Escaping Reality

Chapter Twenty-Five: Complications

Everyone all fell silent as the cybertronian on the berth finally powered on, her red optics blinking back any exhaustion as she began to take stock of her surroundings. Megatron, Knockout, Shockwave, and her... at least from what she could see. She had no idea Titaniumwrench was in the room, and the Autobot wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

         As Starjinx digested where she was, the femme made a move to sit up, only to find that such actions were impossible at the moment. "Ack- What the?!" She then pulled against the restraints for a moment, panic and anger surging through her before she focused on the other Decepticons. "Lord Megatron- What is going on?!"

         Immediately, Titaniumwrench cringed, a sinking feeling forming in her chest as she watched the interaction continue. As for Megatron, all the mech did was pause, his optics trained on the cybertronian before he finally gave a response.

          "Precautions," their leader began, choosing his words carefully. "There've been recent... developments on this ship, involving a group of cybertronians known as... Quotevians."

         "...The frag is that?" Confusion was plastered all over the femme's face, an optic-ridge raised before she squinted in realization. "Are they like Makeshift? Shapeshifting bots? Is that why I'm tied down? Ugh. First never-ending stasis, now this."

         Knockout and Shockwave then exchanged glances, Shockwave's large optic focusing on Megatron as he awaited orders. After all, the femme seemed to be cooperating, but he also wanted to run more tests. At the same time though, Knockout had been keeping track of her, and while the medic wasn't nearly as skilled as him... he had other things to worry about.

         As the silence drew on for a moment longer, Megatron eventually came to his own conclusion, or rather his own test. "Release her."

         "Uh-" Knockout prepared to question the warlord's orders up until he saw his glare, the mech snapping to it immediately afterwards. "Right away, my liege!"

         And so, Starjinx was freed, the femme sitting up and rubbing her wrist joints before slowly sliding off the berth. After all, the last thing she wanted was to get herself thrown across the room, or worse. But now that she was back on her peds, she didn't seem to know what else to do. Everyone was watching her, seemingly waiting for her to mess up, yet the assassin had no idea what exactly messing up entailed. "...Can you all stop staring at me? It's creeping me out."

         "As I said, this outbreak is important to contain. We can't be sure you're one of us without proper supervision," Megatron told her, his voice hardening at her tone.

         Starjinx, however, didn't seem all that phased. "Do I need to prove I'm me somehow then? Just hook me up to a patch- My memories'll tell you who I am. Or even put me up against some vehicons or some sort of sparring partner. My skills'll probably be a bit rusty but I know what I-"

         And it was at that point when Titaniumwrench had to stop listening. "Katrina to Titanium! Hope you're on the move because the cons aren't happy!"

         "Starscream, what is it?!" And Megatron too, it seems, had gotten a call, one that Titaniumwrench strained to hear while simultaneously trying to keep track of Katrina. But that wasn't possible. Not for her, for as much as she tried, all she could hear was incoherent babbling and Megatron's responses. But Starjinx's facial expressions as well as Katrina's own words said enough.

         "...What do you mean there are-?!" Megatron snarled as he got cut off once again, the mech not noticing Starjinx perking up at the sound of whatever Starscream had said. Growling, he then ordered, "Don't let them escape. I'll deal with them myself."

         "Lord Megatron!" Once again, Starjinx piped up, the femme sounding a bit more eager now that she could sense a fight. "I heard Midnight was here, through the coms, and I would love to assist."

         At the sound of this, Megatron couldn't help but stare, Titaniumwrench doing the same from her hiding place. Did this... she didn't think Starjinx's character knew most of the others, unless the story was reworking some things, or maybe even taking into account roleplays... Even so, Megatron already sensed a problem, and for that reason, he made the decision to bar her from the fight. "...Remain here. Knockout, make sure she doesn't leave. Shockwave, come with me."

         "Yes, my liege."

         "Ugh-" Starjinx grumbled and crossed her arms in frustration, the femme not even bothering acknowledging Megatron's quick glare as she began to pace. However, once the two were out of the room, she then began to speak. "I spend all this time in stasis and now that I'm finally out, I can't even go kick tailpipe?!"

         "Well, the threat at hand is very serious. Lord Megatron's simply looking out for our best interests," Knockout commented, the medic attempting small talk now that they were seemingly by themselves. "What do you remember, by the way? See anything interesting before you ended up in stasis?"

         The femme hummed as she leaned against the berth, snapping her digits in a way that... honestly reminded Titaniumwrench of not Starjinx the Decepticon, but rather... Hm. "...Not sure really. Memory banks are fuzzy. Maybe a battle? Who knows."

         At that, Knockout let out a small chuckle as he crossed his arms. "Well, I'm sure your memories will come back eventually-"

         "I know. I know," Starjinx hushed him, the assassin holding up her servo to stop him from speaking. "But I'm fully functional otherwise. I'm not a faker, and I know who my enemy is. If Megatron would let me out, I could prove it."

         "That doesn't mean stasis sickness can't pose a problem," the medic pointed out. "We know you're a capable er... assassin, Starjinx. It's just a matter of making sure you're optimal just in case-"

         "I feel fine! Seriously." And now she was on her peds, walking past Knockout in irritation. "I can walk, and if I can walk, I can fight. But instead I'm here sitting on my tail while Midnight's having all the fun?! Frag that!"

         Midnight again. She wasn't in her canon backstory. That much Titaniumwrench was sure of. That and the other factors, factors that didn't fit the character. The snapping of digits, the lack of proper memory... a transition, Titaniumwrench assumed, from a human fangirl to a cybertronian assassin. And if Titaniumwrench didn't step in now, everything would get worse. So maybe, just maybe, the Quotevian could do something about it.

         Taking a deep breath, Titaniumwrench made her move, stepping out into the open and switching off her holoform. Within moments, another cybertronian was in the room, one sporting familiar wings and an Autobot insignia. And now, her visor-hidden optics were focused on the Decepticons, and they were very much focused on her.

         With the appearance of this new development, Knockout had stepped up to the front, sliding only a tad in front of Starjinx as he tried to keep her back. "Well well well. I didn't expect another uninvited guest."

         "What the frag is this?"

         "Starjinx don't-"

         "Stop it." Titaniumwrench's voice was bold, firm as she stared directly at the red medic. "Starjinx isn't her name. It's Victoria. Hi Vic. It's Briel."