28 Prowls: Daring Prowl
(Yes, another RPG-inspired fic. The actual RPG log-fic is going up on fanfiction.net, so you'll be able to read the entire thing there, minus the ending, which somehow never got RP'ed.) OC warning, only has a couple, aside from the main villan. Can't say more than that without giving spoilers.
-----------------------------------
Daring is doing something when you're not sure what the outcome will be. Something Prowl is obviously not used to. And even though he is capable of assessing a situation strategically, there are times when there are too many variables, and even he cannot predict what the outcome may be. This is one of those times.
He wasn't the one to take a risk. or a dare. Prowl would never walk into a situation without first knowing the outcome. Especially not one as risky as this. He didn't know the mech he was up against, or what he was capable of. All he knew was this tank...Hammertread, as he was called, had some vendetta from the past against him. And now the tank had somehow managed to capture one of their warriors and drag her off to his secret lair-wherever that was.
Prime had discovered a group, one who had been hiding out, who knew who this tank-mech was. coincidentally, they came from the same faction as a certain muave-and blue seeker femme.
So Jade, Prowl, and the missing Autobot's brother, Omega, went to find them, and get their help. Once they had returned to the Ark, said tank-bot sent a transmission...
"I have your female friend. "I want the one you call Prowl. And, since she's allready there, Dri can join him too. (he nodded in the direction of the white femme next to Prowl) Otherwise..." "Well, you get the idea." he chuckled darkly. "You have one earth-hour to decide. You have my comm-frequency." and the screen went black.
Omega stared at Teletraan-1's screen, at his sister huddled in a corner behind the bulky figure. "We have to do something! " he growled and kicked a nearby panel once the screen had gone blank. "We'll get her back, Omega." Prime nodded.
The black-colored jet just growled something else under his breath and kicked a nearby stalagtite. "He hurt my sister. I'm going to kill him..."
They had gone through every plan possible, Jade even suggested they borrow Hound's holo-emitter, since he was still having repairs done, and wasn't up to 100 percent functionality yet. The only choice, it seemed, was for Prowl to go in person.
Driveby, the leader of the group they just found, offered to provide an ambush. It seemed Hammertread had a vendetta with her, also. But that was relationship-related, and much less serious. Or so it turned out, at least.
After Prime arranged to meet Hammertread at an old dried-up riverbed, nicknamed Boondock Lake, because of it's location (the middle of no-where), Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Jade, Omega, and Driveby's team (six mechs total) left to meet with the tank.
Prime watched them leave, then pressed a button on teletraan-1's control board. Optimus Prime to Rook, do you read me?"
A large white Adam A700 private-jet-type aircraft appeared on the screen. "Right here."
"Prowl, Omega, and Driveby have gone to Boondock Lake to negotiate with the mech who kidnapped Alpha. I need you to stay in the area, in case they need reinforcements. But it is of the utmost importance that you remain unseen until then."
"I'm on my way." The jet dipped a wing and turned to where the others had headed.
Prowl didn't like it. Driveby was the only one who knew anything about this tank, and was remaining quiet about his strengths and weaknesses. Although she did say he was very sensitive to bright light. Prowl didn't like it. The plan didn't seem sound enough somehow.
It was supposed to be simple. Prowl and Driveby would walk over to the tank-mech, and Alpha would walk over to where the Autobots were concealed in the nearby trees and cave. Then when she was safely behind cover, the Autobots would run out and give Prowl coverfire in order to escape. Or, hopefully, force Hammertread to retreat.
The tactician looked around the valley and twitched his doorwings nervously. He suddenly noticed the twelve sets of footprints in the dusty ground, all various shapes and sizes. "Driveby, help me get rid of these footprints." Prowl started to scuff his feet along the valley floor, making it look like he had been walking in circles the entire time.
"Do you hear that?"
Driveby transformed into her Toyota Camry alt. mode, and pointed her scanners towards the far ridge.
Prowl squinted against the sunlight. Sure enough, there was a small dot of greenish black, and a large dust cloud following in his wake. "Driveby transformed back to robot mode, and Prowl could hear the air-scout shout through the comlink "HE'S HERE!" Driveby cringed. Prowl started to hope things would go according to plan. he tapped his comlink. "Get to a spot immediately. I do not want you to be seen." he said. If this mech was as dangerous as he'd been told... He didn't want to think about it. His battle computer was running too many scenarios to stop the thought, though. It was a possibility the tank might actually succeed in capturing him.
"I guess I cannot evaluate an opponent's strategy or personality without first meeting him." he thought. The tank thundered over the ridge, the missing Autobot coughing and sputtering from atop his turret. He transformed, throwing her over one shoulder like a sack of vegetables. Prowl hesitated, not even sure the femme was still fully functional. "Too many variables" he thought. "Can't predict his next move." His mind whirled at all the immediate possibilities...
The tank took a step forward. "well." He looked Prowl up and down. "Probably estimating my fighting ability based on size and stature." Prowl thought. "It's been a long time." the tank rumbled. Prowl suddenly realized Driveby wasn't lying. The tank was about a head taller than Prowl, and enough bulk to make up two of the tactician.
Prowl quickly re-thought his plan. "I still have to make sure Alpha and Driveby get out of here safely." his mind was going so fast, he almost didn't catch it's absurdity when a comment Jazz once made about saving damsels in distress flitted through his mind. He smirked slightly, but the smirk fled when the huge mech took another step towards him. The femme on his shoulder yelled "Fraggit, let me go!" and tried to kick at the tank from atop his shoulder. "In a minute." Hammertread's grin widened.
"She's a lot of trouble, you know that?" he jerked a thumb up at the femme. "She also has a big mouth."
"Hey!"
"The tank grinned, and he threw a pair of ener-shackles at Prowl. "To make sure you can't run away." he grinned. He turned to Driveby. "I trust you'll cooperate." his expression softened slightly. "Won't you." Driveby snorted and swallowed another insult.
Prowl gumped and resisted the temptation to glance at Omega, who was sneaking up behind the tank. "I have to stall. Prowl thought. "but how?" a hundred ideas and a hundred variations for each ran through his head. Omega turned on his cloaking chip and dissapeared from sight. "This isn't going to work." Prowl wondered if the ambush party was even paying attention. "Maybe if I ask him something really bizarre, it would confuse him long enough for Omega to grab his sister..." he thought.
It was a risk. Something Prowl didn't usually do, but he knew there were eight people hiding around the edges of the giant bowl. So if anything went wrong, he hoped they'd help him out.
Prowl tried to think of something really out-of-the-ordinary to say. instead, what came out was: "I don't believe you brought your flier miles card with you, did you?" The tactician realised it didn't come out like he expected.
the tank blinked. There was the ever-so-subtle clicking of guns being armed in the background.
Prowl smirked.
His plan worked perfectly. The tank looked upward suddenly, as thogh expecting a jet to appear out of nowhere. Prowl took a step back when the mech's face darkened. He turned around, taking his hand off the femme on his shoulder to reach for his guns...
Omega reached up and snatched Alpha off the mech's shoulder. The tank froze. Prowl raised his hand. "Your private jet has arrived." He pointed upwards towards the sillouette. "I hope you don't plan on going anywhere."
He flicked his wrist, signalling the group in the trees and nodded to Driveby.
"By the way. I don't surrender." He took two steps back and started to turn as figures appeared among the trees.
the tank drew his turret rifle and aimed it at Alpha "Ohno." Prowl thought. The tank turned and fired at him instead. Prowl pivoted, but the shot still caught him in the shoulder. He yelped as the blast knocked him off his feet. "I knew this was an unpredictable situation!" Prowl thought. The circuits in his shoulder shorted and threw sparks, sending needles of pain across his chest. THe tacticianl gasped and grabbed his shoulder.
Using his good arm, He picked up his own gun and turned, firing at HT. The shadow hovering over the valley shrunk significantly, almost disappearing as the owner of it flew higher.
Everyone rushed out from cover at once.
Hammertread snarled. He rushed at Prowl, intent on ripping him apart.
"I DONT CARE IF THERE ARE ONE OR ONE HUNDRED! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" he bellowed.
Hammertread growled and advanced on Prowl, his optics glowing brighter red. Omega landed next to Hammertread and punched him. He swatted the black fighter jet away to one side, and stomped over to Prowl.
Prowl faced the tank and stepped away from both Alpha and Ratchet, eyeing the tank. He held the gun in his good hand, but didn't fire.
Hammertread cracked his knuckles, a wide, evil grin spreading across his features. He mentally counted how many Autobots there were. Prowl hoped the others would rush in and help him, but they were staying back for some reason. "I knew this was a bad idea." the tactician thought.
Then ran at Prowl, spear-tackling the white tactician. Once he was on the ground, Hammertread punched him twice.
Jade, Gunlock, and Beacon swooped down from overhead trying to get a missile lock, but Prowl was in the way. The camoflauge-colored tank grabbed one of Prowl's shoulder-missiles and wrenched it free, tossing it aside...
Prowl grabbed a hold of Hammertread's shoulder, and attempted to roll, using his wings as leverage. He pushed with all his might, and shouted to Driveby to call the Ark for backup.
The tank looked up at the white femme, who was off to one side, then back down at Prowl. The Datsun struggled under the 3-ton mech, but couldn't free himself. He knew the tank might be able to grab Driveby and get away if someone didn't do something.
The tank puched him in the face again. He wrestled with the angry mech, and shouted "Get your team out of here!" at She heard him, and radioed it to the rest of her group.
"We're not going anywhere." a delta-winged fighter named Gunlock swooped down, firing a couple shots towards the two.
"Well at least someone's trying to help." Prowl thought. The others aimed at the two, but the shots just bounced harmlessly of the tank's thick armor.
Hammertread kept punching him, grabbing the other shoulder cannon. He ripped it from it's housing, leaving wires sparking and crackling. "Can't have you using those." He grinned. He puched lower, leaving dents in the patrol car's pristine hood.. Prowl felt himself starting to lose conciousness. "Someone, do something..." he thought.
Suddenly the battlefield went really quiet, and Hammertread looked up. The roar of engines filled the air, and a moment later, a black and white Porsche came flying over the ridge at 80 miles per hour, a pair of Lamborginis hot on his tail. One red, the other yellow. A Datsun with a similar paintjob to Prowl's came speeding in behind them.
Hammertread got up and kicked Prowl as hard as he could in the center of the chest. the black and white coughed, feeling reality fade..
The tank pulled out his shotgun and aimed it in the center of the Autobot's chest, right where his spark chamber lay beneath the metal. "I will have my revenge.." he whispered.
"Leave him alone!!!" A black and white blur came out of nowhere, right as the tank pulled the trigger...
Prowl looked at the cars, recognizing them even though his vision had gone almost completely black, and all sound was beginning to fade, too. "No...Jazz. Get. Out." He tried to shout. He pulled his leg up and under HT, and nailed him hard in the lower section, trying to throw him off of him.
Prime pulled up at the edge of the valley and Transformed.
"Autobots, Attack!" He thundered. Suddenly, the entire rest of the Ark seemed to appear over the ridge.. roughly 20 of them. and they all ran, flew, and drove down into the valley. Hammertread snarled and fired at the black and white Prowl again before turning to run away.
Ratchet yelled. "PROWL!" He bolted from Prime's side, and skidded towards him, hitting his knees in the dirt while landing next to his side. Above them, the silhouette dived, its shadow growing larger on the ground.
THe tank had only gone a couple steps, then turned around. He ran back towards the two, firing row after row of shots. He knocket Ratchet away and aimed his rifle straight down at the tactician's head. I'f you are stil alive and talking... I will not rest untill you DIE!!" and he fired, again.
Ratchet reached out and batted the end of the weapon away, before nailing the tank hard in the neck with his elbow.
"You'll be the one dying today, Hammertread!" and fired off three shots at the tank's head. Hammertread staggered back, blinded momentarily. "YOU"LL PAY FOR THAT!!!" The boxy tank roared and backhanded the medic as hard as he could.
The silhouette from above finally came into view, a sleek white jet with a straight tailfin. Hound eyed the battle from inside the cockpit. "Rook, how does it feel to crash in on a party?" He chuckled.
Rook smiled as his tailfin split and he fired two rockets at Hammertread. "I wouldn't know. I always seem to crash in on battles, not parties.
Ratchet's head was flung to the side as he took the blow. He went to deliver a hit, but heard the whistling from above. His optics widened, and he grabbed Prowl, pulling him back as far as possible as Rook's missles whistled and homed in on Hammertread.
The missiles found their mark, sending the tank flying a few feet, and shattering the treads on his lower legs. The tank made it back to his feet, although limping, and attached something to the end of his rifle.
He fitted a small missile onto it and fired at the large jet, then fired off a row of regular shots at Ratchet and Prowl.
"Rook! Roll!" Hound barked as the tank fired at them. Rook complied, barreling to the side and making a swift turn, the edge of his wing barely scraping the ground as they struggled to rebalance. He veered around, and landed near Bluestreak and Cable, who were watching the fight with some of the others. Hound stepped out from the jet, before Rook transformed next to him.
The tank stomped forward, ignoring his shredded leg armor, the pain only adding to his anger. Jazz zoomed over to intercept him.. "Oh no you don't" He turned on his headlights full blast, blinding the tank, who covered his face, and fired wildly trying to hit his target. Jazz deftly leapt to one side and rolled away. Hammertread flickered his optics to try to clear them and loaded another missile, firing at Prowl again.
He ran/limped towards them
"I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED YOU!" he howled at the top of his vocalizer.
Suddenly, a large blue fist collided with the mech's jaw from one side, knocking him off balance. He turned to face Prime.
"You." he spat.
"You've done enough damage today." The Autobot leader rumbled, squaring off with the bulky tank.
Hammertread growled low in his vocalizer and took a fighting stance. the Autobot leader narrowed his optics and matched his pose.
The tank was ready to charge when he suddenly felt something like a pin prick in the back of his neck. The world swirled around him, and the tank hit his knees..
"What..." and collapsed.
Ratchet grinned from behind the fallen tank. Prime looked a little relieved.
Prowl groaned, and turned his head to the side, slowly coming to. All he saw were blurs, and a very distinctive pain was radiating from his chest and arm. Prime looked over at the very dented and gashed black-and white, and Ratchet hurried over to him.
"That's.. why.. I.. plan.. ahead..." he managed.
"Just lay still, Prowl, you're gonna be allright." Ratchet knelt beside the black and white and started to assess the damage.
Jazz and Jade were the first ones to reach the unconcious second-in-command "Is he okay?" Jazz asked. "Just stay still don't move." Jade advised. The rest of the Autobots joined them, Sunstreaker ready to kick the unconcious Hammertread into spare parts. Sideswipe was next to him scowling also. Ratchet looked over the damage for a second, then simply said. "We need to get him back to base. now."
Prime looked at Hammertread as Driveby and her team walked up. "What are you going to do with him?" she asked.
"I don't know. But we should keep him in stasis" (drug-induced sleep) "until we decide." Prime said. Driveby nodded and looked down at him. She shook her head and walked away. "Too bad. You could have been a good person if you would have just tried." she whispered, shaking her head. "we'll be at our base if you need us." she called.
"Thank you. Prime said. She turned to face him, then her gaze fell on Hammertread again. She just nodded and turned away. Driveby and the other five of her team transformed and drove/flew away. Cap, who was a small Challenger type tank, paused near the top of the valley. "Byeeee!" he yelled, turning to wave widely before transforming and vaulting up over the ridge with a whoop.
Prime transformed and opened his trailer door. Sunstreaker, sideswipe, and Jazz hauled up the heavy tank and threw him none-too gently into Prime's trailer. I'll gaurd him." Sunstreaker growled. "Not alone you won't" Sideswipe followed him up into the trailer.
"I'm going too.." Jazz said, all traces of humor gone from his voice. Instead of his usually easygoing, happy self, there was a scowl written all over the visored mech's face. "Perhaps you should go with Ratchet." Prime suggested. Jazz glared at Hammertread for a moment, then nodded and walked over to where Ratchet was still hovering over the barely-concious tactician.
Jade walked over, also.
Ratchet did what he could to patch up Prowl at the time, cursing all the while. He noticed Jazz's shadow, and went silent. He didn't need to look up to know Jazz was upset. Rook and Hound walked over to them, and Hound was still limping, albeit not as bad before. Ratchet eyed him, but the jeep gave a friendly smile.
"Hiya, Ratchet! Glad we crashed the party?" The CMO just gave them a glance and a nod before turning his concentration back to Prowl.
"I'll provide you all transport home. It'll take less time then driving back." Rook stated as he transformed. Hound stepped up the ramp into Rook and nodded to Ratchet and Jazz. "Let's get him up here."
Ratchet nodded, and looked at Jazz. He hopped up into Rook's cargo area next to Prowl, looking worriedly at his friend. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe slammed Prime's trailer door shut, and Prime started his engine with a low rumble."Autobots, Transform and roll for home!"
Jade transformed and took to the sky. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bluestreak took off over the ridge, and the other Autobots transformed and started their engines with a rumble. Rook took off, clicking his tailfin back together and heading past Prime towards the Ark.
The Ark came into view, and Rook kicked his thrusters in, bursting towards the Ark and decending through the air, flying right into the entrance of the Ark. He slowed to a hover before the hallways became too narrow for his wing span, and landed. Kicking the ramp open and down, Hound helped Jazz and Ratchet carry Prowl to the medbay.
Jade landed and ran inside, following directly behind Jazz, the twins, bluestreak, and Wheeljack and Ratchet who were carrying the unconcious Prowl to the repairbay.
For the next fifteen minutes or so, everyone was grouped together in the control room talking and chattering away. Eventually, different groups parted from the crowd to go find another place to chat, or something else to do.
After about an hour, Daze walked over to Jade, and tilted her head to one side.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Out. Out!" Ratchet could be heard yelling from the repairbay. A small crowd filed out, and headed for other places.
Jade shook her head, trying to bite a pang of back worry. "Some psychopathic tank tried to rip him him to shreds. By hand.
He got in a few good punches before Rook and the other Autobots showed up. Driveby and them... they tried to stop him. He was just too heavily armored." She turned away from the doors, and noticed the figure in the shadows, leaning against a wall in the corner, next to the doors.
"Oh," the silver RAF tornado said softly, and turned around to glance at the doors. "I'm sure he'll be OK."
Jade sniffled and glanced over at the figure, who kept glancing at the doors with a worried expression. She gave him a weak smile.
The saboteur parted from the shadows, and walked over to the two of them.
"Ya'know, even if ya know someone for a few million years, ya still can't help but worry." Jazz glanced back at the closed repairbay doors. "Even if ya know they're gonna be alright." He slung one arm across Jade's shoulders, and put the other around Daze's waist. "Come on, there's nothin' we can do anyway. It's up ta Ratchet and Primus." He offered a smile, and guided the two towards the rec. room.
The trio walked down the hall, noticing Prime coming from the other direction. "Hey, big guy. Wanna go have a drink and relax for a bit?" Jazz asked. "No thank you." Prime responded "I'm going to check on Prowl."
"Oh...okay. Well, beware of Ratchet, he's been kickin' people out all night." Jazz waved and they continued on.
The rec. room was unusually silent when they walked in. Bluestreak, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and suprisingly, Bumblebee were all at one table, while Huffer, Gears, Hubcap, and a couple others were at another.
Cliffjumper glared at the unmoving, boxy tank on the other side of the forcewall. "I don't see why we have to keep him here. If you ask me, he should be melted down for scrap!" the red minibot spat. "You're right." Brawn walked over, his yellow and green armor reflecting the light slightly. "Too bad Prime's gonna arrange a trial for the sleazy slag-sucker. He doesn't even deserve one." He gave the mech a sneer, wishing he could shoot him. To bad it would be against orders.
The tank snickered and mumbled something in his sleep. Brawn took a step forward. "Don't do it, guys." Trailbreaker warned form a desk a few meters away. "If he woke up, how would you explain it to Prime if he escaped?"
"He won't escape once I'm through with him." Cliffjumper cracked his knuckles.
"Calm down, Cliffjumper. You know we can't risk waking him. Besides, Prime'll probably have him deactivated anyway." Trailbreaker shrugged. The duo eyed the mech with a glint in their optics, but after a minute turned away...
"Prowl finally came to, a searing pain racing through his midsection. "...Ow" he coughed. "Welcome back to the land of moving parts.You had me concerned there, for a while." Ratchet walked over. "That Tank-bot ripped off your shoulder cannons and left so many dents in your chassis I'm gonna have to work on your hood for a week to get them all out." He walked over to one side and took a sip of energon from his mug on the counter. "I just glad he didn't permanently damage any of your internal systems." he groused.
Prowl onlined his optics to full, and looked around. Prime was standing quietly in one corner. He walked over when Prowl glanced at him, placing a blue hand on the Datsun's shoulder. Prowl winced slightly. "You took a huges risk, and perfomed above and beyond the call of duty, Prowl." Prime said. "You did very well considering the situation, and I apologize for not getting there soon enough."
"It's okay Prime." Prowl half-smiled. "It could have been worse." Prime looked at Prowl a little suprised for using one of Jazz's favorite catchphrases, but his optics dimmed into a smile. "Just don't scare us like that ever again. alright?"
"I'm not planning on it, sir." Prowl winced.
Prime nodded "Just get some rest. I'll go tell the others the news." Prowl nodded and Prime walked out.
The rec. room doors slid open, and Optimus Prime entered. Everyone had been whispering amongst themselves quieted. Prime looked arounf the room at the anxious faces. "Well?" Jazz asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be.
"He's fine. Ratchet said he'll make a full recovery." Prime replied. THe whole room exploded into cheers and hollers. Jazz hurried for the door, but Prime put out a hand and stopped him. "He's resting, you all can visit him tomorrow." He said.
More chattering.
"If Ratchet says it's all right." he added, knowing he would hear it from Ratchet about people saying Prime gave them permission to come visit Prowl, if he didn't add that part on. The happy chatter continued, and someone even put on some music in the background.
"Sometimes, you have to take a risk. When there are too many variables in a situation." the tactician thought staring up at the medbay ceiling. "When there is a hostage involved, and too many escape routes. There is no way to tell what may or may not happen next.
Out of all the millions of variables available in a situation, it is the hardest to predict the odds of any one of them taking place. In a way, jumping into a situation with no control over what may happen, and just rely on your backup to get you out of it and off the battlefield in one peice." he thought.
"Well, Jazz told me I should be more daring." he thought just before drifting of into recharge.
-----------------------------------
Daring is doing something when you're not sure what the outcome will be. Something Prowl is obviously not used to. And even though he is capable of assessing a situation strategically, there are times when there are too many variables, and even he cannot predict what the outcome may be. This is one of those times.
He wasn't the one to take a risk. or a dare. Prowl would never walk into a situation without first knowing the outcome. Especially not one as risky as this. He didn't know the mech he was up against, or what he was capable of. All he knew was this tank...Hammertread, as he was called, had some vendetta from the past against him. And now the tank had somehow managed to capture one of their warriors and drag her off to his secret lair-wherever that was.
Prime had discovered a group, one who had been hiding out, who knew who this tank-mech was. coincidentally, they came from the same faction as a certain muave-and blue seeker femme.
So Jade, Prowl, and the missing Autobot's brother, Omega, went to find them, and get their help. Once they had returned to the Ark, said tank-bot sent a transmission...
"I have your female friend. "I want the one you call Prowl. And, since she's allready there, Dri can join him too. (he nodded in the direction of the white femme next to Prowl) Otherwise..." "Well, you get the idea." he chuckled darkly. "You have one earth-hour to decide. You have my comm-frequency." and the screen went black.
Omega stared at Teletraan-1's screen, at his sister huddled in a corner behind the bulky figure. "We have to do something! " he growled and kicked a nearby panel once the screen had gone blank. "We'll get her back, Omega." Prime nodded.
The black-colored jet just growled something else under his breath and kicked a nearby stalagtite. "He hurt my sister. I'm going to kill him..."
They had gone through every plan possible, Jade even suggested they borrow Hound's holo-emitter, since he was still having repairs done, and wasn't up to 100 percent functionality yet. The only choice, it seemed, was for Prowl to go in person.
Driveby, the leader of the group they just found, offered to provide an ambush. It seemed Hammertread had a vendetta with her, also. But that was relationship-related, and much less serious. Or so it turned out, at least.
After Prime arranged to meet Hammertread at an old dried-up riverbed, nicknamed Boondock Lake, because of it's location (the middle of no-where), Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Jade, Omega, and Driveby's team (six mechs total) left to meet with the tank.
Prime watched them leave, then pressed a button on teletraan-1's control board. Optimus Prime to Rook, do you read me?"
A large white Adam A700 private-jet-type aircraft appeared on the screen. "Right here."
"Prowl, Omega, and Driveby have gone to Boondock Lake to negotiate with the mech who kidnapped Alpha. I need you to stay in the area, in case they need reinforcements. But it is of the utmost importance that you remain unseen until then."
"I'm on my way." The jet dipped a wing and turned to where the others had headed.
Prowl didn't like it. Driveby was the only one who knew anything about this tank, and was remaining quiet about his strengths and weaknesses. Although she did say he was very sensitive to bright light. Prowl didn't like it. The plan didn't seem sound enough somehow.
It was supposed to be simple. Prowl and Driveby would walk over to the tank-mech, and Alpha would walk over to where the Autobots were concealed in the nearby trees and cave. Then when she was safely behind cover, the Autobots would run out and give Prowl coverfire in order to escape. Or, hopefully, force Hammertread to retreat.
The tactician looked around the valley and twitched his doorwings nervously. He suddenly noticed the twelve sets of footprints in the dusty ground, all various shapes and sizes. "Driveby, help me get rid of these footprints." Prowl started to scuff his feet along the valley floor, making it look like he had been walking in circles the entire time.
"Do you hear that?"
Driveby transformed into her Toyota Camry alt. mode, and pointed her scanners towards the far ridge.
Prowl squinted against the sunlight. Sure enough, there was a small dot of greenish black, and a large dust cloud following in his wake. "Driveby transformed back to robot mode, and Prowl could hear the air-scout shout through the comlink "HE'S HERE!" Driveby cringed. Prowl started to hope things would go according to plan. he tapped his comlink. "Get to a spot immediately. I do not want you to be seen." he said. If this mech was as dangerous as he'd been told... He didn't want to think about it. His battle computer was running too many scenarios to stop the thought, though. It was a possibility the tank might actually succeed in capturing him.
"I guess I cannot evaluate an opponent's strategy or personality without first meeting him." he thought. The tank thundered over the ridge, the missing Autobot coughing and sputtering from atop his turret. He transformed, throwing her over one shoulder like a sack of vegetables. Prowl hesitated, not even sure the femme was still fully functional. "Too many variables" he thought. "Can't predict his next move." His mind whirled at all the immediate possibilities...
The tank took a step forward. "well." He looked Prowl up and down. "Probably estimating my fighting ability based on size and stature." Prowl thought. "It's been a long time." the tank rumbled. Prowl suddenly realized Driveby wasn't lying. The tank was about a head taller than Prowl, and enough bulk to make up two of the tactician.
Prowl quickly re-thought his plan. "I still have to make sure Alpha and Driveby get out of here safely." his mind was going so fast, he almost didn't catch it's absurdity when a comment Jazz once made about saving damsels in distress flitted through his mind. He smirked slightly, but the smirk fled when the huge mech took another step towards him. The femme on his shoulder yelled "Fraggit, let me go!" and tried to kick at the tank from atop his shoulder. "In a minute." Hammertread's grin widened.
"She's a lot of trouble, you know that?" he jerked a thumb up at the femme. "She also has a big mouth."
"Hey!"
"The tank grinned, and he threw a pair of ener-shackles at Prowl. "To make sure you can't run away." he grinned. He turned to Driveby. "I trust you'll cooperate." his expression softened slightly. "Won't you." Driveby snorted and swallowed another insult.
Prowl gumped and resisted the temptation to glance at Omega, who was sneaking up behind the tank. "I have to stall. Prowl thought. "but how?" a hundred ideas and a hundred variations for each ran through his head. Omega turned on his cloaking chip and dissapeared from sight. "This isn't going to work." Prowl wondered if the ambush party was even paying attention. "Maybe if I ask him something really bizarre, it would confuse him long enough for Omega to grab his sister..." he thought.
It was a risk. Something Prowl didn't usually do, but he knew there were eight people hiding around the edges of the giant bowl. So if anything went wrong, he hoped they'd help him out.
Prowl tried to think of something really out-of-the-ordinary to say. instead, what came out was: "I don't believe you brought your flier miles card with you, did you?" The tactician realised it didn't come out like he expected.
the tank blinked. There was the ever-so-subtle clicking of guns being armed in the background.
Prowl smirked.
His plan worked perfectly. The tank looked upward suddenly, as thogh expecting a jet to appear out of nowhere. Prowl took a step back when the mech's face darkened. He turned around, taking his hand off the femme on his shoulder to reach for his guns...
Omega reached up and snatched Alpha off the mech's shoulder. The tank froze. Prowl raised his hand. "Your private jet has arrived." He pointed upwards towards the sillouette. "I hope you don't plan on going anywhere."
He flicked his wrist, signalling the group in the trees and nodded to Driveby.
"By the way. I don't surrender." He took two steps back and started to turn as figures appeared among the trees.
the tank drew his turret rifle and aimed it at Alpha "Ohno." Prowl thought. The tank turned and fired at him instead. Prowl pivoted, but the shot still caught him in the shoulder. He yelped as the blast knocked him off his feet. "I knew this was an unpredictable situation!" Prowl thought. The circuits in his shoulder shorted and threw sparks, sending needles of pain across his chest. THe tacticianl gasped and grabbed his shoulder.
Using his good arm, He picked up his own gun and turned, firing at HT. The shadow hovering over the valley shrunk significantly, almost disappearing as the owner of it flew higher.
Everyone rushed out from cover at once.
Hammertread snarled. He rushed at Prowl, intent on ripping him apart.
"I DONT CARE IF THERE ARE ONE OR ONE HUNDRED! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" he bellowed.
Hammertread growled and advanced on Prowl, his optics glowing brighter red. Omega landed next to Hammertread and punched him. He swatted the black fighter jet away to one side, and stomped over to Prowl.
Prowl faced the tank and stepped away from both Alpha and Ratchet, eyeing the tank. He held the gun in his good hand, but didn't fire.
Hammertread cracked his knuckles, a wide, evil grin spreading across his features. He mentally counted how many Autobots there were. Prowl hoped the others would rush in and help him, but they were staying back for some reason. "I knew this was a bad idea." the tactician thought.
Then ran at Prowl, spear-tackling the white tactician. Once he was on the ground, Hammertread punched him twice.
Jade, Gunlock, and Beacon swooped down from overhead trying to get a missile lock, but Prowl was in the way. The camoflauge-colored tank grabbed one of Prowl's shoulder-missiles and wrenched it free, tossing it aside...
Prowl grabbed a hold of Hammertread's shoulder, and attempted to roll, using his wings as leverage. He pushed with all his might, and shouted to Driveby to call the Ark for backup.
The tank looked up at the white femme, who was off to one side, then back down at Prowl. The Datsun struggled under the 3-ton mech, but couldn't free himself. He knew the tank might be able to grab Driveby and get away if someone didn't do something.
The tank puched him in the face again. He wrestled with the angry mech, and shouted "Get your team out of here!" at She heard him, and radioed it to the rest of her group.
"We're not going anywhere." a delta-winged fighter named Gunlock swooped down, firing a couple shots towards the two.
"Well at least someone's trying to help." Prowl thought. The others aimed at the two, but the shots just bounced harmlessly of the tank's thick armor.
Hammertread kept punching him, grabbing the other shoulder cannon. He ripped it from it's housing, leaving wires sparking and crackling. "Can't have you using those." He grinned. He puched lower, leaving dents in the patrol car's pristine hood.. Prowl felt himself starting to lose conciousness. "Someone, do something..." he thought.
Suddenly the battlefield went really quiet, and Hammertread looked up. The roar of engines filled the air, and a moment later, a black and white Porsche came flying over the ridge at 80 miles per hour, a pair of Lamborginis hot on his tail. One red, the other yellow. A Datsun with a similar paintjob to Prowl's came speeding in behind them.
Hammertread got up and kicked Prowl as hard as he could in the center of the chest. the black and white coughed, feeling reality fade..
The tank pulled out his shotgun and aimed it in the center of the Autobot's chest, right where his spark chamber lay beneath the metal. "I will have my revenge.." he whispered.
"Leave him alone!!!" A black and white blur came out of nowhere, right as the tank pulled the trigger...
Prowl looked at the cars, recognizing them even though his vision had gone almost completely black, and all sound was beginning to fade, too. "No...Jazz. Get. Out." He tried to shout. He pulled his leg up and under HT, and nailed him hard in the lower section, trying to throw him off of him.
Prime pulled up at the edge of the valley and Transformed.
"Autobots, Attack!" He thundered. Suddenly, the entire rest of the Ark seemed to appear over the ridge.. roughly 20 of them. and they all ran, flew, and drove down into the valley. Hammertread snarled and fired at the black and white Prowl again before turning to run away.
Ratchet yelled. "PROWL!" He bolted from Prime's side, and skidded towards him, hitting his knees in the dirt while landing next to his side. Above them, the silhouette dived, its shadow growing larger on the ground.
THe tank had only gone a couple steps, then turned around. He ran back towards the two, firing row after row of shots. He knocket Ratchet away and aimed his rifle straight down at the tactician's head. I'f you are stil alive and talking... I will not rest untill you DIE!!" and he fired, again.
Ratchet reached out and batted the end of the weapon away, before nailing the tank hard in the neck with his elbow.
"You'll be the one dying today, Hammertread!" and fired off three shots at the tank's head. Hammertread staggered back, blinded momentarily. "YOU"LL PAY FOR THAT!!!" The boxy tank roared and backhanded the medic as hard as he could.
The silhouette from above finally came into view, a sleek white jet with a straight tailfin. Hound eyed the battle from inside the cockpit. "Rook, how does it feel to crash in on a party?" He chuckled.
Rook smiled as his tailfin split and he fired two rockets at Hammertread. "I wouldn't know. I always seem to crash in on battles, not parties.
Ratchet's head was flung to the side as he took the blow. He went to deliver a hit, but heard the whistling from above. His optics widened, and he grabbed Prowl, pulling him back as far as possible as Rook's missles whistled and homed in on Hammertread.
The missiles found their mark, sending the tank flying a few feet, and shattering the treads on his lower legs. The tank made it back to his feet, although limping, and attached something to the end of his rifle.
He fitted a small missile onto it and fired at the large jet, then fired off a row of regular shots at Ratchet and Prowl.
"Rook! Roll!" Hound barked as the tank fired at them. Rook complied, barreling to the side and making a swift turn, the edge of his wing barely scraping the ground as they struggled to rebalance. He veered around, and landed near Bluestreak and Cable, who were watching the fight with some of the others. Hound stepped out from the jet, before Rook transformed next to him.
The tank stomped forward, ignoring his shredded leg armor, the pain only adding to his anger. Jazz zoomed over to intercept him.. "Oh no you don't" He turned on his headlights full blast, blinding the tank, who covered his face, and fired wildly trying to hit his target. Jazz deftly leapt to one side and rolled away. Hammertread flickered his optics to try to clear them and loaded another missile, firing at Prowl again.
He ran/limped towards them
"I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED YOU!" he howled at the top of his vocalizer.
Suddenly, a large blue fist collided with the mech's jaw from one side, knocking him off balance. He turned to face Prime.
"You." he spat.
"You've done enough damage today." The Autobot leader rumbled, squaring off with the bulky tank.
Hammertread growled low in his vocalizer and took a fighting stance. the Autobot leader narrowed his optics and matched his pose.
The tank was ready to charge when he suddenly felt something like a pin prick in the back of his neck. The world swirled around him, and the tank hit his knees..
"What..." and collapsed.
Ratchet grinned from behind the fallen tank. Prime looked a little relieved.
Prowl groaned, and turned his head to the side, slowly coming to. All he saw were blurs, and a very distinctive pain was radiating from his chest and arm. Prime looked over at the very dented and gashed black-and white, and Ratchet hurried over to him.
"That's.. why.. I.. plan.. ahead..." he managed.
"Just lay still, Prowl, you're gonna be allright." Ratchet knelt beside the black and white and started to assess the damage.
Jazz and Jade were the first ones to reach the unconcious second-in-command "Is he okay?" Jazz asked. "Just stay still don't move." Jade advised. The rest of the Autobots joined them, Sunstreaker ready to kick the unconcious Hammertread into spare parts. Sideswipe was next to him scowling also. Ratchet looked over the damage for a second, then simply said. "We need to get him back to base. now."
Prime looked at Hammertread as Driveby and her team walked up. "What are you going to do with him?" she asked.
"I don't know. But we should keep him in stasis" (drug-induced sleep) "until we decide." Prime said. Driveby nodded and looked down at him. She shook her head and walked away. "Too bad. You could have been a good person if you would have just tried." she whispered, shaking her head. "we'll be at our base if you need us." she called.
"Thank you. Prime said. She turned to face him, then her gaze fell on Hammertread again. She just nodded and turned away. Driveby and the other five of her team transformed and drove/flew away. Cap, who was a small Challenger type tank, paused near the top of the valley. "Byeeee!" he yelled, turning to wave widely before transforming and vaulting up over the ridge with a whoop.
Prime transformed and opened his trailer door. Sunstreaker, sideswipe, and Jazz hauled up the heavy tank and threw him none-too gently into Prime's trailer. I'll gaurd him." Sunstreaker growled. "Not alone you won't" Sideswipe followed him up into the trailer.
"I'm going too.." Jazz said, all traces of humor gone from his voice. Instead of his usually easygoing, happy self, there was a scowl written all over the visored mech's face. "Perhaps you should go with Ratchet." Prime suggested. Jazz glared at Hammertread for a moment, then nodded and walked over to where Ratchet was still hovering over the barely-concious tactician.
Jade walked over, also.
Ratchet did what he could to patch up Prowl at the time, cursing all the while. He noticed Jazz's shadow, and went silent. He didn't need to look up to know Jazz was upset. Rook and Hound walked over to them, and Hound was still limping, albeit not as bad before. Ratchet eyed him, but the jeep gave a friendly smile.
"Hiya, Ratchet! Glad we crashed the party?" The CMO just gave them a glance and a nod before turning his concentration back to Prowl.
"I'll provide you all transport home. It'll take less time then driving back." Rook stated as he transformed. Hound stepped up the ramp into Rook and nodded to Ratchet and Jazz. "Let's get him up here."
Ratchet nodded, and looked at Jazz. He hopped up into Rook's cargo area next to Prowl, looking worriedly at his friend. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe slammed Prime's trailer door shut, and Prime started his engine with a low rumble."Autobots, Transform and roll for home!"
Jade transformed and took to the sky. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bluestreak took off over the ridge, and the other Autobots transformed and started their engines with a rumble. Rook took off, clicking his tailfin back together and heading past Prime towards the Ark.
The Ark came into view, and Rook kicked his thrusters in, bursting towards the Ark and decending through the air, flying right into the entrance of the Ark. He slowed to a hover before the hallways became too narrow for his wing span, and landed. Kicking the ramp open and down, Hound helped Jazz and Ratchet carry Prowl to the medbay.
Jade landed and ran inside, following directly behind Jazz, the twins, bluestreak, and Wheeljack and Ratchet who were carrying the unconcious Prowl to the repairbay.
For the next fifteen minutes or so, everyone was grouped together in the control room talking and chattering away. Eventually, different groups parted from the crowd to go find another place to chat, or something else to do.
After about an hour, Daze walked over to Jade, and tilted her head to one side.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Out. Out!" Ratchet could be heard yelling from the repairbay. A small crowd filed out, and headed for other places.
Jade shook her head, trying to bite a pang of back worry. "Some psychopathic tank tried to rip him him to shreds. By hand.
He got in a few good punches before Rook and the other Autobots showed up. Driveby and them... they tried to stop him. He was just too heavily armored." She turned away from the doors, and noticed the figure in the shadows, leaning against a wall in the corner, next to the doors.
"Oh," the silver RAF tornado said softly, and turned around to glance at the doors. "I'm sure he'll be OK."
Jade sniffled and glanced over at the figure, who kept glancing at the doors with a worried expression. She gave him a weak smile.
The saboteur parted from the shadows, and walked over to the two of them.
"Ya'know, even if ya know someone for a few million years, ya still can't help but worry." Jazz glanced back at the closed repairbay doors. "Even if ya know they're gonna be alright." He slung one arm across Jade's shoulders, and put the other around Daze's waist. "Come on, there's nothin' we can do anyway. It's up ta Ratchet and Primus." He offered a smile, and guided the two towards the rec. room.
The trio walked down the hall, noticing Prime coming from the other direction. "Hey, big guy. Wanna go have a drink and relax for a bit?" Jazz asked. "No thank you." Prime responded "I'm going to check on Prowl."
"Oh...okay. Well, beware of Ratchet, he's been kickin' people out all night." Jazz waved and they continued on.
The rec. room was unusually silent when they walked in. Bluestreak, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and suprisingly, Bumblebee were all at one table, while Huffer, Gears, Hubcap, and a couple others were at another.
Cliffjumper glared at the unmoving, boxy tank on the other side of the forcewall. "I don't see why we have to keep him here. If you ask me, he should be melted down for scrap!" the red minibot spat. "You're right." Brawn walked over, his yellow and green armor reflecting the light slightly. "Too bad Prime's gonna arrange a trial for the sleazy slag-sucker. He doesn't even deserve one." He gave the mech a sneer, wishing he could shoot him. To bad it would be against orders.
The tank snickered and mumbled something in his sleep. Brawn took a step forward. "Don't do it, guys." Trailbreaker warned form a desk a few meters away. "If he woke up, how would you explain it to Prime if he escaped?"
"He won't escape once I'm through with him." Cliffjumper cracked his knuckles.
"Calm down, Cliffjumper. You know we can't risk waking him. Besides, Prime'll probably have him deactivated anyway." Trailbreaker shrugged. The duo eyed the mech with a glint in their optics, but after a minute turned away...
"Prowl finally came to, a searing pain racing through his midsection. "...Ow" he coughed. "Welcome back to the land of moving parts.You had me concerned there, for a while." Ratchet walked over. "That Tank-bot ripped off your shoulder cannons and left so many dents in your chassis I'm gonna have to work on your hood for a week to get them all out." He walked over to one side and took a sip of energon from his mug on the counter. "I just glad he didn't permanently damage any of your internal systems." he groused.
Prowl onlined his optics to full, and looked around. Prime was standing quietly in one corner. He walked over when Prowl glanced at him, placing a blue hand on the Datsun's shoulder. Prowl winced slightly. "You took a huges risk, and perfomed above and beyond the call of duty, Prowl." Prime said. "You did very well considering the situation, and I apologize for not getting there soon enough."
"It's okay Prime." Prowl half-smiled. "It could have been worse." Prime looked at Prowl a little suprised for using one of Jazz's favorite catchphrases, but his optics dimmed into a smile. "Just don't scare us like that ever again. alright?"
"I'm not planning on it, sir." Prowl winced.
Prime nodded "Just get some rest. I'll go tell the others the news." Prowl nodded and Prime walked out.
The rec. room doors slid open, and Optimus Prime entered. Everyone had been whispering amongst themselves quieted. Prime looked arounf the room at the anxious faces. "Well?" Jazz asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be.
"He's fine. Ratchet said he'll make a full recovery." Prime replied. THe whole room exploded into cheers and hollers. Jazz hurried for the door, but Prime put out a hand and stopped him. "He's resting, you all can visit him tomorrow." He said.
More chattering.
"If Ratchet says it's all right." he added, knowing he would hear it from Ratchet about people saying Prime gave them permission to come visit Prowl, if he didn't add that part on. The happy chatter continued, and someone even put on some music in the background.
"Sometimes, you have to take a risk. When there are too many variables in a situation." the tactician thought staring up at the medbay ceiling. "When there is a hostage involved, and too many escape routes. There is no way to tell what may or may not happen next.
Out of all the millions of variables available in a situation, it is the hardest to predict the odds of any one of them taking place. In a way, jumping into a situation with no control over what may happen, and just rely on your backup to get you out of it and off the battlefield in one peice." he thought.
"Well, Jazz told me I should be more daring." he thought just before drifting of into recharge.