- Runner-up for "Most Gripping Suspense-thriller" 2005
Mr. Crowley
By: VampyerBA
Authors Notes: I do not own Beast Wars or it's characters. I do own King Kat, Nightflight, Stardancer, Moonshine, and Powerstrike however. Mr.Crowley belongs to Black Sabbath.
Prologue
On Cybertron
Nightflight opened up the door to his apartment and let out a heavy sigh. He had just finished his twelve hour shift at work and was exhausted. He collapsed on the couch.
“Work was that bad again, huh?” asked Stardancer, his fiancée. She was sitting on the opposite couch facing him.
“I can’t keep working these twelve hour shifts everyday. It’s too much!”
“But, we need the money.”
“
I know…” Stardancer and Nightflight had been planning to get married for over a year. They wanted to get a nice big house and raise a family together. But, there was one problem. They didn’t have the money. So, for now they were stuck in a tiny apartment with Nightflight working twelve hour shifts at a dead end job. But, he would do anything to make Stardancer happy. She was the love of his life. They had been together for three years now and his love for her never stopped. Not even for the slightest moment. She was an extremely attractive femme; petite with a blue and silver frame. While Nightflight was big and bulky with a green and purple torso. He could never quite figure out what she ever saw in him. Of course, he never complained.“You know Nightflight, there might be an alternative to all this.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. Stardancer shoved a newspaper towards him.
“Look at the second ad.” He glanced down. The ad read: Interested in technology? Want to make a contribution to the world of science? We need young, hardworking bots in this once in a lifetime experience. Pays well. For more information, call Mr. Crowley at 1-888-Crowley.
“Well, what do you think?” asked Stardancer,
“Something doesn’t sound right.”
“Sounds okay to me.”
“
Mr. Crowley…. the name just makes me uncomfortable.”“But it says it pays good money. Can’t we just look into it?”
“I don’
t know…”“Please?” she begged. He couldn’t say no to her.
“Alright, alright. Phone the number and get more information.” Stardancer jumped up and squealed.
“Oh thank you!” She gave him a big hug then went off into the next room to use the phone. A couple of minutes later she returned with a huge grin on her face.
“Did you talk to Mr. Crowley?”
“No, I talked to his assistant. He was busy.”
“And?”
“Mr. Crowley is a scientist. They need a lot of participants to test some new theories of his.”
“Theories? Did the assistant tell you what these theories involve?”
“No, but she says we get five thousand dollars each just for participating!”
“Well, that certainly is a lot of money. But, I’d like to know more first.”
“Well, she said that she could tell us more in person if we were interested. It’s too confidential to give out any more information over the phone.”
“When do you want to go?” Stardancer smiled.
“Why, right now of course.”
Nightflight and Stardancer were greeted by the assistant, Moonfire. She was gold and silver, with long black hair. She would have been in her mid- 30’s if she were human. She looked professional, but very beautiful. She spoke with a thick accent, which seemed to be a mix of Jamaican and Transylvanian.
“Welcome, I am Mr.Crowleys assistant, Moonfire.” She said.
“Yes, we spoke on the phone,” replied Stardancer.
“Mhmm. I guess I shall start you off by giving you the grand tour.” She led them down the halls of the huge building they were in. It was out in the middle of nowhere, really. About an hour away from Nightflight and Stardancers apartment. Each room they went into was filled with machinery and heavy equipment new to the both of them. They went in every room except for the basement.
“Where’s Mr. Crowley right now?” asked Nightflight.
“In the basement with the residents.”
“Residents…people live here?” he asked,
“His patients.”
“You mean the people who responded to the ad?”
“Yes. Before I explain anymore, the two of you must sign a contract stating that any information given out from this point on shall not be spoken outside of this building.”
“Of course. We understand.” Said Stardancer, speaking for Nightflight. Moonfire handed them the contracts and they both signed it.
“Excellent,” the assistant said. She now pointed towards two chairs across the room.
“You may want to take a seat, for what I am about to tell you might come as a shock.” Nightflight and Stardancer sat on the hard chairs as Moonfire continued.
“Mr.Crowleys goal here is to see how much power a robot can take. You see…his patients are his experiments. All of his work is safe of course. It has been tested on lower life forms first.
“What kind of power?” Nightflight questioned, not buying any of it.
“How would you feel if you were able tot urn invisible? If you could set anything on fire with the wink of an eye, or have the ability to move things with your own mind?”
“
Telekinesis? I studied it in college…I never knew it really existed!” exclaimed Stardancer.“It wasn’t real, just a myth. That is, until Mr. Crowley came along.”
“Why does he want to do all this? For what purpose?” asked Nightflight.
“Mr. Crowley wants to help our kind. Having these powers, imagine all you could do. All of those you could help.”
“And we get paid, right?” he wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a hoax.
“Yes, you get paid. But there is a catch.”
“And that is?”
“While the experimentation is going on, you must stay here and become a resident until all of the testing is complete. You may be a danger to the outside world.”
“But you said it was safe. Said that it was meant to HELP the outside world.”
“For you, it is safe. But, we will not know how strong your powers will be. You have to learn to control them first before we let you go.”
“Okay, I’ve heard enough. Star, we’re getting out of here.”
“But Nightflight!”
“Come on Star!”
“Think about it. It’d be like those movies we always used to watch. We could be like super heroes.”
“It’s only five grand to let them put who knows what into our circuits! I don’t think so.” Nightflight grabbed Stardancers arm, dragging her out of the room. As they got to the door, Moonfire spoke up.
“Oh, Nightflight, before you go there is one more thing,” Nightflight cocked his head at her.
“And what’s that?” he spat.
“It is five grand a week.”
“Did you say week?”
End Prologue.
Part One
It was late evening and Cheetor was alone in the base with Rhinox. Optimus, Rattrap, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia had left to retrieve a maximal stasis pod an hour earlier. A few minutes ago, Optimus had just radioed the base and said they had made a success, without even seeing the Predacons. Usually, the Maximals would not have had such good luck. Cheetor waited impatiently, eager to see the new bot. About twenty minutes passed before the rest of the Maximals arrived.
“Rhinox, Cheetor, meet King Kat.” Before them stood a very tall young male. He was a transmetal lion, with a tan and black form. He was not much older than Cheetor. Rhinox nodded at the newcomer and Cheetor didn’t wait to make an introduction himself.
“Hey there fellow cat bot. I’m Cheetor.” Said the Maximal extending his hand. King Kat shook it.
“Nice to meet you Cheetor.”
“Cheetor, since you two have gotten acquainted why don’t you show King Kat around the base?”
“Sure thing Big Bot.” Cheetor left the room, King Kat following. It took about ten minutes for Cheetor to show him most of their base. Along the way, they talked about the Beast Wars and some of Cheetor’s experiences.
“So, how bad are these Preds?”
“Oh, you defiantly don’t wanna keep your guard down. Megatron always has something up his armor sleeve.”
“Megatron’s the one I should look out for then?”
“Well, he’s their leader. But if you ask me, Tarantulas is the one you gotta watch.”
“Why’s that?”
“He’s got a few wires missing or something. He’s always making up new inventions, being a mad scientist and all. I guess that’s what he is. Either way, he’s crazy!”
“Inventions…like what?”
“You won’t believe this one. One time he got me in his old lair…” King Kat interrupted.
“Lair?”
“Yeah, his lair. Anyways, he hooked me up on this spider web which was attached to a machine…” again interrupted.
“Machine?”
“Uh Huh. This machine was draining all of my energy.” Hearing this story made King Kat feel sick. His head was spinning, mech fluid was boiling, and Cheetor didn’t notice. He just kept going on,
“… he was going to drink my mech-fluid. Sick huh?” No response.
“Are you okay?” Suddenly, King Kat fell to his knees and yelled out in pain. Beams of electricity were shooting out of his body. It was so forceful it caused all of the power in the base to shut down.
“Whoa…King Kat?” Again no response. The new Maximal had passed out.
“Optimus, a little help!” Optimus arrived within seconds.
“What happened Cheetor?”
“King Kat just started to freak out. Then, all the bolts of lighting were shooting out of his system!”
“That must be why the power’s out. But…how did this happen?”
“I don’t know Big Bot. But, I do know that something’s not right.”
When King Kat emerged from the CR chamber, all of the Maximals were there. Most of the lights were back on, except for a couple who were flickering like mad.
“What’s going on?” he asked, not remembering what had just happened two hours earlier.
“You gave us quite the scare King Kat. You had some kind of spasm. Cheetor said electricity was emitting from your body.” Responded the leader.
“Oh…”
“Yeah, an’ it shut down all of our power,” added Rattrap.
King Kat looked towards the ground, avoiding everyone’s concerned glances.
“I did a scan of your system, and I found something. In your core, there is a chip. I noticed a lot of electric shocks circling around it. Some kind of strange energy really. It seems as if someone placed it there.” Said Rhinox. King Kat wanted to ignore their questions, but he knew he would have to explain.
“I highly doubt that it could have been placed there since the short time you’ve been here. Do you know how it happened? I’m sure it would of happened on Cybertron.” Added Optimus.
“Yeah, I remember.” Said King Kat, still facing the ground.
“Well, fill us in Kat,” replied Cheetor, curious about what was going on with his new comrade.
“Back on Cybertron, I was part of a science experiment. I willingly let scientists put chemicals in my body to test how well I could hold electricity in my circuits.”
“Why in the pit would you go and do something like that?” Blackarachnia asked rudely.
“I was stupid and needed money okay! And it was the worst mistake of my life.”
“How does it effect you?” The leader was very concerned now, about the well being of King Kat and the rest of the Maximals.
“Every now and then, I have little outbursts of lighting that shoots out of my body.”
“Little!” exclaimed Rattrap. “Dat was more dan just a little if ya ask me.”
“That was because I was upset. You see, my emotions control the lighting. That’s why it’s attached to my core. If I’m just a little mad, the electricity isn’t that bad. Most of the time I can control it and use it to my advantage.”
“How so?” asked Silverbolt.
“Like this.” King Kat closed his eyes and concentrated hard. Some of the lights in the base which were flickering now came on.
“Ultra gear!” yelled Cheetor.
“Yeah, I thought so too at first. But, it comes with a lot of consequences. If I get real mad, watch out. Sometimes it is even too strong for me to control, and people get hurt.”
“Hmm, is it reversible?” asked Optimus.
“Only by the guy who put it in me. And he’s not here now.”
“Rhinox?” Optimus asked as he looked towards his good friend. He hoped that Rhinox had a solution.
“I’d need to be able to control the energy in his body to even get close to the chip. One touch and I could fry.”
“Well then, I guess we’ll all just have to adjust.” Said Optimus.
“Does it hurt?” Cheetor asked.
“Sometimes. If I have powerful spasms, I get migraines. Which, by the way, I feel one coming on. Mind if I lye down?”
“Go ahead.” Replied his new leader. King Kat left the room, holding on to his head which was now starting to pound.
“Poor King Kat,” said Cheetor. “There’s gotta be something we can do.” Silverbolt was also sympathizing with the young male.
“I cannot even begin to imagine what our new comrade has gone through.” He said.
“Cheetor, Silverbolt, I’d like to help him too. Maybe some day we’ll find a way to fix this problem. But for now, we have to just let it be.”
That night, King Kat lay on his bed unable to sleep. He felt a little scared being in a war. Although he was nearly a grown mech, he still felt like a child. He shouldn’t be in a war. He had seen enough bots die to last him a life time. King Kat felt like he was all alone. Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. He was used to hiding. But not anymore. Now he would have to stand and fight the enemy. King Kat most of all dreaded this empty feeling he had deep inside. Why? Because she was no longer with him.
End Part One.
Part Two
A month went by since King Kats arrival and he had proven to be a big help around the base, There was no need for Rhinox to spend hours repairing machinery and equipment any more. King Kat could do it all with his powers within minutes. He has not had any serious spasms since his first day in the Beast Wars, either. Here and there he felt frustrated or confused, his body would give off little harmless sparks. The Maximals were very glad to have King Kat a part of the team. Especially Cheetor.
Since Tigertron and Airazor were abducted, Cheetor had no one to confide in. The rest of the Maximals saw him as a child. They didn’t take him seriously. Not King Kat though. He was very understanding of Cheetor and would talk to him about anything. One day, Cheetor got curious. He wanted to know more about King Kats past. He wanted to understand what he was going through.
“King Kat, I’ve told you all about my self. You practically know my life story.”
“Right from your first day of school to your first play ground fight. You’ve just grown up so much.” King Kat teased.
“Hey, come on. Don’t you think it’s time you shared a little about yourself?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything you wanna share.”
“Alright, I guess I’ll let you in on the basics. As a kid, I grew up in poverty. My dad split when I was really young. I don’t remember much about him. I do remember he crushed my mom. So, at a young age I wanted to give her everything that he never did. I quit school and got a job. A few years later she got very ill. She…died.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Her death brought something wonderful. The day of her funeral was the day I met the love of my life.” King Kat paused, feeling the pain come back. A few sparks came out of him. Cheetor assumed that the sparks were just like any other day, and didn’t notice King Kats pain. Not the pain from the sparks, but the pain he felt speaking of her.
“Go on,” said Cheetor.
“Her name was Stardancer. Primus, she was beautiful. I had never seen anyone like her in my life. She knew my mother through volunteering. She volunteered at the hospital my mother died in. So, not only was she beautiful be she was kind too. My mother had spoken of her enough, but I had never met her previous to this day. When she saw me, she came over to comfort me. Right from the start I could see what a kind natured femme she was. Although my mother had just passed away, for days all I could think about was Stardancer. As wrong as that may sound, it’s the truth. I knew I had to be with her.”
“Did you tell her?”
“Not right away. One day, she came to check up on me; see how I was doing. She told that she’d really like to help in anyway possible and come by to see her sometime. We started to spend a few days a week with each other. Then it became every other day, and soon enough, it was every day. It didn’t take long for us to fall in love. She was the most understanding bot. She encouraged me to finish school, and I did. It was all because of her that I am even here now.” King Kat didn’t want to say anymore, but of course he would have to at this point.
“Sounds like you still love her.” Then the dreaded question came. “Where is she now?” The pain was getting worse again. Even more shocks were emitting from him now. King Kat shook it off quickly, trying to hide his emotions.
“She was killed. She died to save me.”
“Aww man...mega bummer. I’m sorry to hear that Kat. I…I know how it feels to loose someone close to you.” It took all of his might for Nightflight, now known as King Kat, to stop himself from crying.
“After it happened…I hid. You see, the guy that killed her was powerful. He was from the government. The bad side of the government. He was given all of that money to trick bots like me and Stardancer, to perform tests on us, and make sure we could never escape. So when I did escape, the entire pit was let loose. Hit men were always looking for me. I was hiding for about six months until I joined the Axalon. I had to get away from him. And by the looks of it, I managed. I escaped once again.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.” Suddenly, the Ark shook and the alarms started to go off. Optimus’ voice could be heard over the bases speakers.
“Maximals, to your stations. We’re under attack!”
“Looks like you won’t be needing to say anything,” said King Kat, relived to get out of the conversation and yet scared of what he would now have to face outside. The two of them ran down the halls and through the front door that lead them outside to where the rest of the Maximals were. Fighting the enemy.
As they arrived outside, all havoc was loose. QuickStrike had shot a venomous bullet into Silverbolt's chest plate. Although the Maximal was in a lot of pain, he held his own and stood his ground. A few feet away, Blackarachnia was using her martial arts skills on Transmetal Two Dinobot. He was able to block most of them. Just as she went to kick him in the face, he caught her foot and twisted it. She fell to the ground.
“Oof!” she muttered as she hit the ground.
“Beloved!” shouted Silverbolt. QuickStrike caught on to this and shot Silverbolt again. The wolf-eagle howled out his wolf like cry in pain. Dinobot looked towards the two fuzors directions, and as he did, Blackarachnia kicked him square in the face, as she had planned to before. Off in the distance, Rattrap was hiding behind a boulder, ready to fire at Waspinator who had been engaging Rhinox. But, Inferno spotted him from the air before Rattrap could do so. Inferno fired at Rattrap, blowing the boulder to smithereens.
“Fool! You cannot trick those from the colony!” The fire ant shouted as he landed in front of Rattrap who was now standing.
“Nah, I s'pose I can’t,” he replied. “But ya aint from the colony ya dumb ant!” he remarked sarcastically while shooting back. While all of this was occurring, Optimus had been fighting with Megatron as usual, and the poor Maximal leader wasn’t doing so well. His chest plate was oozing with mech fluid. He was now on his knees as Megatron beat him with his Tyrannosaurus tail, which was also his gun.
“Big bot!” yelled Cheetor. As he ran to go help his friend, Megatron shot him and Cheetor fell backwards landing on his rear. King Kat, observing all of the commotion, had no idea what to do. He was used to running from the bad guys. Suddenly, he had an idea. He closed his eyes and concentrated hard. Pictured Megatron’s exactly position and where his spark would be.
“King Kat do something!” yelled Cheetor. Then, King Kat opened his optics which were now glowing a bright white. Beams of electricity gathered in his hands. He could feel the power. He threw his arms forwards as hard as he could. The beams were sent straight to Megatron, hitting him directly where his spark was. Megatron went flying a few feet backwards and hit the ground with a loud THUMP! Electricity waves were visible and flowing all over the Predacons body. He was screaming out in agony, for this pain was almost unbearable. Then, he fell silent. Inferno, who had witnessed what had happened, ran over to Megatron's side.
“Royalty!” the loyal drone yelled. Megatron just flinched, unable to make much movement. It was as if he were paralyzed.
“You Maximals will burn for this!” Just as he lifted up his flame thrower, out of the corner of his eye he could see Megatron lift a single finger towards him. He was reaching out for the ant. Inferno now realized that his “Queen” was in a great amount of pain, or he would never have made such a gesture.
“Stop!” he yelled at his comrades. “The queen is hurt. We must get her to a CR tank!” Waspinator came to his side as the rest of the Predacons fell back. As the two of them dragged Megatron away, King Kat helped Optimus to his feet.
“Wow, what in da pit was dat?”
“That was Kat! Did you see what he did to Megs?” exclaimed Cheetor.
“Of course I saw! But…how did you do dat?”
“A little concentration can go a long way.” Responded King Kat.
“Will he be alright?” asked Silverbolt.
“He’ll be out for about a day or two.”
“Well, I guess these powers of yours can do a lot more good than we imagined King Kat,” said Optimus, putting his arm around the lion. Optimus quickly pulled his arm away as he gasped.
“What was that all about?” asked Blackarachnia.
“Your…temperature. It’s extremely hot.” Said the leader.
“Yeah, another side effect.”
“Doesn’t it burn?” a curious Rhinox questioned.
“Nah, I feel just fine. Actually, I feel great.”
As the Maximals entered the Ark, a Predacon was watching them in the shadows. Watching, and listening. He was careful never to be seen. He put a claw up to his chin and rubbed it for a second as he thought to himself. His eyes lit up as he smirked, which shortly turned into laughter. The laughter of a mad man.
The next day, Megatron emerged the CR tank with a splitting headache. At first, he had no idea where he was. He could hear voices, but couldn’t make out who was saying what. Everything was a blur. It took a few minutes for him to be able to see clearly. QuickStrike, Inferno and Waspinator were in the room. As soon as they came into view, he felt the chest pain again. This time, not so severe. But it was there none the less.
“Welcome back, Boss Bot.” QuickStrike was the first to say anything.
“How long have I been out?” asked Megatron.
“A whole day, Royalty! Nothing of Importance has happened since you have been in repairs.”
“Except that ant bot try to boss Waspinator around.” Said an unhappy Waspinator.
“Silence. I have much to think about.”
“Such as?” asked Inferno.
“That new Maximal. His power was none like I’ve ever seen before.”
“Yeah, that new bot may be strong, but I aint scared of em. Want me ta go over there right now boss? I could show em a thang or two for messing with us preds!”
“No, not now. I wonder…where did he get his powers from?”
“My queen, perhaps something happened to his pod when he landed.”
“That could be, but I do not think that is the case. Blast those Maximals. It is now in our disadvantage that they have him…King Kat. If only I had gotten there on time! Slag!” cursed a very unhappy Megatron. His followers decided it would be best for them to leave Megatron alone for the time being, since all of them had felt the wraith of Megatron when he was mad. The leader sat in the command room for a long time, and thought about ways to get the new Maximal on his side. So far, none would work. The Predacon leader had no idea, that among his team mates, one of them had a far better idea. One who knew King Kat, very well.
Tarantulas sat in his lair, and got everything for his plan ready. He had two machines hooked up, standing side by side. They were both 12 feet tall and five feet wide. They had metal bars attached to them to strap the victims in so there was no chance for escape. Over the head was a huge head piece. The head piece would be placed on them to keep their heads in place and focused. Attached to the head beams came another long device that had several long and very sharp needles that would be injected in the chest plate, arms, legs, and stomach. The two machines looked identical. All except for one thing. The one placed on the left had a memory extractor within the head device. Yes, his plan was ready. All there was left to do was wait. There was no way he could escape. At least, not this time.
End Part Two
Part Three
On this particular day, Optimus had assigned Cheetor and King Kat to go on scout patrol together. They were assigned coordinates 14-5-03, which was near the desert. King Kat had never been assigned to go out that way before so Cheetor had to show him where it was. It was a good twenty minutes away from their base if they walked. If Cheetor decided to fly, it would take about half that time. But, since King Kat didn’t have jets or wings, they had to go by foot. When they arrived at the coordinates, King Kat noticed a ledge they were standing in front of. It was about four feet taller then the both of them. Cheetor leaned against the ledge and sat down.
“Ugh, I can’t stand the heat out here. Of course Big Bot had to put us here on this very day!” the transmetal Cheetah complained.
“It’s not that bad. I’ve seen worse. One year on Cybertron, it was like this everyday.”
“Ah yeah, I remember that year. I don’t know how the heck would wanna hang out around here all the time.” King Kat laughed at his friend.
“Oh, and how many people that you know of do?”
“Well, Tarantulas’ lair is about a mile away from here. Which come to think of it, I better get up. Don’t wanna make myself too vulnerable if he finds me.”
“He’s already found you!” the voice came from just above them on the ledge. Before Cheetor could get up and before King Kat could zap him, he threw a web over the two of them and they were knocked out cold.
King Kat awoke to being in a dark room. He was unable to move. Something was holding him down. He tried to move his arms, but there was no use. He felt the cold metal bars pressed against him. No! Not this again! He thought. It was all too familiar. How in the pit did he find me? How did I get here? King Kat looked to his right, and saw that Cheetor was attached to the machine next to him. He was already awake and he looked terrified.
“Ah, so you’re both awake now. Heheheheh.” That laugh! Primus that horrifying laugh! At that very moment, his tormentor came into view. It was him alright. Although he looked different, he knew it was him.
“Let him go Tarantulas! I’m the one you want. I’m the one you’ve always had it out for!” yelled a helpless Cheetor,
“Oh, but I’ve been waiting for him. Waiting for a very long time.”
“You sick twisted freak!!! If I weren’t tied down I’d..” But King Kat was cut off before he could finish.
“You’d what? You couldn’t even save your own fiancée. You’re pathetic!”
“Shut up! I couldn’t save her! Those drugs you gave us, those drugs you gave her!”
“Oh, but you could have saved her. But you decided to run. That’s what you call love?”
“Shut the pit up!” tears were falling down King Kats face. He loved Stardancer more than anything, and he was right. He left her behind to die.
“What is he talking about Kat? What did Tarantulas do to you?”
“His real name, before you ever knew him, was Mr. Crowley. He’s the slag sucker that made me who I am!”
“What… I don’t get it.” Said a confused Cheetor,
“Hmm, since the pussy cat can not understand our simple words, how about we show him? Give him a looksee through your memories.”
“No…you can’t do that!”
“Oh, it’s quite simple really. All I have to do it turn your head set on and all of your worst dreams will come to life again. They will play right here on this screen before you.” Tarantulas pointed at a huge overhead in front of them.
“Please, please no!”
“Ah, it sounds like an excellent idea. Yes, I think I’ll go right on and do so.” Tarantulas walked over to a switch by King Kats head and flicked it on. Pictures, fuzzy at first, showed up on the board. Both Maximals tried to look away but it was no use. Their head sets made them watch. Made them see the hell that King Kat was trying to hide from. The board flickered, and then, the first memory came into play.
It was their first day as residents. Stardancer and NightFlight were very nervous. They were at the main floor waiting for someone to see them. There were simple tests to be done first. Two tall bots entered the room and separated the two of them. They had to determine the weight and height of each of them. This would define how much drugs and chemicals they would be given. An overdose could be fatal. Stardancer, being so petite, would have to start out with very small dosages. The medical bot who was examining her told her that she would probably get sick for the first few days but she would soon get over it. The bot in the next room with Nightflight told him that his body would be able to take a normal amount of dosages and it probably wouldn’t affect him at all for the first while. Him being so big and all. When they were done all the testing, they were lead back into the waiting room. Several minutes later, Moonshine joined them.
“Hey Moonshine.” Stardancer said as cheerful as she could.
“Hello. How are you two feeling?”
“Wondering when the pit we can get this over and done with.” Replied Nightflight.
“Nightflight! She’s done nothing wrong to you.”
“Sorry.” Moonshine went on.
“Well, after deliberating with Mr. Crowley, we have decided what powers to give the two of you. Stardancer, since you seemed so interested, you are going to be given telekinesis.”
“Ohhh thank you!” she said, very excited.
“And as for you Nightflight, I think lighting will suit your quick temperedness very well.” Both of the women chuckled, but Nightflight just glared.
"You two should go get settled in. Your room is on the top floor. Number 516. Would you need my assistance to show it to you?"
"No, we'll manage," said a now angered Nightflight. He took his lover's hand and left the room.
Stardancer and Nightflight's first day seemed to go okay. They were allowed to share a room which made everything a lot more comfortable. They didn't get to meet any of the residents yet. They had to stay on the top floor for up to one week after the testing began. They had to be closely monitored during this time. The rules were explained to them as soon as they moved in. They were to stay on the top floor at all times until moved into the basement. They were not allowed to touch any equipment. And above all things, they were not to leave. That night, Stardancer and Nightflight lay in their separate beds which were close together. The next day, they would begin treatments. Both of them had huge knots in their stomachs.
"Nightflight?"
"Yeah Star?"
"Are you mad at me?"
"Why would I be?"
"Because I practically made you do this. I feel really bad."
"Aw, don't worry. We get paid lots. And that means..."
"We can get married!"
"Yeah. We can get married...soon. We can finally have the life we always wanted to." Both the bots had huge smiles on their faces.
"Oh, now I'm all excited." Then, Stardancer went quiet.
"I'm kinda scared too Nightflight. Do you think all this testing will hurt?"
"Well, they did say you may get sick. But, they said it was safe, so I'm sure you'll be just fine."
"Oh, I guess you're right. We better get to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us. Goodnight Night."
"Night Star."
*END FLASHBACK*
"Heheheheh, and how you were wrong."
"ERR LET US GO!" yelled Cheetor, angered that Tarantulas was not only going to torture them, but was going to make his friend relive his worst nightmare. Of course, Cheetor had no idea of really how bad this nightmare was. King Kat said nothing. He just stared at the screen. Suddenly, more images appeared. Another memory.
*FLASHBACK*
It was six am when the testing began. Nightflight was lead by four mechs, very immense looking guys, into one of the medical rooms. They told him that during this procedure, they were going to have to strap him down. He had to be in an exact position. One move from him could end in fatal results. They hooked him up to a machine, 12 feet tall and 5 feet wide. A bar was clamped down on him to prevent movement. Then, all was dark. Nightflight became very frightened.
"H--hello?" He called out. Then he saw a dark Character come into the room. The bot slowly moved to another machine that was about ten feet away from Nightflight. The bot tapped away at several buttons. Lights came on. Then, the mysterious bot pulled a lever. Nightflight heard a buzzing sound. Faint at first, but then it grew louder. It came from just above him. A huge structure came over him. It had several long metal handles that fell over Nightflight. Attached to each handle was a long and very sharp needle. He then smelt it, a hard strong smell. It stung his nose. He knew it was the chemicals. The chemicals that would now be injected into his system. The chemicals that would change him. The needles were injected into him slowly. Two into his temples, one in each arm, one in his chestplate, and one in his stomach. He felt nothing at first, then...burning. Extreme burning. Nightflight tried to scream out but he couldn't. He suddenly felt numb. Then all went black.
When Nightflight awoke he was kind of sore, but not in a lot of pain. He was lying on his bed, with Stardancer on hers. She was already awake, and seemed to be in a lot of pain. She was holding onto her stomach and was slouched over."Star...you okay?" His girlfriend smiled meekly, obviously trying to hide her pain.
"Yeah, just having some bad side effects is all."
"What are you feeling?"
"Very nauseous. And I have a huge headache. And...and my mech feels like it's on fire. It... really hurts." That's when he noticed the huge marking on her head. It was all scratched up, almost like a scar. A fresh one.
"What's that on your head?"
"I... I think they operated. They did something to me. Something strange. I feel so different. And look Nightflight, you have one too." She pointed at his chestplate. He looked down and noticed the exact same marking.
"What in the pit did they do? Are you sure you're okay Star? You really don't look well."
"I will be fine. Hey, I'm the one that wanted this...remember?"
"As long as you're okay..."
"Don't worry about me. Now get some rest, you have your own well being and strength to rely on." Nightflight closed his optics, and fell asleep almost immediately and began to dream. He was in front of all his family and friends. He turned and saw Stardancer walking down the aisle. They were getting married. She walked up to him and he took her hand. He looked deep into her amazing optics. It was time for him to say his vows...but, he couldn't speak. As hard as he did try nothing came out. Then, Stardancer's mouth starting to pour out mech fluid. Nightflight went to reach out to her but an evil force pulled her away. And slowly, but surely, she disappeared into nothingness.
He awoke to a knocking at the door.
"There is more testing to be done. Meet me at the second floor in five minutes." he heard Moonfire's accent say. He looked over to his side. Stardancer wasn't there. He had an uneasy feeling inside of him. And that dream he had certainly didn't help any. He shrugged it off and went downstairs.
When he got there, Stardancer was just coming out of a room. She had an enormous grin on her face. She bounced over to him.
"Night, my powers are already working! It's amazing!"
"Already? Well, what can you do?"
"Watch this." she concentrated towards a chair across the room from her. She stared at it for several seconds, then it started to shake a little.
"See? It's not much, but it's a start!" Nightflight hugged Stardancer, glad that she was happy and didn't seem to be in pain anymore.
"We want to try some things with you now, Nightflight. Come with me." said Moonfire.
"See you later," he kissed Stardancer on the cheek, and followed the assistant. He was lead to a fairly big room. A lot of the medical bots were there. There were what seemed to be targets across the room from him.
"Nightflight, as you may have noticed, we had performed a surgery on you yesterday."
"Yeah, thanks for telling me."
"Well, it's part of the whole process. Anyways, we implanted a chip around your spark. This chip has a great amount of electricity in it."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"No, we were exact in placing it. If the chip went right through your spark, it would be dangerous. Since your spark is your very core, we decided that's where we were to place the chip. This way, your emotions can control your power."
"How does it work."
"Everytime you get mad, you will have lighting emitting from your shell. If you channel this energy, you can use it to your advantage. And once you get experienced enough, you won't even need to get mad. You will be able to control it all on your own."
"Wait...so if I get the slightest bit mad, I will end up hurting people?"
"Well, for now you're going to have to try and control these emotions-"
"No! You're telling me if me and Star have the slightest little tiff, and I get mad I'll end up hurting her?"
"Well, if you have such anger problems, I don't see why she would want to be with you anyways." She pushed his buttons the wrong way. Yes, he knew she was too good for him but Moonfire had no right saying so.
"Why don't you shove it up your -"
"Look Nightflight!" Nightflight stopped and saw that he had sparks coming out of his body. They tingled a little but didn't hurt much.
"Now, concentrate on those targets. Use your powers!" He stared at one of the middle targets. He looked hard, trying the memorize where the middle of it was. He then closed his eyes and threw his arms forwards. Lighting bolts were shot out and hit the target dead on. He opened his optics to see it aflame.
"Exactly." said Moonfire. "Now that we know the last dose worked, we are going to give you a stronger one."
"Hey, the last time you said you were gonna 'dose me' you operated."
"We did give you a small dose, but after the operation. The operation was needed."
"So, you're not going to operate this time?"
"No, we are done with the surgeries. So if you will, come with me." He walked down the hall and into the same room he was in before...the one with those wretched machines. The bots hooked him up once more. And once again it was dark. He could see a dark figure enter the room and go over the the panel and turn on his own machine. He could now see a little because the machine was giving off a little bit of light. He looked over to his left, and in the machine next to him was Star. She had already been injected. He tried to call out to her but she didn't respond. That's when he noticed what was happening to her. She was having a seizure. Her body was shaking as much as it could, but the machine held her down. Oil was coming out of her mouth. Nightflight tried to reach out to her but he felt the headset being pushed over his head. Then came the needles. He felt the sharp pain again, and then, nothingness.
Again, Nightflight awoke in a room with Stardancer by his side. But this room was different. It was barren, very small. And it smelled awful.
"Star, you're okay!" he ran over to her and hugged her. She gasped.
"Nightflight, not so rough." He looked down and saw that a lot of her colour was drained. She looked even worse than the night before.
"What did they do to you?"
"They hooked me up to the machine again, the same thing they did to you. Only, you're not getting sick because you're stronger than me. My body can't handle these chemicals."
"Oh, Star, we need to get you out of here."
"You know we can't do that. And besides, things may get better now."
"Why's that?"
"They've moved us to the basement. We can socialize with the other residents now. They are all here for the same reason too. Maybe they know how to cope with the pain I am having. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has dealt with this."
"Maybe, but it sure smells awful down here!"
"Yeah, I wonder what that stench is?"
"Smells like...vomit. And mech. Oh I don't like this."
"Me neither, but we gotta get through with it."
"I know."
"Nightflight."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too."
In the morning, the both of them were exhausted. All nights they could hear screaming. Screaming and crying. It worried the both of them a great amount. Now, not only did Nightflight have his doubts, but Stardancer had hers. They went out into the lobby in the basement, to find some answers. And the answers they found were not what they wanted to hear. As they left their room, the spotted a slender male sitting on the floor. He had a very rough appearance despite his small build. Nightflight decided to approach him.
"Hey, I'm Nightflight and this is Stardancer." He extended his hand but the bot did not shake it.
"The name's PowerStrike."
"Hey PowerStrike. Can you tell us what's going on around here?" asked Star.
"I'm guessing you're new." They both nodded.
"Well I've been here for six months. And let me tell you, you guys made the worst mistake of your lives."
"You've been here that long?" asked Stardancer.
"Yeah, they said they'd let me go after a month. What a bunch of slag."
"Are...are we gonna be here for that long?" the femme asked.
"Longer, or until you die. They never let anyone leave. If the public were to find out about Mr. Crowley and his experiments, they'd kill him."
"But, how can he get away with all this? Won't families go looking for loved ones." asked Night.
"Crowley works for the government. The secret police. They cover it all up. No one here has told any of their family members about this place. You guys remember that contract you signed?" They both nodded. "If you were to tell anyone before you came here, you'd be fined...a lot of money. Besides no one would take your word over theirs." Just as he finished his last statement, a mech from across the room, fell to the ground, screaming in agony. A femme rushed over to him screaming out for help. He was coughing a bunch of mech fluid out. He couldn't breathe, was gasping for air. Then, was still. The femme bawled out, and a few others rushed over to her side, trying to comfort her. Stardancer looked away sobbing as Nightflight held on to her.
"Yeah, you'll see a lot of that happen around here. You learn to ignore it. Don't make new friends here, or you just get hurt in the end."
"How can you say that! These are innocent lives you're talking about. Don't you care?"
"Listen hunny, if I got all worked up over every bot that I have seen died here, I wouldn't be able to keep myself together. And I suggest you two do the same." He turned to walk away, and then turned back.
"Oh. Nightflight, are either of you getting sick?"
"I am," said Stardancer, under hear breath.
"That means you don't have much time. Nightflight, watch out for her." And with that, he was gone.
Moonfire was walking down the corridors of the basement. The screams could be heard again. As usual. She went to turn the corner when she felt herself being rammed against a wall. She looked to see Nightflight, pressing her hard into the walls corner.
"What the pit did you get us into? Why did you lie to us?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. She could see the electricity shocks coming out of him. Behind him, Stardancer looked very worried. More upset than anything.
"I take it you two have spoken to the others." She just smiled, not feeling any kind of remorse.
"What is the point of all of this? What are all of these bots dying for!?"
"To see how much power you can take before you die. And...to prove how stupid some bots can be." She mocked in her Jamaican/Transylvanian accent.
"I can't believe you actually came back. Should have went with your first instinct." She shook her head." Her, I can understand, believing anything she hears. She's pathetic enough to have. But you, you seemed smart. Tough. And that's what made me want you part of this experiment even more."
"Don't you ever make fun of her!" More power emitted from him." You're killing her aren't you...aren't you?"
"More like she is just dying. She is too weak, but you my friend, you are strong. Now, get off of me before I send Mr. Crowley himself, and that will not end up well, for either of you."
"Night, just let her go. Please." Nightflight dropped the assistant. She gave them a taunting smile, then disappeared into the corridors once again.
"I'm going to die soon." Said Star. Nightflight held her close to him. "No, I won't let them do anything to you. We'll escape from this hell hole."
"But, but how?"
"I'll find a way Star, I'll find a way." They started to head back for their room. Stardancer was leaning against Nightflight, as she could barely walk on her own. Their room was in sight now. But, before they could reach it, Nightflight felt Stardancer being pulled away. He went to turn around but three of the medic bots were pulling him away from her.
"Nightflight!" he heard her scream. He tried to see her but the bots were holding him down. He turned his head and caught a quick glimpse of the man that had Stardancer. He was purple, and wasn't very big. He could recognise his movements. He was the bot who had been injecting him. He was...Mr. Crowley. Then, he was a purple torso step in the way, blocking his view. It was none other than that horrid femme MoonFire. She was smirking at him.
"I let you go! You said you wouldn't get him if I let her go!"
"Oh I never said such a thing. You just misunderstood me. I said get off before I get him. I was going to get him anyways."
"You slag sucker!! Mr. Crowley! Come here you coward! Come face me like a man!!!!"
He heard footsteps coming to him. He looked up to see the ugly bot's face. You could tell this mech was mad just by looking at him. He had Stardancer in one arm, passed out, and a needle in the other. He had injected her, again.
"Heheheh. Won't be long now."
"Long? Long 'til what? Tell me slag you!"
"Take him away." He then felt himself being dragged again. He was unable to do anything for the one he loved. Nightflight felt useless. He was unworthy of the gift of life. And most of all, he was unworthy of the love of a beautiful femme. He couldn't even protect her. What was he good for? As these thoughts filled his head, Nightflight felt the sting of the injection and felt himself drift away into slumber.
He woke up in his cold, dark room. The stench was still there. His first thoughts were....where is Stardancer? He got up to go look for her, and as he did, he tripped over her body. She was lying on the floor, all huddled over. She was shaking terribly. He leaned down to her and took her in his arms.
"Star, are you okay?" She looked up at him, and could barely keep her eyes open.
"He...he hurt me, Night. I don't know what he did, but he put something really bad into my circuits. I can barely move."
"Who did this to you?"
"M...Mr. Crowley."
"Oh, I'm gonna kill him for this!" Stardancer started to cough uncontrollably. Mech fluid started to come up, and it was dripping from her mouth. Just like the bot who died in the hall earlier. Just like in his dream...
"I'm getting you outta here Star. Don't you worry. I'll find a way.
"Please, just hold me. I'm so c-cold." Nightflight embraced his lover and held her close. She slowly fell asleep. As soon as she was, he bent his head and cried. What would he do without her?
*END FLASHBACK*
At the Ark, Optimus was awaiting Cheetor and King Kat. They were supposed to be back well over an hour ago. He had tried radioing them several times but neither answered. It was time to take action.
"Silverbolt, come with me. We need to find King Kat and Cheetor. The rest of you, stay here and watch the base. I'll contact you if we need help." The leader and the fuzor left the Ark, and pursued their two friends in the air.
*FLASHBACK*
PowerStrike was sitting by himself, as usual. He was playing solitaire sitting on a cardboard box and using his knees to place the cards. He heard footsteps behind him. He could feel the eyes on his back. He did not need to turn around to know who it was.
"Nightflight."
"How...how did you know it was me?"
"Keen senses." He turned around. "That's what they gave me." He noticed that in Nightflight's arms, was his fiancée Stardancer. She was out cold. He could see a little dried up blood in the corner of her mouth, and she was very pale.
"Primus!" he shouted. "She's that far gone already?"
"Yeah, if I don't get her outta here she'll die soon. Please, I know you don't care for us, but we need your help. You've been here much longer than we have. You know your ways around. Just...please. I love her." PowerStrike let out a sigh.
"It's not that I don't like anyone but myself, I just hate to get attached. And... unfortunately in the little time I saw you guys, I could see that she had great spirit. I don't wanna see her die."
"So, you'll help us?"
"Yeah. I will. Come with me." Nightflight followed Powerstrike down the halls. He turned a corner then opened up a door. His room. It was even smaller than Nightflight's. He walked over to his bed, lifted up a cushion and handed them a key.
"I stole it from one of the guards last month. Was planning to escape myself."
"Why didn't you?"
"Well, after a lot of thinking, I decided I didn't wanna be a freak. In here, I'm the same as everyone else. To the outside world, they'd never accept me. I belong here."
"So, you won't be coming with us?"
"Afraid not. But good luck to the two of you. And....be careful. Don't leave until midnight. That's usually when Mr. Crowley is gone. Not always, but usually. Without him, his minions are pretty much useless."
"Thanks PowerStrike. I'll never forget you." PowerStrike nodded at him as Nightflight walked out the door. He headed back to his room with Star in his arms. Tonight would be the night. No turning back, no regrets. He would do it for Star, for the both of them. But, he couldn't help feeling that he would fail. He tried to ignore it, but it was so hard. They could both die tonight if he tried to escape. Either way he had to do it. For if he didn't, Stardancer WOULD die.
It was 12:00 am on the dot. Nightflight took Stardancer in his arms once again, and crept down the halls of the basement. He had to go a long way. He avoided anywhere there were cameras. He'd hide behind boxes...anything he could. It was very tricky to do with someone in his arms, but he managed. He went up the first set of stairs without even being noticed. He was now at the main hall. He could see Moonfire's office. She was still in there, the light was on. He could hear her laughing. He slowly ducked under the window of the office, and crept as quietly as he could. He turned the corner. There was the door. He could see it. He held Stardancer even tighter now. She was awake, but couldn't make much movement. As he reached the door, he grabbed the keys with one hand and shoved them in the lock. He turned it and it was now open. As he got up and went to make his escape he heard the accent.
"Hey!!!! Stop them!" Then he heard many footsteps. This was it. He ran out the door. He was trying to run as fast as he could. He could hear the sirens behind him. Mech's shouting at them to halt. Or they'd shoot. He never turned back. But now, he was at the gate. He would have to climb it, with Stardancer. He laid her down for a second to get a good grip. He tried to lift her up but he couldn't climb with her. The fence was too hard to climb while holding someone else. AND it was too high to throw her over. They were going to die.
"Nightflight." She said in a rash voice.
"Yes baby? What is it?"
"Go...go on with out me. I'm just holding you down."
"No...I will not leave you!"
"I'm dying already. Even if we escaped I won't pass the morning. Please, go without me. I want you to live. Please."
"Noo... I can't. I love you."
"I love you to but just go! Go! DO it for me Please Go!!!!!!!" The men were gaining, were almost there. He looked down at Star and her eyes were now closed. She was dying, it was true.
"Please." she whispered. He wanted to bend down and give her one last kiss...but he couldn't. There was no time. His first instinct now was to get away. He started to climb the fence. It was really tricky. He kept slipping. Then, he thought hard. He gathered the electric energy in his hands and blew a hole right through the fence. And he ran. He ran and ran. He could tell that they wouldn't catch up to him. But still, he had to turn around. And as he did, he saw Mr. Crowley and Moonfire standing over Stardancer's limp body. She was dead. He turned and kept running. It was too late for her. He didn't want to go on without her, but she had wanted him to. She had pleaded with him. He ran and ran until he couldn't run anymore. He was miles away from that horrid place now. He sat there for about 10 minutes. Then he got up and kept running. To where? He didn't know. But, he had to get away. Had to hide. Why? Because they would be looking for him.
*END FLASHBACK*
"Heheheheh, so you escaped." King Kat had tears in his eyes now. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Oh, I just loved the story and had to see it again. Didn't you like it, pussy cat?" he asked Cheetor. Cheetor growled at him.
"How could you do that Tarantulas? I knew you were sick, but I didn't know you were that sick!"
"Heh, why thank you."
"What are you gonna do to us?" asked the cheetah. King Kat just didn't care anymore.
"Oh I've decided to make you two my little slaves. And I've come up with the perfect condition for you. Invisibility."
"Hah, that'd just make it easier for me to get away from you, dumb bug!"
"That's what you think. I will be placing a tracker on you, so wherever you may go I will find you. And if either one of you tries to escape...the other will be killed." Tarantulas walked up to Cheetor's machine, ready to inject him. He was standing in between the both of him. He had a long sharp device in what seemed to be some kind of tool belt. King Kat noticed this. It was close enough for his hand to reach. His hands he still had little movement of. He moved two of his fingers and caught on to it. It was sharp and pierced him. He bled, but it did not matter. He flipped the device around and started cutting through the bar. It broke with a SNAP. Tarantulas turned around.
"He-" King Kat jumped on top of him and started to pound him. He threw the device and Cheetor and he caught it and began to free himself. King Kat continued to punch the living daylights out of the insane scientist. Tarantulas managed to push him away.
"You slag sucker! I'm going to kill you!"
"Not before I do this." The spider turned around to stab the injection into Cheetor, who was now free, but King Kat tripped him. He jumped in front of his young friend just as Tarantulas threw the needle. It hit him right in the chestplate. The impact was so forceful, it pierced him, right in the spark.
"Ahhhhh!" King Kat screamed out in agony.
"Fool, you will die now. Your spark can't have anything pierce it!"
"So be it. My debt is paid off now. I left one to die, now I die for one."
"Kat, no!"
"Sorry Cheetor. My time here is done." And with that, he closed his eyes and passed away.
"What did you do Tarantulas!"
"I.."
"Tarantulas!" he heard from behind him. Optimus and Silverbolt were standing in the door way.
"What have you been doing with our friends now, you foul spider?" yelled out Silverbolt. That's when they noticed the body. When they turned around to confront the spider again, he had disappeared.
"Kat..." Cheetor whispered.
"What happened Cheetor?" asked Optimus.
"He...died...for me. He died to save me! Optimus, I feel so bad." Both Optimus and Silverbolt knelt beside him.
"He was so young. And yet, so noble." said the fuzor.
"Yeah, he was, I'll never forget him."
"We better get him back to base, have a proper burial for him." They grabbed the lifeless Maximal and walked out the door.
"At least you're at peace now." said Cheetor. "And with the one you love. Good luck in your next life."
Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head
Mr. Crowley, did you talk with the dead
Your life style to me seemed so tragic
With the thrill of it all
You fooled all the people with magic
You waited on Satan's call
Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure
Mr. Alarming, in nocturnal rapport
Uncovering things that were sacred manifest on this Earth
Conceived in the eye of a secret
And they scattered the afterbirth
Mr. Crowley, won't you ride my white horse
Mr. Crowley, it's symbolic of course
Approaching a time that is classic
I hear maidens call
Approaching a time that is drastic
Standing with their backs to the wall
I wanna know what you meant
The End.
End Notes: To all the Tarantulas fans out there. I tried to write him as best I could, although I'm new to writing him. I think that this song suited him very well. If you choose to listen to it, listen to the Cradle Of Filth version. Every time I hear it, it reminds me so much of Tarantulas...it gives me shivers!