Matrix Chronicles: Recovery Chapter 1, a transformers/beast wars fanfic

TFE

C14 Recovery

The huge hanger was dimly lit, its ceiling seemingly hundreds of feet above Ben's head. Without a doubt, it was the largest hanger Ben had ever seen, or been in. But he wasn't nearly as concerned with the size of the hanger- all he could do was gape at the hulking monstrosity before him. "Where the hell did you get this?"

"We made it." Smith answered at his side. "Don't think we were naive enough to keep all our countermeasures to them in the same location. We've been working on these since the first attack. The, shall we say, benefits awarded to us by the already dead specimen were innumerable."

The thing took a step toward him, a heavy foot shaking the floor. It was roughly humanoid, in the sense of having two arms and two legs, but unlike a transformer, the similarity ended there. Clumsy claws replaced articulate hands, and the feet were large and ungainly. From head to toe it seemed decked with weapons - of particular note, a large cannon on its left shoulder. Its 'head', if it could be called that, protruded outwards from the center of the chest. In it was a wire-frame cockpit, where Private 1st Class Jason Powers sat. He gave Ben a quick wave, the cocky grin still on his face.

"And how many of these things do you have?" Ben asked, trying hard not to think about how much he wished he could wipe that grin off Powers' face.

"Three. All we've had time to produce." Smith motioned toward the other two pilots. Ben glanced them over again. Lieutenant Marissa Fairborne was older then Powers, though not by much. Judging by the hard look in her eyes, Ben might have guessed her for a Marine. Her long brown hair was tossed over her back in a long braid- a fact that surprised Ben, seeing as that was far from military regulation. In contrast, everything else about her seemed rather orderly from her standard uniform to her stern, unmoving face. The third member was Captain Raymond Duke, older then the other two, but still rather young for his rank. He stood straight and tall, a stern and unblinking look on his face. Ben glanced back at Powers, who was still grinning. That one worried him- he had a look about him that didn't sit well, though Ben could not place a finger on it.

Smith continued on with his briefing. "This one is the newest. It has more weapons then a platoon of soldiers, half of which were designed specifically to combat our robotic friends."

Ben nodded and didn't answer. But to everyones shock, another voice answered. One clearly not from a human.

"And you think you can stop them with these toys?"

Sideways stood suddenly in their midst, towering above all the humans, his arms crossed over his chest. A distinctive scar now ran down the front of his face, but otherwise, he looked no worse for the wear. "It's too late." Sideways growled. "They betrayed us already. They've gone to the Autobots. I am lucky that I escaped to tell you-"

Smith suddenly issued a quick bark of laughter that halted Sideways words. "Really Sideways. I think we're well past your lies. The time for games is over."

Sideways cocked his head. "What now?"

"Specifically." Smith smiled, raising his arm, "Your game."

He brought his arm down suddenly, and a flash of light shot from Powers' ride. Sideways whirled and the blast engulfed him head on. Suddenly his armor began to swell and crack, then explode outward with surprising force. Sideways stumbled backwards, and fell smoking to the ground. Powers let out a whoop of triumph that echoed through the hanger. "Got him!"

Smith turned back to Ben, who stared at the fallen bot in horror. "Do you like it? We found a specific type of liquid that reacts violently with what their armor is composed of, then launched it via compressed energy. You can see the results."

But once again, a voice responded before Ben had a chance to. "Very clever." Smith nearly jumped at the words and whirled to face Sideways who was standing again, as if he had never been harmed. "Might do some damage. Might have even done me in. If I was a normal Transformer."

Powers let out a cry of frustrated rage and opened fire again, this time from twin auto-guns in the machines arms. To Smith's horror, the bullets went straight through Sideways as if he was a void of nothingness, doing damage on the wall. Obviously annoyed, Sideways turned on Powers charging toward him. Powers let out a cry as Sideways shot above him, and he let loose a barrage of missile that tore upwards, again missing Sideways completely and impacting the roof above. The hanger buckled, and debris from the roof collapsed down on top of the machine, burying Powers under buckled girders and walls. Sideways landed deftly on top of the rubble, seating himself and staring down at Smith with a look that could only be described as a demonic grin.

Smiths jaw hung down for a moment, then he composed himself again, standing to face the robot. "Very well then. I'm guessing you're not here to kill us, or you would have done so already."

"Don't be too sure." Sideways said with a hissing laugh. "I'll tell you this though. While clever, your toys there won't stop a couple of angry Transformers. Sure it'll hurt, and maybe you'll get lucky and take one or two of 'em down. But you aren't going to do any real damage with those. You need a better, more permanent solution. "

Smith cocked his head. "I'm listening."

Sideways didn't answer, only shook his head, further infuriating Smith.

"Are you going to explain yourself or not?"

"Not really. "

"All right Sideways, talk. What's your game? You've been lying since day one."

"As have you, I note." Sideways answered cheerfully. "Just a couple of liars here."

Smith continued to press the question. "What is your game? Do you hate the Autobots and Decepticons that much?"

"Autobots? Decepticons? HA!" Sideways barked. He jumped down from the rubble heap, bringing himself to his full height in front of Smith. As soon as he was off it, Fairborne and Duke ran over to extract Powers from the rubble. Sideways ignored them. "You still don't get it, do you." He turned, and began to pace. "The Bots and Cons are but a distraction, a hindrance. No, this is about something else entirely."

Smith was staring at him. Ben glanced up at Sideways, then a realization hit him. He turned to Smith, who nodded, having reached the same conclusion as he. "Evac..." He said quietly.

"Yes, Evac." Sideways hissed. "From day one, it's been about Evac. If you idiots had left him buried there in the first place, I wouldn't be here now. Since I can't very well put him back, I'll have to get you to do my dirty work for me."

Smith crossed his arms. "And what makes you think we will do what you say?"

Sideways leaned down again. "You don't have a choice. I can go anywhere, and do anything without you doing a damn thing about it. If you don't fear death, I'm sure I can find someone on this trash heap of a planet who does." Smith glared at him. Sideways ignored him, continuing on. "But, on the other hand, we have the same goals. You want them dead- and so do I. I'm sure we can work a deal."

Ben spoke up. "And what are the consequences of helping you? How do we know we're not dooming the Earth to extinction?"

Sideways whirled on him, face alight in anger. "I don't give a damn about you or your wretched little planet. Once Evac, the Autobots and the Decepticons are disposed of..." He paused, taking a moment to compose himself. "Once they are disposed of," He continued again, calmly this time, "You will never see me again. Your planet will continue its pitiful existence with no more interference from me. Is that satisfactory?"

Smith stared at him. "I'll think about it." He answered.

"Think wisely." Sideways replied. "Oh, by the way. About your toys there..." He motioned toward the rubble pile. "Try getting to the heart of the matter, shall we say. Shutting them down." But before Smith could question him further, he disappeared, fading into the air without a trace.

Over in the rubble pile, Fairborne and Duke finally managed to pull a very agitated Powers out. Ben glanced at them, then back at Smith, who was staring thoughtfully at the rubble. "Shutting them down..." He said quietly. "I wonder..."

There was something in his tone that Ben feared more then Sideways.

-----

It was the second time Michelle found herself alone in a hospital, except this time she hadn't the vaguest recollection how she got there. She remembered the battle between Evac and Megatron- and then nothing else. Unfortunately, it was not a matter she could bring up with the doctors who had worked so hard to keep her alive.

Everything still hurt, and the doctors told her she'd be that way for some time. They kept going on how it was a miracle that she'd survive, and that she should count her blessings that she wouldn't remain disfigured and immobile for the rest of her life. Those words didn't make the pain or feeling of abandonment lessen.

At first, all she could do was lie in her bed and stare solemnly at the TV, hoping for some news of giant robots, somewhere. But giant robots seemed to have faded away from the public conscience, as yet another incident that would never be explained. They were more concerned about another war brewing in the Middle East. So, with nothing else to do, she sat and watched that, hoping for someone, anyone, to let her know what had happened.

The nurse came by unexpectedly a week and a half into her recovery. "You have someone to see you." She called, and showed in a little girl that Michelle had never seen before - short brown hair, strange golden eyes, but a sweetly innocent face. With a sudden squeal of "Sis!", the girl threw her arms around her. Michele's eyes went wide with shock. Then she noticed Chris standing behind the nurse, who gave her a quick wave and a nod. Michelle stared at him for a moment, then attempted to return the hug.

The nurse smiled, and turned away saying "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes." She disappeared. Chris waved quickly before he disappeared behind the door.

The child immediately let go of Michelle and sat up, a sudden serious look on her face. Michelle stared at her. "What are you?" She asked. "My hands almost went right through you !"

The child smiled. 'I am designated Aris, the onboard computer system of the Autobot starship of the same name."

Michelle stared blankly at her. "What?"

Aris sighed. "I'm- oh forget it. I'm a soft-light hologram. My form is not solid because it doesn't actually exist. It's compressed light. See?"

She suddenly flickered, and in her spot floated a spherical machine with two long arms, and a simple sphere with a lone optic for a face. It shimmered again, and the girl was there again. "Don't worry." She said softly. "I'm a friend. I was asked to give this to you."

A small disk-like object appeared in Aris's hand. Michelle took it, and hesitated for a moment before pressing the button. An image shimmered, and Evac's face appeared.

"Michelle..." Evac's voice came from the image. "I- You- I'm glad-"

"Evac..." Michelle said gently. "It's ok. Its good to see you to."

Evacs eyes went dark for a long moment. "I- I'm sorry I wasn't- wasn't able to-"

"Evac don't." Michelle said quickly. "It's ok. You did the best you could."

"Are you all right?" He said anxiously.

"It hurts, don't get me wrong, but Evac, it's ok. I'll be all right."

Evac closed his eyes again. "I wish I could see you... in some way better then this..."

"Oh Evac." Michelle laughed. "It's ok. I'm happy to see you at all."

"We tried to get in sooner." Aris spoke up at her side. "But they wouldn't let anyone who wasn't family come in. It took awhile to fabricate enough records to let me see you."

Michelle stared at her for a moment, before turning back to Evac. "Can you tell me what's been going on?" She asked, a bit helplessly.

"I believe I can help." Another voice said, a second head joining Evacs. Michelle looked at him for a long moment, and her eyes went wide. "You-"

"I am Optimus Major." The voice said gently. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"Evac, what's going on?"

"A lots changed." Evac said softly. "More then you realize."

"Obviously." Michelle leaned back with a sigh. "Go ahead, tell me everything."

----

Some time later, Michelle was staring blankly at the small view-screen. "Smith... had a dead Transformer?"

"Trailbreaker." Evac answered grimly. "He never told us- and Trailbreaker had been disassembled. A lot of him was missing. Who knows what they did with him..."

Michelle averted her eyes. "Evac... I'm sorry."

Evac shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're all right, that's all that matters."

Michelle sighed heavily. "And Smith won't listen to you now, either."

Evac shook his head. "We're not going to make him try. We can stay here, with the Autobots now."

At his side, Optimus nodded. "Yes, we're perfectly willing to give haven to all of you. Even you, human."

"Thank you." Michelle answered.

"I'd better go." Aris spoke suddenly. "I've been here a long time. If I push it too much longer, they'll get suspicious."

Michelle nodded. "All right. I guess that means the calls over."

Evac hesitated, then nodded. "I suppose you're right. Farewell Michelle."

"Don't sound so sad." Michelle laughed. "I'll see you again."

"Very soon." Aris added. "We can come back often."

Evac seemed to brighten at those words. Optimus glanced at him, a smile in his eyes. "Very well. Until then." The communication flickered, and ended.

Michelle sighed. "You go out for a week, and then the whole world restructures itself."

Aris giggled. "Don't worry too much. You're with friends now."

Michelle smiled back. "I know. But it's not the friends I'm worried about."

----

"Damn robot monster..." Powers swore for the fourth time in as many minutes, "He cheated."

"Calm down Powers." Duke said warningly. "You weren't prepared- and as we saw, that one's not a normal Transformer."

"I hate them all the same." Powers announced, stripping off his torn uniform and reaching for his change of clothes. "If they damaged my beauty, I swear I'll..."

Duke ignored him, quickly exiting the locker room so he wouldn't have to hear more of Powers' rambling. He didn't care much for the kid, but he was the best at his job. The army had been working on the MECH project for some time before the Transformers had arrived, and Powers had been one of the best students. The only ones who could man the walking machines as well as he were Fairborne, and Duke himself.

Fairborne was waiting for Duke outside the locker. "The unit is in one piece." She reported. "Damaged and scraped up, but easily repairable."

"Seems that Smiths 'friend' didn't want us to lose it after all." Duke muttered. "Are One and Two ready for movement?"

"Yes." Fairborne answered.

Duke nodded. "Good, Smith will want to get them in position soon."

Fairborne glanced at the locker room door, where Powers string of curses continued to come out. "He won't be happy to be left out of the first mission."

"I really could care less." Duke answered. "If he doesn't learn to keep that attitude in check, he'll be a bigger danger to us then to those damn robots."

"Right." Fairborne nodded. She paused for a moment. "How tough do you think these things will be?"

Duke shrugged. "The reports Smith's people gave us indicated that they are willing to fight. They won't go down easily, if that's what your asking."

Fairborne didn't respond.

A moment later, Duke added, "As for me, I'll just be happy to kick these things off our world."

Fairborne nodded. "Amen to that."

----

Prowl sat quietly outside Aris's wreck, staring solemnly at the latest addition to their landscape. Omega Supreme was the only one of Evac's crew that didn't seem to care for the company of Autobots (much less anyone else). He had thus appointed himself lone sentinel of the area, which entailed pretty much standing around outside the base.

Prowl found him a strange curiosity. He found all of them a strange curiosity. Their presence still unexplained, their motivations unknown, and their strange bonding with the humans a shock, Prowl often found himself watching them from the sidelines, an outsider to outsiders. He couldn't begin to understand how several others of his comrades had taken to them so easily. Optimus and Evac had become fast allies, as if Optimus had entered the position of being one of the few who understood the leader of the Earth-bounds. Jazz had quickly become popular with Ironhide, Jetfire and Red Alert, and to everyone's surprise, Crosswise had proved herself a veritable master of Sharkticon.

But Prowl remained estranged from them. They all knew what he had done to that human, oh so long ago. And they all regarded him with caution, and kept their distance. But he saw their looks. And each one further reinforced what he believed in the depths of his spark; that the sin, he could never atone for.

A warp portal appeared, and Jazz rolled out, skidding to a stop as Jazz let out an exuberant 'Woo!'. Chris and Aris popped out, and a moment later Jazz transformed.

Prowl stiffly saluted at them, but both Aris and Jazz ignored him- only Chris waved back as they re-entered into the base. Prowl sighed, and slumped to the ground.

"You ok?"

Prowl almost jumped as Aidia appeared from nowhere, seating herself next to him. "I wondered where you ran off to." She continued, "I wanted to go earlier, but Red refuses to believe the diagnostics I reported on the new guys."

"How's that?" Prowl asked distantly.

"How old do you think, say, Jazz is?"

Prowl shrugged. "I don't know. Older then me, but younger then Red, Ironhide and Jetfire?"

"Would you believe, 65 million?"

If Prowl had a jaw, it would have dropped. "Wow. They weren't kidding- they were under the ice for a long time."

"Like I said," Aidia said, leaning back, "Red didn't believe me the first time."

"But... Cybertron didn't have space flight till much later... Were we even around that long ago?"

"That's the interesting thing." Aidia continued. "Comparing their circuitry and systems to ours show some rather primitive systems on theirs- and some more advanced then ours. Did you know they have onboard reformatting computers?"

"Wow." Prowl muttered. "This is just weird."

Aidia nodded, and then sighed. "In a way, I kinda envy them."

"How so?"

"Until now, they've never known war. They're scientist, the whole lot of them, and never had to fight until they ran into Megatron."

Prowl didn't answer, quietly observing Aidia. Her face had turned down into a frown. "What would that be like?"

Prowl laid his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it." He said gently. "For now, lets just enjoy the peace while we can."

Aidia sighed, and leaned up against Prowl, letting her eyes close. Prowl sat rigid, unsure of what to do. He hadn't seen Aidia act this way before, and didn't know how to respond. So for the time being, he deemed it most appropriate to just let her be.

They sat together for some time, underneath both the shadow of the ship, and Omega Supreme's watchful eyes. They were silent until, out of the corner of his optics, Prowl noticed Jazz, Crosswise and Chris walk outside and settle nearby.

----

"Thank you, Optimus." Evac said quietly, "For going to all that trouble to let me talk to her again."

Optimus nodded. "I understand she means a lot to you, though I'm still not sure why."

Evac gave a half-hearted laugh. "I don't expect you too Optimus. She is the dearest friend I have. You can understand that, at least, I would hope."

"Yes, though the specifics still elude me." Optimus lay his hand on his shoulder. "But enough of that. Hopefully, she'll be back with you soon enough."

Evac smiled. "I can't tell you how grateful I am, for you taking us all in like this. Even when we were with the humans who found us, it always felt as though we were outsiders intruding on their land. Here, well, I feel like I may be at home." He paused momentarily. "If only we were all here."

"Yes, your friend the humans had. I'm sorry."

"No... another one as well. There's a lot I have yet to tell you, Optimus. A lot of painful memories. They found one more of us, a mere child. I- She... she joined the Decepticons."

Optimus arched one optic. "It seems I haven't heard the whole story. But... I can see it upsets you. We can worry about it another time, my friend."

The two stood in silence for a long moment, until that silence was interrupted by a strange cacophony of sounds blaring through the entirety of the base.

Optimus whirled, his hand already searching for his gun. "What the slagging heck- a Decepticon attack?"

Optimus paused as another sound joined the cacophony. He turned around and stared at in Evac at shock - the Earthbound bot was laughing. Not just laughter, but pearls of joy spilling out from someone who had been tormented by misfortune for far too long. It took a moment before Evac was able to find any words. "I believe," Evac said through sporadic chuckles, "That you'll find that someone has hooked up his speakers through your ship's comm systems."

Optimus continued to stare at him. "You don't mean-"

"Excuse me, Aris." Evac said politely, "Will you show us what's going on outside?"

"Sure!"

A moment later, the main screen flashed to life, and Evac shook with laughter again. "You're kidding me." Optimus muttered. "If that isn't the damnedest thing I've ever seen."

---

"They were dancing?" Michelle's laughs came so hard that tears soon accompanied them.

"Yep!" Aris said cheerfully. "Jazz and Chris set up they're own miniature dance floor, hooked Jazz's speakers through the system, and, quote, 'tore up the floor.'"

"No!"

"Yep. All Jazz's idea. They pulled Crosswise into it, and soon the entire base was watching them. Then Aidia got it into her head to get out there, and a moment later she dragged poor Prowl into it. The look on his face was priceless!"

It was three days after the event, and Aris had returned to Michele's room. Chris still wasn't allowed inside yet, so after a call to Evac, Aris was filling Michelle in on the latest updates.

"I wish I could have seen that." Michelle sighed, suppressing yet another chuckle.

"Evac thought you might say that," Aris grinned mischievously, "So he had me make a recording of the event."

"Oh, he didn't." Michelle almost shrieked with giddiness. "Did you bring it?"

"Sure did." The holographic projection shimmered, and was replaced by the rather hilarious view of Chris doing the robot in front of its namesakes.

Michelle laughed awhile longer, and then paused, noting the unfortunate and embarrassed member of the dance team. "Who's that?" She said, the good-humor phasing from her voice.

Aris shimmered, and reappeared in her human-child form. "You mean, Prowl?"

"Yes..." She said quietly.

"He and Aidia were the ones who pulled you away from Megatron and Evacs fight. In fact, if it weren't for them, Evac might have destroyed us."

Michelle looked gravely at the hologram. "Aris, can you do me a favor. I know I've already talked to Evac today, but can you patch me through to them again? I'd like to talk to Prowl."

Aris stared at her hesitantly, then nodded. "Sure. Of course."

----

Prowl was again outside, once more observing the ever stalwart Omega Supreme. At his side, Aidia nudged him. "I wonder how he can stand staying still like that."

Prowl shrugged. "Beats me. I kind of admire him for it. He has his function, and does it consistently without question. I wish I had that kind of resolve."

Aidia put her arm around him, making him uncomfortable yet again. "I for one, think you have a little too much of it." She teased, "Like how you were too chicken to come out there and dance."

Prowl went crimson. "Aidia, that was days ago, and besides, I still don't understand the purpose or function of any of-"

Aidia silenced him with a finger to his mouth. "You don't need a regulation for everything Prowl."

Prowl sighed. He never knew how to answer her, when she was like this. Which was happening more and more often- much to his dismay. Surprisingly, her self-proclaimed guardian Red Alert seemed to relish in her loosening up- and was even beginning to encourage Prowl to spend more time with her, for reasons that Prowl couldn't begin to fathom. It hadn't been a month ago that he was accusing Prowl of everything that went wrong under the sun. But now...

He glanced at Aidia again, who had stepped back and was looking up at Omega, a somewhat dreamy smile on her face. At least she was happy, Prowl thought. That alone might be worth some awkward situations.

"Hey, kid!" Prowl jumped at Jetfire's voice, and turned toward him. "You're wanted on the comm."

Prowl stared at him. "Err... me?"

---

His face appeared a moment later in Michele's view. For the first time since the disaster at the lab so long ago, Michelle got a chance to view him face-to-face. She stared at him for a long moment, taking in his face.

Prowl made a noise that sounded remarkably like a nervous gulp. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Michelle nodded. "Yes, I understand I owe you my life."

Prowl shook his head. "No, no it really wasn't my doing. Aidia was the one who-"

"But you did help save me." Michelle pressed.

Prowl made the gulp sound again. "Yes."

"Then that's twice you saved me."

"Err, twice?"

Michelle smiled softly, turning her eyes downward. "You may not remember, but a long time ago, shortly after you guys arrived, Megatron attacked a human lab. I was there. You saved me from the helicopter..."

"I did? Err... yeah, I suppose I did."

Michelle looked up into his eyes. "I never got a chance to thank you."

"Err, your welcome, I guess-"

"You know," Michelle continued, "You ended up causing me a lot of trouble."

Prowls face went red. "I'm sorry, I-"

"For the longest time, I looked up to you as a hero, a savior- a knight in shining armor, if you will." She smiled a bit wider at those words, a phrase she had not thought in a long time. "And then-" Her smile faded. "And then-"

Prowl's eyes were downcast. "I know what you're talking about. I- I didn't understand what I was doing. I didn't- but I did it anyway." He looked her squarely in the eye. "I can never atone for what I did. I can never just explain it away. And- and that thought will always haunt me. But all I can do- all that's really left to do, is apologize. I'm sorry."

Michelle looked up, a smile returning to her face. "You're a brave person Prowl. I can't think of many who would say what you just did. Thank you."

Prowl stared at her hesitantly, unsure of what had just happened. "Uhh... your welcome, I guess."

Michelle smiled. "Don't worry about it. But, I would like to get to know you a bit better. Is it ok if I call you a friend?'

---

Smith sat, quietly brooding in the small, cramped darkness. The action he was about to take was both drastic and dangerous. If he wanted, he could step out now and call the thing off- let the other authorities on the job worry about the giant space robots.

But no, it was his problem. He had helped contribute to it, and now, it was his duty to make the world safe from the mechanical menaces - even if it meant destroying those he had once thought of as friends.

His new weapons were ready, and his trump card, in case of their failure, was entering the final stages of preparation. The next action he took would determine the fate of the invaders- and thus, the fate of the world. After this, there was no turning back.

He thought for a moment, reliving the few genuinely pleasant times he had with them. Jazz's crazy love of music, Crosswise's vast trivial knowledge, and the endless bounds of Evac's love for his friends. But all those pictures came with a taint- General Corbet's broken body, the burning of the installation, the look of betrayal on Evac's face as one by one his friends abandoned him - and then he too had gone to join them, against the US government, against the Earth.

Smith sighed. This was, perhaps, the most difficult decision of his life. But once he made this final leap, there was no turning back. Not now, not ever. It would end with either them- or he.

He closed his eyes for the longest moment, and bowed his head, whispering a quick prayer to a God he didn't believe in. And then, he gripped the car door's handle, and firmly opened it, stepping out into the sunlight.

----

Chris sat in Jazz's front seat, the chair leaned all the way back and his feet up on the dashboard, eyes closed as he lost himself in the endless stream of rock playing through Jazz's speakers.

Through the com, he heard a disgruntled sigh. "I wish ya'll would play some decent music." Chris opened one eye to observe his escort Ironhide, the red SUV sitting right next to him. "Some good ol fashioned country is better than this crap any day."

Chris smiled. Ironhide had become every bit as fond of Earth's culture as Jazz had- only, his focus was a little farther down south. Seemed that these robots had a habit of going native awfully fast.

"Not a chance." Jazz answered, responding in open rebellion by cranking up the volume.

"You just wait." Ironhide grumbled. "One of these days I'm gonna rewire all your radio circuits."

Jazz laughed, and Chris chuckled along with him. Then he stopped, and his eyes shot open. "Hey- hey- hey! Jazz!"

"What? You got a request?"

"No." Chris answered, squinting. "It's just that- that black car over there, the one near the hospital's emergency entrance. Isn't that a government vehicle?"

---

"Thank you for talking to me Prowl." Michelle said gently. "I enjoyed your company."

"No problem." Prowl answered, obviously relieved to be free of the obligation of speaking to her.

"Well, I guess I have to let you go." Michelle continued, and then she smiled softly, "Before Evac gets jealous."

At her side Aris suppressed a giggle. But before Prowl could respond, there was a heavy knocking at the door.

Michelle started. "Quick Aris, shut it off!" She hissed. Aris responded, the image disappearing before Prowl could protest.

The knock came again, turning into a pounding. "Who is it?" Michelle called, trying to disguise her nervousness.

And a moment later, the door burst open, and no less then 6 US shoulders shot in, their guns all pointed at the small rooms too occupants.

Aris froze, and Michelle looked around in confusion. "What's going on?" She cried.

"Hello Michelle."

Michelle whirled a figure walked in, Ben at it's side. Smith smiled, a grin on his face far more frightening then the weapons all pointed at her. "We missed you."

--To Be Continued--

-----