Author's Note – For "tf_speedwriting" on LiveJournal. The prompt was " Challenge: write a flashfic (300 to 500 words) focusing on an interaction between a character of your choice and the leader of the opposite faction". After editing, the fic is exactly 500 words. XD

Disclaimer – "Transformers" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Hasbro, Takara, and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Surprise!"
by DragonDancer5150

Bumblebee shuddered, sprawled on the ground up against a tree. Badly injured, he was dripping cydraulic fluids. He could feel the grit and the clumps of sod in his seams from his slide tearing up the ground. That last strike had hurt. He was just lucky it hadn't been a direct hit!

There were mechs who could take a shot from Megatron's fusion canon and live. The little scout was pretty sure he wasn't one of them.

Approaching footsteps made him jump. Ut-oh . . . here he comes. He dragged himself upright, leaning heavily on the tree. At barely over nine feet tall by human measurement, he was one of the few Cybertronians who could do that, lean on an Earth tree and have it support his weight without damage. Right now, he was glad for that.

The support, that was. He wasn't so much worried about damage to the tree at the moment.

Nor the trees in front of him as they were cracked and broken, shoved to either side out of the way of the coming mech. Nearly three times Bumblebee's size, Megatron was an imposing force of fury. It was all the smallest Autobot could do to keep from scrambling back, instead making himself stand his ground, running a rapid diagnostic on his systems to ensure he could still transform.

"Thought you could sneak up on us, did you?" Megatron strode up to Bumblebee, glaring at him through the branches of the tree before crouching on his heels. Even stooped, he towered over the little Autobot, a powerful and menacing presence.

"I did!" Bumblebee forced a little more amused bravado into his tone than he actually felt. He couldn't show fear or weakness, not now – not ever, really. Not if he wanted to keep his head clear and get out of this alive. "I just . . . hadn't counted on Ravage sneaking up on me." He shrugged, putting on a grin. "Oops?"

Megatron's scowl could have corroded titanium. "Think this is funny, Autobot?"

Bumblebee had shifted, turning a shoulder slightly away and slipping that hand out of sight to reach into a subspace compartment. The other arm he lifted out in front of him to wag a flat hand of widespread fingers in a 'so-so' gesture. "Maybe?" Redirect attention – a trick he'd learned from Jazz. "But not nearly as much as this!" With the other hand, he lobbed a small device at Megatron's face, twisting as he did to throw himself around the other side of the tree.

Megatron reared back with a roar of indignation and rage, reacting violently enough to throw himself off-balance. Bumblebee laughed aloud as he watched the great Decepticon overlord fall back on his aft. Transforming, he sped off before Megatron could recover.

But not before snapping a quick picture of the mech with his new look – silver splattered in a rainbow of bright paint splotches. Bumblebee owed that to the Twins for the "quick getaway" device they'd given him.