Knock Out's engines finally die down with a skittish whine, and he lets out a nervous laugh, changing tactics. Starscream isn't comically agitated now -- he's murderously angry, a mood Knock Out usually only sees reserved for Megatron. "Commander Starscream, please -- I -- I was stranded! I wasn't lying when I said my shuttle was destroyed -- I've been waiting for Breakdown to rendezvous with me!"

That doesn't exactly make up for five years of fucking around at luxury car shows and long, winding oceanside roads, but -- at least that's part of the truth.