Young Predator

Abominus

Getting the Predacon into Hangar E was easier than the Autobots thought it would be. The reptilian giant followed Ultra Magnus around like a duckling that had imprinted on its mother. Yes, getting him inside was easy, but getting him to stay still was another thing altogether.

"So what are we gonna call him?" Miko asked excitedly once they were back inside with the creature, "Oh, I know! Sparky! Oh no wait! Dr. Claws! Do you like that name, boy?"

"Miko, if the Predacon is truly a sentient being like Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack claim then its name will already be logged into its processor," Ratchet explained while setting up his medical equipment, "Can you keep it settled down, Ultra Magnus? I need to run a few diagnostic scans on the beast and it won't stop fidgeting!"

"Why do you assume I will have any more success calming him than any of you?" Ultra Magnus asked in a feeble effort to not be saddled with the beast's care.

"Duh! Because he likes you!" Miko spoke up before Ratchet could, and Ratchet walked away with the nervous Predacon reluctantly following him, "I am so jealous of you right now, Magnus!" Miko gushed, "You get a pet dragon! How cool is that?"

"The Predacon is not a pet, soldier," Ultra Magnus pointed out, "As a newspark it has limited processing capability, but soon it will learn to transform and will then be able to comprehend its situation. We do not yet know, however, where instinct ends and intelligence begins. For all we know the Predacon could grow to be a savage and deadly threat to Team Prime."

"Um, Ultra Magnus...sir?" Jack added the sir when Ultra Magnus glared at him, "Do you think we should be calling him it? I mean, he's sentient, right? So maybe he wouldn't like being called an it. Just saying."

"You make a valid point, soldier," Ultra Magnus replied agreeably, "From now on we should speak of and to the Predacon as we would any other member of Team Prime."

"You wanna talk to him like everybody else?" Smokescreen asked as he approached the others from across the room, "But he's a sparkling, sir. He doesn't understand us yet."

"Not yet, but he will given time," Ultra Magnus insisted, "I refuse to talk down to one of our troops, even if he is a beast. I only hope the Predacon will indeed choose to stay with us, as we could use every advantage against the Decepticons we can get."

The Predacon, meanwhile, had found a spot near Ratchet's equipment and curled himself up like a cobra; his large helm poking out from his swirling body to observe everything Ratchet did. Ratchet ran several scans over the beast, and in turn the beast watched the lights of the scanner with fascination. At one point the Predacon tried batting at the green light with one of his front claws, and Ratchet almost found himself smiling at the oversized lizard-bot's antics.

When Ratchet took a sample of the Predacon's nearly indestructible armor, however, the Predacon howled in pain; an echoing noise that got everyone's attention.

"Hey Ratchet, stop hurting Dr. Claws!" Miko snapped at the old medic.

"His name isn't Dr. Claws!" Ratchet snapped back.

"Did the scan tell you what his name actually is then?" Arcee asked.

"Hm...According to this, his name is logged in as Abominus," Ratchet read off, "Gee, thanks a lot, Shockwave!" He added sarcastically.

"Abominus? That sounds kind of evil," Raf pointed out with trepidation.

"Like I said, the name was probably Shockwave's doing," Ratchet reiterated, "The poor brute came into this world as nothing but a weapon. Hopefully he can be more than that though."

"I must admit," Optimus Prime spoke up for the first time in several minutes, "That I am excited to learn more about our new houseguest. Predacons went extinct long before any live specimens could be studied. While fossil records have given us some information, there is still so much we do not know about our ancient predecessors. Until now we didn't even realize they were a sentient race. Abominus could teach us much about the social behavior and higher learning capabilities of Predacons. I only hope we will be able to provide a good living space for our new friend."