| abstract
| - Friday, August 03, 2012, 7:47 AM Brussels, Belgium In the walled city of Brussels, the passage of time seems to have stopped a century or two ago; step-gabled guild houses, gothic churches, and antique shops from the 14th and 15th centuries line the cobbled streets. At the city's center is the Ilot Sacre, the Sacred Isle, the old merchant heart of Brussels with streets named for the merchandise they sell, such as the Rue des Bouchers (Butchers Street) and Rue des Marches aux Herbs (Herbs Market). Tourists, strollers, and artists crowd the streets, the sound of the French, Dutch, and English languages attesting to the varied heritage of the people. Yet Brussels is the seat of the European Union and of NATO, in direct contradiction to its quaint atmosphere. FORTY YEARS AGO The Atomium, famous landmark of the Belgians! It is 102 meter high recreation of an iron crystal! Read about it here: But then the Decepticons attack! Megatron lands beside the landmark, followed by Starscream and Soundwave. "Megatron, why are we stealing this thing again?" "Because, Starscream," Megatron says. "I WANT IT! And it would grieve the humans to lose it! That is reason enough! Now, help me steal it!" So Megatron gets under one of the spheres, Starscream gets under one of the others, and they both try to lift it. But the structure audibly strains at the effort! "Megatron! It's going to break!" Starscream whines. "You're pushing too hard on your side! Slowly, dammit!" Megatron yells. "No, YOU'RE pushing too hard!" "SHUT UP!" LATER Megatron is pacing around, waiting for the Constructicons to get here. Starscream's sitting on his butt, tapping his chin. LATER Hook and Scrapper are looking at a big schematic while Megatron hovers over their shoulders. They're taking their time, though Megatron is getting impatient. LATER The Decepticons are about to start welding it together when the Autobots show up! "If you want atoms, Megatrahn," Ironhide says as he leads the charge, "We can REDUCE YA TO ATOMS!" There's a big fight and the Decepticons lose. "I'll be back for the Atomium, Autobots!" Megatron roars as he flies away. "ONE DAAAAYYYY! I'LL BE BAAAACK...." NOW Belgium is celebrating Guy Megatron day, and everyone is wearing Guy Megatron masks. Imagine Megatron with a pointy chin and the beard and mustache. Yeah, that. It's a grand event and everyone is having a great time, booze is drunk, there's carnival games, food, so on. F-35B Lightning II sort of feels like she is carrying the Idiot Ball today, but that's okay! So she's going to try to steal the Atomium because... Megatron wanted to steal it a few decades ago? Maybe this will demoralise the humans? Show them what is what? In any case, she flies into the area with a vague plan of shooting a hole in the ground, throwing a bomb down the hole, and then grabbing the Atomium once it has been loosened up. While Avarice nobly risks his neck? Sweepcraft slowly descends towards the Atomium. His sensors survey the area. He is sure he has been detected so a military response is to expect. Since he wants to draw attention away from their target, the sweep changes his course and dives towards a nearby building. He fires at it, blasting the wall to pieces and showering the street with debries. Now, this should draw attention. EDC/Autbot response will be painful but at least he's not stuck trying to lift that...thing. Amber MacKenzie is visiting Brussels today in the performance of her original profession: reporting. This is an excellent opportunity for favorable press on the Autobots, and considering her fears for them, they need all the good PR they can get. Dressed in faded jeans, a dull brown leather jacket, and wearing a Guy Megatron mask, she blends in with the rest of the partygoers. Occasionally, she'll stop and quietly chat up a Belgian who she overhears speaking English, asking about his opinion of the Autobots' intervention. At least until the shooting starts. Bloody hell, not again! For reasons that Bluestreak does not quite understand, he and other Autobots have been asked to attend this celebration. He assumes it is for security reasons, although seeing humans around him looking like Megatron with a mustache is just odd to see. That and just being surrounded by Megatron's FACE is more than unnerving enough. Action soon did come though, in the form of a Sweep shooting at a building. Random act of terrorism indeed. "I got this covered Amber." He told her as he drove on ahead to where the shooting is coming from. And then the Decepticons attack! Who could have expected this on the anniversary of the thwarted theft attempt forty years ago? Certainly not the Belgians, who abandon all thought of celebration and flee for their lives, screaming. Well, not all of them. A few really drunk Belgians stand around, watching, thinking that this must be part of the event or something. Those are actually Autobots, right? And where is the EDC!? Franklin Cross, in fact, is in a secret lab at the moment, working on new secret weapon. He seems deep in concentration. Then he gets a notification of the attack on his earpiece. "Oh for... bloody hell, I was almost done!" Grumbling, he leaves the lab, making sure it's nice and locked up. A column of black hovers high above the ground as a white and grey jet begins a second pass. There is no attack, only pinpoint precision. A value in the back opens, releasing a yellowish substance, creating a second column, next to the first. He makes a turn, and readies for another pass, this time releasing a red column into the air. Once that's done, Brainstorm will begin work on some waving lines, just adding to the effect, creating something of a starburst around the Belgian flag. Sideswipe had come with Amber. He didn't like her going anywhere by herself without some sort of escort. So he went with her...but he was down in car mode this time. He drove her around where she needed to go, but simply parked in places he could easily get to her if thigns got ....messy. So from time to time he moved to a different area. He was near the building that was hit, piecs of concrete coming down on him. Perceptor has been requested to join a few other Autobots at this...strange human celebration. He finds it odd that the humans are rejoicing over something such as the Decepticons stealing one of their monuments some years ago. But he presumes it is for security purposes, which he understands just fine. When the Decepticons attack, appearing to be attempting to steal the Atomium again, he also finds that strange. What use could they possibly have for the human monument? You know those days when you just know something is going to go wrong, but keep hoping it doesn't anyways? Yeah, this was one of those days. Actually Talia was in Europe for entirely different reasons than some silly celebration. Since she was the -experienced- aircraft pilot, she got the wonderful job of going around to various EDC outposts to give these young kids that only know exo-suits some much needed re-instructing. Which all goes out the window for the most part when word comes through that the Decepticons are celebrating the anniversary in their own way -- Recreating the attack! "Ah reckon y'all better strap in and hang on back there, yer gonna get to see what one of these babies can do up close and personal afterall. Yeehah!" No time to drop the extra men off as she readjusts course towards the attack, so it's a good thing the Firehawk actually has some abiet cramped crew space back there. Sweepcraft quickly spots the Autobots in the crowd, "Having a party Autobots?" he mocks. He soars into the sky, trying to draw attention away from the Atomium and taking evasive maneuvers to avoid being blasted out of the sky. "Contrail... I think we should have brought more arms..." F-35B Lightning II transforms, lands, and stares at the Atomium. It is bigger than her and Avarice combined. /Maybe/ if she gets the thing unmoored, they might be able to lift it, if they really both put their backs into it, but... 80s Megatron had better appreciate what they are doing here. Contrail sighs and gets around to trying to put some small shaped charges around the support poles. And now Amber's secondary profession comes into play, and after nodding to Bluestreak, who she hadn't even noticed was there until she heard his voice, she darts towards the watching drunks. Unfortunately, she doesn't speak Dutch, French, or German, but at least she finds an English speaker to translate! "Tell them that the attack is real, and that they need to get out of here," she orders just loudly enough to be heard. "Sideswipe," she transmits locally. "Did you see that?" She spares a quick look around, trying to locate the red Lamborghini, but the fleeing crowds make it hard to spot him, so she looks to the skies to locate the bad guys. She sees a Sweep go by, but that's all. If the drunks haven't figured it out yet, she points to the smoking building, the Sweep that just passed overheard, and the fleeing crowds. And if *that* doesn't work, she grabs their arms, urges her translator to do the same, and pulls them towards the narrow streets between the buildings. Datsun 240z stops and transforms back into his robot mode. He looks up at Avarice, watching the sweep move about. A moving target is definitely a hard one to take down, but he wasn't working on his sniping skills for nothing. Taking out his rifle, he takes careful aim at the Sweep, not wanting to miss. Combat: Bluestreak misses Sweepcraft with his Ion-Charge Disperser Rifle attack! The white and teal Cybertronian Jet makes a minor course correction, coming about to face the Sweepcraft. Brainstorm transmits on an open frequency, "Decepticons, you will descendent, transform, disarm, and surrender yourselves, or you will be fired upon." And to make a point, he fires a warning shot across the sweeps bow, "Do I make myself clear?" Combat: Cybertronian Jet misses Sweepcraft with his Warning Shot (Disruptor) attack! Lamborghini Countach grunts as the several pieces of concrete land on his hood and he snarls, <>. He moves and transforms into his bot mode. Its the only way to be able to take aim at the Cons, <> Franklin Cross is now in his tank, being ferried to Belgium via cargo plane. He drums his fingers across his knees, waiting. He decides, while he waits, to radio his men with the following order, <> Meanwhile, the person Amber is speaking to nods at her, and finds a podium with a microphone. Glancing back nervously at the rampaging Decepticons, he says in Belgian, his voice carried across the area by the speaker systems, "Everybody, get the hell out of here before you die! It's a real attack!" For emphasis, he adds, "AHHHHH!" and runs away. VSC-25 Firehawk taps the side of her flight helmet to respond directly to Cross. <> The taps it again to switch from the closed EDC freq to the local NEST one. Meanwhile a couple of the soldiers step out to take the controls of the machine-gun stations at the sides of the Firehawk's rearward compartment, but aren't shooting yet as Talia circles the aircraft around, getting a good look at the scenerio down there and giving the locals time to get the heck outta dodge Perceptor takes note of Avarice's jeers and random firing at a wall. These were certainly signs of a diversion... Scanning the area, he spots Contrail placing charges around the Atomium. Were they planning to destroy it, now instead of steal it? Maybe that would be more enjoyable for the Decepticons, and perhaps more effective at demoralizing the humans? At any rate, he would do what he could to keep innocent humans from being injured. The scientist moves closer to where the fem is working, and takes careful aim. Sweepcraft seems to dance around in the sky as he does his best to avoid the incoming attacks. Once he is sure he dodged everything, he replies to Brainstorm, "Did you really expect me to comply Autobot? You must be a fool." The sweepcraft turns around and speed towards the headmaster firing a short beam of energy at him. He doesn't wait to see the result and he dives towards the Atomium, "Contrail...we need to speed up the operation. There is more Autobot here than strange odors in Blot's lair." Combat: Sweepcraft strikes Cybertronian Jet with his Power Disruptor attack, slowing Cybertronian Jet and making him less efficient. Contrail is using small shaped charges, the kind that should detach the Atomoum from its moorings without destroying it, not high demolition explosives that would destroy the whole thing. She doesn't have all of them set yet, but she blows the ones she has already set - at the very least, the humans will have to reattach the Atomium back to the ground in a few places now, if nothing else. Yes, Contrail is mildly annoying Belgian construction workers. She is living the dream. Brainstorm did not expect the Decepticons to comply, but he had to offer to settle things peacefully. To the Autobots below, he radios, "We must protect the humans." He is struck by an energy beam, which singes his outermost layer and a wave of energy washes over him in a pattern reminiscent of ripples in a pond. "I'll have to deal with that later, for, let's see if what we can do about chasing away this Sweep." Recalibrating his weapon system, he fires a soft white light that begins to grow in intensity. The beam holds steady, widening, and enveloping the Sweepcraft. Brainstorm follows, chasing Avarice, trying to keep her within the beam of blinding light, but he's a bit more manoeuvrable than Brainstorm. Combat: Cybertronian Jet strikes Sweepcraft with his Photon Bath attack! Amber hmphs as she ends up having to support a couple of unsteady drunks. "They failed at this once, maybe they want to fail again. Are you all right?" Oops, one of them almost falls, and she has to haul him back onto his feet with quite some effort; he's a portly gentleman. She's a gymnast, not a body builder! "Thank you, sir!" she calls to the unknown man as he flees and tries to do the same. Not much further now, but she keeps an eye out for any other civilians. Oh, and for any lurking Decepticons, too. It's puzzling that there are only two. Bluestreak sees that Brainstorm got hit after the Sweep completely dodged the attacks anyway. "Hey, you forgot one over here birdbrain! Although you don't look like a bird, birds are more interesting, at least I think they are. " He heard some celebrating humans saying something about watching birds before the attack happened. Either way, he heard that saying once, he thought it was kind of fitting. Although he thinks that birds were smarter than Decepticons, whichever, he just didn't want to miss this time. Combat: Bluestreak misses Sweepcraft with his Ion-Charge Disperser Rifle attack! VSC-25 Firehawk on the other hand is very maneuverable, but this is why at the moment it's not chasing the two airborn craft. Instead Talia as brought it down to a low hover, to let the rest of the EDC soldiers jump out of the back. Save the two that already took to manning the sidegun positions. "Basic crowd control protocol; keep an eye out fer stragglers and injuried. Ah'll pick y'all up after the fireworks are done!" Then once they're clear of the ship and spread out to do their duty Talia pulls the Firehawl back up into the air. Now to see about helping the Autobots out... or getting in a good debilitating shot to follow 'orders'.... Sideswipe moves over to Amber, seeing that she needs some help getting the drunks out of the way as well as getting people moving in the right direction...away from the confrontation. "Geesh, just can never go out and have a good time, always someone gotta spoil it, don't they." he grubles as he actually has to pick up a drunk and put him back on his feet afte rhe stumbles and falls over his own two feet. Perceptor moves slightly closer to Contrail as she is haranguing the human construction workers, hoping to get a better shot since it appears she hasn't noticed him yet. Hmm, upon closer examination, it appears that the charges she's planting are not in fact large enough to destroy the entire structure, only dislodge it from its moorings. So they -were- trying to steal it again. Why that was he couldn't quite fathom, other than demoralizing the humans but there were a multitude of ways to demoralize humans.... He peers through his scope briefly once the targeting info has registered, then fires at her back. Combat: Perceptor strikes Contrail with his Laser Cannon attack! Franklin Cross is still on his way! <> He frowns at an MFD, showing the cargo plane's proximity to Belgium. <<...five minutes.>> He leans back in his cockpit, sighing. As confused drunks waddle away from the scene, there's a newcomer to the scene! Two yellow Decepticons arrive, landing near Contrail. "Contrail, we heard you needed help!" one of them says. "Well, we are... THE CONTRACTORCONS!" The other explains, "We're contractors, you see. Uh, I'm Concrete and he's Wrecking Ball. Yeah, I know." Wrecking Ball scowls at Contrail. "There's nothing wrong with our names! Anyway, we're here to help you do what the Constructicons failed to do, and when we do, WE will be the prime builders of the Empire--oh, crap--" He jerks away from Contrail as she takes a hit. Sweepcraft is struck right on his underside and lose control of his flight. He ends up crashing into the ground, thankfully missing the Atomium, raising a huge cloud of dust/earth/concrete. He transforms back into his robot mode and rises from the hole, answering back to Bluestreak, "You are just not worth my attention Autobot. You would need to be able to hit a gestalt for that..." His optics start glowing with more intensity with every passing second, "... but since you beg for attention...". Twin red energy beam fly frmo hi eyes towards the Autobot. Combat: Avarice's Energy Dissipator attack aimed for Bluestreak backfires, and he strikes himself with his Energy Dissipator attack! Avarice suddenly seems to lose control of his attacks as he's engulfed into a cloud of red energy, "Noooooooooo!!!!!!" Contrail looks at the Contractorcons dubiously. Then Perceptor shoots her in the knee. She bellows, "Perceptor, for a supposedly smart Autobot, why are you shooting at someone who is /handling explosives/ when there are /humans/ around? Is it because you are Autobots are /incompetent/? Or are you just /apathetic/? I suggest you surrender now, before you inevitably cause some terrible catastrophe, such as setting Texas on fire." She waves a hand dismissively. Then she turns to Concrete and Wrecking Ball and directs, "Can you two... tow this thing if I get it completely loosened from its moorings?" Without waiting for an answer, she returns to setting charges, while Avarice distracts the Autobots with his face. No, no, Bluestreak does NOT beg for attention. Well, recognition, but NOT attention. He was glaring at Avarice angrily when he saw red beams coming from the Sweep's eyes when he transformed. Yelping before reacting quickly, he dived behind a piece of broken concrete, the beam shooting right back at the Decepticon after hitting a window from the building over. The gunner peeked up as the Sweep lost control, and a sigh of relief can be heard from him. Amber MacKenzie gives Sideswipe a charming smile as she helps the other drunk into the shelter of a butcher's shop. Hey, he can hide behind one of those huge, stainless steel freezers. "Maybe I'm just a jinx, Sideswipe. Better go out and teach them the error of their ways." The narrow road leads further into the densely-built city streets and cross streets, a good place to avoid Decepticons. Though tempted to go back for a better look at what's going on, Amber decides against it. No need to make herself into one of those hapless civilians who need rescuing. She finds a wrought-iron table and chairs outside a cafe and sits down to watch. Her view isn't all that great, but she's not stupid enough to run back into a firefight. Oooooo, a crash. No harm in just peeking around the corner... Brainstorm seems genuinely surprised to have driven the Sweepcraft into the ground with his light show. He does a few circles, remaining aloft, and fires down upon Avarice and Contrail whenever they look like taking to the skies. Radioing to his comrades, he sound sheepish, "I don't often get to report this, but we appear to have achieved air superiority. I shall try to retain it and keep them bottled down there for you." "Tow this thing?" Concrete says, and looks at his partner. "Uh, well, none of use turn into... tow trucks." Wrecking Ball offers, "Well, you're a cement truck, maybe we can strap onto your back or something." Concrete just stares at him. "Oh, shut up! You're always putting down my ideas, Concrete! You're a terrible partner!" Wrecking Ball says. "Uh, well, look, lady, we'll think of something if you can get it loose, sure, whatever." Meanwhile, Cross sighs. Four minutes out. Perceptor is well aware that she is handling explosives. But his aim is good enough that he can shoot at her without shooting the explosives. In fact just about any mech who can fire a weapon should be able to hit her without hitting the charges, especially at this fairly close range. But he doesn't bother with arguing. It's not worth his time, anyway. And actually maybe this entire ordeal isn't really worth his time. There are only two Decepticons present so far, and those charges Contrail is planting aren't enough to do -that- much damage. There were far more important things to be done back at the lab...he sighs in irritation and shakes his head. Sideswipe looks down at Amber, "You sure you're going to be all right?" he says and seems torn between making sure people (and amber) are safe, and going to fight. Heck, there seemed to be quite a few to beat up on the Cons as is. But then he looked down the way and saw the two new Cons and sighed. "Yeah, I guess so..." And with that, he takes off at a bit of a run towards the monument, right into the thick of things as always. Go go Sideswipe... "I don't think you've got the right permits to be doing any work here, sweetheart," he says as he takes a swing at Contrail. Combat: Sideswipe strikes Contrail with his Piledriver Arms attack! VSC-25 Firehawk continues to just circle overhead for the time being, as the Autobots seem to have things well in hand with the mad bomber, and she's watching to see if that sweep actually crawls back out of his hole. Avarice finally manages to shutdown his eyebeams. As he does so, he falls to his knees, looking exhausted. The power he received are powerful but he is still unable to control them perfectly. Suddenly, he raises his optics and looks straight at Bluestreak before leaping into the air. He descends towards the Autobot and attempt to grab his head with both hands. Combat: Avarice strikes Bluestreak with his Draining Touch attack! Contrail wants to be on the ground, right now, so Brainstorm does not particularly concern her at the moment. That, and she can always just drive out. It's not like Belgium lacks for fancy sports cars. She'll blend in. Somewhat. Contrail pokes at Perceptor some more, "Recklessness like yours, Perceptor, is why Rodimus Prime put a hit on your head. You bring shame upon the Autobots!" She is nodding along to Concrete and Wrecking Ball when Sideswipe smacks into her, which is going to make it tough for her to keep up with this business of detaching the Atomium from the ground. Chunks of her armour fall to the ground. She snarls, "The only permit I need is /this/," and she taps her Decepticon badge. "Now get the slag away from me, or I'll blow the lot of you sky high." She draws her whip to try to deter Sideswipe. Combat: Contrail misses Sideswipe with her Whiplash Whirlwind attack! "Good luck, Sideswipe," Amber says quietly. As for that enticing corner, no, she's not going to peek. No doubt there's a lurking Decepticon just around that corner. She snickers at her own paranoia, but better safe than sorry. Hmmmmm. Looking back along the street, she spies just what she needs: a taller building. One last look towards party central, and then she trots off to slip into the building and take the elevator not to the top floor, but to one just high enough to give her a good view of the action. Find a narrow window, a chair, bring out her camcorder, and she's sitting pretty. A familiar orange and white, some brown too, F-16 looms into view in the skies above. Wobbly at first, then a little worse as time elaps.. some smoke trails from one of the intakes as it comes into view. <> Transforming, the Seeker hits the ground with a *THUNK* and scrapes along the way to a stop. "I SWEAR, they're little evil airmines." he groans, picking some feathers from his chest. Turning towards Contrail, "What is the meaning of this?" he asks, looking around. "This is a Decepticon holiday, and you intend to bring this about with a Sweep and two Conjunkticons??" he pipes up, "And you didn't think to invite I.. BACKFIRE, Glory of the EMPIRE??" Just when Bluestreak thought it was safe to stand up again, does he get a divebombing Sweep coming his way. He tried to duck but it was futile, as he felt Avarice grab him by his very sensitive cheveron. He barely had time to yell in reaction, and he swung a right hook into the sweep, hoping to get him off. Combat: Bluestreak strikes Avarice with his OUCH! My head! (Punch) attack! Brainstorm, seeing Avarice return to the air, this time in robot mode, immediately begins raining down upon him with directed energy blasts. "That was a bad move, Decepticon." He tries to use his superior position, and angle, to shoot Avarice in the back, right between the bat-like wings, but Sweeps are notorious for being difficult to keep down. Combat: Cybertronian Jet misses Avarice with his Low-Yield Photon Pulse Cannon (Disruptor) attack! And sure enough the Sweep is back up again, and going after poor Bluestreak this time. Drat, too close to the Autobot to risk using the big gun, but as Talia swings the Firehawk around and tilts a bit, the other confrontation also comes into clear view of the sidegunner. A combination of normal bullets and tracer rounds buzz through the air, both trying to score a few shots on the would-be bomber and her buddies, try to keep them pinned down for Sideswipe to get back into the fray Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk misses Contrail with her Tracer Machinegun attack! Concrete and Wrecking Ball are wasting time arguing instead of helping Contrail fight the Autobots. Still, Backfire gets their attention when he arrives. "Hey, BUDDY," Wrecking Ball says, and you get one guess as to what he turns into. He pokes Backfire's chest with a forefinger. "We're the CONTRACTORCONS, and you remember that name because when we steal the Atomio or whatever it is we're going to be big. Bigger than the Constructicons! Believe it!" Meanwhile, Cross listens to the spare radio transmissions and continues to watch the clock. Two minutes. Argh. Have to get there before the Autobots ruin everything... Sideswipe grins as he sees Contrail try to hit him with her whip, "Hey babe, I don't go for that kinda stuff unless it's at least the second date. And then not unless you're begging to give it to me." He bends a little backwards and is missed by the whip. He's grinning from ear to ear. It's not often he gets to have fun with another Lambo. "Maybe I should set you up on a date with my brother, Sunstreaker. You two seem to both have anger management issues. A perfect pair if I do say so myself." And with that he reaches out to grab the hand that holds the whip, trying to tangle her up and keep her from doing much more with it at th emoment. Combat: Sideswipe strikes Contrail with his Bad Touch (Grab) attack! Avarice is punched in the face, which knocks him away from Bluestreak but also cause him to accidently dodge Brainstorm attack. Obeying Contrail, he refrains from charging back at Bluestreak and instead transforms and rises into the air. Turning around, he goes after the Headmaster firing the sweep's infamous laser lasso. Combat: Sweepcraft misses Cybertronian Jet with his Energy Lasso attack! "Contractorcons? But you looking nothing like TRACTORS!" Backfire shrieks back, taking to the air after Contrail commands. "You sit on a throne of lies.. LIES!" he hollers back down to the two Decepticon gumbies, turning his attention to Sideswipe. Balling up a fist that starts to glow bright green, the Seeker dashes forward.. feet thrusters alight and carry him towards the twin. "You mean the brother I KILLED to death? Ahahahaha, how fragile he was.. he was from France, no?" Without waiting for a reply, Backfire attempts to smack Sideswipe in that big mouth of his with some tainted energon. Combat: Backfire misses Sideswipe with his Tainted Love attack! Contrail is actually... happy to see Backfire. Mark this down. At least they will have another firedraw! Her expectations are so low today. Contrail manages to evade the Firehawk's fire, but Sideswipe hits home, grabbing her whip. She sees Avarice taking to the air and waits on Backfire. Once he also takes to the air, Contrail vaults away from the Atomium, possibly dragging Sideswipe along, because he's holding her whip. Then she pulls out a bomb. If Contrail reasoned this correctly, it ought to hit the idiots on the ground, but ought to be weak enough to not include the Atomium in its radius. Grinning, she declares, "Autobot, the only thing I want with your brother is to give you to him - in pieces, in a box," and she throws the bomb. Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe and Bluestreak with Suckers!'s Huge Explosion #10324 Area attack! First, Amber sweeps the open area of the park with her camcorder to locate the battling Transformers, but as long as they aren't near her, they don't have her attention just yet. For now, she's using her zoom to look for any civilians left in the area. If any are seen, she broadcasts an alert to the Allied channel, basically acting as a spotter. Occasionally, she will keep tabs on the battle, but until the people are clear, they're the priority. Of course the big bang catches her attention. Bluestreak catches Sideswipe's warning much too late, as he was still recovering from Averice's attack. The explosion knocks him back into the next building over, and there he remained for the moment, not moving as quickly. After three minutes pass, the gunner makes to stand again, obviously injured now. Yeah, getting the Cons attention was a BAD idea. Wrecking Ball stamps his feet in front of Backfire. "No, stupid, we're CONTRACTORCONS because we're contractors! We do the jobs that the Constructicons can't handle!" Concrete sighs, explaining, "He means the jobs they're too busy to bother with." "SHUT UP CONCRETE YOU AREN'T HELPING!" Franklin Cross gives his MFD another glance. One minute out. God, this has been the longest five minutes of his life. Sideswipe had gotten dragged a little ways with Contrail as she tried to shake him loose...and that's when he saw the bomb. He was too focused on that to even notice too much of the jib Backfire was sending his way along with an attack, other than to let Talia know to take care of him. He sucked in air through his vents and tried to make a grab for her hand in hopes of stopping Contrail from triggering it but it was too late. The shockwave knocked him away from her and back onto his aft, plowing him through the planted flowerbeds around the monument. He came to a sudden stop up against the very thing the Cons had been trying to steal. But it took ALOT more to put this Bot down and he'd only just started to fight. Not even bothering to dust himself off, he rolled and pushed himself up, making a flying smashing tackle for the Lady Lambo before she could go too far. Now he was pissed and it showed on his face with the snarl of fierceness. Combat: Sideswipe strikes Contrail with his Shoryuken (Smash) attack! "Looks like Sideswipe is popular as usual," Talia muses with a smirk to herself as a second Seeker decides to jump of the Lambo as well. "Hey now, don't give him all the attention, there's plenty to go around here." Pulling the Firehawk to a stop and swiveling mid-air, until the main gun in front tracks towards Backfire. The chambers click and rotate to load, and then with a loud thmm fires a armor piercing inciderary round at the loudmouth toxin flinger. "Fire in da hole!" Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk misses Backfire with her Spitfire APIRs attack! Sweepcraft misses his target, busy as he is watching the effect of Contrail's bombs on the Autobots. He then circles around the Atomium emitting to the two yellow mechs, "Stop talking and get this thing airborn for the glory of GALVATRON!". Coming back towards the Autobots/EDC, he quickly assess the situtation and decide to target one of the human craft. As soon as his decision is made, he fires his weapons towards Talia. Combat: Sweepcraft strikes VSC-25 Firehawk with his Power Disruptor attack, slowing VSC-25 Firehawk and making her less efficient. "He's.. ignoring me?" Backfire intones while floating in the air, the energon wafting into the air in green wisps until coming to a stop. Shoulders sag, the Seeker covers his optics as Contrail sets off a bomb to ensnare both the Autobot cars. Then some fire comes in over his head. The orange flattop swivels to the right, eyeing the Firehawk and its driver. "Are you serious?? First one of the twins flat out IGNORES me.. now I'm relegated to a third stringer." Backfire barks, arming his twin arm-mounted lasers. "I, BACKFIRE.. the great Decepticon hope.. on GERM detail." he shouts in disgust. Instead of firing at Talia, as Avarice sweeps in (haha, get it.. sweep) to take her on.. Backfire turns his attention to Bluestreak and fires. Combat: Backfire misses Bluestreak with his Pew Pew! (Laser) attack! Contrail gets smashed into by Sideswipe while the Contractorcons completely fail to be useful. She picks herself back up, transforms down into her car mode to shoot at Sideswipe and the Firehawk. Somewhat confused, she says, "I... don't think Bluestreak is a germ? I'm pretty sure he's a Datsun." Combat: Lamborghini Gallardo strikes VSC-25 Firehawk but misses Sideswipe with her FN Minimi 5.56mm Light Machine Guns Area attack! As she hadn't spotted anyone in the past several minutes, Amber finally concentrates on the battle. Behold, an idiot... That's one. Contrail, not an idiot, is two. Unidentifiable Sweep is three, and two... er, yellow Constructicons? Well, they're four and five. On their side are Talia - she recognizes that aircraft - Sideswipe, Bluestreak, and Brainstorm. She frowns and fidgets, worried, as she sees Sideswipe and Bluestreak go down. Sideswipe gets up again, but where's Bluestreak? Then Talia gets hit, twice... Not again! Bluestreak thinks as he manages to see that clown of a Decepticon Backfire try and shoot at him. Ducking behind some fallen concrete once more, he stands up and throws one of the fallen pieces of destroyed building at him. Combat: Bluestreak misses Backfire with his Have some Concrete (Smash) attack! In the cockpit Talia mutters something as the Seeker proves to know how to duck despite not seeming to be too bright on the uptake, little flares going off where the shots hit the ground and fizzling out. Machine gun fire rattles across the Firehawk's exterior on one side. And an energy bolt on the other side that causes several of the output gauges in the cockpit to go wonky. "What in the tarnation?!" .. On the other hand, a Decepticon with some weird subsystem like that would make an interesting subject for the science geeks to pick apart. It's debatable on just how keen she is on that idea, but orders are orders. So it's on orders that the Firehawk swivels around again, cycling chambers once more, and letting loose with a much louder retort of firing in the Sweep's direction with explosive munitions. "This time go down anna stay down!" Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk strikes Sweepcraft with her HE Autocannon attack! Sideswipe rolls to the side and pops up onto his peds as he watches Contrail transform down into a Lamborghini, "Wow...what a sexy beeotch you are! Such a shame your looks make me wanna put some wrinkles in that fasade" he says with a wolf whistle. And with that, he leaps up into the air and attempts to come down on her hood with the old pile driver arms, to give her a 'little' love tap all over her exterior. Combat: Sideswipe misses Lamborghini Gallardo with his Love tap..tap..WHAM! attack! [Pulled -1] Wrecking Balls throws up his hands in dismay. "Hey, I'd love to get this thing in the air, but the plane lady has to set off the other charges, first!" Concrete holds up a finger. "Oh, I know, I can set up a barrier so they can't shoot at us while we work!" He transforms into cement truck mode, spewing out a stream of concrete that, amazingly, solidifies perfectly into a concrete wall, just the right height to obscure a Cybertronian standing behind it. Then Wrecking Ball also transforms into crane mode, and swings his wrecking ball into the wall, smashing it to bits! Concrete transforms, staring at his partner, aghast. "What did you do that for!?!" Wrecking Ball transforms, blinking. "I... I dunno... I thought..." Well, at least all the concrete dust is obscuring them a little. Meanwhile, the plane is finally overhead, and Cross's tank falls out the back hatch, dropping towards the scene. Sweepcraft grunts in pain as the bullets rip into his frontal armor, damaging some subsystems but failing to slow down the unicronian. As he flies towards the firehawk, he transforms back into his robot mode. Extending his arms, he attempts to catch the terran vehicule. "I never tasted one of your crude technological defficient vehicule... let's see how it is." Combat: Avarice misses VSC-25 Firehawk with his Draining Touch attack! [Pulled -1] "Well, I'm SURE there's some bug guts on his grill." Backfire replies, "BUG GERMS!" Twisting out to the path of the building debris, the Seeker whips out his Hypno-Ray Rifle and arms the weapon. "No chattering to jest, Bluestreak? No long-winded quibbles about our despicibility?" Aiming the weapon at the Autobot, Backfire pulls the trigger. "Turbo-Cat got your tongue??" Combat: Backfire's Hypno-Ray Rifle attack aimed for Bluestreak backfires, and Backfire strikes himself with his Hypno-Ray Rifle attack! The circular rays reverse direction, enveloping Backfire! The Seeker plops to the ground with hypno optics, a bit of drool escaping the corner of his mouth. Lamborghini Gallardo swerves away from Sideswipe's bad romance and decides to try to get back to planting charges on the Atomium to free it from the ground. Surely, there cannot be many supports left to go? ...and why is there all this dust here? And the remains of a wall? She mutters, "What the," as she busies herself with charges again. And then Spinister is behind Sideswipe, in a pretty bad ass pose. It's not important how he got there. What's important is that he's got Neb weapons in either hand, Hairsplitter pointed at Swipe's chest. It's Singe, however, that gets in the dig. "Alright, poser. Step away from the hot mech." Hairsplitter opens fire, the area washed in the sweet purple glow of mysterious Decepticon laser fire! Combat: Spinister strikes Sideswipe with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Amber MacKenzie is back to simple action reporting. She pans her camcorder from side to side to pick up the various combatants. Where the fighting is fast and furious, she lingers. When it slows down, she moves to another part of the battle. For some reason, she seems to have missed General Cross's question. Just too busy trying to save lives and exercise her freedom-of-the-press rights. Bluestreak says, "Oh, you are interested in chatting? I can really chat your audials off you know, it is said that is my talent really even better than my shooting skills which seem to be off the mark today but oh well what can you do right? It is not often I get to talk to someone else while fighting I don't really do witty banter really well-" Bluestreak babbled on as he takes an even bigger piece of concrete, ready to hurl it at the obviously un-funny Decepticon. "-speaking of-" He then hurled it again, throwing it harder than he did last time. Or tried, Bluestreak realized this concrete was heavier than the last... Sideswipe hand turned to look after where Contrail had sped off too. Damned, she was going back to the monument to plant more bombs. He had to stop her! A he turned to give chase...grinning like a fiend, he suddenly felt the barrel of the laser rifle pressed up against his back and felt the pain shoot through his armor. He staggered forward with a yell of surprise and a grunt of pain as he, spun and tried to make for a grab at Spinister's riffle. Combat: Sideswipe misses Spinister with his Gimme that! (Grab) attack! "Dammit, Wrecking Ball, this is why it's so hard to work with you," Concrete says. "You don't know what you're doing half the time, you just yell and smash things. No wonder we don't get any good jobs!" Wrecking Ball counters, "No, we don't get any good jobs because YOU... you suck! And another thing--" THWAM! Franklin Cross's Jump Tank lands directly on top of Wrecking Ball, pinning him to the ground. "Argh, my back!" the Contractorcon yells. "You bastard," Concrete yells. "He has a bad back! I oughta--" The Jump Tank sprays him with Autocannon rounds, and Concrete jumps back. "Ow, OW!" "Decepticon," General Cross announces, aiming his turret down at the back of Wrecking Ball's head. "You are now EDC property. I'd wish you a nice life if you ever had one to begin with." He switches on his radio. <> "POW! Warpath to the rescue! Da dut da dut da dut da dut da duhhh!" exclaims a red tank that arrives on the scene. "So which BLAM, Decepticon needs a shot across the nose?" His turret rotates slightly, trying to sight in a Decepticon. It settles the crosshairs on Spinister, who's at the moment trying to mess with Sideswipe. "BLAM, BAM, KAZAM!" A shot fires from the turret, its orangey yellow beam lancing across the gap between the tankbarrel and the Decepticon Targetmaster. Combat: Red Tank strikes Spinister with his ZIP! ZINGO! ZAM! (Laser) attack! As the Sweep charges at the aircraft Talia just smirks and pulls back on the controls, taking full advantage of the Firehawk's VTOL capacity to rise almost straight up out of the way the rushing attack. Although the thrum from the engines is a bit louder than usual as they strain to keep up with the flux of energy still aggrivating the systems from that beam attack. The aircraft resumes a more defensive positioning over the battle... And Talia having to keep a snicker down as Cross lands his tank -on- one of the Decepticons. <> Talia radios back. One sidegunner tracks after the Sweep and fires a volley of machine-gun fire at him, while the one on the other side tries to riddle a few rounds after Contrail still trying to mess with the monument. Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk misses Avarice and Contrail with her Covering Fire (Full-Auto) Area attack! Spinister gives Sideswipe a nod. It's a total 'come at me bro' gesture. He sidesteps the Red Twin with every intention of deceptijudo tossing him, but walks into a blast from Warpath, instead! "Yeeeeeeeeah, Bots have been doing a lot of double teaming lately..." Hairsplitter drolls. "Then we change our tactics." Is Spinister's simple reply, leaping into the air and leading with his Dragon Ball Z Super Attack equivalant, Singe and Hairsplitter glowing blue, unleashing a massive blast of fire and laser energy at Warpath! OUCH! Combat: Spinister strikes Red Tank with his With Your Powers Combined... attack! Contrail is trying to plant shaped charges in a dust cloud, which thankfully saves her from the Firehawk's fire. Because of the dust cloud, she doesn't notice Franklin Cross trying to kidnap Concrete and Wrecking Ball. Pretty much all she can see is the support in front of her and the charge in her hands, so if the cloud clears, she'll be a pretty easy target... Avarice easily evades the Firehawk attack by diving under it. He is about to retaliate when he is distracted by a tank landing on one of the Contractorcons. The sweep ponders interfering but they are pretty close from the explosive... Avarice finally decides to finish off the other Autobots first and he unleashes his eyebeams on Bluestreak who happen to be nearby. Combat: Avarice strikes Bluestreak with his Energy Dissipator attack! Shaking his head, Backfire rises into the air. "Worry not Contrail, I shall deliver the EDGE we need for VICTORY this day!" he shouts, small globules of energon growing in each of his palms. Eyeing all those around him, he gasps. "Reinforcements?? Where did these new Autobots and EDC troops come from???" Whirling around, Backfire's jaw drops. "This is either a hologram projection or the Autobots are CLONING!" he rages, obviously just still dizzy from the Hypno Ray and seeing in double. Thrusting each arm out to the side, the tiny balls shoot off in random directions. "DEATH FROM ABOVE!!" Combat: Backfire's Double Vision! attack on Red Tank goes wild, and he strikes Avarice with his Double Vision! Area attack! Combat: Backfire's Double Vision! attack on Sideswipe goes wild and he strikes Contrail with his Double Vision! Area attack! That attack has temporarily affected Contrail's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Backfire's Double Vision! attack on Bluestreak goes wild, and he strikes himself with his Double Vision! Area attack! Combat: Backfire's Double Vision! attack on VSC-25 Firehawk goes wild and he strikes Avarice with his Double Vision! Area attack! Combat: Backfire's Double Vision! attack on Franklin Cross goes wild, and he misses Contrail with his Double Vision! Area attack! When she sees General Cross enter the fray, Amber concentrates on him. Her customized camcorder is the very best civilian money can buy, but that may not be good enough. Turning the gain up high, she tries to record what he's saying as well as doing. Considering the good general's opinion of Decepticons, she suspects she won't like it, but she's not doing this to indulge her like or dislike of the man; she's doing this to record the facts. Amber does take more precautions when she catches a glimpse of Spinister. Instead of sitting in a chair in front of a window, she kneels so that only her camcorder is visible and watches on the viewfinder. It's not ideal, but she has reason to know that Hairsplitter has excellent vision. Sideswipe growls at Spinister as he sees him attack WarPath but then he sees a little bit of thsi and that through the dust as he realizes Contrail has gone back to setting bombs! He can't let her finish! He turns away from those two, Warpath and Spinster, and heads towards the Lady Lambo, trying to find her amongst the dust that is now starting to settle, "Hey, I need to see your permits honey. I don't trust this on your say so you know....You look...shifty! HA! Get it!" And with that, he shifts down into Lambo mode himself and tries to ram Contrail and maybe run her over. Combat: Lamborghini Countach strikes Contrail with his Pull Over! Let Me See Your Permits! attack! "OW, hey, what was that, an attack straight out of anime?" the red tank taunts, "Now here's a ZING, real attack to help you cool off!" An icy shell flies out of his tankbarrel, flying towards Spinister, hoping to make popsicles out of him and his two targetmaster partners. Combat: Red Tank strikes Spinister with his Have some Ice on YOU! attack, and that attack has temporarily impaired Spinister's Agility. (Crippled) Franklin Cross is content to remain where he is, sitting on top of Wrecking Ball. Concrete wants to boot him off, but honestly he's not that much of a fighter and doesn't like pain, so instead Concrete hides in an alley. Cross is choosing more targets when he sees that one of the Decepticons apparently went berserk and attacked his comrades! "What in the--" he mutters. "Faulty programming, clearly." Well, can't have the berserk Decepticon kill his prisoner, now, can he? "Time to put the mad dog down," he remarks as he fires a few quick bursts at the Decepticon from his machine gun. Combat: Franklin Cross misses Backfire with his Brappp Brappp (Pistol) attack! VSC-25 Firehawk works quick on the controls, and the Firehawk responds by sharply nosing up and turning away from the randomly flying globs of energy... which seem to do a better job of hitting other Decepticons than they did any of the good guys. "Well, Ah reckon it's true what they say 'bout friendly fire ain't." Now where did that Sweep go... Oh there he is, trying to harass Bluestreak some more. Well we can't have that. "Firin' hot, light 'im up!" she calls, as one of the machine-gunners reloads with 3-to-1 ratio shells-tracers clip and opens fire on Avarice once more to give the uneasy gunner some assistance. Combat: VSC-25 Firehawk strikes Avarice with her Tracer Machinegun attack, and that attack has temporarily impaired Avarice's Agility. (Crippled) Avarices armor melt under Backfire's attack. The sweep screams in pain as he is slowly turned into something that looks more like Toxic the ravager than a cybertronian. "You bloody fool! Look at what you've done!" As soon as he completes his sentence, he is struck by tracer shells, which dive right into his now unprotected internal systems. Gathering his strength, he manages to take off and transform. "You're going to pay for this fleshbag." He circles around to accelerate and then comes right back at the firehawk at full speed. Combat: Sweepcraft misses VSC-25 Firehawk with his Ram attack! Spinister gets punched into the air by Warpath's icy attack, folding into his attack copter mode to recover and regain control of his trajectory. Hovering over the battlefield, the Targetmaster surveys the battlefield, deciding on his next manuever. <> "Yeah." Singe smirks. "That's what she said." He pauses. "Wait, am I doing that one right?" Contrail is blinded by Backfire's hadoken. So even if the dust wasn't there, she still would have no idea what is going on. Then Sideswipe slams into her, and well, she can /feel/ that, the feel of Lamborghini panelling caving in her own. Contrail yelps and turns into a jet, though she stays sitting on the ground. Her missiles sort of home? Maybe they can find Sideswipe, even if she can't. She lets one off the chain, anyway, though it won't have much distance to get up speed. Combat: F-35B Lightning II misses Lamborghini Countach with her AIM-120C AMRAAM attack! Hovering in the air, staring at the quartz emitters on his palms.. Backfire just sorta pauses in the carnage. "So wait, what are we doing here again?" Getting the Sweep's attention off Bluestreak is a success, and Talia just smirks as Avarice transforms and comes rocketing back at the Firehawk instead. "Now there's no need to go blowin' a seal," she drawls out. "But if ya wanna play chicken." Despite the lagging energy readouts she thrusts forward as if to meet the Sweep head-on... But at the last moment the Firehawk spins to the side in a way only something capable of hovering could do, proving to be the superior maneuverer at the moment as the craft rotates out of the path without impact and the Sweepcraft shoots by. "At least ya look the part!" "Ha ha! Whirlybird target practice, my ZING, favorite!" the red tank shouts, "ZAP! POW! It's like shooting mosquitos!" He aims his barrel at Spinister again. "Anyone mind if I PEW, clear the air? The sky is getting a bit BING, polluted!" Combat: Red Tank misses Spinister with his tracer fire! (Pistol) attack! WHOHOO!! Sideswipe actually managed to hit her! In the dust and dirt even! WOO! And that's when he felt her shift and heard the missle fire and go off nearby. "Whoops! Missed me, by...that much...." he says. He backed up, then transformed, trying to see through the dust. She was planting bombs and he needed to find a way of getting rid of them....or getting the Con who had the detonator to be out of commission. "Hey Lady!" he says as he tries to find her in the dust, hands waving a little ahead of him, glad that things are starting to settle some, "How about a little game of 'Rock Em Sock Em Robots?'" If he just can get zeroed in on her, he can give her an old 'one two' punch....If not, it'll be a 'Swing and a Miss'! Combat: Sideswipe misses F-35B Lightning II with his Rock-Em-Sock-Ems attack! [Pulled -1] Franklin Cross curses his aim. Damn dust clouds everywhere. He tries to fire again at the Decepticon. Surely he should be able to hit someone who's standing still? Regardless, his autocannon roars again, trying to hose down the Decepticon with rounds. Beneath him, Wrecking Ball groans in pain from his back injury. Combat: Jump Tank misses Backfire with his 20mm HE Autocannon attack! Bluestreak gives a grateful salute to Talia for pulling a diversionary tactic for him. He was still feeling weak though, and not much help to anyone. He moves to take cover again, hoping to recover enough to DO something soon. F-35B Lightning II hovers into the air, which pulls her away from Sideswipe's attack and radio-detonates the charges on the Atomium. (Hopefully. The charges might turn out to be duds! She'll feel really dumb if that is the case.) Then she tosses a tow hook down onto it and... dumps a bunch of her ammunition and fuel to reduce her weight so that lifting the thing will be easier. She will still need help with towing it, though. Sweepcraft misses his target but, oddly, he doesn't come back to strike again. Instead he positions himsefl above the Atomium, launching a magnetic cable that lock onto the structure. Rocketing over towards the two hard working Decepticons, Backfire lands on the ground and does his best to get the Atomium moving. "Ahahahaha, watch as we ABSCOND with the ATOMIUM you pathetic fools!" Jump Tank raises his autocannon up at the Decepticons... but decides not to fire. <> he transmits. <> Wrecking Ball lets out another pathetic groan. Concrete flies up to the other Decepticons and, being helpful, seals the metal spheres together with some shots of glue from his wrist, preventing the whole structure from flying apart in transit. "Sorry, Wrecking Ball, but, uh... sorry!" When the charges went off, Sideswipe felt himself buffetted with the concussive forces and he stumbled forward as bits of concrete and rubble pelted him. "Hey! I didn't even get your number sweetheart!" he teased as he stumbles out of the dustcloud and looks upward as the stupid piece of artwork heads ...north? Up...whatever! Taking aim, he decides to see if he can't get a little coup on Backfire and tires to hit him with a little flash-bang! Never know, he might drop his end of the deal. Combat: Sideswipe misses Backfire with his Magnesium Phosphorous Flares attack! Combat: Red Tank misses F-35B Lightning II with his POW! PAZING! KAPUT! (Laser) attack! As much as Talia would love to give the other Decepticons a proper goodbye, she's got orders to follow. A bit of the lingering dust is kicked up by the mini-vortices of vented air as the Firehawk comes to hover just over the jump-tank.. and all three of it's adjustable weapon mounts, that's one autocannon and two machine-guns for those keeping count, train on the supposedly wounded Decepticon. "Ah reckon ya'd do right kindly to just not get up now, bucko." Amber MacKenzie won't be stirring as long as there are Decepticons about, not counting Wrecking Ball. Bluestreak gets up slowly, as he watches the Decepticons take off with the statue. He swears that the Cons go after the craziest things. He limps closer to the wounded Con on the ground. "Need any help Talia?" He asks her. Sweepcraft starts to pull with all the power of his engines. Lifting thr Atomium will not be easy but he contributes as much as he can. This mission is a success, or will be once they're back at the base, despite the fact they lost Wrecking Ball. F-35B Lightning II evades Warpath's shell, probably due to the dust cloud? Eyeing Concrete's 'helpful' glue, she tries to fly off with the Atomium with the help of everyone else. Very, very slowly and awkwardly. Next: The Great Pyramids??? Wrecking Ball watches, miserably, as everyone takes off without him. "Dammit, Concrete, you coward! Argh... ow..." Suddenly he's aware of what's going to happen to him. "Wait, human, you said I was... EDC property? Uh..." Visions flash before his optics of arms being disintegrated. "Woah, woah, woah, hold on! No way, they're gonna disintegrate me! I, uh, I'll go with the Autobots, thanks! I'll take a cell over being dead any day!" Mysterious Attack Copter assists in the towing of the payload, Singe complaining that there wasn't nearly enough murder and burning happening... Finally getting the payload moving and up into the air, Backfire has no other option of simply latching onto it with his hands and enjoying the ride. This doesn't stop him from heckling the EDC and Autobots. "Ahahahahaha, we distracted you long enough to make away with this.. uhh.. special stuff that we need. Eat it losers!" No one said he was adept at it. Sideswipe suddenly sees what's going on with Wrecking Ball and hears what he says and though he has NO love for the Decepticons, he has even less love for what's been going on and Cross's new way of thinking when it comes ot Mechs in general though he's not said it aloud to anyone but Ultra Magnus and Amber. He shakes off the effects a little from being banged around by the blast charges and moves to hover over Wrecking Ball, "He's coming with me." he states simply. "I'm taking charge of this prisoner....." Bluestreak looks at Sideswipe for a moment when he said that, then looks at Wrecking Ball. Looking at Talia, he pipes up. "I'll assist Sideswipe." VSC-25 Firehawk is just staying hovering where it is, Talia keeping guns trained on Wrecking Ball in case he tries anything funny. Just keeping him covered as ordered, she's not getting involved in any of the factional politics over the matter. "Excuse me?" Cross says over his PA. "No, I don't think so. We captured this Decepticon, and he belongs to us now. I don't see what right you have to tell me otherwise." His tank rolls off of the Decepticon, who doesn't spring up or anything--he does seem to be injured. "As soon as the extraction helicopter is here we'll be taking him to one of our facilities. What happens to him from that point isn't your concern." Sideswipe shakes his head, staring at Cross, "I don't think so. He's surrendered to the Autobots. That's us. Bluestreak, Warpath and and I. He's coming with us as a prisoner of war, not with you to be a lab rat." Amber MacKenzie does *not* stop recording. This is what it's all about, and she is pure investigative journalist right now. She has to smirk at that, since she never had an interest in it before. Environmental issues were her specialty. The smirk vanishes, replaced by sorrow. Ohhhh, Sideswipe. And Bluestreak, too, stepping into the breach for *human* rights. A shame that Cross's definition of human is limited to "*my* species only" and hers is "all sapient beings". Jump Tank pops open the top hatch of his tank to glare at Sideswipe. He holds up a little mic to his face so he continue speaking over the PA. "No, absolutely not, Sideswipe. This is our planet, our laws. If you intend to respect those laws, then you're going to stand aside and let us take this prisoner in." He looks up. Somewhere in the distance, a large helicopter is approaching. "Well, Decepticon, that looks like your ride." Bluestreak actually stands between Wrecking Ball and the Jump Tank. "No, he's our prisoner." He is actually trying to buy time for Sideswipe on this, even though he is visibly tired, his optics are determined and steely. Sideswipe grimaces. He takes up his stance on the other side of the Con, obviously in private radio contact with someone. "I am following your laws. He's surrendered to us. Not to you. So according to you're Geneva Convention, we take him into custody until such times as a formal complaint can be filed against the agrevanced party. Ok, when did Sideswipe suddenly become...smart? Or at least did he listen to someone or read the laws...when did that happen? Contrail takes flight to the Skies above Western Europe. Talia decides she's had enough of this. She's a soldier, not a negotiator. But how to not break orders? ... Oh good, there comes the chopper. So she's not really needed for airlifting after all, and the Firehawk lifts away from the confrontation. "Your ride is here, sir. Ah'm gonna check on the troops that handled crowd control, makes sure there's no injured needing transit." Jump Tank 's lips press together for a moment as he looks supremely frustrated. "I don't give a damn what the Decepticon wants! He doesn't have any rights, so what he wants doesn't make any difference to me, or to you, for that matter! So I expect the lot of you to stand aside and let us proceed! And--" He glances up at the Firehawk, and sends her a transmission, <> Bluestreak optics narrow at the human. "Of course you don't." He told him, letting it hang in the air for a moment. "I think the term for it is 'humane', at least with us- he'll be better treated." The gunner does NOT step aside, not by a long shot. He does stand there and give an icy glare though. Sideswipe snarls in frustration, jabbing a finger at his own chest, "Well I do! I may not like what they stand for and might have been fighting against them for a million years but they are Mechs, just like me. If they don't have any rights, you're saying I don't have any rights, and neither do any of the other Autobots. Because like it or not, Cons are Mechs, just like us Autobots. We're all the same damned race of beings. So it does make a difference to me what he wants...." Peterbilt 352 Car Carrier rolls in, transforming and striding forward. Giving a glance at the helo above them, the City Commander gives a look at both the Decepticon prisoner and one Franklin Cross. "We need to talk." From the reaches of subspace, Magnus' power armor appears and clacks onto the albino robot mode producing.. ULTRA MAGNUS! Hardhead walks behind Magnus. "I believe General Cross would be interested in exchanging the prisoner, in return for some one on one time with our Scientists. In the spirit of cooperation, I think this would be a fair bargain." Sideswipe is standing over the poor armless Decepticon, as is Bluestreak. He doesn't have a weapon pulled but his hands are clenched into fists, weapons enough for him. He's facing Cross and willing to continue arguing for some time if that's what it takes. "Hardhead, escort Sideswipe and Bluestreak back to base on the double. Have them seen to by medical." Ultra Magnus asides to the Military XO, optics still set on Cross. Bluestreak is just standing there, staring at Cross with that same icy look. His face is expressionless, cold even. It is a look that the silver gunner usually saved for the Decepticons. And he was looking at Cross like that... Jump Tank glares at the two Autobots. "Well, I'm afraid that's how the laws were interpreted. I'm sure you'd prefer it otherwise, but this is how it is, for better or worse. You can speak to the UN Security Council about it but rest assured that they fully support me in this. So the Decepticon is..." Then, enter Ultra Magnus! "Yes, Ultra Magnus, could you please tell these two to step aside so we can extract the prisoner?" A short man, notices that the fighting is over, approaches the arguing group. "Ah, hello?" he says in fairly good English. "What is going on here?" "Ah, Prime Minister Weyer," Cross says to the man. "Not to worry, we'll get this Decepticon out of here in a moment." Hardhead looks coldly at Magnus for a long moment, his fists clench at his sides. Slowly, he looks back to Sideswipe and Bluestreak, then back to Magnus, then back to Sideswipe and Bluestreak. "Good work, soldiers." He motions Sideswipe and Bluestreak over towards him." Bluestreak looks at Hardhead, a much more neutral and friendlier look than the one he gave Cross. He then looked back at Cross, then at Wrecking Ball, Magnus, and then finally Sideswipe. Amber MacKenzie quietly tweaks the controls on her camcorder to compress and burn copies of the already-recorded data onto a number of mini-discs. Yes, while it's still recording. These, she stores in a safe place. Cross is out there, so she's not out of the woods yet. She takes a moment to radio certain people to let them know what's going on with her. If he catches her, Cross may only want to fine her for speaking on the Allied channel, but then again... Sideswipe doesn't look happy...maybe he's channeling his brother a little bit? His optics narrow dangerously as he looks towards cross then flash in frustration when he looks at Hardhead. Finally he looks down at the Con, his expression changing to one of...worry? Maybe even...fear for his well being? Maybe the Red mech feels if another mech falls into the wrong hands...to be dicscected, who's to keep all their secrets from being learned, all their weaknesses from being exploited...and then it's just one step closer to being overtaken and controlled, imprisoned or annihalated when they're no longer useful. He hesitates a moment longer, trying convey his sense of appology to the Con without saying the words and then glares at Cross one more time before storming off. This is not good, this is so not good. "Warpath.. Brainstorm, give them proper cover to base." Ultra Magnus denotes, either unconcerned with the steely gazes and clenched fists.. or having missed them altogether. Though the latter insn't likely, considering his attention to detail. When they're out of earshot, the City Commander continues. "General Cross. As always, we've worked together on facing the Decepticon threat. While Prime has yet to meet with you to discuss the parameters of the Geneva Convention changes, if any he might have, I can not in good conscience allow you to leave with the Decepticon prisoner." "Namely, he's surrendered to my forces. Even under your own stipulations and agenda, this is bad form to take him in. Secondly, the Autobots are more suited to house Decepticon prisoners while the EDC is in a rebuilding efforts. If at any time you would like to question said prisoner, you need just schedule a visit in advance to Autobot City." Ultra Magnus finishes saying his peace, arms crossed over his chest plate. Bluestreak gives one last look at the Decepticon, not really expressing anything, before he follows Sideswipe and Hardhead. Sideswipe follows with Hearhead, shoulders hunched and neck tense. Hardhead takes a few steps away from Bluestreak and Sideswipe, just far enough to escape Ultra Magnus's peripheral vision. He holds up his hand in the universal halt sign, refusing to take any more steps. Upon hearing Magnus' words, he grunts as he looks back at Sideswipe and Bluestreak. "Return for repairs." "It's now what he knows that I care about," Cross says narrowed as he stares up at Magnus. "It's what he's *made of.* And to be blunt, it may be bad form, but I am *well* within my rights to go ahead and do it anyway." "Hold on, now," Prime Minister Weyer says. "We Belgians have been friends with the Autobots for a long time! Yes, the Decepticons got the Atomium, but the Autobots will try to get it back, I'm sure! And furthermore, we're a major contributor to the EDC!" "Prime Minister," Cross says, trying to be patient with the man. "Please, let me take care of this." He rubs his chin, feeling his opportunity begin to slip by. Bluestreak looks at Hardhead, then proceeded to go back to base. Nothing more he can do here. "True, Prime Minister Weyer. In fact, I will debrief my team the moment I am back to Autobot City." Ultra Magnus reassures him. Turning to Cross, "Your rights? Surely you care about fostering the interfaction relationships just as I do, General Cross. Finally, I cannot allow you to torture and/or use this individual in any sort of scientific research efforts. If you want to advance you offensive capabilities.. feel free to contact Crosshairs or Wheeljack to share notes." Taking a step closer to the Decepticon, Magnus lowers his arms and gives the Con another look of pity. Mouse in the trap, is the human expression. "Have I made myself clear?" Hardhead continues to watch from his fall back position, clearly not content to leave Ultra Magnus alone with the EDC. "I have to agree with Mr. Magnus, then!" Prime Minister Weyer says. "The Decepticon should go with him." Cross realizes, at that point, that he's lost. The Autobots won't relent and he's risking the EDC's funding on top of that if he pursues this. His brows furrow angrily. "Alright. Fine. He's yours. But your... assistant, he wanted a compromise. I think I overheard him something about meeting one of your technicians?" He disappears into his tank for a moment, then pops back up, having reviewed a list of candidates. "If you could us send us First Aid to help us, we would be... willing to overlook this incident. We're in need of new facilities, as you've probably heard, and we could use some help in getting a new set up." And why First Aid? Because he's not likely to be a problem. "Consider it done." Ultra Magnus chuffs out, hauling the Decepticon up by his chest piece. Is he.. missing limbs? This one is in tough shape. The City Commander gives the Prime Minster a brief nod, "Thank you for your approval, Mr Prime Minister. I will have a team on this within the hour." "Hardhead, load this one up." Magnus calls out without turning around, perhaps knowing the Headmaster better than he knows himself. Transforming, Ultra Magnus can't wait to get back to Autobot City and put this behind them. SHAZZAM!! Behind the '78 White Peterbilt 352, a car carrier or red, blue, and grey colors hatches onto the back.. ready for, towing? :("Ow my back!" Wrecking Ball says. He doesn't prove to be a problem. As for General Cross, he narrows his eyes at Magnus, then drops back into his tank, sealing it up. "You win this time, Autobot, but the next Decepticon won't be so lucky!" Dun dun dun! Hardhead nods to Magnus as he moves to the Decepticon, grabbing him and loading him up for the Evac. He continues to remain quiet as he performs his task. ==================================== EDC ===================================== Message: 22/27 Posted Author AAR: Conflict in Belgium Fri Aug 03 Franklin Cross ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (The following message is locked for EDC access only:) The Decepticons attacked Belgium on the 40th Anniversary of a previous failed attempt to steal the Atomium, a famous, large-scale representation of an iron crystal. The Belgian people had been celebrating this anniversary as Guy Megatron day, and, no disrespect to any Belgian personnel, but it's a rather odd event. Regardless, there was an intense battle. Sideswipe, Warpath, Bluestreak, Brainstorm, Talia MacKinley, and myself arrived to defend the country. We were opposed by Backfire, Spinister, a Sweep (OOC: Avarice), Contrail, and two yellow Decepticons (OOC: gumbies) who didn't seem to be terribly important. While we failed to prevent the theft of the Atomium, we did manage to capture one of the yellow Decepticons. I was preparing to haul him until he begged the Autobots to take him in instead. I suppose I should be flattered at my reputation, but in truth we need a live subject for our tests. I demanded the Autobots stand aside and let me take the prisoner in, but they absolutely refused to let me do it. And worse than that, the Prime Minister of Belgium of all people was there, and he sided with the Autobots, threatening to cut his country's funding for the EDC if we didn't let the Autobots have their way. If he hadn't done that I could have at least accused the Autobots of violating Earth's laws and customs and prevent future interference, but thanks to the Prime Minister even that option was taken away. Unfortunately, the prisoner is in their custody, now, where no doubt he'll be held until he's eventually traded in a prisoner exchange, or something of that nature. We did gain something, however. We received a promise of technical assistance from the Autobots in building a new base to house us, and I requested First Aid specifically since I believed he would be the least problematic of the Autobot technicians. So, look forward to that, soldiers. Cross out. -- GENERAL CROSS ==============================================================================
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