Gotta Be Somebody

Summary: She was a marine for gods sake! So then why did she feel like crying? Perhaps it wasn't true what they said about marines. Perhaps not all of them are invincible. Maybe some do break and fall. Or perhaps she had it tougher than the rest of her team. With insufferable twins making her the primary target of their pranks what else was she supposed to do besides cry?

Rating: M+ (anything that falls into that + section will be posted on AO3)

Pairing(s): Sunstreaker/O.C./Sideswipe

Chapter One: Marine's Don't Roll On Their Comrades (No Matter How Pissy They Are)

Deep breaths, a girl reminded herself as she lifted the sniper scope up to point towards her target. The sable rounds were exchanged out for practice rounds to keep her top of the line skill up to par. Breathe in and- she screeched in surprise and the chilly feeling that coated her body forcing her heavy cammies to stick to her and weigh double. Sputtering out as much water as she could she looked around and saw the streaks of red and yellow retreating. Shivers racked her and she regretted choosing this time of night to practice. While yes it was quieter and gave her more opportunity to focus, the desert still got freezing over night.

Picking her gun up she grimaces as water poured out of it. Damn, there went her paycheck. Sloshing her way to report to Captain Lennox only after unloading her gun she saw that most of the Cybertronians were still awake and they obviously heard her wet steps for they all looked at her and watched her go. Several gave her pitied looks but she held her head high and ignored them. She was a marine after all, and Marines were never dissuaded by menial things like nearly drowning under fifty gallons of water.

With her jaw clenched tight she knocked on Captain Lennox's office door. When he opened the door she saluted him, "Sir, if I may have a word with you, Sir." She said in the way she had been taught. While here on this base they were more slack about things as this ans she needed not stand as rigid or keep her eyes forward she still did. Training had beat this into her.

"Lieutenant Corporal Mitchel?" Captain Lennox said in surprise. He was not really shocked about her late night visit due to having requested (ten minutes ago) to train late, but the pullde of water that was forming below and around her got him. What had she been doing? Did she dive into the pool for water training?

"Sir, I regret to inform that I destroyed a rifle, sir!" She was being way too formal for this time of night.

"At ease soldier. What happened?" With his order to relax she did, in a way that marines did. Still standing with he back straight she dropped her hand and looked at him.

"I made the mistake of going swimming with my gun, sir. Appropriate actions should be taken." She was more than ready to do laps and be sent to do extra work. After a year at this base she still could not fully relax or get used to the way somethings were done.

"Swimming? Really?" Captain Lennox said doubtfully. "Are you sure a certain two Lamborghini's had nothing to do with it?" He looked passed her at the two said mech's who grimaced and eyed Ironhide warily. The black weapon's specialist had been wanting a reason to punish the two sing the pink polka-dot incident a week ago.

"Sir, yes, sir!" She stood at attention again and, "I thought it would be nice to go for a swim, sir." A marine never rolled on a comrade no matter how irritating and pissy the others were. William Lennox looked the young marine over. She was barely within the requirements seeing as her height was at the lowest it could be at five foot three and her weight barely peeked minimum too at one ten. Her red hair had natural dark highlights and her hard brown orbs were flecked with blue.

"You thought swimming, with your weapon, would be a good idea?" She replied with the automatic 'Sir, yes, sir!' then he continued, "just like you thought shaving bald while you slept would be a good idea? Or dying your own skin blue was smart too? Even painting Ironhide with pink spots and covering yourself in the incriminating paint?" He knew. Every bot knew. Most every soldier knew. But she was a marine.

"Sir yes sir!" She yelled out.

And marines don't roll on their comrades.

.~:*:~.

Kneeling in front of another soldier Lieutenant Corporal Jayden Ashton Mitchel was awaiting their next instructed move. Training was as grueling as ever with Ironhide yelling out orders of what to do if the cons had human allies or holoforms active. Her partner was a large navy seal man who had looked her over with disgust. He had even muttered about something she had to bite her tongue at to keep from lashing out, "always knew the Marines were for pussy's. Hell they even let them in, as weak as they are."

"Switch!" Ironhide yelled out as she landed on her back, hard, due to the seal. "Now those of you that had been labeled as Con allies are to do as the bot allies had. Let's see who had been paying attention. First to successfully do all of the moves I had ordered will be released from training." Jayden got into position and awaited for him to give the order. "Attack!"

Attack she did. Ruthlessly, as if the seal really was a con ally, she went through the entire maneuver and missed not a beat. Upon finishing she stood up straight and saluted Ironhide. He was unsurprised that she had been the only one to get it correct. She did most times. But unlike most times she chose to leave this training session.

Normally a dedicated soldier she stayed for an entire training session and took and gave as good as she got. The only time she had chosen to leave before was when she had successfully completed a maneuver he had showed them her partner, angered, attacked her. Had Ironhide not ordered her to go to Ratchet for the obviously dislocated shoulder she would have stayed. He wondered why she had left this time. Something was different about her. Perhaps it was the lack of light in her eyes.

The doors had just closed before she stalked back in and headed to the opposite direction. The showers awaited her now as she dripped lime green paint across the bunker room. Jayden's hands were fisted and she shook with the amount of anger flowing through her. The showers door closed behind her and Ironhide yelled out "Lieutenant-!" But he was too late and the holoform of Sideswipe fizzed out of existence and Jayden reentered the bunker room.

Her white teeth (though they had a slight green hue) were barred and while the green of her skin and clothes was less noticeable white feathers flowed about her. Her steps were hash and not one of the soldiers in the training area dared say anything to the absolutely fuming girl. As much as some of them enjoyed the pranks she ended up being the target of they dared not say anything because they knew that she was at the top of the class.

It would be an utter embarrassment for any of them to get their asses handed to them by a short, nearly bald, green girl covered in feathers. She stalked to the door and and Ironhide told the soldiers to get back to work while he transformed down, activated his holoform and followed after the girl. He would bare witness to her finally giving the twins up and he would enjoy handing the two afts over to Prowl.

"Lieutenant Corporal Mitchel," Sargent Epps said in shock. Reaching out he grabbed a feather that was stuck to her nose.

"Let me guess," Captain Lennox said dryly, "You thought it was a good idea to swim in three gallons of our missing paint, tear open a shipment of missing pillows and cover yourself in them?" He wished this girl would just turn the twins in already and they could punish the two and finish with it.

"Sir," She ground out not moving her tightly clenched jaw. Was she going to turn them in this time? "Yes, sir." Her arm stained to move to her head and she winced. "Permission to seek Ratchets attentions? The paint is apparently fast dry acrylic." Unbending her arm he noticed how the paint had dried to itself and torn her cammies. He winced figuring that while her jaw was clenched in anger it was also clenched in pain and unwillingness to move it and cause more pain.

"Granted. Sargent Epps, would be willing to escort the Lieutenant Corporal to Ratchet and make sure she... doesn't have any other good ideas?" Epps gave his friend a lazy salute and began to walk with Jayden to Ratchet. She was having trouble moving for her pants had for the most part dried. "Ironhide?"

"It was those fragging twins, and I know it! If she doesn't turn on them soon they will forever torment her." He grumbled gruffly though his eyes went misty like as he used his other form you yell at the soldiers for starting to get lazy. "Optimus is beginning to believe its time to take action against the two and throw them in the brig with or without her telling us who it is tormenting her."

"'Wasn't it you that had been happy they had begun to harass her?"

"Primus, Will. That was nine months ago when they first started to. I never thought it would go on for this long. I figured one or two pranks later they would either get bored or she would tell us and we'd take action." He ran a hand through his holoforms hair, a habit he had picked up from Will's wife, Sarah, whenever he was visiting Anna.

"I wonder how much longer she can go before she tells us it's them." Will muttered. Any other soldier had told him that the twins were doing shit but not this girl. Even several other marines who had held out for one or two pranks had in the end told the truth to it. Before either could utter a word Epps came back in with sparkles coating him.

"The twins." He growled out. Even if Jayden wouldn't flip on the terrible twins he would. Ironhide let a grin split his face before dissolving and telling the soldiers they were dismissed from training. He had a set of twins that needed their helms bashed together before getting brig time. He passed by the medbay and decided to warn Ratchet that the twins might have a few dents he needed to bang out. A pained sound came from within and when he found Jayden he winced. She was nearly naked and Ratchets holoform was plucking the feather's off of her face. The bright red of blood made his own energon boil. Those twins were going to be fragged.

"If it's about those two fraggin twins I don't want to hear it. Let them suffer from a few menial dents in the brig." The CMO (Combat Medical Officer) growled out as he plucked another feather and Jayden began to bleed more, oddly the sparkles that made her appear many different colors made it look twice as gruesome. She still had about twenty stuck in her hair and half of her face still.

"Good," Ironhide almost purred. He was going to give them more than just a few dents and scratches.

The sound of clanging, yells, and a few cannon blasts reached the medbay making Jayden jump in surprise, were they under attack?

Ironhide, having managed to dent the twins, destroy their pant jobs and blacken them with fire that nearly hit them was finally satisfied and brought the two to the brig. Prowl was sitting there calm and enjoying a moment of peace. But upon seeing the nearly unrecognizable of the twins his mood got even better. "She finally tell on them?" He asked way too happy for the logical Prowl everyone knew. Everyone was also hoping that the human femme marine would roll on these two soon.

"No. They accidentally got Epps on a joke meant for her. Though she too was as sparkly as Epps was when I saw her. He ratted them out. Ratchet says the Lieutenant Corporal claims to have no idea how the sparkles came about. The Femme still refuses to say anything about these two fraggers getting her."

"Hmm," Prowl suddenly looked normal and not as hopeful as before. He was calculating something, "at least if she's ever taken prisoner by the cons we don't have to worry about her subcoming to their torture tactics and telling anything. If she can last this long with nearly daily pranks from these two," He grabbed the whining twins and tossed them into separate brigs, much to their displeasure, "she surely can survive their torture without saying anything. She'll either escape, a two percent possibility, get rescued by by us, a nineteen percent possibility, or die, a seventy-nine percent possibility, first."

Ironhide grimaced, just thinking of the torture methods the cons had. That and the fact that with Prowls ability to think these things through he was more than likely right. If she could make it close to a human year dealing with the pranks of these two she would never give up words about them to the cons.