Title: Rebirth
Chapter One: Missing Persons
Summary: Several months after the battle of Mission City, people start to go missing… What does Starscream have to do with it?
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or anything to do with the movie. Original characters are all mine though.
"Wow…" Sam Witwicky murmured under his breath as he, Bumblebee, and Mikaela returned to the Hoover Dam to check out the Autobots' new living area. 'Bee had explained on the way there that this was very much a temporary solution as to their living arrangements. A slight shudder from the yellow Camero had been enough to tell the teenagers just how discomfited the Autobot was with the thought of living in the place he had once been captured and tortured.
The platforms that had surrounded Megatron and the All Spark had been torn down, the liquid nitrogen ice-hoses disassembled and removed. Most of the human equipment had been taken out, and some sparse Autobot-sized furniture and other arrangements were in place. Ratchet had taken Megatron's room and made it into a medbay. He'd wanted to take the room that had formerly housed the All Spark, but the size of the room in comparison to the others was ridiculously large, and Optimus said it would be more suitable as their main living area than the possessive medic's medbay. Ratchet tried to argue that any lingering traces of the All Spark in the room might greatly assist in any repairs, to which Optimus replied that if lingering traces of the All Spark were in the room, the benefit it might cause having it open to all the Autobots could well mean less patients for Ratchet, and therefore less stress to the cranky old medic.
In reply to that, the medic had apparently lifted his brow plates, looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled and replied that in such a case, there shouldn't be any less-than-optimal scans on their next checkups, or he shall be very cross indeed.
The rest of the Autobots had damn near tiptoed around the base after that, afraid of so much as pulling a wire or twisting a joint out of place.
The most impressive thing the Autobots had installed was a massive computer with an equally massive screen. It served many functions, most of which involved communicating with others of their kind, and the occasional contact with the Sec Def. Holding the teenagers in his palm, 'Bee approached Optimus as he stood facing the screen, curiously peeking around his shoulder to listen in.
"I know this must sound trivial and beneath your notice, Prime…" Keller was saying, his gaze flicking to the approaching 'bot and the teenagers, sending them a nod of greeting before looking back to Optimus.
"Not at all, Mr. Keller," Optimus replied with a slight wave of his hand. "I understand and agree with your suspicions. It may well be Decepticon activity, but what they would want with humans is anyone's guess."
"Say what now?" Sam piped up curiously.
Optimus turned his head to regard the three. "Many humans have been going missing in Mission City. Numbers estimated to be nearly one hundred now. There is no evidence, no warning, and no relation between the people. There is only one suspicion that stands out, and that has been the occasional report of the sound of an aircraft in the area. We suspect Starscream."
"Starscream's back?" Mikaela winced. "When did he return?"
Optimus sighed. "We're not sure if it is him or not. One of the functions of this computer is to track incoming and outgoing Cybertronian signatures, but if he returned before the program was completed, that would explain why… And if Starscream has returned, he is likely to have brought more Decepticons with him."
"But there haven't been any further reports of strange meteors," Keller mused. "Will all of your kind crash into the planet that way, or is there a way to avoid that?"
"It's possible the fliers such as Starscream will not have to," Optimus nodded. "The possibilities behind that notion worry me… If Starscream found his wingmates Thundercracker and Skywarp we could be in trouble… But if that is the case, I would have expected an assault long before now. Along with Barricade, that would make us even in number... But if they picked up Scorponok in Quatar, then they would outnumber us."
Keller frowned deeply. "How long until more of the Autobots come?"
"I don't know…" Optimus sighed. "The signal is still out there. We just have to wait. In the meantime…" Turning back toward the small scout at his side, "Bumblebee, I will have to ask you to step back from your duties as Sam's guardian for a short while. We need the situation with the missing humans looked into, and as our scout, that would fall to you. I will have Ironhide take over Sam's guardianship for the time being."
Bumblebee straightened up and saluted Optimus with an affirmative chirp. His vocal processors were still not completely healed. He could speak when the occasion called for it, but it got painful after just a short time. Besides, media clips worked just as well for communicating as anything else. Setting Sam and Mikaela down, he clipped, "See you later, alligator!" and headed out of the base at a light jog.
Mikaela and Sam looked at each other for a moment. "So…" Sam slung his arm around her shoulders and gave her a mock-serious stare. "How long do you think until Ironhide destroys something at my parents' house?"
Keller was hard-pressed not to laugh as he spotted the aforementioned mech passing by in the background, whose head whipped around and focused right on the two teens that were blissfully unaware of his presence.
"Oh, I don't know," Mikaela snickered. "I think you might have to worry about Mojo's safety more than your mom's garden or your dad's path."
"I give it two hours before they start screaming at him," Sam countered with a grin.
"Ah… Sam?" Optimus murmured, but it was too late. Both teens jumped as they heard Ironhide's deep, rumbling voice towering over them.
"So. The two of you believe I will cause destruction at Sam's parental units' residence?" The bulky black mech placed his fists on his hips, glaring down at the two who turned around with nervous expressions, clinging to each other in a state of near-terror. "Need I remind you that it was Ratchet who ran into the power cables and caused the blackout, and Prime who destroyed the path, the garden, and the fountain?"
Optimus muttered something, sending a sheepish glance toward the highly amused Secretary of Defense as the teens shifted under Ironhide's scrutiny. "Okay okay, I get it," Sam tried to placate the weapons specialist as he held out his hands in surrender. "Just out of curiosity though, Optimus…" Turning back to the Autobot leader, he sent him a slightly pleading look. "Exactly how long will Bumblebee be away?"
"As long as it takes, unless he is called back for an emergency," Optimus shrugged.
Mikaela put her head in her hand. "This is going to be interesting," she sighed.