* * *
Prowl had a headache.
Saving hapless humans from a Decepticon was not supposed to involve said Decepticon talking loud and fast about his legal rights and how the Autobots had wrecked a perfect photo-shoot. He couldn't even just arrest the Decepticon to make him shut up, as Reflector had pointed out that he wasn't doing anything illegal at all. He was a contracted fashion photographer working for an up-and-coming fashion magazine. Perfectly legal work, even if the person doing it was an alien machine.
Prowl had his doubts and had asked Chip Chase to look into this magazine while he and the Lamborghini twins handled Reflector.
"-Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, Reflector." The Datsun cycled air in a sigh, drawing a few odd looks from the models. The Lamborghinis quickly reoccupied their attention, though; Sideswipe and Sunstreaker sat in vehicle-mode and were being fussed over something awful. He'd never get their egos back down to manageable sizes if they stayed here much longer.
"Then why are you people harrassing me and interrupting my perfectly legal work?" One of the camera's components, well, flailed. A more polite person might have phrased it as gesticulating wildly. (The other two circled the Lamborghini twins constantly, red optics flashing and flashing. It unnerved the Datsun.)
"You're a Decepticon," Prowl pointed out tiredly.
"IT'S NOT ILLEGAL TO BE A DECEPTICON!"
"Eep!" All the girls startled at that shout; the vivacious, chubby blonde dressed in a white overcoat pressed back against Sideswipe. It was a picture perfect moment.
"Kaye! Hold that pose!" One of the other Reflector components snapped out. The girl froze obediently, and his red optics flashed briefly. "You may move now."
The component in front of Prowl smiled suddenly. "A thought occurred to me, friend Autobot..."
It always went to slag when they started calling you 'friend', Prowl thought with a creeping sense of dread. "What do you want, Decepticon?"
"Why, I just want to add you to the photo-shoot. A lovely, polished police Datsun like yourself would be just perfect, especially with Laurie draped over your hood. You help me out here, and I don't call my lawyer, and neither of us get dragged into a precedent-setting court battle about the work rights of Transformers in these United States." All three of Reflector just smiled up at Prowl.
End