To Waspinator, this new world was just what he needed. Exiled from Cybertron along with the other Predacons so many years ago, Waspinator ambitiously awaited the inevitable return. He had cherished the few moments they had spent on Cybertron, as they plundered that which was most important to the Maximals, their precious protoforms. They were chased away though, like Waspinator had expected, but escaped with ease. As they jumped through space-time, Waspinator loathed looking back at Cybertron, but looked forward to the adventures ahead.
Now that they had found a planet so abundant in Energon, Waspinator was glad. This world was perfect for the Predacon cause. From here, Megatron would lead them to the ultimate victory over the Maximal slave-drivers he hated so much. They had killed his friends, ruined his home and obliterated all his dreams. From this new planet would come revenge.
The upgrade had been excellent. Only three days earlier, Waspinator had also said goodbye to something else, his bulky jet mode. Now he was light, swifter than ever, and ultimately superior to his opponents. It was in this form that Waspinator hovered over the hull breach in the Dark Side's hold.
On Megatron's to-do list, defence was number one. Their first encounter with the Maximals had almost proven fatal. Megatron was not ready to sacrifice anything yet. Second on Megatron's list was reconnaissance, and Waspinator would report to him as soon as this job was finished.
Waspinator lowered the large oblong slab of metal over the gaping hole in the Dark Side. As soon as it was in place, Terrorsaur welded it shut. The electro-magnetic shielding had been lost in the crash, along with everything else, but now at least they had a fortified hold. Waspinator smiled and flew down to where Megatron stood, monitoring the work.
"Waspinator, terrorise," he said transforming and landing next to his leader. He was three heads taller than his commander, but learned early on that this was not necessarily an asset. "Terrorsaur and I have finished, Megatron."
"Excellent," the green robot said. "Have all other weaknesses been accounted for?"
"Tarantulas has finished assessing the situation, sir, and has found no other known faults."
Megatron grinned and clenched his fists. "Those Maximals nearly won three days ago. It is imperative that they are taken care of."
Iguanus walked up and joined the two. "Then shall we attack, Megatron?" he hissed.
"No." Megatron looked to the east, where the Maximal ship sat far away in the distance. "One cannot simply charge the opponent rashly. One must prepare for such a task. As evident in the Maximal attack, lack of strategy leads to a lack of victory."
"What is your wish?" Waspinator asked, already knowing what he would reply.
"We must analyse their position. Waspinator, it is to you I give the reconnaissance mission. If you have indeed crippled them, Iguanus, it would be best to know how badly."
"I assure you, Megatron, that my work was without flaw."
"I trust that it was, Iguanus," he said. "But they have had three days to recover. Waspinator, be cautious."
"I will, Megatron," he said and transformed into his wasp mode.
"Find out whatever you can about our foes. If you meet any resistance, do as you wish, my friend. Just come back in one piece." Waspinator nodded at Megatron's commands and flew high into the morning air, over the deep forest that surrounded them.
For the past few days, the seek and destroy mission had turned into one of salvage and reconstruction. Iguanus had definitely ruined their propulsions systems, leaving the Maximals scrounging for spare parts. Had they still been on Cybertron, mechanics would have had the ship in tip top shape over night. Razorbeast, despite being an excellent star pilot, knew little of how the machines worked.
After nit-picking with clumsy tools and poorly written manuals, he'd given up, and let the others take a look. They all resolved it was best to leave it for later. They had other things to worry about, namely the Predacons and their schemes.
"At least we've still got sensors," Optimus Primal admitted after tapping a few button at his command chair. Dinobot nodded in blank affirmation.
"Yes. I am more worried about our lack of proper defences. Iguanus has made rubble out of the modified weapons I installed. It is good to have sensors to detect an invasion, but what shall we do in the case of one?"
"Your point is well noted, Dinobot," Optimus said. "I have thought out a few strategies that might..." Suddenly a light started blinking at the command console. Sensors were picking up something.
"What is it?" Cheetor asked boarding the bridge section. Optimus just stared blankly at the readout for a moment.
"Turn the viewscreen on," he said. Dinobot flicked a switch and a shot of the outdoors appeared. The grass was blowing in a small breeze, and the forest swayed in the distance. Optimus tapped a few buttons and the shot scrolled upwards to the sky. He pushed more buttons. The view shifted even higher. The blinding noonday sun was soon all that was in the shot. Optimus sighed.
"What is it?" repeated Cheetor.
"I don't know," Optimus finally said. "The sensors say that there's something mechanical directly above us, but it is too far away to determine what."
"I will adjust the screen brightness," Dinobot said. The shot dimmed, but the Maximals still saw nothing but dull sunlight.
"Maybe Iguanus did do some damage to the sensors after all," Cheetor suggested.
"That is a possibility, I suppose," Optimus said, but watched the sensor readout with a careful eye.
His eyes were highly improved in his wasp form. He could pick up anything from ultra-violet to infra-red. Now, he keenly watched the Axalon from far above. Iguanus had assured the others that his job was indeed perfect, but the new Predacon seemed a tad egotistic to Waspinator. He remained at such a high altitude as to not risk being detected, just in case things weren't what they seemed.
Waspinator could see the Maximals walking around inside their base. Their warm bodies were easily visible through the Axalon's hull with Waspinator's eyes. One Maximal was in a small room, no doubt his quarters. Another small one was inspecting the computer core, which appeared as an enormous, warm blot. Optimus Primal was no doubt the one sitting in the centre of the bridge, and beside him stood the two larger robots, Cheetor and Dinobot.
For a moment, Waspinator held his gaze on Dinobot's heat signal. This was the Maximal Waspinator wanted to encounter again the most. Dinobot had been one of the first Maximal soldiers, and therefore had to do with the Predacon exile from Cybertron. This is how Waspinator knew Dinobot from before, and this is why Waspinator wanted to meet with him again so badly.
They had a brief encounter during the Maximal attack three days earlier, but he was unrecognisable to Waspinator at first. Now that he'd had time to think things over, Waspinator was sure this was the same Dinobot that helped ruined his life so many years ago. The part that made him the most enraged was the thought that Dinobot probably didn't remember it at all. Waspinator did, and would until the end of his days.
He shut down his optics for the slightest moment, and immediately saw the charred bodies of his friends and family. Cybertron and all it's beauty flashed in his memory circuits with a stinging sweetness. But with Dinobot's proud smile standing above the remains of his home, Waspinator turned his optics on with a shudder. Things were different now. Success was not far away. With the alliance with Megatron came the fresh start for a new revenge.
Waspinator realised that he had missed something while daydreaming. Looking down at the Axalon, he noticed that Optimus was no longer at his seat.
He and what looked like Cheetor, were now at the exit, opening the door cautiously. Something was wrong.
He watched anxiously, slowly rising even further into the air. The clouds were just above him when he realised that Optimus was not getting further away, while Cheetor was. Immediately he calculated that Optimus was rising in altitude at a greater speed than Waspinator. He must have been detected. He looked down again and noticed that Dinobot hadn't moved from the bridge in the slightest. Waspinator would have rather confronted Dinobot, but Optimus seemed to have other plans.
"Waspinator, terrorise," he said and hovered in robot mode, his dart gun aimed at the approaching bat. He hummed to himself softly and prepared to pull the trigger. Optimus Primal seemed to slow his ascent suddenly, and as Waspinator fired, the explosive dart flew by the target.
"Optimus Primal, maximise," Waspinator heard his foe say. The Maximal was now sure that things were amiss. The dart had only been proof that the sensors were correct, and Iguanus had overlooked something.
Waspinator loaded another dart as Optimus came closer with lightning speed. His bat wings were strong enough to lift him at an accelerated rate, even in robot mode. Soon, the opponents were parallel, and Waspinator was sure not to miss twice. He fired. He missed.
Optimus ducked and pulled out his swords, charging at Waspinator with daunting eyes. This was indeed a Maximal worthy of the name Optimus. Waspinator soon found himself hand to hand with the blue Maximal, with a slight disadvantage. Optimus Primal's swords could only be dodged for so long. Waspinator frantically loaded another dart, and shot. This time he hit.
Within an instant, Optimus Primal was wincing in pain. The darts were poison tipped, a little something Tarantulas had developed years ago, that paralysed certain motor functions. Half of Optimus Primal's body fell limp, sending the Maximal into a frantic attempt at keeping himself in the air. With one last stroke, a sword came lunging for Waspinator.
There was a terrible clash of metal on metal, and Waspinator's altimeter abruptly dropped. His wings had been severed by the sword, and panic filled his mind. The air around him was speeding upwards at an incredible rate. He dared not look down, for he knew what was coming towards him anyway. He forced himself into stasis lock, freezing his motor joints and closing all pain receptors. The blow would be tremendous, but survivable. Such were the perils of flight. His final thoughts were of Dinobot, and how if he survived, he would surely encounter him again.
Cheetor watched and ran for cover in the grass. He didn't want to break Waspinator's fall, and had no desire of watching the impact. He turned away in time to hear the enormous crash of metal on the hard ground. Dust lifted in every which direction, and Cheetor looked up at his leader. Optimus was in bat mode again, swooping down towards him lopsided. It took a moment for him to land safely.
"Look who I found," Optimus said. Cheetor looked at the dusty heap of metal now a full foot imbedded into the dirt.
"Waspinator," Cheetor said. "Was he alone?" Dinobot suddenly came out of the Axalon, followed by Razorbeast and Rattrap.
"Optimus, the sensors detected the sudden presence of..." Dinobot started, but then saw the crumpled body at his feet. "What happened?"
"The sensors were right. Waspinator was hiding high enough not to seem important. Unfortunately, he packs a powerful punch," Optimus said stretching his wings. "Are any other Predacons detected?"
"No," Dinobot said. "It seems he was the only one." Optimus thought for an instance. "I think he's in stasis lock."
He was. He wasn't unconscious though. He ignored the millions of warnings going off in his body. Everything felt broken. Although he could not move, he could hear. Waspinator listened intently, and recognised Dinobot's voice immediately.
"We cannot let him live. Our mission has been to destroy these Predacons at all costs," Dinobot commented. It was just like him, Waspinator thought. To him Maximals were cowards, kicking their foes even when they were down, unwilling to confront a true battle.
"We will. We must," Optimus said. "Now is not the time, though. He holds information vital to capturing the true menace, Megatron." Waspinator admitted to himself that at least one of the Maximals had some sense of honour.
"So now what?" Rattrap asked.
"We put him in the brig, and make sure he never leaves," Optimus said. With this, Cheetor and Dinobot lifted his heavy body, mostly intact. Nothing was said as they carried him to an unseen section of the Axalon. Waspinator cringed at the thought of Dinobot holding him captive. For now, he let his internal repairs do what they may, and hoped that no one watched as he pulled himself together.
The afternoon sun was refreshing on Megatron's leathery hide. He lay in beast mode, basking an the mountainside. With Terrorsaur on patrol, Tarantulas working on the power generators, Waspinator spying on Maximals and Iguanus repairing weapons, he had nothing better to do than wait.
He was beginning to like his reptilian form. He recalled the moment three days earlier, when he had tasted the flesh of Optimus Primal. He would never had done such a revolting thing as his former self. He wondered how much of an influence his new savage form had on his thinking.
Metal footsteps came nearer, and Megatron opened his eyes for a moment to see who it was. Iguanus stood above him, blocking the sun's rays. Megatron groaned. "What is it?"
"Sir, Waspinator has not reported back yet," Iguanus explained. "It is possible that he has met resistance." Megatron was fully aware of this, but trusted Waspinator was merely taking his time.
"Sometimes, it is good to take the time to do things well, Iguanus. I assure you that Waspinator will return it time. He is a competed Predacon, worthy of our ranks."
Iguanus nodded slowly. "I hope this is worth the wait, commander."
"He has never failed me, Iguanus. The information he will return with will give us a great advantage over our enemy. With great anticipation, I await the day that they are merely a memory, and we can harvest the energon from this planet for our return to Cybertron. Patients brings triumph, Iguanus."
"Yes sir," he said and left Megatron to his sun bath.
Megatron had faith in Waspinator, but took Iguanus' point. Terrorsaur would be sent after the wasp, if he didn't return before sundown. In the mean time, Megatron would relax.
Opening his optics, Waspinator realised he had been asleep. His internal repairs were nearly complete, and he seemed to have control over his motor functions. Unfortunately, as he looked up from the floor, Waspinator remembered the situation, and remembered the face staring back at him.
Dinobot stood ominously in front of the electric bars that held Waspinator captive. The Axalon was dark at this end, but Waspinator could see it all. Stun guns stood mounted at the ceiling, outside the bars, ready for anything. His dart gun was nowhere to be seen. The dull hum of a generator could be heard, and as Waspinator turned on his heat-sensors, he could see that he was somewhere near the computer core.
"Good afternoon," Dinobot said with a smile. Waspinator didn't say anything in return, he was too busy remembering his home. "Optimus Primal has ordered me to fill out this interrogation, and I don't much care for it. I would much rather be... Well. We shall see." Dinobot turned and flicked a switch. A bright light shone directly into Waspinator's eyes. He didn't budge, though, staring at Dinobot's face in rage.
"This can be simple, Waspinator. We can talk about your presence on this planet, or we can take you apart and let the computer sort things out." Neither spoke for a moment. Dinobot seemed slightly concerned that the fall had damaged the Predacon's circuits.
"I'm surprised you remembered my name," Waspinator finally said.
"I didn't. Optimus told me all about you. Now..."
"What?" Waspinator asked sharply. Dinobot looked at him curiously.
"Should I know you from somewhere else, Predacon?" he asked. Waspinator's fury grew.
"You killed my friends. You ruined my home. You've made slaves out of my people." To Dinobot this sounded precisely like every other Predacon he'd ever met.
"I suppose so..." Dinobot said. "But this really doesn't help the situation that you're in, Waspinator."
"Doesn't it?" Waspinator asked. Dinobot didn't follow, so he clarified.
"Do you remember Sector 91, Maximal?"
"Briefly," Dinobot admitted. "It had been a Con-Zone for decades before we came along."
"Do you remember the Predacons you killed that day?" Waspinator asked.
Dinobot's memory suddenly triggered a few old databases. He remembered encountering resistance in a dark tower. Three Maximals and eight Predacons were killed because of this resistance. Dinobot remembered a face in the darkness. It was Waspinator's.
"Why, yes, Waspinator. I do remember you now. Come to think of it, you were the only survivor. You had given up and were taken under custody. Later that week you had miraculously escaped the Maximal Elders, and fled into space. It has been quite a while, hasn't it, Waspinator?" Waspinator didn't budge. "I see how this very situation could resemble your encounter with the Maximal Elders. This time however, I doubt you will escape." Dinobot turned around to the computer console. He pushed two buttons and a message interrupted. "Security code required," it said. Waspinator moved quickly.
"Security code Dinobot alpha beta alpha," the Maximal replied quietly, but Waspinator overheard while he moved. The computer complied and the stun guns were charged. Dinobot flicked two more switches and adjusted a few knobs, aiming the stun guns into the cell. By now Waspinator was done.
"Let's get down to work, shall we?" Dinobot asked, but Waspinator was gone when he looked back. An insect leg had been jammed into the lock circuitry, shorting out the electric bars. Three bars had been removed and were sitting motionless in the cell floor. As for the Predacon's whereabouts, Dinobot had no clue. He was amazed at how very quiet Waspinator had been. Needless to say, he cursed and flicked the alarm.
Running was not Razorbeast's specialty. His new beast mode was bulky to say the least. He raced down the hallway as fast as he could, sirens blaring in the corner of every room he passed. As he stumbled up to Rattrap's room he scraped on the door with his tusk. It opened slowly, and Rattrap jumped out in beast mode.
"What the heck is all this racket?" he asked. Razorbeast snorted and nodded down the dark hallway.
"Dinobot sounded the alarm from the brig. Waspinator may have gotten loose."
"How?" Rattrap asked. Razorbeast didn't know, but started down the hallway again. "Where's Optimus?" Rattrap asked over the sirens.
"He and Cheetor went out on patrol. They should be back soon," Razorbeast yelled behind him. Rattrap shrugged and reluctantly followed.
Waspinator hovered down the dark halls in beast mode. Dinobot was surely behind him somewhere, following his trail, and the others knew by now what was happening. The sirens were certainly getting rather annoying.
The escape wasn't that miraculous. He remembered the day he'd fled Maximal Central Command, which was a far more difficult endeavour. For three whole days, non-stop, he was forced to run, backtrack, hide and defend himself in the heart of Sector 1. Legend was he was the only one ever to escape without losing his life. Looking back, he wasn't surprised that he was the only one. It wasn't easy. Ingenuity and skill had saved him that day, but he'd get through this fiasco much easier.
The Axalon was not a difficult ship to figure out. Waspinator had seen schematics of similar Maximal vessels since the day he went on-line. On the top floor, the bridge sat at the front, followed by crew quarters, a living area, storage and the top half of the central computer.
The second floor held the c.o.'s quarters at the front, the sensor equipment and computers, followed by a weapons bay, shield generators, secondary bridge, the brig, the bottom half of the computer core, and the two- floor engine room.
The bottom floor held the only entrance to the ship, a cargo hold, the power generators, backup equipment, life support, gravity generator and the rest of the engines. This is where Waspinator was heading. His ultimate goal was to get to the computer core, but knew that the Maximals would expect that much. It was best to divert their attention if at all possible. Waspinator hoped to reach something as important as the engines, so that he could trap the Maximal's and download vital information from the computer.
At the end of the hallway, nearly directly underneath the bridge, stood the main elevator. Waspinator slowed down with caution. If any Maximals were on the upper level when the sirens rang, this is where they would most likely appear. He stowed himself in the nearest shadow, watching the elevator and keeping an eye open for signs of Dinobot.
For a few minutes, nothing happened. Suddenly, the elevator started moving downwards. Someone was approaching from the bridge. Waspinator transformed and held up a fist in defence. The nearest door led to Optimus Primal's quarters, and would prove to be useless if the commander was inside.
As the platform came into sight, so did Razorbeast and Rattrap's robotic feet. Waspinator took a chance and headed into Optimus's room. With a quiet humming, the door closed behind him and Waspinator was luckily alone. Optimus' quarters were the last place he'd expected to visit that day. He had to work fast.
Rattrap stared down the hallway at the quickly approaching Dinobot.
"Don't say Waspinator's loose," Rattrap said.
"Waspinator is loose," Dinobot replied, hitting a small button on the wall. The noisy siren stopped. "I had not realised who he was at first. This is the same Predacon that fled from Maximal Central Command so many years ago. It seems escapades are his forte."
"Then he could be anywhere?" Razorbeast asked.
"Yes," Dinobot replied. "I suggest that we each take a floor. He should not have gotten off of this one yet, but one must be certain. I will take this floor."
"I'll head back up," Rattrap said. Razorbeast nodded and they turned for the elevator. Dinobot, meanwhile turned to the nearest doorway and frowned. He wasn't normally allowed into Optimus' quarters. He would have to make an exception.
Waspinator had gone through Optimus' belongings and had found a small laser scalpel, suitable for his needs. He was finishing the final cut into the floor as he heard the Maximals speaking outside.
Quickly, he lifted open the floor panel and slipped into the mesh of wires and ducts. He brought the scalpel with him, just in case. Closing the panel above him, he heard the cabin door open, and Dinobot stumble in. In near total darkness, Waspinator started crawling along a thick pipe labelled 'engine coolant 5A'.
Dinobot looked around. He was impressed at how big his commander's quarters were, compared to his. This did not matter now. Dinobot noticed that some of Optimus' drawers were in disarray, but never thought twice about searching the floor for cracks. He turned and continued his search on the rest of the his floor, Waspinator inches beneath him all the while.
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Waspinator: Escapade (2 of 2)
