Chapter Two: An Appointment with the Docbot
Arcee looked at Jack with worry in her optics. "Ratchet," Arcee called as she looked at Jack's eyes. If her optic sensors weren't malfunctioning, Arcee could swear by Primus that Jack's eyes were now blue optics. Jack then let outa tired yawn and started to fall asleep. Arcee wasn't a medic, but she also knew that sleeping was not a good idea for Jack. "Stay awake, Jack." She said as she fought the rising fear in her processor. "We need a Bridge and prepare sickbay." She told the grumpy medic. Ratchet was surprised but agreed. He then opened a Groundbridge. Arcee smiled, picked Jack up, and held him gently in her servo. "Ratchet will fix you right up, Partner." She said. Miko and Bulkhead shared worried glances as they followed the blue femme through the portal.
Ratchet expected to see Bulkhead limping or Arcee clutching an arm. When they both came out of the Bridge fully functional, the medic was a little irritated. "You call for sickbay, and both you and Bulkhead are in perfect health." Ratchet started with a glare until he heard a loud groan from Arcee's servo and looked to see that Jack was twitching and shivering as Arcee held him. Ratchet's optics went wide at the sight. The readout on Ratchet's HUD as he looked at the boy didn't make any sense. The human youngling had as much blood as Energon in his systems. "Bring him over to the berth, quickly!" Ratchet ordered as Arcee complied. "Call June," he also told Arcee. "I may be a medic when it comes to my own kind, but I'm still just a student to human physiology." Arcee nodded. "June," she said. "Jack is ill, and Ratchet needs your help." June's worry was evident when she spoke. "I'll be at the Groundbridge site shortly." She promised.
A few seconds later, June walked through the Bridge and looked at Jack. "Damn you, Alexander." She whispered as she rushed to the berth. She looked at him and gripped Jack's hand. It was then when she felt a chill crawl up her spine. Jack's hands were cold and started to feel metallic even as she held his right hand in fear. Then, she remembered something. "Strap him down! He's going to start thrashing soon." Ratchet nodded and took thick binding straps built for Cybertronians and laid one across Jack. The strap spanned from Jack's next to his ankles but secured Jack against harm. Suddenly, Ratchet's wrist began to alarm. He looked down at it and almost glitched. A new Spark was coming online inside Jack!
Then, Jack started to thrash and scream in pain. "Mom, it hurts!" He screamed as his body started fighting the restraint. June looked at her son with tears in her eyes as she brushed his hair and tried to soothe him. "I know it does, honey. Just hang on. It will be over soon." She said as she noticed Arcee. The femme looked like she was barely holding it together. Arcee slowly walked over, and Energon tears fell from the femme's optics as she laid her helm on the strap. The tears fell on his body, and Jack's skin seemed to draw it in. Then, Jack stopped moving. Everything stopped. There was the sound of popping as bones popped and cracked. Then, Jack's body started to burn with an Energon flame. Once the body was consumed, a blue glowing orb floated above the pile of ash that was now Jack's body. Arcee glared at the newly minted Spark. "You leave me, Jackson Daniel Darby, and I will come to the Well and drag your aft back!" Arcee said as she blinked away the remaining tears. Jack's Spark seemed to shiver at those words. Then, it floated away.
All was quiet in the base; even Miko buried her head in Bulkhead's ped and began to cry. Raphael looked at Bumblebee in shock. June silently sobbed to herself. Arcee glared at June. Optimus, who was silently watching the entire thing, knew that Jack's Spark was too bound to his Carrier and Arcee to go to the Well so quickly and more likely left to search for a form. The Prime knew grief and knew it well, so he walked over to June and knelt. "Ms. Darby…" June looked up at the Prime. Prime gave her a gentle smile and lowered his servo. Once she was safely onboard, Optimus lifted her to optic level. "How did Jack come to be this way?" Optimus asked. "My ex-husband Alexander…" She bristled with anger at the name, and Optimus knew she hated the man. "...worked for a government agency that was experimenting with what we now know is Energon." She looked at the others as all in attendance turned toward the woman. "The doctor is right. In high doses, Energon is lethal to humans, but in micro doses, it's a mutagen to humans. Alexander secretly gave Jack Energon, and by the time I found out what he was doing, Jack's body had already become dependent on the Energon to be at full health. Without these Energon doses, Jack would become very sickly, so I kept giving them to him." She choked back a sob. "I never knew this would happen!" Prime brought the grieving mother to his chest plate because of an odd urge and let her. Jackson, please hurry back. Optimus thought to himself.
Jack's Spark flew along the road as it searched for a suitable host. When it found one, the Spark melted into the driver's seat. The car, a '66 cherry red Ford Fairlane, shook and was swallowed in blue light. The light remained for a few seconds as the car's frame and body were modified accordingly. As the light faded, the sound of a T-cog and metal shifting filled the surrounding air. Then, Jack blinked his optics and looked down at his peds. "I'm online?!" He shouted in triumphant surprise. Then, the young mech's faceplate grew downcast. "Everyone probably thinks I'm dead." He said with a sad sigh. If only I knew how to-. Before Jack could finish the thought, his new body shifted into its alternate mode. The change in point of view was a little bit of a shock, but once Jack's Spark calmed down, he formed his holoform which sported a massive grin and shot off toward Omega One. "Let's see what I can really do!" Jack said as he opened up his throttle and felt the acceleration take hold of him.
Back at Omega One, an unknown Spark signature winked online at Ratchet's terminal. "Blast it." The medic groaned as he glared at the screen. Arcee walked up to the view of the local area. A neutral life signal was roaring toward the base. Arcee felt a small glimmer of hope rise in her but quickly doused it and told herself it was the grief talking. Then, she saw a squad of scouting Vehicons on a heading to collide with the Neutral. Optimus knew that the "Neutral" Cybertronian was Jack, so he said, "Autobots, roll out! We must defend this newcomer!" All helms nodded, and immediately, four vehicles took the place of four bots. June walked up to Optimus' truck and gave him a small smile. "Pease, be careful, Optimus, and thank you." With those words, June walked away from Optimus, and he led the Autobots out on an intercept mission.
Jack was about twenty miles away from Omega One when he spotted the drones. Then, Jack drifted into an about face and charged the oncoming Decepticons. Jack couldn't resist grinning as he turned one into a ramp, transformed, and landed on his peds with a surprising amount of grace. "You want to dace, 'cons? Let's dance!" With that, Jack lowered his helm and started trading paint with the drones. The drones weren't expecting this from a Neutral. "You tin cans won't keep me from my family!" Jack roared as he started ripping fistfuls of wiring out of the drones. When the last one fell, Jack looked up to see all the Autobots, minus Ratchet coming to investigate him. Better late than never, Jack thought before he saw Arcee and felt his cooling fans activate as worry gripped the young mech. How am I going to explain this to them? Jack thought as Optimus walked up to him. Arcee felt her Spark start to jump in her chest as she and the newcomer's optics met. "J-Jack?" She asked quietly as Bee and Bulkhead shared confused looks. Jack sighed and nodded. Bumblebee glitched while Bulkhead just stared at the red mech in shock. Jack felt a hard slap connect with his faceplate and looked into the burning optics of Arcee. "I thought you were dead!" She said in something that was a cross between a yell and a sob. Jack put a servo on her face and gently kissed her. As they parted, Jack smiled at the femme. "I couldn't leave you or Mom alone." He told her gently. Then, his faceplate blanched. This is going to be the Pit. He thought.
Back at Omega One, June did exactly what he expected. She rung his neck verbally and then hugged his ped tight. "I…I'm just glad you're not dead." She said finally after she stopped crying. Jack smiled and picked his Mom up. "It's going to take more than a side effect of prolonged Energon exposure to take me down." He told her kindly before he set her back down on the ground and walked over to waiting medical berth so Ratchet could give him the once over. After a few normal tests, Ratchet suddenly stopped and stared between Jack and the results of the latest test in shock.
"You can produce your own Energon over time like your organic body could produce its own blood!" Bee piped up, and Jack was momentarily surprised when he could understand the Scout. "(That's impossible. Isn't it?)" Prime shook his head at Bumblebee. "No, it is not. It is a trait unique to the Primes. Primus created us as completely self-sustaining, down to Energon production by our frames. This ability was lost by successive generations because Primus provided a limitless supply as Cybertron's core." June's face turned ashen. "Could Jack be used as an Energon farm by the Decepticons?" Optimus nodded grimly. Then, he turned to Jack. "You must be vigilant. The Decepticons will find out about your transformation at some point in time, but to keep that from happening for as long as possible, you must be cautious, and I would advise use of a Cybertronian alias." Jack nodded and considered the leader's words for a long moment. Then, he looked up at the Optimus and said, "Yes, sir. You can call me…" He thought for a moment more. "…Roadburner."
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