Author's Notes: This is another fic I've been chomping at the bit to write. I know I'm likely not the first one to write a Punch/Counterpunch origin story, but hopefully I'll add enough unique elements to make it a good one. This chapter is short, but it didn't need anything else for the moment so I'm publishing it now. Hopefully I'll be able to get chapter 2 out soon. Thank you for checking this story out, and please review :)
Chapter 1
Two Sparks, One Frame
Explosions rocked the underground bunkers as clusters bombs were dropped from above by Decepticon seekers. Rung, a medic in the Autobot ranks, was used to working under adverse conditions, but he had never done anything like this before. Delivering a newspark in a war zone was definitely not something he recommended. He worried that their shelter wouldn't hold and they would die, or else the stress would cause his patient to lose her unborn sparkling.
"It's alright Radiance, you're doing fine," The femme's husband encouraged his bondmate while Rung prepared the frame for reception of the spark.
Radiance shook and grunted as the spark fought for release, but they had to keep it inside until energon was safely running through the protoform frame. If Rung had access to his medbay he would have had more supplies and be better able to keep the femme comfortable, but as it stood he did not. When the Decepticons invaded Iacon's eastern sector Rung literally had to grab the newspark frame and whatever tools he could swipe and run for the bunker. Fortunately he only had one patient at that time. Unfortunately she was giving birth.
Rung looked at the indicators again, and smiled in relief and joy when he saw that the protoform was ready to receive the new life it would house. It was just a grey shell now, but soon it would receive the coding needed to become a colorful and lively little sparkling. If only it were coming into the world under better circumstances.
"Everything is ready," Rung announced, "Boxer, I need you to hold the container while I gently use this magnet to coax the spark inside. Once we have the spark, I can begin the transfer. You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Boxer replied uncertainly before looking at his bondmate to make sure she was still online.
Rung looked at both minibots before taking out his meager tools to begin the spark transfer. Boxer held the spark container, and Radiance grit her denta to prepare for the separation. Rung barely opened her abdominal struts. If he opened it too far then the air could damage the spark. He used the magnet not only to guide the new life to where it needed to go but also to protect the spark from the atmosphere. Boxer held the container right next to the incision so that it would be easier for his new son or daughter to float inside.
It took only a few seconds, and Rung under normal circumstances would consider this routine, but he had worried about Boxer's ability to hold the container with bombs shaking the ground above and below them. Boxer held on though, and soon the container was full. Radiance sighed with relief once the extra energy stopped pulsing inside her, and Boxer held the jar-like device close to his chassis as if the action could actually protect his offspring.
Rung smiled at the new sire and took the container, but then gasped and frowned when he saw what was inside the device. There wasn't just one new spark in there, but two.
"Oh no," Rung breathed shakily as he stared at the twin white orbs floating around each other.
"Oh no? Why oh no?" Radiance asked demandingly, "Doc, did something happen to my sparkling?"
"It's a split spark," Rung replied, still in disbelief, "We have two sparks in this container."
"So? We got twins. Ain't that a good thing?" Boxer asked uncomprehendingly.
"Boxer, we only have one protoform!" Rung exclaimed in grief, "We don't have the ability to keep both sparks alive. If we allow one to die however, the other spark will always know a part of itself is missing. That is no way for a mech to live."
"Mech? So...they're boys?" Boxer asked; ignoring Rung's concerns to avoid dealing with it.
"That's not important right now!" Rung snapped in frustration, "What am I going to do? We can't save them both, but we can't save just one, but I also can't knowingly kill both of them. How are we supposed to deal with this?"
"You're not killing my sparklings," Radiance growled as she struggled to sit up, "I don't care what you have to do, you are saving my sons. End of discussion."
Rung looked nervously at Radiance. What she was asking for was outrageous. How could he save two sparks with only one protoform? Rung knew he should've expected that kind of answer from this couple, however. Boxer was a red and yellow prize fighter from Kaon that had immigrated to Iacon once the Decepticons had taken over his home city-state. Radiance was a bluish green and black frontliner that had been sparked to fight in this accursed war between Autobots and Decepticons. Both were minibots, and both were tough and used to getting their way. Rung felt backed into a corner on this issue.
"Doc?" Radiance called his attention back to the present, "You said we have one protoform right? And two sparks, right?"
"Yes, that is the problem," Rung replied longsufferingly.
"Hey, I think I know where you're going with this," Boxer interjected hopefully as he looked back at his bondmate, "Yeah, that's an idea."
"What's an idea?" Rung asked despite himself.
"We could put both sparks into the protoform until we can find a new body to put the second spark in," Boxer suggested.
"That wouldn't work," Rung replied point blank, "Newsparks imprint on their protoforms. If I tried to separate one from the body before it was ready to upgrade it would cause the spark to seize and quite possibly die."
"Then leave 'em," Radiance countered, "Just let them both have that one body. It's better than killing both of them, right?"
Rung's optics widened at the insane idea. No one had ever tried to cram two sparks into a single frame before. It was ludicrous. Two sparks fighting for dominance would be like trying to graft an incompatible mech onto an established combiner. It would cause physical and mental health problems and possibly cause the new mech(s) to become violent later in life. If they shared a body now, then they would have to share a body forever. Could Rung do something so irreversible to these young unfortunate sparks?
Then again, if Rung didn't do it, at least one of the newsparks would die. Under normal circumstances that would be a sad but necessary decision. This time, however, he was dealing with a pair of perfectly healthy split spark twins. He would normally only allow one to terminate if it was already too unhealthy to sustain life. This time, however...
"Um, Rung? Are the sparks supposed to flicker like that?" Boxer asked as he looked at the container in Rung's servos.
Rung reflexively whimpered when he saw what was happening. The sparks weren't getting their carrier's energy, and they weren't in their new body yet. Even without the atmosphere assaulting their bodiless energy they would still die soon. Rung needed to make a decision and he needed to make it now!
Cursing himself and his lack of resources, Rung rushed over to the protoform and opened the spark chamber. He knew it would be a tight fit. Several things could happen at this point. Both sparks could live in their cramped new home and always vie for dominance, one spark could choke the other and survive alone, or both could die from not being able to coordinate properly with a single frame. Either way, Rung had no choice but to find out.
Rung connected the container to the spark chamber, and both sparks flew inside; enticed when they sensed the energon flowing through the fuel lines of their new body. Rung quickly closed the spark chamber and chassis just before another tremor sent small bits of debris falling on their helms. Radiance screamed and Boxer shielded the medic and newspark as unholy fury rained down on them from whatever Decepticons were up there trying to destroy their city. Finally, after several tense breems, the shaking momentarily stopped.
Rung dusted himself and the newspark off and disconnected it from the IV lines. Boxer went over to see if his bondmate was alright, and she looked expectantly at the medic holding her son. Rung then handed the dazed sparkling(s) over to their awaiting parents.
"Congratulations, it's a boys," Rung chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
The protoform had taken on a yellow color with dark blue highlights around his back and legs. His optics were as blue as Boxer's, which Radiance found a little disappointing since she wanted him to have yellow optics like hers.
"He's perfect," Boxer said in awe, and Radiance smirked when the little sparkling reached for her finger, "What should we call him, honey?"
"You name him. I did the hard part. I'm done for the orn," Radiance groused before lying back down on the cold barren ground of the bunker.
"Hey, I helped," Boxer pouted, making Radiance and Rung laugh, "Eh, anyway, I think the name Punch is a good one, since he's gonna be a fighter just like his creators."
"I dunno. What if he's smart?" Radiance asked, "Do you really think a smart guy named Punch will be taken seriously?"
"He will be if he punches them," Boxer joked, earning more laughter from his bondmate.
"Oh, alright. Punch. That works I guess," Radiance said with an amused smile.
They hugged their little yellow bundle of joy, but then released the hold when they felt the little mechling begin to transform.
"Um, ain't he too young to do that?" Boxer asked as he watched his son's parts shifting.
"Yes, under normal circumstances," Rung said slowly as he watched the yellow mech with dark blue accents become a dark blue sparkling with yellow accents, "However, since there are two sparks imprinted in the frame, my guess is this is the other newspark."
The second newspark looked just like the first with the colors reversed, but he had the same bright blue optics as little Punch.
"Um...Do we name him too?" Boxer asked in confusion.
"Probably," Radiance shrugged, "Hm, since our first boy's name is Punch, maybe this one should be...Two Punch? No, that's stupid. Hm...Oh, how about Counterpunch? That works, right?"
"What if he's smart?" Boxer asked sarcastically, and Radiance threw a small rock at him, "Ow! Okay, okay, Counterpunch it is."
The dark blue sparkling looked up at his carrier with the same amount of wonder as the yellow one had, but he seemed less inclined to reach for her fingers. Boxer rubbed the little mechling's helm affectionately, and he giggled and finally started to move on his own. The parents were overjoyed that their sparklings had both survived and were healthy, but Rung feared that he had done something terrible against the newsparks. Would they ever be able to acquire alt modes? Would they be able to have normal love lives when they grew older? What about privacy? Worst of all, what about their individual identities? What if they didn't both want to walk the same path in life? What then?