A sudden thump in hi spassenger side panel quickly pulled him ou t of recharge
Disclaimer: 'Transformers' belongs to Hasbro, Paramount and various other companies – characters from the film or any related merchandise do not belong to me and I am making no money out of this fiction from the characters or plot. Any original characters and ideas do belong to me and require permission to use elsewhere.
Rated T
Author's Note: This story starts during Chapter 5 of Bold Destiny. This is what's happening on earth while the Autobots are elsewhere. Plus this gave me an opportunity to write a story involving Hot Rod. This story may get a little crazy with some fluff. Please leave a review. Thanks.
"Contact"
Banachek sat in his office reading through some papers when he was interrupted by the call on his phone. He pressed the speaker button, "Banachek here."
"Sir, we have detected the Autobots leaving earth's air space," said the agent on the other end.
"Have you tried contacting them?" Banachek asked with concern.
"Yes, but we were unsuccessful. Sir, we've also detected six new alien arrivals. Five landed in the northwestern section of Colorado and one landed near the northeastern section of New Mexico," the agent added.
"Assemble a recon team, then report to me directly when visual contact has been made at both locations. If you can avoid it, do not engage," Banachek commanded. "And let me know when you've made contact with the Autobots."
"Yes sir," responded the agent.
Banachek sighed with exhaustion as he sat back in his chair. Keeping track of all these alien robots was proving to be more difficult. He worried over the new arrivals and whether their intentions were good or bad.
Once he landed, Hot Rod transformed and scanned his surroundings. He needed to find an alternate mode for his protoform quickly. The message, he received from his fellow Autobots here on earth, said this would allow him to blend in with the inhabitants of the planet without alarming them.
It was late at night in the sleepy town of Cimarron, New Mexico. Hot Rod inched his way quietly through the town, hidden only by an occasional large building or tree, searching for something to replicate; but the town seemed abandoned. There wasn't a single human or vehicle in sight.
Suddenly, the roar of engines broke the peaceful quiet, and he quickly took shelter behind the nearest building. Several dark vehicles sped up the street, in a single line. They slowed, once they neared the building he hid behind and pulled up in front of its entrance. He scanned the vehicles to determine their models but had trouble finding any sort of defining information on their outer shells. He zoomed in with his optical night vision and discovered the vehicles were wrapped in some sort of strange black material; every inch of them was covered right down to their wheels.
He waited as the humans exited the vehicles and went inside the building. Quickly, he scanned the nearest vehicle for his alt form, deciding that if it couldn't be found, then it would be the perfect fit for blending in with his surroundings. Once he finished his scan he looked down at his now bright red and purple body. Orange flames fanned out across his chest plates.
"Cool," he said, smiling silently.
After walking a fair distance from the human colony, he transformed and sped west down the road. He knew where he had to go, and that he had to get their quickly. His energon supply was limited and if he didn't reach Prime and the others in time, he'd be easy prey for the Decepticons.
For the first several hours he found the scenery to be fascinating as he took in the parched dry desert he traveled through. But after awhile he grew bored.
'Is this all this planet has to offer?' he wondered.
To pre-occupy his time, he tapped into earth's network and found this planet to be very different from Cybertron. The organic life here was intricately connected, in a sort of 'food chain', and if any piece were to be broken, it would upset the whole balance of this planet's delicate organic infrastructure.
As the day wore on, he grew tired. He had been driving for hours and the heat of the desert was beginning to take its toll. His engine grew hot and he was in dire need of a recharge. He would start wasting his precious energon reserves if he didn't find a place to stop and rest soon. Hot Rod had opted for traveling a less traveled highway in order to limit his contact with the humans. And according to his map this road had a small refuel station several miles ahead.
Down the dusty valley he sped, red jagged cliffs jutted up into the clear blue sky. Suddenly, a twinkle in the distance caught his attention. It glittered on the horizon like a beacon guiding him to safety. But as came closer, the sparkling object formed into one of the few human refueling stations along the road.
He scanned the small building on his approach to determine if any humans were present. Luckily it was empty, with the exception of one human located inside for assisting in providing fuel to the customers. He pulled off the road into the parking lot. The station contained four pumps under a protective shelter, close to the road. Beyond the pumps, in front of the store were marked parking spaces for resting cars, with additional parking spaces at either end of the building.
Hot Rod decided to park on the far side of the store away from its main entranced to avoid being disturbed. He left an empty spot between him and where the sidewalk curved around towards the entrance, so he wasn't directly visible to exiting humans. He figured most humans would park right in front, do what they needed to and leave. Once he was settled, he switched on his security sensors and drifted off into recharge.
A sudden thump, on Hot Rod's passenger side panel, jolted him out of his stasis nap. All his systems came online with a low hum, scanning his parameter for the violator.
A vehicle now sat parked next to him containing one human occupant. His sensors scanned the vehicle and then accessed earth's internet, finding a match. Information ran through his CPU, producing results that he could understand, '2006 minivan, one human female, 5'4", age and weight unknown.'
His inner computer seemed to be limited. Although, he could determine her weight by picking her up, he still would not be able to determine her age. He briefly thought of Ratchet and all his abilities. He longed for his fellow Autobots.
Next he scanned the surrounding area to determine if this human was the only new arrival. She wasn't. He picked up another vehicle located directly in front of the buildings entrance. There were four males leaning up against the front of an old beat up white, 1980s model, Mercury Grand Marquis.
Humans made him nervous. He had been linked into their world wide web of connected servers, gathering as much information as he could, regarding earth and its inhabitants. Their network infrastructure was quiet extensive for a race that behaved in such a primitive manner.
Another thump caught his attention, however this time it was softer. He could hear the female mumbling to her self.
"Oh shit" and "oops, sorry" came in quick sequential order.
The female squeezed out of her car, brushing up against Hot Rod, before carefully closing her door. She paused briefly next to him and ran her fingers along his side. It sent a strange sensation through his neural network of sensors. He was relieved when she finally stopped.
He watched her walk towards the front door of the gas station, her light covering flittering lightly about her exposed legs, as she made her way passed the group of males.
The males made all sorts of strange noises and odd movements. Hot Rod scanned the internet and quickly determined that the males were emitting some sort of mating call. These types of behaviors were typical of young immature males, whose hormones were reaching their peak developmental phase.
"Interesting," he thought to himself.
Ten earth minutes later the female came out with a large cup of fuel in one hand and her bag of necessary items dangling from the opposite shoulder.
Her vitals indicated nervousness as she once again passed in front of the young males. This time they not only continued their annoying mating calls but started to follow her. Her heart rate shot up.
"Oh no," Hot Rod mumbled.
He knew this wasn't going to end well. He had, so far been able to avoid transforming. But this group of males could cause him to do otherwise. His CPU was working over time as he analyzed the situation, looking for possible alternatives to handling the group.
All he came up with was, 'that when in packs males can be aggressive and cause lots of trouble.'
'Oh great," he thought to himself, annoyed.
The female was clearly terrified at this point. She quickened her pace in order to reach her vehicle before the group of males could get to her. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful.
Just as she stepped down between Hot Rod and her minivan, the closest male grabbed her arm. With a jerk he pulled her back onto the sidewalk and forced her around to Hot Rod's driver side. This prevented her from escaping and brought her out of the view of the front of the store.
The male holding her arm, forcefully bent her arm behind her back and shoved her forward on to Hot Rod's front hood. Her cup of fuel splashed across his shiny painted finish.
'That's cold! Maybe that's not fuel after all. They'll pay for that one,' he thought to himself, now irritated over the spilled liquid on his exterior and their treatment of the female.
The female let out a scream as the young man slammed the side of her face down onto Hot Rod's metal surface with a thump. She struggled but was no match against a group of males. Another male moved in to help hold her down.
"Stop, please!" She cried out.
"Shut up bitch. You know you want some," growled the male holding her arm. He twisted her arm harder, forcing her to scream out in pain as he reached under her dress and freely groped her.
Hot Rod couldn't let this go any further. With deft movement, being carefully of the humans, he transformed.
The humans scattered in all directions causing Hot Rod to loose track of their locations in accordance to his feet. He lifted one foot, to step back, but heard the female scream just as he was about to set it down. He froze, precariously balanced on one foot while he searched the ground below for the female and the four males. But he could only stay suspended for so long. Just as he started to loose his balance, he brought he foot down in an effort to catch himself. He felt and heard a sickening crunch of metal and steel. He knew instantly what it was.
He briefly looked up as the car with the four males fled out of the gas station parking lot with a deafening screech. Once they were gone, he focused his attention towards the female who now lay sprawled out, on her back, in the parking lot between him and the gas pumps.
Her terror filled eyes met his blue optics, before they moved down the length of his body and coming to rest on the crumpled metal beneath his large steel foot. Hot Rod followed her gaze down to where his foot was firmly planted on what was left of her minivan.
He let out a nervous mechanical chuckle, "I'm sorry about that." He put his hand out, as if he were asking traffic to stop.
He lifted his foot off her smashed minivan before giving it a shake, attempting to dislodge the few pieces of twisted metal that still clung to it. After stepping aside, he looked down at the mangled and flattened minivan. Hot Rod turned his attention back to the female, who had now sat up.
"I'm so sorry about your vehicle. I didn't mean to do that," he said apologetically.
He walked slowly over to her, being careful not to frighten her further, and knelt down in front of her. She shrunk back in fear.
"Easy now, I'm not going to hurt you. Please do not be afraid," he said soothingly.
He gave her a minute to get used to hearing him talk before continuing.
"My name is Hot Rod. What is yours?" he asked. He decided to use the earth custom of introduction. He thought this would further help calm the female and make him appear threatening.
But she remained silent. He noticed that her right hand was blindly searching the ground behind her as she held eye contact with him. He looked over to see what she was searching for, and could see the contents of her bag were scattered out behind her. He scanned several of the items.
'Lipstick, brand name: Mac, color: Spice it up, Cell phone, sunglasses, wallet: should contain human identification and currency, tampon: used for female menstrual cycle.' The last item offered up a multitude of search options, which he marked for further research, when he had more time.
Her hand was very near the lipstick tube. "To your left," he offered.
The woman stopped searching and gave him an odd look. She seemed confused by his comment.
Realizing her confusion he clarified, "To your left is the item you are searching for."
The female broke eye contact with him and quickly glanced behind her. She turned back to him with a nervous laugh before grabbing the small black tube and quickly shoving it in her bag. She scooted backwards towards the other items, and one by one, threw them into her bag. After she had collected all the items, she seemed to be at a loss for what to do next. Hot Rod decided to try his greeting again.
He reached out with his hand and extended his finger, "Are you alright? Those males didn't hurt you, did they?"
This time he was rewarded with an answer. "No." She whispered.
She kept glancing quickly between his extended finger and his face. "Go ahead, I won't hurt you," he urged her, yet again and starting to feel a bit impatient. "Is it not an earth custom to extend a hand in greeting?" He questioned her.
"No…I mean yes. Yes, it is," she stuttered.
Hesitantly, she reached out and placed her hand on his finger. He carefully placed his thumb over her hand before gently assisting her into a standing position. He could see she was trembling and had difficulty standing, so he held on to her hand for a moment longer, allowing her more time to calm her nerves.
"Thank you," she offered as she brushed the dust off her sun dress. "My name is Michelle."
'A name, finally,' sighed Hot Rod to himself, we are actually getting somewhere now.
"Well Michelle, it seems as though I destroyed your mode of transportation. To make up for my clumsiness I'll drive you to the nearest human colony. Will that be ok with you?" He offered.
"What are you?" she asked, completely disregarding his question.
"I'm an Autobot," he said. "I can explain more to you when I take you to where ever it is you need to go," he added, trying to gently direct her into giving him an answer to his first question.
"Uh, ok then…but first is there anyway to salvage any of my clothes from my van?" she said, looking over at her minivan.
Hot Rod glanced back at the crushed minivan. He stood up and walked over to the mass of twisted metal. Reaching down he pried off its top, revealing a mess of oil covered clothes, the smell of gasoline hanging heavily in the air.
Michelle walked cautiously over to examine what was left of her clothes, while sending the occasional untrusting peak up at Hot Rod. She shook her head and sighed before running her fingers through her long brown hair.
"That's not good. I can't take the chance of wearing gasoline covered clothes," she said.
"Sorry." Hot Rod said again, the guilt getting the better of him. He would do whatever was needed to make it up to the female.
"If you don't mind, before we leave I'd like to run back into the gas station and buy a few things, since we are here. My toiletries bag is underneath that mess and I'm not about to go searching for it. I can do without some things but not others, like a tooth brush."
"Get what you need. I'll wait here for you," he said. Her request of a 'toothbrush' perplexed him but he decided he wasn't in the position to question her needs.
"I'll be changing back into the vehicle you parked next to earlier, so don't be alarmed," said Hot Rod.
"Ok…Sure," she said, in a flat tone.
Hot Rod wasn't quite sure she really understood what he was saying before she disappeared into the store. Her vitals where still slightly elevated but not like before. Maybe she was still in shock. According to his research this earth was relatively untouched by alien life forms and those who had made contact were either worshipped or hidden somewhere away from the general population.
Several minutes passed before Hot Rod began to worry over whether she was actually going to come back and take him up on his offer to help. Much to his relief, she came walking out a short time later. Hot Rod opened his passenger door as she approached. Carefully, she slid in and sat tensely in the seat, holding her bag tightly to her chest.
"Did you get everything that you'll need to sustain you for the trip?" asked Hot Rod in a soothing voice.
"Yes, thank you," she said quietly.
"Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Oh, don't forget to buckle up," he urged.
"You aren't going to drive at some super fast speed are you?" She asked nervously.
"If you don't want me to then I won't," said Hot Rod. He heard her sigh.
"Good. I'd rather you just drive normal," she said.
"What's normal here on earth?" he questioned.
"Normal is what ever the speed limit sign says," said Michelle. He felt her relax a little bit more into the seat.
"No problem. I can do that," he said. Hot Rod revved his engine before pulling out onto the highway, proceeding at the posted speed of sixty-five.
He gave Michelle a few minutes to get use to riding in him before asking her more questions. He hadn't made contact with any humans yet, so he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, while he had the chance.
"So where are you heading?" asked Hot Rod.
"Nowhere," Michelle responded.
"Nowhere, but you where driving somewhere, right?" He asked, confused.
"No, I was just driving. I wasn't really driving anywhere." She said.
"How can you be going somewhere but be going nowhere?" He needed clarification and quickly accessed the internet on this type of human behavior. It only turned up a definition for the word 'Confused'.
"I was just driving where ever I felt like driving. I know that doesn't make sense to you but I don't know how else to explain it," Michelle said. "I was making my way over to my friend's house in Flagstaff for a visit," she paused after she caught her mistake. "Well, I guess I lied. I suppose, I am going somewhere, at least for the moment."
She was right, he didn't understand but he decided he would take in what she was saying and sort through it after he gathered more information. Eventually, it had to make sense.
"Flagstaff … Arizona." He said out loud.
"Yes, how did you know that?" she asked.
"Well, I have access to your world wide web." He responded.
Michelle rolled her eyes. "Oh great, I bet your finding all sorts of interesting stuff on how we live," she said.
"Yes, I have," said Hot Rod. "It helped me analyze the contents of the bag you are carrying and it helped me determine whether the males where a threat or not."
He felt Michelle shuffle lightly in the seat. "Is everything alright?" he questioned quickly.
"I'm fine, it's just your seat is a little uncomfortable at the moment," she said, shifting again.
"Do you need…," he searched his databanks for the word before continuing, "to relieve yourself?"
He heard a quick intake of breath. "Uh, Hot Rod, Please don't say it that way," Michelle said nervously. "First off, no, I do not need to relieve myself. Second can you just say 'do you need to use the bathroom' or something along those lines…if you feel the need to ask. Otherwise I'll tell you when I need a bathroom."
"I'm sorry," he offered. "If you'll just be patient with me I'll try my best to learn your customs." He could tell he had embarrassed her.
"So…um….what are you exactly?" asked Michelle.
"I'm an autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron and I'm part of a group of elite warriors called the Autobots. I came here after receiving a distress call from my commander, who is somewhere on your planet, and I need to find him before the Decepticons find me." He held off telling her about his limited supply of energon. The information he did provide would be difficult enough for her to understand.
"What's a decepticon?" she asked. Hot Rod went on to explain a shortened version on the history of Cybertron and its warring faction. The more he explained the more tense she became and he decided to stop.
"What's the matter?" she asked, after he had suddenly grown silent.
"I don't want to frighten you, and I can see that I am," he said calmly.
"How do you know I'm frightened?" She asked.
"Because your vitals are elevated which indicates you are nervous or scared," He responded.
"You mean you can tell what my body is doing?" she asked slowly.
"Well, sort of. I can't see into your body, but I can read your temperature, heart rate and rate of breathing," he said.
"Wow, that makes me feel a little expose," she said nervously.
"I'm not sure how to respond to that?" said Hot Rod.
"Just try and not read me too much, okay?" she asked.
"Sure," he said.
He decided that not being honest with her at the moment was a good thing. It wasn't in his nature to not "read" things. That's how he worked but he decided against trying to explain that to her. He was feeling low on strength again. It seemed that his required re-charge modes were becoming more frequent. He needed to find Optimus and the other soon or he'd ended up in stasis lock, or who knows what else.
Michelle had been driving for weeks now. She had been following the road less traveled with no particular destination in mind. She had started out west before drifting east, following the path of signs that guided her to historical sites or points of interest. Some of these sites offered spectacular views or let to old monuments while other led her down dirt roads to nowhere.
She had turned back west, several days ago to make her way back to Flagstaff, after promising a girlfriend of hers she'd stop by for a visit. As she approached the stretch of desert that crossed from New Mexico into Arizona, she started looking for a safe gas station to stop at. She knew from this point on it was going to be nothing but the repetitive landscape of flat dry desert.
Suddenly, she found what she was looking for. A small gas station appeared up ahead. She slowed her minivan on approach to scope out the place as she pulled in. Being a single female traveler, she had learned to be cautious. Her attention was drawn to the front of the store where a dilapidated old car sat with four young men leaning up against. They looked like a rowdy bunch and this made her nervous.
She glanced around for a safe place to park that was as far from that car as possible, but not so far from the front of the store. As she drove past the young men her eyes caught site of a sleek red sports car with orange flames painted across its hood. The vehicle itself was unknown to her. Being a car lover herself, she was surprised that she hadn't seen a model of this type before.
'Weird,' she thought as she drove up to park, 'what would a car like that be doing out here?' Whatever it was it looked high end.
She pulled around toward the sports car and noticed a parking spot next to it. She figured better to park next to a nice car than a beat up one. She carefully squeezed her dark blue minivan in between the car and the curb. She sat for a moment assessing the situation, and making note of any necessary escape routes. She had to laugh to herself at her ridiculous paranoia but 'better safe that sorry' she always thought.
She reached down and opened her door as she reach over to grab her purse. Suddenly, a gust of wind flung her car door open, slamming it into the sports car next to her. Quickly, she reached out, grabbed the door and pulled it shut. She sat frozen in the front seat.
"Oh shit!" she mumbled. "This is not good." She looked up to see if the young men had noticed what had happened.
She glanced out the window, down at the sleek red sports car.
'I wonder what it would cost to take a dent out of that baby,' she thought to herself. 'What sort of bad karma would I bring to myself if I didn't say anything?'
With a firm grip on the minivan door, she carefully opened it and squeezed herself out, pulling her purse with her. After she was out, she gently shut the door before turning around to inspect the damage. She bent down next to the side panel and ran her fingers along its smooth painted finish. There was not a dent to be found.
"Wow," she mumbled quietly. She lingered for a moment longer admiring the cars sleek lines, running her hand along its side as she made her way towards the curb.
She glanced longingly back at the car, before turning her attentions to the young men and the front entrance of the store. Without further hesitation she walked confidently towards the doors. They sent cattle calls and whistles in her direction while she shot the young men an evil glare in an attempt to hide her fear. She breathed a sigh of relief once inside and proceeded to the back to get an iced coffee and a snack.
After she had paid the cashier, she once again put on a face of confidence and exited the store. However, this time the young men showed more aggression. Her confident demeanor melted as she swiftly walked towards her minivan.
But before she could get to the minivan, the harsh grip of a calloused hand wrapped itself around her upper arm. The young man, who now had a hold of her, yanked her back forcefully, directing her to the other side of the sports car and away from her minivan. Her heart raced as she struggled and tried to kick her assailant, but he was too strong. Irritated by her attempt to kick him, he yanked her arm up behind her back while he bent her over the hood of the car, slamming her face down with a loud thump. Her head spun as he pressed up against her backside, with his free hand he freely groped at her from behind.
"Please stop," Michelle cried out. "Help!" she screamed out. But all she received in response was laughter.
Suddenly, with the world spun around her. Sounds of scraping metal and winding gears surrounded her before she fell to the pavement. Turning over on her back, her eyes were drawn to a massive metal figure looming, for what seemed like miles, above her. A scream of terror escaped her while she rolled over and attempt to crawl to safety. She half stumbled, half ran out towards the gas pumps before hearing a loud crash. Startled, she fell and once again rolled over on to her back while glancing up behind her. Her horror filled eyes met those of a giant robot glaring down at her. She trembled uncontrollably with fear as she tried to understand what she was seeing. Her gaze traveled from its flamed covered chest, down the length of its mechanical body, to where one of its feet now rested on the crushed metal remains of her minivan. She sat up to get a better look but was startled when it spoke.
"I'm sorry about your vehicle," it said in a sympathetic male voice.
This caught her off guard, not only because of the male sounding voice, but that it sounded kind. It slowly walked over to her and knelt down before her. She held her breath.
"I won't hurt you. Please do not be afraid," he said again.
When he said he wouldn't hurt her she released the breath she had been holding.
"My name is Hot Rod. What is yours?" he asked.
It was introducing itself to her. 'This is so weird,' she thought. 'Its name was Hot Rod? That is so weird.'
She relaxed a little more. If he had wanted to kill her, he would have surely done it by now. Either way, she wanted to get out of there. She reached behind, her trying to find the contents of her purse all while keeping on eye on the giant machine. She wanted to be prepared to run in case it changed its mind about killing her. She watched his eyes, which flickered silently, as they watched her. She couldn't tell for sure but it seemed as if something was going on inside his head.
"To your left," he said. She nearly jumped out of her pants when he spoke again.
'What does he mean, to my left?' she silently questioned.
He obviously noticed her confusion. "To your left is what you are searching for," he said again.
She quickly turned to look behind her and very near her hand was her lipstick. She laughed nervously as she grabbed it and quickly tossed it into her purse. Noticing her other items scattered out behind her, she decided on collecting those as well. Once she had all her things she turned around to face the giant robot. She wasn't sure what to do next, run or try and talk to it. After all it seemed to want to make contact.
Suddenly he reached his hand out towards her causing her to shrink back slightly.
'Well I guess we are thinking the same thing,' she thought to herself.
"Are you alright?" Hot Rod asked. "Those males didn't hurt you, did they?"
'Oh god, he's the car!' The connection had been made and she realized what he was.
"No," she whispered, examining every inch of his body.
"It's ok. I won't hurt you. Is it not an earth greeting to extend a hand in greeting?" He questioned her.
His questioned pulled her from her intense examination of his body. "No…I mean yes. Yes it is," she said, slightly distracted.
She reached her hand out and touched his finger. Strangely, his hand felt warm and the surface appeared to be covered with smooth soft material, not metal like she had first thought. He gently lifted his hand, taking his cue she stood with his help. Her legs wobbled from the affects of her adrenaline rush and she found it difficult to stand.
"Thank you," she offered. "My name is Michelle."
She heard him audibly sigh. 'Was he nervous?' she wondered again.
"Well Michelle, it seems as though I destroyed your mode of transportation. To make up for my clumsiness I'll drive you to the nearest human colony. Will that be ok with you?" He asked her.
Michelle thought about where they were and the current state of her minivan. She didn't seem to have a choice.
"Sure," she shrugged her shoulders.
