#kickbackinsecticon

Uh oh

Miles of gleaming metal spread out beneath Cirrus as he climbed, enjoying the smooth feeling of supersonic flight and the view of some of Cybertron’s wild areas. Away from the ruins of a city everyone but him remembered, the world seemed fresher, almost unspoiled. Almost. Somehow he could never completely forget the war stories everyone told him, or shake the desperate, frustrated feeling that came with the urgency of rebuilding. Before the rains. Before the Autobots find us. Before aliens arrive. Before there’s unrest.

Only when he was far away was Cirrus calm, if he could distract himself. Today he was certainly distracted. From this altitude, on a clear day, he could just see the edge of the Sonic Canyons to the northwest, if he didn’t look at the blackened scar that had been Blaster City to the northeast. Some day he would fly over the Sonic Canyons and do a sonic boom, so Primus could hear his thanks for his wings and for Starscream and Shockwave. He hoped Primus would recognize the sound, anyway, even from a Seeker who was stolen...

Supersonic flight wasn’t the best time for daydreaming, and when he remembered to check his location, Cirrus found that he’d flown much farther from Vos than he was supposed to. Casting a last look at the canyons, he made a wide turn to the right to begin heading back.

Eventually...

As he turned he could see Blaster City, a black, rusty smudge on the distant plateau before the plain broke up into canyonlands. No. That was too far. But if he had already come this far, maybe he should scout a little.

He decided on a compromise, and rolled into a descent toward the shallow canyons directly below him. Once he knew it was safe to land, he transformed, hitting the ground at a slight angle and stumbling a little, but retaining his footing even on the slippery, broken surface. Locking his wings into place, he looked around and shivered, partly from excitement and partly from nervousness. Anything could be out here. Starscream had told him stories.

Starscream had also told him how to survive, and he remembered to gather takeoff data immediately after he landed, just in case. If something attacked him he was supposed to jump as high as he could and fly straight up, because beasts and monsters couldn’t climb as high or as fast as Seekers. Not that he wanted to find out.

Still shivering, he made his way up the canyon, looking around for crystals that might indicate energon, or for signs of people around. Mostly he just heard the soft whistle of the wind, and the occasional skittering slide of gravel dislodged by his footsteps.

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The Constructicons want to reach out to Prowl somehow. Try to mend fences with him. But the problem is, Prowl isn’t here. He’s locked up.

So, as long as they can’t talk to him, they might as well do something for him.

Which is why they’re comming a frequency they found when they “borrowed” Prowl’s comm unit a month ago.

He had promised that he wouldn’t experiment on him... but Shockwave’s instinctive curiosity about the insecticon Kickback was growing stronger.  Access to a lab made his digits twitch a little more frequently when he passed his tools, and it felt like there was an itch under his plating.  Rolling his shoulders and flicking the winglets on his back to try and relieve some of the tension in his frame did nothing, so Shockwave turned his single optic to the console set up on the far side of the room.  One comm and he could have the naive mech strapped down to his dissecting table.  That was all it would take.

Temptation proved too great to resist, and Shockwave walked over with his usual unhurried pace.  A lure would have to be placed, that was sure... but with what few interactions he had had with Kickback, Shockwave was certain something as simple as an offer to talk, to bond would be enough to work.  Insecticons were social, and Kickback was alone.  It could almost be too easy.

“Kickback, please meet me in my lab.  I am sending coordinates.  I would like to have a meeting with you.”  Shockwave said after the commline connected.  “I have grown curious about you, and I believe that this should be an enlightening encounter for the both of us.”