The lyrics used in this fic are scene breaks, but as I've been told it makes for nice dissonance, it's up to you to read it. If it's just too jarring, skip the italiacized lyrics and treat them only as scene breaks. Yes, it's Rocky Horror Picture Show. No, I did not know what this song was before Nemi told me about it. While I'm at it, Nemi gets credit for helping write this... and also encouraging me to write.

This originated from a prompt on the TF kink meme on Livejournal.

Resonance Remix

He hadn't known the first time he saw the seeker that his new lord's heir was damaged. There hadn't been any indication of it, at first, and he certainly didn't exhibit any more signs than the average Decepticon. Less, actually, which made the discovery all the sweeter when he did bother to look.

He wouldn't have caught it at all but for chance.

A newly recruited Soundwave had meticulously been going through the minds of every Decepticon, as per Megatron's orders, when he finally managed to catch Starscream alone in a room. His skills as a telepath were formidable even then, but to get a sufficiently deep analysis it was better to not have interfering wavelengths to contend with. Megatron wanted to know what everyone else was thinking, and he would. Soundwave was quickly becoming his favorite in the ranks he kept around himself. Who else could possibly give him this assurance that his troops were not plotting mutiny? Only Soundwave. Dear, loyal, Soundwave.

Starscream had his back to Soundwave, plugged into a computer terminal and either reading reports or writing them- from sight alone it was hard to tell. Soundwave went through the motions of collecting a data pad while he reached out and brushed the surface of Starscream's mind.

He recoiled almost instantly, then more cautiously touched once more.

Oh, what a mind! What skewed thought processes, shattered and refracting badly... a mind with hairline fractures, on the cusp of true insanity, but hanging doggedly on.

Ah, what was this? So finally, a Decepticon with ill intentions towards their leader (even that was skewed- the jury was still out on whether to despise or worship Megatron, so it settled on both). Soundwave would report it to Megatron. Certainly a deranged, or nearly deranged second in command was something to be remedied. And the way it was going now, he was almost assuredly in line for replacing Starscream. It was a situation he should have exploited.

He did not tell Megatron of Starscream's madness, nor his plans for conquest.

But he did exploit them.

It's astounding, time is fleeting
Madness takes its toll
But listen closely, not for very much longer
I've got to keep control

It was ludicrously easy to break into a mind and manipulate it. Oh, to only a certain degree of course, and certainly not any measure of great mind control power was his to wield... but reading minds was nearly as good, if one used the information wisely.

Taking the mentally fragile Starscream and utterly breaking him was a game Soundwave found no end in delight to.

All it really took was suggestion. No matter of mind control-- the first time, all he had to do was catch the seeker after a punishment detail from Megatron, limping back to his quarters. A brush against his mind told Soundwave that those fractures were raw, sharp: ready to split open. So, Soundwave merely chose a shard and brought it to the surface. It was the same as plucking a bit of information from his mind, but pulling back at the last second. A purposeful slip, one that proved without a doubt that madness was frighteningly close to the air commander.

He hadn't done anything more that time, merely dragged the shivering, begging Starscream to his quarters and watched blankly as he sat against the wall banging his wings against it rhythmatically and babbling. And when he reached back in, he had collected all the information he needed to begin this manipulation in earnest.

Eventually, the sparkling occupying Starscream's shattered mind calmed, though it still whined with pain and confusion. Soundwave remained where he was in the room, merely watching. When he felt the sparkling look at him with hunger and longing, begging silently for affection and attention when it dared not do so vocally, Soundwave smiled behind his mask.

I remember doing the Time Warp
Drinking those moments when
The blackness would hit me and the void would be calling
Let's do the time warp again...
Let's do the time warp again!

Even millions of years later, the amusement he got from Starscream's otherwise well-hidden yet steadily increasing madness was almost addicting. There were distinct personalities, fragmentations, shards of who Starscream was throughout his life. Soundwave was familiar with all, and manipulated each one just to his liking. Slowly, the gaps between each were widening, but Soundwave was waiting for that precise moment... that one moment when...

"He left me. He left me!"

Soundwave stared outward from his visor at the pacing, raging mech in the room. This was one of the more interesting ones, though slightly more difficult to control.

"Suggestion: revenge," Soundwave intoned, feeling for the reaction. Starscream, or this particular fragment of him at any rate, ceased momentarily, optics glowing so brightly it was a wonder they didn't short. The reaction came in roiling waves of uncertainty, rage, hurt, defensiveness, and a myriad of other emotions.

Confirmation. Starscream wanted his old partner to hurt. He wanted revenge. A lewd, deranged grin split the seeker's face and he laughed.

"Revenge. Revenge," he crooned happily. "I'd love to rip his wings off. He couldn't leave then," and Starscream was overcome with a sort of spasm of cackling. Soundwave moved forward purposefully, no movement wasted, and stopped just in front of the giggling seeker, nearly touching.

Without a doubt, this was the most far gone of any of them.

"Alternate suggestion: emotional damage."

Starscream paused, confusion marring his face. Soundwave did not deign to explain further. He had brought this one to awareness for a purpose, not merely to listen to the infuriated babblings of a scorned and bitter mech.

"Skyfire left," Soundwave relented in monotone, repeating the situation needlessly, purposely to instigate. Starscream's face contorted again, a snarl of rage. He didn't need to listen to what the seeker had to say, he already knew what it was. This one was keenly aware of betrayal, and was sent into fits of rage over it.

The flaw was that betrayal and revenge were all there was room for. This Starscream remembered only a handful of things, the chief among those being the two times his companion had abandoned him. This slice of Starscream's life was from just as the war went into full swing, just after losing Skyfire to Earth's atmosphere and returning to Cybertron to be swept into fighting. He was bitter, angry, and had no room for remorse or grief. To him, Skyfire's sudden disappearance was a betrayal, and for Soundwave, that was just fine.

Bringing Skyfire back online only to have him join the Autobots was not at all a regrettable decision. Afterwards, Soundwave didn't even have to do much more than brush the surface of Starscream's mind before this one came bursting free, far too eager to inflict pain.

"Repeated suggestion: emotional damage more painful."

Starscream continued to look torn between confusion and anger. Soundwave was losing him. A quick, vague feeling projected into Starscream's mind and the seeker abruptly relaxed, grinning again.

"Oh," Starscream murmured darkly. "Oh."

Fingers dug into the creases of Soundwave's armor, electricity buzzing close to sensitive wires as Starscream leaned closer, the cockpit scraping against Soundwave's chest, making a short screeching sound against the Decepticon insignia there as Starscream shifted against him hungrily. Soundwave darkened his visor further as vibrations started from where Starscream touched him, and he heard the beginnings of jet engines whining as they warmed up. Starscream rubbed against him, needing no prompting or reciprocation to continue.

Soundwave decided the floor would be preferable, and pulled the seeker down with him, letting him crawl on top and take charge. Starscream was determined to send him into overload, single-minded in his goals as usual, regardless of current mental stability or lack thereof.

He wasn't thinking of Soundwave at all even while he was sending pleasant little shocks through his body and muttering deliriously into his audios. Soundwave himself was the furthest thing from Starscream's mind at the moment. What he was straddling and coaxing, manipulating into overload was revenge. It was What Would Hurt Skyfire.

Soundwave didn't mind in the least.

It's just a jump to the left
And then a step to the right
With your hands on your hips
You bring your knees in tight
But it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane,
Let's do the Time Warp again!

"You..."

However, this one was his favorite, if he had to choose.

"Skyfire," he reminded it. Starscream's expression instantly switched from confused to delighted.

"Skyfire! Where have you been?"

Soundwave didn't listen to most of what any of them had to say. He merely found this one the most amusing, and next to the sparkling, the easiest to manipulate. No matter what he did, it never broke the illusion the pre-war Starscream had of him. Tiring of listening to his babble, Soundwave abruptly grabbed Starscream, much to the latter's shock.

"Skyfire? What are you doing?"

Soundwave did not answer, but instead caressed the seeker's face, a facade of affection that made the scientist practically swoon in the midst of his half-hearted struggling to free himself.

"S-skyfire... no..."

Soundwave sent out a pulse of electricity that had Starscream squealing and writhing against him, plating sending out sparks from where Starscream rubbed too hard against his armor. As abruptly as it hit, it was over, and Starscream practically trembled, leaning against Soundwave for support to keep from falling. Soundwave could hear his internal fans start, and Starscream panted, exhaling overheated air.

They had been through this procedure dozens of times, yet no matter how many more times they performed it, the scientist would still forget, and revert.

It was an entertaining game, at any rate. Knowing that Starscream, or at least a part of him, had lusted after Skyfire for so long was useful. Knowing that Skyfire forcing him into overload drove Starscream over the edge that much faster... knowing that was just amusing.

It's so dreamy, oh fantasy free me
So you can't see me, no not at all
In another dimension, with voyeuristic intention
Well-secluded, I see all
With a bit of a mind flip
You're there in the time slip
And nothing can ever be the same
You're spaced out on sensation, like you're under sedation
Let's do the Time Warp again!

So close. It was so close.

Starscream had been severely wounded in their latest skirmish with the Autobots, enough so that he could not hope to repair it on his own. And he had woken up on the table, surrounded by Constructicons, as the sparkling.

Soundwave had scanned the seeker's mind and reported to Megatron, within hearing of everyone else, that it was merely a temporary regression. The impact and trauma disoriented Starscream. Meanwhile, Soundwave viciously brought up the raging Starscream and the sparkling fled back.

Starscream had gotten another beating from Megatron for his sudden and violent reaction in the repair bay, but that was a small price to pay for keeping it secret.

He stroked the sparkling's head and Starscream's wings vibrated happily against him, just soaking up the attention greedily. Starscream looked up at him with a rather adoring expression, just so grateful that someone approved of him.

It was disgusting, but Soundwave merely fingered the vents on the seeker's head. The jet chirped contentedly.

Even for a sparkling, this one was incredibly slow. Not helpless as organic young were, not even unintelligent-- but slow still. Most sparklings attached themselves to a mentor to look up to and spent the rest of the time cavorting about with others in between their shifts. Sparklings were supervised, certainly, because otherwise they would run amok. Not because they needed it for survival. It merely sped up their learning of responsibility and morality and the like when in the presence of an elder.

The sparkling Starscream had yet to actually speak a word, and was so hungry for affection it bordered on obsessive.

Madness within madness. It was so sweet Soundwave imagined he might purr like Ravage.

"Starscream," Soundwave said at length. Starscream grinned eagerly up at him, no doubt thinking that he would be required to play another "game" to win his continued approval. Or if not approval, then at the very least win a lack of disapproval. He was extremely eager to please and while Soundwave found the trait amusing, if not endearing, its usefulness had expired.

Megatron had granted his request for time, necessary to aiding in Starscream's recovery. As much as Megatron enjoyed seeing Starscream incapacitated, it was not conducive to destroying Autobots. If Starscream was mentally unstable, Megatron wanted to know about it and he wanted it fixed.

Soundwave used this time to systematically break what was left of Starscream's fractured mind.

Well I was walking down the street just a-having a think
When a snake of a guy gave me an evil wink
He shook me up, he took me by surprise
He had a pickup truck and the devil's eyes.
He stared at me and I felt a change

It took more effort than he would have thought. Apparently there was a kind of twisted tenacity to his mind, and it shuddered and shied away from any further damage. It made little difference of course, but the observation was still mildly surprising, like the last feeble kick of downed prey in the face of its predator descending to feast.

Soundwave had pinned the seeker's body down with his own, keeping the sparkling who didn't know how to fight him afloat in Starscream's mind and at the fore-front. It keened irritatingly and struggled, but weakly. Everything about this one was weak, weak, and while it had been an amusing diversion, a change of pace, it would no longer be tolerated after that slip-up on the repair table.

With some amount of concentration, Soundwave lashed out at Starscream's mind directly.

The creature underneath him stilled and went silent abruptly, red optics wide in shock. Soundwave offlined his audio receptors moments before the form opened its mouth and, if the vibrations were anything to go by, was screaming with enough force to nearly render the sound nullification barriers surrounding the room useless.

Nearly. At any rate it didn't matter, because moments after the screaming had started, it died just as suddenly.

It was beautiful in its own morbid way, feeling the empty spot in Starscream's mind where the sparkling had been, and still was to some degree, lingering traces here and there but more disjointed and weaker than ever before. Soundwave allowed himself the luxury of admiring it a moment more before getting to work.

Later, much later, Soundwave disconnected from Starscream's mind with one last stroke across his mind, re-checking again that everything was where it should be. It was.

He drew back, standing while Starscream's optics flickered and finally focused on him. Starscream struggled to sit up, disoriented.

"Sound... wave?"

"Affirmative. Designation?"

"Rift," he answered with no hesitation. Soundwave made no outward motion, but sent a small wave of approval washing over 'Rift'.

It was always difficult, reformatting a fully sized mech into one of his spies, but the most difficult part was the transferring of the reformatted consciousness into its new cassette body. That process would not be practical at this point, and it could easily be done later after all. So the process of taking a piece of Starscream's mind and destroying it to make way for what would, eventually, be his primary consciousness... relatively, it was easy. It merely took time. Rumble and Frenzy would take exception to Rift, but they took exception to nearly everything, and Soundwave was unconcerned. They wouldn't learn of this one's existence for quite a long time anyway.

"Objective?" he questioned the shell of Starscream sitting on the floor. Rift looked up at him and replied dutifully:

"Remain hidden and collect information for Soundwave."

Another brief touch of approval set Rift's optics flickering, and the jet engines rumbled in a pleased purr. Rift crawled towards him on his knees and nuzzled one of Soundwave's legs, worshipful as the sparkling before it had been, but with purpose.

And not nearly so irritating, Soundwave thought, petting Rift's helmet, fingers brushing against vents. Rift pushed into the sparse touches. Yes, he'd be useful. Let Megatron rule, let him make the decisions and shine in the spotlight. Meanwhile Soundwave would be content in his power, one that surpassed any amount of influence Megatron held. And now Megatron's direct heir was little more than his cassette, his slave. Yes, let others make their bids at power directly with Megatron himself, let them get blasted and beaten and destroyed, crushed as they should be under Megatron's heel. Soundwave would watch all and laugh.

Rift looked up at him and smirked.

"Also," he amended his mission perimeters with a purr set in his voice, "to obey Soundwave and ensure his complete comfort..."

Yes, Soundwave thought, amused at this quirk in his newest creation, even if it would have to be hidden again... just as soon as he ceased that vibration that was traveling up Soundwave's leg and making everything hum pleasantly... Yes, this one is much more useful.

Time meant nothing, never would again
Let's do the Time Warp again!