Starscream was waiting when Burnwheel appeared, driving through the spacebridge and into hanger bay seven with four humans in the car.

Starscream smirked. Burnwheel's reputation had better survive this, he thought.

Or he wouldn't survive.

"Soundwave. Transition complete. Close the bridge. Find Knock-Out and bring him here with you." Starscream ordered.

Burnwheel's doors opened and three human teenagers got out. Burnwheel himself then transformed, lifting up to his full height and tossing the fourth human down none to gently.

Markus hit the hanger bay floor hard, but he was wide awake now and livid.

Things had gotten bad in the car. Markus wasn't having any of it which led Burnwheel to believe that younger humans were more readily willing to accept what they were seeing and hearing than the adult would ever be.

The one called Markus had been incensed, he had roared at Burnwheel and tried to strike Marshal, turning his anger on the girl next to him instead, grabbing her in a headlock, before Burnwheel had stunned him and erected an energy harness around his arms.

Now as Marshal helped him up onto his feet, Markus's eyes were black as pitch with anger.

He stared at Starscream and Burnwheel but then locked eyes with Marshal as the two giant robots began speaking with each other.

"What is this shit, you little fuck!?"

"You gotta hear them out. That one was going to kill us all."

"What do you think I'm gonna do?" He glared murder at Marshal. "You involved me?! The fuck you think you're doing, you little bastard!?"

"I didn't know who else to come too." Marshal answered.

"Silence!" Starscream snarled, jabbing a talon at Markus and Marshal.

"Continue Burnwheel." he motioned when Markus and Marshal looked up at him.

"This one here is a professed tech expert. She's proven to be clever and seductive. She adapts quickly under stress." Burnwheel indicated Cindy where she stood next to High-side.

"This is the coolest thing ever." Cindy sighed as she drank in the Decepticons. High-side just nodded, thrilled to speechlessness by Burnwheel's true form and looking at Starscream with nothing short of awe.

A huge door slid open and two more robots came striding in. One was bright red and oozing arrogance and the other was a sharp-edged, deadly looking fellow.

"The gangs all here." the red one spoke. The other said nothing.

"That's enough, Knock-Out. Continue." The lanky, wicked looking one indicated with a motion of his hand for Burnwheel to go on.

"This one is a professed mechanic." Burnwheel said. "He was unstable at first but he seems eager and capable given the right tools. And he did manage to break into me quite quickly."

"A humble omission that does you credit, Burnwheel. It can be no easy thing to be bested by a human, hmm?" Starscream leaned way over and stared at High-side with his wide glowing red eyes.

"You know your way around machines, eh?"

"Yessir." High-side croaked, looking up at him.

"He seems right up your alley, Knock Out." Starscream straightened up and swiveled his head around with a sneer.

"Are you suggesting I work with a human?" Knock-Out looked appalled.

"Not at all, Knock-Out. Not at all. You are being ordered too." Starscream grinned wickedly.

He turned and looked back down at High-side.

"What is your name?"

"High-side. What do you turn into?!"

Starscream paused.

"A jet." he blinked.

"To cool!"

"Hmm. Yes. You smell. Do something about it." Starscream shook his head in disgust, straightening up, but his attention quickly shifted to the girl when she giggled.

"And you are who, my pretty?" he leaned over and stared at her the same way.

"Cindy." she actually managed to smile at him.

"Of course you are." Starscream straightened back up and turned away as Soundwave came walking up.

"Soundwave, the girl is a professed tech expert." He spoke over his shoulder as he walked away.

"While her primitive technology was proven useless against your new cloaking systems, she did manage to register that there was something wrong about Burnwheel's power signature.." Starscream finished as he walked over to Marshal and Markus, his hands behind his back. Soundwave stopped and looked down at Cindy.

"Hi." she raised a hand.

He said nothing.

Starscream stood before the last two humans as Burnwheel and Knock-Out fell into step behind him.

"And these are?"

"This one is Marshal. He commands the loyalty of the other two. He's clever and quick thinking. Cool under pressure. Resourceful." Burnwheel answered.

Starscream smiled.

"He reminds me of me."

Knock-Out snorted.

"Shut up!" Starscream's head snapped around back at him. "Go debrief your own human!"

Knock-Out gave him a lazy salute and turned to saunter away.

"And who is this one? Why is he bound?" Starscream asked as he turned back.

"This is Markus. The leader. He commands the loyalty of Marshal and through him the other subordinates. He was very resistant to my commands. Vicious. Brutal. I had to restrain him such was his rage. But according to Marshal he runs a bigger criminal operation with multiple contacts."

"Does he now."

Starscreams eyes narrowed and even though he was still furious, Markus was trying to take in all he was hearing. It was a testimony to his viciousness he was keeping quiet and bidding his time, rather than bluster uselessly. He was itching to get his hands on Marshal later and the kid seemed to know it. He stood next to Markus immobile and cool. Markus glared at him. He couldn't help it.

Starscream distinctly didn't like the look in his eye.

He grumbled disgustedly, shaking his head.

"How disturbing this one seems to mirror our very own beloved leader. Always ready to punish a subordinate." He stared over their heads off into the launch bay.

"Megatron." Burnwheel added, looking over at Starscream.

"Who is that? Your leader?" Markus spoke, his voice hard and demanding.

Burnwheel said no more. This was all on Starscream no matter how it turned out. He hoped. Who could say how Megatron would react? It just looked like Starscream was getting his facts straight before Megatron returned.

Starscream tilted his head, looking back down at Markus.

"Quite a lot like Megatron." He sighed a little and then turning to them all, human and Transformer alike, he addressed the crowd.

"My fellow Decepticons give welcome to our new human guests." he held up one hand grandly.

"And you, my dear humans, you are now in league with the Decepticon armada. I am Starscream. There are many things we shall learn of each other that will prove beneficial in the coming days. You're lives are going to change irrevocably now that we have taken you under our wing and it will all be for the better. You no longer need fear for your lives. We will provide you with everything you desire. We will now be your patrons as you better assist us to understand your human culture and the wretched manipulations of our enemies."

"And who are they?" Cindy dared asked.

"All in good time, my dear." Starscream lowered his hand with a chuckle.

"And when will I meet this Megatron, hard case?" Markus asked, glaring up at Starscream.

Starscream ignored him, taking his other arm from behind his back, he looked at Burnwheel and then leaned over again to address Marshal.

"Tell me something...Marshal is it?" He raised a claw to his own chin as he studied the young man.

Marshal nodded.

"When you involved your criminal superior here, was it because it would be favorable to you in a certain way in the long run?" he indicated Markus with a nod.

"What the fuck kind of question is that?" Markus sputtered. "Hey look here, squawk-box. You better just take me to your leader or whatever. And get this thing off me! I know business when I see it. Let's just see how this Megatron feels about your crowing."

Starscreams red eyes turned ever so slowly to Markus.

"Ah-haa. Well. Then by all means let me show you just how my leader will feel about...crowing." He sneered.

With one swift motion, Starscream stood up, lifting Markus in one hand.

Markus twisted, snarling and kicking as Starscream walked over to the wall and keyed a button.

An armored window slid open. Outside the rolling dark clouds of the earth's upper atmosphere roared by. With no preamble whatsoever Starscream simply tossed Markus through the opening. Markus's scream vanished instantly in the wind and in the blink of an eye he was gone.

The humans stood stock still, their breath misting in the frigid air as Starscream closed the window. Quickly the heat returned to normal and Starscream turned back around.

"Such is what happens if any of you decide to be a real nuisance." He said, without looking at Cindy or High-side as he came back over to Marshal and bent down again, leaning over with his eyes glowing a deeper red.

"Can you run that one's operations now that he has been...demoted? Handling our interests back on Earth?"

Marshal weighed it in his mind. He was almost eighteen...and ruthless. Ralph and Grift wouldn't take much convincing. Everything and everyone else would line up, fall into line, or meet the Decepticons. He looked over at High-side and Cindy. They were shocked, yet Cindy's eyes were gleaming as she looked at him.

He was now the man in Jasper and she knew it. So did he.

"Yes I can." He answered in a firm tone as he turned to look back up at Starscream.

"That's good. Consider yourself promoted." Starscream smiled, beginning to turn away but then he paused and came back to stare at Marshal.

"So...was it your plan to usurp your leader by having the Decepticons note you were the obvious choice for command and that we would remove him?" he asked.

"Maybe."

Starscream smiled and Marshal smiled back.

"You do remind me of me." Starscream chuckled.

"I look forward to working with you personally, Marshal." He said in a low voice. Then he straightened up to his full height and turned to Burnwheel.

"Oh, but I like this human." He grinned wickedly.