Whirl WHAT?

Eventually Pursuit is brought out of the back interrogation room. Still clamped down, she's not really considered a threat - she's taken to the cells reserved for the small fry that were caught up in the drag net.
"Huh. No serial number, no ID, no card," says one of the Enforcers outside the cell containing Hot Rod, the least of threats.
"Medic said this one's still wet out of nurturing," his companion states, easily overheard through the surrounding cells. "Yeah, the top brass will probably just process her into primary programming school. Probably end up on the force."
The first grins. "Well, it'd be a nice change of scenery from your ugly mug," he teases his companion.
"We're -identical- you idiot," the second snaps.
It's too bad that even the least threatening still get stuck with those inhibitor claws. Life's hard for Hot Rod. No one takes him seriously, /but he still gets punished/.
Hot Rod glances curiously at the newest arrival -- or latest return, maybe. There's a long pause as he takes in the paint job. Working past instinctive, deep-seated distaste for anything looking like an Enforcer black-and-white, he throws an easy, "Welcome back, I guess," in her direction. "Sounds like you're setting a record for rough life, so far."
Brawl vents a huff of steam as he looks around deciding not to waste anymore energy as he glares at the enforcers outside, "So whats a mech gotta do to get even some low grade energon here?" He doesn't care if he's ignored though no doubt he's getting a few glances from when he attempted to break his restraints along with the combaticons reputation of wrecking his way out of Fort Syck.
"Pipe down!" Barricade snarls. "... gotta slaggin' headache."
"Whirl really is everything Megatron wrote about," Pursuit says sourly as she walks obediently into the cell and has a seat on the floor. She looks at Hot Rod. "You don't look very much like a Decepticon.
Rumble has been meandering about as best he can. Being tiny is a danger to him in these cramped quarters. However, so is staying put, and he's been restless. Soundwave may note he disappears for stretches at a time. This time, he's been 'gone' in the crowd for a considerable number of breems. Eventually, the tiny con arrives back in 'his corner' of the cell, grinning and with a cygar in his mouth. It's probably best not to ask what he was willing to do in order to get it -- or, for that matter, how he managed to get it lit with everyone here wearing inhibitors.
Brawl glances towards Cades cell unsure whether or not to show the SIC any respect since their in lockup. Least for the moment its unclear whether Onslaught is in one of the cells or not. Noticing Rumble he says, "Well look, a tiny Swindle."
"Good eye. I'm not one," Hot Rod tells Pursuit. He doesn't bother to raise his voice, or speak it in any particular tone of protest. He does not actually expect that /not/ being a Decepticon makes much difference to anyone: in the cells, in the halls. "But we've got enough in common that here I am." He gestures easily. He has clearly accepted his fate and is in some kind of fatalistic fugue. (PS: that's not true.) "What was with Whirl?" he asks, a little uncertain. He glances past toward Brawl and Rumble. He's /definitely/ not asking.
"I take it that you're fighting for liberty and equality too, then?" Pursuit asks Hot Rod with a big friendly smile. FREEDOM. Well, she knows how important that is, at least!
"Whirl's angry at Barricade over someone named Shiftlock. He tried to tell me that Barricade is just going to get me killed and that he does't care about my wellbeing, but any idiot could tell that's not the case, especially after last night."
Rumble grins up at Brawl. "I got my methods," he says slyly. It is entirely possible he's been learning from Swindle's playbook.
Barricade wishes he could rub his forehead, glancing over at Rumble and Brawl. "... Looks like you guys are still in good shape. I figured they'd start torturin' us by now."
Brawl nods before he moves to sit against the wall since the restraints he's in pretty much limit his movement around the cell. Looking at the minicon he says, "Yeah lucky you." Looking to Cade he says, "Yeah that is a surprise. Maybe they don't these stupid restraints to slip. What bout you, shock treatment finally wearing off?"
Hot Rod finger-guns at Pursuit with a brilliant smile. /Finger-guns/. Flame paint, smiles, and finger-guns. He just fits right in. "Got it in one. Senate hates that. You might've noticed. Just a little less -- you know, murder. In my part of town." That's a very judgey word to use, Hot Rod.
Then she says the S-word. Hot Rod's smile falters. He glances over toward Barricade, then back at Pursuit with a grimace. "Well, Whirl might have cause to be mad about that.
Rumble nods to Barricade. "They're prolly gettin' all those torture-things ready. They gotta whole team of 'medics' who slice an' dice, from what I heard."
"Really? Why is that?" Pursuit asks Hot Rod. Maybe her spark is itching.
Inaction. For a long time, Vortex has been rather still. Whether he was recharging or not remains to be seen. However, now he maneuvers himself over to where Hot Rod and Pursuit are conversing. "You don't need to be a medic to know how to slice and dice effectively... but it does help with efficiency I suppose." There is an odd groan-creak noise as Vortex experimentally tries to spin the rotors on his back. No good. The restraints are rather effective. "It seems as though they are starting with the smaller femmes first. The noisy one with the tires hasn't come back yet," Vortex observes.
"I expect t' be the first in the rack, though..." Barricade listens. Is that Pursuit he's hearing? ".... Whirl," he growls, glowering. "Whirl did somethin' to Pursuit, I just KNOW it."
"Only thing thats annoying is waiting. Least not in a cell by myself this time," Brawl glances to Rumble, "You got any extra cygars or somethin'." He doesn't mention how he wants to strangle the next heavy enforcer he see's when he gets the chance, but right now thats looking unlikely. Looking to Vortex he nods to his combatibro.
Hot Rod glances over in Barricade's direction. His smile fades further, leaving behind a rather set expression. It's probably a good thing that Barricade is way over there, where the real threats live, since his answer could generally be classed as 'fighting words'. "Barricade threw her out. Threw her away. He'll claim he has his reasons, but if he really believed them, no way he'd be bringing in some new spark like you. And after that it was just a long chain of trouble that ended with her dead. So take care of yourself, okay?" he asks with a look back at Pursuit. Concern shifts to displace the anger AND DEFINITELY NOT GUILT NOPE on his features.
"Nuh-uh, wish I did. You wouldn't believe what I hadda do to get *this* one, mech," Rumble exclaims to Brawl, puffing away on his cygar while it still holds a charge.
"That's what Whirl said. He said the reason that Shiftlock was thrown out, however, was because he interfaced her," Pursuit explains to Hot Rod, noting the change on the mech's features. "I'll tell you what I told Whirl: If she was associating with someone like him, then her punishment was likely well deserved."
Vortex simply glances over his shoulder at Brawl for a moment, and then looks back at Pursuit and Hot Rod. "Hmm, yes, but I am sure Whirl is just a poor, misunderstood spark," Vortex says facetiously. Vortex idly walks over to the bars and rubs his shoulder against it, as it trying to scratch an itch. "From the looks of things, it wasn't just a chat the two of you had. But don't worry, I am sure Whirl will get his comeupaance. I suppose it is only a matter of time before he comes for me." Vortex pauses, and then looks over at Hot Rod with an arched optic ridge.
"That's scrap." Hot Rod's voice is firm, and just a little sharp. He prickles, all points and pride. "She didn't deserve one single bit of it. Barricade was just one more in a long line of people that hurt her. Starting with /Ratbat/." Probably not the wisest thing to assert at the moment. In present company. But then, this is Hot Rod. He and wisdom -- ehhhh.
"He shouldn't be taking it out on you, either," Hot Rod says, muting back to concern. His gaze passes again over her at Vortex's words. He glances over at the mech and shrugs. "I'm not saying he was right. Why would he come after you, anyway? Who are you?"
Brawl shakes his head at Rumble, "Right." He barely listens to the conversation as he's half tempted to try to break his restraints once again but stops himself. He does idly wonder where Swindle and Onslaught are.
Barricade listens intently to Vortex. When he points out that he can not only see Pursuit, but see she's been dinged up, he gets up and goes to the bars. "You okay over there?"
Pursuit perks up and shouts right back. "Yes dad, I'm fine! Don't worry about me!"
"SHUT UP!" One of the guards interrupts the long-distance vocal communication, shoving a truncheon through the bars to knock Barricade off his feet.
"Oh, sorry. My name's Pursuit, and I guess Whirl decided to go after me because Barricade's my dad," she answers Hot Rod.
"I'm sure you would LOVE to know, Hot Rod." It doesn't take a genius to identify the mehc by his flames and notoriety. "Just another one of Whirl's many fans. He's constantly trying to pick fights with me." Vortex chuckles as he turns his back to the bars and simply leans against them. "But, that doesn't make me anyone special. I imagine Whirl tries to pick fights with just about anyone that looks at him the wrong way. Still... if he keeps challenging me to fights after this, I will simply point out he lost his best chance at me if he doesn't come for me while I'm here." Of course, the mech sounds confident that there will be a next time.
"Hope you've got better luck," is kind of an awful thing to say, actually, but Hot Rod delivers it with sincere good will. "Sorry about Whirl. He's got -- he's. Uh." How does one explain Whirl. NAH. ONE DOESN'T.
"Aw, come on, mech, that's not very fair," Hot Rod complains when Vortex identifies him so easily without giving a name in return. "Look, /she's/ got better manners," he says with a gesture at Pursuit. "And she's like -- how old are you?" he double-checks.
"Two days," Pursuit adds helpfully.
"She's two days," Hot Rod repeats. Then he goes, "TWO DAYS?"
"Hey, everyspark's gotta start somewhere," Rumble comments around the still-lit cygar.
"He's got issues," comes a flat voice from the other side of the bars, finishing Hot Rod's earlier sentence for him. Any who turn towards the sound of the voice will see someone who looks a little like Whirl, except in shades of gold and red rather than blue. Oh, and the voice is in the softer range attributed to femmes. Acuity tilts her head to the side and stares at Pursuit. Two days? Most interesting. "You recruit them young," she adds, her tone still flat.
Vortex looks Pursuit over again more carefully, and then calls out in a slightly teasing tone, "Yeah, 'Dad' she's fine. Only a little smeared paint and a few pokes.". Vortex then looks over at Hot Rod. "There is a difference between bad manners and just having a little fun at someone else' expense." The mech pauses for a moment. "Well, maybe there isn't. But I have to have some small while we're all in here." Vortex turns around and peers through the bars, looking as far as he can in both directions.
Barricade snorts at Acuity. "She's an in-house build. Born caste-free." He says this as a matter of pride, giving her a smug expression. He brushes off Vortex's verbal jabs - for now.
Pursuit blinks at Hot Rod. "Is that surprising? Also you're kind of loud."
"Oh. Hey. Fancy meeting you again. Like this." Hot Rod gives Acuity his second best smile then thumbs in Pursuit's direction. "So, issues or not, how many other newsparks and innocents you Autobots plan on illegally detaining?" And he says he's not a Decepticon. "She's too young to have been anything but a bystander and look what's already happened to her." He tips his shoulder in Pursuit's direction, guilty as charged and unapologetic. He's bright in paint and firm in voice. Yep, he's loud.
"So was the femme he was standing all protectively over earlier. I guess loud attracts loud," Vortex mentions. "Now then, I wonder what they are doing to -her-?"
"Well, Whirl said he was going to interface me so that Barricade would hate me like that Shiftlock person you mentioned. Maybe he's doing that to Swivel," Pursuit innocently suggests.
"He _WHAT_?!" Barricade snarls.
"Interesting. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually," Acuity says to Barricade. "In the future you might want to keep the young ones away from the masses so they don't end up in jail before they're even old enough to finish PPS, or whatever equivalent you Decepticons might have had." She's not being snide, exactly; she's simply stating a fact.
She turns that single-optic face towards Hot Rod. "You're definitely in a much less comfortable place than last time we met," she observes to Hot Rod. "I'm not the one in charge here; I don't have the rank to start pulling people out, and I certainly don't have the training to assess innocence," she says.
"He said what?!" Acuity's words are an echo of Barricade's. "That is definitely NOT protocol!"
"Whirl /WHAT/?" Hot Rod sounds like Barricade. This is terrible. His gaze snaps to Pursuit and then back to Acuity. "Don't give me that rank and protocol scrap! Where's /Swivel/? What are you /doing/ to people? If you can't deal with it, find someone who can, if you've got even a /sliver/ of a spark in your casing!'
Pursuit scoots back a little at the suddenly howls of 'WHAT'. "... I don't understand, is interfacing bad? I mean Whirl seemed to think it was terrible but he didn't DO anything. This blue Senate lady came in and told him to leave and he did. I'm -- really it's okay!"
"Oh, I do so hope he is. That might teach the femme that her flawless civil record means nothing once you are suspected of even being a sympathiser," Vortex mutters. "Among other things." Vortex seems to be the only person not overly bothered by the use of interfacing in the interrogation room. "Unless she is also a new spark, in which she just might... disappear."
"Hot Rod. It's already well known that you have a disregard for the rules," Acuity says gravely. "But it is also a disregard for rules to have such a thing happen as this young lady," and she points to Pursuit, "experienced." She makes a motion as if to rub her face, then remembers her claws. Bah! As for Pursuit's question; she'll let 'dad' field that one. Instead she turns to Vortex. "Well, there certainly isn't much doubt that /you/ belong in here," she notes dryly.
"If I get out of this I'm gonna rip Whirl's head off, liquify it and inject it straight up his exhaust vent!" Barricade growls.
Thundercracker is woken up from all the yelling. He was having a lousy recharge anyway, Skywarp makes a horrible pillow. The Indigo Seeker sits up and looks over toward the ruckus, "Hey I get it we are in jail but theres no need to be loud about it."
"You ain't payin' attention then, idiot!" Barricade snaps at Thundercracker.
"You're two. Of course you don't understand," says Hot Rod to Pursuit with deep sympathy for her inexperience. He glares at Vortex. If it were possible to light someone on fire with a stare, Vortex just might be feeling a little warm. Acuity pulls his attention back to her. The heat in his gaze hardly lessens, but it becomes, perhaps, less /specifically/ directed. "Then do something about it! Neither of them belong in here!"
"I doubt you'll be out of this room any time soon," Acuity says to Barricade. Of course, not being able to forsee the future, she's confident in her statement. Someone is going to have egg on their face when this is all over. Oh well.
Turning her optic on Hot Rod, she shrugs her shoulders. "I can talk to those above me, but that's about it. It's hardly a simply matter of flicking a switch and letting anyone innocent out magically," she says. Still, she occassionaly has the sneaking suspicion that Whirl isn't the only fellow officer that isn't entirely on the up and up when it comes to prisoner treatment, and this disturbs her greatly.
"Charmed," Vortex responds to Acuity in a rather jovial tone. He shows no shame in being a blackguard. 
Vortex crosses his arms over his chest, grinning beneath his face plate. "So, you say her name was Swivel? Well, perhaps if she is lucky, she is being /handled/ by someone with more respect for protocol."
Buzzsaw stirs. He's been aware of his situation, and no... no sir, he doesn't like it. He looks at the others as if just now deigning to give them some sort of acknowledgement before hopping awkwardly due to hobbled wings, finally letting his audio-receptors kick on to actually listen to things.
Thundercracker frowns suddenly, "What about Swivel?" he asks no one in particular but his gaze locks onto Hot Rod.
"But it's sure easy to /arrest/ them and /hold/ them and /abuse them/," Hot Rod snaps back at Acuity. If he had any dreams of his 'I'm not with them!!' being a card that he could play to get out of here, he's sure doing his best to light that card on fire. "Typical. Do you even /know/ where she is? Or who she's with?" His gaze snaps back to Vortex. "What's your problem, mech?" In a slightly lower aside to Pursuit, he asks, "Hey, who is that?"
"Oh, she's probably being tortured and interfaced by Whirl. If she's lucky," Vortex says nonchalantly. He waves a hand dismissively at Hot Rod.
Pursuit attempts to talk out of the side of her mouth. "I don't know yet. I didn't have time to meet everyone before I got drug into prison. Sorry." Worst 2-day-old Decepticon ever.
"I can find out," Acuity says shortly to Hot Rod, "if that will make you even the least bit less belligerent."
"Stop tweakin' everyone Vortex. I know you're gettin' all blue-bearings t' torture people but you're gonna have to close your cockpit and learn t' deal with it like the rest of us," Barricade growls at the Combaticon.
"Ugh." Hot Rod absorbs Pursuit's total lack of help sullenly and stares at Acuity. (Belligerently.) Every word out of Vortex's mouth winds him up just that little bit more, even if he pretends to be ignoring it. IGNORING IT!!! "Yeah, /belligerent/, when we've already /established/ the way Autobots treat prisoners. Yeah! I'd like to know!"
Acuity speaks into her radio for a few moments, then holds up her claws in a placating gesture towards Hot Rod. "She's with Rung. In the case that you're not familiar with him, he's a psychiatrist, not a rough. Certainly not Whirl."
Vortex raises his optic ridges. "Oh. Guess the funs up. Fine, fine, 'Dad', I shall behave now." Vortex chuckles lightly, and begins to maneuver himself to the back of the cell to rejoin wherever Swift Blade and Blast off are curtrently camping out.
Buzzsaw hmms. Well, at least ONE carrier is up and active. Buzzsaw foregoes any sense of civility or even familiarity, folding his wings as he mutters about being grounded. "We all sound like a bunch of miscreants. Terrible, ill-behaved 'they've done wrong by me' miscreants." He straightens up right where he's at. "You could all do with at least a modicum of dignity."
"I'm afraid conviction's inevitable for me," Barricade says to Buzzsaw. "About two hundred Security Enforcers saw me rip Senator Decimus' head off his shoulders like tearin' an aluminum can."
Acuity stares at the birdicon. "It's hardly a dignified situation," she says. "I'm not entirely sure why some of you haven't been trasnfered elsewhere due to the rather cramped conditions."
Even without a face, it's easy to tell she's disturbed by Barricade's words by the way she shudders. "I'm surprised at how an officer can fall so far..." she murmurs.
Buzzsaw glares at Barricade. "To so openly say that is to convince me your mental capabilities are compromised. You're not so much a fool as to honestly make me believe your logic circuits are /that/ out of synch with reality." He then stares right back at Acuity. "No. It is not. So rise above it, rather than get dragged down with it."
Speak of the devil and he shall appear is not always an appropriate phrase, for Swivel is neither a devil, nor is she a mech. The main entrance to the prison opens, and a guard is excorting Swivel back to her cell. The femme looks a bit perplexed but not at all any worse for wear than she did when she was taken. The guard merely nods to Acuity in acknowledgement before shoving the smal femme (with very little effort mind you) into the cell with the other 'small fry'.
Barricade turns and stares straight into Acuity's optic, serious as death. "You ain't seen what th' top brass is capable of then, darlin'. When I joined Iacon PD, my vow was t' serve and protect -- You ask Prowl sometime what he does, what orders he signs off on. Then you come back t' me on "falling"."
The name, for a long moment, does not ring (haha) a bell. Then Hot Rod eventually slumps his shoulders and goes, "Oh. Him." Then he frowns. "/Why/ a--" Oh, hey! There she is. "Swivel! You okay? What'd they want, anyway?"
Pursuit would get up and greet Swivel but, well, clamp and everything. "Is this a friend of yours?" she asks Hot Rod.
Acuity turns to look back at Buzzsaw. "Interesting," she says. "You're trying to bring up morale, or at least the apperance of it, when it seems as though now would be a good time for people /to/ keep their heads down."
She levels her stare at Barricade for quite some time. "While the system is flawed, I don't see how you're serving and protecting by decapitating people," she notes dryly. "Leaving the law, and working for change is one thing. The reports on the activities of the Decepticons does not serve or protect any but your own," she states with a sigh. "If you are angry at the corruption, then why let so many others get caught in the crossfire?"
Then Swivel is brought back apparently safe and sound. "Feel better?" she asks Hot Rod. "If she has had anything...untoward...happen, I'm sure she'll tell you by and by."
Swivel stares at Hot Rod with some bemusement. "I.... 'ave NO idea." Her gaze then shifts over to Pursuit. "Oh! 'Ello. Yer th'one Whirl was eager t'aul off. I'm fine but, oh, I 'ope yer okay.... um, I dinna getcher name. Folk were worried 'boutcha. Mmmmmmm, claw marks, I know those. NOt that I've ever 'ad 'em, but I know a person or two 'ose sported 'em. Not namin' names, though, tha'd be rude." The femme is certainly friendly and chatty with not a hint of sarcasm. She grins and looks between Pursuit and Hot Rod. "But as fer me, really, I'm fine. Strange mech, though, but kinner noice, actually. I loiked 'is face."
"Yeah, we're friends." Swivel might hesitate, but he doesn't. "Swivel, Pursuit." Hot Rod performs introductions more or less politely. "Pursuit is two days old," he adds with a /remarkably/ expressionless blandness. "You two may be the only two in here with a chance of walking out." Which reminds him: glancing back at Acuity, he says, "Thanks." He looks much more settled with Swivel present and Vortex's vile speculations all LIES.
Buzzsaw ohs. A wild Swivel has appeared! He hop-jump-scuttles his way over towards the familiar femme. Hobbled wings are terrible indeed. At least he has some movement before his leash halts him. "Swivel! How comforting to see you intact." 
And then there's Acuity's remark. Buzzsaw sort of turns to regard her. "I am not scared by the corrupt nature of those who try to step on any who disagree with them. I refuse to let them push me around any longer, however. My defiance is one where I shall never be perceived as a cowering, sniveling fool that was pushed around by those high-and-mighty tyrants."
"The minds of th' populace aren't safe." Barricade could give a flap less about morale right now. The entire facility is packed in - they're at 300% capacity - and speeches aren't bringing up morale any time soon, in his estimation. "Start askin' your superiors about th' Institute. Shadowplay. Mnemnosurgery. -Trepan-," he rattles off. "The Senate and th' Functionist Council are wagin' a war against -free will itself-." 
"When the situation's that desperate - when th' every day mech just tryin' to live his life in peace can't even -think- t' fight back - there's no 'better options'. You spare everyone you can, but you do -anything- you have t' do to win. This is -endgame-, sweetspark. We bite and claw and tear, or we're 'adjusted' under the bootheel of tyranny -forever-."
"My name is Pursuit, nice to meet you. It's touching that people were worried about me, but it's all right. The blue Senate lady kept Whirl from getting too rough with me," she explains cheerfully to Swivel. Her own words give her pause. "... Huh. I guess not every Senator is bad."
Swivel's optic grow larger when she sees Buzzsaw hobble over and she makes a delighted squealing noise. Carefully, she kneels down, carefully maintaining her balance, and leans for4ward, lowering her shoulder as an invitation for Buzzsaw to hop on. "Good t'see... er waity, no, I guess it is awful t'see ya 'coz it means yer in 'ere too. Oh, but I can say it's noice t'ave good company WHILE bein' in a terrible place wi'out it soundin' bad, roight?" 
Swivel glances up at Hot Rod from her awkwardly lowered position. "Oh, yeah, friends. Wunna sure if was was friends or if I'm jus' a 'opleless case yer championin'." Swivel then shifts her gaze back over to Pursuit. "Noice t'meecha Pursuit, considerin'. I dun think all senators kin be bad, else things'd be iffin worse. Summin's gotter be in there tryna do things roight... or at least the lesser of evils as some'd say. I'd shake her 'and but.... yanno. Glad yer alright. Whirl scares me, but if I 'ad ta, I'd give 'im words if 'e was too rough on ya.... though e'd prolly jus' knock me over and threaten me again."
Acuity wants to believe in the law SOOOOOO badly. It blinds her. But she's not a hard or malicious femme. Quite the contrary. Still, she holds protocols and rules close to her spark. "We're not all so morally bankrupt as you seem to think," she says to Hot Rod, perhaps a bit stiffly. After all, she thought their first encounter went rather well.
She turns back to the bird. "And can you claim that your Decepticons have /never/ stepped on any who disagreed with them?" she returns. By the tone of her voice, the words are not meant to silence; instead she wishes to engage further discourse.
She taps the side of her 'face' with a claw as she listens to Barricade speak. Her face shows nothing, not even how keenly she is memorizing those terms and names, filing them away to keep her audials out for. "Unfortunately that 'anything' includes aligning yourself with butchers and becoming one yourself." Because, really, that's exactly what he did to Decimus; he butchered him.
Buzzsaw shall take the offered perch. The ground is not an ideal place for him... Too many big feet. "We are here. For good or bad, we are here." He gives Swivel a critical look over as he makes sure there's no real damage that should be addressed. His attention turns towards Acuity, though, and he narrows his optics. "I will simply state the same thing I told Swivel. For the sake of all of Cybertron, to counter these sorts of 'guilt by association' atrocities and fear-mongering through the strong-arm tactics that found us all here in cells, I will do whatever I must, because those who will inevitably be caught in the crossfire deserve to never find themselves under this sort of tyranical and weakly manipulative rule ever again."
"No. Not every Senator is bad, not every Autobot is bad, not every Security officer is bad." Hot Rod gives Pursuit a faint, approving smile. Good job, two-day old! She's already learning the right things. "And not every Decepticon is good," he adds in an undertone.
"Friends," Hot Rod repeats to Swivel, firm. "Besides, you're not hopeless." No comment on the championing of causes, eh? He gives Buzzsaw a nod and a curious glance. "So who's /your/ friend?" he asks Swivel and Buzzsaw both.
"I'm willin' t' take the fall and consign myself t' the pit, if my little girl over there can live free of caste and tyranny," Barricade states earnestly.
"Hmmmm." It's a thoughtful sound to make up for the fact that she can't have a thoughtful face. "Assuming you didn't all get arrested here, assuming you had a chance at winning, do you think you could /hold/ the world once you made it to the top?" she asks both Buzzsaw and Barricade. "Are you so sure that by taking in every thug with a vendetta against the law you can /make/ the world safer for your little girl?" This, of course, was to Barricade specifically. "This is not the way."
"Why don't you go read 'Towards Peace'," Barricade suggests with a wry, lopsided grin. "You'll know th' answer."
Swivel carefully stands up, accommodating for what little extra weight or shift in balance Buzzsaw brings. Sonce she is standing she makes a small 'whew' noise and looks over at Hot Rod. "Oh, well, I only met 'im th'once. But we 'ad a really deeeep conversation, yanno? Backdrop was there too. Oh shoot! Backdrop is prolly worried sick 'bout BOTH of us... I wish I coo get a message t'im!" Swivel tilts her head to one side, rubbing her cheek affectionately against Buzzsaw as he remains perched on her. "This dun mean that I agree with her methods all th'way, but ya sure do talk a pretty piece."
Buzzsaw is very skilled at perching on others, and knows right where to shuffle and shift to not so terribly impact that center of balance Swivel's trying to keep. "Don't worry about Backdrop. He seemed resourceful. I'm sure he is fine, and he will undoubtedly find out soon enough." He looks towards Hot Rod. "Buzzsaw. Formly known as a simple outcast of society."
Pursuit grins widely at Buzzsaw. "Oh good! I was hoping you were okay. Soundwave's up in the front with the first-level threats. I was hoping to meet the rest of my kin in better circuimstances than this, but I'll take what I can get."
"Hey, Buzz." Hot Rod presents himself with an awful presumptive degree of familiarity, but it's friendly enough. "I'm Hot Rod. I guess this is outcast central now, huh?" He gives Swivel a thoughtful look. "Well, maybe if you ask real nice," he says with a very slight smirk. "Just be glad he's not here, for now."
Acuity gestures to the occupants of the cell. "Would you trust every member of your gang with your daughter alone? Do you actually trust them all to build the world you want for her?"
Momentarily she's pulled away by Swivel's concerned. "I'm sure I could get a message to him." Is it a trap? It might very well be. "Where can I find him?"
Then she looks back to Barricade. "It's illegal, but I'm sure for purposes of 'knowing my enemy' I could get permission to read it," she says. Okay, so she's a little naive too, but she means well.
Barricade just grins. "I trust 'em, because they know that I'll do t' -them- what I did t' Decimus."
"E'd over'eat 'n faint... 'en when he came online e'd be a quiverin' mess of sobs 'n not talkin words proper... maybe faint again," Swivel says as she imagines Backdrop's reaction to being incarcerated with all of the CRIMINALS and where his identity would be held under scrutiny. Swivel frowns. "Yeah, I'm sure 'e'll be fine.... but still e'll worry 'n think th'worse. E's been doin' that lately. I mean, really, 'e got this WEIRD idea that I got a thing for Blurr. I mean, REALLY!" Swivel snorts and then laughs. "E's the darndest thang." 
Swivel glances over to Acuity. "Oh, uh... tha'd be noice if ya coo get a message ta Steamcore, actually... e'd know where t'find Backdrop. Jus' tell 'im we got caught up in a 'con raid, but last ya saw us, we was fine an' notter worry."
Thundercracker gets an answer to his own question when Swivel comes in and seems to have gone off into a talking marathon. He hasnt said a word cause he doesnt want to break her stride but he does frown from time to time as he translates wht she said vs what it sounds like she said.
Buzzsaw nods slowly as he listens to Swivel before looking towards Acuity. There's a moment of just outright distrust. Still, his attention is quick to look back to Swivel. "If the opportunity arises where, however unfortunate it may be, I might be kicked out of here before others, I will be sure to deliver any message you require."
Acuity makes a soft sound of amusement despite herself. "You've made your point there," she says to Barricade. The ex-officer is formidable looking, there's no denying that. "Still, if the tide of thugs is bigger than those who are in it for change only, that might be easier said than done." She sighs. "But I'm sure most of you will have a long time to sit and think about this in the years to come."
"Who is 'we'?" Acuity asks Swivel. And yes, she knows who Steamcore is; it's how she hired Swivel in the first place. Which she'll probably put on report somewhere. As for what she is up to, she has an excellent poker face.
"You're so lucky we're locked up in here," Hot Rod says. "I totally forgot to yell at you about that." Swivel is SAVED from another rant about the dangers of the evil IAA by the fact that his suspicion is leveled on Acuity instead. He gives a short nod of approval when Swivel directs her to Steamcore instead.
Blast Off finally wakes up after a long, restless recharge. When you're this uncomfortable, you don;t really sleep well- not if you're HIM at least. But the shuttleformer's been in a semi-awake state and semi-asleep for awhile, just putting systems on maintainence level and nothing extra, only waking and moving when he needed to because of being jostled due to the cramped situation. Now, finally, violet optics come fully online and he looks around. He's heard snatches here and there, but has tried to tune a lot out.
"I'm going into recharge mode." Pursuit announces it as if this is the most natural thing in the world - to just announce you're going to sleep to everyone - and then she does just that. Immediately she shutters her optics and her head leans forward as she goes into sleep mode. Awww, babies are so cute when them immediately fall asleep on command.
... And she's not stable. She begins to lean, and lean and lean until she klonks up against Hot Rod. Zzzz.
Buzzsaw gives Acuity a steady, if not piercing, gaze as he just tries to gather what her plan is. Asking a fair bit of questions is typically something /he/ does. Cue intense mental battle as he weighs things in his own processors. Hmm.
Like daughter like father? Barricade's decided he's said all he is going to say. He leans up against the wall and goes quiet.