He feigned distress when Cliffjumper began to panic - not all of it was false, given how real the minibot's probably was, but he did not want to appear confident in the the face of the threats, and grunted as though he were trying and failing to fight the effects of the null ray. He forced his engine to hitch, miming an automatic fear response that would be uncontrolled and more obvious in a paralyzed mech.

"...How generous of you," he growled, carefully limp, not even reacting to her proximity with anything other than the curl of his lips.

Soon. He was growing more confident that his body would actually do what he wanted it to do when he needed it. Time to stall.

"Why are you even offering?"