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Future Imperfect

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"...Left...okay, now ease up on the brakes a little bit...Good,good..."

The car responded, taking the left turn at the intersection, and then cruising down the road a little below the speed limit. Miko let out a slow breath. "How am I doing?"

"So far? Pretty good for your first time...okay, now turn right here..."

It was a sunny Saturday morning in Jasper, Nevada; for once, the ever present fireball that was the sun had toned down somewhat, and a cool breeze was blowing. Perfect conditions for a drive around town.

Jack watched closely, as Miko tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Her face was set in a grim glare of concentration as she maneuvered the white sedan down the mercifully empty street. The vehicle was making relatively slow progress, but Jack wasn't complaining; the slower it was the safer. And besides, how else was he supposed to teach Miko how to drive?

"Okay, brakes..." The sedan slowed to a halt at a red light and Jack smiled as Miko let out a short breath of satisfaction. "Try not to be so tense about it," he said, "You have to think of the car as an extension of your own body."

Miko snorted. "Yeah, a body that has an engine and four freakin' wheels..."

"It's really not that hard...Umm...You know what? Let's just think of it as taking control of a...er," Jack fumbled for a second, before he sighed, "...what are those robots called again?"

Miko smirked. "Gundams...they're called Gundams."

"Yeah, those things. It's really not all that different when you think about it."

Miko rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll try...By the way, you sure your mom's cool about letting me use her car for driving lessons?"

"Sure she is, don't worry about it...," said Jack, as he adjusted his seat belt. It wasn't due to road safety regulations that he wore the belt, but rather for the sake of today's lesson. It was Miko at the wheel, after all. "You wanna head back to base? Raf's gonna be back."

"He is? I thought he was at home boosting his grades."

"I guess he pulled some strings with his mom...I don't know...Hey, you want me to take the wheel?"

Miko sighed. "Yeah, sure..."

Jack and Miko unclipped their seatbelts, popped open the doors, and quickly exchanged seats. Miko being Miko, plopped herself into the passenger seat, and put her feet up on the dash, not caring that her boots might scuff the material. Jack shook his head at the sight, and buckled in. "You know, in some cultures, it's considered impolite to display the soles of your feet like that..."

Miko let out a derisive noise. "Screw that; I can put up my feet wherever I want, whenever I want..."

The traffic light switched to green, and Jack hit the accelerator. "You really think so? 'Cause last time I-"

SCREE-E-E-ECH!

"SON OF A BITCH!" screamed Miko as Jack suddenly hit the brakes, jerking the both of them forwards. Jack went wide-eyed from the shock, and had to take deep breaths to calm his jack-hammering heart. It was fortunate that the seat belts prevented Jack and Miko from being thrown head-first through the windshield. It was also fortunate that Jack had hit the brakes so fast, otherwise the sleek, black car would have totaled the sedan. A sleek black car with flame decos. Familiar?

Vince glared at the two out of his open window, his eyes narrowed in his usual arrogant glare. "The hell's wrong with you, Darby?!" he snarled, "What? You gone brain dead or something?"

Jack groaned; this was supposed to be a perfect day...

Miko rolled down the window, and stuck her head out, yelling, "Right of way, Vince! We were here first, so move your ass!"

Vince took one look at Miko and snorted in laughter. "You're with the Nakadai freak?! Christ, Darby, you must be desperate..."

"Oh, boy, he shouldn't have said that," muttered Jack, as Miko, her teeth bared in fury, quickly unclipped her seat belt. Jack, needless to say, began doing the same. The last thing he wanted was to have an all-out brawl in the middle of the street and have someone get a nosebleed. After all, it was just Jack's nature to make sure that nobody hurt themselves. And Miko? Well, Miko was just being Miko; maybe it was sheer courage that drove her, or maybe it was sheer stupidity...or maybe it was a bit of both, who knew?

Miko popped open her door, and before Jack knew it, she was marching down the street. "You want your ass kicked, asshole? Happy to oblige!"

Vince was laughing now. "Oh, this I gotta see. What're you gonna do? Go all samurai on me? What, you're gonna stuff my ass with spring rolls 'n' noodles?"

"Don't tempt me...," growled Miko, as she cracked her knuckles.

Jack jogged towards Miko and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Miko, let it go; he isn't worth it..."

"I'm not going anywhere! Not until I beat the shit out of him so bad, he won't even lay his ass down in that shitty car of his!"

Vince's smug grin turned into a glare. He could handle insults, yes, but not insults to his pride and joy. "You got a problem with my car, bitch?

"Yeah, maybe I do," growled Miko, "What's with that thing anyway? You overcompensating for something?"

"Shouldn't have said that either," groaned Jack, as Vince threw open the car's door and stepped onto the tarmac. The red-headed delinquint had produced a steel tire iron from God-knows-where, and was slowly advacing towards the two.

"You know," he snarled, "A lot of people say it ain't right to beat the crap out of a girl...but I'm willing to make an exception..."

Miko narrowed her eyes. "Oh yeah?! Well...You're...You're a Republican!"

The sheer absurdity of the insult made Jack stop and stare at Miko. Even Vince paused and cocked his head to one side with a dumbfounded expression.

That was all Smokescreen needed. With a roar of his engine, the sports car rocketed down the same street Vince had been cruising earlier in a blur of blue and white. Vince, caught completely off guard, turned around rapidly, just in time to see the top of the line vehicle scrape off a good portion of paint and completely remove the driver's side door, which Vince had left open. Said door detached with a loud, painful screech, and landed a few feet away, causing Vince's jaw to drop open.

Smokescreen rolled down his window, and his holoform, a blond white male with his hair in a pony tail, gave a cheeky grin. "Whoopsies!" he tittered, in mock sincerity. "My bad! Sorry 'bout that, bro!"

And with that, he rolled up the window and drove off with a screech of rubber, leaving Vince to gape at the damage done to his precious car. "Whu...What the hell?...," he croaked, in a hoarse whisper.

Miko, on the other hand, was laughing. "Yea-ha-ha, fuck you too, buddy!"

Jack grabbed her arm. "Come on, Miko, time to go," he said, although he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Vince's car. To be honest, he felt somewhat guilty. But then again, seeing Vince's face was probably a teensy weensy bit satisfying.

Probably.

The two quickly ran back to the white sedan, and threw open the doors. "See, this is why we keep you away from politics," said Jack, as he buckled in and gunned the accelerator.

"Hey, you can't blame me," shot back Miko, "And who says I can't back up the Obama Administration?! Democrats all the way, bitches!"

Jack simply rolled his eyes in response, but otherwise kep his eyes on the road. The sedan quickly took a left turn, and headed down the road leading out of Jasper, just in time for Smokescreen to draw up beside them. The sports car came closer, and Smokescreen's voice drifted through the sedan's radio. "Hello, ladies," he chortled, "And how are you today?"

"How am I?!" exclaimed Miko, "Hell, I feel awesome! Dang it, 'Screen, you kick ass!"

"I know," said the cocky young mech. "You okay, Jack?"

Jack shifted his grip on the steering wheel. "Well, he is a jerk...And Arcee might not be very happy about it..."

"But it was sooo worth it!" laughed Miko. "Did you see the look on his face?! That's what happens to douchebags like Vince! You get sucker punched by 'Screen!"

"Hopefully, not literally," mumbled Jack, as the familiar shape of Autobot Outpost Omega One came into view. As they drew closer, the concealed doors rumbled open, allowing them access to the entrance tunnel. Both vehicles shot through, and then entered the base's main hangar. Timing it just right, Jack hit the brakes, and the sedan came to a stop directly on top of the Autobot logo on the floor.

"Aww, you beat me to it," said Smokescreen, as he too drew to a halt. The sports car's frame vibrated for a second, before it exploded and rearranged itself into his bipedal form.

Ratchet, who was occupied with the Ground Bridge terminal looked up and grumbled under his breath. "Oh, it's you again..."

"In the alloy, Ratch, in the alloy," said the grinning Smokescreen.

"So," said Miko, as she hopped out, "What's it gonna be? Borderlands, or Bulletstorm?"

Jack shrugged, as he slammed the door closed. "Ehh...I dunno...Maybe Battlefield?"

"Battlefield it is!" chirped Miko, as she scampered up the stairs towards their living area to fire up the PlayStation 3.

"Oh no," groaned Ratchet, as his optics fell upon the gaming console's start up screen. "I'm busy running calibrations on the Ground Bridge, and then you start playing those infernal videogames again! They'll be the end of me at this rate!"

"Hey, Ratch," greeted Jack, the better to distract the medic from Miko, "Where's Arcee?"

The medic harrumphed, and bent back down to his work. "She's out on patrol with the others...I expect she will return soon."

"Oh...okay..."

"Ooh, is that Battlefield?" said Smokescreen, leaning forward for a better look. "Looks pretty cool...So how do I play?"

Miko grinned. "Just grab the 'bot sized controller, and I'll teach you how! It's easy the longer you play..."

"Sweet!" grinned Smokescreen, as he flipped open the container, and untangled the wires around the specially re-sized PlayStation controller. "Hey, Jack, you want in on this?"

Jack smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "No thanks, Smoke; I'll just sit out the first round."

"Ehh...suit yourself..."

Jack sighed, as he flopped into the arm chair. Miko and Smokescreen were playing a split screen match, and the two had teamed up against a band of enemies. Jack watched, amused, as Miko demonstrated the use of the controller's various buttons and functions, as well as showing the young mech how to navigate the menus and options screens.

"No, not like that, like this..."

"Am I doing this right?"

"Yes! You're getting the hang of this pretty fast..."

Ratchet shook his helm and grumbled something under his breath, before detaching himself from the Ground Bridge controls and heading out of the main bay. "I'll be back with more tools," he said, "Don't. Touch. Anything."

Jack watched the medic leave, and then turned his attention back to the game. Miko and Smokescreen were in the process of tearing up the multiplayer match; there was the chattering of gunfire, followed by an explosion, followed by an enemy's agonised scream. Jack winced. "Crotch-shot, Miko? Really?"

"Hey, I'd do it in real life if I wanted to...," she replied.

Jack rolled his eyes, and was about to lecture Miko on the importance of videogame etiquette and decency, when his phone rang. Jack sighed, and drew out his cellphone. He flipped open the screen, and was surprised to find his mother's caller ID. Excusing himself, Jack jogged down the steps to the hangar floor, and hit the button. "Hey, mom, it's me..."

"Hi, Jack," said June's voice. In the background, Jack could discern the sounds of people and activity, as well as the beeps associated with a check out counter. "Listen, would you do me a favor? I've got some groceries that need picking up, and I was wonderng if you could bring the car over to the store..."

"Well...," said Jack, as his eyes drifted over to the sedan, and then to the Ground Bridge console. He smiled as he came to his conclusion, in a rare case of uncharacteristic laziness. "Actually, why don't we Bridge it home?"

He could sense his mother's hesitation, as she replied. "Oh...I don't know, Jack...I mean, what if Ratchet says something?"

"Hey, he's cool with it. I mean, it's not like Miko's fiddling around with it, right?"

"I heard that!" called the girl's voice. For good measure, a discarded magazine sailed over the railing, and clonked Jack on the head. He rubbed his head in mock pain.

"Just wheel the cart into the alley next to that drug store, mom. I'll take care of the rest..."

"Uhh...Okay...," said June. Jack could hear the clattering and squeaking of the shopping cart, as June navigated the contraption. "Are you sure about this?"

"Sure I am! I mean what could go wrong? It's fast, it's convenient, and hey, I could Bridge you back home if you want to..."

His mother gave a short laugh. "Well, carrying all this stuff would make me late..."

"Just give me a second, and I'll fire up the Bridge. I'll see you in a minute..." Jack disconnected the line, as he took the stairs two at a time. He passed the living area, where Miko and Smokescreen's pitched battle was reaching epic proportions, and woke up the human sized console; the screen saver winked off, replaced by a Ground Bridge control window. He input the necessary commands, and hit the icon for the Ground Bridge trigger. The green vortex sprang to life, and Jack hurried down the steps.

"Be right back, guys!" he called over his shoulder, as he drew closer to the Bridge.

That was when Ratchet entered the main bay. The medic's seemingly permanent scowl gave way to a rather feminine shriek when he saw the Brodge vortex, and the box of tools he'd been carrying hit the ground, scattering their contents across the floor.

"Jackson, NOOO! I haven't finished my calibrations!"

Jack paused, just a few feet short of the portal, and he faced the medic, a confused frown on his face. "What is it-"

And then the Bridge changed. Jack whipped around in alarm, and watched, transfixed, as the vortex spun faster and faster, kicking up a wind that blew Jack's hair and smacked across his face. The warm, emerald green color soon dimmed to a foreboding indigo, and electricity crackled at the edges of the portal like angry serpents. A loud humming sound filled the air, so loud, that Jack could do nothing but grit his teeth and clutch at his ears. He was dimly aware of Miko shouting something, and the sound of Ratchet yelling something about stabilization, but Jack was too focused on the malfunctioning Bridge to notice.

With a strained grunt, Jack attempted to move his feet. But it seemed the Bridge had other ideas; with a burst of light, the dark vortex suddenly enveloped Jack, plunging him into an inky blackness. He could feel himself being squeezed and stretched painfully from all sides, and he realized that he couldn't breathe. He was aware that that he was tumbling, being jostled about, and falling, falling, falling, and then his body erupted in pain as it impacted a hard surface, supplemented by a blow to his head that plunged him into blissful unconsciousness.

You know, A lot of the fanfiction I've been reading have used the Ground Bridge as a plot device. I guess this is no exception, then.

Let me know what you guys think of this. Constructive feedback is also appreciated.

-This is Zapwing, signing off.