Die Alone Die Together

Ch. 12 All Hope Is Lost

Leaping skillfully onto a large metal storage compartment, Crosshairs fired several rounds into the air to clear out the lab.

Close behind him, Song cleared over several storage compartments and fired shots at everything that looked like it was of importance to the company.

"Science fair's over, meatbags!" Hound hollared as he and Optimus filed into the room.

"Destroy the lab!" Optimus ordered.

Song gladly obeyed his command and knocked over several shelves of lab equipment, shattering a number of glass cases at the same time.

"Guys! It's me!" Came a small, scraggly voice, "Break me out of this Frankenstein box!"

"Brains?! Brains, it's you!" Song cried when she saw the miniature Autobot, who was locked away in a glass case. She remembered him from several years ago. He and Wheelie were the ones responsible for sabotaging the ship during the Battle of Chicago. The ones who'd given her the chance to kill Soundwave. She ran over and smashed open the case.

"Thank ya, ma'am!" Brains said, leaping onto her and then over to Hound, who'd been standing just next to her.

"Stop! That's company property!" Yelled a suited man, presumably the leader of the company.

"They're not your property! They were my friends," Optimus growled to him. Song joined his side, standing between him and Crosshairs.

Utterly furious, she and Hound stepped forward, collectively aiming their weapons at the bald man's head.

"Oh, you ain't talking so much now that you got Hound and Soundbreaker in front of you, huh?" Brains cackled.

Song continued to stare down at the man menacingly, "You sick b-"

"Go ahead! Show us your true colors, once and for all," the man said.

Song's heart sunk. His words had them cornered. People seemed to hate them enough already, believing they were all merciless killers. Shooting the man, as much as she would've liked to, would only make things worse.

"Just give me the word, I'll splatter him," Hound grumbled.

Song took a step back, but did nothing to stop Hound, as she did not believe it was her prerogative.

"Why don't you tell Itchy Fingers here that this is all the spoils of war. Dead metal. Innovation. What we do here is science, because if we don't do it, somebody else will. Because you cannot stop technology!" The man stated, almost seeming proud of his own words.

"We're not your technology!" Optimus yelled in fury, kicking and evidently shattering several monitor screens. Song couldn't remember a time when the normally calm and stoic Autobot leader had lashed out at a human so violently.

"And yet," the man pointed to Song, "You willingly gave it to her! Do you not realize that, in reality, she is no different from us? She is not one of yours!"

Song set a heavy foot forward and bent down slightly to look him in the eye, "And niether are they to you! You have no right to use them to your sick advantage!"

"I broke the code. I own their whole genome!"

"The world will know what you're doing here," Optimus interrupted.

"The world? The world will approve. We can make you now. Don't you get it? We don't need you anymore."

Song's spark felt like it had shattered, "Don't we get it?! Don't you get it?! You know how much combined blood and Energon has been spilt to protect our ungrateful species?! Hell! My sparkmate died defending our human soldiers!
We once had an alliance. A creed to work together and defend eachother! Never once did the Autobots turn on us! And yet, Cemetery Wind continues to kill them off and you use their bodies for your own personal advancement!
No, I entirely disagree. We need them more now than ever. But there is no way on Earth we deserve them!"