raisedbymoogles | Yeah, okay, I'm spamming.

I tried to inflict this bunny on

dragovianknight, but it turned right around and bit me in the face. So here you are.

*

There was no use keeping his voice down with Soundwave less than a hundred yards away, but Spike spoke in a near-whisper anyway. "Okay, check your pockets. What do you have?"

Carly rummaged in her jean and jacket pockets. "Couple of ticket stubs," she reported, "my keys, half a pack of gum, and a Misfits mix tape." She made a face at the disappointing results. "Not exactly useful for busting us out of Decepticon custody. You?"

"I've got..." Spike patted himself down. "My pocket knife, two dead batteries, forty-three cents, and a Holograms mix tape." He held the tape up to show her.

"What's that?" Their jailer snatched the tape out of Spike's hand. Spike yelped in protest; Frenzy ignored him. "Is this music?"

Spike sighed - it was useless to expect manners out of the cassette twins. "Jem and the Holograms," he explained crossly. "You haven't heard them? They're super popular right now."

"Cool! I'm gonna get Soundwave to play this!" Frenzy ran over to Rumble, who was cooling his heels against a convenient tree pretending not to care, and socked him on the arm. "You watch the squishies!" he ordered.

"Hey! Afthead!" Rumble swiped at him, but Frenzy was already scampering to pester Soundwave. Rumble groused and stomped over to the ersatz Squishy Holding Area, glowering sullenly at Spike and Carly as if the scuff on his arm was their fault.

Carly and Spike exchanged a significant glance. With great care, Carly sidled over to Rumble and slipped her tape into his hand. "Here."

"What's this?" Rumble frowned.

"The Misfits." Carly smiled beatifically and tilted her head at where Soundwave was trying to fend Frenzy off. "Way cooler. Not as sugary-sweet as the Holograms. Only sissies listen to that stuff."

"Hey!" Spike protested.

Rumble grinned, spun the tape around his fingers, and ran to catch his brother in a headlock. "Soundwave! I wanna listen to the Misfits!"

"No way!" Frenzy shoved him off. "I asked first! We're listening to the Holograms!"

"Holograms are for sissies! I want Misfits!"

"Holgrams!"

"Misfits!"

"Hologra- argh, get off me!" Clank. "Slagger!"

The cassettes dissolved into a brawl while Soundwave looked on in bewilderment. With his superior hearing effectively disabled by the racket his own symbiotes were making, he didn't notice as Spike and Carly slipped into the trees and disappeared.