Children of Cybertron
A long, long time ago, when the Earth was young there was a genetic mutation that allowed normal humans to transform into robots and the robots to vehicle forms; now days they call this auto-morph, but back then, when they were ridiculed by their human families and friends they called it an abomination. They got together and actually flew to a planet that had robots on it called Cybertron; they joined up with the Autobots and fought bravely against the Decepticons. But a falling out between the Autobot elite and the leader of the mutant militia sent them back home a millennia later. Now, after the Allspark and the Fallen a new signal was heard; right on this planet, not Autobot or Decepticon, but a faint farewell of a brave and noble soldier.
"What was that?" Ratchet asked Sideswipe.
"That was an unknown transmission." Sideswipe responded.
It was curious, the transmission originated from the plains in the Midwest of the United States; it was decided to send someone to investigate, Corona, Arcee, and Bumblebee went on the fact finding mission.
Jack James Jackson and his twin sister Jacqueline Jamie Jackson stood before the graves of their parents; it was a somber occasion, Joe Jackson, their father, died in combat action in some desert fighting an enemy he could not talk about. Their mother, Ruth Jackson, died of a broken heart; what was curious about the tombstones was the weird symbols the kids had carved into the faces beneath the names. Few people there knew what they meant, even fewer understood; but it is what their father wanted and their mother concurred, so this is what they got. A few weeks before Ruth died she had her two kids declared adults and set them up in a duplex so they could make their own way; it was like she knew her time was short and was setting up the kids to be self-sufficient. Jack could speak, but not very long; some mean boys beat the crap out of him and went to 'punish' him for talking to a cheerleader; crystal Drano was poured down his throat and then all hell broke loose. Jack was forced to transform into battle mode; a nasty little robot form that reeked a little havoc before tearing off into the woods. Needless to say no more nice guy; the idiots had already crippled him, shattering his right leg to where he needed to wear a brace and use a cane to walk in his human form. Of course his parents were livid and none of them actually had to work again because of the lawsuits that were slapped on the idiots' parents. Now no one messed with Jack or Jamie; Jack was just sorry that his injuries and the lawsuits made her life more difficult in school. But her true friends stuck by her as she learned to sign with her brother, they understood when she would skip going to the mall to take him to physical therapy, they still came over sometimes and just hung out teasing the cripple until he joined whatever they were doing. Everyone in town knew that Jack was an auto-morph; Jamie was one too, when she did go out with friends she sometimes would drive them there in style in a Chrysler 300. And there was no way she would go and just rent one. Jack had to drive, he just felt like his whole world was crashing down around him and he had to see some good in the world before he blew something up; he told his sister that he was going on a drive and then walked away from the mound of cold dirt that covered his parents. He walked up the highway away from the cemetery and cut down a dirt road and into some trees; there he blanked, the pseudo form that allowed him to change into the three forms he had saved in his memory. A little blue-grey Chevy Cobalt pulled onto the country road and took off towards the highway; in a deal with the great state of Texas, his plate read, MV-13a. Behind him was a new Charger with a light-bar, the plate read, MV-5; he knew who it was; it was Samantha Cole, Pete's new wife, and an auto-morph like him. She rode his bumper hard; trying to loosen him off the road like a NASCAR racer. Jack had chosen well for this form; it had a rear spoiler and twin turbo boost, Sammie was going to get a run for her money right…
Jack took off like a shot in the dark; lights and sirens lit up the interceptor and she floored it after him. What she didn't realize is that Jack had these back roads mapped to the potholes; and he wasn't scared to enter a twenty mile an hour curb at sixty, Jack could drift. He entered the curb and started to slide, downshifting and popping his e-brake to get loose; he slid around the corner sideways and recovered well, straight down the road. Sam was not so lucky; she realized the corner was coming too late and transformed into her robot mode to roll into the field to minimize her damage. Jack slid to a stop and transformed into his robot form; he turned to look and watched her get up to her feet.
"Don't follow me." He ordered.
"Jack, I just want to make sure you get home…safely." Sam's voice was drowned out by the squeal of tires on asphalt as Jack tore away to the highway. "Or…I could just keep my eyes on the paper for your wreck." She sassed.
Jack tore along the back roads alone; he knew of a spot where he could transform and do massive damage and no one would care. They owned a junkyard, one of the perks to suing the crap out of someone, and the only employees was his best bud John and Pete; John would be home now and not at the junkyard, so no one would be hurt in his little tirade. Oh they would hear it, but not a soul would venture to the yard to check for damages; he would be alone to do as much damage as he wanted. Something bugged him, he checked his sensors which he kept in a passive mode in his vehicle form; there were two unidentifiable bogies moving in a parallel pattern with him, he looked aircraft. He didn't know who they were, a Marine chopper and a Harrier flew in close formation along the highway he was skirting; he pulled onto the service road and drove after them and then parked behind an abandoned barn when they hovered.
"MV-5, two bogies, unknown origin." He transmitted via text.
"Maintain distance MV-13a." She ordered, "In route."
Both vehicles transformed and took up positions beside the highway; it was an ambush, someone was going to get hammered. Jack took several low light pictures and noted a symbol on one of the bots; it wasn't like the symbol he had carved into the stones that marked his parent's grave, he transmitted the images.
"MV-13, Decepticons, maintain distance." Sam warned.
"MV-5, MV-7, and MV-16 in route." A new voice said.
"What was that?" One of the robots asked.
Both Decepticons looked at him; one turned to face him, Jack realized he was in deep shit. The chopper-con thumped in his direction; the plane-con looked away, back up the highway as if expecting someone to come around the curve. Jack waited until the chopper-con was almost on top of him; but then the plane-con said something that got the chopper's attention.
"My bad, it's an insect on a bike." The plane-con said.
Jack transformed and leapt at the chopper-con; he drove his energon blade into the con's spark and used the other one to behead the larger robot. The plane-con didn't even realize that his comrade was dead until the head bounced out in front of him; he spun to see an energon blast as it exploded in his optical receptacle, he fell and then felt the pain as the next blast shot straight up beneath his armor and detonated in his spark chamber. The con's eyes flickered off as he saw the assailant; he transmitted his image as the last act of defiance he could muster. All of the robots, Autobots and Decepticon saw the small warrior as he approached the downed robot.
"We don't take kindly to nobody making' trouble; we've got enough of that as it is." The bot said before blasting the con with double barreled energon cannon.
"Prime did you see that; look at the emblem on the bot's chest!" Corona gasped.
"Children of Cybertron, Autobots, roll out to those coordinates!" Prime ordered.
"Oh my God Jack, what have you done?" Sam asked.
"I deactivated two deception-con; dad used to do it all the time." Jack said.
"Jack, he got your image out in real time; we are going to be in a world of crap." A cannon wielding bot said.
"Damn dude what are you made of?" A bot affectionately known as Gearhead asked, "You rule!"
"Gearhead, this is not a good thing!" Sam said.
"So, do I owe them an apology or what?" Jack growled.
"Watch your tone." The other bot said.
"Mrs. Salvatore go get lubed." Jack's voice began to break up.
"Scout, MV-5, stop it." Sam said, "Jack, you need to find a different vehicle form."
Jack switched vehicle modes; he looked the same except for a few minor changes to his armor.
"Probably all of your vehicle modes." She sighed.
"Damn." His voice crackled.
Jack transformed into a beat up Toyota four-wheeled drive truck; he tore off South towards Denton and took the highway to make some time. He took his time, every cop in the county knew what his plate meant and they sometimes would harass him just to get a laugh; Jack wasn't in the mood for laughing, he was in the mood to do some damage and now he had to think about getting new vehicle forms.
'Stupid Decepticons, always causing trouble; they should be lobbed into the sun and melted for scrap.' He thought.
It wasn't long before he left the highway and rolled up the service road in front of a GMC dealership; he saw a truck he liked and used his scanners to see if he could have the weapons he had grown accustomed too. Yes, in fact he could, the vehicle had enough mass to transform even the other weapons he had to give up when he chose the Toyota. A flash of light later and an orange-brown Canyon sat beside the original; fog-lights, rear light bar, bug deflector and rain skirts for the windows, four wheel drive, all terrain tires and a neat little tool box in the back.
"Fits me well, don't you think?" he asked the truck.
He tore out of the lot and drove over to the Dodge dealership; a Caliber drove out with a shiny paint job, almost identical to the orange brown of the Canyon. He took the back roads home and took his time doing it; the front wheel drive of the new form took some getting used too, he was drifting corners in a few hours. He shifted forms again and turned early to his home; his duplex was surrounded by vehicles; all of them had MV on the plates. He drove up beside his neighbor's house and turned off his lights; he could hear someone crying, and he knew those sobs. He found his friend Kelly in a tree crying her eyes out; holding onto the limb with her second set of arms, and covering her face with the others.
"I can't help being a mutant." She sobbed.
"You are perfect." Someone whispered in the dark.
"You don't know what it is like being different!" She yelled, "Who are you anyway?"
The sound of metal moving and transformation, she should have known; she turned to see two grey-blue orbs looking at her in the dark.
"Oh you're absolutely right; I have no idea what it is like being different than you." His speakers said. "The fact remains that I am just a tad weirder than you."
"Jack you can transform back to a normal human." Kelly said, "I will always have four arms and be teased."
"You at least have your parents to help you through any crisis; if I were you, I would tap that resource before it is removed from your life." Jack said.
She remembered where she was earlier; the funeral was solemn and beautiful, Jack tried so hard not to cry, he failed of course, but he did try. "I'm so sorry about your folks."
"They lived, oh sweet Kelly, they lived; but it still leaves a hole in my spark chamber that they are gone." Jack confessed, "Thank you Kelly for your concern."
"Jack?" Miss Austin asked, "Have you seen Kelly?"
"Have I seen Kelly?" He asked Kelly.
"Yes." Kelly sniffed.
He turned on an amber light and shone it on Kelly up in the tree.
"What is wrong sweetheart?" Her mother asked.
"Guys are mean." She sniffed.
"As a guy I…resemble that remark and thank you for it Kelly." Jack sighed.
A low wine was heard as Jack powered up his transformation circuits; a moment later a GMC Canyon sat quietly beneath the sniffing girl.
"Not all guys are mean Kelly." Mrs. Austin said, "Jack is sweet."
"I know mom." Kelly whispered, "I meant the normal jackasses."
"Not us metal ones?" Jack's speakers thumped, "Thanks Kelly."
He watched her come down out of the tree and go with her mother; he drove to the garage and activated the doors, he drove in and transformed back to human. He put on a pair of coveralls he kept in the garage for such an occasion and then used a crutch to get into his back door; he knocked on the connecting door and then limped to his sobbing sister and held her to help her cry it out. Jack and Jamie slept in the same bed that night; each twin finding comfort in knowing that someone was there for them.
It took the Autobots a few days to get to where the signal originated from; but when they did the sign was unmistakable, there was a short, violent battle and two large robots hit the dirt, hard. The troops found the shallow graves, Dirge and Blackout were terminated with prejudice and left to rust in the shallow graves; whoever did this was upset about something and the point blank shots were a signature.
"Prime, look at the blast patterns; does this damage remind you of anyone?" Ratchet asked.
"Alltrak, but the bot that did this was too small." Prime said. "The body type was a brawler, not a heavy hitter like Alltrak."
A GMC Up-kick truck pulled up and transformed into Ironhide; the bot took a look around and noticed the two decepticon warriors rusting in peace.
"Alltrak is here." Ironhide said, "He must be, this is his short range weapon pattern."
"Everyone spread out; find Alltrak and Slipstream at all costs." Prime said.
The Autobots spread out over a ten mile radius; it was imperitive that they find the two bots, due to their unique nature they could make energon with their bodies. A truly dangerous thing to have fall into Decepticon hands. Little did they know that Alltrak and Slipstream had already had children; and it got worse most of the children of Cybertron had had children by now.
Jack was out working in the yard when the military vehicles rolled in; the Lieut. Col. wished to speak to the owner, Jack grabbed his voice modulator and stepped forward.
"Who are you?" The Lieut. Col. asked.
Jack put the voice modulator to his throat and said, "I am the owner of this facility."
The Col. asked if they could use the facility and he offered Jack a pittance of the payment for this privilege; Jack was about to tell the man to stuff it up his exhaust pipe when he saw Prime Role in. There was something about the truck that Jack recognized even in his human form; the truck wasn't like him it was a true Cybertrionian. Jack explained that his junkyard was actually a recycling facility for used parts; he wanted to keep the junkyard open even while the military was there. The Col. thought for a moment this was the perfect place to hide a robot; while he was wondering to himself if Jack to keep the secret a patrol car rolled in and made Jack shake his head.