13.June.08

Future vs. Past: Darkclaw's Beginning
By: Onyx Wing

Darkclaw leaned back on her cell wall, the scientist was back. He was slightly tall, almost as tall as Megatron , but still not very strong. It looked like his alt mode was a spider, but she couldn’t see him from the darkness of the room he was in, because it was designed to where she couldn’t recognize anyone. Too bad for them, they don’t realize how much like my father I really am… she thought to herself. As the daughter of Rampage, she had been caged almost immediately after her Protoform was processed. She wasn’t supposed to be alive, but she had escaped once before. Megatron and his minions had captured her before news could reach the Maximals, They had decided she may be useful, but they still hadn’t let her out. She wondered how long it would take before the war got bad enough that she would be needed. The scientist started to ask her questions, which she ignored in her thoughts. This happened often, and every time he came in, she either turned away, or fixed her icy violet optics right on him, causing him to flinch. It never fails, he’s always scared. Probably had a couple run-ins with my father… she mused. She felt a sharp pain in her side and turned: the scientist held a gun in his hand, and there was a dart sticking out of her side. She barely heard him say, “If you won’t cooperate, I’ll have to do this from now on…” before she fell to the bench in her cell, knocked into stasis lock by a heavy dose of tranquilizer.

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Meanwhile, Rampage walked in just after his daughter fell. “So, Tarantulas, what’s the news on her?” he asked, a little threatening just by his stance, rigid and tense.

“She, uh…never even said her name…” Tarantulas answered.

“Well, even I could’ve told you that.” he snarled. “It’s Darkclaw.”

“Darkclaw? Why that name?” Tarantulas asked.

“Her claws are pitch black in both modes.” Rampage answered, moving closer to the bars to look in on her, failing to see anything except the tip of her tail.

“What do you mean, claws in robot mode?” Tarantulas asked, nervous, but trying and failing to hide it.

“If you wouldn’t have tranquilized her, I would’ve showed you.” Rampage snarled. Just then, the intercom came on, a little static came through because the speaker was blown: “All units report to briefing room for announcement,” the computer voice droned. Saved by the intercom… Tarantulas thought to himself. Rampage shook his head and walked away, barely conscious of the feeling that something was about to go wrong. Tarantulas followed him, completely unaware of Darkclaw waking up….

Tarantulas and Rampage had just arrived, and the briefing had begun. Megatron had received a report of increased Maximal activity by one of his jamming stations, and he didn’t want another one destroyed. He sent Quickstrike and Inferno to investigate, and Waspinator and Blackarachnia somewhere else, probably to build another tower. Then he turned to Tarantulas. “So, what have you figured out about our…guest, Darkclaw?”

“All I’ve figured out was her name, and that Rampage is her father, and she didn’t speak. Megatron, this is hopeless. I’ve been doing this for three megacycles, and still nothing! I’ve had to tranquilize her after her last escape, and it’s not going anywhere fast! I suggest we find a way to either make her a Predacon or destroy her!” Tarantulas replied, frustrated.

“Yes, I would make her a Predacon, but Rampage won’t let me, even though it’s the only way.” Megatron replied, looking at Rampage. He was furious.

“Only because I don’t want her going through the same torture you put me throu--Aah!” he was cut short by Megatron squeezing his spark. He fell, holding the area where his spark was, and when Megatron was done, he knelt panting for a few moments before standing up again.

“Now, we won’t have anymore outbursts, will we?” Megatron asked mockingly before turning to Tarantulas. “So, what else do you propose we do?” he asked.

“I say we either destroy her or give her to the Maximals, if we can’t make her a Predacon. Frankly, I want nothing more to do with her.” With that, he stalked back into the lab, and a large explosion immediately followed. Rampage and the other Predacons ran into the lab, only to get their first good look at Darkclaw. She was tall, slightly taller than Rampage, with the claws and six legs of Rampage’s crab form, and the body, wings, and sharp claws of a dragon. She was panting, her cage had been completely destroyed, and Tarantulas was under her foot, in stasis lock and missing one arm. Darkclaw seemed to just notice them, and blasted a hole in the wall, transformed into beast mode, and flew outside, heading straight for the neutral area surrounding one of the nearby volcanoes. She landed on the top of the volcano, spread her giant wings, and roared, a jet of flame coming out of her mouth. Everyone but Rampage was scared, but he was looking on in awe, seeing his daughter clearly for the first time since she was protoformed. She glared down at the base, seeming to see right through it, then, almost jumping into the lava, disappeared into the volcano.

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