A sudden explosion rocks the base, and, even below the ground's surface, the Predacons take notice. The alert lights rotating in the hallway change tone, from their former golden color to a sickening red. Epitaph, the Predacon subcommander, is currently unhooking the Predacons' prisoner, Blackarachnia, from their interrogation device. He scowls at the distraction, and waves away the two mercenaries from their current positions. "Find out what the trouble is!"
"Yes, sir!" Stalker responds, with no hesitation. Sellsword frowns slightly at being forced to pull his poised blade away from Blackarachnia's spark, and feels the sudden need to impale her simply out of spite. Still, he knows it can be fatal to ignore the subcommander's orders, and he follows his partner into the hall.
Epitaph turns his back for a moment to mark their exit, and it's all the moment Blackarachnia needs. Her gaze shifts slightly down to her bound arms...and begins to glow. In little time, she's removed the bindings on her arm.
The subcommander smiles slightly. He's already noticed the glow, out of the corner of his eyes. And he knows, when he turns, it will have subsided. It has.
"Now, since you've decided to cooperate, there's the simple matter of transporting you." Epitaph clutches his staff in his right hand, getting ready to aim its telekinetic power at the Maximal spider. It's trouble, and Blackarachnia notices it. She had wanted to avoid tipping her hand too soon, but once he lifted her into the air, it would be all over, cuffs or no cuffs.
Blackarachnia thinks quickly, and moves even more quickly. Within less than a nanoclick a Transmetal II flash unfastens the binding on her legs, and she leaps forward, attacking Epitaph with a swift kick to the head. She shouts out as she moves; the foot connects, but the Predacon isn't even stunned. A second kick he simply deflects with his staff; she flips out her claws…
And finds her hand caught, brushed away off his right arm. She makes brief eye contact with the Predacon, not believing his resiliency. Below her vision, she sees his left hand move, and fire explodes through her body.
Mere moments later, she awakens again, finding herself transported and wired several times into a computer system in a giant laboratory. Dizzily, she assesses the situation. The ceiling is even higher here than in the hallways, and the amount of equipment is staggering. The computer, though most likely not centralized here, is a true piece of work, stretching its panels and screens out in all directions, the only object in her current line of sight.
As her vision clears, she notices something more pressing than the surroundings…a purplish glow emanating from beneath her chin. ...Not my color, she realizes, then notices the pressure as she blinks her eyes, and feels taloned hands sinking slightly into the metal of her neck.
"It's obvious you underestimated the extent of my power," says the voice, smooth and dark, so close to her own audio receptors. "You have to realize that you were one of the first of many...each one stronger than the next. And, now, you see, with your continued cooperation, we will continue to grow in strength. Power. It's YOUR technology. We have you to thank. You have yourself to thank. If you're wise, you'll cease this futile struggle…and give it to us again."
"I WON'T. Not for THIS."
"Let's explore your other options." Epitaph tightens his grip on the night-blue neck, cutting until the circuits beneath strain, and spots flash in Blackarachnia's vision.
"You won't kill me," she chokes. "...Silverbolt. The red alert. Silverbolt is already here, and you won't be able to stop him."
"Your Maximal mate is already off-line," Epitaph responds, without missing a beat. "We disposed of him permanently before bringing you in. Whatever allies you still have 'rescuing' you now will bring you back to NOTHING. You'd be wiser to stay with us than go to them, fellow Transmetal..."
Blackarachnia's spark nearly halts its pulse as she hears the words... her true love's death knell, so simply stated. As she feels the darkness closing in on her spark, the optical lubricant falling from her ducts and hissing on Epitaph's glowing hand, the words seem logical. Empty, broken, fearful, she unthinkingly begins to decode her hidden knowledge...the plans for the Transmetal II Driver, hidden on her circuits, but so simple to pass on, so easy to upload, so worthless to hold back.
"...Fellow PREDACON." Epitaph continues, smiling as he sees the schematics unfolding on the computer monitor.
Something snaps inside the spider, a hidden rage she'd been holding back, escaping from her spark and creating a field of telekinetic energy that expands in a green burst. The computer system is unharmed, but the subcommander is thrown away from her at an alarming rate, causing him to lose his grip on her neck and drop to the ground. Blackarachnia rises to her feet, snapping cables and abruptly aborting her forced download. Epitaph reaches for his dropped staff and grips it tightly, but he doesn't have the time to react to the widow's attack.
"NOBODY...CALLS ME...A PREDACON!" she cries, throwing a great burst of light from her spark. The energy grabs Epitaph, surrounds him, and throws him backward into a Transmetallization device, breaking the glass shielding behind the containment cage.
Disoriented, Epitaph clutches his staff like a lifeline as he is now being lifted, beyond his control, into the air. He tries to activate his own power, but can't overcome Blackarachnia's will as she steps forward to confront him. Summoning all his strength in the psychic assault, he moves his left arm forward, letting it take the brunt of the telekinetic blast. He chokes slightly, inhales...has one remaining recourse...
A burst of plasma is emitted from his outstretched palm, one that travels down Blackarachnia's own energy at an alarming rate. It counters her field, causes it to backfire, and sends her flying, injured, to the ground. She rolls backwards, almost reaching the computer console again.
A shudder runs through the Maximal's weary body. She lifts herself up on one arm, hears her internal computer, through a haze, offer a warning. "Override emergency stasis lock," she hisses, softly, and hears her diagnostics' unwilling compliance overlaid on Epitaph's never-ceasing speech.
"I apologize for the slip." The Predacon has not dropped from the sky as a result of breaking her grasp...rather, he floats, now, with the aid of external rockets, above the shattered Transmetallization device. "I assumed from reading about you...hearing about you...reading your own work...that deep inside you, there was something you missed about your former membership with our conquering race." Epitaph descends, slowly, still holding on to his weapon, his metal wings fanning out behind him. "A certain pride, at having tasted both sides of the conflict. A willingness to learn, and teach."
Thank Primus... A warm glow begins to spread out beneath Blackarachnia's broken shell. Her Transmetal II healing is activating. Her body will recover, now…but her very spark is weary from the exertion.
"You've shared what you know with us once. The Maximals and Predacons should be equal races, but we're not. The Predacons need an edge, and you provided it once." Epitaph hits the floor and begins to walk, his steps echoing through the room. "Without your better you have no reason to return to the Maximals, and your power, as a Predacon, can only increase."
He's lying.
She sees the footsteps halt in front of her.
Silverbolt CAN'T BE DEAD.
Blackarachia flips out her claws and rises to her feet, making a cut straight for the Predacon's leg. He notes the movement and dodges out of the way, once again lifting his body into the air.
"Foolish widow; you've had your chance; we'll extract and decode the rest of the information while you lay dying." Epitaph holds out his arm again and fires his plasma, catching Blackarachnia squarely and flinging her backward toward the computer console. A second shot connects, as well. She winces in pain, keeping her cool... She backs up, looks up, expecting the next attack... As Epitaph fires, Blackarachnia leaps deftly aside, and his plasma burst connects with the computer console. The blast ripples through the hardware, and erupts; circuits sizzle.
While Epitaph gapes and curses his mistake, Blackarachnia runs for the exit. The Predacon lets out an almost primal scream, shifting into his beast mode, a twisted black pterodon, and diving in to grab her with his talons. Blackarachnia dives to the ground as he soars past, leaps to her feet, and vaults OVER the diving dinosaur. She doesn't stop when her feet hit the ground, and still running with all her available speed, she bursts through the doors and into the hall.