Detroit, Michigan.
Sari Sumdac turned off her alarm clock with a tired groan. It had only been one week since she had taken part in the student exchange program, and already she was beginning to regret it. She had been eager to get away from her overbearing extended family back in India and see the Land of Opportunity with her own eyes, only to find that it wasn't much better. Day in and day out, she suffered constant teasing and harassment from her fellow students, despite her attempts to fit in.
Needless to say, she did enjoy certain aspects of her new life in America. For instance, she was free to pursue her dreams of becoming a music producer. And America had plenty of artists and producers to study from. She was also free to play video games as long as she promised to make time for homework; something her real family never let her do. And most importantly, she could wear whatever she wanted to without her father bugging her about it.
But there were still times when she felt rather lonely.
Rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes, she gazed back at her clock to see that it was five o'clock in the morning. That meant it was two-thirty back home; time for a web-chat. The exchange student sat up, opened her laptop, and shut her eyes as the blinding light filled her room.
"Sari?" An older man's voice coaxed her eyes back to the screen. "Is this thing on?"
"Hi, dad." Sari yawned. "Good to see you."
"I'm glad to see you, too, Sari." Isaac Sumdac smiled. "Are you being treated well over there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She promised, stretching her muscles. "Mrs. Witwicky is really nice, Mr. Witwicky should be coming home next week, and I've been keeping up with all my schoolwork."
"... Sari? Are you alright?" The scientist sounded concerned.
"Yeah." She lied. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Sari, you are my daughter, and I love you." Isaac crossed his arms. "But it doesn't take an engineer to know when you are upset. What is bothering you?"
Sari fiddled with her hair the way she always did when she was sad. "I just… I just wanna make friends."
"You will. I promise." Isaac smiled. "You are a nice young girl. I'm sure you'll meet someone you like."
"Thanks, dad." Sari grinned. "Well, I gotta get ready for school. Bye, dad. Love you."
"I love you, too, Sari. And good luck at school." He finished. "And tell Mrs. Witwicky I said hello."
With that, the web-chat ended and Sari prepared for school. After brushing her teeth and a quick shower, the teenager fixed her hair into dual ponytails, donned her favorite orange blouse with a matching skirt, and two knee-length stockings. By the time she made her way down the hallway into the kitchen, her host-parent was already awake, tending to a nine-month-old infant.
"Good morning, sleepy-head." Carly Witwicky greeted.
"Good morning, Mrs. Witwicky. Good morning, Daniel." Sari playfully tickled under the baby's chin, making him giggle. A pleasant aroma tickled Sari's nostrils as she sat down for breakfast pancakes. "So, how was your chat with Mr. Witwicky last yesterday? Is he still coming home from Qatar next week?"
"Yes, he'll be here on Friday." Carly replied as she continued to spoon feed applesauce to her son. "What about you? Did you remember to make time to call your father? He worries, you know."
"Yeah, I did. He said 'hi'." As she went to put her dishes in the sink, the teenager whistled, lowly. She rubbed the back of her neck and went back to the table. "So, uh… Mrs. Witwicky? I was wondering if some time after school, we could meet up at a car dealership?"
"Sari, your father made it clear that he didn't want you driving without his supervision." Carly reminded as she put the infant in his crib.
"But I'm sixteen! I don't need supervision!" Sari protested. "And even if I did, isn't that why you're my host parent? C'mon, Mrs. Witwicky! Please!" She begged.
"No is my final answer." Carly pointed for emphasis. Looking at the clock, she realized it was time for work. Putting on her lab coat and grabbing her keys, she handed Sari her backpack. "I need to head to work at the university. June will be here in a little while to take you to school and drop Daniel off at the daycare. I'll see you tonight."
Sari groaned in defeat and sat back at the table. The infant babbled as he pushed around his toy truck, laughing as he showed it to Sari. "Ugh, you don't have to rub it in." She muttered.
In fifteen minutes, a white Ford Crown Victoria pulled into the driveway and a nurse rang the doorbell. Sari was just collecting the last of Daniel's things into the bag and locked the front door behind her. "Morning, Mrs. Darby."
"Good morning, Sari." The nurse looked tired. "Let's go, I've got to get to work soon. I've got a double shift tonight, so I won't be able to pick you up."
"That's okay. I could use the exercise."
Sari quickly set up Daniel's car seat in the back and took a seat right next to him. She was greeted by Jack, a student in her class and Nurse Darby's only son. He seemed like a good person, and she tried to make small talk with him a few times, but she could never work up enough courage to hold a meaningful conversation with him.
After a dropping Daniel off at the daycare, Sari and Jack were quickly let off at their own school. The poor girl was bored out of her mind as she spent the first five hours sitting through American Literature, Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, Spanish, and College-Preparation. Once the lunch bell rang, she practically sprinted towards the cafeteria, only to have something hit her ankle.
"OOF!" Sari grunted as her face painfully smacked against the hard floor. Looking up, she saw Josie Beller and her goons, Billy and Fred, were laughing at the poor girl's humiliation.
"Watch where you're going, Sumdac." Beller sneared.
"Yeah! Summer's over, have a nice fall!" The fat one laughed, only to be slapped by his skinnier friend.
"Seriously, Fred? That's like the most basic joke ever."
Sari slammed her fist hard on the floor, cursing under her breath. This was the seventh time those jerks had messed with her. But before she could get too angry, a hand extended towards her. A brunette in a red top with white khakis was offering to help her up. She was also accompanied by two boys; a white kid with blond hairr, and a Latino kid with a skateboard in his backpack.
"Need a hand?" She asked.
Reluctantly, Sari took her hand and got back on here feet. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. I'm Alexis." The girl greeted. "Alexis Di Thang."
"I'm Rad White."
"And I'm Carlos Lopez."
"I'm Sari." Their new friend smiled.
"Oh, don't be. I like my name." Carlos joked, earning a nudge from Rad.
"N-no, I meant, my name is-"
"He knows what you meant." Rad assured. "He's just being dumb. Would you like to sit with us at lunch?"
Sari's smile grew wider. "I'd like that."
By the time lunch was over, Sari had made much progress with her new trio of friends. She was amazed how three people of conflicting personalities could stay so close after so many years. Alexis was a straight-A student who dreamed of becoming president, Rad was a mechanical prodigy who wanted to become an engineer, and Carlos was the school's star athlete who wished to join the military like his uncle Jorge Figueroa.
"What about you, chica?" The skater asked with a mouthful of fries. "What're you doing after high school?"
"Well, my dad always hoped I'd follow in his footsteps and become a scientist." Sari sighed as she munched on her sandwich. "But my real passion is in music. Making it, mixing it, producing it. It's like, the ultimate form of expression, y'know? I've got hundreds of discs and tapes stocked in my host-parents' house."
"Dude, that sounds awesome." Carlos praised. "You should hang with us, sometime. And bring your stuff with you. We'd love to hear it."
Just then, the next bell rang and the group split up. The rest of the day went by rather quickly, ending in Art, English, and Gym class. After the final bell rang, Sari didn't hesitate to rush out the door. Reaching into her backpack, she dug out her special headphones and activated her music player. Cancelling out all surrounding noises as she headed home, the aspiring music producer nodded her head as she sang along to Indie Rock.
"~Just a young gun with a quick fuse ~ I was uptight, wanna let loose ~ I was dreaming of bigger things ~ And wanna leave my old life behind ~"
Unfortunately, Sari was so engrossed in her music, that she didn't notice the trio sneaking up on her. Beller yanked her headphones off while her thugs stole her backpack. "HEY!" She shouted in anguish. "Give that back!"
"What is this?" Beller chortled as she searched through Sari's bag. "Your practice kit for when you join tech support?"
"Give it back!" Sari demanded. She tried to reach out and grab it, but Fred and Billy held her back.
"You want it?" The bully asked before tossing her bag into an abandoned parking garage. "Go get it!"
The bullies laughed and ran off, leaving Sari to sulk. The girl bitterly grumbled to herself as she marched towards the garage. Luckily, she still had her phone with her, and used it as a flashlight to search for her missing items. "Sure, come to America." She mumbled to herself. "Learn new culture, discover new opportunities. It'll be fun."
At last, she located her stolen goods on an old crate. But as she collected her bag, she realized that it wasn't a crate, but something underneath a burlap tarp. Shining her flashlight again, her eyes widened in surprise once she made out the shape. A quick tug sent the tarp flying away, revealing the most beautiful thing Sari had seen all day.
"Volkswagen…" She breathed, excitedly. "1983… tires in good condition…" But as she continued to examine the vehicle, she noticed a few flaws. The windshield was cracked in several places, as were a few of the windows. The hood was dented close to the point of being irreparable. There were also many questionable slices in the framework.
"The engine seems good." She mused to herself. Shining the light inside the cab, her smile grew wider when she saw that the door was unlocked. The door swung open, easily, triggering the dome light to flicker on, weakly. Inspecting the cab further, she drew her attention to the sun visor. Much to her delight, once she opened it, a key landed in her palm.
It didn't appear to have any teeth, it looked as if it were made of some kind of blue crystal lined with gold. But the most interesting feature was a golden picture of a partially eclipsed sun branded on it. All in all, it did not look like a conventional car key. Nevertheless, she tried her luck.
The engine idled several times as she twisted the key. She was growing impatient as her find refused to start. But she was so frustrated that she didn't notice the blue spark of energy flash from the key into the car's ignition mechanism. Without warning, the vehicle roared to life, startling the girl.
"YES!" She cheered, checking the dashboard. "And it's got a full tank?! Oh, ho, ho, ho! This is the best day of my life!" Shifting the gears into drive, Sari rolled the little yellow Volkswagen out of the garage. Once she reached a red light, she turned her attention to the radio. She turned both knobs, fiddled with all the buttons and switches, but nothing happened. "Hmm. Gonna have to fix that."
Once she arrived at her host household, she opened the garage door and wheeled her prize over to Mr. Witwicky's welding supplies. Since Nurse Darby would be working a double shift, that meant Mrs. Witwicky would be the one to pick up Daniel after work. That meant she would have at least three hours to work on the car.
"First thing's first." She told herself as she started on the radio. "Essentials." Removing the radio, she looked through her backpack for her Bluetooth speaker system, which she hastily installed. Tapping her finger across her phone's screen, she was pleased to her her music blasting through the speakers.
"Okay, now for the hard part." She chuckled and donned the welding mask.
But before she could begin, she heard something fall from beneath the car. Removing the mask, she looked to find something resembling a giant gun lying on the ground. Pulling it aside, she crawled under her new vehicle with a flashlight to inspect.
Suddenly, two blue lights flickered on, followed by a high-pitched wail. Sari quickly scooted away and gasped in fright at what was soon to come. The hood of the car split apart and shifted over the headlights. The engine tucked itself into the cab, while the doors opened up. Hood-covered bulk of the car extended outward, forming giant, mechanical feet. The doors slid to the underside as two arms popped out, pushing against the ground. At last, the trunk opened up and tucked in between the doors, while a giant, yellow head with two horns popped out.
Sari's screams echoed throughout the entire house as the monster that was once her car stood before her. Acting quickly, she turned around, ran to the door, and slammed it shut. Her trembling hands could barely operate the locks, but she was determined to latch all of them. Once she finished, the teenager frightfully hugged her knees to her chest with her eyes shut tight, waiting for the monster to burst through the wall at any moment.
But nothing happened.
Once Sari allowed herself to calm down, she looked down at her watch. Fifteen minutes had passed, and the strange creature hadn't attacked, or even tried to open the door. It hadn't even made a sound.
Her curiosity soon overpowered her fear, and Sari began to cautiously unlock the door. Opening it up just enough to peak inside, she saw a most peculiar sight to behold. The monster was sitting in a secluded corner of the garage, hugging its knees to its chest like a frightened child. As she opened the door wider, she noticed several pieces of its metal body appeared to be cut up or torn. A few sparks occasionally sprung free from its joints as it shivered, a low moaning noise leaked from its mouth, and a sad idea suddenly crept into Sari's mind.
"What if… what if this thing is just a child?" She thought. "And… and he's hurt."
Against her better judgement, Sari slowly stepped closer to the quivering robot. Upon noticing her, it tried desperately to back away further. A piece of metal fell off of its arm, and the robot quickly clenched the wound with his hand, as if it were in pain. Sari held her hands up to calm it.
"It's okay…" She soothed. "I-I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a friend. A friend. Do… do you know the word 'friend'?" The giant machine nodded slowly, giving her some slight relief. At least now she knew it understood her. "Good, 'cause… 'cause, that's what I am. I'm a friend. I'm… I'm gonna come closer to you, okay?"
The robot kept its eyes on her hand as she carefully made her way over to it. At last, the flesh of her palm made contact with its cold, metal skin. The robot seemed to take comfort in her gentle touch, and leaned in closer towards her. After a brief pause, Sari lifted her other hand up to caress its face; an action it enjoyed very much.
"My name's Sari Sumdac. What's your name?" She asked, calmly.
Its voice sounded like a high-pitched whine, similar to static she had heard while changing stations on the radio. But as it spoke, Sari's phone vibrated on the metal table, and she instinctively looked down to check it. An unknown number had sent her a message; "I… I am Bumblebee."
Sari looked back at the robot, peering through the windshield under its chest. The Bluetooth device she had installed was still active, and it seemed to be translating his language and sending it to her phone. Looking back at his face, she noticed he had stopped shivering. Almost as if he were comfortable. And then, he smiled at her.
"What are you?" She asked.
SOCCENT Forward Operations Base, Qatar.
A special mission force, with the sole purpose of defending the world's freedom against terrorists were just making the final rounds of a regular recon mission were just piling out of the helicopter. The team had grown fond of each other, giving each other nicknames that best reflected their specialties and personalities. Once they were debriefed, they went on to prepare for their scheduled leave from duty.
"Hey, Flint?" Petty Officer Delgado beckoned. "I take it you're gonna visit Lady Jaye?"
"You mean Secretary Alison Hart-Faireborn? My wife?" Col. Faireborn grunted. "Yes. I am."
"And how's your daughter, Marissa?" The former Navy SEAL asked, provocatively.
"As far as you're concerned, she's a lesbian!" Flint barked.
"Hey, now! Can y'all please take a break from bitchin' at each other for one day?" Corporal Hinton groaned as he lifted the heavy rotary gun off of his shoulder.
"Easy, Roadblock." Second Lieutenant O'Hara eased her friend. "We're all just a little antsy about getting home."
"Scarlett's right, 'Block." Captain Witwicky nodded. "I know I can't wait to hold my little boy for the first time. But for now, we don't wanna do or say anything that can make General Hawk think we don't deserve our time off."
"Well, we'll get our chance." Sergeant Major Hauser stepped in to help defuse the situation. "But for now, I want everyone to split up and cool off."
Everyone silently agreed and went off to rest. Only Spike and Duke remained behind. The highest ranking officer walked over to the captain. "That was a good job you did, trying to defuse the scuffle, Sergeant."
"Thank you, sir." Spike nodded. "Permission to get some dinner at the mess hall?"
"Granted. Help yourself, soldier." Duke saluted and sent him away. "And Spike?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Sparkplug would've been proud."
The sergeant smiled at the fond memory of his father as he walked away to the mess hall.
But as Duke went to deliver his report to his superior, the lights around the base began to flicker, uncontrollably. Rushing to the command hub, he met up with General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy, as well as the tech experts, Dial Tone and Mainframe.
"Dial Tone, what's going on?"
"Not sure, General." The radio corporal tried to recalibrate the station's radar. "But I'm picking up a faint signal. An F-22 Raptor."
"One of ours?" Duke questioned.
"... yes. Serial number reads 759-12-1013."
"What? Sir, that plane was shot down over Pakistan, nine months ago." Mainframe corrected.
"There must be some mistake." Hawk argued. "Check again."
"I'm certain, sir." Mainframe folded his hands, mournfully. "That was Slip Stream's ship."
Hawk and Duke shared an uneasy glance before the general reached for the intercom. "Attention, this is General Abernathy. All hands to the landing platform. A possible hostile is approaching the base."
In no time, a black F-22 Raptor made a gentle touchdown at the base, and was quickly surrounded by all available soldiers. But the pilot refused to deactivate his engines. Back in the command station, the communication experts were beginning to experience problems with their gear. The entire building's power shut down, forcing the emergency generator to activate.
"The hell was that?" Duke asked.
"It came from the jet." Mainframe deduced, and the four soldiers joined the rest of their army.
Using a megaphone, Hawk approached the aircraft. "Attention, F-22 pilot! Power down your engines, and step out with you hands above your head! If you do not comply, we will use deadly force!"
At last, the ship's afterburners shut off. But instead of stepping out of the cockpit, the pilot vanished into thin air. Without warning, the wings of the ship detached from the hull and folded upwards. The soldiers were startled and confused as the plane's nose cone rotated one hundred and eighty degrees before sliding inward. The tail fins folded forward as a pair of legs and arms sprouted from the body.
Where there was once a typical F-22 Raptor, now stood a giant, black and purple robot.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"Who cares?! Open fire!"
The soldiers unleashed everything they had on the mechanical monstrosity. But the machine merely shrugged off their attacks before returning fire. Two laser cannons were mounted on each of its arms, and they quickly cut through most of the men and women. Before the unit had a chance to reload, a wave of purple energy erupted from the robot's chest, and it teleported towards the station's assault vehicles.
Scarlett, Spike, and Flint watched in horror as it cut through the tanks and helicopters like wheat in a field. Roadblock noticed that it was heading towards the infirmary, and rushed to warn the medics and patients. "Roadblock, wait!" Spike called out, but it was no use.
"Lifeline!" The marine called out. "EVACUATE THE INJURED! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
He was just in time as he saw the field medic carrying out the injured soldiers. The robot fired an incendiary missile at the empty building, giving him space between the soldiers and himself and the communications hub. Duke, Shipwreck, and Flint wanted to go on the offensive, but they realized it would be better to retreat with the injured and summon reinforcements.
Roadblock grabbed a scanner to capture a surveillance photo of the robot. But on his way to regroup, he was trapped underneath the monster. Trying to keep calm, he aimed the camera at the snarling robot as it proceeded with its rampage. Once he was certain he had obtained what he needed, the marine rushed to his friends.
Spike looked at what was left of his brigade, then back at the ruined station. He and his unit would have to wait a little longer before going home.
Meanwhile, the robotic extraterrestrial wiped out the remaining organic beings as he gathered up every salvageable piece of communication technology. The smell of plasma and sulfur tickled his olfactory sensors as the light of the flames made his armor shine brightly. It pleased him, greatly.
The alien cackled as he gazed at the fruits of his labor. In addition to the machines he would need to construct a long-range communication device, the human's military base was fully equipped with the ammunition the Decepticon's would need to overthrow the wretched insect planet and harvest its energies. The Seeker examined one of the tactical missiles, shaking from excitement. Gathering all the weapons he could collect, the Decepticon flier began to glow with a dark purple energy that soon encompassed the other weapons and equipment. In the blink of an eye, he was teleported to a secret location, stocked with even more stolen weapons.
"Oh, Megatron, my leader…" Skywarp grinned. "When you arrive, you will be greeted with riches… such terrible, terrible riches."
To Be Continued...
Okay, first of all; NO, I am not abandoning my JLA story to write this. I plan on finishing Justice Legion of Avengers first and then continuing with Shattered Reality. Secondly, this is a test chapter to see how well people like it. The reason I took down my old Transformers fic was because I was dissatisfied with the writing and the plot. This time, if I think it's good enough, I plan on exploring individual characters and their relationships with others, as well as character development. And third, YES, I know the girl in the new trailer is not Sari Sumdac, but again this is a coalition of multiple Transformer universes.
This will be a bit of a mash-up between almost all Transformers universes. I guess this could count as a crossover with G.I. Joe, but it'll focus more on the Transformers.
Please leave a review if you like this story so far and tell me if you think it's worth continuing. If you have any serious criticisms, please tell me why and I'll try to improve it. Thanks for your time, and have a great day!