Yes, yes, I know. I'm on a sequel-craze. But I couldn't help it! The ending of the last story….it was just bugging me, and I guess you lovely readers don't deserve to be left hanging like that.

Anyway, for those of you who haven't read "We All Fall Down"….follow along the best you can, but I don't guarantee you'll get certain parts. Obviously, Mikaela isn't human anymore….but that's all I can tell you. And, as always, don't forget to leave a review. Any questions you have, I'll be happy to answer.

I do not own Transformers. I also do not own the song "Shut up and Drive," which so graciously belongs to Rihanna.

So, without further ado…let the angst, drama, and romance begin!

Velocity: the speed at which something moves or happens.

Driving across a rock-hard, dust encased terrain was the best sort of adrenaline rush Mikaela Banes could get these days.

She, unlike others, couldn't care less whether or not the billowing dirt got onto her paint, turning the armor brown. She didn't care whether or not little pieces of rock bounced up and got lodged in her circuits – Scalpel could fix that, later – for it just made the experience all the more realistic.

She needed something to do, something to get her mind off the previous weeks events. The former human had changed into something different altogether and she wasn't about to let the rest of her Decepticon "comrades" get onto her for wanting to get away, get out and be free.

So, she drove.

It was the best stress relief for a Cybertronian such as herself. She had chosen the area a few miles away from the nearest Decepticon base, a seemingly endless stretch of grimy flat land without a road or a town in sight. Nevada was almost prone to Mikaela's driving, for she had ridden at top speed through this particular stretch more than once, and she had found it to be the best place for a relaxing detour.

It was the best feeling in the universe.

She didn't understand how she had missed this. Being a human, she had only the luxury of two legs and two arms and she'd had to use those appendages, more than once, to prove herself. It had been deemed unsuccessful. But now, she was dangerous. People feared her. They feared her speed and determination and sheer ruthlessness...

Maybe she was being too full of herself. Maybe she had overlooked the facts that were staring her right in the face; the fact that all those qualities had backfired and left her an emotional wreck bent on revenge.

She blamed the download tech. Or, partly blamed the download tech. If it hadn't existed, then she wouldn't have been thrust into her new body. If it weren't for he download tech, she wouldn't have lost the love of her father. Trina Garrison would still be her best friend. Sam Witwicky, the only boy in the world who had seen her for her, would still want her. Optimus wouldn't hate her, but love her and take her as his mate.

And everything in between.

Being free was the only thing left, now. Though she was still listening to Megatron, still attempting to follow his rules, her spark told her that she was a neutral. Megatron's goals were the same as hers, and if it didn't stay that way, she would be gone in a sparkbeat.

She had told Starscream the same thing. He had yet to leave her alone, and she had yet to check up on his "evil rebellion scheme" that he would never put into play.

Mikaela laughed, the sound drifting from her speakers. Starscream was always a cowardly fool.

The dirt and dust trailed behind her like the tail of a comet, and she raced on, the hot sun beating down on her armor. She had changed her Nissan 350z model to something new – an updated version, of sorts – and she had jumped at the first chance to change the color. Out with the dull silver, in with the crimson finish that had turned her armor the color of blood. In the midst of battle, she wanted her enemies not only to fear her, but to admire her, too.

She had become quite vain in the past weeks, due to Megatron's prompt complements regarding how nice she looked, how lovely of a femme she was. Mikaela suspected that he was courting her once again, trying to rekindle an old flame lost in her processors. The previous inhabitant of Mikaela's body had been a lusty, sex-crazed Decepticon named Roadrunner who'd happened to have one to many "flings" with Megatron.

And she was still in Mikaela's head, feeding her thoughts and images, creeping into the very center of her being and, if possible, manipulating her spark into loving more than one mech.

Or maybe that was just her.

The speedometer was inching towards ninety miles an hour. It wasn't her best speed, and by sapping some of Roadrunners dormant strength, she could easily reach two-hundred. Her body, it had been built for speed and for speed only.

So, she pushed it. Her tires were spinning so quickly that, if gazed upon from ground level, would have appeared to be motionless disk set under and blurry vehicle. That was what she wanted, what she had been going for all along. Infinite speed. Infinite adrenaline.

"Faster," Mikaela breathed. "Gotta go faster…."

One-hundred.

It would take a while, but she would reach it.

"Femme!"

The voice, the sudden explosion of noise in her ears, and she found herself jerking her wheels to the side, sending the rest of her vehicle mode careening to the side, sliding across dirt and rock as if it were made of slick ice. The one motion caused a gigantic plume of dust to rise into the air, blocking out the sun.

Starscream.

Of all the mechs to interrupt her "Alone time," fate said that it just had to be Starscream. The Seeker was not on her list of favorite mechs, partly because he was annoying, cowardly, and had a knack for spewing insufferable crap that Mikaela could barely tolerate. But that was just the least of it. There was so much more too him, and Mikaela couldn't see it, which was probably on of the reasons she didn't want him around.

Unlike Megatron, she still couldn't read him like the back of her hand.

The mech thundered above, a streak in the air. Mikaela hadn't even heard him approach, for she had been so focused on the stretch of nothingness ahead, so focused on the rush, the sheer velocity of it all. She snarled through the comm link, righted her vehicle, and shot back down the route she had come from.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Mikaela replied bitterly. Starscream's voice was just a gnat buzzing in her audio receptors, irritating, but certainly not impossible to ignore.

"Breaking curfew."

Mikaela laughed aloud, letting the noise carry over the link. When she had quieted down, she said, "Oh, my God….what is this? High school?"

"We are close to enemy territory, and Lord Megatron does not want his precious Roadrunner falling into the wrong hands," Starscream paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. Then, "You'd do best to head back to camp."

"That shitty hideout? No way. It's too crowded."

Mikaela fishtailed, and then whipped around. In the air, Starscream's bulk was limited, and it took him several seconds to follow Mikaela's lead and change course. Of course, by then Mikaela had already shot forward.

"It's the best we've got."

"We can do better."

"Enlighten me."

Truth was, Mikaela couldn't. She had just wanted to shut him up, and she found herself mentally cursing Starscream for bringing the subject up. Megatron was cheap. That was all she could say, all she was allowed to say.

"Look, tell Megatron that I'll be right there. I just need to finish up a few more laps."

"He'll have my head if I don't come back with you," Starscream whined. Mikaela could feel his agitation as it rumbled through the comm link, and overhead, Starscream shot forward.

"Ah, you've suffered worse. Shut up and take it like a mech."

"Easier said than done, femme. You haven't been on the opposite end of his wrath."

He was right about that. Megatron could tolerate Mikaela much, much more than he could Starscream, and she found herself letting her frame shake with a silent chuckle. If she kept this up, she would be promoted as his second-in-command, and Starscream would be reduced to….well….

Nothing.

The link was silent, and Mikaela could tell that he was thinking. Letting out a sigh, Starscream began.

"Let me tell you a story –"

"No!"

"Silence, femme, and heed my wor–"

"No more sob stories!" Mikaela barked. A sudden noise drifted through her speakers, and she could tell that Starscream was getting ready for another round. Mikaela, though, cut him off.

"Hey, how about some music?"

"Oh, dear Primus, femme….I…."

The music poured out, soft, and then rising in volume, matching the tempo of Starscream's shouts and pleas.

I've been looking for a driver who's qualified
So if you think that you're the one step into my ride
I'm a fine-tuned supersonic speed machine
With a sunroof top and a gangster lean

Mikaela laughed. How extremely fun, this was, playing with him. She could fell the heat radiating off his frame as he dove lower, the flames spewing from his engine sending up more dust. And then, he peeled away, his shadow falling on Mikaela overhead.

"This is no laughing matter, Mikaela! Do you even understand the situation I am in–"

So if you feel me let me know, know, know
Come on now what you waiting for, for, for
My engine's ready to explode, explode, explode
So start me up and watch me go, go, go, go
Got you where you wanna go if you know what I mean

She was being mean, and she knew it. But what was better than this? Speeding through the desert and tormenting Starscream at the same time? Christmas had come early for Mikaela, and she wasn't about to waste the gifts Santa had brought her. With a mighty roar of her engine, she shot ahead, out of Starscream's grasp.

He swore loudly through the comm link.

Got a ride that smoother than a limousine
Can you handle the curves? Can you run all the lights?
If you can baby boy then we can go all night

"You'd better hurry up, Screamer, cause I'm not stopping anytime soon!" Mikaela cackled.

Cuz I'm 0 to 60 in three point five
Baby you got the keys-

Mikaela screeched.

Starscream dropped out of the air, like a bird of prey, landing in front of Mikaela's speeding form. The startled femme slammed on the brakes, her entire frame shaking, and then, in one final act of desperation, she transformed.

The feeling would never get old. Her parts rearranged themselves as if they had been doing it for eons – well, technically they had, but not in Mikaela's mind – and she threw her body out of Starscream's way, bouncing across hard rock.

When she finally came to a stop, the dust and dirt was settling around her, covering her motionless frame like a blanket. Her joints ached and her wires felt as if they had been dumped in acid, but other than that, she was fine.

She groaned as Starscream approached her, the sunlight glinting off his armor. He towered over Mikaela, his optics running over her, like a lion ready to rip apart its prey. Mikaela's feminine figure was trying to ease out of his hard gaze, and she found herself coughing and trying to expel dirt from her intakes.

"Should have stopped sooner, femme," he growled, jerking her to her feet. "Megatron will not be pleased that his prized pet was damaged."

"I'll tell him that it was your fault," Mikaela winced, brushing dust off her armor. She wrestled out of Starscream's grip and faced him, head on. "He believes everything I tell him and you know it."

Starscream scowled and leaned down, matching Mikaela's height.

"Your time in running short, Mikaela," he hissed with sickening finality. "So if you don't want to be on the end of my wrath, then I suggest you do one thing for me."

"What would that be, oh fearless and condemning Starscream?"

"Shut up and drive."