Hey everybody! I'm actually on time this week! Shocking, isn't it? Well, here's chapter 13 of To Catch a Thief. Hope you like it. Oh, and by the way, I have another chapter that I'm really tempted to post. Leave a comment if you want me to and if a lot of people want me to, I'll post the next chapter later tonight or tomorrow morning.
Title: To catch a Thief
Rating: T
Characters: Prowl, Bluestreak, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Smokescreen, Red Alert
Prowl woke early as usual the next morning and got ready for the day before heading to his office. More reports were waiting for him and he vowed to get them done early so he could train Bluestreak that evening like he promised. He never left his office as he worked, though he thought he probably should have gotten some energon at one point. With the thought of energon, he felt every low on energy and stood to head to the rec room. It wouldn’t be a good idea to be low on energy when he trained Bluestreak.
He moved to open the door and froze. Something wasn’t right. Cautiously, he stood to the side of the door and pressed the button to open it. As soon as the door slid open, bright green paint was flung into his office. The paint spattered across his desk and over all the data pads that had been stacked there. With a raised optic ridge, he picked up a nearby data pad and flung it out the door, setting off another little trap that flung neon pink paint into his office. It was a horrid combination of colors and would have been rather embarrassing to have all over him if he had fallen victim to the prank.
:Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, please report to my office,: said Prowl over the com-link. A breem later, the twins walked down the hall, Sideswipe giggling madly while Sunstreaker looked incredibly smug. When the pair entered his office they were shocked to see Prowl completely free of paint leaning against the side wall of his office. “Clean it up, now.”
“What?! But you don’t even have proof that we did it!” protested Sideswipe which merely earned him a raised optic ridge.
“I don’t have to,” said Prowl, his own expression turning smug. He had remembered playing a prank much like this one when he was a youngling and to him it was child’s play. “I expect my office to be completely free of paint by the end of the shift, which is in…less than a joor. I’ll be in the rec room getting some energon.”
“That is so not fair!” cried Sideswipe.
“Nothing in life is fair. I would have thought you two would have learned that lesson by now,” said Prowl as he left the office. He looked over his shoulder before the door slid shut. “I warned you.” The twins were left staring at him incredulously as he headed for the rec room. As Prowl walked through the halls, he received strange looks for being out of his office so early in the day. He ignored the looks and kept walking. When he stepped into the rec room, everyone fell silent as they watched him warily. Normally, if he entered the rec room during the day, it meant that someone was in trouble. Prowl merely got himself a cube of energon and sat down next to Bluestreak.
“Hey Prowl, what are you doing here?” asked Bluestreak with a smile.
“Just getting some energon Bluestreak,” said Prowl.
“Didn’t you just call Sunstreaker and Sideswipe down to your office a breem ago though?” asked Bluestreak a little confused.
“I did. They had a mess to clean up,” said Prowl with a faint smirk. Bluestreak realized what Prowl meant and began to laugh.
“They tried to prank you?” asked Bluestreak and Prowl nodded.
“’Tried’?” asked Wheeljack as he walked over to sit with the pair. He had come out of his lab to relax for a little bit since he was frustrated with a project he was working on.
“Yes, tried,” said Prowl. “As you can see, I am not covered in neon pink and green paint. They are cleaning up the mess they left in my office now, so obviously, I cannot continue my work until they are done.”
“How’d you keep from getting covered in paint?” asked Wheeljack.
“They had the paint rigged to fly through the door once it opened, so I merely stayed to the side as the door opened,” said Prowl with a shrug.
“But how’d you know your door was rigged?” asked Wheeljack. Prowl merely shrugged with a twitch of his door-wings and a smirk. Bluestreak smothered a laugh since he knew Prowl used to play pranks when he was a youngling. Bluestreak had even helped him in some when Prowl targeted their older brother. Wheeljack glanced back and forth between the pair, sensing there was something going on that he wasn’t quite understanding.
“How long did you give them to finish cleaning?” asked Bluestreak.
“Until the end of the shift,” said Prowl.
“You really think they’ll finish cleaning in that time?” asked Bluestreak. Prowl merely twitched his door-wings, not really caring if they did or not because he wasn’t going back to his office that evening. He planned on going to train Bluestreak in the training room after he finished his energon. The three sat and chatted for a while, mostly Wheeljack talking about his projects and Prowl listening with interest as Bluestreak tried to pay attention.
They looked up when the door to the rec room opened and the twins walked in, both scowling and grumbling as they tried to wipe the paint off their hands. When they saw Prowl, they glared fiercely and Prowl merely raised an optic ridge in response. They were used to bots being afraid of them because of their reputation and their attitude; that Prowl wasn’t really unnerved them. He didn’t even seem to feel any fear at all and the most emotion they had seen him show was always around Bluestreak, and even then it was only a quirk of the lips or an amused light in his optics.
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe got a couple cubes of energon and sat down on the far side of the room. By their expressions and how they kept glancing towards them, Prowl figured they were either trying to figure out how he avoided their trap or trying to plan their revenge. Bluestreak got up to go over and join them, but Prowl grabbed his arm, keeping him from leaving.
“Shall we go to the training room Bluestreak? I did promise to train you after all,” said Prowl and Bluestreak lit up with excitement. Bluestreak practically bounced out of the rec room with Prowl following sedately behind him. The sight definitely turned some heads, but neither cared. Training was one of the few times Prowl and Bluestreak could spend time together and not worry about what other people would think, well not too much anyway.
“What are we going to do first?” asked Bluestreak eagerly.
“Talk,” said Prowl and Bluestreak looked confused. “This isn’t about training, it’s about me being your older brother.” Bluestreak glanced around the room and relaxed when no one was there. No one was supposed to know they were brothers. Then he looked at Prowl, confused. “I know I don’t have any control over what you do or who you hang out with, but I want to warn you about the twins.” Bluestreak’s expression turned angry and Prowl held up his hand to stop Bluestreak from protesting. “I know I can’t tell you not to be friends with them, and I wouldn’t say that anyway, but they can be dangerous. I’m giving them a second chance here, without anyone knowing what they did before coming here. I just wanted to tell you that they can be dangerous.”
“They’re not,” protested Bluestreak and Prowl sighed while twitching his door-wings.
“I just want you to be aware of the possibilities because I worry about you,” said Prowl and Bluestreak calmed a little. He supposed Prowl would have good reason to warn him, especially if the twins made him worry. “Now that I’ve had my say, let’s get to training. There’s a lot I want to teach you today.” Bluestreak grinned and Prowl marveled at Bluestreak’s ability to smile so easily after being upset. Prowl trained Bluestreak hard for the rest of the evening, and by the time they were finished, both were exhausted, but in a good mood.
For several deca-cycles, the twins tried to prank Prowl, but they were always unsuccessful and even though Prowl never had any definite proof that they did it, he could tell by his own experiences pranking his instructors and other younglings when he was a youngling. Most of the pranks the twins pulled were variations of ones he had done, but his were always successful mostly thanks to his tactical planning and battle computer. There were times when the twins found themselves on double shifts or had the worst patrols, but Prowl would never admit that it was his own subtle way of retaliating for all the messes they made.
After every prank they pulled, and after they finished cleaning it up, they spent as much time as they could trying to figure out how Prowl knew their traps were there and how he always avoided them. Of course, Prowl prided himself on all of his skills, including his less-than-reputable skills he acquired in Praxus as a youngling. There was no way he would allow a pair of amateurs to catch him off-guard when he used to be the best thief Praxus, maybe even Cybertron, had ever seen. He even made sure he never let his skills deteriorate in case he ever had a need of them.
Bluestreak often spent time with the twins, though Prowl didn’t really approve. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were fascinated by both door-winged mechs; Prowl because he could be so emotionless and because he could avoid their pranks and Bluestreak because of Prowl’s attachment to him and his own quirky personality. They thought that since the mech was so talkative, and since he seemed to know Prowl quite well, they could get Prowl’s secret out of Bluestreak, but Bluestreak was surprisingly close-lipped about his past and his connection to Prowl. That fact made the twins even more intrigued.
Smokescreen was also confronted by the twins about Bluestreak and Prowl, but he was just as secretive about it as the other two Praxian mechs. Sideswipe was beginning to think all Praxian mechs were crazy while Sunstreaker thought they were all crazy and frustrating. Smokescreen often dropped a few hints here and there, but they confused the twins more than helped them and, though Prowl secretly thought it was amusing, he sent disapproving glares in his older brother’s direction. All of it amused Smokescreen to no end.
“You think you know Prowl, we think we know Prowl, and Prime thinks he knows Prowl, but there are a lot of things about him that you will not find out unless he wants you to find out, so you may never really know him. I think the only mech that really knows Prowl is Prowl,” said Smokescreen one evening in the rec room when the twins had cornered him and Bluestreak.
“And Jazz,” said Bluestreak and Smokescreen nodded in agreement, but neither would tell Sunstreaker and Sideswipe who this Jazz mech was. They never mentioned his name again and any time it was brought up, they refused to say anything at all until the subject was dropped. They also warned the twins to never mention the name to Prowl if they wanted to remain intact. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe figured Jazz and Prowl didn’t get along at all if that was the case. In reality, Smokescreen and Bluestreak just didn’t want Prowl to know they had told the twins that name and they didn’t know how Prowl felt about Jazz anymore. The subject had never come up and neither of them wanted to be the one to bring up the subject.
After a while, the twins finally gave up trying to get information out of the Praxian mechs and tried to get information out of anyone else that seemed to know Prowl. Apparently though, none of them had known Prowl before the war. Some of them said he kind of just appeared out of nowhere and joined the Autobots when Sentinel Prime was still around. Supposedly, Optimus Prime knew more about Prowl than anyone else, but neither twin was willing to go to the Prime to satisfy their curiosity. Plus, they knew the mech was too noble to tell anyone secrets about another mech. It seemed that Smokescreen’s statement was too true. The only way they’d figure out Prowl was if Prowl told them, but both knew that would never happen.
“So, are you two still trying to figure out our SIC?” asked Smokescreen, amused. They were sitting in the rec room after another failed prank and the twins had just finished cleaning up the mess. Bluestreak sat next to them, grinning and trying to hold back his laughter.
“You two really should just give up. Nothing can get Prowl if he doesn’t want it to. He’s too good at what he does,” said Bluestreak and he looked like he had said something he shouldn’t have for a moment which the twins picked up on.
“And what do you mean by what he does?” asked Sideswipe.
“Well, he is our tactician and he has a battle computer,” said Smokescreen, stepping in before Bluestreak gave something substantial away.
“I don’t think that’s what Bluestreak meant,” said Sunstreaker with a scowl and Bluestreak laughed nervously.
“That’s exactly what I meant,” said Bluestreak nodding. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe looked put out and they were about to protest Bluestreak’s statement when the alarms made them jump. The Decepticons were attacking. The four mechs leapt to their feet and ran from the rec room. Smokescreen, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe all headed to the armory while Bluestreak headed for the command center. When he stepped inside, Prowl was getting information from everyone in the room so he could plan a counterattack.
“I want front-line soldiers out there first. Snipers, get to high ground and give support. I want flyers in the air to counter the seekers. Be warned, Megatron is out there. No one takes him on alone,” ordered Prowl.
“Sir, the Decepticons are attacking other bases planet-wide,” said one of their communications mechs.
“What?!” cried Prowl. “Bring up a map and highlight the bases that are being attacked.” The mech did as he was ordered and Prowl stared at the screen with wide optics.
“Prowl?” asked Bluestreak hesitantly. It was rare for his brother to be so silent with his door-wings so tense and held so high. Prowl glanced over his shoulder and spotted Bluestreak standing by the door. “Let me go out there.”
“No,” said Prowl instantly.
“Prowl!” protested Bluestreak.
“Not now Blue,” said Prowl and the others in the room were a little surprised that Prowl had used a nickname, he never used nicknames. “The Decepticons are attacking all bases that have strategic importance. It’s like they’re trying to wipe us all out at once.”
“Prowl, please,” said Bluestreak and Prowl spun around to face him.
“Now is not the time to be discussing this Bluestreak,” said Prowl.
“Yes it is! Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Smokescreen are out there; Sunny and Sides on the front lines. I’m a sniper, I can support them. I can’t just sit here when my friends and brother are out there fighting!” cried Bluestreak. Prowl remained quiet for several moments.
“Report to the armory and get a rifle. Get to high ground. Every time you take a shot, move so the Decepticons can’t follow the trajectory and find you, understand?” asked Prowl and Bluestreak nodded before running out of the command center. “Alright, contact the other bases and connect all comms so we can contact planet-wide.” The communications mech did as he was ordered and soon, all the bases were connected. Prowl began ordering other mechs to bring up certain screens, but they weren’t fast enough and he was getting frustrated. “Move.” Several of the mechs looked at him in surprise. “Move, now!” Mechs scrambled out of the way and Prowl sat down before beginning to type, bringing up screen after screen to study the battles.
Prowl pulled a few wires out of his wrists and connected them to the computers so he could work faster. The other mechs in the room watched in awe as Prowl commanded battles at several bases with screens flashing by faster than they could see. Prowl was glad that some bases were faring better than others since he didn’t have to worry about those ones as much. He still kept an optic on the battle there at Iacon, but his main concern was the other bases that didn’t have the elite mechs that were stationed in Iacon.
Outside, Bluestreak set up his rifle on the top of one of the high buildings in Iacon. He was at quite a distance from the battle where a sniper wouldn’t normally be placed in battle, but he thought it would be quite a surprise for the Decepticons. Once he was set up, he lay on his stomach and looked through the scope. For several breems, he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger, his fingers shaking as he remembered all the bots that were killed in Praxus. Through the scope, he saw several Autobots fall and his hands slowly stopped shaking. The Decepticons were hurting his friends and he could protect them, so he would.
Bluestreak fired several shots in quick succession, taking out several Decepticons at once. Autobots were confused, but grateful, and pressed the attack while the Decepticons were off-guard. Bluestreak quickly relocated to another building, set up once more, and fired several shots once more. He kept doing that throughout the battle, feeling sick, but he kept going. He was keeping Autobots from being killed, but he was still killing.
After at least a joor, Decepticons began to retreat from the other bases and the tides began to turn in the Autobots’ favor. Prowl unhooked from the computer when he felt that the other bases could handle the Decepticons without his direction. He felt drained and stiff from sitting so still, but there was a battle still going outside. An energon cube was shoved into his face and he looked up to see the new Security Director of the base, Red Alert. He was known for being extremely paranoid, but he was exceptionally good at his job.
“Thank you,” said Prowl and Red Alert nodded. Prowl quickly downed the cube before standing up. “I’ll be heading out to battle. Keep an optic on things here.” Red Alert nodded and Prowl dashed out of the base and onto the battlefield.
“About time you got here Prowl,” called a green and silver mech, he was the Third in Command and Head of Special Ops. Though the two weren’t close, they often traded quips and he respected Prowl.
“Bases were being attacked planet-wide Quickstep,” said Prowl. “The Decepticons have been forced to retreat on most fronts, so I thought I’d see what I could do out here.” Quickstep nodded. He had heard of Prowl’s expertise at commanding several battles at once, but he had never seen Prowl in action himself. He assumed it was worse than usual this time by Prowl’s dead-serious demeanor. Normally, Prowl was just calm and composed during battle, this time was different.
The two fought side-by-side for several breems before a trine of seekers suddenly landed nearby. Seekers normally kept to the air, but sometimes they would land to cause as much damage as they could before taking off again. This particular trine was well-known on the ground as well as in the air because their trine leader was Megatron’s SIC, Starscream. Starscream hated Prowl and always tried to go after him specifically in battle. Prowl didn’t know why Starscream hated him so much, but he assumed it might have something to do with the fact that he had the respect of his leader when Starscream didn’t.
Starscream lunged for Prowl, but thanks to his mastery in three types of martial arts, he was able to fend off the seeker who was so much larger than he was. The other two, Skywarp and Thundercracker, went after Quickstep. Prowl called for back-up, but didn’t think he would get it anytime soon. Starscream was relentless and managed to knock Prowl’s rifle away so Prowl was forced to use his fists against the seeker, but Starscream had thick armor. Suddenly, he pulled out his two energy swords. Starscream screamed as the swords sliced into his chest armor. The seeker stared at Prowl in shock because he had never seen Prowl wield swords, and Prowl smirked up at him. Starscream jerked back, yanking the swords out of his armor and shot into the air.
Prowl looked over to Quickstep to check how he was doing and stared in shock as the two seekers grabbed his arms and took off into the air after Starscream. Quickstep fought and shot at the seekers until they shot him and let him fall. Time seemed to slow as Prowl watched Quickstep fall and then slam into the ground.
“Quickstep’s down! Ratchet, get over here!” yelled Prowl through his com-link as he ran towards where Quickstep had fallen. When he reached the mech, he knelt next to him. “Quickstep, hang on, Ratchet’s on his way.”
“D-don’t…bother,” muttered Quickstep, his voice filled with static. “I’m d-done, Prowl. I…had h-hoped to…see an end t-to…the war…but I g-guess I…won’t.”
“Stop talking Quickstep,” said Prowl softly.
“P-Prowl…stay a-alive. The A-Autobots n-need…your skills…and d-do me…a favor? S-see the…end of this w-war for me,” said Quickstep.
“I will,” said Prowl. He could tell the mech was already slipping away. Quickstep smiled and his optics dimmed before going out altogether. Ratchet skid to a stop and knelt down, scanning Quickstep before cursing loudly. “He’s gone.”
“Yes, and there was nothing I could have done anyway,” muttered Ratchet.
“Decepticons, retreat!” ordered Megatron, so Prowl remained by Quickstep’s side as Ratchet left to do field repairs on other mechs. Prowl called Optimus and the Autobot leader made his way over.
“What happened?” asked Optimus when he saw Quickstep.
“It was the seekers. Starscream fought me while Thundercracker and Skywarp fought Quickstep. They lifted him into the air and dropped him,” said Prowl quietly.
“He was a brave mech. We will all miss him,” said Optimus sadly. Prowl nodded and stood. It was time to get everyone, living and dead, back to the base.
Once everything had finally settled down, Prowl sighed and downed a cube of energon that had been brought to him before heading to his quarters to get some desperately needed recharge. When he opened his door, he was surprised to see Bluestreak sitting on his couch with his arms wrapped around his knees and his head buried in his knees. Prowl walked quickly over and wrapped Bluestreak in his arms. Bluestreak turned and clung to Prowl as he shook.
“I…I killed them,” muttered Bluestreak. “They…they didn’t even know…that I did it. Mechs are dead because of me!”
“Bluestreak, this is what battle is like. Yes, you did kill, but mechs, our friends and comrades, are alive because of you,” said Prowl.
“I’m no better than the Decepticons!” yelled Bluestreak.
“Yes, you are. The fact that you feel terrible about it separates you from them Bluestreak. They love to kill and they feel no remorse. You, on the other hand, are devastated by it. You are much better than them. I won’t lie to you Bluestreak, this will always eat away at you, but you have to be strong enough to get up and keep going. Your friends are relying on you…I’m relying on you. You have to remember that we’re fighting to protect. If we fall, even more will die,” said Prowl. Bluestreak stared at Prowl for several moments before nodding, feeling cared for and protected next to his older brother. “Where’s Smokescreen?”
“Med bay,” said Bluestreak. “He got hit in the leg, so he’s waiting for the medics to get to him. They said he’d be fine.” Prowl nodded. The pair sat like that for a while, just taking comfort from each other, before Prowl decided they both needed to recharge.
“You’re welcome to stay in my room Bluestreak. I’ll be here if you need me,” said Prowl and Bluestreak nodded gratefully.
Over the next several orns, the mechs on the base all mourned the loss of Quickstep, but soon they had to have another TIC and Head of Ops. Prowl offered to help in the selection, but Optimus felt it was something he needed to do, so Prowl left him to it. Finally, Optimus announced that he had chosen a mech and he had accepted so he and his team would arrive within the orn. When the transport arrived, Optimus was the one to greet them and lead them to his office without telling the others on the base that they had arrived.
Prowl was in his office as usual, working on reports and other such things when he was alerted that Optimus wanted to see him. With a sigh, he stood up and headed out of his office. When he stepped into the hall, he spotted an unfamiliar group of mechs and immediately realized that they were the new Ops team. It seemed Optimus had wanted to surprise him with the arrival of the team and the new TIC. The mechs looked up when they saw him.
“You must be the new Ops team. I am Prowl, Second in Command and Tactical Officer. Normally, I would have greeted you with Prime, but I suppose he saw fit to surprise me for once. Welcome to Iacon,” said Prowl.
“Thank you sir, I’m Bumblebee and this is Mirage, Hound, and Blurr. Our team leader is still with Optimus,” said the yellow mech and Prowl nodded.
“If you would like to meet some of the others on the base, you should head to the rec room, down the hall and to your right. Find Bluestreak, he’ll be glad to show you around. He’ll be the one talking the most,” said Prowl, a hint of amusement in his tone and the mechs smiled.
“Thank you sir, we will,” said Mirage and they continued on their way down the hall. Prowl watched them for a moment before continuing on his way to Optimus’ office. He heard Prime’s voice through the door when he got close and opened the door without knocking since he was expected. He stepped into the room and caught sight of the mech standing in front of Optimus’ desk.
“Ah, there you are. I was just debriefing our new Third in Command,” said Optimus as Prowl stared and he didn’t respond, too shocked to even register what the larger mech had said. “Is there something wrong Prowl?” At the mention of Prowl’s name, the very familiar silver mech spun around, his visor locking with Prowl’s optics.