HUNTERS
Timeline: 990 Years Ago (shortly before Volume IV)
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"Prisoner transfer from Garrus-9, eh?"
"Yeah," the Autobot officer Stungun muttered. "Calls himself Lockdown. He's the guy who tried to kill Sentinel Prime ten years ago."
"A decade, huh?" Depth Charge smirked at the prisoner, a tall, green and black mech. "Hope you're still not expecting your Decepticon pals to free ya after all these years."
Lockdown snorted. "Please. They aren't my pals. I was only with them for the credits."
"Yeah, whatever." Depth Charge jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Take him away."
Stungun nodded and took Lockdown into a prison block. All the way down the corridor, fists rattled the bars of their cell door, screaming loud enough to shatter glass. Lockdown was mildly amazed that Stungun didn't turn down his audio receptors.
Instead, the dark blue Autobot simply smirked and said, "Welcome to Colony Omicron. Hope you enjoy it, 'cause you'd be hard pressed to find any better."
Lockdown scowled. They all look the same anyway.
* * *
"So, what are you in for?"
Lockdown lifted his gaze from the ground to stare at his cellmate. Colored in gray and blue, he wore a body-type similar to Lockdown's, but without the upgrades and modifications he had given himself.
"Attempted assassination," Lockdown muttered. "You?"
"Robbery," the other Decepticon spat. "If the folks at Protihex valued their stuff so much, then they shouldn't put 'em up for display."
Lockdown smirked. "Why would they boot a petty robber all the way to a satellite colony?"
A nasty scowl crossed the mech's face. "Who are you calling petty? At least I didn't try something stupid like assassination."
"I was hired to do it."
"You some kind of bounty hunter?"
"One of the best. You can call me Lockdown."
The Decepticon's eyes widened. "Wait a sec... you mean the one and only Lockdown? How the Pit did I not recognize you?"
"I tend to spice up my appearance from time to time," Lockdown said. "Have we met?"
"Briefly. You were chasing down some Rallybot and I offered to help. You declined by launching a sleep-net at me."
"I vaguely recall that. What do they call you?"
"Axer," the mech said, smirking. "Not that fitting anymore now that they took my axe."
"You a wannabe bounty hunter?"
"Yeah, kind of." Axer rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping to one day be your protege of sorts."
Lockdown grunted. "Not much use in that now, is there?"
"So, I hear you guys are in a rut, yes?"
Lockdown and Axer turned at the sound of the gruff voice. In the cell across from theirs was a robot being- not Cybertronian, from what Lockdown could tell- with a horned, almost skull-like face, blue and gold armor covering his silver exterior, and a long, flowing red cape.
"Who the heck are you?" Axer asked.
"The name's Death's Head," the alien replied. "Heard of me, yes?"
"Can't say I have," Lockdown muttered. "What's an alien like you doing in a Cybertronian prison?"
Death's Head smirked. "Let's just say I violated some law, yes? Something about a Tyrest Accord. Dealing in illegal munitions is risky business, right?"
"Are you a bounty hunter, too?" Axer asked.
"Freelance Peacekeeping Agent," the alien robot sharply corrected. "Anyway, I think I've got an escape plan. Might need some help, yes?"
"What do you need?" Lockdown asked.
"To take me out to lunch."
* * *
Colony Omicron's canteen was incredibly small, made to only fit twelve bots at once, six of those being Autobot guards. The other six were selected prisoners who stood at a counter to get their fuel, and had only five minutes to do so.
As a burly Autobot set out the oil cans, Lockdown and Axer took theirs while Death's Head looked up at the server.
"I prefer unleaded oil, yes?" the non-bounty hunter said. "Much appreciate unleaded."
The Autobot snorted. "Too bad. What you see is all you're getting."
"Oh well." Acting completely casual, Death's Head bumped the oil can over the counter, spilling its contents onto the floor. "Oops. Clumsy me, yes?"
"Aw, come on!" one of the guards snapped, storming over to him. "My break's in six cycles!"
"Then allow me to pass the time, eh?"
The tip of Death's Head right index finger suddenly flipped up, revealing a lighter. Before any of the guards could react, the non-bounty hunter touched the spilled oil with it, setting the floor, as well as the whole canteen, aflame.
As the Autobot scurried to put out the fire, Death's Head snatched a blaster cannon from one of them, aimed it at the wall, and fired, creating a huge hole. As the other prisoners rushed to it to escape, Death's Head turned to Lockdown and Axer, grinning.
"Be seeing you again, yes?"
With that, the alien robot charged out the hole and vanished into the darkness of space. Lockdown and Axer followed him and, once they were outside, the former pressed a control on his arm, sending out a signal to his starship, which dropped out of hyperspace before them.
Axer blinked as they began to approach the dark red IG-2000 vessel. "Why didn't you do that in the first place?"
"Autobot prisons have shields blocking out remote signals," Lockdown said, before glancing at Axer. "Said you wanted to be my protege, right?"
The Decepticon nodded. "If it's all the same to you, yes."
The bounty hunter smirked. "Then stick with me and I'll show you the ropes."
With that, the newly-formed bounty hunting duo boarded the IG-2000. Lockdown had never been very fond of the ship- at least not enough to give it a name- but as he sat down at its controls, he felt more at home than he had at Omicron and Garrus-9.
"What do you call this beauty?" Axer said as he regarded the ship's interior.
It only took a brief moment for Lockdown to come up with a name. "How about Death's Head?"
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