"Some superhero, some fairytale bliss,
Just someone I can turn to,
Somebody I could kiss,
I want somethin' just like this,"

»«

"Your weapons systems are incredibly advanced," Alpha spoke calmly to the Transformer, who was currently demonstrating his weaponry to them. Lockdown was losing patience, but he decided that he could play their little game until they fullfilled their end of the bargain.

Give us any and all information you have on your technology, and we will give you the means to find and destroy your quarry.

He returned his guns to servos. "The ability to transform is due to our transformation cognition, as you already know. These devices are heavily debated; some say they evolved from Cybertronians that were attempting to survive when the planet was nearing the end of the Predacon Age. Others believe that they were bestowed upon us by a Prime."

"And which one do you believe?" She questioned, tilting her head.

"I don't care for flimsy science or religion," he growled lowly, flexing his servo as he picked up an electric-pulse gun. "The answer is neither. I was born with my ability to transform; that is all I care to know."

Alpha smirked a little, gazing at him. Merely a blood-thirsty hound. And, according to him, the best of the best of them.

Gamma swallowed nervously as the Transformer described the next weapon in his heads. It could be modified to either stun a Transformer, or kill them with a bolt of pure electricity. He seemed to be one of few who realized that, if he wanted, the alien lifeform could use his weapons on them and destroy the place. But Alpha was oddly trusting of it.

His promotion to Gamma put him in one of the highest ranks imagineable - and one of the deadliest. He could not voice his concern to Alpha, lest it angered her and she either demoted him or killed him. The latter was a more likely scenario. But rumor had it that she had a sadistic interest in him; she knew just how weak he truly was, and was going to exploit every moment of it for her pleasure. He would not have been surprised if she was currently observing him from the corner of her eye, watching him squirm.

A host of Branch Five scientists were also present, recording the Transformer and writing notes as they came up with different ideas and saw how to modify current human technology. "Lockdown" was providing immensely useful information that could make M.E.C.H the weapons capital of the world. It would make them the weapons capital.

His hounds were also being studied, but in a different laboratory. He made it clear that they were to be treated nicely; and he would not take responsibility if they ate a particularly cruel scientist. Gamma could only wonder what they could possibly be studying. They were the equivalent of giant metal dogs.

Lockdown systematically moved through his various weapons, finally ending his impromptu presentation. Alpha stood, grinning.

"Excellent. Now, we want to know about your transformation cognition. How it functions, how it works. Additionally, we want to learn your, ah, 'Groundbridge' technology."

"I do not have intimate knowledge of a transformation cognition, nor of Groundbridge technology." He growled lowly, his voice making Gamma's hairs stand up on end. "That would be information a scientist would know, or a doctor." He paused, a grin slowly forming on his face.

Alpha picked up on it immediately. "You know someone?"

"A medic," he replied. "A medic with Groundbridge technology. At the very least, he could tell you about the transformation cognition. But I would not be surprised if he also knew about Groundbridge operations; judging by his lack of sufficient Cybertronian back-up."

"What do you mean?" Alpha asked.

The bounty hunter recalled his unsuccessful attempt at getting Megatron's information from the medic, giving the important details and leaving out the rest. He mentioned the strange mold of humanity and Cybertronian technology, though he was not sure if it was a permanent fixture or a temporary bit of armor. Regardless, it gave him enough information to infer that the medic was probably alone, or only in the company of Megatron.

"Is it possible to locate this . . . medic, and bring him to us?" Alpha asked.

Lockdown frowned. "The base of operations is shielded, much like yours." He noted. "Unless he leaves it, there is no certain way to find him."

"You are a bounty hunter, are you not?" Alpha drew herself up. "We will provide you everything you need, on one condition: you bring us this medic alive. If you require assistance on assassinating Megatron, then we will provide it; it seems like a fair trade, considering you would receive all of the spoils."

Lockdown regarded her for a moment, taking in the offer and processing it. Finally, he nodded, agreeing. It was more in his favor than the previous request.

"Provide me with what I need, and you will have your medic," he confirmed.

Alpha smiled, her white teeth showing past her red lips. "Excellent."

»«

Dana groaned loudly as Megatron settled on top of her, not having expected it to hurt so much. The warlord grinned in triumph, his large servos pinning her to the floor with ease as he relished his victory.

"You need . . . To go more slow," she gasped, panting a bit from exertion. "I'm still new to this."

"That was slow," he countered, slipping off of her and offering a servo to help her up. "Your enemies will be much faster, perhaps even more agile. You must be able to anticipate every move."

The young woman grunted as she got back up, knowing he had not meant to slam her so hard into the ground, but once Megatron had slipped into the rush of the fight, he could not help himself. He got aggressive; he wanted to win.

And he did win. Five times now.

"Hey, ten-ton," Fowler snapped at him from the ground, his arms crossed, "you need to be more gentle. That sounded like it hurt."

Dana waved a hand. "I'm fine, Fowler." She rolled her shoulders to get out all the kinks, feeling her fingers and toes tingle with anticipation as she slipped back into the fighting stance again. "One more time," she promised Megatron, her green eyes alight with new fire. "Bring it."

His mouth twisted in to a smirk, sharp denta gleaming. "As you wish," he purred, unsheathing his sword in preparation, feeling the same rush. He loved the thrill of the chase, the fight, the victory. And he could see it in her eyes - she was just as drugged on excitement as he was.

They stood there, patiently anticipating the other to attack, until finally Megatron could not wait any longer, and he lunged at her. For a normal Cybertronian, if they did not move in time the blade would have sliced through their chest effortlessly, but Dana was no Cybertronian, nor was she donning normal Cybertronian armor.

Her arm came up to block, bringing her under her guard and she made to drive her fist into his abdomen. The warlord had told her to go ahead an be rough with him - he didn't think she'd land many blows anyways.

His servo caught her fist and he flung her across the room, stalking over as she rolled to a stop. The human femme got up, this time charging him with as much speed as she could, finding the armor to be a bit bulky for her liking.

She feigned going high, the Decepticon swiping but missing as she ducked low, wrapping her arms around his waist as she tackled him to the ground, his blade retracting as they began fighting hand-to-servo. He tried to get a pede underneath her to kick her off, but she had successfully reared up and firmly straddled him, making it impossible to shake her off without first prying her away.

He saw her fist cock back to make a punch, and once again he caught it, doing the unexpected and yanking her closer, his other servo reaching around to grip her from behind. Rolling, he once again managed to get her underneath him, flipping her on her stomach to subdue her.

His knee joint made to push into her back and keep her pinned, but he hesitated. Thoughts of her first break flashed through his processor, the device embedded in her back making him pause - he did not want to hurt her.

Dana sensed his hesitation and used it to slip away from him, rolling back on her feet, ready to fight again. He growled in frustration with himself, unbelieving he had allowed for a single moment of uncertainty. She grinned, baring her teeth in mock aggression.

"Almost had me," she taunted. "Better luck next time."

At that Megatron grinned. "You still haven't defeated me yet." With that he charged, anticipating every move she could possibly make, reading every twitch of her body, the ground shaking as he rushed her.

She made to move out of the way but he caught her, avoiding her attacks with lightning speed before he finally managed to thrust her against a wall, his sword at her neck, venting heavily in tandem with her panting.

"You are getting better," he complimented, straightening and putting away his sword. "But you have a long way to go before you can even begin to be my equal."

The young woman snorted, touching the center of the Apex Armor and allowing it to shrink. "I don't need to be your equal; I just need to know how to kick Lockdown's tailpipe."

He could not help but look down at her, amused smile on his lip plates. "I have given you the skills. Now, you just need to hone them."

"I can do that," her green eyes flickered to Agent Fowler, and she grinned even wider, "can you, Agent?"

"We're about to find out." He cracked his knuckles, heading towards the Armor. "Hope you're not too tuckered out, Buckethead. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

Megatron ignored the insult, finding it rather amusing that the Agent thought he could stand up to him. "I am eager to see what you have in store, Special Agent Fowler," clearly, the former Decepticon was feeling cocky, the thrill of the fight coursing through his systems, amplified by the fact that he felt cooped up in the base.

Dana walked over to the observation deck as the two men went at it, Fowler proving to be a bit more than he let on to, but Megatron had hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years of experience. The young woman found it absolutely fascinating to watch from the side lines, a similar course of adrenaline remaining in her veins as she watched Megatron twist, turn, and fight. He was incredibly offensive, taking every opportunity that rolled his way to slash and slam into his opponent, forcing Fowler to become more defensive.

She smiled as she watched, Fowler getting beat again and again, however both of them remained in good spirits. Though it had not been long since Megatron had joined them, his presence was becoming less intimidating around the base. Sure, Chromia's arrival made things easier, despite the fact that Soundwave too was here, but Dana had confidence in Megatron's intentions being nothing but pure.

He won't hurt me, she reasoned, feeling the warm thrumming of her back strut. Never again.

They were getting to know one another better once more, and that was more than enough to satisfy her. For now.