A/N: Yesterday, I saw the Dark Knight Rises and I have to say it was the best superhero movie of the summer. That being said, what was meant to be great day for all Batman and Nolan fans alike was turned into a nightmarish tragedy for 12 unlucky families and more when a depraved soul took it upon himself to open fire in a theater in Aurora, Colarado. 12 people killed and dozens more injured, including a three-month old infant. The man behind this heinous act was identified as 24-year-old James Holmes and is being held in police custody while they deactivate any traps in his apartment. We have yet to learn of any reason for this crime, but at the President, whether you support him or not, said, "It's tragedies like this that remind us that we must stay united as a nation." I, for one, hope they find out the reason this man did this and that he sentenced to the darkest pit there is. My thoughts go out to the families of those who lost a loved one.

Chapter 10

She had finally done it! After centuries of waiting, eons of watching, and countless opportunities for revenge lost or ignored, she had Arcee's precious partner in her grasp. She wanted nothing more than to snap his little neck like the twig it was, but she refrained. There would be plenty of time for that later, once they were alone. Now came the hard part; taunting Arcee with his life without alerting the master to his capture.

She knew he would want the boy for himself to torture in retribution for restoring the Autobot leader's memory. She respected her master and would obey his every wish and command, but this was her prize. The boy was hers to destroy and her alone in order to make Arcee suffer how she had all these years. To do this, she would have to risk her master's wrathful hand and keep the boy's location a secret. If need be, she would take it to the Pits with her, leaving him to rot away in the darkness.

That option sounded just as tempting, but she had so many things to do before she would even consider surrendering herself to death first. She looked down at the small fleshling in her grasp, being carried like a sparkling. She smiled malevolently at the sight; these organic were so prideful, so seeing themselves in such a state would be a true treat were he conscious. Perhaps that was for the best at this moment, since he would no doubt try anything to escape. That would only end in more pain for him should he make such a mistake.

Arriving in his cell, she wrapped the chains around his arms, suspending him off the ground and preventing any attempt at escape. Now, she would wait; sooner or later, he had to wake up and when he did, the fun would start. Her smile of malevolence widened like the Cheshire cat as she remained cloaked in the darkness.

FlameWar

Returning from her patrol, Arcee pulled into base, her thoughts a mess at the moment. Despite her searching, she'd been unable to find any sign of the Decepticon who'd been targeting Jack. She did learn, however, that humans like to put flames on everything. She shook her head and returned her thoughts to the matter at hand. Entering the command-center, Arcee was met with the sight of Raf sitting on the couch, Miko trying to talk to him.

Taking notice of his bruises, she approached, "What happened?"

"Nothing," the boy sniffed, his eyes still red and puffy. Immediately, Arcee narrowed her optics, placing her hands on her hips. She would not be deterred, not after seeing Raf in such a state.

"What… happened?" she repeated, her tone lowering. Raf tensed at the sound of her voice; it frighteningly reminded him of his mother's when she was in no mood to be lied to. Stifling another sniffle, he explained to them Vince's attack as a form of retaliation against Jack for embarrassing him the day prior. Arcee's optics narrowed even further, a low growl escaping her lips. She had never liked Vince since he enjoyed tormenting Jack, Miko, and Raf, but to do this; maybe they should have listened to Bulkhead and let the 'Cons take him.

"Are you okay, Raf?" her face softened, the boy nodding in confirmation. She gave a small nod of her own before heading straight for her quarters, turning back to the others, "Have either of you seen Jack?"

"He was here when we got here, then he disappeared, probably in your room," Miko shrugged, waiting for Bulkhead and Bumblebee to get back from whatever project they were helping Ratchet with. Arcee gave another nod and headed for her quarters, worry creeping its way back into her spark. It wasn't like Jack not to greet her when she came back from patrol unless he was at work or school. With him being at base all day, she had wanted to take him out for a while, even if it meant risking one of Optimus' infamous lectures. But it was worth for Jack to get some fresh air.

Arriving at her quarters, she opened the door and looked around, "Jack?" Receiving no answer in return, the worry grew stronger, but she ignored it, electing to search her quarters. He might have just been sleeping after all, "Jack? Still no answer and the worry only fed off the silence, "Jack!" This couldn't be happening; not now.

Quickly exiting her quarters, she went back to the command-center at controlled pace, not wanting to alarm anyone in case she was wrong. She checked med bay, the storage rooms, even Airachnid's chamber for any sign of Jack. Once she found none, she decided to use the ground-bridge to lock on to his cell phone signal. Arriving at the control panel, she brought up the bridge's transport records, a list of all the locations they'd been to on Earth. She locked on to Jasper and was about to activate the bridge when her optics caught sight of something.

The bridge had been activated an hour before she returned to base, but scanners revealed that only Optimus had been out of driving range from the base. Bulkhead and Miko had left sometime prior and Bumblebee was with Raf, Ratchet in the back working on something. Now, the Wrecker and scout had returned to aid the medic on his project. With their Prime still on patrol, the only other person who could have used the bridge was…

FlameWar

Jack awoke to crippling pain in his left shoulder, his arm out of its sling. Whatever was holding hi was stretching the injure muscles in his rotator cuff. He struggled against them, but that only worsened the pain. His vision clearing, he took in the sight of a dark room, the only light being the blue energy above him. He didn't need to be told what this was.

This was where the Decepticons held their prisoners, usually Autobots, and suspended them with stasis cuffs to prevent them from moving. Since he was human, they had to use chains to hold him, aggravating his injury. How could he be so stupid! He all but laid down to be captured when he left the base to go after Vince. He knew it was stupid to risk it all on that jerk, but he couldn't get the sight of a beaten Raf out of his mind.

Now, he was a prisoner of Megatron, and would no doubt being given "special" attention while on board his ship. He kept struggling, his shoulder throbbing in pain with each motion, but he sucked it up. He had to get out of here and contact base somehow. He could already hear Arcee tearing him a new one for leaving base and getting captured. Still, he'd take that over this, "Resting comfortably?"

Jack stopped his struggling at the intrusion of this new, familiar voice, "Who's there?" He stared off into the darkness, but was met with silence. He turned his head, thinking they were behind him, but saw nothing. "Where are you?" Out of nowhere, a slender servo emerged from the shadows and slid his chin between two of its fingers. Forced to look ahead, Jack's eyes met two dark blue optics staring at him from the dark. He couldn't take his eyes off them; something about them was hypnotic and frightening at the same time.

"Hello, Jack," her optics smiled at him, "I've been waiting for so long to get you alone, so we could 'talk'." She dare not venture any closer, not ready to reveal herself just yet to the boy. "I've had my optics on you for a long time."

"Who are you?" he hissed, trying to shake free of her grasp. "What to do you want from me?"

"Nothing," she replied, her seemingly disembodied optics never leaving, never moving. "I have all that I need now that you're here, with me."

"As touching as that is," he grunted. "I'm afraid I won't be very good company. Now if you let me go…"

"You wit is amusing up close," she chuckled darkly. "But it won't be enough to gain my favor, I'm afraid." She risked venturing closer, but stayed out of the light, "You're here through no fault of your own, but another's."

"Who's?" he glared.

"Arcee," she growled, still trying to make her name sound like poison. "This was always about Arcee and her 'affection' for you."

FlameWar

A/N: I hope you enjoyed.