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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

[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.