Jailbirds

Piled in with way too many Decepticons and gladiators and ruffians who are all over-armed, over-armored tryhards, Hot Rod is totally not threatened at all. DEFINITELY NOT. It's fine. Everyone is sporting the latest fashion in inhibitor claws, BUT THAT'S FINE TOO. He looks totally out of place -- colors all wrong! -- but he doesn't care. Definitely not. Whatever. EVERYTHING. IS. FINE. It can't be that surprising that he slips past the milling crowds of strangers to try to find a familiar face. Or familiar tires, anyway.
Megatron is standing there still looking sour, still locked with inhibitor cuffs and still has the larges spot in the cell all to himself...
Those very familiar tires are situated on near the ground and right by the bars of one of the cells. Swivel is sitting cross legged, humming quietly to herself. She would be humming louder, but her cell mates protested. Actually, they protested even to the quiet humming, but she had forgotten that she had agreed to be quiet since then.
Thundercracker is at the bars in the cell hes in looking at the tires, "Swivel why did you go to the forge?" hes worried about his friend and is worried what the bots will do to her since shes lower caste.
In such close quarters, Hot Rod can't help but give Megatron a curious glance. He limits himself to a glance -- for now, anyway -- and makes for the humming tires. Leaning up against the wall next to her, he says, "You know, I'd kind of hoped you'd slipped out." He gives Thundercracker a glance, thinks about adding a little blame to it, and eventually just settles for something more neutral. He saves blame for Bots.
Megatron turns his sour look on the bright colored car as he walks by, "What are you looking at?" wow someone woke up on the wrong side of the recharge chamber this cycle didnt they?
"I followed y'there, Thundercracker.... guess I was just curious. Yer gettin' beat up by Brawl all th'time, wunderin' why ya go there so much if it jus' means getting yer aft 'anded t'ya. I mean.... jus' b'coz yer a you-kknow-wot, does that mean y'ave ta always be 'angin' round th'pits?" Clearly Swivel isn't quite getting a few things. Especially since she is dancing around calling a Decepticon a Decepticon in a prison cell where a bunch of people are already being charged with being Decepticons. "'En I 'eard they gots a Senator in there, so's I 'ad ta go see fer m'self coz I coona b'lieve it... once I saw with m'own peepers I was leavin'. Tha's 'en the place fot real foggy." Swivel shrugs her shoulders, seeming not overly bothered by her situation. 
Swivel tilts her head to Hot Rod as he approached. "Um... yeah, well, 'ard t'slip away 'en th'exits're blocked. Not loik I know all the secret exits, if there are any, coz I ent oner 'em."
Thundercrackers wings slouch a bit when Swivel explains why she was there. "Swivel that thing between Brawl and I is just a thing." he glances around for the tank.. yea rematch 3 will come soon. "You could have just asked me about it you know."
Hot Rod, don't do it. Don't sass Megatron. Don't--!
Too late.
"I dunno, but it's /awful/ cranky," says Hot Rod in answer to Megatron's sour question. His tone is light and easy -- far more so than his situation deserves. If the Autobot threat weighs on him, he carries it lightly. Glancing back at Swivel, he dips his shoulder in a shrug. "Yeah, true enough. Doesn't seem like any of them got out a secret exit, though. You had a chance to play your 'wrong bot, wrong place' card?"
Megatron narrows his optics as he stares at Hot Rod, "Why were you at the Forge last cycle?"
"Eh.... yeah...." Swivel admits. To either Thundercracker or Hot ROd, it's unclear. Swivel glancces over at Hot Rod for a moment. "I been playin' it the 'ole way 'ere, and iffin after I was tossed in 'ere. No one thinks they'll listen t'me... but th'way I see it, there's no advantage t'keepin' me 'ere. It's not loik I kin give 'em any info, an' with so many squeezed in 'ere, they moight as well let m'out so's I not a strain on th'resources." Swivel shrugs again, seeming content and confident that it is merely a matter of time until she gets out of the prison.
"Not sure how much good it will do but I will try to put in a good word for you, Swivel." Thundercracker says and hes being serious about it too.
Hot Rod's gaze lingers a moment on Swivel. He grimaces with a brief shake of his head. "I don't think they're gonna be that concerned about resources before long." But that's a downer! Let's not talk about that. His smirk tips wry. He slides his gaze back in Megatron's direction. "Not for the stage show." That's a flippant phrase to summarize the murder of a Senator. "That caught me by surprise."
Swivel looks up at Thundercracker, "Thanks. But......" Swivel pauses and looks thoughtful for a moment, "anythin' good you 'ad t'say 'bout me prolly would make 'em more suspicious of me. Mebbe?" She looks over at Hot Rod almost as if checking with him to see if she has the whole skepticism thing down.
A slight grin speads across Megatron's face and its not a nice grin at that. "Decimus found out the hard way that the cruelty played on others can come back on you -- I made an example out of him. My cause and all those who follow my cause are not playing around this time. Does that frighten you, bot?"
Barricade grunts, finally awakening. His body is thoroughly scorched from all the shocks needed to put him down.
Hot Rod flashes a grin back in Swivel's direction. He tips his head with a certain cynical agreement. "How far's the good word of criminals and terrorists go, anyway? There's a reason I'm not exactly banging on the bars to insist you're just a courier. Especially since you aren't, I guess," he remembers somewhat belatedly. But he can't yell at her about her athlete aspirations when Megatron's over there with such a sharp smile.
A trace of uneasiness passes over Hot Rod's features and then is firmly pushed back. He projects an air of confidence and unconcern. "Not a lot of playing you're going to be able to do from in here."
Megatron doesnt seem concerned in the slightest for his present situation and that mean grin becomes a confident one. "Keep telling yourself that."
Thundercracker looks at Hot Rod suddenly, "Did you just call me a criminal?"
"It frightens me," Swivel says unhelpfully to Megatron's comment, although she was not part of that conversation. Swivel glances over at Hot Rod. "Ya dun 'ave t'rub in th'ole terrosit thin'... since ya got labele tha' yerself..." Swivel thinks for a moment. "But... tha's why y'were not tryna draw attention t'me."
Hot Rod measures Megatron's grin thoughtfully and smiles back. There's nothing mean about him at all. "I dunno, mech. I like playing. I'm not exactly cheering here."
In the face of Thundercracker's question, Hot Rod waves his hand carelessly. "Don't get your wings in a knot. It's practically a term of endearment where I come from. Right, Swivel?" He grins at her with the obnoxious undertones of an inside joke. "I'm not rubbing anything in!"
"Wher'isshe?" Barricade's speech is slurred, he's not fully rebooted yet - but you can immediately tell where his thoughts are. "Whair'd th' take 'er?"
"Where's 'oo? Th'only one I seen get taken off was a femme I dinna know. Whirl 'auled 'er off," Swivel responds. She is trying to be SO HELPFUL. And that helpful Swivel grins at Hot Rod's inside joke.
Megatron frankly has no idea why Swivel has been captured but he does notice Thundercracker seems to regard her as a friend. He has on comment or thought about that and turns his attention back to Hot Rod. "You have a strange sense of the word 'play', mech.
"/WHIRL/!" Well, that finished Barricade's rise and shine.
"All I'm saying is that there's not much to be done from in here. And I don't like that." Hot Rod shrugs, but there's a fracture in his composure that weakens his grin at Swivel. The confinement, the uncertainty is not as easily shrugged as he'd pretend. Barricade proves a distraction, and one he happily latches on to: "Why are we yelling?" he asks, bewildered.
The shouting rouses Vortex from his state of rest, but other then his red visor coming online with a soft gleam, the rotary does nothing. He merely observes.
"Where'd he take her?! Where'd that piston-suckin' no-faced FREAK take my girl?!" Barricade is still very, very angry, and the guards are already getting their shock prods ready in case he charges the cell bars again.
Thundercracker looks back at Barricade, "Mech are you deaf? Youre trying to overload everyones audios. Calm down." he twitches a wing and then turns and leans against the bars, folds his arms, crosses on foot over the other and sulks.
"I'm sure she's just gettin' a statement taken or somesot... I'm sure she'll be back," Swivel says. After all she was nowhhere near Barricade or Pursuit when the arrest happened and did not hear Whirl's atrocious threats. "I find keepin' an open mind 'n an optimistic view 'elps prevent over 'eatin' 'n pump problems." Yeah. Swivel isn't really helpful, but from the hopeful tone in her voice, it would appear she means well.
Thundercracker frowns. Overeating? What is she talking about? He just shakes his head a bit and doesnt even try, this is Swivel.
Megatron looks at Barricade, "Using up your energy in this manner is pointless, Barricade. Save yourself for when you can rescue her."
"Yeah, a statement." Hot Rod's very /vocal/ skepticism is probably poorly timed.
"I wunner if Whirl will take my statement too... or mebbe th'other nice empurata femme," Swivel wonders out loud.
Barricade is reluctant to relax but... Megatron is right. He settles back down, on his knees, hanging his head. The grinding whine of his internal systems expresses the distress his mouth will not.
Swivel looks up at Thundercracker, "Thanks fer tryna 'elp me out back there..." Swivel then looks to Hot Rod, "Both ya." She smiles pleasantly, still unperturbed by her current grim situation. "Thundercracker, ya prolly should go be with Starscream. Ya two seem tight.... O'Rod 'ere will take care o' me 'n keep angry prisoners away, woncha, O'Rod?"
If Swivel's /trying/ to play Hot Rod, it works brilliantly. In playing to his not-so-latent need to be a hero, she assures he swiftly settles and stops picking at others. Soothed and assured, he pulls up an easy grin to answer her smile. "You got it, Swivel."
Thundercracker looks at Hot Rod for a long moment then looks back at Starscream. He does seem a bit more sulkier then ususal. "Fine." he says and leans off the bars and heads back to his brother.