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[deadpartners]

Who: Arcee and YOU!
Where: All around L.A.
When: THIS WEEK
What: Arcee's scouting out the city, gathering information and getting to know humankind.
Warnings: idk robots

Nothing about this mission has been easy. Not spending the terse weeks in the cramped Rod Pod with Rodimus, not trying to keep her troops in line, nothing to do with Optimus -- no, Orion now. It had been hard to let him go, to watch him walk away when she knows that she and the other Autobot pose the least threat to him. If he goes back to Megatron, Arcee's not sure what'll happen with the war. And the fact that Megatron's on this planet at all is cause for concern.

That, and the considerably more local threats. Orion's terrifying bout of mind control hadn't come at the hands of the Decepticons, but something Earth-based. Something deeply sinister. Arcee knows a bit about this planet, but not enough. It's starting to look like they might be here a while, so she decides it's time for some serious recon.

She has a holomatter avatar for precisely this reason -- blending in with the local populace, maintaining a low profile. It's a remote projection, solid enough to interact with its environment and relay data back to Arcee. She can learn a lot just by driving around, but certain information is a lot easier to come by when you get up close and personal. She can be found around the city either as her human avatar, who's gathering any information she might be able to find about Megatron's whereabouts and the strange happenings in L.A. of light, or as a sleek motorcycle on the city streets, either bearing a holographic rider when on the move (because a motorcycle moving on its own would definitely be cause for suspicion), or unattended while parked out of the way to watch passersby.

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Comments

(Muffled spaghetti western music playing in the distance)

[starscheme]

Nothing is coming up Starscream. Ever.

Sure, he's fortunate that Megatron wasn't anywhere NEAR as mad as Starscream had thought he'd be upon learning that they still only had half a synthetic energon formula, or at least he hadn't taken it directly out on his second... but once Starscream had given him a name for a possible holder of a second piece, Megatron had sent him on his way and out on Orion Pax hunting duty.

This in and of itself wasn't necessarily a poor assignment. He had his orders: Locate Pax, observe from a distance and avoid engaging him, and tell Megatron immediately. This he didn't mind, because he now had his own personal investment in the task, especially since Pax had gotten in touch with him and informed him of the presence of Autobots on the planet.

Thing was, he is having zero luck locating the bot from the air, which is infuriating because how damn hard could it be to locate a bright red and blue big rig? And so he finds himself (rather unwillingly) wandering the city once more, holomatter avatar skulking about a local shopping mall among the crowds upon crowds of humans, keeping an audial out for any sort of rumors or leads that put him back on the right track.

He's marching his way past a food court when an internal warning indicator starts going off. Conflicting signal... He turns this way and that, looking for the source before finally tracing it back to what looks like an ordinary Earth female to the naked eye, but under the scrutiny of an energy scan its origins become immediately apparent. Another holomatter avatar. Another Cybertronian. A Decepticon would have likely checked in upon arrival on this planet, so this could only mean one thing: Autobot.

He carefully falls into step a good distance back from them, watching carefully. Willing to observe for as long as possible, but also waiting for the moment when they inevitably catch on to his presence there.

puts on the good the bad & the weird soundtrack

[deadpartners]

Arcee isn't exactly on the lookout for other avatars -- although she knows it's a distinct possibility -- but she is keeping an eye out for suspicious figures. That, and she's been in the field for a long time. Honestly, she'd be pretty put out with herself if she didn't notice the guy tailing her eventually.

Her sensors pick up the guy tailing her and she lets him follow for a while, just to make sure it is what she thinks it is. At first she thinks it's just some human being a creep, but an extra sweep of the area with her remote scanner reveals...an anomaly. That's not a normal human. No, it's definitely a holomatter avatar, not unlike the one she's using now. And an unidentified Cybertronian holomatter avatar on this planet, following her here now, means only one thing.

Decepticon.

This could be her chance to really learn something new. After all, if she can get any intel at all on Megatron and the other Decepticons...this might sway the tide of the conflict here. Of everything with Orion.

Arcee weaves her way through the food court and past a few shops, stepping into a corridor whose signs advertise they lead to a restroom. The second it becomes apparent that her would-be pursuer is still following, she sidesteps and pivots to face him, and she sure doesn't look like she has time for any bullshit.

"All right, I've had about enough of letting you follow me. Who are you and what, exactly, were you hoping to gain by staring at my back all day?"

[starscheme]

Despite the fact that he completely expected her to turn on him like that the moment he decided to follow her down that hallway, the sudden launch into confrontation still startles Starscream, and he pulls back a bit as Arcee whips around. That voice was oddly familiar, but he can't quite place it...

He smooths over that pretty quickly though, laughing darkly and leaning on one arm against the wall with an obnoxiously smug grin on his face. That no-nonsense look she's giving him is really only encouraging him to be obnoxious. It isn't like they can do much to each other like this anyway, which actually gives him more free reign to say whatever he wants.

"An ex-Prime-- I believe you might know him-- he informed me that there might be some autobots on this planet... Rumors have a tendency to make me curious, so when my sensors picked up signs of an unknown Cybertronian in the area I just thought I'd take a look and see what we're up against." He pauses, for a moment, looking her over and raising one eyebrow. "My initial conclusion to that line of inquiry would be: 'not much'."

[deadpartners]

That grating voice, the smug, cloying manner...there's something naggingly familiar about it. Arcee's sure he's a Decepticon, and she's sure she knows him. But she can't quite place it just yet. The avatar's eyes flash angrily and she takes a half-step start toward him, just stepping in closer, because she'd mindful of their surroundings -- can't risk an open confrontation. Not worth it.

Yet.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she bites out, half-hissing the words. "You and your Lord Megatron aren't going to get out of this scot-free, believe me. I know what Megatron's done. I'm telling you right now -- it's not going to work."

She sounds far more confident than she feels, but anger is an excellent motivator. She's been seething over this for days, tamping it down, but now that she's finally encountered a Decepticon, it's all starting to bubble to the surface.

[starscheme]

"Yes yes, and we'll never get away with our 'evil schemes' and the bot who became Optimus Prime would never be so easily fooled for long." Starscream rolls his eyes, looking extremely unimpressed by her grandstanding.

"He came to us like that, you know. I found him, wandering in the desert and brought him back for consideration. You have Lord Megatron to thank that he's even still functioning at this moment. If he'd listened to my advice, Pax would be rotting in a scrap heap somewhere right now. And if Megatron decided out of the kindness in his spark to catch his old friend up on some Cybertronian history in all the time that he missed, well...naturally he's going to get our side of the story."

He pauses and continues to stare Arcee down appraisingly for a moment. "Where is dear Orion Pax at the moment, anyway? Ive been so concerned, we went through quite an ordeal together and I havent seen him since. Surely he is in need of medical attention, which the Decepticons are readily equipped and happy to provide for him..."

[deadpartners]

The guy isn't telling her much she doesn't already know, although he's been plenty infuriating while he's at it. If they weren't in public, she'd already be lunging at him -- she knows the avatars are just that, just stand-ins, but she's sure she can give him a nasty headache if she tries. But she can't risk it. So she's forced to stand there, seething, as he taunts her with that awfully smug grin on his face -- and then it hits her.

"Starscream," she hisses, her eyes flashing angrily. It has to be him. "I should've known. You think I'm going to tell you where Orion is, you can get fragged."

[starscheme]

He looks extremely pleased to be recognized, and downright delighted to get that kind of hostile response. This is exactly the kind of return to normalcy that he needed. It would almost be enough to make him cry, if that were a thing he was actually physically capable of.

He shifts, straightening up and away from the wall and grinning menacingly. "Charming. I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage though." Seriously, that voice is nagging at him, it's so familiar but he really can't place it.

"No matter, I suppose," he shrugs. "You Autobots are all so painfully similar anyway."

[deadpartners]

Arcee's usually able to maintain a cool head in a crisis, but Starscream's exceptionally irritating manner and the tension of the situation -- all the mounting, balled up fury towards Megatron is starting to get the better of her. Her eyes narrow, burning, and she steps in close enough to close her hand around a fistful of his avatar's shirt, jerking him forward to pull him closer into the hall, where fewer passersby can see. He's no Megatron, but right now, he's close enough.

"This ends here, Starscream," she bites out, every word clearly enunciated and dripping with anger. "You run on back to Megatron and you tell him this ends here. Whatever he's planning to do with the Matrix -- I'll stop him if it kills me."

[starscheme]

She really can't do any harm to him like this, with the entire situation playing out between their avatars, but the sudden move still catches him off guard and it takes a split second for him to remember that, which causes him to emit a short, strangled yelp.

He glosses right over that like it didn't even happen though, putting on a more serious face now and growling wordlessly. He's nettled by what he perceives as an implication that his rank puts him as some kind of messenger, some trained cur to be sent howling back to its master on command.

"Oh, I don't doubt that you'll give it a valiant try. Just as I doubt very much that you will succeed in any capacity. You Autobots haven't even the slightest notion of what is in motion here, you're fumbling around completely in the dark. And you honestly think that you can take Megatron on...?" He laughs, mocking, incredulous. "Without your Prime you stand little hope against him. You won't even get the chance to give him cause to lift a single finger, because I'll destroy you all myself before you even get close."

[deadpartners]

"Is that a promise, Starscream?" Arcee's fingers curl tighter around the fistful of Starscream's shirt she's holding onto, her eyes blazing. She doesn't look intimidated -- if anything, his taunting is only fueling the furnace of righteous anger she's been struggling to contain for days now. It's not just what Megatron's done, although even that would have been enough. But the fact that Starscream has the nerve to taunt her, to sneer in her face -- the fact that she'd owed him payback for a long, long time now...

"It had better be," she continues, all but snarling the words in low, measured tones. Her eyes are locked on his, dangerously intent. "Because if you don't, Starscream -- if there's even a shred of light left in my spark -- I'm coming for you. And once I'm through with you -- once you've gotten what you deserve -- Megatron's next in line. I'm going to say this one more time, so I know you hear me: I am taking back the Matrix, and if you think you can stop me, you're in for a nasty surprise."

[starscheme]

Starscream just chuckles darkly, delightedly entertained by the rise that he's managing to get out of her. "Temper temper... Do we know each other? Because I'm getting the sense that you have a very personal investment in me in particular but I can't for the life of me place that voice of yours. What did I do, take one of your optics? Puncture your commanding officers T-Cog, forcing them into an early retirement? Or am I way off mark and it's just that my reputation precedes me."

[deadpartners]

"I don't have to know you," Arcee says, spitting the words. "You know damn well your reputation, Starscream -- I think you'd be hard-pressed to find an Autobot out there who wouldn't dance on your corpse. But since you asked, yeah, you know what? It is personal. You've taken the sparks of too many of my soldiers for it not to be. So you can tell Megatron that he's not just dealing with anyone here. He's dealing with the commander of the Autobots, and you can tell him she doesn't forgive easily."

She's never embraced her title, her newfound responsibility until now, not like this. There's no sense in keeping her identity a secret, not now. He should know who he's dealing with. This is bigger than her, anyway -- Starscream has killed too many Autobots, too many of her people, even though the starkest memory among them is Jetset's. Arcee's long since mourned Jetset, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't take Starscream down if she's given the opportunity.

[starscheme]

So it's Arcee then. This just keeps getting better. Starscream's grin doesn't lessen, and though the fact that the Autobot leader herself is confirmed present on the planet might be a mildly concerning one, well... She's no Optimus Prime.

"Yes I'm sure he'll just be positively terrified when I inform him. But if you so eagerly desire your pound of flesh, to fall back on a human colloquialism," one hand raises to backhand the one currently trying to strangle his avatar's nice suit jacket, "why wait? Why don't you and I settle this now, one on one?"

[deadpartners]

Arcee releases the front of his jacket but she looks no less furious for it, her avatar's hands clenching into fists. She knows she shouldn't engage Starscream -- not here, not now, not without backup, when their forces are so down to the wire -- but it's tempting. It's hard not to relish the idea of punching a few holes in his plating.

"I'd say bring it on if I thought you were actually anywhere near here," she snarls. "But that doesn't seem likely. Besides, if I scrap you now, you'll never get back to Megatron. So you run on home and pass along the message for me, Starscream -- and I promise I'll save some blaster fire for you later."

[starscheme]

The avatar's expression darkens a bit as she makes that jab again, and he steps back, making a big show of straightening his collar and rolling his eyes dramatically. "Well obviously I'm not anywhere near here, why bother when the broadcast range on these avatars is so great? No, I was more suggesting I slip you some coordinates and we take this somewhere away from the prying eyes of the locals. But if you'd prefer to wait, so be it..." He shrugs and cracks a vicious looking grin. "It seems to me that perhaps you've learned from you poor partner's mistake, avoiding taking on such a dangerous 'Con without backup."

He doesn't pause to give her time to respond to that or even to let that sink in, continuing: "Well then, I have rather more important business to attend to, Primes to locate and Energon to synthesize... I'll be sure to pass on your message to Megatron, whenever I get around to it. Until next time, commander..."

And with that, the avatar broadcast cuts off, and he's gone.

[deadpartners]

Arcee lets out a howl of frustration when Starscream's avatar disappears before she has so much as a chance to snap back, let alone retaliate. It's been a long, long time since Jetset's death, but Starscream's merciless taunting has only reignited the desire to avenge her that's been lurking in Arcee's spark for centuries. She knows revenge isn't a good principle to base anything around -- she's tried hard to let things go -- but between Jetset and Orion...

This has gone too far.

Bewildered passersby turn to stare in the direction of Arcee's avatar, but she ignores them, whipping around to storm towards the bathroom, away from the crowds. She'd been hoping to just be able to turn a corner and cut off the avatar's broadcast, but the privacy of the stalls provides her with a much cleaner means of an exit. There's no point in sneaking around the mall anymore -- she won't find Starscream there, and the other Decepticons are likely elsewhere. She'll find out where, though. She's going to make sure this stops here.