[ti]Ep 3[/ti]Field Day [Wheeljack, Windshield]

[Deleted]

     Wheeljack hated being led on a wild goose chase to no-mans-where-timbuktu with blind leading the blind. He could have taken point, but he definitely didn't like having someone he didn't like bringing up the rear. Cons would take pop shots however they could and, from his own experience, loved shooting someone in the back as a preferred method of take-down.

     There were other things to be interested in at the moment.

     The vehicles that merged onto the highway from the off ramp did not go unnoticed to the Wrecker. He'd seen their alt modes several times before, plus it wasn't difficult to spot them when you had multiple vehicles of the same body style and color driving in unison like good mindless cannon fodder. Prowl had spotted them as well, as indicated by the way he briefly trailed off with his words, but by the time the Bot had told him that he was being followed Wheeljack had already taken in the situation.

     Windshield he just didn't pay any mind to. As far as he was concerned, he could have been the reason behind this triple trouble.

     ::Negative, Chief.:: Wheeljack continued driving to play off as if he didn't see the company. He didn't think they were dumb enough to believe that but hey, he'd been surprised by less obvious things before. ::I thought you were some big shot strategist. What sort of plan is that?:: Wheeljack adjusted his rear-view mirror so he could keep an eye on his bogies. ::They're following me because they know my alt mode, but neither of you are registered yet. You'd be dumb to lose that element of surprise.:: He looked for the next exit and started to scan. He needed a place where he could get off this confined location and be able to transform without dragging the natives into it. He didn't want small fry Fowler or Optimus on his aft because he got spotted. Not that he really cared about the big reveal, but it was more of just being scolded like a sparkling that he didn't want to deal with at the moment.

     :: I'll take this off road. You two find a spot to safely transform without getting yourselves spotted. Don't take too long or you won't have anyone to play with. Time to put metal to pedal.::

     Wheeljack peeled over with a hard right across traffic, cutting off several vehicles along the way who blared their horns at him in their 'how dare you cut me off and ruin my day' fashion. Once he was safely off the main highway and heading to open pastures on an unmarked business route and slammed down the gas to speed off as fast as his wheels could manage. 

     There was no way they wouldn't know he was aware they were on his tail now, even if they didn't before.

[Zercon]

The lead Vehicon that had pulled a short distance in front of Wheeljack, watched absently as the Wrecker decided to make a hard veer off the freeway as if he had suddenly realized he missed his exit. The trooper's side mirrors twitched over in the process, keeping a momentary bead until the other mech was in the far exit lane out of immediate range. Loud horns, a couple ticked off civilians... only a few showed their displeasure openly, though it was doubtful that a couple others were not muttering within the safety of their own vehicles. The Vehicon did not seem particularly bothered, the side view mirror folding back into a neutral angle with a click while he continued ahead on the freeway, making a casual lane shift towards the right.

He would go past the exit Wheeljack took, not seeming to mind he was no longer following the Autobot, or perhaps he had a different goal.

The other two however, were not so distant. Whether more aggressive in nature, or if the other lead one had a plan or not was uncertain, however the twins that merged onto the freeway behind Wheeljack took a far more proactive approach. Also cutting over lanes with a snarled growl of their engines, the duo would merge smoothly onto the exit ramp behind the white red and green mech. The three all still seemed to be ignorant to Prowl and Windshield, though they knew that Wheeljack most definitely was not ignorant to them.

Only a fool would not catch on at this point that they were being trailed by Vehicons, and the way the other mech abandoned ship from the main highway showed that he was no moron. A quick turn onto a road, a veer onto a path that was leading out to more open land... Wheeljack's intention to get somewhere free from human's was not a plan that was difficult to discern. As such, one of the two troopers that tailed him hung behind, following carefully with a short buffer between incase Wheeljack brake checked, while the second changed lanes into the left.

A snarl of engines, a low growl, the dark purple and black muscle car roared to move alongside Wheeljack, black tinted windows showing the mech's own reflection back at him should he look. For a moment, the Vehicon simply kept pace, watching the environment with care. There were still buildings around, sparsely located businesses with only a couple cars speckled about for employees... It was most definitely not a 'safe' area to transform. Yet, that didn't seem to deter harsh actions.

In a ramming swing, the Vehicon beside Wheeljack would slam over abruptly to try to ram him into a ditch on the side of the road or force a spinout.

[Prowl]

There were a lot of things which Prowl hated. This...was one that topped the list...

“Wheeljack! Maintain...Grrr...”

He trailed off into a growl before shutting off his commlink with Wheeljack as the Wrecker peeled off, cutting across traffic and hitting the exit ramp, taking two of the vehicon troopers with him. Prowl swore mentally as his entire battleplan had been tossed right out the window without a second thought. What really burned him deep down though was that Wheeljack did have a point. But it was something he had chosen to sacrifice. Prowl knew his existence on this planet could not be hidden forever, but someone of Wheeljack’s skill was not one to be thrown away aimlessly.

That did not matter now, seeing as Wheeljack had just gone rogue.

Quickly Prowl assessed his options before making his move. There was still one vehicon trooper in play with him and Windshield while Wheeljack was taking on the other two. He would need to be taken care of immediately to prevent him from joining his comrades and from radioing for assistance from Decepticon headquarters. Slowly another plan formed in his processor until the pieces clicked in place.

“Windshield, I need you to get behind this vehicon that is behind me and follow him no matter what. Understood?”

This next part would be risky, but Prowl calculated that the risk was worth it. He slowly changed lanes to line up with getting off at the next exit, as well as come alongside the vehicon trooper. His holoform turned to gaze into the empty interior of the Vehicon, face betraying no emotion. He wanted this vehicon to notice him, to start wondering, seeds of doubt laying in his mind. Prowl watched for a reaction, which would determine his next move.

[Windshield]

Windshield did as Prowl ordered, shifting lanes so that he could properly arrange himself according to the current position of the Vehicon that remained behind. He tried to make it look as seamless as possible, but with Wheeljack's antics, it was difficult for Prowl and Windshield to remain covert much longer. They'd have to act whether they wanted to or not, their hands forced on account of the Wrecker's recklessness.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he blurted into the comms with a proverbial eye roll. It's not like doing this was easy. Sparse as the human traffic was, he had to deal with passing several cars on the way to his target. You can't rush stuff like this! That is, of course, unless you want to provoke the ire of some less-than-favorable grease bags.

Over the last few months, Windshield has learned that not every human is receptive to cutting and speeding—both of which he simply had to do right now. It was almost amusing. Their tiny little problems. Being late for work and making bad impressions on their coworkers and managers and what-not. They had all this social nonsense to worry about...While a secret war raged on their world to the complete obliviousness of the masses. The contrast between the apocalyptic actions of the Cybertronians and the dreary daily lives of humans sometimes amused Windshield a great deal.

At the same time, however, it was a little sad. Just a little, though. Nothing he couldn't rationalize away with some twisted logic and a few jokes.

[Deleted]

     Fighting on a packed roadway was foolish to do even on Cybertron, so here was no different. Wheeljack's style required him to have the freedom to swing without being hindered by wondering if he was hitting the right target. The nitty-gritty of it was simple: more mass in the way, the more difficult it was to move. Priority for the Wrecker was not getting out of sight of the natives, it was merely to make sure they didn't get involved in the combat to follow. He didn't want to be responsible for unnecessary collateral damage. Cybertronians chose to be in this fight- the organics of this planet did not. Their involvement was both unnecessary and bothersome.

     Frankly, they didn't move out of the way fast enough and arriving to base with leftover organic goo underfoot definitely would put him in a hot seat.

     Wheeljack had expected that the Vehicons would try something. They didn't play by the rules that had been set by Team Prime. Neither did the Wrecker. If the Vehicons thought he had been looking for a place to transform where he wouldn't be spotted they were sorely mistaken. Wheeljack had stated before that he was not one of Optimus's people. 

     When the Vehicon pulled up alongside Wheeljack, the Wrecker weighed his options and prepared himself for one of three options. There was no way for him to be boxed in successfully with only the twins, so either he was going to slam on his brakes and be rear ended or keep going and be broadsided. He tried to break pace with the one driving alongside and he slammed the gas to pull ahead but it wasn't enough to clear it on time, and the connection for the pit was made. The force of the impact of the Vehicon ramming into his driver's side sent him veering sharply to the right into a hard spin and the Wrecker to locked his tires. While the screeching of rubber fighting against the roadway was deafening, it was not the only one to be heard and the undertone of gears, pistons and metal panels shifting and clicking into different positions mingled with it as he completed one full 360 degree spin.

     As he was about to enter a second spin, Wheeljack's intention came to fruition.

     Fully in robot mode, he tucked one leg under him and half spun in a knelt position, sparks flying around him as the result of metal meeting road. He reached to his left shoulder with his right hand at the same time to pull his sword from its sheath, using the momentum from the spin for an extra burst of speed and swung the weapon towards the Vehicon that had been following him in hopes that the second twin would be either driving too fast to stop and end up with a heinous gash along the passenger side, or at least drive itself into it's own reckless crash trying to avoid being skewered. 

     Blind swings could yeild different results, but either way, Wheeljack was prepped for a fight.

[Zercon]

The lead trooper that remained on the freeway and did not chase down Wheeljack, observed as the police vehicle moved over as if intending to get off on the next exit. He wondered if they saw the careless driving of the three other vehicles, choosing to get off on a far safer exit to hook around and confront with a ticket... yet no lights blared, no acceleration occurred so the targets did not get away... To the Vehicon this meant he was getting off on this exit anyway, and as such, needed to be taken into account. While other vehicles were non concerns, a cop was another thing altogether.

Best not to risk a chase by doing something out of line, going through the burden of screeching down sideroads and making sharp turns to shake them off the trail. More cops getting involved... maybe a helicopter if he couldn't get away in time and they dubbed them too much of a threat to others... It wasn't worth it, and as such as much as the soldier had planned to get off on that exit, instead he opted for the longer road, knowing he would not be able to enact his goals as quickly as intended.

The soldier did not address the cop, the side windows an inky black tint to them so that the vacant chairs were nothing but the vaguest of hazes within the darkness. He simply continued at the speed limit, content to miss this exit and move onto the next, not paying much mind to the other car trailing along with him.

-----

((I am going to start using 'Vehicon One' and 'Vehicon Two' when writing to try to not confuse stuff even if it writes a bit clunky. To try to help differentiate since they are clones.))

The second that Vehicon One rammed into Wheeljack, he hit the brakes hard and veered sharply to the left to try to get out of the way. He did not want to get caught up in the spinout, especially as the process of transformation sharply started a second after impact. This fast thinking swung him onto the vacant opposite side of the road, clearing any attack that was about to come his way. Vehicon Two however was right in the line of fire so to speak. While a buffer was there, the fact a sword was drawn after transformation would be problematic. He could stop in time, he rammed on his brakes once he saw his comrade was about to make impact... yet next thing he knew a sword was being swung around at him.

A snarl of mechanics, a swinging latch as panels pulsed out and locked into new positions... In a flicker just as fast as Wheeljack the muscle car ruptured out and took the shape of a Vehicon soldier. His peds were slammed down into the ground, similar sparks flicking back as metal scraped along asphalt, though his stance was less of a kneel and more a broad posture to 'grip' the ground as much as possible and slow momentum. When the blade slashed forward, instead of lurching to the side or cowering back to lesson the strike... the aggressive soldier instead pressed forward.

Sword meeting metal, Wheeljack's weapon rammed hard into the forearm of Vehicon Two, black and purple giving way under its force with a near instant flash of Energon spurting out as it collided and stopped abruptly against the internal strut. The strike that would have made another reel in agony however was almost punted aside. Just as the blade struck his arm, he would throw the limb to the right to attempt to swing the weapon down towards the ground and away with broken edges of Cybertronian metals glinting in the air, while his left arm would wrench around hard in a violent punch at the Wrecker's face. He threw his forward momentum into the strike, angular knuckles and structure meaning the hit would not be pleasant should it connect.

Meanwhile, Vehicon One also transformed, grinding to a halt a short distance up the road with both clawed palms flat down against the roadway to brace himself. Once fully stopped he would stand upright, right arm lifting so that the forearm was angled up towards the sky before metal ruptured out again and his hand vanished. In just a flash a gun would form, its sides flaring active with illuminated purple etchings, the triangular chamber seething with a haze as energy collected within.

Slowly, Vehicon One approached, visor locked down onto the Autobot.

[Prowl]

Vehicon puppeting approved by Zercon!

He could only imagine what administrative headache Wheeljack was causing right about now...

Prowl made a quick mental note that in the future, it would be best to avoid bringing the Wrecker into sensitive operations such as this. While the benefit of the Wreckers was a force that got the job done, no questions asked, they had on multiple occasions displayed a lack of subtlety. Not so much of a problem back on Cybertron, but here on Earth...well...as much as Prowl hated to admit it, but they needed to keep a low profile.

Having a Wrecker dispatch two Vehicons near a public highway was NOT keeping a low profile.

Prowl bit back his angry tirade as he cruised off the exit ramp, turning down the road that led off of the interstate towards whatever small settlement that humanity had decided to set up in the middle of nowhere. He figured he could make his way back towards Wheeljack’s last position without having to get back onto the highway, which would provide a way to eliminate this other Vehicon that was near him.

Seeing that the Vehicon had yet to respond to his provocation, Prowl decided to crank it up a notch. He took a quick look around, then turned down a deserted county road to make sure they were not any humans around. Satisfied, he turned back to look towards the Vehicon, then set the bait. Prowl slowed down and cut over to beside the Vehicon, sure that would get his attention. Then he put the icing on the cake...

He shut off his holoform.

Three...

Two...

One...

Bingo.

Seeing the confusion in the Vehicon as it startled, he gunned his engine and took off down the road which turned into a two lane county road, lights and sirens blaring. Immediately, he opened the commlink to Windshield.

“Windshield, now!”

[Windshield]

“Windshield, now!”

There, right there! A signal from the current head honcho. And following a signal, firm compliance followed. Windshield instantly veered to follow after Prowl, the Vehicon still nearby, and broke from the busy highway. He ended up on that same county road. By now, it should be obvious to even the most idiotic Vehicon that neither he nor Prowl were ordinary motorists.

Hopefully, they'd be followed much like Wheeljack was by the other soldiers a few moments prior. And speaking of...

...Windshield decided to open comms once more, letting both Prowl and Wheeeljack hear him as they blazed across the dinky asphalt.

::You holding up alright over there?::

The question was clearly aimed at the Wrecker who, as it did not escape Windshield's notice, had to fend off two assailants. Notably, there was a hint of concern in the ex-Con's voice. However, not the concern for Wheeljack's safety, but rather keeping their numbers—and therefore chances of victory—as high as possible. A simple matter of shrewdness.

By the same measure, he also extended a question towards Prowl, quite possibly with the remaining Vehicon still in pursuit.

::I ain't an authority on this, but we should prolly get back to our resident maverick before he makes a mess...Or, y'know, becomes a mess for us to clean up.::

While the thought of seeing Jackie smeared all over the ground was certainly an entertaining one, Windshield would probably be the prime suspect to blame for any mishaps like this. He could just see Prowl rubbing his hands as he gets to court-martial him for high treason in front of Optimus and all the other bigwigs.

Well, not today.

[Deleted]

     Administrative duty was for the suits, so while what he was doing was probably going to be a major kick in the head for them, that really wasn't even a passing thought to him. That was their issue to take care of. He was there to work. Wreckers were the fighting force, and as one of the originals to the team, Wheeljack was not one to be taken lightly. Even if he were entirely disarmed, Wheeljack was a dangerous wild card to put into play. Though down by one, the usual dual wielder still had one sword and a grenade that could have taken the two drones out in a blink.
 
     The battlemask engaged, snapping into place with a heavy metal clanking sound. Bright cyan optics were all that were seen, peering out from under his slightly downward tilted helm. As the sword lodged itself into the Vehicon's arm and was swung out, Wheeljack used that to allow himself to be pulled to his feet as not to waste his own energy doing so. With the forward momentum already engaged and his left servo now free, the Wrecker used it to defend himself from the oncoming physical attack. 

     He took note of what side he needed to be aware of, and where to make his hits count. The face to face combat would have restricted some, but the bulky mech was built to handle it and otherwise preferred it this way. While a shove with his shoulder may have been the opportune way to hand it to gain some distance between them so he could freely hit any of those areas. With the Vehicon swinging his right arm to dislodge the sword and going for a hit, it left itself a wide open territory for the Wrecker to hit at various vital points with his sword. However, he was formulating a different course of action.

     Optics darkened slightly as the lenses focused on the movements, watching the Vehicon's left fist coming for his face. There was a small window for him to make this work.

     Wheeljack's right pede pressed into the ground behind him and he leaned himself slightly more forward. Frame tensed as he braced himself for impact.

     "Lets dance."

     At the last possible second, he tilted his helm to the left to narrowly miss the full on left fist punch to the face, the knuckles making contact with the right side fins to rattle the sound of metal to metal and held there to keep the punch from pushing past that position. At the same time he relied on the attention to be drawn to what someone would call a somewhat successful hit and tossed his sword from his right servo to his left, grasping the hilt tightly as he countered the moment contact was made. With the right servo now free, he reached straight up to grab for the wrist of the Vehicon and pull him forward to the Wrecker's right. In doing so, he side-stepped to be faced with it's back and the sword thrust forward to drive it through the drone's back and out the midriff.

     He intended to turn it from an engaged enemy to a shield from the other in case the approaching opponent took a shot at him from its distance.

[Zercon]

Great. Why was the officer turning the same way he was?

The Vehicon was getting annoyed at this predicament. He turned off the freeway exit, he made another turn to get away from the trooper only to be followed... only to then hook down a deserted road and be tailed... there was no mistaking the other vehicle was following him, something that did not bode particularly well. He wondered what he had done wrong to invoke the attention of local law enforcement? He didn’t peel off the road like the other two soldiers and the Wrecker did... he stayed the speed limit, used signals and kept in line. He played nice to try to get this guy off his bumper, and yet... here they were?

As Prowl hooked to his side, the Vehicon was not pleased, his engine growling a bit louder as he was ready to absolutely floor it to shake this guy off, only... he paused when he saw the holoform blink out entirely, it apparently obvious now that he wasn’t being tailed for doing something illegal... or for being profiled because he appeared to be an over tinted window muscle car better suited for street racing than daily errands... no. Thiss was a Cybertronian that reconised him and now was peeling ahead, the other black vehicle now deemed an Autobot as well and not some moronic civilian that was happening to take the same roads.

Engines roared instantly as Prowl took off, a loud snarled growl as the trooper floored it to try to catch up.

::We got a pair of unknown Autobots spotted. Chosen Alt-Modes police cruiser, and a black muscle car with purple trim::

::---::

::I understand. No further information available. Will keep posted::

-----

Vehicon Two may consider it odd that Wheeljack was leaning forward into the punch. Accepting the strike, looking to let it land for some reason or another... should he have more time to process such a thing, perhaps he would have aborted the strike or change tactics, seeing it as the bait or the trap it undoubtedly was. The issue is, he did not process this fact as quickly as he would have liked in this moment, and momentum had already claimed him fully. As such, the fist would continue forward, missing its mark to strike the side of his helm instead in a grazing blow.

As the trooper's fist missed, it would uncurl, fingertips bared as the joints pulled tight. He was loosely planning on wrenching them back, to slash the sharp ends into the side of Wheeljack's neck or shoulder as he leapt away, only a flurry of movement occurred, and Vehicon Two found said limb grabbed onto. The arm would wrench back violently then, a momentary attempt to resist before the wrecker moved quickly once more, red visor trailing his actions.

There was a certain fear combat brought with it. Drone or not, awakened or still in a haze... death was something to be known, and this soldier knew well what Wreckers were capable of. Skills honed to fine edges, talents tested on the field of battle time and time again. One wrong move could equal a quick end, one misstep and any one of them would become nothing but shrapnel to step over. This fear, this terror, meant that when Wheeljack spun him around and brandished his sword to try to impale him, the Vehicon took it upon himself to risk one injury to stave off the greater trauma.

With a hard swing, Vehicon Two lurched back towards Wheeljack the second his spine was facing him entirely. This made it so that the point of the sword could not heave back far enough to level behind his midsection, the Autobot's limbs simply not long enough to accommodate. It did not save him from injury, the sharp edge streaked against his side to give a quite unpleasant wound, but a wound of that caliber was an abundance better as being impaled.

Using his now very close position, nearly touching Wheeljack's front, if not doing so, the trooper would wrench his forearm back to turn the Wrecker's grip on him, into a grip on the Wrecker. If this worked out in his favor, he would hold on tight, and then bend his knees and slam his hip back while swinging his upper body forward with a growled heave of systems. Should everything pan out according to plan, then Wheeljack would find himself heaved over the soldier to slam down into the ground before Vehicon Two.

While all this was occurring, Vehicon One's rifle seethed a searing red, energy snaking off from its end as it was held at bay for now. There was no rush to take a frantic shot, no immediate lurch to assist his teammate... he simply moved with calm calculative care, approaching with little haste. A faceless helm crooked ever so slightly down, the red 'V' that vaguely represented eyes almost seeming to scowl while he watched the grappled attempts before him.

It was fair to say that if his teammate's ploy worked, then Wheeljack would find the weapon pointed down at him with a shot carrying his name.

[Prowl]

This was not what Prowl had hoped was going to happen.

And the sad thing was that he had no one to blame for it but himself. He had expected Windshield to take this distraction and take down the vehicon that was now chasing on his tail, but he had miscalculated the distance. Damn it.

As Windshield spoke over the comms, Prowl’s irritation with both himself and the situation grew higher and higher. He bit back a series of curses before speaking over the comms again.

::Negative. We deal with this one then find Wheeljack::

With that, Prowl suddenly pulled directly in front of the vehicon and slammed on the brakes, at the same time engaging his T-cog. As the police cruiser began to split apart and rearrange itself, the enforcer twisted his chassis around so that when he finished reformatting into his root mode he would be facing towards the Vehicon trooper.

As soon as it came into being, his right servo alternated from default hand mode into a medium grade blaster cannon which he pointed directly at the vehicon and fired two shots aimed at what would be the engine and drivers compartment.

His left servo would remain in it’s base mode, but curled into a tight fist as Prowl fired those two shots. If those two rounds missed, his next idea was to slam a fist into what would have been the engine compartment.

No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy though...

[Windshield]

::Aight, it's your call.:: Windshield mouthed off to Prowl, when suddenly—What's this; a transformation? Out here? Very well. Though the area seemed less-than-secure, Prowl turned into his humanoid form faster than Windshield could object. And although the road was remote, the fact was they stopped within driving distance of a highway. Risky, risky.

But sometimes, Windshield liked risk. He slammed down onto his breaks, stopping suddenly while kicking up a variable sea of dust around him. And within that smoky cloud, he transformed in an elegant, dance-like fashion. Such flourishes were unnecessary, but he did like to show off—often rather than sometimes.

With that, he wound up next to the officer, facing down the encroaching Vehicon. Seeing as Prowl prepared for combat, Windshield thought it prudent to do the same. The hatches on his hips opened up with a hiss, and two thin blasters shot up into his hands, reconfiguring from their compact form and hooking to the Autobot's Energon lines through a pair of small sockets in his palms.

[Deleted]

     Close quarter combat was far hairier than shooting from a distance. Dodging distance was a matter of duck and cover while avoiding open areas where you could be sniped off before you had a chance to even know you were being targeted. In these close quarters, where even a single misstep could spell disaster and most of the time you were not given a second chance to correct your error, there was no place to hide and sometimes you had to weigh out your options in a nanoklik to decide if one risk outweighed the other enough. Rarely did one party ever come out of a fight like this unscathed. Sometimes no one walked away at all.

     The vehicon he was engaged with had mad such a judgement call, and took a nasty gash to his side in order to get close enough to the Wrecker to put them front to back. Wheeljack's processor didn't have time to come up with a new plan of action, as it normally didn't in these cases, so all he could do was hash out a new one while he was busy watching the world spinning above his helm as he was being hurled over the shoulder of the Vehicon.

     You know those mistakes when split second decisions have to be made? The problem was these little clone soldiers were much lighter weight than the Wrecker and taller in stature. Center point of gravity was thrown off, and for a bulky mech like Wheeljack that was pretty much all he needed. At that moment when he was parallel to the Vehicon with his pedes to the sky, Wheeljack used that free hand and wrapped it around one of their wrists and hang on tight. He arched his back enough that his pedes angled downwards so the follow through would end up with him landing on them rather than belly up at the mercy of the two clone soldiers. His other servo kept a tight hold of the hilt of the sword, the blade turned down so it wouldn't get in the way of the movement.

     Once his pedes touched ground he slid one forward and braced himself, gripped tight to the vehicon's wrist. Using all of his upper body strength, he used the momentum that had already been started by the Vehicon, countering with a flip over his shoulder of his own. His aim was to let go right when the time was right and send him (2) hurling like a lob ball right back towards the other (1) like a giant lob ball. If successful, Wheeljack still wouldn't be done. He'd be running right after the thrown mech with his sword at the ready to finish the job while they were distracted and otherwise engaged.

[Zercon]

Unlike the other two Vehicons that had enough buffer to stop appropriately enough in the confrontation with Wheeljack, when Prowl cut ahead and rammed on his breaks the trooper was put in a bit of a bad spot, the dead space between them borderline nonexistent. He had a choice to make in this fleeting second, an abundance of calculations to try to put together that could ideally result in survival. He could transform, trigger into movement to follow the police cruiser so that they could take appropriate shape and attempt a direct grapple... or...

He floored it.

As Prowl's frame would start to skid to a stop on the asphalt, his gun rearing up to fire off two shots on what was borderline point blank, the Vehicon would already be accelerating with every bit of force he had. All of the power of the muscle car, every ounce of energy that could be dumped into this fleeting moment. It was a choice that would hurt him as it may the Autobot, but it was a worthwhile decision, especially as his processor caught up to the individuals actual appearance.

Oh for frags sake it was Prowl.

There was no real time to contemplate this revelation beyond a surface gut response, yet that response was indeed there. A flash of realization, a lurch of recognition... This wasn’t some unknown fighter that opted to take that form to get a speed bonus and free card out on the roads to cut off others, it was an individual that was true law enforcement and had countless years of experience piled up in his wake. This went from a poor two against one scenario, into a very inopportune development.

Guns alone were not great, but those rockets?...

Whether or not the blasts hit was not apparent, makeshift adrenaline and a fear to try to bash Prowl down or to the side the driving focus. If he was lucky, Prowl perhaps anticipated he would transform, aiming higher up to hit the middle mass of a body. If this was the case? Well, lucky day for the trooper, for his low profile would make the only victim the street itself.

Windshield was not given any real attention, there more dire circumstances.


-----


It worked?

Vehicon Two was a bit startled at his own ability to toss a Wrecker. He expected a counter of some kind to halt the motion, maybe the sword swinging up to strike his non-injured arm to try to take him down further and disable his grip. There had to be something, only it seemed to have worked? And that confusion was a lapse of judgement and falter that permitted Wheeljack's subsequent counter to go off without a single hitch in his step.

There was nearly no resistance made when Wheeljack started to pull him down towards the ground after him, a sort of half step taken that may have been the slightest attempt that did very little overall. The other mech was like an anchor that had been unceremoniously dropped, the trooper letting out a snarled grunt as his frame was wrenched forward. Just like Wheeljack saw the world spin a moment prior, the soldier now got his own view. A quick flicker of charcoal and blue... a bit of green and silver cast in for good measure... in an instant he was colliding with the ground in a roll, armor clattering loudly as Energon smeared from his prior injuries into thin streaked lines.

During this successful counter, Vehicon One had caught onto the fact he was not going to get a clear shot, his firearm wrenching up to point at the sky just as the Wrecker's frame was momentarily blotted out by his companion, his own mass then taking a hop and a skip backwards with a jogged step to the side. The avoidance was jerky and ragged, a stumbled pop of steps made to scrabble in the last moment. His shin got hit a second, a strike that made him stumble, but overall he remained upright. His red visor would glance down upon his companion, barely registering that he had mostly avoided him, before secondary movement came and it appeared Wheeljack was making a valiant charge.

A flare of armor, a flick of panels from stress... Vehicon One's stance would square off and go more ridged, his arm swinging down to start to fire off his already charged gun in rapped succession. To pair with this he began taking hasty steps in reverse, trying to keep any semblance of distance between them so that the sword was at a safe distance. Any buffer he had with his companion in the fray instead of him was now out the window, and he was now working 'alone' until the other Vehicon could gather himself. A fact he very much didn't appreciate.

[Prowl]

They needed to end this here and now.

While one of his shots slammed right into the hood of the Vehicon trooper, Prowl knew this would not be the end of it. As the Vehicon kept oncoming towards them, Prowl dove off to the side away from Windshield, counting on the fact that the revelation it was him to keep the Vehicon’s attention long enough for Windshield to get into a better position and catch the enemy trooper in a crossfire.

At least that was why he figured the Vehicon was gunning for him.

As he rolled off to the side, coming up on one knee, Prowl brought his weapon up in the direction of his target, squeezing off four additional shots designed to blanket the area. If they did not hit their target, that was acceptable. Prowl figured that they could serve an additional purpose by suppressing the area, forcing the Vehicon onto the defensive and buy him enough time.

Time to come up with a better plan to end this and get over to Wheeljack. The Wrecker might be tough, but two Vehicon troopers were a lot to handle. And given what resources they had available, they needed everyone who could fight on deck. Even if they were a pain in the aft.

“Windshield! Let’s finish this!”

He barked the order out to the other one on his team, hoping to Primus that this Decepticon turned Autobot had enough circuits in his processor to get with the program and open fire.