"Oh hey," Steeldust said, quirking an optic ridge.
Sunstreaker stepped out of the passageway, followed by Skyshadow.
"We need to talk," growled the frontliner.
"Can it wait?"
"No." Skyshadow crossed her servos. "Unless you have a really good reason."
Steeldust flicked his doorwings. "This is just weird."
"We need to talk," repeated Sunstreaker, taking a menacing step towards the speedster. "Now."
"Sure. And I need to go take my shift on monitor duty," countered Steeldust, walking away from the couple. "Make it a rain check, Sunshine."
He didn't get very far before they caught up to him.
The speedster flinched but kept walking as the duo fell in step on either side of him.
"Sunstreaker tells me that you may have some information for us, Steeldust," Skyshadow said lowly. "It would be in all of our best interests if you shared what you know."
Steeldust kept his mouth shut, shooting her a sideways look.
"Or do we need to persuade you?" Sunstreaker growled in his audio.
"What do you two want?" hissed Steeldust lowly. "I said I'd talk to you later. I have to get to my shift."
"Then switch with someone," prodded Skyshadow, narrowing her optics as she glanced up at him.
Steeldust let out a loud huff of annoyance. "My shift starts in only a few minutes. Unless one of you two are volunteering, I don't have time. If you're not, I'll be on my way."
With that, the young spy sped up into a jog. Soon leaving them behind.
"Steeldust! Wait!" Skyshadow called after him, tone urgent.
"This is really weird," Steeldust thought, furrowing his brow. "If this is about Sides', they've waited this long to start investigating. Why the hurry all of a sudden?"
Meanwhile, Sunstreaker and Skyshadow exchanged a look.
"He's hiding something," growled the frontliner lowly.
Skyshadow placed a hand on his servo. "We don't know that. He's got in trouble for not showing up for a shift before. And we couldn't talk in the middle of the hallway. He knew that."
Sunstreaker let out a sigh. "I hope you're right."
With that he strode off, heading in the same direction as Steeldust had disappeared off to.
The purple and black frowned. "Where are you going?"
The frontliner didn't stop, just simply answered over his shoulder.
"He's good at multitasking. He can talk and stare at screens at the same time."
Running to catch up with him, Skyshadow caught hold of his servo again, stopping him.
"I know I said we should talk to him first," she whispered. "But is this really the best way? If he's on monitor duty, he won't be going anywhere. We could talk to someone else in the meantime."
"We checked the suspects' alibis," Sunstreaker replied, just as quiet. "Only one had one. It wasn't Steeldust."
"I know. But forcing him is going to make him suspicious," hissed Skyshadow. "And if he is guilty, we will lose him. We need to change our plan."
"You can wait if you want. But I can't."
Skyshadow watched as her courted resumed his march. Somewhat begrudgingly, she followed.
"This isn't going to end well."
Not far off, a certain spy lingered a moment more before heading in a different direction.
"Those three are up to something."
///
"Blades! I'm here! You can go now!"
The Wrecker turned his helm towards the communications room doorway, arching an optic ridge at the young speedster running towards him.
Skidding to a halt a few feet away, Steeldust glanced at one of the monitor screens.
"Hey, I made it. Thought I was gonna be late," he grinned.
"What, did you forget or something?"
"Nah, mech. Just held up a klik."
Blades crossed his servos, staring down at the twenty-two-foot-tall mech.
Steeldust just returned the look evenly, unconcerned that a mech almost twice his height and many times his mass was staring him down.
"Sure, kid."
"Anything interesting today?"
"Nope."
Nothing that was Blade's business anyways.
"Cool. See ya."
Blades stomped away, sending slight tremors in the floor as he went.
"Don't get distracted," he called over his shoulder.
Steeldust snagged a stool from its position along the wall and dragged it over in front of the computer.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he muttered as he took a seat.
A quick scan of the monitors told him that all was well and boring.
No signals of any kinds, no incoming attacks, nothing.
Which was all well and good.
With several kliks on the main keypad, Steeldust brought up the patrol schedule.
Several Autobots were currently out on patrol and would likely be out for some time. No one else was scheduled to go out for a while either.
Closing the schedule, Steeldust made a face.
"This is going to be a long shift. I don't get to do much this time."
"Oh well, it'll give me some time to think about some stuff."
Reaching into subspace, Steeldust withdrew an energon candy and popped it in his mouth. Instead of quickly chewing and swallowing it like the ones he'd had in Whirr's lab, he savoured it.
Who knew the next time he'd get a hold of such things again?
The enjoyable peace and quiet was soon broken by a certain frontliner entering the room.
Steeldust heard him coming in and glanced at him, optics narrowed.
"You were just on patrol. Whatcha doing out here?"
Striding right up to the speedster, Sunstreaker growled out a reply.
"We're going to have a chat. And you're not going to run away this time."
"Who said I ran?" asked Steeldust coolly, watching the other young mech carefully. "What's your deal anyways?"
"My deal is that you have information you need to spill," snarled Sunstreaker, leaning over Steeldust. "Now talk."
"What do ya want me ta talk about? Back off a bit, will ya?"
"You know exactly what I want to know."
Skyshadow entered the room then, swiftly crossing it to join the other two.
Getting off of the stool he'd been perching on, Steeldust glanced from one to the other.
"Alright. What is this? Group gang up on Steeldust? Cause I don't wanna play that."
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Sunstreaker said, advancing another step towards him. He shoved the stool out of the way, the legs scraping the floor with a screech.
"Sunstreaker," Skyshadow said firmly. "This isn't the time or place."
"Look," muttered Steeldust, raising his hands. "I don't know what's up wit' the turn o' attitude here, but I got a job ta do."
He moved one servo, pointing a digit towards the exit. "We can discuss it later when yer chilled out. Seriously, mech."
"Sunstreaker, don't do something you'll regret," added Skyshadow, still several feet away where she'd halted. "Remember what happened when you and Cliffjumper got in a fight last time?"
"I don't care if I get sent to the brig again," growled the frontliner, glaring holes in Steeldust's armour. "He knows something."
Steeldust's optics flicked between the pair again, suspicion evident on his faceplate. His armoured plating along his shoulders and back began to rise, along with his doorwings.
"What do ya mean?"
"What do you know about Sideswipe?"
"I told ya what I know," Steeldust replied slowly, backing away as Sunstreaker began to advance again. He stepped further into the middle of the room, keeping an optic on Skyshadow as well.
"Yer gonna get caught talking about this out loud," he added quietly.
"What did you hear them say?"
"Who?"
"Prowl and Smokescreen. What did you hear?"
"Sunstreaker, Sky's right. This ain't the place for this," Steeldust urged, optics flicking to the three exits. "If someone hears ya, we're all toast. All four of us."
Glancing at Skyshadow he shook his helm. "What's wrong with you two?"
Suddenly, both the frontliner and spy's optics dimmed, signalling they were on an internal comm.
Sunstreaker then turned fully to face Skyshadow who gave a short nod.
Relaxing, Steeldust opened his mouth to speak, figuring she had said something that persuaded Sunstreaker to leave him alone.
The next moment, he wasn't so sure.
The frontliner whirled, right fist leading. Steeldust dodged, barely missing getting punched in the side.
"Whoa! Hey!" he protested, dodging again as Sunstreaker swiped at him again. "What's the matter with ya?"
Sunstreaker kept coming, forcing the speedster to back up, raising his servos to block.
"I didn't ask to spar with you right now," snarled Steeldust.
After several kliks of Sunstreaker throwing hits and Steeldust dodging or blocking them, the frontliner finally got in an actual hit.
Feigning to punch Steeldust in the helm, he instead kicked him in the left side.
To his surprise, Steeldust fell to the floor with a snarl.
Skyshadow decided she'd had enough and grabbed Sunstreaker by the servo.
"Enough."
Sunstreaker glanced at her grimly for a klik, meeting her serious expression.
"This isn't going anywhere," she continued firmly, shaking her helm.
The pair then turned to the speedster, who hadn't gotten back up.
He half sat up, coughing and holding his side as he glared up at them.
"What. Is wrong with you two?" he demanded.
"Is that how Sideswipe would have attacked someone behind him?" Skyshadow asked through the internal comm with a frown.
"Not exactly," Sunstreaker replied. "But he would've most likely hit the left side of whoever it was from what position he and the attacker were in by the pedeprints we found."
"Apparently there's already an injury there."
"Do you still disagree about confronting him now?"
"Hey!" Steeldust spat. "I'm not part of the internal comm. I don't know what you two are saying."
Interrupted, Sunstreaker and Skyshadow turned their full attention back to the speedster on the ground.
He tried sitting up further, but winced.
"What's wrong with your side?" Skyshadow demanded, noting it was obviously not a new wound causing him pain.
Steeldust stared at her incredulously for a moment. Then pointed up at Sunstreaker.
"He just kicked me!"
"Not that hard," snapped Sunstreaker, taking a step forward.
Skyshadow held up a hand to his chest, halting him. "You have an injury there already?"
"Yeah. What of it," Steeldust demanded sullenly, looking up at them with distrust.
"What. Is. The injury," hissed Sunstreaker.
"I got bruised ribs okay? Well, now they're extra bruised." The speedster shot a glare at the frontliner. "Thanks a lot."
He got to his pedes, wincing every time he moved his torso.
"How'd you get them?" asked Skyshadow, optics narrowed.
Steeldust moved slowly towards the computer monitors, not turning his back on the pair as he went.
"Since you're so desperate to know, they were a present from Breakdown," he spat. After a slight pause, he continued. "And then Ricochet."
Sunstreaker and Skyshadow exchanged a glance, frowning deeply.
The half-seeker flicked her wings.
"What's this all about?" Steeldust demanded, leaning against the platform the keyboards were on. "You two demand we need to talk, refuse to listen, and then beat me up.
"What is this? Interrogation practice?"
"What do you think?" Skyshadow asked. She then switched back to the internal comm. "He did just put Breakdown in the medbay yesterday. And you can walk around seemingly fine with bruised ribs. Especially if you have a high pain tolerance."
"He could have made those excuses up on the fly. We know how fast he thinks." Sunstreaker stared at the speedster. "He could be acting, trying to cover up a knife wound."
"Sideswipe did draw energon. He might also have bruised his attacker's ribs too, depending on how hard they struggled."
Steeldust had immediately noticed when they'd started speaking over an internal comm again.
Suddenly, something clicked within his whirlwind of thoughts.
His optics widened, then narrowed into almost slits.
"You suspect me!" he whispered in a snarl. "Don't you?"
Skyshadow and Sunstreaker closed their comm, optics brightening back to normal.
The frontliner opened his mouth, about to say something.
He never got to.
Throwing his helm back, Steeldust let out a cold, harsh laugh.
Quickly composing himself, he then glared daggers at them, a nasty smirk on his faceplate.
"Of course. What did I expect? Look what I get for trying to help, huh?"
"You are on the suspect list," Skyshadow countered, keeping her voice low. "Sunstreaker didn't know until I told him. Of course, we had to investigate you first."
"Of course," agreed Steeldust, gritting his denta. "Because your idiotic boyfriend thought it was a good idea to confide in his equally idiotic brother's possible killer."
"Were you?" Sunstreaker growled. He however, stayed where he was.
"No."
"You don't have an alibi," pointed out Skyshadow. "Where were you when it happened."
"In the box."
"Of course, you were," mocked Sunstreaker. He tilted his helm. "How convenient."
Shooting a cold glare at the frontliner, Steeldust regained his stool, dragging it back to where he'd put it before. Climbing onto it with another wince, he checked the screens quickly before answering.
"It wasn't me. And don't either of you ask me for any more help. I'm done."
Turning away, Steeldust leaned his elbow joints on the platform. However, his doorwings were raised, almost as sharply as they could go.
Skyshadow jerked her helm towards the door and walked away, Sunstreaker following closely.
The wordlessly agreed to temporarily move on to a different subject, but keep an optic on the speedster.
Before they could get far, Ultra Magnus stomped into the room. He quickly surveyed the trio, a dark scowl on his faceplate.
"Red Alert noticed you two fighting on the security feed," he grumbled, gesturing the two young mechs. "What happened?"
Skyshadow intended to explain, but of course, someone else beat her to it.
"Dunno. Ask them," hissed Steeldust without turning. "They're the ones trailing me and trying ta beat me up."
Magnus turned his attention mostly to the speedster, walking further into the room. "Why?"
"I just told ya. I don't know."
The third-in-command straightened, optics darkening. "Do not get smart with me, Agent."
Thoroughly riled up, the speedster whirled and was on his pedes in a fraction of an astroklik.
"I'm just tryin' ta do my job! Why don't ya all go do yours? Leave me alone."
Ultra Magnus bristled and Sunstreaker and Skyshadow cringed. But Steeldust didn't stop talking.
He waved his servo at all them. "Why don't all three of ya go pick on someone else?"
"Enough!" yelled the officer. "You will calm yourself and all three of you will tell me exactly what's going on here."
"I'll tell you what's going on," Steeldust yelled, shaking with rage. "I'm sick of being blamed for stuff and I'm sick of being talked down to and I'm sick of everyone treating me like dirt!"
"Perhaps if you did what you were told and did not act so shifty, your problems would diminish," snapped Magnus coldly, folding his servos behind his back. "These two haven't said anything yet, but it seems to me that you are the problem here. Perhaps if you acted your age and controlled your temper, things would go better for you.
"Now, Sunstreaker, tell me what happened?"
Sunstreaker hesitated, a little in shock at Steeldust's outburst.
The speedster took that hesitation to march over to the trio. Getting in Magnus' faceplate as much as he could with his seven-foot-height-disadvantage, Steeldust raised a digit and jabbed it into the third-in-command's chest.
"You are not just going ta pretend you didn't say any o' that! I don't care if yer third-in-command, you do not get ta say that!"
"Steeldust," hissed Skyshadow, shaking her helm at him.
"And Sunstreaker attacked me, not the other way around. If ya'd listened the first time I said it I wouldn't have ta say it again!" Steeldust's optics flashed. "But ya can't cause yer too high an' mighty ta listen ta the little mecha ya step on ta get ta the top!"
Magnus swatted Steeldust's hand away, leaning over him threateningly.
"If I were you, I would stop talking before you regret it," the mech said through gritted denta.
Steeldust had the audacity to smirk, crossing his servos over his chest as he bent backwards to place more distance between them without moving his pedes.
"Hit a nerve, did I?"
"Shut up."
Sunstreaker and Skyshadow watched the exchange in silence. Concern crossed their faceplates but they said and did nothing.
There was nothing to be done at this point.
"One more word out of you and I'll have you thrown in the box again," growled Ultra Magnus.
Narrowing his optics, Steeldust bared his denta. "You're just in a bad mood cause you don't have as much favour with the Prime as your rival does."
"What?" spat Magnus, optics narrowing.
"I've got him," thought Steeldust.
"You're just mad cause Prowl was quicker and had better suggestions than you in the meeting today! And you received almost no approval for yours. Why don't you go away and take it out on someone else already! And guess what? Your suggestions did suck. I wouldn't want to be a seeker anyways."
Magnus froze, optics widening. Then he growled, faceplate twisting in rage.
The rational, logical side of Steeldust's processor finally caught up to the must-win-the-argument-and-prove-the-point-at-all-cost-side and he froze too, optics widening.
"Oh, scrap."
"You snuck in!" Ultra Magnus slapped Steeldust across the faceplate sending him to the floor.
"You little snitch! You're going to he box!" he roared.
Whirling the mech's attention settled on the two bystanders.
"Sunstreaker! Monitor duty now! I don't know how you were involved before, but your punishment is taking over this insolent brat's shift."
He then turned back to Steeldust, who'd gotten to his pedes and was now tentatively touching his faceplate to see if it was bleeding.
There was still a little bit of shock on his faceplate when he was snatched off the ground by the top plate of his back armour.
"You're going to visit Lord Prime before the box," Magnus growled, walking towards the hallway entrance.
Getting half carried, half dragged behind the bigger mecha, Steeldust didn't bother to try and get away.
Instead, he glared towards Sunstreaker and Skyshadow who still stood in the middle of the room.
For it was technically their fault.
His day had gone from bad to worse in mere seconds.
Even when you could go from zero to sixty in a fraction of that in your alt mode, it sure didn't help you much when you decided to talk instead of drive away.
"Just walk away," he'd been told by various mecha who had tried to be a mentor to him.
But he never could.
Steeldust couldn't stand mecha picking on him. Or mecha he actually cared about.
Which had dwindled throughout the vorns to a very small number.
Anyways, you couldn't just walk away from authority figures. So, what was the point with that piece of wisdom?
Internally, Steeldust sighed as he was dragged down the corridor, ignoring the looks he got.
Contrary to popular belief, Steeldust hadn't always had an issue with authority.
It'd just been a very long time ago that he didn't.
A gleam came into his optics as he thought of something, changing the look in them from defeat to malice.
Perhaps he couldn't change the fact he was going to the brig. But he could make the life of the mech who was taking him there miserable.
Blurr watched, faceplate grim, as his brother was dragged past him in the hall by Ultra Magnus.
He knew where his brother was headed.
He made a mental note to go visit him in the brig in roughly an hour.
Maybe his little brother would tell him what he did this time. More likely, he'd just sit in silence and stare at the wall.
But an older brother had to try.
Right?
"Steeldust... What have you done this time?"
"Hey Magnus," Steeldust said lowly, a snide tone to his voice.
"Shut up, scum," growled the third-in-command.
Steeldust of course, carried on anyways.
"Ya know, I don't get something. Why are ya takin' me ta Prime?"
"You know very well why!"
Crossing his servos over his chest, Steeldust shrugged.
"Yeah, I know I'm an idiot. But I thought ya higher ups had the authority ta just throw us rebellious dimwits in the brig wit'out goin' ta Prime first?"
Magnus was silent for several kliks. But he kept walking.
Steeldust's faceplate split into a wicked grin, narrowing his optics as he stared at the floor.
He had the TIC. Right where he wanted him.
"It is none of your concern," Ultra Magnus finally replied.
As they turned down a different hall, leading away from the throne room.
"Of course," Steeldust agreed, faking the sullen tone, even as his grin grew wider.
He might get put in the box. But he wouldn't trade his position with Magnus.
It would be especially lucky if the reason Prime discovered one of his spy's whereabouts was because he had suddenly had need of him.
///
"This weapon that the Autobots are intending to create will be very dangerous," Starscream said gravely, scanning the blueprints laid out on one of the worktables.
"I know," Iron Blade said from his position across the large room. He turned in his chair to face the Vosian Commander. "But now we know how to destroy it when they finish it."
"And create one of our own," hummed Shockwave, leaning over the table to get a better look at the blueprints. And leaning closer to Starscream as a result.
Starscream frowned slightly at the bigger mech's sudden close proximity. "But is that really in our best interest? I fear that retaliating in such a way would cause unwanted problems."
Iron Blade scoffed, standing and walking over to join them. He glanced at them from across the table.
"Aren't the Autobots already unwanted problems?"
Shockwave snorted in amusement. Starscream sent them both looks before rolling his optics.
"You know what I mean."
Knockout, who'd been tinkering away at something in his own corner of the lab, then spoke up.
"You think they'd actually pin their scientist as the one who got us the designs?"
Iron Blade frowned deeply. He had thought of that possibility.
"It might not be their first explanation," answered Starscream slowly. "They would consider the possibility of Soundwave's minicons infiltrating their base first..."
"We cannot endanger our ally," Shockwave said quietly. "Especially when Whirr may be our only one among the Autobots. It surprises me that he still has not been caught yet."
Starscream picked up the sheets of paper and began rolling them up. "Then let us do our best to keep him that way. We will use the blueprints to counterattack the Autobots only by destroying the weapon that they create. That already may raise suspicion."
The three other mecha nodded their agreement and went back to what they had been working on before the conversation.
"Now," Starscream spoke again. "Are we in agreement that the net would be our best course of action against the Autobot speedsters?"
Iron Blade flicked his wings in annoyance as he crossed his servos. "That is the best idea we have. I don't know that it will work though, they don't run into other things."
The young Commander sent a look towards the silver, white, and black mech.
"But like I said, it's the best we got," the younger mech repeated. "And I like Shockwave's addition to it."
"Yes," Starscream said with a frown. "I agree that it would be more effective. However, we must be careful that it doesn't kill them."
Knockout scoffed. "Racers might be built light, but they're not the fragile little flowers you three seem to think they are."
Iron Blade frowned. "We know they're not! And why does it matter whether or not we kill them? We'd be better off without them!"
The white, blue, and red Vosian shook his helm, wings sagging slightly. Regret flooded his faceplate as he spoke.
"While I do not disagree, my friend, we do not have to always resort to taking lives." He paused momentarily before continuing. "And both speedsters are special operatives, one is also a seeker."
"Megatron wants them alive for interrogation?" questioned the teal coloured medic.
"Yes."
"Huh. Yeah, they'd probably have some juicy bits of information to give us."
"If they are cooperative," muttered Shockwave, moving off to examine the plans. "I know I would not be after what we are about to do to them."
Iron Blade rolled his optics. "I volunteer to help them decide to talk. And if they don't, you can use your Psychic Patch thing on them."
"True."
"I suggest we let Megatron decide who gets to interrogate them," Starscream said with a wry smirk. "He himself gets first dibs you know, Iron Blade."
The white and grey arched an optic ridge. "You have been spending too much time with Soundwave. You're picking up his weird Earth lingo."
Starscream merely shrugged and strode over to join Shockwave in reviewing the design plans.