying attention to him. Nevertheless, he tries. "/No,/ Grimlock, he replies acerbically, "If they want to be stupid, just let them /be/ stupid. If they attack, well then... Dinobot smash!"

Elita One puts a hand to her chin in thought as she considers Red Alert, &lt;&lt;We can't demand the body to be held. We have to learn what we can with what we've got. Those turbine blades did a horrible job on the Seeker, and the chain isn't Con or Bot made. There's got to be more. First Aid, can you do a run on the energon stains down the way there, if it came out of nowhere, then it had to have been flown in.&gt;&gt; She holds her hand out in pause to Grimlock again, this was going to escalate and it was going to be bad. "It surprises me you're so eager to get the body, that you're not even screaming for vengeance." She says offhand to Backfire, "So interested to get the corpse back that you've even ignored how its bound....You're not telling us the whole story, let alone what you were already doing in Iacon airspace." She glances over at Hubcap, Think, Elita, Think. "Let's approach this from another angle....see how the turbine blades..." She shudders at the malice, "did all these cuts. This was either extremely personal, or a message." E1 looks towards Backfire, "Was it a message to us?"

Combat: First Aid compares his Technical to 70: Success!

Bonecrusher rolls his optics, completely done with what's going on. "STOP TALKING SO WE CAN BREAK SOMETHING." He makes big face at Scavenger. "I'm hurtin' pretty bad man, I gotta bring a structure or two down man, just like one or two...but I can't because NO ONE WILL SHUT UP." Bonecrusher starts scratching the top of his head with his gun barrel, trying not to twitch.

Combat: First Aid compares his Intelligence to 70: Failure :(

Combat: Hubcap compares his Intelligence to 70: Failure :(

Combat: Grimlock compares his Intelligence to 70: Success!

"I promise we'll be destroying lots of stuff soon, Bonecrusher. Just a little more, a little." It's probably fairly obvious Scavenger is trying to calm Bonecrusher and buy time for something, hopefully negotiation. &lt;&lt;Hey Backfire, could you back off a little and let us take care of these damn Bots? You can take the body with you for investigation once they're gone. Deal?&gt;&gt;

"Do NOT dare to question me about the Mistress!" Backfire barks back at Elita One, carefully unwrapping the chains from around the Coneheaded corpse. It's kinda weird, to see Backfire do -anything- carefully.. let alone when it comes to retrieving a body from a spire. Though he did just try to viciously yank it to freedom too, take that for what you will.

Turning around to look at Bonecrusher, "I'm trying, but well.. I've got these tiny hands." the Seeker looks down at his mitts, then the large chain. "You know, it's hard to wrap around this thick chain and all."

So finally after having gotten that thick and heavy chain off, Backfire tries to heft the Conehead's weight under his arms and fly his way to freedom! &lt;&lt;I'm trying, I'm trying!!&gt;&gt;

Combat: Backfire compares his Strength to 40: Success!

Hubcap frowns as he watches Backfire... well, /really/ treat the deceased callously. Wincing as shards of armour fall to the floor, followed by an entire wing, he waves a recovery team over... Who all look directly at First Aid. Still ignored by... pretty much everyone, he saunters casually over to the fallen debris and kneels to study it.

Indeed, a wing and an arm end up falling back into the puddle of lukewarm energon.

"Uh." Grimlock says, and looks at the battered Seeker. "Me Grimlock no expert, but it look like that guy am Septi-con prisoner. Me Grimlock got thrown in septi-con jail once, but then me break out. OH! Maybe it am same guy who was chained upside-down!" he says, excitedly. "Me Grimlock no remember good 'cuz me was too busy punching everybody and breaking out."

Sideswipe has arrived.

Given his position, Hubcap is perfectly positioned to get clocked by a free-falling forearm. Ow.

Sideswipe moves into the area, apparently on his way to doing something for someone. He was scanning a data pad, looking up now and then to get his bearings. That's when he saw the crowd of Bots and Cons and slowed his steps.

First Aid doesn't immediately answer Elita, but he's now examining the energon stains carefully. Then, with expert precision, he uses a laser scalpel to take off a 1^2mm chip of the stain. With a pair of tweezers extended from his fingertips, the Protectobot inserts the chip into a vial. A few moments answer and he makes his report. "Definitely energon, and definitely his, but it's really thin. Not sure on why someone would be refueling on thin energon. The Decepticon Empire has better resources than this. Also, from the spill marks I'd say it's no more than three astrohours old, but there's signs that the body was being moved pretty fast during all this." He nods with Grimlock, "Being a prisoner would explain the poor standard of energon, yeah." As Backfire makes another attempt to grab the body, Aid glances at Elita. "Shouldn't, uh... shouldn't we be doing something about this, boss?" Aid isn't one to shoot first without orders if he can help it.

Elita One scoops up the chain, giving another once over. Most likely there was little more to know, at least without lab analysis. "Give me some good news, First Aid..." She says absently. He doesn't respond at first. "So this was a prisoner, that explains most of it, but not who strung her up. The blatant torture could be explained, the thin energon. Now we just need to understand who and how she got here." She hands off the chain to First Aid as well. Elita confronts the Con forces, pointing. "One of your own prisoners ended up in Iacon, and you just so happen to be in the area when we discover her. You're covering up a security leak of some kind, that's all that this is, there's no outrage, not at this death. What are you hiding?"

Rocketing off into the skies, Backfire smiles down at Grimlock. He remembers, the Dinobot might not.. but he does. "Constructicons, collect the other -shreds- of evidence!" the simpleton laughs, taking the small contingent of Seekers with him out of the area. Handing the body off to one, the Seeker transforms.. 'Catechisms' body thrown on top of it, tied down with some large Transformer zip-ties.

&lt;&lt;If they resist? DEVASTATE THEM!&gt;&gt;

A shake, shudder, and shiver; and before your eyes BACKFIRE transforms into a F-16C Agile Falcon!

Combat: F-16C Agile Falcon &lt;Backfire&gt; begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit.

Bonecrusher practically cries when Backfire makes his break: he finally gets to break something. "Music to my ears!" Bonecrusher points at the Autobots. "This space has been rezoned and scheduled for DEMOLITION!" And that's when he phases in a glowing...problem: unstable energon, poorly housed in a steel container. "Time to SNAP INTO IT!"

Bonecrusher throws the bomb in the center of the Autobots!

Combat: Bonecrusher strikes Elita One with unstable energon bomb's Huge Explosion #10337 Area attack!

Combat: Bonecrusher's unstable energon bomb is destroyed!

Combat: Bonecrusher misses Grimlock with unstable energon bomb's Huge Explosion #10337 Area attack!

Combat: Bonecrusher strikes First Aid with unstable energon bomb's Huge Explosion #10337 Area attack!

Combat: Bonecrusher misses Hubcap with unstable energon bomb's Huge Explosion #10337 Area attack!

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "Slag...."

Well now that the rampage is starting, Scavenger takes to be the voice of reason and contacts the other constructicons. &lt;&lt;Hey, Scrapper, guys. I know you're nearby, we could use you for some devastation here.&gt;&gt; Not that he's waiting for them to arrive to get involved, quickly, he changes to become everyone's favoured steam shovel, his sensors trying to hone in on everyone to have a little more information to contribute to the team soon.

Scavenger transforms into his Komatsu PC5500 Excavator mode.

Combat: Komatsu PC5500 Excavator sets his defense level to Aggressive.

&lt;Autobot&gt; First Aid says, "Elita, we need to break formation and scatter. Get everyone to defensive positions."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Wheelie says, "What the matter, Iacon go splatter?"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "if they're going for Devestator, we've got to use speed on them, whatever artillery we've got nearby, we need it inbound. Repeat, Constructicons in Iacon,  prepare for Devastator."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Wheelie says, "Devastation incoming, better get running!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Hubcap says, "I'll do what I can to delay the combination."

Combat: Komatsu PC5500 Excavator misses First Aid with his Magnetic/Electric/Ionic Sensors attack!

Elita One barely manages to utter the word "Slag", before the explosive goes off, sending her into the statue's base. With a grimace of pain, she staggers to her feet. &lt;&lt;Keep them off balance, we can't have them merging. Iacon Ground Control, we NEED assistance here, Constructicons have gone hostile, prepare countermeasures, and hurry!&gt;&gt; She fires off a few simple shots towards the Cons, buying time more than doing any real damage. Again she wracks her mind for ways out of this, "Scatter, Autobots!" She does so herself, keeping in motion, in anticipation of what is to come.

Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Protected.

Within a split second, everything goes to H-E-double hockey sticks. First Aid dives away as an explosion rips apart the area where the Autobots were clustered. The Protectobot vanishes, diving behind the remains of the statue. Nevertheless, bits of shrapnel tears into his back. Ugh, Apocryphacius is going to kill him, First Aid thinks. Peeking out from behind with his photon pistol in hand, First Aid takes a quick snapshot at the latter. He isn't even aware that Scavenger tried to do something to him.

Combat: First Aid sets his defense level to Guarded.

Combat: First Aid strikes Komatsu PC5500 Excavator with his Laser attack!

Combat: Elita One strikes Bonecrusher with her Disruptor attack!

Sideswipe had been moving towards the crowd when he saw the body of the dead Con, then saw the commotion. As he subspaced his data pad, he moved closer to investigate and see if his help was needed and that's when all hell broke loose, seeing the constructicon suddenly appear. "Oh, scrap." He pulled out his pistol but moved up towards the others to see where he could do the most good. Seeing a familiar face, he takes aim and fires a round at Bonecrusher.

Combat: Sideswipe strikes Bonecrusher with his Laser attack!

Hubcap climbs back to his feet, and peers closely at the fallen limbs, only one of which he's seen before. "Where'd this arm come from?" He wonders, glancing around at the other Autobots. Oh, wait, Grimlock's over there, maybe it's best not to press the issue... Blades may have had a point about that law degree.

Grimlock doesn't dodge. It may be that he's too slow to do it...or it may be that sometimes he just doesn't NEED to. And so, like a massive (and menacing) landmark, Grimlock endures the ensuing explosion...and as the smoke and flames lick at his heels, Grimlock seems...relieved? "FINALLY." he grunts, and transforms to his imposing dinosaur mode. "Me Grimlock get to break stuff!" and he storms towards the Constructicons, snapping and clawing and flailing with his tail! It is a bad day to be a Decepticon. It's ALWAYS a bad day to be a decepticon when Grimlock's around.

With a grunt and a growl, Grimlock changes into a robot T-rex! Watch out.

Combat: Robot T-Rex! &lt;Grimlock&gt; strikes Bonecrusher with his Dino Rampage Area attack! [Pulled -4]

Combat: Robot T-Rex! &lt;Grimlock&gt; strikes Komatsu PC5500 Excavator with his Dino Rampage Area attack! [Pulled -4]

Scrapper has arrived.

Backfire vanishes out of reality.

Backfire has left.

Lasers strike true, causing two of the constructicons to get damaged before the battle really starts, Grimlock's rampage doesn't exactly make this better, but they are still standing and by the looks on Scavenger's face, the other Constructicons are approaching. While it's a bad day to be a Decepticon when Grimlock is around... it is a bad day to be an Autobot when Devastator is around. The only question is, will they be able to form before getting scrapped?

Lasers strike true, causing two of the constructicons to get damaged before the battle really starts, Grimlock's rampage doesn't exactly make this better, but they are still standing and by the looks on Scavenger's face, the other Constructicons are approaching. While it's a bad day to be a Decepticon when Grimlock is around... it is a bad day to be an Autobot when Devastator is around. The only question is, will they be able to form before getting scrapped?

Landing on the ground with several *THUNKS*, the other Constructicons glare menacingly at the Autobots. Scrapper, at the forefront, gives the newly rebuilt Iacon a curious glance. "Ha, another Autobot city to demolish.. wouldn't you say Hook?" Hook is silent, obviously feeling especially moody today. Mixmaster cackles out loud, the bin on his backside already revolving with another unique mixture. Long Haul probably complains about having to haul something recently.

"Constructicons.. UNITE!"

Devastator has arrived.

Bonecrusher has left.

Scavenger has left.

Scrapper has left.

The combined might of Devastator looks down upon the petty Autobots, the only one passing for significance is Grimlock. With a meager step forward, the combiner sends a shockwave throughout the area. "PREPARE FOR.. DEVASTATION!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "Devastator..."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Ultra Magnus says, "Devastator? Where??  I've been off-planet dealing with foreign dignitaries for the upcoming games."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Grimlock says, "RIGHT HERE."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "he's in Iacon, we need support, immediately."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Grimlock says, "ME GRIMLOCK GONNA SMASH HIMS"

&lt;Autobot&gt; **AUTOMATED ALERT** Constructicon unification detected in Iacon. **

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "Grimlock, No!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; **DEVASTATOR HAMMERDOWN PROTOCOL INITIATED**

&lt;Autobot&gt; Hubcap says, "He's illuminating our Enlightenment, soldier!"

Combat: Devastator sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Devastator strikes Elita One with his DEVASTATION.. PREPARED Area attack! [Pulled -7]

Combat: Devastator strikes First Aid with his DEVASTATION.. PREPARED Area attack! [Pulled -7]

Combat: Devastator strikes Robot T-Rex! &lt;Grimlock&gt; with his DEVASTATION.. PREPARED Area attack! [Pulled -7]

Combat: Devastator strikes Sideswipe with his DEVASTATION.. PREPARED Area attack! [Pulled -7]

Combat: Devastator strikes Hubcap with his DEVASTATION.. PREPARED Area attack! [Pulled -7]

Combat: Hubcap falls to the ground, unconscious.

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "keep him off balance, we need to keep his attention until backup arrives. Magnus, keep me posted on ETAs"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "Hubcap's down!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Ultra Magnus says, "I'm on my way, it's going to be a cycle.. at least. Already forwarded signature to unlock protocols!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; **Iacon Emergency Energon Diversion Underway. Revive Protocols Initiated**

&lt;Autobot&gt; **OMEGA SUPREME ONLINE**

The shockwave ripples out, and Grimlock stumbles to the ground! Hard! But, even as Grimlock buckles beneath the weight of Devastator's fury...the dinobot is undaunted! And, where many (more sensible) Autobots might run away at this point, Grimlock runs TOWARDS the enormous green titan!

Omega Supreme has arrived.

Omega Supreme stomps into the area, shaking things up a bit.

"RARGH!" Grimlock snarls, "ME GRIMLOCK CRUSH!" and he leaps into the air, aiming to smash his full weight into Devastator's knee! And, if that wasn't enough, Grimlock follows suit with much gnashing and tearing of claws and teeth- he can't STOP Devastator, but he's surely going to try to slow him down! "GGGRAWRGH!"

Hubcap, despite all his efforts to make peace, falls prey to the stupidity demonstrated by Devastator. The little minobot, who only wished to solve the mystery, goes tumbling end-over-end until he fetches up against a metallic outcropping. Then darkness closes in.

The shockwave rips through the statue First Aid was hiding behind, throwing the Protectobot head over heels until he crashes into one of the collapsible highway webs that have... collapsed due to the emerging battle. "Ow... that... nrghghg..." Between Bonecrusher's cheap shot bomb and Devastator's impressive speed, the Autobots are already looking bad. Looking left and right, he tries to locate his friends. Not spying them just yet, he shifts into ambulance mode and gives Devastator a taste of decrystallization cannon!

First Aid folds down into Ambulance mode.

Combat: Ambulance &lt;First Aid&gt; strikes Devastator with his Decrystallizer Cannon attack!

Combat: Robot T-Rex! &lt;Grimlock&gt; sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Robot T-Rex! &lt;Grimlock&gt; strikes Devastator with his Dino Crush attack!

Sideswipe takes the massive hit and finds himself flattened, sliding across the ground. He groans in discomfort and gets back up and is now pissed. Firing his jet pack he flies towards the arm joint where one Con joins to another and gives it a hit with his pile driver fists!

Combat: Sideswipe sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Sideswipe strikes Devastator with his Piledriver Arms attack!

The sheer power of the combiner's quake left Elita floored again. This was as bad a situation as she has ever faced. Situations, she reminds herself, that she has a tendency to survive. &lt;&lt;Alright this is going to hurt, but we're going to have to keep him blinded, hampered. Grimlock.....Grimlock what the hell are you doing?" Flustered, &lt;&lt;We're going to work the leg. I'll disorient him, you get the leg, we'll drop him into the statue, that ought to be enough.&gt;&gt; She looks over at Hubcap's prone form, "Not another loss." She growls. The combiner, the statue...remnants by now, have a nice sharp edge upon them. It could work if they dared." &lt;&lt;After you get him staggered, I'll grenade his leg, that should be enough to cause him to fall.&gt;&gt;

Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Elita One strikes Devastator with her Battle Pistols attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Devastator's Accuracy. (Blinded)

&lt;Autobot&gt; Scattershot says, "Firepower readings are off the scale near Iacon...Omega is cycling online? The hell is going on?" Repugnus has connected.

&lt;Autobot&gt; Ultra Magnus says, "No choice, all tac squads are a cycle out at best. Elita One, do your best to contain the damage!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Scattershot says, "Time to put your money where your damn mouth is, E1."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "We'll hold him. Don't worry on that."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Grimlock says, "RAAAAR!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "We're going to work the leg. I'll disorient him, you get the leg, we'll drop him into the statue, that ought to be enough."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Scattershot says, "Attaboy, Grimlock."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Repugnus munches a carrot on channel, loudly. "Wassup, doc?"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Ultra Magnus says, "Omega Supreme can hold him, I need you to limit casualties and property damage!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Omega Supreme says, "OMEGA SUPREME: OPERATIONAL. WORRY: UNNECESSARY. CIVILIANS: PRIORITY. DEVASTATOR: DOOMED."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Ultra Magnus says, "Omega Supreme, see if you can't take the fight outside the city!"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "He's focused right on us, that's not a problem."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Omega Supreme says, "REQUEST: ACKNOWLEDGED."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Ultra Magnus says, "Thank you Omega, Elita.. what's the sit-rep?"

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "Hubcap is in stasis lock, Sideswipe, First Aid and myself are damaged. Grimlock's in melee. Devastator's starting his counterattack, I think I fried his optics."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "Grimlock MOVE!"

Devastator is ready to rumble and devastate, but there's some unpleasant autobots attacking him, and with his size and speed it's not all that easy to actually avoid them. The whole massive plates of armor thing doesn't make it easier. The decrystallizer shot fired by First Aid does a good job at taking care of that armor, just in time for Grimlock to use his claws and teeth to use that opening. Sideswipe's pile driver fists make good on that as well, and the battle pistol used by Elita One manages to get into his eyes.

And thus, it's time to show them the might of devastator. The target right now is Grimlock, whose strikes hurt the most and the only one who does not seem little more than a pinprick to the eyes of Devastator, who steps back to keep all his targets in the same direction while lowering his massive rifle and firing at Grimlock.

Combat: Devastator strikes Robot T-Rex! &lt;Grimlock&gt; with his Stellar Level Devastation Killed the Dinosaurs Solar Energy Rifle attack! [Pulled -6]

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "Sweet Primus, he's still functional."

&lt;Autobot&gt; First Aid says, "Elita, hold your position if you can. I'm coming for you."

"Grr!" Devastator's massive rifle bathes Grimlock in burning energy...but, true to form, this just seems to make Grimlock angrier! He staggers back a step- and, ignoring the cries and advice of his fellows, Grimlock soon opens his jaws and spews forth a stream of flame, right at Devastator's faceplate! *FWOOOSH!*

Combat: Robot T-Rex! &lt;Grimlock&gt; misses Devastator with his Fire Breath attack!

Ambulance &lt;First Aid&gt; flips back into robot mode, landing in a wide stance. Already his medical tools are in one hand, and the fingers in his other are ready to deploy their surgical laser beams. The Protectobot vaults over a crumpled highway and sprints towards the Femme Commander. "Elita!" he calls out. Devastator is temporarily busy with Grimlock, so this may be his only chance. Skidding to a halt, his surgical lasers case her frame, sealing up the cuts and leaks his fellow Autobot has already endured. Loadout just so happened to be up here on Cybertron doing another supply run. With the Orion Pax's repairs well underway over Earth there's a lot of equipment that needs to be brought back to replace gear busted by Trypticon in the big Mars frackas. How -lucky- for him that he happened to be here at this point in time. Gaping at the sight of Devastator's bulk over the nearby rooftops, the Autobot Technician nevertheless grits his jaw and lunges off in that direction, to see where he can help of course. That is, until he -almost- misses Hubcap's prone form where the poor little guy crashed to a halt, and thus Loadout also skids to a stop and leans over to inspect. "Oh my...well let's have a look then shall we?"

Combat: Ambulance &lt;First Aid&gt; sets his defense level to Protected.

A distant tectonic booming provides a sort of bassline to the battle, growing louder steadily and rapidly, until a head appears over the domes of the city, collapsible highways withdrawing in front of it and closing again behind it at its owner's passage; Omega Supreme has come. His ponderous stride takes him directly towards the center of the battle and his nemesis Devastator, and from that immobile face almost hidden by the mists of the city's exhalations, comes a stentorian voice which echoes off the buildings' walls and resonates in the glass. "DEVASTATOR: BEWARE. OMEGA SUPREME: PRESENT. RECKONING: IMMEDIATE." He raises his left arm as he slowly approaches, energy gathering inside the building-sized cannon with a hollow roar like the sound of the ocean, before lancing out in a nearly silent, brilliant six-foot-wide beam of light.

Ambulance &lt;First Aid&gt; flips up into robot mode.

Combat: Omega Supreme sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: First Aid quickly patches up some of Elita One's minor injuries.

&lt;Autobot&gt; First Aid says, "Boy, are you a sight for sore optics, Omega."

Combat: Omega Supreme strikes Devastator with his Plasma Stream attack! [Pulled -6]

&lt;Autobot&gt; Loadout's voice crackles in and out, like he's near the line of fire but not directly in it, "Do remember Elita One, from past experiences...anything short of the heaviest artillery has failed before to make the likes of that monstrosity even flinch."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Omega Supreme says, "THANKS: UNNECESSARY. JUSTICE: DUTY."

She certainly wasn't going to stand still! Not with the behemoth in its rampage. The shot against Grimlock must've been a glancing blow, he certainly could've been vaporized. Her plasma cannon swaps in, materalizing in a purple outline. She waves off First Aid, "Tend to Hubcap!" the leader snaps. She barely manages an apologetic glance before sprinting across the plaza. &lt;&lt;Almost in position, Get that leg!&gt;&gt; Then she sees him, Omega Supreme. The situation has just changed, there's now a good chance the Cons will retreat, now comes the tough part. Ensuring everyone survives. She plants her feet, skidding fifteen feet before stopping, braces on one knee as she sets her sights on Devatastor's leg. "We'll get you yet, don't you worry."

Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Fearless.

&lt;Autobot&gt; Loadout says, "Well, anything short of heavy artillery and uh, Omega Supreme of course."

Combat: Elita One strikes Devastator with her Plasma Cannon attack!

&lt;Autobot&gt; Loadout coughs.

&lt;Autobot&gt; Elita One says, "We're improvising, Loadout. Its all we....Omega's here..... Alright, back him up.  First Aid, get Hubcap out of here.  Sideswipe, follow up, we can break that joint armor if we focus fire enough.   Grimlock......do your thing.   *indistinct muttering*"

&lt;Autobot&gt; First Aid says, "You got it."

&lt;Autobot&gt; Loadout says, "I'm looking over Hubcap now. I'll see if I can revive him at the very least."

&lt;Autobot&gt; First Aid says, "Ah, alright Loadout. Let me know if you need assistance."