Maelstrom Chapter 25
Transitions A
Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original Maelstrom Comics and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the URL here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.
Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored!
Transitions - Part A
Rodimus and Lancer slipped silently together towards the roof tops overlooking Iacon. It was dark. It was beautiful, and for once neither felt like there was something pressing that just couldn't wait until tomorrow. They took care that no one saw them. When they finally reached the summit they found nook and sat down. Rodimus put his back to an antenna support, and Lancer leaned against him. For a long time they just sat there; neither speaking or sending, just enjoying the view and each other's presence.
Lancer felt a slight chill on the wind, but smiled. It only gave her an excuse to snuggle closer. She felt something though, emanating from her mate like a warm glow, something she rarely felt in earnest no matter how often he acted it for his people. Joy. Pure, simple happiness. It surprised her a little, and she turned her eyes up to his face. She realized suddenly that she'd never ever seen him looking so happy before, and pulled back to get a better view. Wow. If she hadn't loved him completely already, she would have fallen hard right at that instant.
Why are you so surprised I'm glad? Rodimus sent, although he was transmitting far more than just words to her. You're finally WITH me, with no reservations. She felt his immense pleasure and satisfaction. If anyone had offered him one selfish wish, that would have been it. Lancer was still a little amazed though. It had been close to six weeks since the fight with Unicron which had taught her to trust herself again, and while she'd felt his gladness before, it was nothing like this. She knew the reason for the change though, it was an immense load off of her own heart as well.
Ultra Magnus. Magnus was awake at last, and even though he wasn't fully healed yet, this evening's events were enough to convince both of them he would be...eventually.
Worry for their friend had done a lot to temper their capacity to really enjoy their own victory over all the pain which had divided them. Now that worry was alleviated, and Rodimus far beyond the point he could have expressed his contentment in words.
He could laugh though, and he did, quietly, holding on to Lancer and rocking her back and forth as he laughed and laughed without a sound.
You're ridiculous, she sent to him. He responded with images of the previous hours.
Magnus' little surprise attack.
Jazz flirting hopelessly with KC.
Marissa's unexpected engagement announcement and how he and Jazz had both reacted as one - by falling to the floor in shock.
Magnus' once again animated face - laughing at them, teasing them, glowering at them when they asked for it. And they did ask for it again and again for the pure pleasure of seeing him respond.
"Want some tabasco sauce, Major General?" That had been KC. KC! Even Marissa had gaped.
"Certainly," Magnus had said, snatching the bottle from KC's startled hand from where she dangled it in front of him. Apparently he meant to have the last word. No one minded. "I think I've grown to like this stuff!" he continued, tipping his head back and pouring it in. He'd smacked his lips in apparent contentment. (There WAS one suspicious cough, but only one.) They had all groaned in disbelief and feigned horror.
"Want some Rodi?" Magnus had asked.
"Only if I have a drain to unclog," Rodimus had responded.
"Uggh! Magnus! I hope you aren't expecting me to kiss that mouth tonight!" Marissa had said.
"Hey! You were the one who taught me to like this stuff!" Magnus had pouted. And so forth.
Reliving all of this, Lancer was laughing as hard as her mate, just as she had been laughing when it had first happened. It was a delight to see Magnus awake and enjoying himself, and though they could see the occasional ghost of pain cross his face, they knew that if he could smile and laugh so soon after waking up that he would conquer the lingering wounds in time. He still seemed a little stunned himself by his engagement to Marissa, but it was a shock full of wonderment, as if he couldn't believe he ever could achieve or deserve such happiness.
Rodimus tightened his grip around his giggling mate still further, and understood that attitude completely. Lancer turned her smiling face up to his and they spent a good while kissing like teenagers. Somehow the occasional laughing fit didn't hinder them much.
Regretfully, Lancer's watch soon informed them it was time to rescue Daniel from Edana. It was a little disappointing but Rodimus entertained himself on the way back down by mentally seducing Lancer. For once she didn't object too much, but did her best to respond in kind. He was magnanimous enough to let it affect him a little, although not to the point where he felt the need to hang back like Lancer did when they got to Danny's quarters. Daniel was now a second year student at the academy and had moved away from his parents a few weeks earlier. He was discovering a few unpleasant truths to living on his own - he was broke, and since his schedule often clashed with those of his friends, he was often bored. He had jumped at the chance to look after Edana as a partial solution to both problems, and had taken care of her several times in recent weeks.
Even Lancer had to admit he was pretty good at it, but it was late, and they knew he had course work to keep up with.
Rodimus knocked, and then rang. For once Danny didn't answer right away, so Rodimus took the time to not only tease Lancer for her reluctance to move forward, but to worsen the condition which made her reluctant. She snarled at him half-heartedly for it.
He chimed the door again, and this time Daniel answered. As soon as the door opened, they knew something was wrong. Daniel looked frazzled and they could both hear Edana crying in the back.
"Hey kid," Rodimus said, trying not to act too concerned. "What's the matter with Edana?"
"Hi, Rodi," Daniel responded. He let them both inside, (Lancer's reluctance instantly vanished with the sound of her daughter's cries.) His relief that they were back was palpable. "I don't know. She's just been crying for the last fifteen minutes. She's not wet or anything, and she won't eat. I'm....I'm a little worried it might be that mutant thing."
Both parents managed NOT to visibly flip out at this news.
"What makes you say that?" Rodimus asked, picking his daughter up. "Hey, big girl," he said, adjusting her glasses. She sniffled at him, and seemed to relax a little. Lancer smiled.
"Well, erm...Mom and Dad dropped by a little while ago. You just missed them actually. Dad seemed pretty pissed off about something when they came in, although he didn't say what. Anyway, they made their usual fuss over her and when Dad picked her up she started crying. She was fine until then."
"Well. Is that the problem? Did bad old Spike get on your nerves? Danny, do you have a tissue?" Rodimus asked, then turned his attention back to the baby. "You are a snotty mess. Yes you are. That's OK though. You make snot cool. I'll tell you what! We'll give this nasty tissue to Spike. That'll teach him."
Daniel and Lancer exchanged ironic glances Rodimus was ridiculous at the best of times, but he was never worse than around Edana. It worked though. The baby hiccupped the last of her tears, and fell straight to sleep. Lancer smiled to herself again - she didn't have to lift a finger, although she knew she would be enduring Rodi's insufferable smugness for the next few days at least. They paid Daniel, thanked him, and left. It was several miles back to Lancer's quarters, but she knew better than to suggest her mate returned to Autobot form and drive them home. There was no way he was relinquishing that baby.
They walked.
Rodimus eventually shifted Edana off his shoulder so he could look at her face. He still saw more of Lancer there than himself, although everyone else argued to the contrary. He still found her absolutely fascinating. Lancer snuck her arm around his waist, which wasn't bad either.
"Kinda cute isn't she?" he said.
Lancer arched an eyebrow. It wasn't that she disagreed, but she sensed him leading up to something and was suspicious.
"Yeah. What of it?"
"Well, um...." Rodimus stalled. He had been shielding THIS little idea for a while, hoping to spring it on her without raising her suspicions first. He only needed to look at her to see it was already too late for that plan.
"Out with it Rodimus Prime," Lancer said. How did she make his full name into a threat? How did she do that?
"umm..."
"Rodi......." Oh boy. Her voice was down an octave and his name was starting to sound like a death sentence now!
"I..um..I..um..was just thinking that it might benicetohaveanotherbaby."
Lancer froze in her tracks, and opened her mouth to give him the reaming of a lifetime, and then stopped again. Her objection was automatic, and based on the same fear which had driven her away from him. How could such an evil person be a good mother? She'd never meant to have Edana in the first place. But before the words could escape, Lancer realized they were no longer valid. She no longer thought of herself as corrupt, so what was the problem?
She glared at her mate. There he stood in the street, holding their boneless little first-born and grinning at her hopefully. He may as well been a ten-year-old asking for a puppy, and that dumb grin got bigger with each second that passed without her screaming at him.
She narrowed her eyes at him again, and then shrugged, slipping her arm back around his waist. "You've been hanging around Blur too much. You're starting to talk like him. It's really sad."
If that grin got any wider his face was going to split, although he managed not to wake the baby by laughing or running yelling through the streets, which was what he wanted to do. Then he got busy seducing Lancer again in earnest. Having kids was too much fun!
X
X
X
The following morning:
The doorbell beeped.
Nobody moved.
The doorbell beeped again.
"Magnus? Can you get that? I'm in the bathroom!" Marissa yelled. She heard an incoherent groan from the bedroom.
"Magnus?! Wake up!"
Ultra Magnus, Autobot City Commander, rolled over onto his stomach and put his face in the pillow with a moan. For the second night in a row, Marissa had done her damnedest to challenge even HIS ability to keep up, and he wanted nothing more than to stay exactly where he was.
The doorbell beeped again. He put his head under the pillow.
"ULTRA MAGNUS!" Marissa said sharply. She wasn't yelling yet, but he knew he was heading for trouble. He sought to avoid the inevitable anyway.
"Damn it! What time is it?" he grumbled. "Marissa, it's 7:30! It's only Rodimus and Jazz thinking they're being cute getting over here so early! If we ignore them, maybe they'll go away!" As if to contradict him, the bell beeped again.
"Magnus...go get the door." Marissa said. How did she make a simple over-enunciation of each word sound so threatening?
"Fine! I'm going. I'm going! But if they are stupid enough to come this early then they get me as I am!" he growled vengefully, running his fingers through his hair. It had gotten rather long in the last few weeks. It tangled, and it annoyed him. Marissa had promised to vanquish it later that day, and Magnus grinned to himself. At least he didn't share Rodi's paranoia about having his hair cut.
"What was that Magnus?" Marissa said, not having understood that last part, but he didn't answer. Things might have gone more smoothly in the next few hours if he had.
"I'm coming. I'm coming!" Magnus rumbled, stomping his way through the living room. By the time he reached the door he was ready for a full-blown Magnus-style tirade. Get him out of bed would they? Not after today! He put his hand on the door and was complaining aloud before he ever got it open.
"OK Rodimus! What's the big i...i ....ohshit!" Confronting him was not the evil grinning face of his commander. Nor was it Jazz's overly cheerful little smile. It was two faces he had seen a few times as little distant specks by his Autobot ankles, and in numerous pictures around Marissa's quarters. They had never worn such stunned expressions before though. Panic overrode his reason. He slammed the door on those aghast faces, willing them to never have been there.
"MARISSAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"What?" she asked irritably, coming right into the living room in her thin robe. Usually, he enjoyed that thing, but right now seeing her body through the material only emphasized how much trouble they were in.
"Your parents are here," he squeaked.
She blinked at him, her face showing no response at all. Then she took off for her bedroom as fast as her legs would go.
The doorbell began ringing continuously, doing nothing to calm the panic of either of the apartment's occupants. Marissa practically tore her sheer robe and nightgown off her body, wadded them up as she ran, and kicked them under the bed. Now stark naked, with her parents pressing on the bell, and her equally panicked behemoth of boyfriend running around, Marissa lost all mental cohesion. Her closet transformed from a familiar, friendly place into hostile and unknown territory where every article of clothing seemed specifically designed to make her look like a tramp. Her hands shook uselessly in empty air for a minute and then tore violently through the rack. No, too sheer. No, who wears an evening gown at 7:30 AM?! No. No. Fuck! NO! Ughh! Wait!
Outside in the hall, Allison Hart-Burnett-Fairborne and Dashiell R. Fairborne exchanged a long look of complete shock. Mrs. Fairborne was blushing - she had gotten quite a view. Mr. Fairborne was flushed too, but for an entirely different reason. They had come to Cybertron, concerned about the way their daughter sounded when they talked to her, and determined to find out what was going on. Somehow an enormous, irritable, (BED-HEADED!), and nearly naked man answering the door surpassed their worst fears, even the far-fetched ones like drug addiction and fatal illnesses. They could hear his voice again faintly from inside.
"Marissa! What should I do?" Whatever their daughter said was too faint for them to make out, but they could hear the panic in her tone.
Dashiell, aka Flint, began pounding on the door with his fist. Maybe his daughter was a full Captain and a warrior in her own right, maybe she had been on her own for many years, but she was still his little girl, and right now he was entertaining serious thoughts of a real spanking.
His wife, being a little more realistic about her daughter's maturity, (and likely sexuality) chuckled just a little. "Well, at least we know what the problem is." Flint didn't find it funny at all - the image of that brute with his daughter was nothing he was prepared to cope with. Nothing in all his years of military experience gave him the strength to deal with the concept that his darling little Marissa just might not be a virgin.
When the door finally opened he was still pounding on it and he nearly hit his little darling in the face. It wasn't THAT close, but she flinched as though it was. Marissa might not be a virgin, but she had certainly dressed the part. She was wearing a demure, ankle length flannel nightgown with long sleeves, and a similarly cut, pink terry-cloth robe tied tight at the waist. Only a wart could have made her less appealing than the way the pink clashed with her hair, at least in her opinion. When Flint had bought her the robe years ago, Lady Jaye had told him Marissa would never wear it, but he had insisted it was perfect. Now when Marissa reached forward to hug her father he turned her around, and Lady Jaye smiled to herself. Reaching out, she grasped the tags that dangled from the back of Marissa's neck and pulled them hard. There was a faint snap.
Marissa threw her a look of sheer panic and then gratitude as her mother briefly flashed the incriminating tags and then swiftly hid them in her own pocket. "Thanks," Marissa whispered in her mother's ear when it came time for her hug. She felt Lady Jaye shaking with laughter.
"Anytime darling," she whispered in return. "I must say though, I can see why you wanted to keep him to yourself."
"Mom!" Somehow Marissa managed to keep her shocked voice to a whisper Flint couldn't hear. Marissa could tell her mother had already decided everything was fine after all, and wished things were as straight-forward as her mother apparently assumed.
No avoiding Dad's fuming though. "Marissa Anne Fairborne!" (Oh boy was she in trouble!) "Exactly WHAT is going on around here!"
"Uh... Well. Umm. Would you like some coffee? I can make you some."
"No young lady. What I want is an explanation." Flint said. He had made full general before he'd finally been convinced to retire, and it showed in his voice now.
Marissa sighed.
"Maybe...Maybe you two had better sit down," she finally said. Lady Jaye walked lightly to the couch - her eyes gleaming with amusement and mischief. She was apparently all for her daughter finally getting involved with some nice (and nice looking!) young (YOUNG! HAH!) man, and Marissa could practically see her making wedding plans and counting grandchildren. Marissa sighed inwardly. If her suspicions were correct, the grandchildren would proceed the wedding. Flint, on the other hand, sat down forcefully on the couch and was fingering an imaginary side-arm. Not a good sign. Marissa ran her fingers through her hair, opened her mouth, closed it, and suddenly decided she couldn't face them on her own.
"MAGNUS! Get out here!" she yelled. Don't you get stubborn on me you bast....
"No!"
"Mag-nussss!"
"I'm not dressed yet!"
Flint's hands dug into the couch cushions and he turned a shade paler. Lovely. A suspicious sound escaped Lady Jaye, and Flint turned on her sharply. She mimicked his sour face exactly, but winked at Marissa the minute he turned away.
The bedroom door banged open, and the footsteps were painfully audible on the hard-wood floors in the hall. Please have on something decent! Marissa prayed silently, Please use some sense for once and listen to what I've been telling you! Please! Please look a little normal! The feet tromped closer, and Magnus loomed in the doorway of the living room, dressed in blue pants....and a red shirt. Marissa wished she could kill him. At least, her mind invented desperately, he looks sort of patriotic. They might appreciate that! She would take whatever comfort she could get. He had gotten his hair in order...except for that one little piece right in the back......... Her parents stared at the seven foot apparition in the doorway with the widest eyes she had ever seen.
"Sit down," Marissa said to him. She could tell by his stance that he was petrified and making up for it by acting defensive.
"I'd rather stand," he growled under his breath.
"Magnus, if you don't sit down and help me I'm going to kill you. OK?" She made sure her parents didn't hear that little show of affection. He drew his head back and snorted, but he did have a seat.
Lady Jaye watched all of this as if it was the most entertaining show of her life, and Marissa sighed when she saw the gleam in those eyes. Her mother was in the mood to make trouble.
"So!" Lady Jaye said brightly, confirming Marissa's worst fears, "Magnus is it?"
"Yes." Try to sound a little more unfriendly Magnus. Really. If you work at it, you might freeze them right out of the room.
"I see. Hmmm. That name sounds familiar. I'm sure we haven't met. I know I'd remember you if we did. Are you one of Marissa's co-workers?"
"You could say that." Magnus intoned. His voice sounded like it was coming out of a deep well, and he was gripping the cushions of his chair in exactly the same manner Flint was clutching the couch. Marissa had a briefly hysterical moment where she thought about having to buy all new furniture.
"And, what, exactly, are you doing here with MY daughter at this time of day!" Flint said accusingly.
Magnus blinked in suddenly confusion. "Wait....you don't really want me to answer that do you?"
Marissa smacked herself in the face.
"OK you bum! That's it! OUT! Get out of this apartment!" Flint shouted unreasonably. He had surged to his feet. Lady Jaye lost all control and started laughing. "ALLISON! This is NOT funny! And you young lady! You! You're grounded!"
Marissa couldn't help it. She looked at her father, still strong for his age, but he couldn't match her now, and he couldn't have budged Magnus in his prime. Plus the entire concept that she might be grounded.... She started laughing too. Magnus and her father threw her identical evil stares and she laughed all the more. Lady Jaye saw it as well, and when the men sighed in unified disgust, the last of Lady Jaye's composure went out the window. She could barely maintain her seat. After a few minutes though, Marissa found the shade of purple Flint was turning a bit worrisome, and got herself together.
"Daddy. It's OK. Sit down. Magnus doesn't mean anything, he..he just comes from...well. A different culture."
Flint glared at her. She tried to recapture the little girl expression which always cracked his obstinance when she was small and wanted something she shouldn't have. She saw it take effect and Flint's posture relaxed a little. Lady Jaye looked proudly at her daughter.
Flint sighed. Another culture. Right. "Magnus? Huh. He'd have to come from a different culture. What kind of name is that anyway? It sounds just like that Autobot you work with." Flint grumbled, slouching back down in his seat in disgust. Lady Jaye patted his arm. Magnus and Marissa stared at him.
No one said anything.
They kept staring at him.
"OK. Fine! Where's he from? HAH! The next thing you'll tell me is he IS that Autobot you work with!" Flint said. If he had to be reasonable, then he had to be reasonable, but he didn't have to like it.
They kept staring at him.
Lady Jaye quit laughing.
Flint stiffened.
Marissa and Magnus didn't blink.
Lady Jaye started laughing again, and all three of them turned to gawk at her in unison. "Well, it's obviously a joke, Dashiell dear! Don't you see! OK, Marissa. You've had your revenge. Now tell your father it's all a joke."
Marissa and Magnus kept right on staring.
"MARISSA!" Lady Jaye said sharply, "Tell us it's all a joke!" Her voice had a hysterical edge to it.
"I can't Mom," Marissa said, after several unsuccessful attempts to get her voice to work. "This is Ultra Magnus, and he IS the Autobot I work with."
"Well that went well," Magnus said testily when both of her parents passed out on the couch.
"I don't remember YOU being much help!" Marissa snapped. "Who told you to answer the door in your underwear anyway!? And what in the hell possessed you to pick out that shirt with those pants?!"
"I look right in these colors!"
"You look like a clown! Magnus! How many times do I have to tell you? You can't pick your clothes based on your paint job!" Marissa shrieked.
Lady Jaye, who had been coming around, passed out cold again at that last sentence.
"Oh shit! Mom!" Marissa said, feeling terribly guilty that she had left her parents unattended while she bitched about Magnus' shirt. "Magnus help me with them." They spent a few minutes trying to bring her parents around.
"This gives me new appreciation for what you went through the last few weeks," Magnus said gently, after a while with no success. Marissa smiled sadly at him, and finally got a response out of her father. Flint woke up in denial. Sitting up suddenly, he scolded Marissa as he had when she was small.
"Marissa this is far and away the most irresponsible thing I have ever even dreamed of you trying. Look at your mother! How dare you lie and shock us this way! There is no way this young man is an Autobot! That's impossible!"
Lady Jaye came slowly around, and stared about herself in dazed confusion.
"Mom, are you OK?" Marissa asked, choosing not to answer her father right away. She wanted to give them time to recover.
"And as for you young man, I don't know who you are but I'll see to it you are summarily demoted and..."
"With all due respect General Fairborne," Ultra Magnus said, rising to his full-human height. He nodded to himself when he saw that have its impact on Flint's expression and continued. "I am not in your jurisdiction to discipline in any manner whatsoever. As for my being a young man, I feel compelled to tell you I was a warrior and an officer in the Autobot ranks before your ancestor's discovered fire, and I am unaccustomed to being addressed in this manner." He stared Flint full in the face, not challengingly, but with the unbending assurance of military equals, which was, he felt, rather generous on his part. Lady Jaye gawked. She knew enough of body language to read absolute truth in Magnus' stance.
"He...he really is an Autobot..." she whispered.
"I don't believe it!" Flint said, although his voice lacked conviction.
Marissa stared hopelessly at Magnus. "You have to show them."
Magnus rolled his eyes her direction. "No I don't." Traveling to Med-Lab was NOT on his agenda for the morning.
"Yes. You do," Marissa said. Lady Jaye stared at her daughter. MAYBE this person WAS a millenias old robot soldier, but Marissa was certainly comfortable enough to give him orders.
"It will take a long time," Magnus said.
"You could try it Rodi's way," Marissa said soundlessly. She mouthed it clearly enough for Magnus to understand though.
"I...um...." Magnus stuttered, and then he thought about it. Rodimus had told him that the change would seem easier and easier with each transition, and it had. He had already relied on the capsule for far more many shifts than Rodimus had. Maybe......
"If I end up inside out on the rug, remember you told me to try this," Magnus told his mate, with a little amused affection.
"Be careful," she whispered, her eyes never leaving his. He stepped away from the couch into the open area of her living room which was designed to accommodate robotic guests. He tried to remember everything Rodimus had told him, and closed his eyes, imagining what it felt like to be...himself. There was a faint pain which dwindled rapidly, and convinced him nothing was happening. He was concentrating so hard that he missed the sound of shredding fabric and two faint screams. Still convinced it wasn't working, he opened his eyes and looked for Marissa. He was surprised not to find her right in front of him. Looking around, and not feeling the slightest bit strange, he finally found the floor...a few stories underneath him. Oh... Marissa had the proudest smile on her face, and he had no choice but to answer it.
Her parents, unfortunately, weren't celebrating his achievement in quite the same way. Lady Jaye was out cold again, and Flint was stammering incoherently.
"Can you come back down now?" Marissa asked. "I think it might be easier for them."
"You're never satisfied," Magnus grumbled. It hurt a lot more going back down to human form, and as the air hit his naked body, Magnus remembered Rodimus telling him to get one of the Maelstrom's morphing uniforms. Damn! Shouldn't have put that off! Lady Jaye awoke just in time to REALLY have something to scream about.
X
X
X
A few minutes later, Magnus was dressed again. He had chosen blue pants and a white shirt this time. Marissa sighed but said nothing. She had adroitly removed her parents to the kitchen while Magnus beat a hasty retreat for the bedroom.
"But what kind of relationship can you possibly have with him?" Lady Jaye was saying. She wasn't in tears, but her voice had a definite quaver to it.
"Mom, I love him. I really do. He's...he's very good to me." Magnus paused outside the kitchen door for a second. Maybe that was so, but he was still surprised by the amount of affection he heard in Marissa's voice when she said it.
"No!" Flint said. "This is impossible. I forbid you to see him again! We're taking you home. You have obviously lost your mind! For heaven's sake Marissa! We sent you here to learn more about the Autobots not become one of them!" Magnus nearly barreled through the door at that second, but he heard Marissa's no nonsense, no compromise tone when she answered and stopped short. He grinned. The woman was bringing out the big guns.
"I never asked your permission Dad." Captain Fairborne said. "It would be nice if you approved, but it won't stop me if you don't. I nearly lost him once already and it almost killed me. I vowed then I wouldn't give him up for anything, and each day that passes only convinces me more. I love him. I need him, and I fully intend to marry him and give him children if I can." She spoke with the same authority and determination which had seen her through the Decepticon wars, her initiation into the inner council, Unicron, and the traumatic weeks which had followed Unicron.
"MARRY!" Flint cried.
"CHILDREN?!" Lady Jaye shrieked.
"Children?" Magnus said, suddenly feeling very off-balance and upset again, and poking his head shyly through the door.
Marissa smiled at him. Why did all of this madness seem to make so much sense when she did that? She was sitting at the far end of the table from her parents, who looked at him as if he were a nightmare come to life. He went to stand behind Marissa, lending his full support to whatever nonsense she decided to proclaim. Children?
"And you!" Lady Jaye said suddenly, giving him a penetrating stare. (At least now he knew where Marissa had learned it.) "Do you seriously think that this is good for our daughter? Do you really think you are suited for each other? Or is this just some kind of brief fling in the backdrop of your immortal life? How can you love her? How can you really love her when she's so much younger than you?"
There was no lying to Lady Jaye, Magnus sensed, no more than there was lying to her daughter. That was fine though; in this matter he didn't need to lie.
"I take everything seriously Lady Fairborne, and I don't have flings. I've never lost my heart to anyone before. In fact, I had rather a reputation for not having one, the reason being that I have never met someone so well suited to me before. I have never met anyone as determined, disciplined, and mature as Marissa. I am finding, more and more these days, that maturity is a state of mind, not a count of years. I know Autobots centuries of years old who still haven't grown up. On the other hand, there are others, well, I know one Autobot who isn't even a century yet, but in a lot of ways he's the oldest person I know. It doesn't matter. What does matter is somewhere along the way, I lost my heart to your daughter and I need to be with her because I can't survive without it."
Lady Jaye stared into his sincere eyes and sat back. She studied her daughter for a second. Marissa was smiling up at Magnus, and there was no mistaking the look in her eyes - nor in Magnus' when he looked back down at her. Lady Jaye couldn't say she was delighted with all of this overwhelming news, but she was wise enough to know a hopeless battle when she saw it.
"OK," she said.
"WHAT! ALLISON!! WHAT WAS THAT?!" Flint shrieked.
"Dashiell Fairborne! Our daughter is in love! What exactly do you propose to do about it?!" Lady Jaye said with conviction.
Magnus couldn't help but smile. Feminine will-power was apparently a time-honored tradition in his beloved's family, as was male capitulation apparently.
Flint grumbled under his breath but subsided.
"You really love this...this...man?" he said suddenly to Marissa.
"Yes, Daddy. I really do." Marissa said calmly. She was smiling. She knew they'd already won.
"And you...Magnus. You love my daughter?" Flint said, not quite able to keep from sounding accusatory.
"You know I do," Magnus said.
"fine. whatever," Flint whispered, although they all heard him. "When's the wedding?" he suddenly said aloud.
"What?" Magnus said, taken off guard by the question.
"The wedding? When is it?"
"Uh...er...I...that is..." Magnus stammered.
"Daddy! We haven't set a date yet!" Marissa said, coming to Magnus' rescue yet again. "We just got engaged yesterday!"
"What?!" said Lady Jaye with a smile. "Why did you wait so long to tell us?"
They still had lots of questions of course, and were repeatedly frustrated when Marissa and Magnus couldn't answer them. Things like how could he become human, where had the technology come from, and were there other Autobots who could do the same thing? (Marissa fussed and fidgeted while they talked, and eventually she moved them back to the living room just to burn off some of her nerves. Lady Jaye liked the way Magnus squeezed her daughter's hand to help her stay calm. She also liked how it worked.)
"A lot of this information is classified General Fairborne," Magnus said.
"We both had access to extremely sensitive material when we were on active duty youn..er, Magnus," Flint said, insulted. "We can keep our mouths shut."
Magnus and Marissa exchanged glances. "It's not your mouths we are worried about," Marissa said. "It's telepathic scans and...other things. Besides neither of us are authorized to tell you."
Flint subsided. Telepaths he didn't worry about, (having never met one, he regarded them as mythological) but to him orders were orders and he wouldn't want his daughter to disobey them. He was still a bit surprised though that Magnus didn't have the authority to make that decision.
"I thought you were one of the top command staff," Flint said to him.
"I am," Magnus said, feeling no need to embellish.
They looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Fine. Whatever.
"I fill what is basically the second in command's position, but I'm now technically third since we now have two Primes to brighten our days."
"And you aren't authorized...."
"No. I'm not."
"Well," Lady Jaye said, a little surprised, and a little frightened. She looked at her daughter, wondering how Marissa had access to such information. Not that Lady Jaye didn't have complete faith in Marissa, but she was still only a Captain. Flint must have been having similar thoughts.
"You have access to things like that Marissa?" he asked.
Marissa thought briefly of all the insane things she had access to since the day Rodimus had called her into his office and dragged her into his little world of intrigue. How HAD she ended up in this shit anyway? A zombie CO. A schedule like a form of torture. Assignments that gave her nightmares. And a big grouchy Autobot for a boyfriend. She smiled to herself. The perks made it all worthwhile. She only nodded at her father. He seemed proud of her. Her mother looked worried though.
"But how Marissa? You're only a Captain!" Lady Jaye blurted. She seemed a little upset with herself for saying it, but there it was.
Magnus answered. "We Autobots do follow some of the military ranking system you are used to, Lady Fairborne, but when the situation calls for it we ignore such things in favor of ability, and as I said, there is no one quite like Marissa. We trust her with things that I would sooner step on her superiors before I told them."
Flint chuckled a little. "You're joking right?"
"No," said Magnus.
They stared at him. He stared back. They decided to drop it.
"What about children?" Lady Jaye asked, changing the subject to one she felt more personally about. "You can't tell me its possible...?"
"It's possible," Marissa said with a smile. She thought Edana was pretty amazing. "It's DEFINITELY possible." She noticed Magnus giving her a wide-eyed panicky stare. "We'll talk about it later," she told him quietly.
"Uh-huh!" he squeaked. Children?
Lady Jaye smiled. She was already getting to like the big lug. For all of his authoritative posturing, he also seemed genuinely attached to and respectful of Marissa, but that still didn't assuage all of Lady Jaye's concerns. Flint may have forgotten what had brought them here in the tide of shocking information, but Lady Jaye hadn't. Something had been very wrong with Marissa in the last few weeks, and Lady Jaye was determined to find out what. When she'd been an intelligence officer she'd never let herself get distracted from her mission and she wasn't about to start now. Marissa had lost weight, and she seemed very tired to her mother's critical eyes.
"Marissa let's leave the boys in here to get to know each other, I want to talk to you in the kitchen." She had to fight not to laugh again when both of their respective partners looked up in pleading desperation not to be abandoned.
"Mom?" Marissa asked.
"Please?" Lady Jaye asked, with a reassuring smile.
Marissa gave Magnus an apologetic glance and then followed her mother into the kitchen.
Magnus and Flint were left staring at each other uncomfortably.
"Mom?" Marissa said again when they were alone. "What's wrong?"
"Sit down Marissa," Lady Jaye said, for all that it was Marissa's kitchen. She took the seat next to her daughter and took her hand as well. "That's what I want to ask you. We came all the way from Earth because I could tell from your voice something was wrong. Can you tell me what it is? Will you tell me? Are you and Magnus having personal problems?"
"No. No Mom. It isn't Magnus. Well...it was, but not the way you mean." Marissa said. Lady Jaye did not like the way her daughter's eyes glazed over one little bit.
"What then?" Lady Jaye pressed.
"He...he was hurt." Marissa said quietly.
"You mentioned that earlier. Can you explain? I thought Autobots could just repair themselves," Lady Jaye said, "He seems OK now."
"They can...it wasn't that kind of injury," Marissa whispered. She sniffed.
"Well, can you tell me? Or is that classified too?"
"I...I can't tell you the specifics," Marissa said, privately doubting her mother would believe her even if she did. "It was...It was a telepathic invasion. It left him catatonic for weeks. He's only just come out of it."
"Oh Marissa. I'm so sorry! And we had to come barreling in just when you're trying to get things back to normal!"
Marissa sniffled again, and smiled wanly. "You could have waited. I had all these big plans for breaking all of this to you gently, and you laid them all to waste in one fell swoop."
"Well then I deserve all the grey hairs this day will surely bring don't I?"
"Mom, you're hair's already grey."
"Shut up insolent child. It will be greyer. He's OK now though isn't he? He seems fine."
"He will be fine. He's...he's strong," Marissa said quietly, glancing at the door. They could hear the television was on. Sounded like a football game.
"So I gathered." Lady Jaye said with a smile. "And what about you? Are you OK?" She brushed the hair back from Marissa's forehead.
"Oh, you know me. I'm always in control."
"Uh-huh," Lady Jaye said.
Marissa started crying. "It was just so hard Mom! I took care of him all those weeks! We turned him human so he could feel more and be with me and I tried and tried to bring him around. He wouldn't even look at me most of the time, and when he did it was worse because I could TELL he was hurting and and..." she sobbed incoherently for a second. "I thought I had lost him for good. I really did."
Lady Jaye gathered her daughter to her and held her while Marissa cried herself out. It felt good to Marissa to lean on someone else for once, and not have to rope the pain in.
"It must have been terrible for you," Lady Jaye whispered, patting Marissa's back.
Marissa nodded, and then rested her head sideways on her mother's shoulder. "I didn't want to lie to you Mom. I just...I just couldn't explain what was going on. I didn't have the strength. I was so tired. I still am. Emotionally AND physically. It was so hard to see him hurt and helpless that way, but it was also hard to just move him!"
"I can't even imagine how you did it," Lady Jaye said. "That's one big body. Nice. But big."
"MOM!" Marissa said.
"What? You don't agree?" Lady Jaye said with a leer as Marissa drew back to stare at her.
"Well, yes but...!"
Lady Jaye laughed, and got the smile she wanted from Marissa. The younger woman got up to blow her nose.
"He reminds me a lot of your father - the way he acts I mean."
"Don't say it," Marissa said.
"Well he does!" Lady Jaye exclaimed.
"I know. I just don't want you to say it. OK?" Marissa said. "It makes me worry I have some kind of complex."
Lady Jaye laughed. "Just remember, you said it! I didn't!"
Marissa scowled at her, and then into the Kleenex box. "Damn! Out of tissues again!" she muttered, reaching for a paper towel. "OW! My nose hurts."
"Been going through a lot of tissues these days, huh?" Lady Jaye asked compassionately.
Marissa nodded and honked her nose again.
"How DID you move him?"
"Well," Marissa said. "I couldn't have done it if he'd been a complete vegetable. He would follow me if I led him by the hand. He just wouldn't move if I let him go."
Lady Jaye stared at her, trying to imagine what her daughter had been through, and lost in admiration for her child's strength in enduring this. She also knew, in that instant, that if this relationship could survive this mess, it could probably survive anything. She smiled to herself, but she had one more question she felt the need to ask.
"Was he...um...was he incontinent?"
"MOTHER!"
Lady Jaye shrugged.
Marissa glared at her, but finally said, "No."
"Well then how...?"
Marissa looked down, smiled, and shook her head.
"Oh come on! You can tell your old mother," Lady Jaye said. She was now dying of curiosity.
"Well, you know that picture I have hanging in the bathroom....?"
Continued in Part B