Locked and Loaded

Disclaimer – Transformers Animated is property of Hasbro and the producers of the show. I make no money off of it.

I’m known through the galaxy and Cybertronian space as Lockdown. Doesn’t matter how I got the name, it’s just what I go by when my clients come calling.

Oh, but you’re interested? That interested?

I suppose I can indulge you in a little bit of background story then.

Life began for me as a spark, just like with any other Transformer. The details of my younger days aren’t worth much so I guess I’ll just skip over to the part where I became a bounty hunter and an assassin.

Yeah, now that’s the part you were just dying to hear about, weren’t you?

Ahem, anyways…

In my early days as a hunter, I had my fair share of successes and failure but then again, what rookie in his field doesn’t have that? Over time, the art of the craft hardened me and made me strong. I made a name for myself throughout much of my career, often hunting down others for the right price. Of course, I always went with the highest price. Ideology doesn’t really matter to me much, so long as I get my dues.

Then the civil war on Cybertron began. Man oh man, was I in for the ride of my life. Not only did I get paid well, but I got to see so much action and gained so many trophies from the Great War. My infamy spread far and wide during that time. The Autobots hated and feared me while the Decepticons loathed and respected me.

Oh right, guess I should explain the part about trophies and factions.

One of the things I did in the course of my career that disgusted both Cybertronians was my tendency to take “trophies” for myself. That’s right, whenever I saw something I wanted, I took it. Even if it didn’t belong to me… scratch that, ESPECIALLY if it didn’t belong to me.

If I saw a leg that I found sturdy enough, I would chop it off that unfortunate Transformer and took it as my own. If I saw a weapon worthy enough of me, I would rip it from that ill-fated individual and install it into my own weapons system. I basically hacked off the body parts of my own kind just to take their unique qualities and make it my own. Apparently, everyone else finds it disturbing. I find it to be a useful trade, however. And nothing anybody else says is going to change that.

I should also point out that despite my… reputation, I’m still a Transformer without a faction.

I say this because I don’t believe in labeling myself with either “Autobot” or “Decepticon” brand names. I’ve always been independent by nature. This individualistic streak I’ve got transcends any need to really “fit in” with any crowd.

Of course, it’s true I’ve always tended to work with the Decepticons over the Autobot. Heck, now that I think of it, I can’t even remember the last time I’ve worked for an Autobot… but what the heck.

It’s just that I’ve got more in common with the Decepticons than I do the Autobots. I gotta admit, some of their ideas really appeal to me. Of course, I don’t tow the line and agree with EVERYTHING the Decepticons stand for, but so far, I share more similarities with them than I do the Autobots. That, plus the Decepticons pay much better. Not that I’d ever join up with them or anything, but you get what I’m trying to say.

As for the Autobots, I really don’t know what to say… except that I’ve probably worked more against them than for them. They’re the ones who won the Great War all those stellar cycles ago and rule Cybertron now. With them in charge now, my presence there isn’t exactly appreciated, even though I’m not exactly a Decepticon. Must have something to do with how I sabotaged a lot of their war efforts back in the day.

I dunno… I guess it’s just that I find some Autobot ideas about “peace” and “justice” a little too impractical… not to mention idealistic.

I’m pretty sure a lot of Decepticons also look down on me for my ways, but I pay them no heed. It’s the money I’m after, not a popularity contest.

Speaking of money, one of my best clients ever has got to be Megatron. During the events of the Great War, I ran a lot of missions for him, did a lot of undercover work. I helped him to capture the Autobot intelligence officers he wanted and even did a few assassinations for the big boss here and there. There was a mutual understanding between the two of us. I hunted down those he wanted and in return, he paid me in full, with a little bonus every now and then for a job well done.

And even though he lost the Great War, Megatron still did everything he could to fight for the Decepticon cause. I gotta respect a guy like that. He did go missing for fifty stellar cycles but soon enough, he turned up on a place called Earth. Originally, I was hired by one of his minions to go down and capture this Optimus Prime who was supposedly responsible for his death. But later on, Megatron did resurface… ya gotta love the guy’s tenacity. He even hired me to bring in one of his former troops, a guy named Starscream. To the best of my knowledge, he’s still out there fighting against the Autobots. If there’s any Decepticon I have the utmost of respect for, it’s got to be Megatron.

Now Starscream… there’s one handful of a Decepticon! My data banks on him aren’t full but the little I do know about him already tells me a lot. I don’t know where he came from but I do know that he used to be Megatron’s second-in-command until he pulled a fast one and betrayed his leader. ‘Course, it turned out to be Starscream’s undoing since Megatron did survive his betrayal

attempt. And since then, there’s been a rich, fat bounty on Starscream’s head that I’m just dying to get for myself.

He may be a treacherous, double-dealing scumbucket. But he’s my treacherous, double-dealing scumbucket! And sooner or later, I’m gonna find him and turn him over to Megatron.

Blitzwing’s another member of Megatron’s crew. He’s quite an unstable one... that he is. He’s got some sort of mechanism where he can switch faces a lot. There’s an angry red face, an impassive blue face, and some kind of psychotic face. I don’t know how he manages all of that but he can apparently scan in more than one vehicle mode as well. Still, for all his peculiarities, Blitzwing’s no joke. If he were truly insane and that unstable, I doubt he’d have lasted through the Great War and got the chance to serve on Megatron’s personal brigade. Behind the seemingly hilarious façade of this lunatic lies the spark of a powerful warrior and a brilliant strategist.

Powerful is a word I would also use to describe Lugnut. But brilliant he is not. He’s pound for pound one of the most dangerous and powerful Decepticons ever. That explosive punch of his also packs a big wallop. Oh yeah, and they also say that his strength is second only to that of Megatron’s. So basically, you get the ultimate Decepticon in this giant, hulking brute, eh?

Well, not quite. You see, Lugnut’s not really the thinking type. He’s more of a follower and Megatron just happens to be the one he follows. I’ve been around Lugnut before. He’s the type who’s always hanging on to Megatron’s leeves awaiting his next command. There’s no way you can convince the ‘bot to think for himself, even if Megatron were to suddenly go off-line. He’s just that devoted to his master. Oh yeah, and I don’t think he likes me much either. It probably has something to do with me being a rogue Transformer and not fully swearing my allegiances to Megatron.

I also heard they got some femme-bot on their side as a Decepticon now. I also heard rumors here and there that she used to be an Autobot until she wound up in some freak accident on an organic-infested planet. The details aren’t clear to me but I honestly don’t consider her to be too important.

With regards to Decepticon not liking how I operate, I believe there’s only one individual out there who’s earned the ire of most mainstream Decepticons more than I have. And that would be my buddy Swindle. You see, Swindle’s the type to broker business deals in all corners of the galaxy, no matter how unscrupulous or crass they may be. He and I occasionally meet up to exchange information or other goods and services. Slag, I don’t really have a problem with the guy personally. But I know a lot of others, Megatron in particular, who hate his servos and want him slagged. Of course, nobody earn’s Megatron’s hatred more than Starscream but Swindle would be a second close.

The Decepticons are certainly a rough crowd. To be honest, even I prefer not to hang around them too much if I can help it. The Autobots, on the other hand, are the goody-two-shoes of this galaxy.

I’ve had several encounters with the Autobots as well, especially during the Great War. The only instance I can ever think of where I messed up during the war with a bounty is the case of some femme-bot named Arcee. She was an intelligence officer I had been sent to capture. Naturally, she had protection in the form of this medics officer named Ratchet. Long story short, I captured both of them but Ratchet managed to wipe her memory core using his EMP generator. After the event, I got a hold of Ratchet’s generator but he got it back later on. Ratchet’s an old vet from the Great War, though he certainly doesn’t hold as high of a rank as Ultra-Magnus. The old ‘bot and I have a lot of history together and believe me when I say that it ain’t over between the two of us.

The next Autobot that comes to mind includes a certain guy named Optimus Prime. He’s certainly got the bearings of a leader, I’ll give ‘em that. But he’s still too green to be out there fighting a war against a legend like Megatron. The first time we met, I took ‘im down with one blast of Ratchet’s EMP and it was over just like that. He’s got the right attitude and he’s got the right qualities but he just doesn’t have the spark to go all the way. He doesn’t have the killer instinct a warrior needs to survive through a war. Although in a way, I can’t entirely blame him since he did, after all, come online during a time of peace, long after the Great War was already over.

But then again, he has lasted against Megatron for this long so I guess it does count for something. There may be something to him after all. Or may be not. All I know is that if Megatron hires me to bring him in, I won’t hesitate to drag Optimus in kicking and screaming.

There’s also the big green dolt and that annoying little yellow car. I can’t say I’m a big fan of either of them, hence why I’ll try to wrap them up as quick as I can. What I know about ‘bots like them is that they’re so cocky and fully of themselves, thinking they’re invincible. Lots of Autobots like that existed during the time of the Great War, thinking they’d go into battle and make a big name for themselves. Then reality hits and they realize that they’re not so invulnerable after all. These two idiots are no different and it must be a miracle of nature they’ve made it this far when they’re fighting an interplanetary war against guys like Lugnut and Starscream.

As my research indicated, it appears that they hang around a human… ugh! What kind of Transformer would degrade himself to the level of an organic? Not only do they keep her around, they also seem to be enjoying themselves around her. I honestly don’t know how much lower you can sink than that.

Then there’s Prowl.

The first time I laid optics on him, I knew he was something special. The night I captured Optimus Prime, I encountered him and his gang. None of those amateurs could lay a finger on me but Prowl was the first to do so. Man, I got a faceful of rubber tire marks on my face that night. Not only did Prowl mess up my paint job, he actually managed to lay in several good blows too. Of course, I finally made short work of him with my EMP, but he still put forth a better effort than almost everyone else.

A while later, I encountered Prowl again. This time it was on the moon. We were both going after Starscream who, at that point, was a wanted fugitive by both the Autobot Elite Guard and Megatron. You already know who I prefer working for so there’s no need for me to point it out.

During that time, Prowl and I clashed again. Then later on, he offered a deal to work with me to find Starscream together. I gave him some upgrades and together, we tracked down what appeared to be Starscream. Naturally, I was working for the Decepticons so I suckered Prowl and took the Decepticon jet in to Megatron.

Long story short, we found out that Starscream eluded us through creating several clones of himself. Then Megatron increased the bounty on the real Starscream.

Still, even though I didn’t get my reward, I have to say that it was actually kind of a pleasure working together with Prowl. He and I made quite a team together. Of all the Autobots, he’s the only one with the instincts for a career in bounty hunting. I extended an offer to him to be my partner but he turned it down fast. I don’t know what went through his mind but that boy was crazy to turn down such a sweet deal. The little punk even threatened to turn me in to the Elite Guard if I ever contacted him again.

But nonetheless, my offer still stands. If Prowl ever decides that he’s wasted enough time hanging out with those losers, he can just come over to me and we can work something out.

Because if anything, I can promise you that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of each other. I can say for certain that our paths are gonna cross in the future. Whether that crossing is peaceful or violent is gonna be up to him though.

But that’s enough for now. I’m afraid that if I tell you more, you’ll learn my entire life’s story and I don’t want that happening anytime soon. In any case, I think it’s time I got back to doing what I do best. Huntin’ trophies.

Lockdown out.

Fin.