What if... (Starscream AU)

Chapter 4

Location: Decepticon Warship, Pacific ocean
Time: 1600 hours.

"Knockout is back..How perculiar" Megatron hummed to himself, tapping his claws against the datapad he held, He didnt know who had told the Autobots, and he had every intention to find out who this mech was and punish him for such stupidness. The Warlord looked over to his Sparkling, who was busy fixing up a vehicons' shoulderplating, it was torn in directions that just didnt make sense, "Starscream." He hummed and stepped forward.

The seekerlet tensed before venting quietly and flicking his wingin a hello, "Lord Megatron..Is something needed?" He asked quietly, returning most of his focus to the vehicons shoulderplate, "Knockout is back, correct?" "Yeah- yes. he's back and going insane because his finish is all scratched" He chirped calmly and used a small torch to wield part of the metal back into place with a nanodege, "Do you know how he got back?" Megatron asked calmly but Starscream knew from the sickly sweetness in his tone was hiding bubbling rage from his army, "No, i do not my lord. He just...showed up" He huffed in relief as the final part of the armour wielded into place. "That is all i know, he won't speak of who or what got him back here" He tilted his helm slightly and nanobadged the heated metal up, "Go." The vehicon scurried off away from the tense situation. Starscream grumbled and went to cleaning the mediberth with a solvent rag, "You could ask him, but i doubt he will answer" The tri-coloured jet hummed quietly and went back to ignoring his sire, pede tapping on the floor as he listened to an earth song on his radio. Megatron soon walked off after that.

"Lord Megatron has found out that somebody helped you back Knockout" Starscream muttered and rubbed his aching servos, from the vehicons constantly getting injured to hot solvent chipping his paint away, Starscream was ready for a re-paint He turned to the paint-Racks and picked up the familiar navy-blue paint and brush, "Really? Also the buffer is over there- did you tell him anything?" "Nothing besides you making your- oh, thanks- making your way back" The jet responded tiredly and started buffing his palms carefully, watching the older mech's in the corner of his optic, "Hope he doesnt figure out it was you and breakdown" Knockout mumbled and stepped forward, taking the buffer from the seekerlet's servo's and working on it himself, "Hope so aswell" He chuckled tiredly and held out his claws, letting knockout paint them with accute carefulness, "Your wing's are scuffed up, want breakdown to give them a quick buff? then i'll repaint them" The mechling hummed quietly before flicking his wings forward comfortably, "Yeah, that sounds good" He hummed quietly, and turned towards the ex-wrecker, who had buffer in servo, "Stay still 'Screamer, dont want to scratch your wings," Breakdown gave a small smile before reaching for his first wing, Starscream muttered a curse before opening his HUD and putting his wing's sensory nets on their lowest by slowing down the energon flow to them, "Thanks breakdown- i definatly need this, That 'ol buckethead annoys me" He grumbled angrily before tucking his pedes to his chestplate. "Trust me kid, Lord Megatron stresses us all out, with his addiction to dark energon not helping anyone" Knockout grumbled and started buffing himself down, Starscream watched him while ignoring the uncomfortable pressure of a buffer on his wing, "He just annoys me! and he's always going on about how-"

Meanwhile. With the Autobots.

Location: Jasper Nevada, Autobot Secret Base
Time: 1600 hours

"Am i the only one that's still confused on how Megatron kept a seeker medic hidden the entire war?!" Smokescreen yelled and made random gestures with his servo's, "surely he wouldve bragged about it after all arielbots went offline?" He quietened down when Optimus gave him a subtle glance, "We dont know why Megatron kept the seekerlet from the war, But we do know that this mechling is clever, and that may be the reason" Optimus vented quietly and returned his focus to the iacon database decoding, "But- but you saw him right? he's pretty cute-" Smokescreen coughed awkwardly at the looks he got, "butttt..he's a deception, so he's evil" way to go smokes. He thought to himself before returning to sipping his energon cube and avoiding eyecontact, "What i mean is. He looks nothing like megatron, how would he be that buckethead's spawn?!" Ratchet grumbled and placed his half empty cube down, "We don't. but theres a possibly he got his frame looks and calmer mind-set from his carrier, whoever that mecha is, and if they are even alive"  He grumbled again and went to staring at the screens in the medbay, "But still! what if megatron is like those earth things- Praying mintus?- Preying Mantus! Like- dont they eat their conjux endura or something after 'facing?" the rookie babbled on about every possibility that Starscream could be related to any cybertronian in the universe, his doorwings perking and shifting at every movement, "I never even wanted to think that megatron was actively 'facing with other bots..its just..ew" Acree muttered to cliffjumper, who laughed quietly and shook his helm, "and- andandand, if Megatron did know about us handing knockout over for infomation, he wouldve sent Dreadwing or Breakdown, or even one of the Wave's-" Acree turned back to cliffjumper with a huff, "'wave's?'" She grumbled, "i think he means Soundwave and Shockwave?" Bulkhead whispered, optics still watching the youngest team member rant about his confusion, "-with a bunch of Vehicons to assist- right?, but it was only breakdown and Starscream!", Smokescreen calmed down and opened his vents, sucking in as much air to flush his slowly heating frame due to talking so much, he turned to the team who had been staring at him with confusion, "Primus i sound crazy-" "No. Smokescreen, you are right in some aspects" Optimus calmly interrupted, turning round to face his team, "If Megatron had meant to get knockout back, he would have negotiated with us before organising a netural place to meet, and would have plenty of vehicons hidden among the cliffs, yet there we're none we could see. and Starscream was completely unarmed, Along with breakdown's weapon system was powered off" Optimus bit his derma slightly before picking up a datapd and noting down the infomation, "This must have been a netural agreement between the two deceptions, since neither comned soundwave for a groundbridge."
.:Do you think Starscream could turn to an Autobot?:. bee beeped quietly and rubbed his servo's together, .:i mean- he was never introduced to both sides of the war, maybe he only follows the deceptions because its the only part of the war he's seen?:. All bot's looked over to bee and went silent. Smokescreen swore he could hear ratchet's prosessor working on formulating some sort of answer, but his intake stayed shut.

It was Optimus who broke the tense silence, "Maybe he could, after all, but if we were to have any sort of plan, on if he could become an Autobot, we would have to learn more about him." , Smokescreen and bee glanced at eachother, seemingly having a silent conversation though their optics. "Soo...what's the plan OP?"