Jump Shot, Part 3
Title: Jump Shot
Rating: T
Series: G1
Summary: There are a lot of reasons Seekers and Stunticons don't mix. This is only one of them.
Notes: Still jacked. Here we go!
Thundercracker had no desire to move whatsoever. He felt like he had branches and sticks shoved in every joint he could count. He had landed on his back, which wouldn't have been so bad if he didn’t have wings. At the moment, he wasn’t certain he still had wings. He was just going to lay here in agony for awhile -
Skywarp reappeared in a flash of light.
“Ouch,” he said, wincing as he got a good look at his wingmate. “That looks painful.”
“No thanks to you,” Thundercracker spat. “Would it have killed you to grab me before teleporting?”
“It might have,” Skywarp shrugged, earning a vicious glare from Thundercracker. “That was a pretty amazing crash, you know.”
“I’m glad someone thinks so,” Thundercracker said, hissing as he attempted to sit up. With any luck, his wings would come up with him.
“I wasn’t talking about you,” said Skywarp, grabbing Thundercracker’s wrists to help haul him up to his feet. “I meant the Autobots. And Breakdown went flying into the bushes, too. Pity Reflector wasn't around to get a shot of that.”
“I don’t really care. I'm pretty sure I can't transform right now,” Thundercracker grimaced, pulling a tree branch out of the nook between his back and left wing. He was incredibly relieved to find both wings still intact despite the less than stellar landing.
“Yeah, well -“ Skywarp was interrupted by the sound of something fast approaching through the trees. It took them both a moment to realize that something was literally going through the trees, which was never a good sign. Skywarp had the reflexes to duck as Drag Strip came sailing into the clearing, but Thundercracker was too slow to avoid his companion. The airborne Ferrari slammed into him at full speed, sending both of them crashing back into the trees. Thundercracker suddenly found himself in a head lock, as Wildrider had transformed in mid-flight.
He was in too much pain to struggle effectively, so he settled for clawing at the Stunticon, who had started laughing uproariously. Thundercracker caught a glimpse of Skywarp leaping into the air, leaving Drag Strip to make a grab for his legs, catching nothing but air and fumes. With Skywarp out of range, Drag Strip came to help Wildrider, grabbing Thundercracker's legs. He managed to kick him once, but after that he was lifted between the pair of them. Above the trees, he could see Skywarp following them, before he flew ahead towards the road.
Once out of the trees, Thundercracker saw that Skywarp had already landed, though he left a healthy distance between himself and Motormaster. They passed the smoldering frames of the two Autobots, whose roofs had been tied together so tightly that the metal had buckled under the cables. The rest of the cable trailed off into the woods, unseen. Wildrider and Drag Strip dropped him in the middle of the road, putting himself and Skywarp on opposite sides of the Stunticons.
“Megatron’s been looking for you,” Skywarp said, crossing his arms over his chest. They were already at a major disadvantage, so why waste time dancing around the reason they were even out here? Thundercracker had been hoping to use a damaged Breakdown against them, but that idea had completely backfired.
“You got those parts secure?” Motormaster asked Dead End, ignoring Skywarp. He was no good at intimidation, especially since he was trying it on someone like Motormaster.
“I said -“ Skywarp stalled when he found himself staring at the tip of Motormater's sword. He found it immensely unfortunate that Motormaster had closed the distance between them with just his arm and sword.
“Save it, fly boy,” Motormaster snarled. “I haven't heard a single word from Megatron himself, so you've got no weight to pull around here. We ain't got time for you sticking your nosecones in our business!”
“Just out of curiosity,” Skywarp said, spreading his hands amicably. Only Thundercracker recognized it as a way to target two Stunticons at once. “What do you have time for?”
“Time enough to get spare parts,” Drag Strip said. “Then hitting the road before the other Autobots come running.”
“Their response time isn’t that fast,” Skywarp frowned. Unless they knew other Autobots were close by, which made Thundercracker question how crazy they really were.
“Sure it is,” Drag Strip said, transforming to his alt mode. “We’re in Autobot territory. You couldn’t call in Megatron to rat us out even if you wanted to, butterfly.”
Thundercracker was liking this less and less. Drag Strip was right - he tried his radio, finding nearly all of the frequencies were blocked. He could still contact Skywarp and anyone standing right next to him, but that was about it. The Autobots had gotten better at jamming radios since Blaster turned up, and Soundwave had better things to do than constantly break his signals. That left them, as the humans said, up the creek with no paddle.
“I hear sirens,” Thundercracker said, finally managing to sit upright. Skywarp turned to look at him, then down the road.
“Autobots,” said Dead End, startling Skywarp. He hadn’t heard him walk right up next to him. “Protectobots, actually.”
“Swell,” Drag Strip snorted, revving his engine. The smoke stack rising from the crashed Lamborghinis was an excellent beacon for them to follow. “Let’s burn rubber!”
“Get him in the trailer,” Motormaster said to Wildrider and Breakdown, swinging his sword around to point at Thundercracker. “We're not done with these two.”
“Hey!” Skywarp stepped forward, but Motormaster was already transforming. Drag Strip drove up between them, cutting Skywarp off from the others. “Where do you think you're going!?”
Thundercracker had decided to stop struggling at this point, acting as a dead weight when the Stunticons picked him up. He felt a tug of dread when they approached Motormaster's dark trailer - didn't he have any lights back there? He considered resisting, since his repair diagnostic had finally come back to him. The damage wasn't that bad, but it would leave him sore until he got some downtime.
A repetitive thupthupthup filled the air, signaling the arrival of at least one Autobot.
“Make yourself useful and take care of that damn whirligig,” Motormaster barked at Skywarp. Thundercracker was in the trailer now, which was tight fit with his wings. He could only guess that Blades had arrived; a human helicopter would probably be ignored by the Stunticons unless it got too close. He heard a jet take to the air, and then Wildrider pulled the trailer door down with a wave, sealing him into the dark.
part four