I am Red. Red Botson. I am different. I am a Techno-Organic. It wasn't until recently I found about my heritage, my origins, my creation. It wasn't that long ago I met them: The Autobots. My friends. My family. This is my story; my story about surviving exactly one month being a forced Decepticon. My story about helping one, who seemed cold and uncaring, emotionless and mute, find his voice again. And this is how it began...
Soundwave pointed to a beeping screen, waiting for Megatron to look.
"Yes, what is it, Soundwave?" Megatron asked, raising an optic ridge as he glanced over at the monitor. "Autobot movement? So soon after our last spat? Interesting..." Megatron drawled, deep voice edged with true interest. "Any word from Starscream?"
Soundwave shook his head, silent as ever. But he insisted the silver mech look at the monitor again.
"I will send Knockout to deal with such a trivial matter. Those are merely the Autobot femmes."
...
Wildstar loved racing. She was a sports car, so it all came naturally to her. "Better hurry, or I might leave you two slow afts behind!" She called out to her friends, Arcee and Red Boston.
The purple and gold detailed Porsche 911 revved her engine and pushed her speedometer to 100 mph, dangerously shooting around a sharp turn. Behind her followed a blue motorcycle with a holographic person in the seat, dressed in biking leather and all; that was Arcee. The other coming into a close third was a red-headed, fifteen-year-old girl going at a superhuman speed. She also cut the corner as well as Wildstar; that was Red Botson.
Red laughed. "NO WAY WILD! IF ANYTH'N, ARCEE'S 'TH ONE WHO'S GONNA BEH LEFT B'HIND!" She yelled above the wind roaring in her ears.
The blue motorcycle, Arcee chuckled "Don't let it go to your processors you two!" Her engines revved and she zipped ahead of Red. "I can still hold my own!"
Red shot into a neck-and-neck position with Arcee, having no trouble keeping up with them. Wildstar turned abruptly and, seeing no one around, squealed happily, transforming and tackling the two of her friends right off the road and into the desert dust. She didn't care if she got her finish dirty. It was just some paint and easily fixed up with Red's help. Red got up, laughing and her helmet disappearing. Arcee did the same, smiling and laughing herself.
"Looks like we're all tied!" Wildstar snorted, shaking herself off and glancing up into the sky when she heard engines. "Cons!" she yelped, claws ready. She stood between her femme friends, ready for anything. She just hoped it wasn't Megatron...
Soundwave shot through the sky and transformed before the three femmes, silent but not aggressive. He looked merely curious, visor hiding his face. A moment later a red and yellow Aston Martin joined him, Knockout giving the femmes a leer.
"Hello, ladies!" He drawled, winking at Wild.
She activated her cannons, although she didn't mind the sports car. He could be nice enough.
Red narrowed her eyes. "HANDS: ON!" The skin on her arms separated to reveal Cybertronian armour plating underneath, her fingers enlenghtened and palms having blasters. She blasted Knockout with a large quantity of red energy, while Arcee blasted Soundwave with her cannons.
Soundwave made a nasty hissing sound as he leapt out of the way, lithe and quick. He quickly deployed laserbeak and transformed, taking to the skies for an aerial attack.
"Get ready!" Wildstar shouted, pinning Knockout as the other two went after Soundwave.
"So you do like me, huh?" Knockout purred in her audio receptor, dentas close to her cheek.
"I do not like you! Although your finish is nice." She said, deciding to woo him into making foolish choices.
"WILDSTAH AH COULD USE SOME 'ELP 'ERE!" Red hollered, now facing Soundwave one-on-one. She yelped as he lashed his tentacles out at her, managing to leap out of the way. "AH MEAN T'DAY GAL!"
"You mean it?" He asked brightly, going into a whole conversation about it.
"Of course! But it would be a shame to have it ruined in a fight! How about you call a retreat and get away before one of them scuffs it up? How's that sound, big guy?" She purred back, letting him up.
"Good point, babe. Soundwave, let's go! We're outnumbered!"
Soundwave had Red by her wrists in the air, watching her intently as she struggled, but set her back down as nicely as a dangerous mech could. With that, he quickly transformed and followed Knockout into a space bridge.
"Is everyone okay?" Wildstar called, trotting over to her friends.
Arcee nodded. "What was that all about?"
Red just blinked, her green eyes speckled with red flickering. "Geez Louise!" She exclaimed. "Call meh crazy, but did y'all feel 'th power come'n from that visered guy, what's-his-face?!" She asked, her Texas drawl strong and syrupy.
Wildstar shook her head. "I only got to fight prissy Knockout. He's too vain to fight, but Soundwave could be difficult." she admitted softly. "He probably spotted us on on his monitors."
...
Megatron had no interest in the small group of femmes, despite what Soundwave had insisted. He was more interested with when Starscream would return. The mech had gone out in a huff a good day ago and still had not returned.
"That imbecile most likely got captured or killed...which means I must waste valuable time looking for him." he snarled, claws digging into his metal desk. "Seekers do have a knack for returning to their masters, though..." he muttered to himself, deep down hoping Starscream was all right.
...
The next day, Red rollerbladed down her street, towards KO Burgers to meet Wildstar there. She skidded to a halt and saw Jack in the takeout window. She bladed over to it, hid beneath it, waiting for him to come over. And when he did...
She took a deep breath in, counted down from five to one, and then popped her head up, yelling, "HEEEEEY JAAAACK!"
Jack yelped and managed to drop all the food and drinks he was about to serve to some customers. He sighed and began to clean the mess up. "Uhm, hi Red. How did you know I would be on this shift?" He asked, annoyed but not for long. He liked her too much for getting angry with her.
Red grinned. "Botson's intuition!" She chirped, her ponytails swishing. She leaned one arm on the counter, eyebrow raised.
Jack rolled his eyes but roughed up her hair the way he always did for fun. "Stay out of trouble, will you? You promised Miko and I we would have a video game battle when I'm done working, remember?" he laughed, a huge grin on his lips.
Red smoothed out her hair. "Ya betchya! 'An git ready 't pay with a free strawberry milkshake, 'cause y'all are go'n down." She then spotted and waved at a fry-cook with darker red hair and blue eyes, well toned and quite handsome. With a spatula he waved back, turning so he was visible.
"H'lo sis!" He said. It was her older brother, Mitch Botson. The siblings were close, closer than anybody Jack had seen before. Not surprising, since what had happened to them-
"Hey Jack! Mind throwing me some soda?" Wildstar asked from the drive through window, rolling up to a stop and snapping him out of his brief thought. She was one of those rare Cybertronians that could drink things other than energon and had become quite taken with carbonated drink.
"It isn't good for you!"
"Jack, just do it! I won't tell Optimus, I promise!" Wildstar laughed softly. Jack sighed, poured a soda and gave it to Red to give to her.
"Hey Stah! Take good care 'a mah sistah t'day, ya hear?" Mitch called as he poked his head out of the window. He too ruffled his sister's hair, making her giggle and smooth it out again.
"C'mon y'all can't ya just leave mah hair be? It took forever 't brush out!"
Wildstar revved her engine and laughed. "I always take care of my friends!" she assured, wishing she could mean what she said. But she was just one femme in a war where only the strongest survived.
"Ah'll be home by supper Mitch!" Red called out, dashing over. "C'mon Stah!" She climbed into Wildstar, smiling brightly and buckled up. They pulled out of the drive through and turned the corner, disappearing from sight.
Mitch sighed and turned back to the frier. "Golly... don't seem like a few months 'go, we were new here 'an she'd been all locked up. The 'Bots have done someth'n special for her, that's certain. Changed her life!"
Jack grinned. "They tend to do that."
...
Megatron found it highly interesting now that he knew the Autobots had a new weapon! Soundwave repeated the images of his battle with the small, red-headed girl. A techno-organic. How... unexpected. He wouldn't think that Optimus would go looking for such a weapon, but now that he had one under his thumb, Megatron wanted her even more.
"Soundwave, capture the half-organic for me. I have other matters to attend to." He sighed, glancing out of the Nemesis's windows.
He was still hoping Starscream would return. Then a new sound entered his audio receivers. Megatron knew that sound. It was the sound of a certain mech's pedes. The mech was limping, but he was walking. Turning with a worried ferocity, Megatron's gaze landed on the battered form of Starscream.
"Where. Have. You. BEEN?!" Megatron roared, his Seeker lowering is wings with submission.
"Master, please... I'm barely standing! I need assistance!" he mewled, such a fragile thing in the end.
Megatron glanced around the control room, seeing no one else, and nearly crushed the Seeker in a hug. "When you are well, I am going to punish to for abandoning myself and my cause. But for now you need rest." he murmured, nuzzling into Starscream's neck a tiny bit before pulling away.
...
Wildstar sped off down the empty Nevada roads, humming a little to a rock song Red tuned into from the radio. She liked human music. It was so pretty! "Do you hear something?" She suddenly asked, getting a bad feeling they were being followed.
"'An he's watch'n us all with 'th eye-... ah don't think so." She noted, taking a look around, then suddenly gasped, seeing the reflection in the rear-view mirror. "Uh oh." She knew she was in trouble. Big trouble.
"DRIVE WILDSTAAAAH!" She shrieked.
"Frag it all! Soundwave is back!" Wildstar yelped as she avoided a blast from his gun. "Red, you need to get out of here, he must be back for you!" She said, knowing how the girl in her passenger seat was a huge asset to the war effort, and Megatron only needed time to figure it out. It looked like that solar cycle had come!
She gunned the engine, pushing herself right to the edge of her power. "Hold on, I'm going to dump you out on the side of the road and tackle him. Get ready to roll!" Wildstar called, unbuckling and then swinging the door open as she hurled her friend from her alt mode.
Red went flying out and rolled into a ditch, dazed. "Ugh... ahm okay!" She called out, struggling to her feet.
Snarling like a feral beast, Wildstar transformed and brought Soundwave out of the sky, sending them both crashing into the ground with a terrible screech of metal. "Call the others for a ground bridge! Quickly!" Wild shouted, grappling with the larger mech and having a hard time keeping him down.
Red quickly hit the small comlink Ratchet had made for her. -Red 't base! Wildstah an' ah need a groundbridge! We're be'n attacked by Soundwave!-
-We have a lock on your coordinates Red!- Ratchet echoed back. -We'll be there ASAP!-
Wildstar snapped viciously at Soundwave's face mask, her sharp claws nearly slicing through his chest armor as he rolled to avoid her. She might be an Autobot, but she had digits like a Decepticon. She let loose a pained shriek when Soundwave grabbed her by her neck and hurled her off of himself, bolting towards Red. She groaned, smelling the scent of spilled energon which was most likely hers.
"Red! Run!" She roared, trying to stand but feeling so weak. And she had promised Mitch and Jack she would protect her...!
Soundwave whipped around and narrowly missed grabbing Red's waist with one of his servos, faceless mask locked on her. Red yelped, dodging his attempt, then quickly turned around, facing the open desert.
"ROLLERBLADES: ON!" Her feet whirred and shifted, turning into rollerblades. She quickly sped off into the desert, Soundwave hot on her tail.
"Give him a run for his money, Red." Wildstar purred, comming Ratchet and the others. -We need backup and I'm down for the count. Soundwave is after Red-...- With that said, Wildstar passed out from energon loss and went into stasis while she self-repaired as best she could.
...
Soundwave deployed Laserbeak, the drone shooting ahead to cut her off. The techno-organic would be his without much work, he was sure. With two against one, even the best fighter could fall.
Up ahead, Red zipped along, delving into a small ravinewhere she thought she'd be safe. If she could just find a hiding place- suddenly she spotted Laserbeak coming right for her!
"WHOA NELLIE!" She cried, screeching to a halt and zipping the other way- only to be yet again cut off by Soundwave! "Uh oh..." Red was trapped. "S-stay 'way from meh!" She yelled, raising her hands. "HANDS: ON!" She activated the cannons embedded in her hands. She repeatedly fired at both Laserbeak and Soundwave, trying to buy herself some time to figure out a strategy.
Soundwave made a deep rumble in his chest and shrugged off the shots like they were raindrops. As quick as a flash, he grabbed her in one servo and watched her struggle and squeak. Interesting little creature, she was.
"L-LET MEH GO OR YER GONNA BEH SORRY!" She yelled at him, twisting around in his grip. "AH MEAN IT!"
He let out another rumble, holding her close so he could get a good look at her. Humans could be disgusting, but their initial appearance was... intriguing. He noted the strange little dots on her faceplate, her unusually short stature in comparison to the other younglings, and the way her vocalizer pronounced words differently. This one indeed was unlike the other humans he'd seen. As he stood up, he commed his commander to report his success.
...
-Soundwave! What news do you have about the little addition to the ranks?- Megatron asked over their com link, at the moment sitting quietly with an exhausted Seeker beside him.
-Capture: complete-
-Good work! Bring her back to the Nemesis before the others take her back- Megatron ordered, subconsciously petting Starscream's wing like an animal.
"What are you planning, Master?" Starscream asked, voice tired and weak.
"We will have a new addition to our cause, my pet." Megatron answered, surprisingly gentle with the half starved creature he called a Second in Command. "But now you need to rest. They will arrive soon enough."
...
A swirling blue-green circle appeared a few feet near the canyon ridge. A red and blue long-nosed truck cab, a blue motorcycle, and a large, green SUV came rolling out, transforming into Arcee, Bulkhead, and Optimus Prime. They heard Red's cries and quickly rush over to the ridge and peered down to see Red in Soundwave's grasp as he marched over to a groundbridge himself!
Arcee gasped. "RED!" She cried, then leapt down.
"Arcee!" Bulkhead shouted worriedly.
Arcee landed between the bridge and Soundwave. "Let. Her. Go." She ordered sternly, cannons ready to fire.
Red squirmed. "Ar-Arcee! Get outta here! He'll kill y'all!"
Arcee growled. "I am not going to let any 'Con take you. Ever!" She raised her cannons and fired at Soundwave, making repeated blasts and knocking him back a little. Soundwave merely swatted Arcee away with one long arm before throwing Red through the end of the space bridge. Then he too, walked in.
"RED!" Arcee cried out in dismay.
She watched as the groundbridge close, her optics wide with horror. Soundwave and Red were both gone. "No..." She whispered. Optimus and Bulkhead slid down into the canyon. "I couldn't... I just couldn't!" She slammed her fist onto the ground, upset that she hadn't been able to save Red.
"It's okay Arcee... Soundwave's a tough guy to beat!" Bulkhead told her gently, trying to condone her.
"That's no excuse." Arcee hissed. "I've lost too many partners and friends to the Decepticons. I can't bear to see another one gone."