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MirrorVerse: Rampage is the innocent  
By: Lady Venom

Grumbling, Rampage headed for his room. Depth Charge had beaten him again, and it was starting to wear him down. 

"Somthin' the matter?" 

Looking at Rhinox he shook his head. He never was one to share. It was always better to keep your distance. Otherwise they could end up getting hurt by Depth Charge or worse. 

"I'm fine. Just as soon as I finish healing." He rolled his shoulder as if to prove it, by showing off the large gouge in his shoulder, wires sparking, as it slowly started to close. Today had been the worst battle yet. Somehow Depth Charge had equipped an energon blade. No doubt from Megatron, he always has been after my spark. Rampage thought despairingly. 

Finally alone, he sat down by his computer, lost in memory of when everything had started. Yes, he was the rumored Protoform X; his spark fashioned after the indestructible Starscream. And Depth Charge had been with the Cybertronian Police Force, he had been there long before X, and it was him that snapped first. 

At the time, Rampage had only heard snippets of what had happened. There had been a riot; about what, the Maximal crab still had no idea. And Depth Charge had been in put in charge of dispelling it. When small burst tazers didn't stop them, he shot into the crowd wildly (some say it was after one of the mechs punched him) And then at his fellow officers when they tried to restrain him. 

He killed fifteen bots that day. Three officers, twelve teens. 

Rampages experiments had ended, and he was slowly being forced to interact with other mechs. The first few times, the meetings were in a controlled scenario with surveillance watching his every move with the scientist. The only rule was no violence. 

He passed. 

Because Depth Charge was of top priority, he was pushed through the last tests rather quickly. And he was successfully integrated into normal society. But, he knew it was a farce. That at any second he could be pulled away for even the pettiest of battles at the whim of Elders. But he tried to make the best of it nonetheless. Securing a job with a factory that specialized in making cleaning bots. He had an apartment all to himself, and he knew that his female co - worker was interested in him. Not just by the emotional waves rolling off her, but by her flirtatious advances. And then Depth Charge had shown. He had been caught before, and had somehow managed to slip away. 

That day, Rampage had an appointment with the lab, to have his spark pulse checked. When he had arrived, everyone was dead. It was obvious that the facility had been hit through the night. Depth Charge wasn't stupid, he knew that his best chances were then, under the black of night. Rampage made his way to the main security room, and saw that the main monitor had been smashed. He realized that this had been done strategically, because after check the tapes, Rampage found that the first monitor was smashed at midnight, and the others were smashed in exactly twenty minutes behind the rest. From here Depth Charge could have easily seen where his prey was. This gave him plenty of time to pick off the scientists as they slowly started to filter in. 

He searched the entire building, and found no survivors. In one room, another lab designed specifically for him, he found all the tapes of his entire life here, including his experiments and his progress, shredded. Completely destroyed. Except for one. There was a black screen with two small lines indicating it to be on hold. Pushing the play button, he found it to be a recording. There were horrified screams, sounds of twisting metal and gunfire. Primus, how could no one hear that? But he already knew the answer, the building had been sound proofed just for him. Then, he heard it. Low at first, but it was unmistakable, Depth Charge was laughing at him. There was a sudden silence, and Rampage had to wonder if that was it, when Depth Charge spoke. 

"You are an abomination to life X." 

He heard a deep growl, and listened intently, a little surprised that it was actually a mech. making that sound, and not some mythical hound of hell. 

"Your kind are not welcomed, and I will rid this land of your presence. Including any who would protect you." He could almost hear the grin on Depth Charge's face. "Even a lowly cleaning bot." 

What did he mean by…NO! Rampage stared at the screen, horrified. Then suddenly bolted, running from the building at top speed. But as he rounded the corner he could smell the smoke before he saw it. Without hesitation he ran into his place of work. The smoke surrounded him, closed in on him. He ran to her station, praying to Primus she had gotten out. The heat was so hot that his body was in a constant regenerate progress. Healing his metal as soon as it started to melt. He found her by the exit. She had been so close, her head tilted up against the door, staring at something that was long gone. Picking up her small charred body he ran into the back alleyway. 

He could tell that she had burned to death. There were no bullet holes, and her neck wasn't broken; which was Depth Charges trademark. He knelt down and hugged Chrysolite. And remembered that he was to go on his very first date with her next week. Laying her back down, he noticed something in her hand that she was clutching. It was a small silver disk. No doubt a hint as to the next spot. He thought wretchedly. But he had no time to ponder it. Sirens were wailing in the distance, and he didn't want this pinned on him, so he left. Taking one last, longing look at her he disappeared into the shadows. 

Rampage use to think that when someone 'snapped' they went insane. That they would babble incoherently, be unable to formulate any kind of logical thinking or sense. But Depth Charges mind was razor sharp, and if anything, it had freed his CPU to everything. Which could explain the disk, and what it held. 

"Life is not a game, my friend. But how can that be, when to some, games are their life? If you want to find me, then search among the stars, I'm in the biggest one." 

What did he mean, life is not a game? And the last line shouldn't be 'in' the biggest star; it should be 'on'. To find him I must search among the stars? It clues finally came together and Rampage checked his computer. 

"Nearest Starbase location." 

The computer beeped, searching the database before answering. 

"Nearest base is Starbase Rugby." 

Life is not a game, but to others the game is their life? The only thing going on in Rugby would be the Predicon - Maximal alliance conference. He needed to find a ship and get there before Depth Charge did! Leaving his apartment he started down the street, he knew there was an airport nearby, the incoming and departing flights always kept him awake. Upon arrival he spotted a starhopper, but it was under security. Moving in, he didn't even attempt at stealth. Barreling straight for the guard and grabbed his head and smashed it into the ground. Enough to knock him off line for a few mega cycles, but not enough to kill him. He didn't flinch as the bullet wounds in his chest quickly healed over. Climbing into the 'hopper he set a course for the Starbase. But once again, he was too late. He reached the Elders meeting, only to be informed that it had gone off without any trouble. So if Depth Charge wasn't after the Elders, who was he after? On a safe note he decided to check the main laboratories. There were three, and it was on the third that Rampage was allowed in. There were no guards, no scientists. He located the main security room and found the screens intact, after watching them switch to different locations for a moment he found out why. In one room, everyone was locked in, alive. Shocked, he hurried to find the room. Following the screams it didn't take long to locate it. But when he tried the door, he found it locked steadfast. To the left was a numerical keypad. Moving to use it, he heard a voice. 

"Now, before you start playing guessing games old friend, you should know that three strikes and you're out. Tick, tock." 

He watched the red motion detectors light blink off. Stopping the recording. So he only had three chances, and then what? Checking the pad he couldn't detect a bomb. But he still took the threat seriously. He tried shouting to the others that were trapped for the code, but over their wails and screams they couldn't hear him. He tried the first combination, after pressing the enter key, the number 50 appeared on the screen in green. He tried another combination and hit enter. The fifty seconds began to count down. Giving up he tried blasting the doors, but they were reinforced, and held. The numbers blinked at him. 

3…  

2… 

1…  

"NOOO!" 

The explosion knocked him back against the opposite wall, and engulfed him in flames. The wails and screams of fear soon turned to agonized moans as the mechs inside slowly cooked to death from the heat. Looking back, he always did find it odd that someone who loved fire so much would chose an aquatic beast mode. 

The feeling of the others dying was too much, and Rampage retched. Although he hadn't eaten in days, his body convulsed with dry spasms. 

Leaving the still burning building, Rampage watched a small ship leaving in the distance. He was so close! Taking off in his starhopper, Rampage followed the trail of his ship. And he was prepared to follow to the end of the galaxy if it meant putting this psycho behind bars. But, it was on Omicron that he had lost sight of him. And through word of mouth, he heard the Maximal ship Axalon had been recruiting mechs for deep space exploration. And that someone fitting Depth Charges description had applied. And that no, she couldn't say if he was accepted, it was against the rules. The ship had left mere cycles earlier, and could still be followed if he left quick enough. And this time, he was. He followed as close as he could undetected. Until finally, when he landed in the middle of the Beast Wars. With a new body, and a new fight to help with. Upon joining Optimus's team, he had learned the damage done by Depth Charge. That it would be better if he didn't go after Depth Charge right away. Rampage snorted, like Depth Charge would wait. Didn't Primal understand that he was more dangerous than he looked? That he was their only protection against the transmetal ray? 

With a jerk, Rampage sat up. Unsure of what he had just dreamt. It's something I think Fishface would find amusing… Rampage thought, chuckling darkly. 

"Rampage, report to the control deck immediately!" Megatron's voice yelled. 

Moving toward the door, he glimpsed at himself in the shiny metal. The Predicon insignia prominently displayed, as, as if to prove the falseness of his dream. But as he left, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was real. And that this one was the dream.