Decepticon Now

Chapter One:

To choose

The massive form of Optimus Prime held out his hand to the side, silently stopping his troops, as well as their human companions from advancing or firing. He took an almost delicate step forward, still holding his hand flat to keep the others from fallowing, and then another step.

As always he was taking care, scanners on high and telling him exactly were the human soldiers were.

He was probably the only one who wasn't showing visible signs of stress. But then, when a Decepticon was circling in the air above you, you did tend to develop a slight twitch, metaphorical or physical. No one wanted him to get this far away from the safety of many guns but Optimus still walked out into the clear open.

The Prime could easily dispatch this Decepticon, for all it being a wing leader class seeker. Strange though the Decepticon was all alone. Seekers rarely like to be solitary, preferring to stay in wings made of at least three sparks.

Even with the high possibility of a trap, Optimus Prime would not deny the beacon that said, in essence, "Parlay!"

The desert was wide and flat, prime area for doing a strafing run on the fully exposed humans and Autobots. And with it being night, and the still circling Decepticon's dark coloring made it hard to see.

With a mental command to his communication systems, Optimus Prime spoke over an open line, "I am Optimus Prime. I come in response to your wish to talk. Identify yourself Decepticon."

There was a snarl and then a hiss on the other side of the line, "I am not coming down there with those trigger happy fools on your heels."

"They will not harm you." The Autobot leader reassured. He was mildly surprised when he heard a snort.

"Forgive me for not believing you." The Decepticon's tone and pitch that suggested it was a femmie, but it was laced with the harsh accent of the fliers.

Ignoring vocal protests the Prime strode out until he was completely alone. As said before, he could easily win against this mech. He watched on his scanners, and what he could visually see as the jet above notably slowed, surprised no doubt that he had done what he did.

Slowly at first the jet started down in tightening circles before dipping a wing and coming head on. The leader of the Autobots held his ground, though he did have his hand held canon in hand as the Decepticon buzzed almost right over his head. Optimus turned to watch the over sized Harrier split apart, parts shifting and flipping. The legs came out first, the secondary jets on the heels and the main jet on the back. Arms, claws hands, torso and the head that was more reptilian then normal appeared as the Decepticon hovered then dropped down to the ground in a crouch.

She was indeed a she, the unshielded energy signature gave that away. The Decepticon was mostly blue and black and some bare silver was visible As well as what was the Cybertronian equivalent of scares, when wounds had to heal by just internal repairs and not by out side help, were crisscrossed all over wings and body.

The Decepticon leaned forward, multi jointed legs stretching out, before she let out a bellowed roar at the Prime, fangs bared. With wings out and the still active thrumming of the main jet the Decepticon looked more like a cyber-beast rather then a mech.

Optimus tensed, but didn't attack. He knew fliers, he had dealt with them before and during the Great War. He stood firm and tall, not backing down nor was he advancing on the flier that was now circling around him to put empty desert at her back.

With optics on either side of the head instead of in front she had the tilt her head this way and then that way to look at the calm Autobot. The growl turned to lighter hiss as she stood more normally, stretched the back out…

The Prime gave internal sigh of relief when he saw the wings fold into themselves on the flier, looking more like a shield now to protect the main jet. A calm, at ease Decepticon that now had confidence that he would not attack her for normal body movements was, well, easier to deal with then a stressed out and nervous Decepticon. "Who are you?" He asked again.

"I am the Ice Queen," The Decepticon said, and then chuckled as she flexed her claws. The underside of her raised, left forearm clicked open enough to let a nozzle end slide out partly, "Interesting translation is it not?"

"All our names are indeed interesting in any of the human languages." Optimus agreed.

Ice Queen regarded him with one optic then focused behind him. She hissed softly as she couched, well out of reach, on all fours. "Is it true?" she asked after a few moments.

"Yes." Optimus Prime didn't need her to elaborate on the seemingly random question. "Megatron is dead."

There was a long, long pause.

"And an organic," Ice Queen motioned to the human NEST members back behind the Prime, "A human was truly the one to kill him?" She was trying very hard not to smile, but wasn't quite able not to.

Optimus inclined his head, retracting his face plate.

The Decepticon shrieked high and loud in an uncontained sound of malisons joy that turned into a crackle. Wings unfolded and Ice Queen leapt up, transforming before rocketing up into the night sky with a roar of three engines. Laughing she spun in clear joy.

"Optimus?" Ironhide's voice came over the Prime's communication line.

"Give her a moment old friend." Optimus said, fallowing the Harrier Jet as she worked off the sudden burst of energy, "I was right I believe. This is a rogue Decepticon more then likely."

"I thought Megatron had them all killed by bounty."

"Not all." Optimus cut the link as the Harrier came back down, hovering in place before transforming back to robot mode. "I take it you do not care for Megatron."

"Oh how sweet this is," Ice Queen said, not seeming to have heard the Prime as she paced in half circles, always keeping her front or side aimed at the Autobots, "The mighty, mighty lord of the Decepticons, heheh, killed by an sparkling of an infant race. Heheha!"

Optimus rumbled his alternate's engine to attract the Decepticon flier's attention. Only when one red optic was aimed at him and the pausing paused did he speak again. "Why are you here Ice Queen?"

Ice Queen pointed up, then at the Prime, "I heard you. I heard Starscream. Both messages," She couched down again, only this time her shell went through a slight transformation, allowing her to alter from two legs to four. In doing so looking even more reptilian, just lacking a tail. One red optic looked up as the flier paced again on all fours, "I think I know what you're going to ask next."

"Who are you loyal to?"

"Okay not exactly what I thought if was." The Decepticon faltered as she altered back onto two legs. Ice Queen looked up, to the side, everywhere but at the Autobot leader.

Optimus waited, with far more calm then any of his troops, or the humans would.

"I am loyal," Ice Queen turned away to purge some inner system. Essentially it was like coughing up a thick liquid, and somewhere Ratchet was twitching as he saw this. Autobot or Decepticon, he was still a medic. "I am loyal to my dead mates."

That's when Optimus saw it. It wasn't really insanity, but almost mixed with an ultimate pain of someone who had lost a spark mate. A bonded. It was well known that Fliers, seekers as they were also called, could and did tri-bond with in the three spark team that made up a wing. Seekers never took more then two mates, and since most often it was a tri-bond, the single surviving member normally went mad and had to be killed before they killed everyone near by looking for the person or persons responsible for the death of their mates.

That had, sadly, happened many times in the war.

Yet sometimes, some survived. As the case seemed to be here and now.

Optimus Prime stepped forward, ignoring the warning his in responses. "I believe you have three choices here." Blue optics stared into a red one, "You can either leave this planet to face or join Starscream."

Ice Queen gave a sound like a snort.

"Or," Optimus continued as he lifted his cannon up in full, clear view, "I will end your pain."

He paused as the Decepticon widen her optics. Not in fear though, but in interest. "And...the third?" she asked slowly.

The Prime held out his free left hand, "Join us." Optimus said, and before Ice Queen could react added, "Help us fight those that killed you bondeds." True, this was a gamble. Autobots could very well have done the deed. But Optimus was betting from that 'joyful' reaction about Metatron's death, that it had been him to have done it. His fallen brother had made 'examples' of many of his troops.

Ice Queen, startled was looking between the cannon and offered hand. She was torn. The suicidal drive that was the result of a violent end to a bond was warring with the Decepticon thirst for revenge. One hand flexed and then the other, claws scraping against each other.

The flier stood up at her full height, no longer hunching or crouching, though still 'relaxed' on the multi- jointed legs. She was once a wing leader, the size gave that away, well able to look the Prime in the optics, even if she had to tilted her head to the side to do so.

Ice Queen hesitated, a hand half raised, before she reached out.