"Redemption"  Part 13
By Ivy Bohnlein


     The monitors tracking Sky Lynx's vital signs had slowed their
erratic beeps to a regular rhythm, and many of the readouts that had
formerly displayed bright red alert status indicators had faded to a
less-urgent yellow.  Whiz's lithe form, seeming even smaller (and more
vulnerable) beside Sky Lynx's bulk, was currently perched upon the great
gryphon's shoulder and performing repairs to his neck.  
     *How can she do it?* Rodimus wondered.  His hands ached to go into
that cell and take some vengeance out of Sky Lynx's hide.  Not that he
would do such a thing.  Giving someone the death penalty for a crime
they have yet to commit couldn't be called justice in even the broadest
sense of the word.  But when *you* know the aftermath of that crime, the
idea was tempting.
     Rodimus pushed the ideas out of his mind.  "Are you sure he won't
wake up?" he asked.  He knew it wasn't the first time, but dammit, one
of his people was in there.  He wasn't about to save Arcee from being
Sky Lynx's first victim, only to lose Whiz instead.
     "He's been receiving a constant sedative stream, and we have neural
dampeners in place to keep him down.  Plus, that's the most secure cell
we have.  There's no way he can escape."  Caern looked at Rodimus
quizzically.  "Is there some reason you are so concerned? If you know
something about this situation because of your... 'unique' perspective,
it might assist us with security measures."
     "For better or worse, Caern, this situation is new to me too.
Having him so close just makes me nervous."  Rodimus studied his
longtime adversary through the forcefield, his eyes lingering on each
taloned claw.
     Caern matched Rodimus' gaze for a while, then shuffled his feet.
"You do realize how outrageous your story is, don't you?"
     Rodimus nodded slowly.  He had expected to have this conversation
with Caern eventually, and was rather surprised it hadn't happened
earlier.  
     "Red Alert and I weren't sure we should even let you into the city.
If Ultra Magnus hadn't already invited you in, you'd still be out in the
Tunnel of Retoris."
     Rodimus smiled.  "I noticed that my access codes don't have quite
the same access that they used to.  Caern, I don't blame you.  I'd ask
you to do it myself, but I know I don't have to."
     "Now that I've seen Sky Lynx, the whole story is a little easier to
swallow.  But still... time travel?  Primitive rebellions?  The end of
life as we know it?" Caern folded his arms over his chest with a
skeptical expression.
     Rodimus met Caern's gaze and held it with his eyes.  "I can only
tell you the truth.  It's up to you to decide if you believe me."
     The security officer's optics slid away.  "I do.  Primus knows why,
but I trust you."  Caern looked back up into Rodimus' face with a slight
self-deprecating smile.  "Of course, that doesn't mean that you will get
any more security clearance."
     Rodimus' smile grew warmer as a feeling of relief settled over him.
"Of course." 
     "Caern! We're getting some really strange energy readings from
within the cell!"  Sandstorm shouted, turning his chair away from his
monitoring station to face them.
     Rodimus jerked his gaze to the cell in surprise and Caern did the
same.  Behind the glowing veil of the forcefield, Whiz had ceased her
repair efforts and was now standing off to the side with her hand
outstretched.  Apparently, she was studying her empty palm.
     "What on Cybertron is THAT?" Caern asked as a silvery iridescent
shimmer briefly appeared in the palm of Whiz's hand, then disappeared.
     That's right, they were unfamiliar with Cybertronian tech.  "It's
just a cloaking field.  The energy from the forcefield must be
interfering with it," Rodimus explained nonchalantly. 
     "What is she doing in there that needs a cloaking field?  What kind
of device is that?" demanded Caern.  The openness that he had just
displayed was gone, replaced by suspicion and an element of betrayal.
     Rodimus sent a silent radio message to Whiz.  *The cloak is making
our hosts nervous, Whiz.  You'd better drop it.*
     Within the cell, Whiz looked up in surprise and saw the sudden
activity among the security personnel.  *I'm scanning Sky Lynx to see
what's making him behave this way.  This isn't a piece of technology
they should see.* She radioed in return.
     "It's Cybertronian technology.  Whiz is concerned that if you see
it, there will be serious consequences to history," Rodimus said.
     Caern looked unimpressed.  "Well, that *is* what you came here to
do.  She has sixty seconds to put that thing away or drop the cloak."
     Rodimus sighed.  "I'll let her know." He switched to his internal
voice again and sent the message: *On this, let's keep them happy. Drop
the cloak and keep working.* 
     Whiz turned her head briefly to give them all a pointed look, then
issued a mental command that caused the cloaking field to shimmer
iridescently, then disappear. What they saw was simply a silver net over
Whiz's hand that glittered occasionally with a fiber-optic glow. The
effect was almost dainty, as if she were wearing a lacy, sparkling
glove. Each of the lights was a sensor, however, and through receptors
on the palm of her hand, Whiz could send and receive data from the
device as a direct transmission.
     "I must confess, I cannot see the cause of your concern," Caern
said dryly. "It looks like nothing more than a little bit of plastic."
     Rodimus smirked a little.  "That 'little bit of plastic' does all
the tests she needs." 
     Caern watched Whiz more carefully as she continued to scan.
Gradually, his optics widened very slightly. 
     Rodimus nodded in silent satisfaction.  As he turned his attention
back to the cell, he noticed a slight twitch of Sky Lynx's claws.
     No... NO!  "Whiz! He's..!" 
     With a defiant roar, Sky Lynx lurched to his paws in the cell.  His
head whipped back and forth on his snakelike neck as he sought to clear
it. "How dare you imprison me?" he demanded. 
     Whiz stood rooted to the spot, stunned.  As she regained her sense
of balance and turned for the door, she was snatched up in a giant paw.  To
her credit, though she looked deathly frightened, she didn't cry out.
     "Who are you?" Sky Lynx demanded, holding her up before his optic
band. "You aren't Whiz.  She doesn't look like you."
     "I am Whiz," she told him tonelessly.  "Not the one you know, but
I'm still Whiz.  I'm here to help you." 
     "Lies!" he roared, tensing his paws and squeezing her more tightly.
She winced involuntarily as one claw pressed hard against her side. 
     "Sky Lynx! We know you've been feeling confused lately.  But we
only want to help you.  Just put her down, please!" Rodimus shouted. 
     The giant dragon-bird fixed his steady gaze on Rodimus.  "You
aren't Rodimus, either! Who or what *are* you people? Why are you tormenting
me?" he spat, his hostility growing. 
     Caern decided to try his luck.  "Sky Lynx, just put the girl down. 
She's not a threat to you.  None of us are." 
     "You too, Caern?" the captive raged.  "I once respected you for
your dedication to the Autobot cause.  I believed you were my friend.  But by
allying with them, you have made yourself my enemy!"  He slammed his
body against the forcefield violently, and his claws tightened involuntarily
as he ricocheted off of the nearly invisible wall. 
     Whiz felt one claw slide between the seams of her armor as three
more crowded uncomfortably against her.  "We're not your enemies," she
gasped. "Not yet.  Not unless you make us fight you." 
     Rodimus and the other observers outside the cell were alarmed to
see the slow trickle of energon that made its way down the outside of Whiz's
leg.  "We have to get her away from him somehow," Caern growled. 
     "You only pretended to be my friends, but you cursed me when my
back was turned! You were jealous of my power - you feared me!" Sky Lynx
roared. 
     The security officer could only look at his prisoner in disbelief.
"How could you say these things?" 
     Sandstorm muttered, "He's loco." 
     "Release me now!" Sky Lynx howled.  He raised his paw to display
his captive.  "I despise threatening a femme, but if you will not release
me, I will make certain she suffers!" 
     Whiz groaned as one claw sliced deeper into her body and the others
penetrated the metal skin of her armor.  Energon began to seep more
rapidly from her wounds and drip to the ground below.  She managed to
raise her head and urge weakly, "Don't... don't free him..."
     Rodimus felt a cold rage growing inside him, made stronger by his
sense of helpless frustration.  "We're only trying to help you, Sky
Lynx."  Even he was surprised by the cold control in his voice. "Don't
turn this into a war."
     "*You* declared war on *me*! I am imprisoned in the place I once
called home, by those who once pretended to be my friends.  *You* began
this!  And unless it ends now, *she* will pay for it!"
     Whiz cried out suddenly in pain, her stoic facade lost for a
moment; replaced by a wild look of fear and agony. 
     Rodimus's optics riveted on Sky Lynx's slick claws.  He had no way
to judge if Whiz had gathered enough information for an antidote.
Certiorarius and Pak Gor could probably pick up her work while she
recovered, but that assumed that she would.  And even if she did... she
was in so much pain. But if Sky Lynx managed to escape, the whole war
could begin all over again....
     "No!" The shout from Caern brought Rodimus out of his thoughtful 
distraction.  "By Neddron's Belt, Sky Lynx, put her down!"  Caern ran
over to Sandstorm at the cell's controls. 
     Whiz was grasped tightly in Sky Lynx's paw, which was poised to
hurl her into the forcefield.  Lurid pink energon mingled with a darker fluid
and dripped down his upraised arm.  "Here is my forcefield key," he
threatened in a low hiss.
     Caern leaned closer to Sandstorm and whispered, "Increase the
sedative level.  I don't care if he sustains permanent damage.  Just
bring him down."
     Sandstorm bobbed his head once and carefully increased the level
while trying to keep his actions unnoticed. 
     The effect was almost immediate.  Sky Lynx's knees wobbled
slightly. "What?" he asked in surprise.  His head snaked around and spotted the
cables carrying sedatives into his body.  "You dare?" he demanded in an
outraged roar.  His body curved inward and one paw slashed the sedation
feed away from him.  In the same motion, his raised arm pitched forward
and slammed Whiz into the energy barrier.
     Electricity arced over Whiz's frame, wreathing her in white
lightning before it threw her backward.  Her scream of pain was choked off with a
thud as she landed in a wounded heap on the floor.  A quiet, involuntary
whimper followed.
     Rodimus' feet carried him forward in a few quick, angry strides
before he regained control and realized that his actions might lead Sky
Lynx to hurt her even more.  Red sparks were beginning to dance in the
corners of his vision and he felt a terrible urge to summon his cannon
from subspace. "Leave her alone!" he roared.
     "Come in and take her from me, Rodimus."  Sky Lynx bared his
pointed teeth in vicious mockery of a smile.  "Come save her." 
     Caern was horrified by what Sky Lynx had become.  "He'll kill her,"
he breathed, his body rigid with shock.  "He actually will."
     "Now you see what we're dealing with," Rodimus grated.  His body 
strained toward the forcefield, his hands tensing and releasing
reflexively. Looking at him was like watching a bow on the verge of
releasing its arrow.
     Sandstorm gaped at Whiz's crumpled body.  "We've gotta do
something!" 
     The captive gryphon turned his murderous optics on Whiz, his rage 
pressing him on.  The floor was slippery with energon from the severed
feed, making it impossible to be certain how much Whiz had actually
lost.  But Caern was right - her life was in imminent danger.
     Suddenly a commotion broke out on the other side of the Brig's main
door.  Shouts and the whine of laser blasts portended trouble.  Caern 
quickly snapped into his radio, "Broadside! Blurr! What's happening out 
there?" 
     Blurr's panicked speech burst over the radio waves. 
"TheDinobotsTheDinobotsTheDinobotsThat'sWhat'sHappeningTheDinobotsAre 
Happening!They'veGoneCrazyThey'reAttackingUsAndRoaringAboutSkyLynx 
AndI'mTryingToGetAwayButBroadsideIsTakingABeatingHeCouldHandleOne 
ButNowThere'sGrimlockSlagSludgeSnarlSwoopAndIDon'tKnowHowMuchLonger..." 
     Grimlock interrupted with an angry roar.  "You release him Sky Lynx
now! Else Dinobots tear this place apart!" 
     Mentally, Rodimus cursed the way the situation managed to writhe
out of his grasp. 
     "We can hold off the Dinobots," Caern said grimly. "It won't be
easy, but we can keep them back until reinforcements arrive." 
     "Ah! Now I see who my true friends are!" Sky Lynx boasted "You
cannot imprison us all!" 
     "It's spreading," Rodimus said in disgust.  But, grudgingly, he had
to acknowledge Sky Lynx's point.  If they did hold the Dinobots back,
how many would be injured or turn against their friends?  What would be
done with the Dinobots in the end?  His gaze was drawn back to Whiz's
crumpled form. Could she even survive a long battle?
     As Rodimus watched, trying in vain to assess Whiz's condition, she 
weakly raised herself up on one arm and turned her head to look out
toward her observers.  Her arm trembled and nearly buckled under her weight,
and a pained wince crossed her face.  "Stop them... now," she coughed,
"I'm not... important."  The effort cost her.  Her chest heaved and she
made a choking sound, then a small mouthful of energon spilled from her
parted lips. 
    Rodimus didn't need to be a doctor to know that meant her injuries
were life-threatening.  Damn.  A vision of Arcee, her face torn off,
flashed through his mind as he looked upon Whiz's wounded body.  He knew
what Whiz herself would say.  The goal is more important than a single
individual. Scattershot would agree - sacrifices must be made.  But he'd
lost Scattershot, and so many others.  So much pain, so much death.
Whiz had just started to trust him, had just started to overcome all of
her emotional wounds, and now physical ones threatened to destroy her.
     But if Sky Lynx gets loose, this could all start again.  Whiz would
be just the first victim among the countless lives trampled in Sky
Lynx's relentless pursuit of power.  If he took his stand now, maybe that
needless destruction could be prevented.  Just one life lost.
Sacrifices must be made.
     He looked at Whiz again.  Her arm had given out under her weight,
and she lay motionless on the floor.  He considered the future.  She would 
forgive him for choosing to fight, no matter what it cost.  Even if it
were her life.  Sacrifices. 
     No. 
     Not today. 
     She might forgive him, but he could never forgive himself.  They
had fought too long and come too far for him to sacrifice their possible
future. As soon as he had made his decision, he knew that it was right.
Some of the tension left his shoulders, and a sickness in the core of
himself, one that he hadn't even realized was there, was eased.
     "We're going to let him go."  The words were soft, but the tone
made it clear that he would accept no argument. 
     Caern looked concerned.  "Is that decision wise?" 
     Rodimus turned to look Caern directly in the eyes.  "It's the only 
decision I can live with." 
     The expression on the security officer's face softened.  "I 
understand." 
     Rodimus radioed to Grimlock.  <Call off your Dinobots.  If you will
go peacefully, we'll release Sky Lynx to you.> 
     The sounds of combat outside the door ceased as Grimlock issued a 
mighty roar.  The reply came back: <You release him, then we talk.>
There was an undertone of menace to the words that made Rodimus wince.
So fast.  It was all happening so fast.  
     <I'm not going to negotiate.  You have no bargaining position.  I'm
only willing to let him go because we're done with him, and I don't want
anyone hurt.>
     <Too late for Broadside and Blurr, heh heh.> 
     Rodimus ground his jaw. <Take it or leave it.> 
     <If Sky Lynx say, we go.  We leave Autobots alone.  For now.>
Grimlock still seemed amused. 
     "Sky Lynx!" Rodimus called aloud.  "If you'll leave in peace, and
take the Dinobots with you, we'll release you." 
     The gryphon regarded him with sly interest.  "You don't trust me to
keep my peace?  All I ask is my freedom." 
     "I trust your word," Rodimus replied flatly.  "But I don't trust
you if you're unwilling to give it." 
     "Fine," Sky Lynx snarled.  "We will depart Iacon in peace.  Just
let me out of here and be done with it." 
     Rodimus nodded to Caern, and the security field fizzled into 
nothingness.  The urge seized him again to call his cannon and end Sky 
Lynx's threat for good, but he fought it down.  Instead, he sent out an 
emergency call for help across the Autobot broadband.  <I need a medic
to the brig immediately, Whiz is down and in urgent need of medical
attention. Any and all medics in the *vicinity* of Iacon, report to the
brig *now*.>
     A self-satisfied smirk crossed Sky Lynx's face.  "I don't know who
or what you creatures are, but at least you're loyal to your own kind." 
     Rodimus stabbed the button for the brig door with his finger.  "Get
out of here," he stated in a low, deceptively even tone.  '"Or, by the
Matrix, I will take this into my own hands, and honor be damned."
     Swinging his head almost chidingly, Sky Lynx growled, "So be it.
When next we meet, we will be enemies.  And you, Rodimus, will be
crushed beneath my claws."  With that, he turned and loped out of the
room.
     Rodimus let out a deep sigh, releasing some of the tension caused
by the sustained sublimation of his hatred.  Immediately he turned to the
open cell and ran to Whiz's side.  Gently lifting her head, he murmured,
"Whiz? Can you hear me?"
     She did not move or respond, and when he withdrew one hand to touch
her face, spilled energon stained his fingers.  "Where are those
medics?" he demanded, turning to glare at Caern and Sandstorm.  Before
either of them could answer, Maverick bounded into the room carrying a
case of emergency supplies that seemed almost as big as his own body.
     "I called for help for Blurr and Broadside, " the small green medic
panted.  "They're looking pretty bad but they should pull through.  What
happened to... Whiz!" Maverick yelped in surprise as he saw her crumpled
body. 
     "Sky Lynx got her in his claws and started... just... squeezing the
life out of her," Caern responded, as if he still couldn't believe what
he had just witnessed.  "Some of that energon was lost through a severed 
sedative feed, but..." 
     "But way too much is from la mediquita," Sandstorm finished. 
     Rodimus slipped away to give Maverick better access to his patient.
"She has multiple puncture wounds from his claws, and he threw her into
the restraining field.  But she was conscious before... weak, but
responding."
     Maverick took in each report and began to examine her vital signs. 
"She's been hurt pretty badly, but if I can just stop her from losing
any more energon, her chances of recovery are good." He opened the case of 
supplies.  "I don't know how much her physiology has changed by now, so
I brought just about every tool and gizmo we have." 
     "I think the basics must be about the same," Rodimus said in an
unsure tone, suddenly remembering their vows not to expose past
Cybertronians to their future technology.  
     Maverick opened an access panel and slowly froze, his face in a
stymied expression.  He looked up at Rodimus from his kneeling position
on the floor and asked in amazement, "I... I don't suppose you could
explain what some of this does?"
     "I..." Rodimus could only look blankly at the exposed circuitry,
trying to divorce the image of mangled parts from his knowledge that
this was Whiz. "I can't help you.  Maybe Pak... Certiorarius should be
around..."  He quickly opened a com-link to the Quintesson, silently
cursing himself for not repeating his distress call on the Cybertronian
band as well as the Autobot channels.  Strange how easy it was to slip
back into old habits.  
     <Certiorarius, we need you down in the brig.  Whiz is badly wounded
and Maverick isn't familiar with our systems.> 
     The Quintesson immediately replied, <On my way, Rodimus.> 
     As the Cybertronians' leader waited anxiously for Certiorarius to 
arrive, Caern took his place at the external security monitors and
Sandstorm started cleaning up the mess in the brig.  Maverick also
continued to do what he could. "This looks like... aha.  Heavily
modified, but that's it,"he mumbled as he worked.  "I think I'm making 
some progress." 
     Hope rose in Rodimus' chest. "You're figuring it out?" 
     "Sort of," Maverick replied without looking up. "I can't
necessarily tell what some parts actually do, but I can tell they're
broken and I can see how they should go together - I think."
     "So she'll recover?" Rodimus pressed. 
     Maverick was silent for a long moment, ostensibly deep in his work.
"Probably," he finally admitted. "Her injuries are extensive, Rodimus,
and sometimes I'm not sure if I'm helping or hurting."
     Rodimus let a hiss of frustration escape him. "Come on, Whiz..." he
urged under his breath. 
     The door slid open and squabbling voices entered the room. 
     "Just your luck, squidface, he's right here where you belong," Air
Raid was saying. 
     Springer's gruff voice cut in with an undertone of anger. "I told
you to leave him alone, 'Raid. He's with us." 
     "I thought I should bring a chaperone, just in case," Certiorarius
remarked from his mask of judgment, floating closer to Rodimus on his
suspension beam. "It seems to have been a wise decision." He tilted his
egg-shaped body forward to take a closer look at Whiz, and his faces
spun in dismay. "This is very serious," his deaths-head mask said
gravely.
     "Tell me about it," Maverick replied wryly, wiping a stray blot of
fluid from his chin. 
     Rodimus turned away as the two began to work in tandem, exchanging
ideas and suggestions in the technical lingo he'd never been able to
decipher. Springer had been waiting in the background, but took the
opportunity to approach. "Hey," the big green triple-changer greeted.
"How serious is it? Whiz-Kid's going to pull through, right?"
     Rodimus looked into his friend's face in surprise. "It's been a
long time since I heard anyone call her that." 
     "Well, she wasn't exactly going out of her way to be friendly to
any of us, either." The glare of the lights flared briefly across
Springer's targeting sight as he lowered his head. "Still, she was
always kinda like a kid sister to me. Even when we were all long past
being kids."
     Rodimus looked up into the corner with a distant smile. "Ah, the
days of reckless youth." 
     Springer chuckled. "Maybe being back here is loosening me up." His
face firmed into stern resolve. "Just a little, though."
     "No, Springer, enjoy it while you can." Rodimus clapped his hand on
Springer's shoulder. "Now that Sky Lynx has all but declared war, things
will be heating up soon."
     A look of regret flashed through Springer's eye. "No rest for the
wicked, eh?" But the humor fell flat. 
     Rodimus' mouth set in a grim line. "Not if I have anything to do
about it." 
     "We'd better tighten up security. No telling what that Primmie's
going to try next, now that he's stopped pretending to play nice,"
Springer observed.
     Rodimus shifted his glance to Caern, who was rapidly recovering
from his shell-shock by barking out orders. "Somehow, I doubt we'll get
any more argument from the rest of the Autobots."
     "I hate to ask at a time like this, because I know how it sounds,
but..." Springer shuffled his feet. "Did she at least... get something
on him, you know... before...?"
     "I think so, but it's impossible to know for sure. She was in there
for a while before he woke up. This can't all be for nothing." Rodimus
frowned and looked down at her still form. 
     "Ah, c'mon," Springer said with forced humor. "She'll wake up and
get all mad at us for wasting time being worried about her." He drew
himself up stiffly and set his face into an expressionless mask. "You
could have been tracking Sky Lynx," he said in a robotic mimicry of
Whiz's toneless voice, "But you decided to take medical lessons from
Maverick and Certiorarius."
     A laugh escaped Rodimus and he was able to relax by a small
fraction. "When you're right, you're right." 
     Springer's eyes narrowed as he looked Rodimus up and down. "What's
going on between you two?" 
     Rodimus almost let his jaw drop open with shock before he
recovered. "Wh... what?" 
     "She's been different. And now you're acting strange. The way your
faced changed when I called her Whiz-Kid, the way you're wound up so
tight, and look at you. Did you notice you've taken a point position
between her and the door? You didn't even move from that spot when I
came in."
     Rodimus shrugged to show how very nonchalant he was. "Come on,
Springer. She's been *mauled*. Of course I'm wound up about that, Sky
Lynx came in here and ravaged my people..."
     "How're Blurr and Broadside?" Springer interrupted, a smug look on
his face. 
     After a pause, Rodimus replied, "Maverick called a medic for them."
     "Mmmm." Springer looked him over again. "So what's going on?" 
     "Nothing is going on which isn't obvious to everyone." That sounded
weak even to Rodimus. He peered over his shoulder, as much to avoid
Springer's gaze as anything else, and saw Maverick and Certi still at
work. There was a lot of energon on their hands and Whiz still hadn't
moved. A shot of pain passed over his face and he turned back to see
Springer looking at him expectantly.
     "Great Primus. She told you." Springer breathed. 
     This time, Rodimus nearly hit the floor. "Told what?" 
     "How she feels about you." He said it matter-of-factly, as if he
were reading a maintenance report. 
     "You *knew*?!" The shout escaped Rodimus before he could hold it
back, and he looked around furtively to see if anyone else was staring.
They weren't. Well, not openly.
     Springer shrugged and smiled. "You said it was nothing which wasn't
obvious to everyone." 
     Seeing that he'd left Rodimus speechless, Springer continued, "You
two were best friends, and she adored you, and then all of a sudden she
doesn't say word one to anyone for millions of years... especially you.
Doesn't take a genius scientist to figure out what was going on."
     "Unless you happen to be right in the middle of it, apparently,"
Rodimus growled. 
     It was Springer's turn to look surprised. "You really had no idea?
I figured you were just ignoring it, you know, to let her get over it."
     "For a million years?" Rodimus demanded. 
     "Yeah, I thought that was kind of cold, myself." Springer shrugged
again, a gesture which was getting more infuriating each time he did it.
"But you changed too, you know... after. You distanced yourself from
us."
     "I had to," Rodimus said, his fists clenching. "I had to be
stronger, be a better leader." 
     Springer held his hands up before him. "I'm not blaming you. I just
thought it was all connected." 
     "Well, it wasn't." 
     Shaking his head and snickering, Springer said, "You just had no
idea." 
     "None," Rodimus said, a little petulantly. 
     "So what happened? Did she say something?" Springer pursued. 
     Suddenly Rodimus felt uncomfortable airing the details while Whiz
remained on the floor, possibly dying. 
     "You looked back at her again," Springer observed dryly. 
     Rodimus blinked and realized that he had. 
     "Since we've already figured out that you could go another million
years without catching on, she obviously said something to you."
     "I don't think this is the time or place to talk about it," Rodimus
replied stiffly. 

    
[TBC]



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