Chapter Text
Earth had been a horrible experience for the huntress.
She found her favourite prey, which was good.
But her prey’s pet blew up her ship.
She was betrayed by her master before she could betray him.
She had even lost part of an extra limb.
Her plan to kill her master failed, her prey slicing off her connection to the hive.
And now she had nothing.
Now she was starving.
Airachnid was a master hunter, not an energon sniffer. Even if she could find it, she had no way to refine it into something edible. If she had even just one Insecticon still with her, she could’ve fed on its energon while it ate the crystals.
But she did not. And the part of her processor responsible for decrypting signals from the hive was dark.
So she starved.
She had gotten desperate enough to try consuming organic wildlife.
It did not sit well.
Now, though, she was perched in a tree, she always favoured redwoods given their size and ability to hold her weight.
She was watching a green car pull into an old bunker.
As the door started to close, she struck.
She had to slide under the door in root mode to ensure she did not lose another limb.
Guns were drawn and aimed at her.
Reinforcements rushed into the room, but none fired.
A gruff but injured voice came from the shadows of the room, “Stand down men, we’re neutral with this one.”
From the shadows a man emerged, Silas, but his combat suit had been augmented. An exoskeleton had been added to support his limbs. His face was covered in more scars than Airachnid remembered.
“To what do we owe the pleasure of your return?” The fleshling put on a strong front, but Airachnid knew it was taking all his strength. He was weak and dying.
She tried to ignore the hole that was her tank. “Although our… previous deal failed to bear the fruits we wished, I believe you will be interested in my offer.”
The fleshling leader raised an eyebrow, “And what might that be?”
“A simple trade. Whole, mostly intact Cybertronians, in exchange for energon to fuel my hunts.” She strode forward, slow enough to not seem like an attack, but quick enough to be a threat.
Just before she reached the line of humans, something clicked, both in her processor, and on the walls.
The door is closed. There is no way out. They should be the ones that feel cornered, not me
Electricity arched from the walls, overwhelming her systems.
As her optics fluttered, Silas walked over to her, talking to his men. “Restrain her, and prepare her for Project Regenesis.”
The world went dark.
------
“That van has been following us.” Arcee tilted her mirror, getting a clear view of the black van far behind them.
“There’s only like three roads out here, Arcee. We haven’t passed any intersections since you spotted it.” Jack was worried Arcee’s recent run-ins with Airachnid had left her paranoid. “Besides, I doubt the cons have anyone with a van alt mode.”
The pair had been focused on the van so much they didn’t notice the car in the other lane.
It swerved.
“JACK!” Arcee yelled as she tried to transform.
CRUNCH
The green car had slammed into the two wheeler, Jack was sent rolling over it and remained prone on the road, stunned.
Arcee had taken the equivalent of a simultaneous gut punch and roundhouse to the head. She was struggling to remember how to move her arms let alone protect Jack.
The van screeched to halt next to Jack, MECH soldiers grabbed him, and the one from the now ruined car joined them.
Arcee was barely able to stand and could do nothing but watch her partner be taken.
The world went dark.