I read...ALOT. Especially Alan Dean Foster's Transformers adaptation books -LOVE THEM!
I'm using elements of both to write "PLACE".
Longarm is in the books, not the movie (Boo).
And, yes, in the book, it talks about the Autobots eating metal and other such debris to replenish themselves.
So yeah, this is the start of the sequal to All That Jazz...for those who liked it...
:D
~Zex
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers (booboo)
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
PLACE
Chapter 1: A new place
Amy could feel Longarm watching her as she munched the handful of metal debris. It felt like eating potato chips, except it was metal, and Amy felt ridiculous. She inspected the next piece of metal as she chewed. Piece of a car fender, casing from a weapon, marking of a jet fighter...Amy brushed her hands together then set them in her lap.
"Better?" Longarm asked of the silent femme.
Amy made a noise like clearing her throat, but sounded like metal grinding, and wires crackling. She attempted to speak for the umpteenth time since sitting down with Longarm in the aircraft hangar, but as every time before – nothing came out.
"I apologize for Ratchet's absence. There was an emergency overseas, and the chief medical officer has gotten involved."
Amy felt eyes on her, and looked up at the raised catwalk of computers. Major Lennox leaned on the railing, watching the pair below. The femme raised a hand up, but not out, and waved it slightly.
Lennox acknowledged Amy's wave with an upward twitch of his fingers and hand.
"You'll have to excuse Major Lennox." Long arm said.
Amy lowered her head and her gaze back to the much larger mech sitting on a crate used for transporting aircraft parts. She tilted her head to try an convey the question she wanted to ask.
"The humans here, although somewhat accustomed to our presence, are still curious when an unfamiliar Autobot makes their way to Earth."
Amy started. Earth. She looked at her hands as she thought. If this was Earth, why had she never met this Autobot before? Longarm had mentioned something called Nest. Nest what? What did it stand for? Why were the Autobots involved? Which Autobots were involved?
"Blazer?" Longarm reached out, and grasped her small shoulder in his large hand.
Amy lifted her head. This was too strange. Lennox didn't know her, Longarm was unfamiliar to her. She prayed Ratchet could shed some light on the subject upon his return.
"Major, we have incoming." One of the soldiers called from his console. "It's the Autobots' C-17. We have their IDC."
"Give them clearance!" Lennox called over his shoulder then turned back to the burned-out looking bot sitting on the floor. "Longarm."
Amy jumped behind Longarm.
Lennox shrugged, and shook his head. "Okay, um you want me to make an announcement about her when they land?"
"No, thank you, Major. I think that would only agitate the situation.
Lennox raised an eyebrow at Longarm. Longarm shrugged, turned his head, and glanced at Amy with blue optics then turned to look back up at the human Major.
Major Lennox sighed, and shook his head as he walked away to do something.
Amy folded her arms. Maybe nothing. Maybe something was wrong with Amy.
Longarm started toward the hangar doors. Amy realized she was exposed to a few staring human, and scurried after Longarm. She didn't so much feel shy than completely awkward, and out of place. Amy had never seen a C-17 up close, let alone watched one land, so it was quite spectacular to watch such a large aircraft land with as much delicacy and control as an airliner, or commuter plane. The back hatch opened before the craft touched the ground, and Amy would have held her breath - had she any - but nothing fell out as she had thought it would.
Longarm had heard Amy gasp, and chuckled. "Strange, isn't it?"
Amy nodded.
"I'm not so curious about the C-17's landing procedures to inquire it of Major Lennox." Longarm shrugged as Amy tugged on his arm. He turned. "I would much prefer you to stand where I can see you."
Amy shook her head.
"You have nothing to fear from the Autobots. They will not hurt you, Blazer." Longarm reached an arm behind himself, and wrapped it around the hiding femme. He pushed her out from his shadow as the C-17 came to a stop some twenty-something meters away in its designated area.
Longarm turned to look at something, and Amy dashed behind him. Longarm sighed, turned, picked up the femme by her shoulders, and deposited her in front of him again.
Amy felt all exposed standing on the tarmac with no alt mode. She faced Longarm with a pleading purse of her lips.
The sound of a soft car engine made Amy turn. The car was sleek, and beautiful, but looked like it could open up its hood and eat you.
Amy watched it as it transformed. The mech that resulted had the same beautiful but dangerous body, and stared at Amy with intrigued blue optics. Amy's head reached about to his chest, and made her feel all the more dwarfed.
What? Amy thought. Why is he staring at me like that?
"Sideswipe, this is Blazer. She arrived early this evening." Longarm explained.
The silver mech nodded slowly once, but didn't speak.
"How is your arm since your battle in Egypt?" Longarm asked.
Sideswipe nodded again the same way, and did not speak.
Amy shifted under the silver mech's gaze. She looked at Longarm; the larger mech shrugged.
"Will our over-anxious human friends be staying with us before returning to America?" Longarm inquired, mostly to see if the mech would respond or not.
Sideswipe slowly approached Amy on his wheel feet. He started to reach out, but recoiled his hand, transformed, and peeled away.
Amy turned, and watched him leave then slowly looked up at Longarm.
Longarm gave a shrug. "Don't look at me, child. I could no sooner tell you your future."
Amy sighed, and shook her head. Wherever this place was, she felt she might have just acquired a stalker.
Longarm "introduced" Amy to Ratchet by taking her to the C-17. Ratchet sat inside, patching up Bumblebee's neck. He regarded Longarm without turning away from his work.
Big, black, and menacing approached Amy, and leaned over to inspect her face. "I don't recognize this bot." Ironhide raised a cannon-bearing arm.
"Easy, Ironhide." Optimus patted his friend on the shoulder. "Though I have to agree with him. This Cybertronian is unfamiliar to me."
Longarm looked at Amy. "Why don't you go make Bumblebee more comfortable? He knows what it's like to be absent a voice."
Amy considered the three tall mechs standing around her then nodded. Anything to get out of what she will forever think of as "the circle of doom".
As the femme hesitantly approached Bumblebee, Longarm turned to Optimus.
"I don't believe she is from Cybertron, sir."
Optimus raised an optic ridge, and glanced at the femme. She was small, and seemed naïve, though not being able to speak gave one that persona. The Autobot leader turned back to Longarm. "Decepticon?"
"No, sir. She isn't a design I recognize. No Autobot or Decepticon looks the way she does." Longarm folded his arms. "She can not speak, otherwise I would ask her where she came from."
"Was there an atmospheric disturbance?" Ironhide asked. "The entry into the atmosphere must have set off the Nest sensors."
"We had no early warning. The only reason we knew Blazer was out there at all was because she fell right into our laps." Long arm turned, and pointed to the beach outside the tarmac. "There, as a matter of fact. She landed abruptly, and looks like she has been through some kind of battle."
"But that isn't what worries you." Optimus said matter-of-factly.
Ironhide nodded. "I can smell the Takion radiation on her; with that much roaming through her systems, she should be offline."
It was several megacycles of silence as Amy sat near Bumblebee, and watched Ratchet work on his vocal processors.
"So, what's your story?" Ratchet finally asked as he continued to mend Bumblebee's throat.
The blue femme blinked her optic casings, and her vents make a sighing sound.
Ratchet didn't ask again, just figured the femme was too shy, or too stubborn to reply. He did, however take a bioscan of the femme when she looked away for a moment. She looked back quickly, but it was plenty of time to scan her.
The CMO narrowed his blue optics, his gaze briefly meeting Bumblebee's. -You can feel it, can't you?-
The voiceless yellow mech nodded slowly. -Takions.- The mech texted to Ratchet.
Ratchet gave a twitch of his head as an acknowledging nod.
Amy rubbed the bridge of her nose, and sighed. I wonder what they're talking about. I can hear the buzz of intercom channels - though I didn't notice it until Bumblebee pointed it out to me that day. She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling of the C-17. I wonder what he's doing right now.
Ratchet checked Amy over, and made a molehill out of the mountain Amy thought her lost voice had been.
"Alright, you should be able to talk now." Ratchet's arm transformed from the medilaser to his hand again.
"Thank you." The femme smiled.
Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "Don't thank me yet." He stood, and walked toward the aircraft's exit. "We have to find you a native vehicle to scan."
Amy shifted her feet then stood up, and trotted after Ratchet. The medic stopped abruptly, and the petite femme bumped into his back.
Ratchet turned. "What?" He stared down at the femme.
Amy looked up at him, rubbing her nose. "Your butt is really hard, do you know that?"
Ratchet glanced in the general direction of his rear then looked back at Amy. "I don't have time for this."
Amy opened her mouth to say something then closed it, and folded her arms.
"A wise move if I ever saw one." Longarm chuckled.
The femme turned green optics on the tall mech.
Longarm winked. "He'll warm up to you - youngbots are his weakness."
Amy lowered her gaze.
"Has Ratchet repaired your vocalizer?" Longarm started toward the nearest hangar.
"Yes." The femme said softly as she had to nearly jog to keep up with Longarm's long stride.
Longarm paused so Amy could catch up, and even let her go a few strides ahead of him. "Excellent," He smiled. "Perhaps now you would care to tell us your story."
Amy paused, and hesitated. "Well..."
Longarm knelt in front of the smaller bot. "We are all very curious as to where your abundance of takion radiation originates from."
the femme turned her head up to Longarm, and raised her right optic ridge. "My what?"
A minute or so later, Amy stood in front of a screen depicting Ratchet's scan of her.
"This here is a thermal bioscan I took of you, Blazer" Ratchet said.
Amy nodded slowly. "Okay."
Bumblebee sat on a crate near Amy. He turned, and looked at Ratchet. -I believe humans would say "speak English".- The yellow mech teased on his wide-band text.
Ratchet frowned. "I suppose you don't want your vocalizer repaired then, Bumblebee?"
Amy stifled a snicker.
"Something to add, Blazer, or shall I continue?" Ratchet folded his arms.
Amy nodded with her hand over her mouth. "Continue."
"As I was saying. This bioscan depicts thermal readings any scan would on any orgnism Cybertron or Organic; the colorless point being the hottest part of the body."
"In this case, the spark." Jolt added.
the picture blacked out save for what looked like millions of red particles floating around the scan against a silhouette of Amy sitting as she had been on the C-17.
"Looks like dust." Lennox said.
"A good guess, Major. They are particles of takion radiation." Ratchet informed.
Epps uncrossed his eyes, and sat up. "What radiation?"
"Takion." Ironhide said, knowing the medic did not like to repeat himself.
Ratchet continued. "It is a form of energy that - according to Cybertron scientists - is associated with inter-dimensional travel."
Lennox slowly shook his head. "So, that means."
"Such radiation," Optimus interjected. "Has a very high concentration count. It would take a force equal to one hundred thousand atomic bombs to create such an energy."
"So, somebody gotta blow up somethin' really big to make this stuff?" Epps eyes grew wide. "The hell did little miss robot do? Blow up a planet?"
"Impossible." Sideswipe said. "No Autobot would be that brash."
"How about if it was going to eat Cybertron?" Amy stood up.
The room went silent as all organic eyes and robotic optics turned to the femme.
Amy wished she would shrink, but knew that would get her nowhere. "It was, you know, and it wouldn't have stopped there."
Lennox snorted. "Planets don't eat each other." There was no counter argument, or agreement. "Do they?" His voice rose slightly in pitch.
"Y'know ah wead thith thtowy once that thaid thith pwanet thang ate the fouw moons of Nebulon!" Mudflap boasted.
"The hell you takin' 'bout you stupid ass?" Skids punched his twin's arm.
"Ith twue, yo!" Mudflap shoved Skids.
"Nuh-uh, dumbass! You didn' hear nothin' like dat!" Skids pushed Mudflap to the ground, and wrestled him, both swining arms, and nailing punches to the other.
Amy watched unblinking as they fought. Behind her, Bumblebee sighed, walked toward them, grabbed one, and then the other.
"Ah, Bumbowbee!" Mudflap flailed.
Amy gasped. She didn't hear what came next, just had a flash of Bebop saying the same name. Bumbowobee.
Bumblebee smashed the twins together, and growled at them.
"Bwing it on, Bumbowbee!" Mudflap shook his fists at the mech.
"Is on now, bitch!" Skids flailed.
"Get them out of here!" Ironhide roared.
"Cut it out, you guys!" Lennox shouted.
Amy stood up, stormed toward the squabbling pair. There was only one way to settle this.
"This is ridiculous." Ratchet shook his head, ready to give up on the lecture. So what if the world collapsed? They'd all be sorry they didn't listen then.
Amy grabbed Skids from Bumblebee with no resistance. "You, sit here!" She shoved Skids down next to Ironhide's leg.
The black mech grumbled something.
"I don't gotta stay here, bitch!" Skids huffed.
"Amy leaned over toward the young mech. Call me that again, and you'll be sitting here in pain. move, and he's going to step on you." She pointed up at Ironhide, who replied with a vicious smirk. "Test him, I dare you." Amy walked back to Bumblebee.
Skids looked up at Ironhide. The black mech leered at the young green mech.
"Excuse me." Amy took Mudflap from Bumblebee's remaining hand, and held him by one head fin. "Walk."
"Ow, weggo ah me, ah, Ow!" Mudflap whined.
Jolt hopped out of Amy's way as she passed with the small red mech.
"Sit." Amy pushed the mech down behind a crate. "Don't talk, don't look at him, and if you move, I will shoot you."
Mudflap stared with unevenly sized optics.
Amy sat down on the crate Mudflap sat next to, and folded her arms.
Amy nodded to Ratchet. "Continue, please."
"Er...yes." Ratchet made a noise like clearing his throat - an action he picked up from their human companions.
The conversation came down to this. Amy explained about Unicron several times, though none of the Autobots or humans seemed to believe her by the end of the day. It was, however determined that "Blazer's" claims of Unicron would explain the obvious existence of takions around the femme. If she truly was from another dimension as she claimed, then the Autobots had far bigger worries on their hands than Decepticons and Energon at the moment.