Windblazer Prime's super late request, like a month late. Here you go, Amiga! I'm so sorry it took me so long!
Danielle, Mark, and Alisa belong to Windblazer Prime. I only own Rachel and Sasha. Ben 10 and its characters belong to Cartoon Network and Man Of Action and Transformers belongs to Hasbro.
What Lies Within
Danielle had been thinking a lot lately about something she hadn't revealed to anyone at the Mansion. Something she had known since she was very young.
Her heritage.
Danielle was human, but she had Anodite and Cybertronian DNA running through her blood as well. The only one that knew about it outside her mother and grandparents was Ratchet, her guardian, along with the other Autobots, and they had agreed that no one should be told unless both she and Ratchet trusted that person and knew they wouldn't betray them.
She then thought of her fiancée Kuphulu and the kids. She trusted Kuphulu with her life and Mark and Alisa were just kids, but should know the truth. Sighing, she went to find Ratchet and bumped into Rachel on the way.
"Hey, girl," said Rachel. "You look like you've been deep in thought."
"Yeah," said Danielle and then looked at her. "Rach, have you ever had a secret, one that was so powerful you could only tell those you trusted?"
To her surprise, Rachel smiled. "Actually, I have two powerful secrets," she said. "I have the ability to talk to and understand animals and I have a powerful ghost wail. The former was granted to me as a gift from a powerful alien long ago and the latter from an antidote given to me to stop a deadly virus inside my body. You've seen my ability to understand animals when Wildmutt and I talk."
Danielle remembered that. "I thought you just knew what he meant because you had known him for a long time," she said.
Rachel chuckled. "Members of my family know of my powers, but only a few people in town know of my animal powers. My ghost wail has only been revealed to my family," she said.
Sasha then came up. "I have the ability to control plants," she said. "Any kind of plant life I can use to whatever I need. It was granted to me when Rachel was granted her ability to understand animals."
Danielle looked surprised. "Wow," she said.
"Why so curious, Dani?" Rachel asked, calling the hero by her nickname.
She looked away a moment. "It's because I've been thinking about revealing something that I've known for a long time, but I need to talk to Ratchet first," she said. "But, do you guys trust me?"
Both sisters looked surprised. "Danielle, we trust you with our lives," said Sasha. "We trust everyone in our family with our lives."
"Not one of them has, or will ever, betray us," said Rachel. "Just as they trust us, we trust them."
Danielle nodded. "Thanks," she said and went on to find Ratchet. Sasha turned to Rachel.
"What do you think she meant?" she asked her.
The older sister looked thoughtful. "She must have a secret similar to ours, only I have a feeling it runs deeper than that," she answered. "We'll find out if she decides to tell us."
"She must be thinking about Kuphulu and the kids," said Sasha.
"I have no doubt you're right," said Rachel. "And that's why she wants to talk to Ratchet. He can give her advice on revealing her secret."
"Because he'll understand that she doesn't want any secrets between her and her family, which Kuphulu, Mark, and Alisa are and will be once Danielle and Kuphulu marry," Sasha realized.
Rachel nodded. "Let's keep it to ourselves for now since she told us in confidence," she said. "She'll tell the others when it's time."
Danielle, in the meantime, had called Ratchet. "I think it's time," she said and he knew what she meant.
"Danielle, are you absolutely sure? This is something that could change everything," said Ratchet.
"Ratch, I trust and love Kuphulu and the kids, and I trust the others here too," Danielle said. "I don't want any secrets between me and them. Kuphulu already trusts me and told me about his past. It's only fair that I share my past too. I trust him with my life. I trust all of them with my life."
Ratchet heard the confidence in his charge's voice and knew she had given this much thought. "Have you told anyone yet?" he asked gently.
"I asked Rachel if she had a secret that she could only tell those she trusted and she and Sasha told me of their powers," she said. "Rachel can understand animals and has a ghost wail and Sasha can control plants."
The Cybertronian gave a hum of thought. "I sensed there was something about those two," he said. "I noticed Rachel talking to her two dogs as if she was talking to a human and they were responding to her and plants reach out for Sasha when she walks by them and she looks at them like a mother would a child."
"So, what do you think?" she asked.
Ratchet was quiet for a moment. "If we are going to tell them, then your cousin and grandparents should be there too," he said.
"Okay, I'll call them."
Soon, all the aliens were gathered in the huge living room, along with the humans who lived at the Mansion, the Autobots, Verdona, Max, and Ben. They were all curious, especially when Danielle stood up and went to the middle of the room, looking very nervous. Kuphulu stood up and went to her. "Danielle, are you alright, my love?" he asked worriedly.
She smiled at him. "Just a little nervous," she said to him and was surprised when he suddenly kissed her in front of everyone. Realizing he was giving her reassurance, she smiled at him and then turned to the others.
"There is something that I've known for a long time, since I was ten years old, and have told very few," she said. "Something that was too powerful to tell anyone unless I trusted them completely. It has taken some time, but I trust all of you and have decided to reveal my secret."
She took a deep breath. "I'm not completely human," she said. "I have both Anodite and Cybertronian DNA in my blood and can transform into both an Anodite and a Cybertronian."
Everyone gasped in surprise and looked at each other. "That is a big secret," said Rachel.
Ben looked at his cousin. "I had a feeling there was something like that," he said.
She turned to him. "You knew?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I guessed there was more to you, especially when you asked Gwen for training. I figured it was probably something you were too embarrassed to tell about, or maybe too scared to. Everyone has that," he said.
Danielle looked down. "Well, you actually got both right," she said. "I was too embarrassed to come out with my heritage because of my dad and too scared because I didn't think anyone would understand."
Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. "Dani, we're cousins," he said. "You know I'll always understand, just like how you'll always understand me."
She smiled at him. "I know you will," she said.
He then smiled. "So, uh, is it okay if you show us?" he asked, deciding to let her choose since it was a huge secret.
Danielle let out a small laugh. "You didn't think I'd tell you guys and then not show you, did you?" she asked as she closed her eyes and tried to transform into her Anodite form, but she was so nervous. Verdona, realizing this, walked over to her granddaughter.
"First, let go of your worry and then will it," she said encouragingly. "No one will judge you here, Danielle."
Encouraged by her grandmother's words, Danielle let her worry go and transformed into her Anodite form, making everyone gasp in awe.
In her Anodite form, Danielle wore a long-sleeved fuchsia pink and black shirt and pants that showed her midriff with no belt, but her shirt was inverted, leaving her right arm fuchsia pink with her right glove being black and her left arm black with her left glove being fuchsia pink. Her pants had fuchsia pink streaks on the sides and white shoes were on her feet. On the chest part of her shirt, there was a capital 'N' emblem and inside that emblem was a small, capital 'S'. Her skin glowed a lavender color while her hair, which was glowing a bright, pinkish color, grew down to her legs and was tied up in two high twin tails with fuchsia pink and black futuristic ribbons running through them. A black mask came over her eyes as around her neck was a crescent moon necklace with matching earrings appearing in her ears, along with pink fuchsia magnet butterfly headphones with no microphone and a long pink fuchsia bandana appeared around her forehead.
Then around her shoulders came a sky-blue cloak that reached near the floor and a hood that was folded down behind her neck. Her arms then came free of the cloak as gold bracelets that snugly fit her wrists appeared. Then, whisker like markings appeared on her cheeks before her eyes, framed by her black mask, opened to reveal they were different colors. Her right eye glowed fuchsia pink and her left eye glowed sapphire blue, making her eyes look haunting and the mask just added to that haunting look.
"Wow! That would send any criminal packing!" said Alisa, who was awed by her mother's Anodite appearance.
The tension broke as everyone chuckled in agreement. "What do you call yourself in this form?" asked Max curiously, as he knew his granddaughter Gwen went by Lucky Girl in her Anodite form.
Danielle smiled. "Night Star," she said.
"Very unique," said Rachel, smiling.
The girl hero looked a little embarrassed at the praise, but smiled all the same. "I can transform into both this form and my Cybertronian one more freely than my human form," she admitted. "Do you all want to see?"
At the agreeing murmurs, Danielle changed from her Anodite form to her human form. "My Windblazer Prime form is going to take a bit more concentration," she said and then looked away. "Only Grandpa Max, Grandma Verdona, Gwen, and the Autobots have known about this, so forgive me if I suddenly get shy."
A gentle, understanding chuckle filled the room as everyone understood Danielle was taking a big step in trusting them all with this secret and watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Before everyone's wide eyes, she transformed into a robot with a slender and strong frame, with sapphire blue optics and a color scheme of fuchsia pink and black, her audio receptors were like Optimus' but were sky blue with black on the sides, her opticals were similar to Arcee's and her waistline looked similar to Ratchet's, only more feminine with chestplates, broad and bulky shoulders, legs, servos, brow ridges, square jaw and a feminine face. She also had a jetpack attach on her back colored sky blue and black and with the Autobot symbols on the wings, and an Autobot symbol appeared on her left shoulder, very similar to where Ratchet had his Autobot symbol. Everyone clapped at her transformation and admired it, making her faceplates take on a slight pink color.
Then, she transformed back into her human form, which had changed a little since she had first come to the Mansion as she was maturing into a young woman. She still looked the same, but wore an Autobot necklace and matching silver earrings and ring in her right index finger in her right hand, which she explained was given to her by Ratchet on her birthday when she was little as he was not only her friend, but also her guardian and adoptive father. In addition, she also wore a golden heart shaped locket that contained a picture of her and her family when she was very little, one picture of her and Ratchet and the rest of the Autobots when she was still young, but a bit older than the first picture, one picture of her and Kuphulu when he had asked her to marry him, and one more with her, Kuphulu, Ratchet and her kids and the Autobots and the rest of the Mansion. The locket was very special to her as it was given to her by her mother when she was little. Lastly, she also wore a fitting pink fuchsia and black hooded jacket with pink fuchsia cuffs with a number 10 on it, very similar to the one her cousin wore.
Afterwards, Ratchet cleared his throat. "There is something that I've been keeping a secret as well," he said and looked to Verdona and Max. "I think it's time Danielle knew, as did the others."
"I agree," said Max. "It's only fair."
"Are you certain, Ratchet?" Verdona asked. "While Danielle's heritage comes from me, we really don't know about yours."
"True," said Ratchet. "But I'm sure."
She nodded with a smile of encouragement and to pretty much everyone's shock, Ratchet transformed from his Cybertronian form into an Anodite. He looks like a male version of Verdona, expect he was more masculine and pretty muscular. His skin became bright teal blue in color and his hair, which lay flat on his head with spiky bangs, glowed a bright orangish color highlighted with a bright bluish color while his eyes kept their blue color. Around his neck was an Autobot necklace, and a matching tattoo on his left shoulder. He wore a pair of black fingerless gloves on his hands along with a black jumpsuit and had a black mask like Danielle's, along with black combat boots. To complete his appearance, twin katanas and bo staff were strapped behind his back while a black trench coat that reached near the floor.
"Ratchet?" asked Danielle in shock. "You're…part Anodite too?"
"Yes," he said, giving her an affectionate smile. "The only ones that have known about this before now were your mother and your grandparents."
"Ratchet found out about his Anodite heritage by accident one day and had no idea what was happening. He sought your Grandpa Max and I out and we did our best to help, but so far have no explanation for it, other than perhaps one of Ratchet prior ancestors might have fallen for an Anodite, perhaps even before the terrible war," said Verdona.
Everyone was silent for a moment. "Well, I think that is probably the best theory," said Ben. "After all, Anodites are energy beings and Grandma, you fell in love with Grandpa, so an Anodite falling for a Cybertronian would seem just as likely."
Verdona smiled at her grandson. "You might not be an Anodite yourself, Ben, but you certainly understand about them," she said.
Ben pointed to his Omnitrix. "When you're the guardian of several life forms, it's helpful to know about each species. Not only that, Gwen's been helping me a bit on it too," he admitted.
Danielle looked at Ratchet. "That explains why you became so protective of me," she said with a smile.
He smiled back. "I promised your mother that I would always protect you," he said. "I'm not backing down from that."
Smiling, Danielle then turned to Kuphulu and her smile disappeared, her face taking on a worried look. Rachel knew immediately what she was thinking because she had felt the same way when she had told Rook about her powers. Rook had understood and Rachel only hoped Kuphulu would understand. She had a feeling Mark and Alisa already understood.
Kuphulu stepped toward Danielle with the children behind him and took her face in his hands. "Danielle," he said. "Are you alright?"
She looked at him. "What…What do you think of me?" she asked him.
His eyes softened to where they held only love. "Danielle, I love you," he said. "I understand why you were reluctant to share this part of your past with us, especially something so powerful. But there is something more powerful than a secret, something that sees past the doubt and worry."
She looked at him. "What's that?" she asked.
He gently chuckled. "Love," he said and kissed her in front of everyone again and pulled away gently after a bit. "I love you so much, Danielle, and nothing is going to change my mind about you. I still want you in my life and as my wife."
"And you're the best mom ever," said Mark as he hugged his mother, who returned his hug. Alisa also hugged her mother.
"Love you always, Mommy," she said.
Everyone had tears in their eyes as they also reassured Danielle that they understood and still loved her as she was a part of the family.
Because what lay within all of them was love, and love is what kept them altogether in the family they were proud to call their own.
It just goes to show that no matter what you're hiding under your skin, your family will always be there for you and love you no matter what.
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GoldGuardian2418