Red Star Chapter 2 (Alexis learns to fly as a 'Bot, Starscream finds himself in over his head. Truth to Optimus and Megatron comes out.)
Alexis takes a hesitant step onto the black disk. It begins to glow red. Then a red force field bubble comes up over her. There is a flash and the shield is gone.
"Well, well, well…" Starscream is quite pleased with the transformation.
"Mmm, I make this look good." Alexis looks down at herself.
Starscream is definitely turned on and his voice drops to a husky purr, "Oh yes you do." She looks up at him with a very provocative smile. She could swear his optics were ogling her. But instead, she strides over to the near by fresh water pool to get a better look at herself.
A striking round black helmet that just frames her face. This was not military helmet, no clearly a femme cut like Moonracer. Then the rounded shoulders, a large bust and narrow waist with slim silver belly exposed and a severely provocative cut to the curvy hips of the "pants." Her thighs are certainly powerful, with trim calves and wickedly pointed stilettos. Her long fingered hands can't help by run down her body enjoying the sensation it brings. Then she turns her back and is even more pleased. On the back of her rounded shoulders are two powerful jet engines. Just below them are a pair of wings folded to lay down her back but not interfere with her desirable form. There is one tiny mark at the small of her back Starscream would like to see better. Starscream strides up behind her and reaches to touch her, but she bats his hands away.
"Don't touch the merchandise." She coyly tells him.
"Alexis, I'm ready to renege on the agreement and take you back to my lair, right now," he warns her of his intentions.
She looks him straight in the eye and with an ever so provocative twist of her waist. She whispers to him, "Gotta catch me first." And she slams her stiletto onto his foot launching her straight into the air. With a quick flip, she is a striking red fighter jet and that move gives her at least a couple miles of head start over him. His string of swearing is lost in the sound of his own twin jets racing across the sky.
She didn't know where her limits were. But he knew his, so he punched it to catch up to her. She heard him coming and cut right. He banked right after her. Then she dips into the canyon. This time he chuckles and slides himself right over her. He matches her move for move. But she wasn't an ace fighter jet pilot for nothing. This time she slams on the breaks and while he is wondering where she went, he didn't see the turn in the canyon. He didn't know the team has been doing manuvers here. He banks too late and his back is scrapped along the rock wall. This time she cackles back, hovering in proto-form a couple miles back. He returns the stance with a furious face. Then quickly returns to jet-form and fires off towards her. Fear comes over her as he begins his streak. She heads straight up.
"No!" he calls to her. But it's too late. He puts on an extra burst of speed to reach her. Her engines cough and cut out as she reaches the stratosphere, her body proto-forms. "Bad timing, Red Star," He grumbles and also proto-forms. Streaking as fast as he could, he almost over shot her. But he reaches out and wraps an arm around her waist, hauling her roughly against his chest. Then lightly returns them to the plateau. He cups the side of her face and turns her to face him, scans of her systems. Alexis looks light headed and leans on him, letting and arm drape over his shoulder. His arm is gently around her waist holding her against his torso. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to do that."
She rolls her head against his shoulder and faces him, "What did I do?"
An actual sympathetic smile comes over him, "There's other limits to this thing. It doesn't have interstellar flight. It can't handle the stratosphere. Not enough oxygen."
"Ah, the human factor," her head still a little woosy. Some how, she feels comforted the arms of the enemy while he smiles at her jest.
He nods. "How do you feel?"
A truly satisfied smile comes across her face, "That was awesome."
Chuckling he joins her, "Yeah, it was. I've got to admit. You are good."
"Excuse me, did I just hear Starscream give a compliment?" but doesn't move her head.
Without moving his hand from her face, he fires back, "Excuse me, did I just see Alexis fall out of the sky? Without being shot?"
She shoves away from him and staggers, "That was not my fault. Where's the flight manual for this thing?"
Part of him wants to haul her back to his side, but he knows, better. So instead he crosses his arms over his chest and retorts, "You, a flight manual? I bet you told the instructors where the book was wrong. And then proved it." She stops suddenly. Shock comes to him, "You mean I nailed that one!" He laughs exuberantly.
This time she strides back to him, "Give it to me?"
His brow wrinkles, "What?"
She tries again, "Give my your sword."
"No!" He's actually a little afraid of her.
So deftly, she reaches around and plucks the wing from his back. He tries to take it back, but she kicks him back with a pointed heal to the gut. Clearly she has recovered. He tries a couple more times to take it back, but she isn't bulky as him and evades his every move. Once she even smacks him with the flat his own sword in the face. He waits and sees what she is doing. She takes the tip of his sword and begins to etch something on her right thigh. He tries to look over her shoulder but she twists ever so carefully so he can't. With this move, he finds her even more attractive. With his head swimming, he begins to wonder if just maybe he is in way over his head this time. Certainly trying to take over command of Galvatron was easier that fighting his own intense and quickly desirable feelings for this…this… what is she?
She steps away from him and turns so he can see in the star light what she has etched on her thigh: Earth Marine Corps. He smiles at the brazen tattoo. But then he swallows hard as he watches her draw his sword across her tongue to wipe away the paint chips. He knows for certain now. He is in way over his head. He can't move, totally enraptured by this woman. She knows she has him, too. With an extra swing to her hips she comes back to him and drapes her arms over his shoulders. Then he feels her reset the sword into his back. With a definite thrust. But her chest is still tight against his.
"I have to go home now." She whispers with her mouth directly next to her ear.
"Are you sure?" He barely says.
With a long tipped finger she points to the hanging horizon. "I have maneuvers."
He just nods watches as she steps back onto the disk. He touches a setting on his hip and with another red flash, she is back in her human red flight suit. He clearly looks disappointed. There is a lot that could be said. But neither says it. He just drops to his alt-form and she climbs aboard. Silently he takes off and heads back to the dormitory building. He should not be there and so, rotating upside down and pops the hatch, "I'm sorry." And she goes tumbling across the roof into the A/C unit. He makes one last pass to see her hand wave. Then he chides himself as he dashes off, Me, remorse?
Alexis picks herself up carefully. Oh yeah, no doubt about it. She was going to have some bruises. There was going to have to be a better way to meet.
The next day, Alexis wanders into the secured command sector. She sees Jetfire and Optimus talking over a war table. Jetfire taps one spot, "Still no word from Rosa?"
Optimus shakes his head, "I don't want to think the worst, but for the team's sake, we have to assume she didn't make it. Or the equipment was faulty."
Jetfire puts a hand on Optimus' shoulder, "I'm sorry. I know what she means. You know what she means to all of us, right?"
Optimus nods, "Yeah, I know. Hope for our future."
Jetfire smiles, "Not just that. I know Ironhide had hoped she would become Prime."
Optimus adamantly shakes his head, "I hope not! I wanted her to be happy and peaceful. I never wanted her to carry this."
"You can't be serious. She's your daughter!" Alexis clamps a hand over her mouth quickly at the revelation.
"That's exactly why." Optimus sighs. Then he taps the table again. "Look, just in case something happens, you are to deliver the Matrix to Ultra Magnus, got it?" Jetfire nods. "The other thing is… in here, under the war table, is an orb. Destroy it."
"What?"
"After what happened to Sideswipe and Ironhide, Ratchet encased the virus in a plasma energy orb. Don't let it touch your spark. Just destroy it. I have left a message to Ultra Magnus with the same orders. Got it?"
"What happens if it touches the spark?"
Optimus rubs his brow, "Just promise me you won't be stupid enough to try it?"
Jetfire chuckles, "Hey, I'm pretty stupid to try anything once."
Optimus shakes his head, "Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. Just don't do it."
"Will it kill somebody?"
"I don't think so, but it will mess up your life. And could have…" he opens his right glove. Jetfire sees the marks and touches one reverently. Optimus continues, "untold consiquences. Please. I had to tell someone, but…"
"Why haven't you destroyed it yet?"
Optimus runs his face with both hands, "I don't know. I feel the Matrix calling me to wait, but I can't figure out why."
Jetfire taps Optimus' right hand, "Maybe because it could save our race."
"Or doom us in the wrong hands. Got it?"
Jetfire nods, "So, about tomorrow's run." Alexis moves on. So now she has just the answer she needed. It really was right there. But the war table was no easy thing to access. It would definitely take some works to get it out. Let's see how that 'Con likes the tables turned on him. Puny human my aft.
(Bruno Mars?)Are you a devil or an angel
Your touch is magnetizing, physically I' floating leaves my body glowing
Earth said be afraid your not like the others futurist brothers
Different DNA I don't understand you, You're from a whole other world, A different dimension, You opened my eyes left me going into ?
Kiss me kiss-kiss-kiss me, Infect me with your love'n fill me with your poison, Take me take-take-take me
Wanna be a victim ready for abduction, You're an alien, your touch so far away, super natural, extraterrestrial, You're so supersonic
Wanna feel your powers, sun me with your lasers, Your kiss is cosmic every move is magic
See I abducted you, so I'll tell you what to do….)
The song reverberates in Alexis head that night while the short dream of racing the stars with Starscream tucked close above her in tight formation matching her every move…
"Come on Alexis! Oh five hundred. Let's go!" Gina's voice cuts through the dream and shatters the stars into reality. The team was moving back to Earth. The 'Cons just couldn't leave it alone. And since they were now on human turf, EMC was going harder and stronger at the 'Cons.
Later that week, she made herself a personal red jet pack. Keeping it hidden on the roof was no easy feat. But a few nights later she saw the flash of light again, Do I need to come get you? Her response: Cool your jets.
Then she quickly hoists up her jet pack and takes off. As she comes to the plateau, zooms straight for his nose and then pulls up at the last second leaving him to inhale her exhaust. Then with the grace of an angel, she lands lightly at his feet.
He gives her an approving look, "Nice." Then the disk shoots from his hand at her feet.
She steps aboard and he zaps the disk. Instantly, she becomes her red 'Bot form with her engraving still intact. She reaches over with a pointed finger and wipe the exhaust smudge off the tip of his nose. He grasps her wrist tightly. She shoots him a warning look. In return, a smile just spreads out across his face. "Watch the ceiling."
She whispers to him, "Watch your afterburners." This time when she goes to slam her foot down, he deftly pulls his back and rises with her still holding her wrist. So she alt-forms out of his grip. With a roll over her back away from him. And under his feet and takes off. He twist to his side, to alt-forms after her.
Alexis, he notices, seems to be flying for herself. She doesn't care who is after her. She just enjoys flying. He has given her a gift. For some odd reason it brings pleasure to see her happy. What was wrong with him? Maybe because he just enjoys flight himself. This time, he slides himself under her. Matching her move for move, once again. But this time, her moves are not out of spite. Her moves are out of agility and the feel of speed. Neither one says a word. They just enjoy streaking as fast as they can letting the sonic booms roar far behind them.
And then she makes a sudden u-turn and lands on a tall building. It takes him a few minutes to find her. He didn't expect her to stop. Coming to her side, crouching, he follows her focus. Clearly she is watching something. "What is it?"
"A burglary."
He shrugs, "So?"
"They're stealing medicine from that factory."
"It's not my problem. Let's go." He straightens up.
She straightens up too, but doesn't follow him away from the edge. Her foot is on the opposite edge ready to dive on the building. "Well, that's one thing that separates a 'Con from a 'Bot."
She starts to leap but he catches her upper arm, "Wait." She shoot him a Don't try to stop me look. He smiles, "I'll go with you."
"But you said it isn't your problem."
"True. But it's yours. So that makes it mine." She smiles back at him. "Don't get any ideas," he sasses back a warning to himself. They leap from the building and buzz the thieves. Some start to scatter. Starscream goes to buzz the police to catch their attention. Alexis continues to thwart their plans and sends them dizzy.
Starscream comes back. She sees him come in, but he doesn't see the danger. Alexis calls his name as she reaches back pulling her ponytail from her head. He whips his head around to see her ponytail become a whip and latch onto his wrist. He is shocked as she puts both hands on the handle and yanks him towards her. Then he sees what is aimed at her. He kicks on his jet and launches towards her pushing her back harder and colliding them together. With a smack they see the artillery aimed at each of them actually collided into each other with a tremendous boom.
Tangled up together, they hit another building. Carefully, they try to stand up and separate. Their enemies are coming forward. Alexis gets her whip released from his wrist and he pulls a sword. With a curl to his wrist and grins, "Let me finish them off."
She warns him, "My planet, my rules. Justice. Earth justice."
He spits on the ground, "Waste of time."
She steps right in front of him and puts both hands on his sword wrist, "Don't."
He smiles directly eye to eye with her, "Or what?"
Alexis wasn't ready for that. She promised not to reveal her 'Bot form and she certainly doesn't want to loose her flight time… with him. "Please?" she tries.
He lets the tip of the sword drop to touch the ground, "Please? Didn't know that was in your vocabulary."
She reaches around and yanks the other sword from his back, "There's a lot you don't know about me, and won't know if this goes bad." With that she turns her back to him welding his sword like a samurai at the arsenal of thieves. Three steps later she can hear the hum of another sword coming up behind her. But the sword comes sailing over her head and stabs the getaway car straight through the top, pinning it to the ground. Striding past her, he puts his foot on the hood of the car in order to dislodge it from his sword. Sirens can be heard. Flashing lights are reflected off the building. He turns and cocks his head. "Oops, slipped." She crosses her arms over her chest. He comes back to her and takes his other sword from her. "I think we should go." He slips the swords back in and takes off, alt-form. She takes a leap and follows him out.
~~~ Time continues with Alexis sneaking out to go jet streaking with Starscream. He can't figure out why she is so much fun. Just the distraction he needed from killing Megatron. Neither one talks about anything. Just racing the skies and feeling the wind was what they needed to clear their thoughts.
The roof top door breaks open and Alexis dashes around to her hidden jet pack. She has been trying to hard to keep her mouth in check so she doesn't get extra duty. This time it was clearly not her fault that ended with her scrubbing down the kitchen. Now reeking of bleach, she yanks her jet pack on and dashes off. Anger fuels her flight.
She heads over to their plateau. He is no where in sight. Her heart actually sinks at the thought she missed him. Flying over the plateau again, she over shoots him. He doesn't move. It surprises her that he doesn't make a comment or movement. Circling back, she sees why she missed him the first time. He is sitting on the edge of the plateau with his back against a large boulder. It's as wide as his wing span. Only the tips of his helmet are seen above the bolder. This time as she comes up to the boulder, she cuts her engines and glides to a light landing directly behind his helmet. She shrugs off the jet pack. Yet he still doesn't move. Now she is getting a little worried about him. She takes a few strides forward. The height of the boulder against the back of his helmet is just right for her to be standing and rest her elbows directly on top of his helmet. Standing on her tip toes, she can lean over the top and down on his face. His head is tipped slightly back so he is looking up to the sky. She's never seen him so serene.
"Hey, there. Sorry I'm late." He doesn't respond. She is actually getting worried. She leans down and touches the bridge of his nose, "Star?"
A smile creeps across his lips at the tenderness of her tone. Certainly nothing he ever expected to hear directed at him. His eyes roll up to her and softly he says, "I'm here." She gives him a relieved look. His focus returns to the sky.
Alexis slides back and crosses her arms leaning on his helmet and then lays her chin on them. "What are you looking at?" It moves him more than she will ever know at her tender repose on him.
"Space. Vast space." He almost sounds dreamy.
"I wish I could fly out there like you."
A harsh amused tone comes out, "Oh no you don't."
"I don't?"
His eyes roll up to her again, "Trust me, you don't. It is brutal and harsh out there."
"But it looks so peaceful and quiet."
He closes his eyes, "Silent? It can be. Peaceful? Absolutely not." And he says nothing else. Alexis is concerned by what he said. She hasn't had a chance to be this close to his face. Now she is beginning to see a new side to him.
His helmet is far from smooth. It is obvious, this close, where one embellishment has been welded back on. His nose has been smashed and pounded back out again. There are gashes and pits all over his face. Then she sees something quite obviously painful. "Star, tilt your head up here." Keeping his eyes closed, he does as she asked letting his head rest fully on the rock. Using both hands and her foot as leverage, she yanks a rock out of the corner of his optic area. "How long has that been there?'
He grunts, "I have no idea, but thank you. It's hurt for far too long."
Alexis slides around and down to his shoulder. "Star, turn to me." He does and opens his optics to face her. She can see he's got all kinds of foreign matter crammed into the crevices of his armor. She reaches for another piece and yanks it loose.
His voice is ever so gentle, like he's trying to hide his tender side, "Don't look too hard, Alexis. I have an image to up hold."
Her smile turns ever so tender, "Not with me you don't." He holds her with a very tender look. It would be so easy to fall into that human emotional trap. He can feel it. "Come to me," she almost whispers, begging him to take the human-pod. Instead, he turns away from her. His chest takes a heavy sigh. Alexis can see she found a chink in his armor. Or was it her own? She settles down on his shoulder close to his neck. "Tell me what is so hard out there?"
The old Starscream comes back, "There are a lot of horrible things out there. Monsters that eat metal. Organisms that eat stars. Creatures who want to take over the universe."
She mocks him, "Yeah, those kind are the worst."
He holds a hand out and she climbs into his palm. With a smirk he lifts her to face him directly, "Yeah, well you Autobots should be grateful to us Decepticons. You have no idea the aliens we have neutralized or eliminated before they could take out your peace and kind hearted lives."
Alexis tilts her head sassily at him, "Oh so we need you?"
"Oh absolutely."
"Yeah, well you need us too."
His cocky smirk comes back, "How so?"
"Teaming up with us fleshlings, we have found inventive ways to prolong your dieing race and find you new Energon sources. Which you 'Cons then have stolen."
Starscream's laughter is blusterous and infectious. Alexis finds herself laughing with him. Soon both of them find their sides hurting.
"You know, too bad we couldn't have more of this together." Alexis finally finds her breath.
"You and I?" He smiles.
She giggles, "I'm sure you and I will have more. But I meant Megatron and Optimus and you know the two sides."
Starscream's face drops. Alexis knows she struck a nerve. Turning his face back up to the sky he sighs, "Sometimes it feels like just yesterday Megatronous and Orion were laughing together. But that has been … well eons."
Alexis pounds his hand to get him to face her again, "Wait, you mean they were friends?"
Starscream turns a curious gaze, "Oh you mean I know something you Autobots don't? Optimus Prime actually kept something from his flesh pets? Wow."
"That was down right mean, Starscream." She turns her back on him and goes to leap from his palm. But he catches her in the other palm.
"Alexis, wait." But she leaps again this time making it to the ground. But then she realizes her jet pack is on top of a boulder she can't climb. She knows she may never make it back to base, but she is not going to ask him for help. "Where are you going?"
"Why should you care? It's not like we are friends or anything." That one struck him hard. He picks up the jet pack and turns to follow her across the plateau.
"Alexis, come on. You know we can't be friends. There is just so much we don't have in common."
Alexis turns pointing a finger at him, "Liar." Then continues on her way. He had been called a liar many times and he was used to it. But this time she call him on a truth about himself. It hurt.
"You're right." He finally agrees when she is almost to the opposite cliff face. She stops and sits down. He comes up beside her and sits letting his legs dangle over the cliff.
"What was the fight about?" She quietly asks.
"They disagreed about the direction of Cybertron. Their options drove a wedge between them. They agreed there needed to be a change, but not how to bring it about."
"Megatron betrayed him." Alexis reveled.
"That maybe how some see it."
"Megatron lied, cheated and stole… against his friend."
Starscream sighs, "Yes." With a cruel smirk he finishes, "Would you expect any thing less from him?"
"That's not funny." She is hurt that he would even find that the slightest bit funny. He turns and lowers his face to hers.
"Look it, honesty is the whole deal here. Megatron has none and it's always been Optimus and Orion's weakness."
Alexis rises and faces him directly, "What does it mean for us?"
He lowers himself closer and whispers in her ear, "You tell me." His breath is warm, almost hot, but it still sends shivers through her. Ever so slowly she turns to face him. The look on his metallic face is ever so soft. "I guess we need to be honest with ourselves first," she finally answers. He nods. There really isn't much else to be said. He lifts her to his chest where she settles on the pod cover and reclines back. Silently they stay motionless just absorbing each others company until the sun rises.