From sparsabr.ppp@cyberatl.net Sat Sep 14 01:35:36 1996 Received: from dns1.cyberatl.net (dns1.cyberatl.net [205.136.157.33]) by s-cwis.unomaha.edu (8.7.5/U.N.O.) with SMTP id BAA17563 for ; Sat, 14 Sep 1996 01:35:31 -0500 Received: from LOCALNAME (lpm2-4.cyberatl.net [205.136.157.74]) by dns1.cyberatl.net (8.6.12/8.6.9) with SMTP id CAA28999 for ; Sat, 14 Sep 1996 02:46:15 -0400 Message-ID: <323A7D10.672@cyberatl.net> Date: Sat, 14 Sep 1996 02:38:24 -0700 From: Michael Graham Bisbee Organization: Krofft Kollectibles X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.02E-KIT (Win16; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: sferree@s-cwis.unomaha.edu Subject: Transformer fanfic X-URL: http://www.cyberspace.org/~suz/beta.html Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------1AFA33727E29" Status: OR This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------1AFA33727E29 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Suzanne, Hi! I'm a fellow TF fan and I've enjoyed reading a few of your fanfics. I'm sending you one I wrote a few years ago but just finished polishing up. Feel free to post it if you'd like. Hope you enjoy it! Mike.Bisbee@anjhurin.atlanta.com --------------1AFA33727E29 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline; filename="SND&FURY.TXT" THE SOUND AND THE FURY by Mike Bisbee Deep inside the Ark, Soundwave scanned the vidscreen before him with inquisitive optics. Circumventing the Autobot''s security protocols had been difficult but not impossible for a machine of his many talents. The real trick had been in hiding his presence from the semi-sentient AI program known as Teletran One. No easy task. To further complicate his task, Optimus Prime - in his accursed wisdom - had demanded that the computer's access codes be changed at one-hour intervals. It had taken the Decepticon longer than anticipated to break the current code and time was running out. Characters flashed across the screen momentarily as he sifted tirelessly through the enormous database for the information Megatron required. Training schedules...political meetings...military demonstrations...times and locations displayed proudly as a tribute to the Decepticon's skill. Soundwave mused --quickly downloading the data for future study. With a slight twist of his right forefinger - firmly jacked into the system's interface port - the spy continued his search. On a lower deck just below the Command Center, Warpath winced in pain. "Owww!" the Autobot cried nearly jumping off the examination table. "That really - ZOWIE! - hurt, Hoist!" The bulky green and orange robot standing next to him adjusted the welding torch attached to his right arm and proceeded to remove a piece of melted plating from Warpath's side. "Be still!" Hoist cautioned his patient. "This is a delicate procedure! One wrong move and I could permanently disable your mobility circuits!" He cut away the fragment with some effort. Warpath uttered a short grunt. "That's nothing", he admitted with a bemused smile. "You should have seen the other bot!" He slammed a fist into his open palm for emphasis. "BLAM! POW! Skywarp'll be picking shrapnel out of his chassis for weeks!" Hoist looked up at the injured robot - his optics wide with admiration. Skywarp may not have been the smartest Decepticon in Megatron's army but his blinding speed coupled with his unique teleportation power made him a difficult target to bring down. "Be that as it may," the Autobot Engineer continued, "you won't be seeing any more action until I can patch this up." "But I can't -" Warpath started as Hoist raised his free hand threateningly. "Not another word from you or I'll switch off your vocalizer." Much to his astonishment, the armored Autobot backed down. Hoist lowered his welding arm and began to rummage through the collection of loose instruments scattered across the surface of the table. "Blast it all!" he cried in frustration." Where is that plasma separator?" He paused momentarily to access his short-term memory module. "I must have left it on the bridge after Teletran One's tuneup." He shook his head. "Wait here", he ordered. "I'll be back in no time." As Hoist left the repair bay, Warpath stuggled to rise; but as his gears moaned in protest, the Autobot declined the urge to follow. The soft chriping from the Autobot control console signaled Soundwave that the information he had requested had been found. With a quiet chuckle, he copied the information in the file and disengaged from the enemy system. His internal chronometer reminded the spy that he had less than two minutes remaining before an Autobot maintanance crew would arrive to change the passwords. An electronic screech rose from behind his chest panel. "Information retrieved", he confirmed, answering his accomplice's inquiry. "Assignment successful." Soundwave stepped away from the computer terminal. "Laserbeak, prepare for flight. Operation: Transportation". A suspiciously oversized cassette tape emerged from the now-open chest cavity -- twisting and altering its shape until it resembled a bizarre amalgamation of robot and vulture. Simulatenously, Soundwave shrank and shifted his own structure until it closely resembled an unassuming portable tape player. Before his new form could make contact with the floor of the Ark, his cohort snatched him up in its steel talons and proceeded to fly out through the mouth of the Autobot's volcanic base. Laserbeak stopped a few hundred meters short of the crater and scanned the obstacle between it and freedom - six feet of titanium-steel alloy . Apparently, the Autobots had made some modifications since its last visit. Burning through the enormous portal with his trademark laser-tipped beak would take four point six two minutes but the maintainance team would arrive in just under a minute. Likewise, his dorsal-mounted rockets would prove just as ineffective against the door's dense molecular structure having been created to withstand multiple blasts from a fusion cannon. The avian cassette altered its course - diving towards the Command Center's single exit and out into the Ark's cooridor - just missing Sparkplug Witwicky and his eighteen year old son Spike by mere seconds. Hoist approached the entrance to the turbolift. For all his posturing and presumption, he secretly envied the Autobot down in the repair bay. Warpath had been born and bred to be a warrior. When Alpha Trion and Elita One had assigned him to the Autobot faction holed up on Earth, he had specifically requested his current tank-transformation upon arrival. Although it lacked the speed and grace of his former hovercruiser-mode, it had been the toughest, most battle-ready form Earth had to offer; and Warpath never passed up an opprtunity to put that form to the test. Hoist, on the other hand, had been designed as both a medic and a mechanical engineer - allthough on his homeplanet of Cybertron there had been no distinction. While his portly body possessed enormous strength, it lacked the speed of most of his Autobot comrades. Nor was it particularly well-equipped for prolonged battle as he had neither the firepower nor the armor plating of his latest patient. Hoist, it would seem, was destined to remain behind the front lines. As he raised a hand to the turbolift controls, the doors suddenly slid open as streaks of black and gold shot past him in a blur of motion. "What?!" Hoist exclaimed in surprise as he stepped aside of the fleeting form. His optic sensors focused on the shape which was even now disappearing from view. , he grumbled. Perhaps, he WOULD see some action after all. He touched the alarm panel. Warpath sat on the table swinging his legs back and forth in an exercise of futility. A few quick calculations confirmed that it should only have taken twelve point four minutes for Hoist to return with plasma separator. The engineer had been gone for nearly twenty. he wondered. With great effort, he managed to jump down from the examination table clutching his side in agony. "YEEEOWWW!" the Autobot cried. "I'll be feeling that for - ZOOM! - weeks!" He could feel the stiffness in his joints as he stretched the pulleys in both sets of limbs. The pain temporarily subsided. , he thought to himself. Without warning, the lights in the room dimmed. The screeching wail that followed could only mean one thing...trouble. Instantly, the Autobot's targeting systems were brought on-line. " "ZOWIE! - It sounds like there's a - POW! - intruder on the base!" He darted out of the repair bay ignoring the pain and wisps of smoke rising from his right side. Upon rounding the corner at the end of the hallway, he found the missing medic. To his left, Hoist was running towards him at his top speed...shouting? "Stop him! Stop Laserbeak!" Instinctively, Warpath turned to his right and fired his chest-mounted gun turret as the Decepticon's top spy jetted around yet another corner. The incindiary shell exploded against the far wall leaving a gaping two-meter hole where his quarry had been moments ago. "Blast!" the Autobot cursed. "I - KABLOOIE!- missed! Prime's gonna have my cerebro-casing for this!" Warpath shook his head and resumed the chase with Hoist not far behind him. Soundwave - still in the shape of an Earthen tape deck - directed his rear sensors on his pursuers. The Autobots were gaining on him. The one called Hoist had transformed to his truck-mode in an effort to catch up with him and was rapidly closing the distance between them while the other Autobot - Warpath was it? - was riding in the back of the truck bracketing the halls ahead of them with another volley of amor-piercing shells. It was still another five hundred meters to the outside and the shells were growing dangerous close with each passing moment. "Buzzsaw...eject." Soundwave commanded. "Operation: Interference". The Decepticon's chest-panel snapped open ejecting another cassette into the battle. The cassette transformed and assumed a form strikingly similar to that of Laserbeak -- it's red and black colors distinguishing it from the black and gold paintjob of its twin behind it. Buzzsaw swung around in a tight arc - lasers targeted on the enemy. "Looks like Soundwave's trying to even the odds!" Hoist replied taking notice of the predator who was bearing down on them with deadly force. "Think you can handle this buzzard?" Warpath looked at his partner with astonishment. "Are you - BLAM! - kidding? I'll have this turkey - ZAP! - cooked in no time!" Buzzsaw rocketed past Hoist deftly avoiding the barrage unleashed by Warpath. The spy swiftly turned for a second pass. "Hit the brakes!" Warpath screamed from the back. Hoist paused. Had he heard correctly? If he reduced speed now, Soundwave and Laserbeak would escape for sure.. He didn't know what valuable information the spy had coerced from Teletran One's databanks, but he was resolved not to let it reach Megatron. "Why? What good would that do?" Hoist replied trying to hide the shock in his voice. Buzzsaw was closing in and Soundwave was within sight of the Ark's entrance. Soon, it would be too late. "Just - BAM! - hit the brakes!" Warpath was adamant. Hoist couldn't see how that would improve the situation but Warpath was the warrior - not he. Hoist engaged his brakes. The emerald utility truck screeched to a halt as Buzzsaw streaked past them at top speed - and right into Warpath's targeting sight. The shell found its target incinerating Buzzsaw's starboard wing and sending the robot spiraling downward where it impacted violently with the wall ahead. "KAPOW!! Yeah! Scratch one Decepticon canary!" Warpath shouted triumphantly. Laserbeak turned its head in time to see its twin fall to the floor in flames. There was nothing that could be done. As always, its mission took priority. It continued on. Through his mind-link, Soundwave shared the cassette's pain. It was time to cut their losses. "Buzzsaw...return." the Decepticon ordered. The Decepticon vulture lay on the floor writhing in electronically-induced agony. Soundwave was calling it home. It raised its head slowly and looked over at the damaged wing. Useless. Its internal diagnostics told the spy that its flightpack's ignition systems had likewise been fused in the blast. Flight was not possible. Hoist's truck-mode raced past the spy - his tires crushing what remained of Buzzsaw's body beneath the enormous weight of the two Autobots. The last words it would ever hear were those of the Autobot truck as he continued after its guardian: "Bye bye, birdie!" The robot rested its head down against the cold metal floor of the enemy installation and allowed the darkness to set in. Soundwave shrieked as the connection between he and Buzzsaw faded releasing a torrent of sound at ear-shattering levels. Back in the Command Center, father and son fell to their knees in agony.They knew not where the sound originated nor what could produce such horrendous noise but the shrilll of the alarm klaxxon was positively dwarfed by it. Their organic brains strived to associate the sound with something familiar - something they could relate to - and failed. The closest comparison the humans could draw would be a hellish cross between steel fingernails on a blackboard, white noise, and elevator music - all elevated to the level of a low-altitude sonic boom. Either way, it was EXTREMELY unpleasant to both humans and Autobots alike. "Aaahhhh! My auditory sensors!" Hoist screamed. "Make it stop!" cried Warpath with his hands firmly clamped over his audio receivers. As Laserbeak released his grip on Soundwave, the sonic assault continued as the Decepticon reverted back to his anthropomorphic root-mode. He was standing just inside the entrance to the Ark now and was just a few feet away from certain freedom. He paused to consider his options. His orders had been explicit - procure the information from Teletran One and return to HQ immediately. But his assignment had not taken into account anything like THIS. Buzzsaw was dead and the Communicator cared not for regulations or orders or any retribution he would most certainly endure as a result of disobeying a direct order from his superior. All he wanted was revenge. Soundwave turned to face his enemies. Behind his infrared visor, angry optics focused evenly on the Autobots - paralyzed by the aural onslaught he had unleashed. Laserbeak, ever faithful, hovered meters above him. This was his battle and he neither wanted nor required the help of his accomplice. "Laserbeak...return." The cassette squawked its defiance. "NOW", Soundwave ordered firmly - refusing to back down. The sleek robot bird doubled over and folded until it had reluctantly reverted back to its cassette form and returned to the safety of its guardian chest cavity "Autobots, prepare for termination." Soundwave's monotonic voice droned - disguising his bitterness and contempt. Just beginning to recover from the after-effects of Soundwave's assault, Warpath jumped from Hoist's back and transformed into his sturdy tank-mode. "BLAM! - And they call ME a loudmouth!" the Autobot exclaimed in surprise. "Try THIS on for size!" he shouted as a barrage of explosive shells made their way towards the Decepticon. A series of deafening explosions followed raising a huge cloud of smoke through which the Autobot was unable to pierce with his optic sensors. "KERBLOWIE!" Warpath shouted. "Soundwave's - SSSMASH! - history!" When the smoke finally cleared, the Autobot's face went ashen; his mind struggling to cope with the evidence of his optics. , he thought. Soundwave stood before him defiantly - untouched by Warpath's incindiary attack. It had been a simple matter for him to detonate the explosive shells prematurely with pinpointed sonic vibrations. He raised his concussion cannon and leveled it directly at the tank.. "Correction:", the Decepticon replied. "YOU are." The tremendous energy blast struck Warpath's flank and although his heavy armor plating had absorbed the brunt of the blast, it was still strong enough to knock the Autobot on his side crippling him for the time being. "Warpath!" Hoist cried out transforming to his bulkier robot-mode. "Do you have any IDEA how long it will take to repair him NOW?" he said shaking his head and aiming his arm-mounted missle launcher in Soundwave's direction. "Situation: irrelevant", the Decepticon replied apparently unmoved by the Autobot's frantic pleas. "Neither of you will function long enough to effect repairs." Hoist launched a salvo of missles which detonated harmlessly before reaching their intended target. , realized the engineer; but before he could switch to more practical armaments, a second blast from the Decepticon's weapon punched its way through the Autobot's chassis with lethal force. His body-armor was nowhere near as strong as his fallen friend's. He didn't stand a chance. The Autobot fell. With a sense of satisfaction, Soundwave hovered over his enemy. He raised his cannon once more placing the barrel just below Hoist's neck. , he calculated coldly - cold optics fixed upon his prey. The Decepticon jerked his head up in response to the growing sound of approaching motors beyond the Ark. About a mile up the road, a large convoy of Earth vehicles was bearing down on his position. , he computed. He could intercept and receive their inter-Autobot radio signals with ease at this distance. It was time to leave. , he sighed. He knelt down by what was left of Buzzsaw and lifted the smoking remains carefully in his arms. The injured cassette squawked weakly. It knew its guardian would not leave it in the hands of his enemy. Soundwave held the ruined cassette close to his breast and took to the air. Optimus Prime pulled up outside the Ark - transforming from semi to sentient robot - and sprinted towards the mouth of the cave. Upon receiving the intruder alert from Teletran One, the Autobot Commander had feared the worst. Now, looking over his fallen warriors, he knew without a doubt that his suspicions had been confirmed. "Owwww.......what hit me?" Prime spun around in the direction the voice had come from and was flooded with relief : Warpath slowly transformed back to his root-mode and rubbed his head with one hand. Prime looked down at him and smiled. "I was about to ask you the same question. What happened here?" Warpath slowly rose to his feet. "Soundwave. He - POW! - knocked me over and then -WHAM! took out Hoist." The meaning of his words began to sink in. "Hoist!" he cried. "Over here." Ratchet called out standing over Hoist's smouldering wreck. "It doesn't look good, Prime." Prime studied the body with concerned optics. Ratchet shook his head. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for him. There's extensive damage to his motor relays and his transformation circuit is fried beyond repair." The crippled Autobot began to stir - his optic sensors glowing softly. "Take it easy, Hoist." Prime reassured him. "Don't try and move." Hoist struggled to bring his vocalizer on-line. "S-S-Soundwave..." he whispered. The effort had barely been audible, thought Prime thought. "You'll be alright", the Autobot lied. "We'll have you rolling in no time." "Prime!" Sparkplug called out. The Autobot looked up and saw his human friends panting heavily. "We came as soon as we heard the alarm!" The youngest human looked around and saw the damaged Autobots for the first time. "Hoist! Warpath!" Spike exclaimed in alarm. Prime rested a finger gently on the boy's shoulder. "Easy, Spike" he said trying to reassure the human. "Warpath's fine. He just got the..." he paused searching his memory for the correct human idiom. "Wind knocked out of him". The boy wasn't satisfied. Something still troubled him. "What about Hoist?" Spike inquired -clearly concerned with the Autobot's condition. "He needs immediate medical attention!" Prime looked over to Ratchet and the now-ash-grey form of the deactivated Autobot. The Autobot Leader shook his head somberly. There had been no need for words. The human understood. "Are you going to be alright?" Spike looked up and saw Bumblebee standing above him with a worried look on his face. "Why don't we go for a drive?" the Autobot suggested. His human friend nodded silently as the yellow Autobot assumed the shape of a VW Beetle. His father watched sadly as Spike climbed behind the wheel and took off. "He's taking it rather hard", the human mechanic confessed. "I haven't seem him like this since he saw Skyfire buy it back up in the Arctic." Prime remembered. The Autobot Leader had been most impressed with the boy's concern for a mechanical lifeform - and a virtual stranger at that. The adolescent had been deeply depressed for nearly a month before Prime had authorized an Autobot search team to determine Skyfire's final fate; and then the former Decepticon had been discovered intact and salvageable. But this would be different. Hoist would not be returning from the grave as the Autobot jet had. This time, the human would have to cope with the loss. "What was the purpose of all this?" Prime asked aloud. "What was Soundwave after?" The human stroked his grey-black beard thoughtfully "I think I know", Sparkplug replied. "According to Teletran's computer logs, Soundwave was interested in only one thing: a computer file detailing the status and location of -" "Nightbird!" Megatron spoke the name anxiously. "Did you find out where those wretched Autobots are keeping her?" He had searched for far too long...expended too many resources in his obsessive search for the cybernetic ninja''s whereabouts. He stared at the silent warrior before him. "Well?!" the Decepticon Commander was beginning to lose patience. For the first time since his return to their undersea base, Soundwave spoke: "Affirmative." Megatron smiled maliciously. The culmination of over five years of research was coming to fruition. Soon, Nightbird would be back among the Decepticons. Megatron stepped down from his throne and placed his hand on Soundwave's shoulder. "You have done well, Soundwave." Under normal circumstances, Megatron's right-hand robot would have openly accepted such praise from his sworn leader. But these were not ordinary circumstances; and Megatron was - if anything - observant. The Decepticon Leader could see this as well. "Is something wrong?" Soundwave's voice betrayed none of his true feelings for the condition of his cassette: "He was damaged in the escape attempt", he stated without emotion removing Buzzsaw's remains from his cassette deck . "Lifesigns fading. Situation: terminal." Megatron was not completely devoid of compassion. He looked apologetically at Soundwave. Digitally-processed chuckles came from behind the Decepticon spy. Soundwave turned to find Megatron's traitorous lieutenant about to bust a gasket. "What EVER will we do without HIM!" Starscream boasted before errupting in a fit of unbridled laughter. His fellow seeker-jets soon joined in. The rivalry between the seekers and the cassette flyers was well known and Starscream's high-flying friends had no special love for the smaller, weaker flyers. Starscream held an energon cube out with one hand. "My fellow Decepticons, let us toast our fallen comrade! May his bravery.....cunning ...and terrifying personage ...be remembered throughout eternity in the Hall of......Heroes!" Megatron watched impassively as the other seekers joined in Starscream's toast."To Laserbeak!" Starscream cheered - the heavy sarcasm in his voice only going unnoticed by the dimmest of machines. Soundwave clinched his fist with barely-restrained anger. "Not...Laserbeak." he said slowly. "Buzzsaw." Starscream glared at him a moment then shurgged. "Laserbeak...Buzzsaw...who can tell?" he laughed. "They both look alike to me!" The seeker's statement brought a chorus of laughter from most of the Decepticons in the room. It took Megatron every shred of willpower in his being to refrain from sharing in the mirth. A faint smile crossed his lips. Soundwave turned silently and knocked Starscream across the room with a single blow. "Sarcasm not appreciated," he said angrily and left the chamber. Hook scrutinized the enormous lump of slag on his examination table before finally rendering a verdict. "You can't seriously expect me to repair this!" the Constructicon exclaimed with disbelief. "There's not enough left of Buzzsaw to make an ashtray!" For hours Soundwave had stood there in the Decepticon infirmary refusing to budge. Hook was disturbed by the loyalty the navy Communications Officer had shown towards the cassette. As a Decepticon warrior, Hook's loyalty - as with the others - had only been secured under threat and promises of glory. Even his fellow Constructicons harbored no such feelings. Their apparent cooperation and comradarie had come from necessity since all six quintrocombiners had to remain functional in order to merge into their gestalt identity. Devotion - such as Soundwave had demonstrated in the last few hours - was virtually unknown among the Decepticon ranks. To the Constructicon medic it seemed...unnatural. "Repair him", Soundwave ordered. The Decepticon seemed determined. Hook shut off his laser scalpel. "I'm afraid it isn't that simple, Soundwave." Hook continued. "His braincase is still intact but this bodyframe is completely beyond salvaging. Even MY superior skills have limits. He'll need a total refit and a new bodytype. " Soundwave thought for a moment. A new bodytype. Perhaps Starscream had been right in that respect. Buzzsaw had been the original prototype but had always remained in his younger twin's shadow. Maybe this was just what Buzzsaw needed to forever separate him from his clonemate in the eyes of his allies. "Proceed", he said at last. In Megatron's throne room, the Decepticons were growing impatient. Thundercracker paced back and forth. "What's this all about?" the seeker queried. Ramjet shrugged. "Beats me," his seeker-brother replied. "Soundwave must be losing it." Starscream laughed. "HA! As if he ever had it to begin with!" Megatron was growing weary of the discussion. Soundwave had called the Decepticons together for a purpose and the Decepticon Leader - out of respect for his most loyal warrior - had agreed. "Shhh. Here he comes," Dirge whispered as Soundwave's dark blue form entered the chamber solemnly. Megatron rose from his pedestal. "Greetings, Soundwave. How go the repairs on Buzzsaw?" the tyrant asked sincerely. The Decepticon stared coolly at his CO."Buzzsaw is dead" he replied matter-of-factly. Megatron sank back into his throne. "I'm sorry. I know how close you were." As a matter of fact, the Decepticon Leader DIDN'T know. A bond existed between Soundwave and his cassettes that he thought he would never fully comprehend. Scrapper had likened it to the relationship between a human parent and their offspring - a comparison Megatron found personally revolting ;but the cassettes had performed their duties well enough that he had been willing to endure their company. "Buzzsaw was the perfect spy," he said aloud. "Without his invaluable surveillance we'd never have learned of this new city the Autobots are planning to build." "That was Laserbeak" replied Soundwave. Snickers followed. Megatron grew angry at being contradicted by one of his own troops but suppressed his desire to blast the offender into oblivion in recognition of the Decepticon's success record to date. He frowned. "Oh..." He was determined not to make the same mistake a second time. "But without Buzzsaw we'd never have inflitrated the human munitions laboratory so easily!" Megatron offered with a satisfactory smile. "Also Laserbeak" Soundwave answered. More snickers . His leader's smile turned to a frown again. A dangerous trend. Starscream couldn't contain his laughter any longer. "Even our "illustrious" leader can't tell them apart!" Starscream chuckled. Megatron shot a scornful glance in his suboridnate's direction and rose from his throne waving an arm - and the fusion cannon attached - towards his troops. "What difference does it make?!" he replied in his most serious tone. "He was a Decepticon! That's all that matters! " The others stood by in silent compliance. Megatron sat back down again - pleased with himself. "And we will recycle him with full honors." Much to his surprise, Soundwave broke the silence. "Unnecessary," he remarked. "Condition: improved." Megatron's optics were wide with shock. "He lives?" the leader asked incredulously. Perhaps, Buzzsaw was tougher than he had given the spy credit for. "Well? Where is he?" Megatron demanded. Soundwave pointed to his tape deck. "Transform and eject." As Soundwave's chest opened, a purple blur shot out and across the room. It circled the chamber once before diving down towards Starscream and disappearing behind his back. "Yaaaahh!" the lieutenant exclaimed. "Either Buzzsaw's beak is stronger than I remember or..." The room suddenly fell silent. Everyone's optics were suddenly on him. "What? What is everyone staring at?" And then he realized. Their gaze was fixed upon the seeker's right shoulder. Starscream turned slowly around and stared puzzled at the lavender form perched there...it's serrated steel fangs dug deeply into his metal frame. Soundwave gestured proudly. "Meet...Ratbat." -Mike Bisbee starsabr@cyberatl.net Mike.Bisbee@anjhurin.atlanta.com