Author's Note: Hello everyone, and welcome to my latest fanfiction, "To Build a Rocket". A few notes before we begin, first, this is the direct sequel to "Absurdity", HOWEVER, as you may notice, "Absurdity" is not complete yet. The reason why I am releasing the sequel before I complete the original story is primarily because I have had this idea in my head for the longest time and, really, the first story is on hiatus for the time being while I wrestle with writer's block and time management. The second reason I am writing this now rather than waiting is because this fanfiction pretty much stays entirely in a different fandom (at least past the prologue) than the previous fic (Transformers vs Marvel Cinematic Universe (Guardians of the Galaxy)) and does not require you to read the story prior at all to understand the plot. The main OC, Daniel Flynn's character is altered so drastically between the final (unwritten) events of "Absurdity" and the beginning of "To Build a Rocket" that you aren't missing a lot if you read the completed portions of "Absurdity" first, if Transformers: Prime fanfiction is your cup of tea. At any rate, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
OBLIGATORY WARNING: THIS FANFIC CONTAINS (VAGUE AND MOSTLY NON-GRAPHIC) DESCRIPTIONS OF SURGERIES AND OTHER PROCEDURES THAT, WHILE NECESSARY TO ADVANCE THE PLOT, MAY BE SOMEWHAT DISTURBING TO SOME READERS. IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO WARRANT AN "M" RATING, BUT REGARDLESS, READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
One more thing: I must give credit to The Sealer on with their Transformers: Prime fanfiction "All that Remains" for inspiration regarding the cyberformation of Earth. If you ever read this, The Sealer, do know that I really enjoyed your story and know that this is not a shameless rip-off of your work. Again, the involvement of the Transformers is directly limited to the prologue and the backstory (which all the details will be explained in the prologue for new readers to follow along). Anyway, I hope you enjoy my latest fanfiction, Thanks.
Oh, and Happy New Years!
"To Build a Rocket"
Chapter 1 – Prologue
Nnowhere was really not where Daniel wanted to be, in any situation. It wasn't that he felt threatened by the chaos that surrounded him, far from it. His Mark XI Combat Suit provided more than adequate protection from most weaponry that could be carried by a single person, at least if they didn't turn his own designs against him. The suit was white and grey when not in combat, comfortable to wear and looked somewhat intimidating on the exterior, though, it was mostly defensive in design. Magnetically attached to his back was his trusty PMR-5 Phase Rifle, a deadly weapon of his own design that few things could survive a bolt from.
The reason for Dan's visit to this backwater was to negotiate an arms sale with a potential client. Apparently, word had gotten out of his designs, causing his mailbox to be filled with requests for demonstrations. He wasn't particularly thrilled about having this kind of attention, he had just gotten off Thanos' radar and he didn't want to get back on. Suddenly, in the middle of the crowded road, he stopped dead in his tracks, his heart began to pound, vision beginning to blur. Terrifying images flew through his mind like asteroids. Taking a gasp for air, he refocused himself and regained awareness of his surroundings. He saw something blinking on his HUD, SIGNAL DETECTED.
Puzzled, Daniel queried, "computer, what signal has been detected?"
"The signal detected appears to be a CR-1 module," his helmet's masculine computer voice responded.
"That's impossible," Daniel argued, completely bewildered. "Check again, are you 100% positive of this?"
"Affirmative, based upon my databanks, this signal is distinctly a CR-1 module".
That would make sense, Daniel reasoned, the Cortical Relay Mk. 1 did emit a very distinct signal.
"Use the ship to triangulate its location and place it on the HUD map".
A blue dot appeared on the map of Knowhere on the top-left corner of his HUD. What used to be a brisk walk mutated into a sprint. Pushing aliens of all types out of his way, he was overlooking a large portion of the center area of Knowhere, just where the signal originated from. Finding a spot where no one could see him, Daniel zoomed in on his target.
It was a raccoon.
No… Daniel mentally denied, No… NO… THAT'S NOT FAIR. I purged the Halfworlder's computer system of all traces of my research. How does this EXIST!
Daniel continued to stare at the origin of the signal, is this why Thanos let me off the hook? Because he got what he wanted?
From that moment on, all forms of emotion except for unadulterated rage faded from his consciousness. "Computer, enable smart-scope". Immediately, a crosshair appeared dead center on his visor. He demagnetized the rifle on his back and lined it up with his helmet's visor. He disengaged the weapon's safeties and pressed a few buttons on the weapon's side.
POWER SETTING: 15, PATTERN: BEAM
He focused on his target once more, he does look an awful lot like… Rocket. He felt a wave of shame, depression and guiltiness even thinking of his name. However, he pulled himself together and ignored those thoughts, he's probably a clone of Rocket, sick bastards. He aimed his weapon, but, just before he thought of pulling the trigger, his mind forced him back to the moment when this all started.
[FLASHBACK]
It would be impossible for anyone to describe what exactly Daniel Flynn was feeling at that very moment. The best analogy would be the emotional equivalent of being physically knocked out, that feeling of being adrift, without the capability to reason or move or think. However, like being knocked out (under most circumstances), you wake up with a horrid physical pain, which is exactly what happened to Daniel a few seconds later. Despite it being a completely psychological phenomenon, Daniel felt like he had literally taken a bullet to his chest. He looked down, revealing his torso was indeed in tact physically. Why? How is this possible? What is happening? Daniel thought haphazardly, becoming nauseous in the process. He continued to be in this state for a few more minutes before finally, the new Earth came back into focus before him.
The once lush, green, dirt ball of a planet had become cold to the touch. The grass that once were forests to small insects and other organisms were transformed into smooth, polished silver-metallic plains with no detail whatsoever. The buildings that once were the hallmarks of humanity were transformed into large metal structures designed to accommodate their large, metal overlords. However, from the largest and most majestic birds of prey to the smallest rodent to the so called "tertiary predators", humans, were turned to stone. Well, technically that wasn't true, it was more of a grey concrete like material. Daniel was surrounded by these echoes of life in all directions.
Suddenly, his vision started to turn red. His hands, followed by his entire body trembled with red hot emotion. His lips quivered, tear drops falling to the cold, unforgiving metal planet that he once considered his home. He collapsed and put his hands over his head. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "FUCK… YOU… MEGATRON… YOU… MONSTER!"
In a flash, his red-hot anger built up to a point that he couldn't take any longer, so he pulled his plasma pistol and fired at the statues that were once people. The pistol was a metallic grey, not unlike the "Earth" Dan walked with glowing blue accents created by the unimaginably hot element inside. Stop, he thought with utter conviction, dropping the deadly weapon out of his hands, if humanity can't have the Earth, then neither can the Decepticons. Pushing the overbearing emotional pain aside, he picked up and holstered his weapon and walked away from the wreck of a robot suit behind him and began down the newly "cyberformed" street. He was wearing his tattered Mark VI combat suit (without its helmet) over top of his signature, white lab coat. His footsteps were the only sound that could be heard. Luckily, he had crash landed right by his house, which was just around the corner…
Bingo, Daniel thought, looking at most likely the only patch of dirt that was still in existence on Earth. On that circular patch of dirt was Daniel's house and laboratory, perhaps the last human structure still in existence… well, save for the International Space Station and its crew, who would die alone in the cold embrace of the cosmic vacuum when the food, water and power inevitably ran out. He stepped into the perimeter of the last known patch of dirt on Earth, noting the tingling sensation of passing through the energy shield that protected his home. As he approached the door, he unhooked a small tablet-like device from his armor's belt and scanned the area for any lifeforms. Dan knew that this was a near impossible long shot, but…
ONE LIFEFORM DETECTED, ORGANIC.
Dan's heart kicked into high gear once again, except this time, it was because excitement, joy, and hope flooded his thoughts. He barged through the door, calling out "hello! Is anyone there?"
Instead of a response, all Daniel heard was the echoes of his own voice reverberating throughout the building. Frowning, Daniel said, "computer, did anyone enter the house within the last hour?"
Dan heard a soft beep, indicating that his computer was processing his command. For a split second, he was convinced the computer would say yes and tell him that the person was hiding under the master bedroom bed or something like that. But instead, all he heard was the depressing sound of the word "negative".
Daniel's heard sank, he almost collapsed and leant on the wall for support. However, in a brief flash of hot rage, he threw the device that supposedly gave him false hope and stomped on it with his armored boot with such force that it nearly split in two. Once again, his vision was red, but, this time he knew what do with it. He coldly turned on his heel and entered his garage. It was full of vials and tubes, machines and whatnot that he used for his experiments. Yet, this was not where he kept the really dangerous (and cool) stuff. He walked to the other side of the room, revealing a hidden button behind a computer monitor. He pressed it, and immediately a small square section of floor in the center of the room slid away, revealing a secret basement accessible by ladder. As he climbed down, the harsh, LED lighting turned on around him, revealing many of Dan's inventions over the years. However, while most of the lab was completely pristine, one control panel in a lonely corner was completely covered in dust. He walked over to this panel and wiped the dust off with his glove. Immediately, the panel came to life. "Computer, confirm warhead type in the silo".
"50kg processed Tox-En warhead is not armed".
Tox-En was a chemical that was already utterly deadly to the beings that killed all life on Earth in its raw form, however, when processed correctly, it could kill with trace amounts. When he first learned of the of metal titans and this weakness, he devised this missile system in his backyard as a last resort measure, if they had invaded and were on the brink of winning, the warhead would be sent into the upper-atmosphere, making the entire planet uninhabitable to the titans for millennia. Still, their lifespans were still in the tens of millennia, but, at this point, Daniel thought of it as a giant middle finger to those who killed everyone who he held dear. "Computer, open the silo door".
"Command confirmed," the computer droned.
As he typed in the flight calculations into the main missile command terminal, he could hear the dull noise of the motor opening the door. The missile itself wasn't that large, only about a meter tall and about 500 centimeters wide, just bigger than most model rockets. However, due to Dan's patented ion-drive technology, the missile could achieve the performance of a ICBM. Finally, after imputing all the calculations, he pressed one of two big red buttons near the edge of the touch-panel labeled "ARM". The second his finger pressed the button, an almost obnoxiously loud siren began to whale, while red strobe lights were activated.
"Attention!" The computer announced, "primary defense systems armed and primed for launch! Clear the backyard! Repeat, clear the backyard! This is not a drill…"
Daniel took a deep breath, everything except his finger and the launch button faded from his reality. A small part of him wanted to abort, as a death from Tox-En exposure is painful at best, however, his vision turned red once again and the only phrase that came to mind was LET THEM BURN. Smirking, Daniel pressed the Red Button labeled FIRE.
But nothing happened.
He pulled himself back into reality when he realized that he did not hear the distinctive screech of ion engines powering on. Instead, all he heard was the computer complaining, "ERROR: Lifeform detected in the main silo. Safety protocols engaged, override available upon request". Then, the entire weapons system shutoff. Puzzled, Daniel climbed up the ladder and walked through his house through the backdoor into his backyard. He could see the open silo with the missile just sitting there, doing nothing. He grabbed a flashlight from his belt and shone it down the silo. He saw nothing and shrugged, must be a glitch, he thought before making his way back inside
Just before he was out of earshot, he heard a somewhat high pitch sound behind him. It wasn't a constant tone like a beep, rather, it was like an animal call. Dan stopped dead in his tracks and turned around slowly to face the small missile once again. "What the hell is going on?" Daniel thought aloud as he shone his flashlight down the silo again. He saw nothing, but, he heard the sound again. I think It's coming from under the missile!
Dan walked over to the backyard garden and overturned a small rock, revealing another hidden button. Like in the garage, a small square section of grass slid away, revealing a secret maintenance shaft for the silo. Dan climbed down the ladder into the cramped crawlspace and he shone his flashlight ahead. Just under the missile, two sets of reflective eyes stared back at him. Daniel crawled forward and asked softly, "what are you?" As he got closer, the creature's body came into view; it was a raccoon. "Hey there little guy," Daniel cooed, "you stuck?" Dan crawled closer to the animal, and it became clear that it was injured. He stopped, reached into his pockets and put on some gloves before grabbing the animal, just in case it was diseased in some way. The raccoon yelled at Dan as he carried him out of the tunnel. "Shh, it'll be okay little guy, I got you".
After a few minutes of careful maneuvering, Daniel managed to get the Raccoon out onto the surface. He placed the raccoon on a patch of grass and flipped him over (after a mild struggle) to examine his injury. On first glance, it appeared to only be a sprained paw, however, he reached for his sensor instrument, but remembered that he had smashed it earlier. Shit. He collected the raccoon once again in his arms and brought him into his garage laboratory. He set him on one of the lab benches and told him to "stay", although he really didn't have to, the raccoon did not seem like he wanted to move in the first place due to whatever injury he had. Climbing down into the basement, Daniel walked over to the missile terminal and pressed the ARM button once again. The sirens and strobe lights reactivated, scarring the little raccoon he brought in earlier. Dan knew this would happen, so he pressed the FIRE button immediately.
"Missile firing sequence initiated, ignition in 15… 14… 13…"
Daniel climbed up the ladder and scooped the raccoon back up in his arms, causing the animal to groan. "What should I call you, hmm?" He walked with the raccoon through the backdoor to watch the missile.
"5… 4…"
"You were found under a missile, so what about Missile? Do you like that name?" Daniel asked.
"2… 1… LAUNCH"
A deafening loud screech was heard for a fraction of a second as the missile darted out of the silo in a split second. Looking upward, he could briefly see the blue trail created by the ion thruster before it all vanished into thin air. He looked down to see the raccoon in his arms and looked into its dark chocolate eyes. "Missile the Raccoon doesn't really flow well, doesn't it?" Daniel pondered, looking to the raccoon for answers. Just before he settled for that name, a lightbulb flicked on in his head, "well, while this is technically incorrect, another name for a missile is rocket, isn't it?"
"Hmm, Rocket Raccoon sounds much nicer than Missile Raccoon, don't you agree?" Daniel asked. Even though he was only speaking to a Raccoon, something about how the creature looked at him made him believe that he liked the name.
"Alright, Rocket Racoon it is then!"
