Scene #480: Another Beautiful Day in Jasper

Owner	Pose
Lockdown	Cybertronians are so predictable. Of course, when you've spent eons hunting down a certain species, it's hard not to see them as predictable. Or maybe it's just the dirt - the dirt of this planet with the same wretched name - that is irritating Lockdown and frustrating him. But Lockdown is quiet. Lockdown is patient. If there is one thing Lockdown likes about this place - Jasper - it is incredible availability of fantastic vantage points, if one has the capability to ascend rocky cliff faces. Atop a simple rocky desert butte, Lockdown waits. The Autobots of this place tend to travel down this particular section of highway, falling into a simple pattern. Lockdown exploits patterns. His face is gone, instead replaced by a simple monocular scope that extends from his forehead. There's the two-wheeler, the energon signature is unmistakable. The scope shifts upwards and Lockdown's face head and neck boil over themselves, black and silver plates shifting and clanking and whirring as a gargantuan cannon shifts into view, struts extending to brace the weapon against his chest, a set of powerful capacitators building themselves out of his shoulders. All he has to do is lead his target, just enough. With a quiet cough that belies the weapon's incredible destructive power, Lockdown fires. A single shell, accelerated to speeds enough to disable a Prime, streaks through the air, straight towards Arcee!
Arcee	Yep. Another late night. Another quiet patrol. Arcee rides alone, at this hour -- Jack's got to pretend his life is normal, in the morning. High school classes, a shift at the burger joint, a few minutes spent flirting and slacking off...it almost hurts Arcee to think of how much her presence has changed him, but her fondness for the kid exceeds her desire to protect him and return his life to normalcy. Maybe someday he'd decide he'd had enough of the Autobot war, but 'til that day comes, she's proud to have him at her side. If her thoughts hadn't been wandering, she might have caught sight of the flash on the distant peak, or heard the faint echo of something going off. Only her sensors warn her that something's up -- and that happens /way/ too late. A sudden screaming in her head wakes her from her pleasant daze, and Arcee -- heedless of any civilians on the road, if there are any -- skips her front wheel off the pavement and propels herself into a forward aerial flip. As she twists mid-air, her body unfolds, becoming the lean, slender frame of a blue-painted Autobot scout. Already, her arm cannons are buzzing to life -- not that they're going to do much good! Her attacker's at a distance, and her guns aren't big enough to deflect the high-speed shot coming her way! The alert, the transformation, the way she turns herself to face the oncoming projectile. It happens in a slow motion blur, a nano-second dragged out to eternity by the fluttering in her spark. Maybe it's the way she turns. Maybe it's pure, dumb luck. Arcee shrieks as the bolt strikes, agony lancing up her wiring from a ragged hole that scrapes her spark chamber. Energon pours from the near-lethal wound, and as she goes bouncing across the pavement in a boneless sprawl, she fires off a wide-band distress signal, not even caring who intercepts it -- the Autobots, the Decepticons, the US military, someone in the Multiverse. If her radio is even reaching /that/ far...
Lockdown	The heavy footsteps of something large walking down the asphalt - the sound, the tremor - are Arcee's first indicator of her attacker. They're almost casual in way, slowness resulting from certainty. Lockdown's sniper rifle retracts into his head and chest as he advances, allowing him to speak. "It won't go very far, Arcee," Lockdown purrs, "I have taken the liberty of jamming your long-range transmissions." He kneels down by her, arm resting on his knee. His skull-like visage is flat, but almost sad. "Your allegiance to these humans... A shame. I wonder if you would have done anything differently."
Megatron	This entire scene is watched from far above the ground, practically in Earth's orbit where the Nemesis is shielded by solar radiation and a cloaking device. At the bridge of the vessel, Megatron views this scene. Since his fight with Beelzebumon, the Decepticon leader has been forced to settle for a shard of metal crudely welded and bolted to the right eye where the digimon impaled him. He narrows his other optic, seated in his throne as Soundwave plays back the scene. Besides him is Starscream, hunched over and scratching his chin. "You're not seriously considering going down there, are you, Lord Megatron? After all, this bounty hunter could be something of an asset to us." He suggests, eyeing the screen with some interest as someone finally knocks that Autobot Arcee down a few pegs. "If he was willing to be an ally of ours, he would've offered his services." Megatron says. "He says he works for a higher power, and he targets all Cybertronians regardless of affilation. This could be a problem of sorts to /us/ as well." Pause. He thinks as the fight continues onwards, before eventually he stands. "Have the hangar bay prepared for my departure." Amid Starscream's protests, Megatron tunes them out as he storms towards the hangar. By the time he's out, there's nothing the sky commander can do to persuade Megatron otherwise. He descends from on high, headed straight towards Jasper itself via ground bridge. He tracks the distress signal picked up from Arcee, and he definitely has something of a personal interest in this. Converting into robot mode, Megatron lands among the mountains, tracing the sounds of cannon fire that seem oddly reminiscient of the MAC weaponry used by snipers back in the day, back on Cybertron millions of years before. He certainly gets lucky, as he storms down the road to where a black Cybertronain is hunched over Arcee's prone form. "Hnmph." A single fusion blast streaks across to nail Lockdown's side, the Decepticon counting on this mercenary's arrogance to give him an opening. "If anyone is going to destroy Optimus Prime, one sychophant of his at a time, it shall me at /my/ hands, not those of a common pirate and scavenger." Consider the gauntlet thrown /down./
Arcee	Arcee drags herself along the highway a few dozen feet by the time Lockdown catches up. It looks like she might have been trying to find some kind of cover -- a smart move, if futile, given the glowing trail of energon she leaves behind. Lockdown has his moment of purring malice, and Arcee her last gasping defiance: "I wouldn't have changed a thing," she spits back at him. She's got one of her arm blades up and cocked at an angle across her face. It seems as if every word is a struggle. "I will always be an Autobot...and I will always follow wherever Optimus Prime leads me. At any cost." Arcee shouts, and swipes her armblade at Lockdown -- just before another sizzling blast whites out her vision. Squinting in the glare, she gazes past Lockdown to see who or /what/ has come to her rescue, hoping against gut instinct to see her beloved leader in all his majesty headed her way... "I-impossible..." That isn't Optimus Prime's silhouette. It is a figure she knows almost as well, but one for whom she holds no love. A towering figure of supreme dominance and absolute malice, Arcee's rescuer is none other than -- "Megatron?" Time to get it together. Arcee flinches and drags herself back on her elbows another foot or two, fighting for the strength Lockdown's assault sapped from her body. She's still got it, somewhere! Just gotta get past the shock...just gotta dig deep.
Lockdown	Lockdown raises his right arm and makes a show of examining it, extending a rather wicked looking instrument from where his hand should be. He cocks it like a weapon, this tool for ripping out sparks, and tilts his head, listening to Arcee. "Then I am here to collect," Lockdown rasps. He raises one foot, as if to hold Arcee down while- And a great purple blast of energon strikes him in the side, sending Lockdown sprawling. Smoke rises from the damage, and Lockdown turns his green optics in the direction of his attacker. "A scavenger? You are sorely mistaken, Megatron." Lockdown pushes himself to his feet, Arcee forgotten for the moment. After all, she was about five seconds from being offline - there's no way she could threaten him, right? Lockdown would double-check but, well, Megatron is a much more pressing concern. Lockdown charges him, spark extractor sliding back into his arm, hook extending in its place. A wrist-blade extends from his other and, as it does, Lockdown leaps through the air, spinning like a top, arms extended. He's gone straight on the attack, intent on meeting Megatron strength to strength! He's not that much bigger than Bumblebee, this bounty hunter. Is he mad?
Megatron	A smirk crawls across Megatron's face as he savors the sheer disbelief and shock on Arcee's face. There is something rather satisfying about being able to actually be able to faze the normally unflappable and defiant Autobot like this, and this is definitely a question of territory. Arching his brow when Lockdown begins to approach him, Megatron unfolds his blade and pops his neck. "Suit yourself." He retorts, before he raises his bladed arm to parry Lockdown's attack before he wraps his massive arms around the bounty hunter. In a grip akin to an anaconda wrapped around prey, Megatron begins to apply leverage to Lockdown. He then brings Lockdown to the ground, suplexing him with the impact of a bomb. This just harkens back to when he was but Megatronus, the gladiator of Kaon rising the ranks. Oh man, does the nostalgia trip feel good.
Arcee	"/Primus/," Arcee mutters. Lockdown's smaller than Megatron by a good amount, but he doesn't back down from any kind of threat, does he? At least she's given some space and time, and the chance to assess her condition. It's bad. If she pushes herself too far, if she takes another direct hit, she's scrapmetal for sure. "I've faced worse odds than this..." Airachnid's interrogation chamber. Shockwave's lab. Doom had hung over Arcee more than once in her lifespan, and facing it again does nothing more but bring out a grim, determined smile. Oh, she's afraid, but why submit to something as small as fear? Fear can be conquered. Fear can be forgotten. Death is a bit too final. "So let's see if I can beat 'em again. Hey, LOCKDOWN -- " Arcee brings up her left arm, the blaster cannon warmed. It flashes, spitting a single, precise bolt into the close fray between Lockdown and Megatron. Arcee's a sharpshooter too, y'know. Lockdown might be a master sniper, but she's got raw talent on her side.
Lockdown	Crunch! Lockdown hits the ground, hard. He snarls, bringing that hook around to try and tear at Megatron's grip on him, pulling himself free. Of course, before he can do too much damage to Megatron, Arcee nails him with an energon bolt. Sparks fly, green energon splatters onto the Jasper desert, and Lockdown turns the force of the shot into a roll, trying to keep the Decepticon between him and Arcee. "Autobots and Decepticons working together?" Lockdown rasps, "Far too late!" Kicking up dust as he leaps and jumps around, Lockdown snaps off a volley of shots at Arcee. To Megatron, however, Lockdown swings his hook in at the larger Cybertronian's knees. It's a simple enough matter to disable joints - just jam the hook in, twist, and pull and dart out again before Megatron can bring any one of his many powerful weapons to bear.
Megatron	The hook grabs onto Megatron's ankle, but the Decepticon only digs in his heels as he gives Arcee a glare before his attention shifts back to Lockdown. Stumbling forwards, he uses the force of it into a lunging move as he relies on sheer stubbornness and armor plating to tank the injury. His blade is still extended, and he raises it with a coiled arm. "This means /nothing./" He snarls, before his arm reaches to grab Lockdown. His blade strikes like a cobra's bite, stabbing repeatedly at Lockdown with multiple punches with enough force to crumble granite. He is EXTREMELY strong, and he aims for Lockdown's chest and throat as he stabs and cuts away in the melee.
Arcee	Hey, a life-saving dodge doesn't have to be pretty so long as it works, right? As soon as Lockdown points his guns her way, she's pushing herself into a sideways roll. It's awkward, it has no sign of her usual fluid agility, but it gets her out of harm's way, for the most part. Some glassed shrapnel hits her chassis, leaving superficial scratches across her less mangled parts. The heat's worse, and so's the light; her optic's fuzz out momentarily, and she swoons back like she's dizzied. That, before she gets her smile back, and -- relying on a handy boulder for support -- starts to drag herself back to her feet. "You know you must be real trouble whenever we're willing to work together to take you out, Lockdown. It's not too late -- disarm yourself, surrender, and you might get out of this alive!" Tough words. She's good at tough words, and standing up is certainly a tough act, but it's taking an awful long time for her guns to heat up again. If anything, she's a distraction, nothing else -- something to turn Lockdown's head at a vital moment.
Lockdown	Lockdown moves. Megatron stabs at him, again and again, with a blade that is almost as long as his arm. Lockdown dodges under one of them, weaves past another, and slips around a third. The fourth, however, finally manages to catch him. With a squeal of metal, sparks arcing into the air, Lockdown is struck. Smiling grimly at Megatron, Lockdown places his hands on either side of his blade and twists his palms and his own body, putting all of his strength into snapping off Megatron's blade at the wrist and disarming him. "Do you take me for a fool, Arcee?" Lockdown snaps, and he catches a boulder with his two-toed food, kicking it in her direction. "/You/ are going to die! You are /both/ going to die!" Lockdown snarls, stepping around Megatron and aiming a vicious kick at his knee!
Megatron	Metal screeches and squeals as Megatron's blade is broken off, but not for lack of trying on Megatron's end as he stands his ground. He doesn't flinch, he doesn't wince, Megatron doesn't even seem broken up about the loss of his sword. Before he could even lose the thing, he was quick to try and twist the blade inside of Lockdown. He has his fists anyway, and he issues a rebuttal to Lockdown with a swift swing towards his face. The punching doesn't stop, the Decepticon issuing a double-jab before he feels a foot knock his balance out of whack to the knee. "No, just /you./" He growls back, lunging to tackle Lockdown to the ground. "YOU and anyone else foolish enough to stand in a king's way!"
Arcee	Arcee's next snap is meant for Megatron. "My radio's jammed! Is yours free?!" Megatron /would/ come alone, wouldn't he? Typical. Can't stand to share the glory under any circumstances. Probably thought the fight would be easy, and that he'd get a chance to show off in front of his enemy. Megatron has to be surprised by Lockdown's skill and resilience, as Arcee is. He's a level above the typical Autobot, probably a rival for Prime himself, in a favorable scenario. Megatron is a less honorable foe than Optimus is, however -- might his dirty tricks give him the edge? Arcee's right hand clutches at her chest; she keeps her left aimed at the brawling 'bots. Almost frantic, she keeps her distress signal broadcasting, all frequencies cycling in loops while the rest of her Cybertronian brain fixates on the fight and on survival. Energon levels running low, she notes. If she's going to take another shot, it has to count. It has to. And with Megatron now in a close grapple with Lockdown, she's left waiting. In a tone of concern she /never/ expected to use for the Decepticon leader, she calls out: "/Megatron/ -- get out of the way!" Of course, it occurs to her, he probably doesn't want to share any glory with her, either.
Lockdown	Lockdown hurls Megatron's broken blade aside, but catches that fist on his cheek. Bits of metal go flying, clinking and clanging where they clatter onto the asphalt. "A king?!" Lockdown retorts, falling with Megatron, but slipping out of his grip to clamber onto his back, grabbing onto those spikes on his pauldron. Lockdown readies his hook, and swings for Megatron's face - he's trying to take out his other optic! "A king of a dead world and a dying species!" Lockdown snarls. "Join your subjects, scum!" Yeah, that's going to be a hard shot for Arcee to take.
Megatron	Megatron isn't too quick to lose another optic, not so soon after having suffered the loss of one as it is. He raises his arm to block the strike to his left optic, despite the hook's spikes impaling his forearm. Pain lances up his arm, but it's the kind of pain Megatron has been accustomed to since he was but a rookie in the ring, battered to pieces. "Who /sent/ you here?" He roars, right in Lockdown's face as he stuggles to bring his fusion cannon to bear. That jab definitely hit a nerve. It's a hell of an effort to do that, but after wrestling with Lockdown for a bit, Megatron braces his cannon's barrel to the bounty hunter's stomach. He tenses his fist. The cannon fires. "WHO. DO. YOU. SERVE!?"
Arcee	Yeah. Arcee's not going to get that shot, not unless Lockdown pulls off a miracle move. Megatron has far too much control over the brawl, and his positioning is too in the way of her own line of sight. The possibility exists for her to shoot both Megatron /and/ Lockdown; however, she decides not to take the chance. If she disables Megatron and Lockdown stays in the fight, that shot would have been nothing more than a signature on her death certificate. Arcee lets out another weak, shuddering breath, and continues trying the radio for anyone, anywhere. "Optimus. Ratchet. Does anyone read?" It's got to be close to check-in time, right? Soon enough, it'll be realized she's gone missing. Or not soon enough. "Soundwave. Starscream. /Someone/ -- we need immediate support at our location." With her radio jammed, there's no way to tell that her words are being heard. All she can do is sit, wait, and keep her cannon charged. How much more can Lockdown take?
Lockdown	Lockdown eats the fushion cannon blast straight on. It strikes him in the abdomen and sends him flying, crashing through rocks and cacti, taking a chunk out of the asphalt as he /bounces/ against it. "I serve the end of all things, oh mighty king!" Lockdown replies, pushing himself back up, redundant systems coming online. Still, the ground hisses with the contact of green energon, smoke rising from the dirt. He might still be willing to fight, but he doesn't have an answer for that fusion cannon. So, the four missile racks on Lockdown's shoulders flip down into a firing position - and he gives Megatron a full barrage! Lockdown limps backwards as he fires missile after missile, twelve in total, contrails streaking through the air as he hammers away at the larger Cybertronian.
Megatron	Megatron stops and stares at Lockdown, just as it begins to register within him. End of all things...isn't that- /"Unicron."/ He growls with optic narrowed. "Even in death you taunt me..." He says, before he overhears Arcee for a moment. "Soundwave, this is Megatron. Report, now!" He barks into his comm suite to the Nemesis, only getting static. Snarling in anger, he is about to charge Lockdown before he takes the brunt of his barrage of rockets, hammered with several of the twelve projectiles as he's knocked off his feet and onto his back, leaving behind several scorchmarks and breaches in his armor. If only he could hold out just a bit longer, Soundwave may be able to triangulate his position to send in backup. Until then, he and Arcee have only each other to rely upon with this mercenary. Growling, Megatron raises his fusion cannon as he forces himself to stand, blasting away at Lockdown without mercy.
Arcee	There it is. The opening. Arcee's optics narrow. The scene slows. Megatron staggers beneath the barrage, falls, and Lockdown backsteps, still braced against the forces his assault generates. Shifting her arm further to the left, bringing up her other hand to brace her limb at the elbow, Arcee fixes her sharp aim on Lockdown's back -- specifically, at the shoulder supporting his hook-arm. Disabling his most effective weapon might be enough to chase him from the field. Or it might just remind him Arcee's still in the fight. She fires.
Lockdown	Megatron's blasts drive him back, Lockdown ducks and weaves to prevent himself from getting hit. But, unknowingly, this drives him right into Arcee's line of fire. Her blast flies straight and true, and Lockdown's arm goes limp. He grunts, spinning around, and levels his own energon blaster at Arcee. He snaps off a shot, and then turns to blast away at Megatron. It's a high-pitched whine of a sound, but more than capable of rending Cybertronian living metal. It is bad though. He needs all of his limbs to stand a chance. Without that arm, he can't quite roll and spin and dance around the battlefield as he has taken to doing. They can pin him down.
Megatron	The blast hits Megatron square in the chest, staggering him a few paces with a grunt. "You're remarkably resilient for a mere mercenary...your reputation is well earned." He growls, before he regains his footing. Noting that wounded arm, Megatron grins a fanged smile before he turns to nod towards Arcee. For /now/ they need each other, after this things will no doubt go back to their usual routine. Meanwhile, Soundwave remains aboard the Nemesis, working tirelessly and endlessly to cut through the jamming signal set up and tracking Megatron's position, garbled as the tracker is. Silent and calm, the comms officer /finally/ gets a clear signal. It's all for a second or so, but it's enough for Soundwave to guess. [DECEPTICONS; MEGATRON LOCATED. PROVIDE SUPPORT IMMEDIATELY.] That musical growl, synthesized with that bizarre autotuned tone, echoes through to a strike team of Vehicons. The ground bridge opens up, and they immediately go through to the other side. Over the horizon on the battlefield, a group of black and purple sports cars speed towards the scene, blasters activated. They ignore Arcee...for now.
Arcee	That blast -- Arcee throws herself to the ground. Lockdown's blast sizzles through the air above, turning the tips of her winglets into melted slag. It hurts, but not as much as it would if it had struck something more vital. Seeing the Vehicons in the distance gives Arcee an odd feeling of relief. Odd, because who would've thought she'd come to rely on Megatron to this extent? It's a rare thing, this factional team-up, but whenever Unicron is involved, it seems the sigil on one's chassis matters way less than the chassis itself. Cybertronians united to defend the universe -- isn't that how it should always be? Arcee keeps low, her gun cool, her blade folded back. She won't give the Vehicons any reason to think she's a hostile, too. Besides, she's at the point now where she needs to conserve her strength. Optimus is due for his own appearance, isn't he? So she hopes... "You're outgunned, Lockdown! What's it gonna be -- surrender, or scrapmetal?"
Lockdown	"I choose neither," Lockdown replies, reaching into his chest for something. It's a small cylinder, silver, and when he squeezes it it begins to glow - electric-blue. He drops the cylinder - a bomb of some sort - right in the path of the oncoming Vehicons. Lockdown breaks into a run and dives onto his chest, fluidly switching into his vehicle mode. He's off and down the road just as the grenade detonates. It's an odd explosion, progressing in stages or something like it. It blasts in waves out from the central point, a few feet by a few feet... ...and everything caught in the blast is turned into Cybertronian metal. Lockdown uses the confusion and the smoke and the fire to make his escape!