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Bounce Chamber

Skywarp smiled and shook his head again as Thundercracker responded to his quip regarding Ramjet. "Yeah, waaaay too many blows, it seems. Maybe if we're lucky Motormaster actually knocked some sense into him, but I doubt it." The teleporter then felt a slight surge of pain as Nightraven gently brushed her wing tip against his own damaged one, reminding him that he still needed repairs. He didn't mind the pain, especially since it had come from her. Any other mech would've gotten an audio receptor full. Although, she seemed to be sending mixed signals. One moment, she's gripping 'Cracker's hand at the sight of Ramjet's attempt on Starscream's life and the next she's smiling and brushing herself against them both. Whether intentional or not, it was rather odd. Of course, 'Warp would take whatever affection he could get from her. He just wished it had been his hand that she had gripped tightly and not his blue friend's. When is she going to give up on him? 'Cracker barely knows she exists while I have given her more attention these past few cycles then he ever has.

Skywarp sighed and then turned towards the exit. "Guess I'll head down to the repair bay and get myself fixed up and recharged. See you both later," the prankster said to Thundercracker and Nightraven before leaving the bounce chamber.

Repair Bay

Skywarp entered the junked up repair facility and gazed around the room. The Stunticons certainly weren't medical experts that much was certain. 'Warp would be lucky if he didn't catch a bad case of cosmic rust while attempting to recuperate. The CR chambers didn't appear to be in that great shape, either, just like the rest of the room, but they would have to do.

Making his way across the room, Skywarp noticed Long Haul exiting one of the chambers. He approached the Constructicon with the intent of taking his place. "Hey 'Haul, there's still more wounded that need to be transported down here. Why don't you go help out?" The teleporter stepped by the green mech and entered into the now empty CR chamber.

Long Haul paused a moment, taking in his new surroundings. The last thing he remembered was being at the outer breach and getting shot by Hardhead. Now, he was in an unfamiliar medical bay and had no idea what the outcome of the battle was. The Constructicon transport turned around to face Skywarp, who was settling into the CR chamber that Long Haul had just occupied. "Hey, 'Warp. Where am I and what the slag happened? Is the battle over?"

Looking annoyed, Skywarp glared back at Long Haul. "Yes, the battle is over. Unfortunately, we lost our Earth base when it self destructed and the volcano erupted. So, we had to bounce up to the Ultrax in orbit, which is where you now find yourself. Oh, and apparently Megatron was caught in the explosion and killed. Whether that's really the case or not is still up for debate. Although, Soundwave seems convinced. Now, if you don't mind, I'm in need of repairs." The teleporter then slammed the CR chamber door shut as the repair cycle activated.

Long Haul stared back in disbelief. Megatron, dead? That's impossible! Megatron can't die! The green mech turned and headed for the door, not noticing anyone else in the room. I can't believe it. I just can't. I need to talk to Scrapper about this, but first I'll help get the wounded down here like 'Warp suggested.

Bounce Chamber

Still in shock at the news of Megatron's reported demise, Long Haul entered the bounce room and looked around the see several wounded and stasis-locked mechs still in need of assistance. Transforming to dump truck mode, Long Haul rolled up to Skyjack, who was still with a deactivated Snowcap. "Load him into my truck bed. I should be able to carry him back down to the repair bay along with one or two others."

Bridge

Having wasted as little time as necessary to get into the bridge of Ultrax, Motormaster had sat down on the command chain at the highest point of the bridge. Ultrax was still his ship and he was certain to make others remember it. His sword resting on his lap and rifle leaning against the right side of the command chair, the leader of the Stunticons was as imposing sight as ever. Glaring at the other Decepticons on the bridge through his sole surviving optical sensor from his duel with Hot Spot, the malevolent king of the roads broke the silence that had ensued as the others were seeking a place to sit or stand.

"Starscream. We have history you and I. Consider one debt paid." He boomed, his voice likely sending chills through the meta-processors of less courageous Decepticons like Scrapper. "So let's talk eh? 'Bots put us through a slagging blender. Your base gone and with it the Veil - the meatbags are probably already all over the mountain and there's bound to be something they will find. The fun fact: a slagging base going boom means your equipment and energy storages go sky high as well. And there's not enough energon for all of us onboard my ship."

Motormaster's optic flashed eeriely and what has left of his mouthplate twisted into a scowl. "And I doubt I am not the only one not too keen on calling commandant Skyquake that Megatron was lost on our watch. As tough as the Ultrax is, taking on the Nemesis is just too much. So what the frag we are going to do about this slag?"

Bounce Chamber

Nightraven took notice of the awkward smile Thundercracker flashed her prompting her own smile to grow slightly wider. After brushing both Thundercracker’s and Skywarp’s wings with her own she observed the reaction she got from both Seekers. It seemed that the blue Seeker was slightly perplexed at her sudden act, but the teleporter looked as if he was in pain. The femme then realized that she had inadvertently brushed her wing against Skywarp’s damaged one.

Before Nightraven could apologize Skywarp excused himself and took leave for the med bay. The femme let out a sigh as she looked over at Thundercracker.

“I…should go and check on Hellion. You should…um, go and recharge.”

Nightraven gave the blue Seeker a delicate smile before she nodded and exited the bounce chamber.

Repair Bay

Nightraven wanted to be sure Hellion was getting proper care but she also want to apologize to Skywarp for possibly causing more damage to his already injured wing. She mumbled lowly to herself as she moved quickly through the ship toward her intended destination. Behind her a slightly shorter mech followed but he kept his distance in order to remain with in the shadows of the halls.

The doors to the repair bay opened allowing Nightraven and her unknown stalker to enter. Quickly, and quietly, the darkened figure moved to the far nooks where he simply watched for the time being.

Nightraven looked to the row of CR chambers standing at the far end of the bay hoping to spot Skywarp before he entered the repair pod, but she was too late. The door was already closing on his chamber, and the cycle started, before she could call to the teleporter. The femme sighed heavily as she finally closed the distance to the chambers.

The black and purple Seeker femme looked into each chamber and finally found her sister. Nightraven placed her hand tentatively on the glass. “At least you’ll be out soon.” After a few moments Nightraven made her way to Skywarp’s chamber. She checked the settings and made note of when the cycle would finish.

“Ahem. Contemplating something are we?”

The deep, silky voice startled the femme from her thoughts causing her to jump and quickly turn around to face the voice. She was surprised to see a much shorter mech standing behind her; a broad, cunning smile plastered on his visage. Nightraven didn’t remember seeing this particular mech around the base causing her to eye him suspiciously.

“Contemplating? No. Why would I?”

The shorter, smooth talking mech skillfully slipped past the femme and stopped next to Skywarp’s chamber. He peaked into the glass window showcasing the Seeker’s face. The short purple mech ran a clawed finger over the glass causing a high-pitched screech to fill the room. Nightraven winched slightly before she looked back at the mech.

“Well, you seem quite interested in this ‘one’. However, I always thought you were interested in the other ‘one’.”

Nightraven glared at the mech for a moment before responding.

“How is it you know my private affairs?”

“Call it a hobby. But it's also my job. I do have some information that you might find very interesting. Would you like to hear it?”

“And why would you offer this, so called, 'information' to me? What’s in it for you?”

The mech flashed an innocent smile. “My dear, I just want you to have all the available information before you make any kind of decision.”

Her curiosity piqued Nightraven gave him a slight nod. “What do you know?”

He took a moment to contemplate, his clawed fingers drumming rhythmically on Skywarp’s CR chamber.

“I was told by Skywarp, in fact, that you are the object of his affection. He knows about you and your twisted attraction for the blue Seeker, but he’s willing to overlook that slight personality flaw.”

The mech stepped closer to Nightraven before she could respond to his previous statement; he then lowered his vocalizer enhancing his already deep voice.

“Skywarp is willing to get rid of the competition if he deems it necessary.” Nightraven wasn’t sure if she should even believe this mech. After all Skywarp had never let on that he even….her optics widened slightly with the realization that the signs were all there and she never even noticed.

“I never knew….he even felt that way.” She looked back at the shorter mech. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“The pleasure, my dear, was all mine.” The suave purple mech took hold of Nightraven’s hand, bowed and then placed a gentle kiss on the top of her hand. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” Darkride released her hand and flashed a pleasant smile before turning and leaving the repair bay.

Hmm, I never even got his name. Nightraven looked back at Skywarp’s chamber before she took a seat next to it. She was going to have to talk to him about what she was just informed.

Repair Bay

Hauling Space Case around with only one good leg was not fun, and as Ramplate hauled the unconscious mech into the bay, he looked around for someone to hand the other Decepticon off to while one mech passed him by. "Who's the medic in charge here?" he asked as he looked about the room, seeing that most of the others were in CR chambers, though Nightraven was still inside at least. His optics landing on Hook however, the warrior nodded to himself before finding a berth to set Space Case on, before sitting down on one himself. "How badly did the others get hit this time?" he asked the two 'cons, more out of boredom and idle curiosity than any actual worry.

Bounce Chamber

"Missed the whole one working arm thing huh?" Skyjack says to Long Haul.

"I got him." Holligan was there, finally have snapped out of his funk, but he sounded colder and without his usual energy.

"Why so somber? I mean I know why but dang..." Skyjack says as they load Snowcap on the Constructicon.

"This joke isn't funny. I hate unfunny jokes. Megatron...I'll make the bots pay for this sick farce." Hooligans says. "The three of us have work to do once we're fixed 'Jack. We gotta do this right...for Megatron."

"So long as I can gain from it I'm in." Skyjack says. "But that's up to you to make sure it is."

"Don't worry. If we kill a few of their top ranked guys doing this then we'll be wanted by many as elites." Hooligan says.

"Sold." Skyjack says as he hops on. "Let's go get fixed. You know how hard it is for Space Case when he is fixed before we are and has to wait." Hooligan hops on. "We're ready LH."

Bridge

Starscream looked up at Motormaster and listened to the words he had to say. He was right of course, Decepticons like Skyquake would likely lash out in anger at any they see as responsible for letting Megatron die, regardless if such an outcome could not be prevented. That is partially why he had summoned the three officers with him now.

"I'm well aware of that, and that sort of situation is just what I'm trying to prevent. We have to face it, whether through loyalty or fear Megatron managed to keep the whole of the Decepticons united either because most were to terrified or loyal to attempt to bring about their own agendas. With Megatron no longer in the picture every potential despot, warlord or soldier with delusions of power will make their move to seize it. See Ramjet. To put it simply we are potentially facing a civil war that poses a far greater threat to our cause then the Autobots do."

Starscream clasped his hands behind his back as he began to slowly pace around the bridge.

"I wish to prevent such an occurrence from happening, though to be honest I think at best we can only hope to minimize the damage, someone will make a move. What I hope to accomplish here is that one of us four must emerge as leader of our contingent, with the full backing of support from the other three. Though we do not have the most powerful warship at our disposal, nor do we have the manpower of an expansion fleet, we do have under our combined command some of the most powerful, intelligent, skilled and elite warriors the Decepticons have to offer. If any wish to challenge whomever we decide upon as leader they will have to deal with the fact that they will have to engage such a substantial force as we have here. But I believe it may be possible for us to expand our influence beyond our sector here if other commanders observe our united support they will likely take pause to at least consider if it is within their own best interest to challenge our authority and to join us instead. If that is possible I believe other commanders will fall in line and we can prevent a full scale civil war that I fear is possible."

Starscream stopped pacing and stood in front of the main viewing window of the ship and cast his gaze over the other three.

"In addition to that, whomever we decide upon as leader we must make the effort to show that we are not making a grab for power, we cannot be seen to be attempting to replace Megatron. Rather we must be seen to be assuming the role of leadership to keep control of the situation until Megatron returns and he can once again take up command of the Decepticons. Whether or not that will ever happen is not the issue, the vast bulk of the Decepticons would perhaps see it as an insult to make a grab for power so soon, if we are seen to be trying to take the reigns to prevent from chaos descending upon us all we could perhaps generate further support for our position. To that end there shall not be any ceremonies, no capes, no crowns. We must be seen to be merely filling his shoes so to speak until he can return. That is my position, now I am curious to see what the rest of you think."

Bridge

Scrapper entered the bridge and sat down at the engineering console, taking a few moments to check over the ships system. Everything seemed to be intact, but to Scrappers trained eye, it was clear that many of the ships systems were being 'forced' to work via juryrigging. In a calmer time, Scrapper might have insisted in giving the vessel an overhaul, but for now he'd have to presume the Stunticons's work would suffice.

Turning from the console, Scrapper watched Motormaster start things off. Scrapper wished he'd had time to replace his mouthplate, in order to better hide his frown. Motormaster was a dangerous Decepticon, not because of influence or power, but because of sheer cruelty and apathy to how he and his team were seen. He was being professional now, not because he wanted to appear professional but because it allowed him to intimidate the shipload of passengers better. While they were on his ship, he was far more influential even than the likes of Starscream and Soundwave. This was going to be a problem later, when Motormaster decided not to be professional anymore.

Then Starscream began to speak, and Scrapper was forced to choke down a wave of retorts. The Seekers had always irritated him, and their gloryhound of a leader most of all, but here he had to listen to him pretend like this wasn't a grab for power, to act like he actually cared about the rest of the Empire. At least he hadn't written off Megatron like Soundwave had. If he hadn't, Scrapper might not have been able to sit through it.

"Theres logic in what you both have to say. Certainly, we can't make any grand gestures, we have to continue as Megatron ordered us to. The Empire must not be undermined by greed. And certainly, we four are the ones best able to take over for now."

Ah, but do you think I don't see where you're going with this, Starscream? Soundwave is more hated than the Autobots by many, Motormasters too much of a thug and I'm just a repair bot, so logically the only candidate is you, right? You don't want to come out and say that, of course, you want us to admit for you. Nothing would give you greater pleasure, would it?

"I don't agree that having one leader is the correct approach, however. Individually, the chosen bot would be making a target of themselves, and would overwhelmed with all this petty politics which will arise. Would it not make more sense to form some kind of council? The four of us together, maintaining order and showing solidarity?"

No matter how much you might think of yourselves, none of you have the metal to fill Megatrons shoes, even for a cycle. But I won't let that ruin everything we've worked for. I'll keep this Empire together if I have to rebuild the whole thing.

Bounce Chamber

Long Haul felt the dead weight of Snowcap as the stasis locked mech was loaded into his truck bed. That weight then increased three fold as both Skyjack and Hooligan decided to hop onboard, as well. What am I now, a taxi service? Long Haul thought, having only intended to transport those who were unable to walk by themselves. Alas, a transporter is often taken advantage of in a situation like this by slothful ‘Cons who’d rather let others do the work for them. Perhaps someday he would be seen as more than just an easy ride.

“All right, guys, hang on,” the green dump truck said and suddenly rolled forward and out into the corridors, heading back down towards the repair bay. Long Haul couldn’t go too fast as the weight of his ‘cargo’ didn’t allow for much in the way of speed. However, that didn’t stop him from making a few sharp turns that would be just enough to keep Skyjack and Hooligan from relaxing too much.

Repair Bay

Within the CR chamber, the yellow mech stirred. As his systems slowly came back online one by one, his mind became increasingly more active. His optics were not yet functional, but he began to see things, nevertheless. They were visions within his own sub consciousness of being someplace else. Humans would call these visions dreams, which were something mechanoids seldom experienced and even when they did, such imaginings were written off as simple glitches and then quickly forgotten.

Sometimes, however, such dreams struck a chord with the mech in question and were held on to long after they were over. In this case, it was a dark chord as the place the yellow ‘Con found himself in was empty and desolate, like Cybertron, itself. He was in an empty corridor that seemed to go on forever. At the end of the tunnel was darkness. The racer walked ahead towards the shadows until he could make out two shining lights emanating from the blackness. As he drew closer he realized that those lights were in fact glowing optics.

“Who’s that?! Show yourself!” He demanded, stopping in his tracks. Then the lights moved towards him, finally exposing the owner. “I know you! I re….remember! I remember what you did to me!” The owner of those piercing optics leapt onto him and began tearing his body apart, ripping through his chest plate and trying to pry open the very spark chamber within. “Nooooo! Not again! Noooooo!!! You’re supposed to be an Autobot! You can’t…do this! Get…off…me…” Then the crazed ‘Bot ripped out the yellow mech’s spark and held it up in front of him, an evil smile spreading across his demented face plate. “Nooooooooo……”

“…..oooooo!” Drag Strip screamed as he suddenly awakened inside his CR chamber. He was safe now as the Autobot called Hex was not even on the same ship. It had only been a nightmare, one that would not be easily forgotten. Regardless, the yellow racer jumped forward and began pounding on the door, trying to escape from the claustrophobic chamber as quickly as possible.

Finally, the door slid open and Drag Strip leapt out, falling face first onto the floor. He used his hands and arms to push himself up into a seated position, exhaling heavily as the trepidation of the nightmare still lingered inside him like a nasty rust infection. He soon calmed down, however, regaining his composure as he realized where he was and, more importantly, that there were other ‘Cons in the room who were probably staring at him right now.

******

Long Haul entered the repair bay, carrying the trio of fliers in his truck bed. He quickly drove to the opposite side of the room where the CR chambers were located, passing by Nightraven as he went. The Constructicon came to a sudden halt in front of three empty units. “All right, everybody out! Time to get fixed up so you can fight another day.”

As Long Haul waited for his passengers to disembark, he bore witness to the sight that was Drag Strip escaping from his own CR chamber and falling onto the floor in a panic. This was certainly an unusual sight as the Stunticons were not known to be scared of anything even during the heat of battle against a powerful opponent. They were fearless warriors if not a bit demented.

Long Haul then raised his back section up on an angle, allowing Skyjack, Hooligan and Snowcap to slide harmlessly out of his truck bed. This allowed the green transport to return to robot mode and move to Drag Strip’s side, kneeling down beside him. “You okay, Drag? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.“

“I’m fine,” the yellow Stunticon replied sternly as fear quickly turned to anger at the realization that someone had caught sight of his outburst. The Constructicon was probably not the only one, but he was the first one to respond and therefore was the target of Drag Strip’s frustration. “Just leave me alone. I don’t need your help.” Drag forced himself up to his feet, pushing Long Haul away from him with his hand. The former racer then stormed out of the repair bay, making little to no optical contact with anyone else present.

“Well, that was certainly odd,” Long Haul thought as he turned his attention back to Skyjack, Hooligan and their deactivated companion, Snowcap. The Constructicon walked over and activated three of the closest CR chambers and set their respective repair cycles. “Here ya go, guys. Enjoy the fix and recharge.”

******

Skywarp’s CR chamber door slid open just in time for the seeker to catch a glimpse of Drag Strip’s psychotic episode happening nearby. Unlike Long Haul, however, the teleporter had no intention of helping out the yellow Stunticon as it was way too much fun to watch events unfold as they were. ‘Warp snickered as he watched Drag push the Constructicon away and storm out of the room like a human child throwing a temper tantrum. What could have caused such an outburst was a mystery, one that the prankster could care less about unraveling.

Skywarp stepped out into the open repair bay and examined himself to make sure the CR unit had done its job properly. His wing was fixed like new as was the damage the rest of him had sustained during the prolonged battle within their now destroyed Earth base. The recharge he had received had filled his fuel cells to optimum levels. Although, it was still not as satisfying as how real energon made him feel.

The black and purple seeker then turned to his left and finally spotted Nightraven sitting next to his empty CR chamber. Having been previously distracted by Drag Strip's comical display, he had not noticed the femme seeker right away. “Well well, this is certainly a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you out here keeping watch over me. It was only a banged up wing and some dents, you know, nothing serious.” Skywarp then noticed the strange look on her face plate. She hadn’t yet spoken to him, but he could tell that something was amiss. “Is everything okay, Nighty? You seem uneasy about something. Is there anything I can do?”

Repair Bay

Since most of the Decepticons coming into the bay were just heading for the CR chambers Hook moved over to them and began working on a chamber that appeared to be in less then optimal condition. At some point he might actually have to use one of these things and he wanted to make sure one of them would actually repair him correctly.

The Constructicon looked up from his work as Long Haul dumped off a load of wounded Decepticons. “Was I the only one to get out of there relatively intact?” he muttered to himself before addressing the various Decepticons. “Alright, if someone needs actual repairs from an actual expert, get on the work table. If you need a simple patching up that a simple drone could do get in one of the CR chambers. I always have other work to do if you don’t need my vast expertise.”

*

Another CR Chamber hissed open and Hellion stepped out. The orange seeker glanced around, an annoyed look on her face. She was getting tired of wrapping up battles with an extended stay in one of the chambers. The fact that she wasn’t even conscious when she entered it only heightened that annoyance. She would have almost preferred being terminated on the battlefield then to suffer another loss.

A scowl on her face the Decepticon flier made her way over to Nightraven. She appeared to be talking to Skywarp for some reason. Normally she had nothing against the other seeker, but she was in a foul mood and he was in her way. She dropped her shoulder and slammed into his side hard enough to knock him out of the way but not really hurt him. “Outta my way!”

She turned to look down at her sister, a frown still on her face. “So what the slag happened back there? I take it things didn’t go very well since we aren’t in the base. And what the scrap are you doing sitting all the way over here, my chamber was back there,” she motioned her head back to the chamber she had come from.

*

Bridge

Soundwave did what he always did as others talked. He carefully listened to and recorded every word that was said. At the same time he used his scanners to monitor the electrical impulses coming from the cerebral circuits of each of the other Decepticons. That would give him some edge in the discussion, when he felt the need to join in it.

Motormaster talked and thought like the most powerful one in the room. He was likely correct in terms of raw power, but he also insinuated the power of them being stationed on board his vessel. While it was quite possible that the Stunticon could slay him in physical combat, the communication’s expert was more then ready to negate his home base advantage. His position had allowed him access to numerous security codes. If need be he would be able to seize control of the ship before Motormaster knew what was happening.

It was apparent that the Stunticon leader was throwing in his lot with Starscream. It was a bit surprising, but he must realize that he did not have enough charisma to rule over a greater number of Decepticons. He led the Stunticons through raw power, but he did not have the power to do that with all of the Decepticons present in this system.

Starscream was much more sophisticated in his ideas. He did want leadership, which was well known even without his limited telepathy. It appeared though that he was willing to be patient about it. He wanted it to seem like a legitimate transfer of power and he wanted all of their cooperation in doing so. Motormaster would likely back him which might give him enough sway to move ahead with it, backed by veiled threats against himself and Scrapper.

The Constructicon leader thought like the engineer he was. His idea of leadership by committee felt more like an Autobot plan. The idea was weak and would never last in the power hungry ranks of the Decepticons. Too many Decepticons would see it as a show of weakness and indecisiveness and make a move for leadership. However, it might work to buy him some time to enact his own plans.

“Potential candidates to replace Megatron at this time in the room: zero. None of us possess correct combination of power, intellect and charisma to lead Decepticons individually at this time. Suggestion that we lead together for now: agreed with. Time will allow us to gather powerbase and figure out which of us is correct candidate for leadership.”

He turned back to his console and punched in a series of commands. “Falsified reports can be sent to other commanders across the empire. Megatron’s current status will be unknown to those outside of this vessel. Interference from Skyquake or others: nullified.”

Soundwave knew that Megatron would never approve of this approach, but it was necessary for now. The Decepticon sincerely hoped that Megatron would return someday, some how, but he was not the type to pin his future on hopes. He needed a plan and there needed to be a strong and intelligent leader. There was only one real acceptable leader and he would make sure that was who would take command of the Decepticons.

Repair Bay

"Kind of Hook, just be glad you did. You've kinda become the MVP." Skyjack says as he and Hooligan load Snowcap into a vacnt CR Chamber. "I think you'll be especially praised for getting Cap back up to specs once he's done in the tank here. You know how fancy his systems are."

"He's not going to be happy once he hears the news." Hooligan says. "Might want to shut his guns down first before you tell him."

"How's Space Case?" Skyjack asks. "He in a Chamber himself yet?"

"The dumbass blew himself up twice over. He's lucky he's not dead." Hooligan says, sounding a bit more normal.

"He's smarter than some." Dead End stood there, wiping some of Ramjet's fluids off his hands. "This pointless waste of effort sprung a leak on me. Disgusting." Dead End says as he walks over to Drag Strip. "Welcome back to the land of the functional, my condolences." He says as he puts the cloth down on a nearby tray. "Are you well? You seemed to be suffering from shock upon reactivation."

Corridors

Astrotrain had returned to the bounce chamber only to find out that all the Decepticons that had been in need of assistance in order to get to the med bay had already been carried there by others. Given the warrior mentality of most of the Decepticons, the triplechanger found it somewhat surprising at times that such solidarity existed within their ranks. He had seen wounded left behind before and to be honest, Astrotrain felt some relief that it had not happened this time.

As he turned to return to the med bay to see if there were any CR chambers free in order to check his own injuries, he collided with Drag Strip who had dashed right into from him behind a corner with Dead End on his tail. Given Astrotrain's considerable bulk, the impact sent the smaller Decepticon tumbling back to where he had come from and into his gloomy teammate.

"Watch yourself Stunticon." Astrotrain sighed in mild annoyance before reaching down to offer Drag Strip a helping hand, though given how this particular Stunticon acted, the large triplechanger doubted he was going to accept any help.
_______________________________________

Repair Bay

The corridors leading into the med bay had been pretty busy, forcing Thundercracker to turn sideways more than few times on his way to get his own injuries treated. The blue seeker had been in no hurry. His injuries were relatively minor. Some wear and tear here and there with the worst injury he had being one of his tail fins. The last mech he had came across before having arrived to the repair bay had left a scowl on his face. If there was a Decepticon Thundercracker wouldn't have minded to perish in the explosion of Mt. Saint Helens - it was Darkride. But there he had been, largely unharmed and sporting a smug, sinister smile on his face as the two had passed each other on the corridor. Whatever the interrogator had been up to again, couldn't have been any good.

The repair bay itself was a chaos. Largely because the Stunticons didn't bother much with cleaning. Of course, it did not help that there were fewer CR chambers than wounded Decepticons. Not to mention those that had been wounded too badly to help themselves. At least Blitzwing and Thrust appeared to be laying on repair tables, still in stasis, showing no signs of activity. Both warriors sported large holes fired through their chests. Hook probably had still some work to do with them before they could be moved to CR chambers to recover.

And there were the seeker sisters and Skywarp. Apparently Hellion was as pissed as ever. Well, if 'Warp had done something stupid to piss off the amazon again, Thundercracker was not going to get between them, instead he moved out of the way of the working Constructicons and leaned against the grimy wall, deciding that some dirt was hardly a matter to be self-conscious about right now. Crossing his arms and closing his optics, Thundercracker dropped to energy saving mode while waiting his turn on the CR chambers.

Repair Bay

One actuator resting on his cranial unit and the other assisting in the emergence out of the CR chamber, Wildrider climbed out of the chamber in a ponderous fashion. His vision was of inferior quality—the final touches still in progress, he gathered—and his balance had been greatly reduced. Neither of those inconveniences concerned Wildrider, as they would return in due time. It was his cranial unit causing him a terrible amount of grief.

It felt as if a Guardian robot had been sitting on it.

He examined his surroundings, curiosity dominating his collection of thoughts. “The frag? How'd I get back here?”

Wildrider recalled being present in the Decepticons' headquarters on Earth, battling against the Autobots and tending to Drag Strip's wounds. Prime then appeared from out of nowhere, followed by a darkness that rapidly enveloped him. After that, he could not extract another moment from his recollection.

“Don't tell me I was wasted by Prime. Looking at that fraggin' do-gooder makes me wanna purge m—“

His sight now fully recovered, Wildrider viewed two of his team-mates, Dead End and Drag Strip, engaged in casual chatter. He made his way over to them, a grin solidified on his face-plate.

“Hey! Hey! Look who it is!” Wildrider cordially slapped each of his team-mates on the shoulder-plate. “The depressed and clearly not the best! So what's going on, huh? Did we win the fight, or what?”

Repair Bay

Drag Strip’s emergence from the CR chamber did not go unnoticed by Nightraven. In fact his sudden outburst within the chamber and subsequent fall out of it caused the femme Seeker to nearly rise from her chair and attend to the Stunticon. It was, at that time, Long Haul who had made it to Drag Strip’s side leaving Nightraven a little more at ease.

She had just settled back into her chair when the tell-tale hiss of the chamber she was positioned by opened revealing the form of Skywarp. The Seeker did not notice her right off, instead finding the exchange between Long Haul and Drag Strip more interesting. But once the yellow Stunticon had finally left the repair bay the purple and black Seeker finally did take note of her presence.

She kept her expression neutral, not wanting to alarm him, but his questions told her that she was not doing a very good job. Nightraven slowly stood from the chair and was about to address him when she heard another chamber open. Nightraven watched as her sister emerged and stalked over toward her and Skywarp.

Damnit. Not now. Nightraven was not surprised by her sister’s behavior, in fact she had come to expect it, but what she wasn’t ready for was her belligerent intrusion. Not only had she interrupted what she was about to say, but Hellion had also slammed into Skywarp intentionally.

“Helly!” She flashed Skywarp and apologetic look before turning back to her angry sibling.

“Look, Helly, I’ll talk to you in a bit. I have something to take care of right now.”

Nightraven took hold of her sister’s forearms and pulled her along toward the door.

“Please, just head out of here and find a quiet place to relax. I’ll join you once I’m done here.”

With Hellion taken care of, hopefully, Nightraven turned her attention back to Skywarp. The repair bay had grew quiet and most of the mechs there were either in stasis or inside a CR chamber leaving the two Seekers a fairly private location to speak.

“Skywarp, we really need to talk.”

Nightraven stepped back toward the back of the room before she continued.

“I know. I know how you feel…about me.”

She paused, not only to let what she had confessed to sink in but to also formulate a way to continue without making things worse.

“And, I’m sorry, but I don’t think it would work out. We’re just too…different. I wish it had been you who told me. Instead I was told by another mech.”

She let out a heavy sigh, lowered her gaze to the floor. She slowly looked back up and gave him and awkward smile.

“I just hope you don’t take this out on Thundercracker. I…I’m really sorry, Skywarp.”

Repair Bay

Dead End sighs. "Well if anyone is to give out depressing news it should be myself or Dirge" He says, looking at his two compatriots. "Wildrider, Drag Strip...we lost the base, as well as Megatron. He did not succeed in teleporting out before the base went up it seems." He says sounding as morose as ever. "Starscream is talking with Motormaster, Scrapper and Soundwave on what to do next. Shockingly he's not going into his 'Megatron has fallen' schitck...which has me worried for once in my life."

"Was he hit in the head at all really hard during the fight?" Hooligan asks. "I was kind of distracted with fighting Sideswipe and nuking what I could."

"I think he's just being smart for a change, that's all." Dead End answers. "Now you see why I gave my condolences Drag Strip, we might have been better off dead."

Bridge

The situation was hardly ideal. Without Megatron there was a power vacuum in the ranks of the Decepticons that only one of Megatron's most powerful and cunning officers could fill. And even that would probably happen too late and with too much damage done to the Empire by infighting. Glimpses of it could already been seen in these negotiations about the leadership of this particular Decepticon contingent. The fact they were having a negotiation was already a show of weakness. As far as Motormaster was concerned, the answer for the current situation was simple. If you want something - take it. Simple as that. And was he ever so tempted to beat some sense in these three, especially Scrapper and Soundwave who clearly opposed Starscream's veiled attempt to take over.

"You three sound like fraggin' Autobot pansies! Gonna form a committee?! At least one of you has the right slaggin' idea!" Motormaster boomed in a bit of disbelief after listening to what Starscream, Scrapper and Soundwave had had to say.

"Frag!" He cursed and stood up. Drawing his sword and pointing it at the others in the bridge, Motormaster decided to take these negotiations to the next level. "There's no slaggin' mech alive able to replace Megatron. So slaggin' what! This bunch wimps on board Ultrax do not need a fraggin' committee! They need a leader!"

Throwing his sword into a panel next to Scrapper to intimidate the Constructicon, Motormaster continued his raving. "You certainly are not it!"

"And neither are you!" He roared, pointing his forefinger at Soundwave. "And I am not slaggin' crazy enough to want it!"

With that said, heturned his only working optic towards Starscream. "The big question: Do you want it enough?! Because if you do, I swear you have my support. End of the line."

"I ain't gonna accept no slaggin' committee." He growled, his sole optic burning with barely contained anger.

Repair Bay

Wildrider held up an actuator. “Wait an astrosec. We lost our base and our leader?”

He was having difficulty comprehending such a claim, despite his mind acting as a refuge for his immense degree of lunacy.

“Really, Deadster? We've lost the big boss? He's gone for good? Seriously?”

Much difficulty.

All his functioning, Wildrider had been acquainted with two of the most powerful Decepticons: Megatron and Motormaster. Motormaster had—and still did—pummel he and his fellow Stunticons with remarkable ease, whether it was out of anger, boredom, or simply to remind them who had been granted with a state of invincibility. His strength was exceptional. Every Transformer, Autobot or Decepticon, was perfectly aware of that.

But Megatron's was something else. Something of extraordinary proportions.

For Motormaster to swear his loyalty to Megatron was a significant deal. He insulted everyone apart from Megatron. He offered violence to everyone apart from Megatron. He only displayed obedience towards Megatron.

So absurd it was, then, to hear of his demise. It would take a while before Wildrider would truly believe what had transpired in the previous battle. And what was currently going on now.

“Screamer's chatting with the rest of the high-rankers, eh? Slag, I hope he doesn't become our new leader.” He glanced at Dead End, giggling. “We really will be doomed.”

Wildrider began tapping his lip components with a digit, apparent concern seizing his aspect. “Now, there's something troubling me...” He levelled Drag Strip with a long measuring look. “We have all the important 'Cons gathered in the one place, discussing our future. I need to know why a mech such as yourself—who's, like, the best 'Con in the universe—is here and not there.”

He wasn't convinced he could repress his laughter for long.

Repair Bay

Drag Strip rushed into the corridor just outside of the repair bay, trying to escape from the humiliation of his recent outburst when exiting the CR chamber. He hoped his terrified reaction wouldn’t ruin his reputation of being the best that the Decepticon army had to offer. At least, that’s how he thought of himself, anyway. Others would surely disagree with his assessment of himself, but he didn’t care about the naysayers. He just wanted to make sure everyone still knew that he was the best at everything, regardless of his little nightmare encounter with Hex.

The sound of Dead End’s voice drew his attention back around to the doomsayer causing the yellow racer to collide with Astrotrain. As a result, Drag Strip was propelled back into the med bay, ending up on the floor as Wildrider arrived on the scene, as well. The triplechanger then told him to watch out before offering him a helping hand. “I’m fine. I don’t need help,” he said, rejecting Astrotrain’s offer of assistance while at the same time picking himself up off the ground. Drag then turned away from the Decepticon transport to face both of his Stunticon comrades.

“I’m fine, Dead End. Just a few glitches, that’s all,” Drag Strip replied, playing off his little episode as nothing more than a bout of CR sickness, a condition that some mechs did in fact get from time to time after an extended stay in a CR chamber.

The yellow racer then locked optics with Wildrider whose mild taunt and slap on the shoulder had rubbed him the wrong way. “I clearly am the best,” he corrected the terrorist in his sad attempt at humor. “One day you’ll come to realize that fact.”

Up until this point, Drag Strip had been so consumed with his nightmare and subsequent reaction that he had not even thought about the battle or how he had gotten back up to the Ultrax. He, therefore, listened as Dead End gave the grave news as to what had happened. Drag was just as shocked as the terrorist standing beside him. “Megatron dead? Impossible! That would be like me losing a race. It just can’t happen. There must be some mistake.”

Perhaps Dead End was wrong in what he had heard. Old doom and gloom did have the tendency to overreact and make a situation more dreadful sounding then it actually was. Still, if the high-ranking ‘Cons were all meeting to decide the next course of action then maybe it was true. Maybe Megatron’s spark really had been extinguished.

“If Motormaster became leader then maybe he’d take out his anger and aggression on some of the other ‘Cons instead of just us. That would be a nice change of pace,” Drag Strip commented to his teammates as Wildrider then questioned him as to why he wasn’t with all of the other important ‘Cons instead of standing here with them. A deep frown became etched across the yellow racer’s faceplate. Clearly the terrorist still did not understand Drag's significance.

“Well, Wildrider, someone has to keep an optic on you while Motormaster’s busy. Otherwise, your crazy antics might get you into trouble. Dead End can’t do it because we're all doomed anyway so why bother, right? And Breakdown’s too paranoid to be effective. Therefore, that makes me the best one for the job, as usual.” Drag Strip finished speaking and smiled as he felt he had effectively made his point to the terrorist.

******

Skywarp’s short time out of the CR chamber was about to go from good to bad to worse all in a matter of a few astroseconds. Had he known what was about to transpire he would’ve stayed inside the repair unit for another cycle and hope that everyone just left. First, Hellion decided to slam into his side knocking him out of her way as she then demanded to know what had happened and why Nightraven was sitting way over here by the prankster’s chamber instead of her sister’s. ‘Raven remained calm and quickly ushered her angry sibling out of the repair bay before walking back over to ‘Warp.

Nightraven’s first words were that they needed to talk before she then moved towards the back of the med bay. Uh, oh. This can’t be good, Skywarp thought as he followed her, stopping as they reached the rear of the room. He had no idea what she was about to tell him, but her vocal processors sounded a bit distressed.

Then Nightraven spoke and the few words that came across her lips seemed to pierce through Skywarp like an energo blade. She knew how he felt about her. Somehow, some way, she had figured it out. Sure ‘Warp had been leaving some subtle hints here and there, trying to make her see that he was really a decent mech and was better for her than Thundercracker, but he didn’t think he had been so obvious in his actions.

Skywarp opened his mouth and tried to speak, but he couldn’t as Nighty's nervous appearance suggested that her feelings weren’t mutual. It appeared to be quite the contrary, a fact that was then confirmed by her next statement. ‘Warp’s spark sank down in his chest cavity as he heard Nightraven say it wouldn’t work out between them. Figures. I guess I’m just not blue enough for you, the teleporter thought, not wanting to say it aloud and upset her, or worse, make her hate him outright.

“We’re really….not that different, Nighty,” Skywarp was finally able to respond, trying to convince her that she was wrong. However, he then caught the rest of what she was saying and couldn’t believe what he heard. “Wait an astrosec. Someone told you how I felt?”

It was impossible. No one else really knew about his feelings for her as ‘Warp had kept it a closely guarded secret. He didn’t want the other seekers to think that he was growing soft and emotional over a femme, after all. He needed to maintain the appearance of the elite seeker that he was. It was possible that Thundercracker suspected something, but even if he did he wouldn’t have said anything. 'Cracker barely gave Nightraven the time of day and would never allow a femme to get in the way of their long running friendship.

“Who was it?” Skywarp asked, taking a single step closer to Nightraven and locking optics with her. “Who told you how I felt? Please Nighty, I have to know.”

OoC: First post as a Con, I'm exited!

Medical Bay

Ramjet woke from Stasis in a CR Chamber sorely after his rough pulverization, courtesy of Motormaster. The door to the Chamber opened with a steady hiss, revealing a hectic Medical Bay.

Oh boy, I need to get to the bridge and salvage at least some of my career. Ramjet thought, Nah. I don't have to apologize to anyone!

Ramjet walked over to the Energon-Covered Dead-End, and said, "Hey, how'd you- Wait, you carried me?"

He would be grateful, but he would rather not thank an advocate of Motormaster who single handedly - rather single fistedly - put him into stasis.

He would have revenge, in time, he would have his sweet revenge.

Repair Bay

Even as she spoke she felt as if she was destroying the mech that stood before her, and she hadn’t even raised her weapons to do it. It was hard enough letting Skywarp know that his feelings were not reciprocated, but the look of utter disappointment in his facial features only made her feel worse for doing it.

Nightraven let out a low sigh as Skywarp began to try and convince her that they really weren’t that different. The femme Seeker was just about to counter his attempt when he suddenly cut her off. Caught off guard by his sudden change of the subject, Nightraven tried to answer his initial question, it was soon followed by another one and by an advance.

Nightraven panicked when Skywarp took a step toward her. Instead of holding her ground she backed away quickly until she was up against the wall. Nightraven responded to his queries with a frightened voice.

“I…I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before.”

She put up her hands trying to keep him at a distance while she tried to let him know exactly what he wanted to know.

“He was a shorter Con…dark purple. He was slim and he had a deep voice; sounded almost aristocratic. Why? Who is he?”

Repair Bay

Skywarp immediately noticed how frightened Nightraven appeared by the way she backed up against the wall, her vocal processors quivering in her response. ‘Warp stopped his advance and softened the features on his face plate as it was not his intention to scare her in any way. That certainly would do him no good if he ever hoped to salvage his chances with her at some point in the future. No, he just wanted information as to whom had told her about his feelings for the femme, and the answer he got was one that quickly filled him with rage.

Nightraven didn’t know the ‘Con by name, but she was able to describe him in enough detail that it could only be one mech. “Darkride!” Skywarp exclaimed. “You’re describing the interrogator, Darkride. He’s a sadistic little slagger that loves to torture enemy mechs and organics alike. He also enjoys inflicting pain and damage on himself as he finds it pleasurable. But...how in the pit could he have known? I never told him anything....”

The teleporter’s words trailed off as it suddenly became clear to him. Now it all made sense what had happened. Skywarp turned away from Nightraven as his face plate became a scowl of seething anger, realizing what Darkride had done to him. “It must have been when I awakened in his chamber back before the battle on Earth,” Skywarp muttered under his breath. “He must’ve somehow downloaded data from my mind while I was unconscious and then wiped my memory clean so I wouldn’t remember what happened. Now, he’s using what he got against me! Son-of-a-glitch!”

The enraged prankster slammed his fist into an empty CR chamber directly in front of him, leaving a sizable dent in the side of the unit. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself before turning back towards Nightraven. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you, Nighty. You did nothing wrong.” Skywarp paused for a moment, considering what to say next. “I wish I had told you, too. At least it would’ve come from someone who actually cares for you and not a vicious little slagger like Darkride who only wanted to cause trouble.”

“And don’t worry about ‘Cracker. I don’t blame him, either. It would take a lot more than all this to put a kink in our friendship. Besides, he’s probably better suited for you anyway,” Skywarp conceded before turning away from Nightraven again and heading for the door.

Corridors

As the teleporter stormed into the corridor beyond, raw fury filled his seeker frame from top to bottom. He could barely contain the intensity of the anger that he felt. He finally understood what it was like to be Hellion, whom he ignored as he rushed by the berserker femme while exiting the repair bay. Although, ‘Warp couldn’t imagine feeling this way all of the time as seemingly was the case with Nighty's sister. But none of that mattered now as the interrogator would pay dearly for what he had done, regardless of how much rage the prankster unleashed or the eventual consequences that might follow.

Skywarp then stomped through the hallways of the ship, searching for the object of his inescapable wrath. “DARKRIDE!!!!”

Repair Bay Exterior

With Scrapper preoccupied and the majority of the other Decepticons having been either shipped off to the repair bay or off to tend to their own business, the off-kilter Constructicon took it upon himself to head to the repair bay as well. Somebody might have a glitching diode or something that he could tinker with while they flew off to wherever it was they were heading.

As the doors slid open, Mixmaster noticed that the repair bay had become quite the hub of activity itself. His curious little eccentricities aside, the chemical engineer had never been one for showy entrances or drawing attention to himself if it wasn't necessary.

Finding Hook, the seniormost Constructicon in the area, Mixmaster took up an auxilliary position just behind the other mech, but stayed within his periphery, so as not to disrupt the other mech's activities with a sudden interruption.

"Need a hand? Probably not, but just thought I'd offer, heheh."

(OOC: Alright, changing my post because I apparently missed the last one by Cry involving Motormaster.)

Bridge

Starscream was coldly silent as Motormaster launched into his tirade and his response to the discussion that had gone on before hand. He listened as the Stunticon leader addressed each officer in turn. The Seeker Commander had to agree, these discussions were going no where, this was all becoming pointless. Scrapper and Soundwave were merely out for their own ends, even if they believed they were for the greater good. No, Starscream had tried to be diplomatic, to be reasonable, and clearly that as not the way to go. He had to try something else.

"Motormaster stand down." Starscream said as he stepped forward, his voice was low, deep and seemed to carry a hint of menace as he spoke. "We do not need violence now. But we do need decisiveness, we cannot afford to rule by council, to debate every course of action. Megatron ruled with clear, and concise power. He never asked for a second opinion when he wanted a course of action, he pointed where he wanted his armies to go and we obeyed. To do anything else would tarnish what it means to be Decepticons."

He stood before the other three and began to pace slowly, looking his optics onto every single one of them.

"I have tried to be diplomatic, to appeal to the common sense of all of us so we can come to a consensus on establishing leadership, but it is obvious now that I was mistaken. It is time to be blunt." He looked to Scrapper. "You are unfit to lead because none of the others will take you seriously. To them you are an engineer, not a warrior, although I am not as ignorant as the others to the value of your service, they will not listen to you." He then cast his gaze to Soundwave. "You are not able to lead because no one trusts you. You sneak in the shadows, gathering what ever information you can on anyone you can so you can later black mail them. No one will believe you have the best interests of the empire at heart in your actions and you are merely making moves against those you see as rivals." Finally he turned to Motormaster. "And you, my large friend, do not have the right sort of touch to lead any but the Stunticons."

He glanced around the room at them all.

"And then that leaves me. Yes my ambition for leadership is well known, and many will likely be weary of me taking command. However, the key difference I have that the rest of you do not is that I have actually lead most of the warriors currently on this ship in battle. I am a known quantity, they know what it is like to follow my orders and to fight along side me. Yes they may doubt my intentions, but can any of you say with confidence that you can actually organize and lead the warriors out there better then I have?"

HE looked at them, aware that he was likely angering them with his words but he didn't care, these negotiations had not gone the way he had thought they were, and the talk here was dangerous.

"Have you two listened to yourselves? A council of leadership? We are not Autobots. WE are not weak, we lead through strength, not by committee. And you." He cast his gaze to Soundwave. "Your schemes and recommendations are likely to get us all killed if we follow through. Think about it. IF we form this council the two of you hold so dear and then inform the rest of the Decepticon leadership that everything is normal. That will only hold for so long before questions begin to arise and someone comes looking to see what has actually happened here. When they find the four of us ruling by some council and with Megatron presumably dead in suspicious circumstances they will accuse us of having engineered his assassination and then kill us all. If you two think such a course of action is the proper one then you are bigger fools then I could have possibly imagined."

He walked to the front of the bridge before once more turning to face them.

"These talks are over. I was misguided to think that we could have come to some sort of sensible conclusion from this endeavor. I am taking command and if you have any objections voice them now, make your move or fall silent and act like proper Decepticons."

Repair Bay

Nightraven held her breath and kept her back flat against the wall in attempt to keep her distance from Skywarp. He did try and calm her nerves by softening his features, but the damage had already been done. Now all she wanted was to get as far away from the repair bay as possible.

The femme Seeker cringed slightly when Skywarp finally realized and revealed the name of the mech who had divulged his secret. When the teleporter began explaining who this Darkride was, Nightraven simply nodded and tried to inch away. She let out her breath when Skywarp finally turned away and began muttering to himself.

Nightraven began to move away from the wall when she realized that whatever had happened between Darkride and him was a gross invasion of the Seeker’s privacy; she certainly couldn’t hold that against him. She approached him while his back was still to her but she let out a gasp and quickly backed off when he slammed his fist into the CR chamber he was positioned in front of.

The slight femme locked optics with Skywarp as he turned around and finally faced her. Before she could even respond to everything he had said the black and purple Seeker simply conceded to her wishes and headed toward the door.

Nightraven let him go only to turn and try to call him back, but he had already left the repair bay.

Corridors

The bleak and unkempt condition of the Ultrax was certainly something the other Decepticons found deplorable, but Darkride simply adapted to it. The interrogator was sure to blend in to his surroundings, it made it easier to get around the undesirables, especially those upstart Seekers.

He stalked through the corridors making his way back to the room he had chosen as his lair. Darkride stopped his advance when he heard his designation carry through the entire corridor. A broad demented smile grew on his faceplate as he turned his chin up to the ceiling.

“Coming dear,” he said in a hushed tone.

Darkride had known it would only be a matter of time before Skywarp came looking for him, in fact he was waiting for this opportunity. The interrogator rounded a corner and stopped when he spotted the Seeker.

“I thought I heard a shrill cry. You know, at first I thought it was your beloved trine Commander, but then I realized that it could be any of you. After all, you all do sound and look alike.”

He flashed Skywarp a wry grin before he continued.

“That is, except the femmes. They certainly are a distinctive breed. Wouldn’t you agree, Skywarp?”

Repair Bay


"I did only as ordered to by Motormaster Ramjet. It was not out of kindness or mercy. Considering Starscream WILL lead it would have been more merciful to let you die." Dead End says. "What were you thinking? You did the most useless thing to do at the wrong time. I felt like shooting you and I barely care about anything."

"Not a smart move Ramjet, you'd have had a better chance at power working with the crew. Then again I blame that on the brain damage you've sustained over the years." Skyjack says with a laugh.

"You're lucky you're functional. Motormaster didn't get a chance to tear into you like he has us. That and the fact that we were not there to join in." Dead End says. "Wildrider especially likes that kind of thing, though I don't know why. Drag Strip also has a penchant for kicking a con when he's down, right?" He asks them.

Repair Bay

“You loser, Drag Strip! You'd be the worst high-ranking 'Con ever. In fact, the only thing you're the best at is screaming when Motormaster beats you up.”

Wildrider simulated a violent scene between the two, producing a very animated performance. Arms and legs flailed in all directions, and his vocaliser elicited repulsive, high-pitched noises. Wildrider's expressions also contributed to the exaggerated portrayal. He enjoyed every moment of it, to say the least.

“And about the whole 'I'm the best ever' comment?” He suspended his actions, grinning at Drag Strip. “I'll be long gone before that ever happens. The universe might be gone, too.”

Contrary to what he was declaring, Wildrider liked Drag Strip. The yellow Stunticon offered the greatest solution to his perpetual boredom. Whether it was to race, fight playfully, or exchange insults, Wildrider could always rely on Drag Strip to inject some excitement into the monotony that plagued his functioning. Even in their present situation, Wildrider managed to extract a high degree of enjoyment out of Drag Strip's reactions.

So he was good at something, after all.

Wildrider turned to face Dead End, upon perceiving his name. “Yeah, I like destruction. Ain't nothing more refreshing for the spark! It even lifts you out of the dumps!"

Sometimes his hearing elected to be selective—or impaired. He did not know the reason for it, but he answered his team-mates anyway, as silly as he might have appeared. However, what Dead End asked Drag Strip after Wildrider heard the dour Stunticon mention his name did not escape him.

“Of course he does, Dead! I mean, when you're that weak...”