"We can always use another Vehicon femme," Shockwave noted, and I sighed.

"None of them are like me, the Autobots will know."

"It's dangerous," he set the vial of pink liquid down on the metal counter, looking to me with a gaze only I knew to be love.

Placing my own vial down, I turned with a rather exasperated look in my optics.

"We talked about this already, I'm turning myself in to the Autobots, then Soundwave comes after Laserbeak sends him the coordinates."

"An illogical plan."

"That will work, I'm sure of it."

He had placed himself a single step away from me, the both of us immovable in our opinions on the matter. Staring at each other, my blue optics faded in and out of focus as they trained on his single red one. Over these days of being in a position of authority, I've developed more of a hypothetical 'backbone', so this situation is a bit easier to handle. Shockwave didn't like this fact, and his optic grew brighter in his frustration.

"I am unable to let you go."

"I am unable to believe you."

Our stares held.

There were several long seconds of silence, until his optic dimmed, and he shook his helm in defeat.

"My position is perplexing," he admitted.

"Your position is just fine to me," I smiled, and kissed the side of his optic, feeling an unnatural heat from it as I pulled away, "and I don't quite feel the need to apologize."

Skipping out of the usually and always quiet lab, I found Predaking waiting by the door, a true bodyguard. He smiled down to me, making a small bow, and I nodded my satisfaction of this action, my smile wide. We started our trek to find Soundwave.

"You smell different," the Predacon noted, "so did Shockwave."

"Well... we're both anxious about this plan," I admitted, "There's no gaurantee it'll work..."

"Perhaps it's that," Predaking nodded, "but I'm not quite sure."

I was left wondering what kind of smell would leave him so perplexed, perhaps I may never know.

We found Soundwave with Starscream, the Seeker speaking to him about something. Looking to Predaking, we both thought the same thing as we neared the somewhat traitorous high pitched squeal of the mech.

"It's ludacris!"

"Have you something to say, Starscream?" I questioned him, earning his startled gaze.

"O-of course not, my lady," he stammered, "I shall take my leave."

He left, and I felt many of my anxieties leave with him.

"Shockwave has made his opinion known," I told the silent mech, "We shall continue with our plan. Send out the message."

The message we had fabricated was sent, and I walked through the provided groundbridge into a harsh desert sun that made my armor sting with the dry heat, like a slap that lingers. My circuits prickled at the change in atmosphere, my spark giving a dull, sorrowful hum as the distance from Shockwave was finalized by the closing of Soundwave's groundbridge.

"Please hurry..." my form can't stand this heat much longer already, even with my cooling fans on and working overtime, though I hate practically begging, even if it's necessary.

Not a moment to soon, a groundbridge reveals the Prime, his femme warrior and the scout. I frown at the two-wheeler, then remember why I'm here, and transition my gaze to the ground

"I was told of the new found femme ranks of your faction," Optimus stated, and my denta ground against each other in my hidden anger, "I will admit, I was unsure."

"It is that incident that brings me here," out of everything that is a simple ruse, this was the truth, "I ask for your... protection."

The warrior Arcee, still held a steady aim at my spark.

"Why not run back to your scientist?" she says mockingly, and I have to hold back a sly smile.

"What does a scientist do? He experiments, and because of your medic no one would help me."

:I thought Vehicons would take care of their own?: the scout guessed.

"Not when a long kept secret is revealed by the weakest link." I huffed.

There was a long pause, and the femme whispered something to the Prime, of which made him nod. The scout shuffled a pede. To think that he's older than me, it's astounding. I envy him somewhat, he was able to see Cybertron, fight on it's very ground, while the only ground I've ever seen is that of Earth. My expression turned to that of a small glare at the yellow colored mech, only to be interrupted by the baritone voice of Optimus Prime.

"How can we be sure that this is not just a Decepticon deceit?"

"Would I come back to my torturers?"

We had prepared for this. All variables had been taken into account. I had little doubt that this plan would work, knowing that the Autobots were still in the dark about Megatron's demise. They thought they were allowing a simple, handicapped vehicon into their home base (of which I found odd considering how small things seemed upon walking through their groundbridge), little did they know, each mech and single femme, were staring at the very queen of the enemy faction.

Hiding another smile by looking to the ground, I released a drone from my servo, to small to be noticed, it's transmission lasting only a few seconds before causing a short pop to electrify the circuits of my knee joint, as if I had been harmed before coming to them.

"You are in pain?" the Autobot leader asked as I stumbled.

"Uh... no," I shook my helm, though in truth the self sabotage was the worst pain so far, "I-it's just a-"

"Don't lie," came the frustrated chiding of the Autobot medic, "you're bleeding!"

Looking down, I realized that he wasn't lying. I suspect Starscream's doing, overcharging the watts on the simple device, though it doesn't take much to make me bleed.

Being startled by the sudden jolt of my frame, I looked worriedly to the medic that placed me on the berth I found all to familiar. My anxieties rose and I struggled against him despite myself, to which he responded in a surprisingly smooth tone.

"I'm not strapping you down," he assured me, and I stopped going against his guidance, seeing that my unneeded struggled had earned me some new wounds already.

"Wow, she is fragile!"

"Smokescreen not now," Ratchet chastised, and I couldn't help but scowl at being called fragile.

"I might not be to par with the others, but I've gone through more scrap then they ever will," I don't know where my confidence came from, but I was glad it was there, otherwise I might not be able to do this.

"Yeah? Like what 'Con?"

A rookie, I can tell. Young and still knows little of the world.

"Ask your medic," he was currently focused on my knee joint as it continued to bleed, "I'm sure he made a medical record."

"Indeed," The older mech said, his attention still on my knee joint rather then the conversation, showing that he answered on reflex. With a few practiced movements, the bleeding stopped, then he moved on to repair the wires, "Your condition is... perplexing," he mumbled, careful not to dent or scratch me any further, "I'm surprised you weren't terminated for your weak spark alone."

"A sheltered life most likely," Arcee glared daggers at me, to which I returned with a cool stare of patient nonchalance.

"I know the costs of war just as you do, two-wheeler, do not think that I am some sort of protected artifact."

"You're not old enough," Smokescreen snorted, and I kept my peace.

A few minutes later, the Autobot medic was done with my knee joint, and had also repaired the cuts and dents from when I had struggled against him. Standing up, I looked to my audience, as measly as it was, noticing the four humans I saw the first time I was here. The energetic one was first to speak.

"Hi! I'm Miko! Wow, you're pretty? Do all vehicons look like you? Is there a difference? Do you know Slash Monkey?"

"Why'd you come back?" the tallest youngling asked, to which I turned my helm down as if ashamed of the fabricated story I was about to tell.

"Well-"

"You don't have to tell," their medic interrupted me. I see pity in his optics, this is why I came. No bot can see past my fragility, not even Optimus Prime as I watch his optics hold an amount of sorrow for me and my small, timid, almost broken smile that I let grace my slender faceplates.

I'll show the drones on the Nemesis who rules both factions. One with a hardened glare that makes them fear what I could do, the other a timid, sweet smile that makes them melt. I don't know what Shockwave was worried about. Deceit comes naturally to a Decepticon.