A/N: Enter Ironhide! Let us be treated with the first meeting of father and daughter!
Ironhide was already in a sour mood, and didn't take too kindly to the girl running into him. He growled low and muttered at her "Watch it."
The girl spun around to face him. "You wanna go, Jarhead? Bring it!"
"That's cute," Ironhide scoffed. But his annoyance turned to curiosity as he got a good look at the girl.
She looked much angrier now. "Nobody calls me cute… What the hell are you looking at?" She put a hand on a rather large sheathed Bowie knife. Ironhide's expression hardened when he saw her hand move. He didn't take kindly to being threatened and was ready to teach this girl a lesson, but he knew he'd never hear the end of it from Ratchet or Optimus.
"I thought it was obvious that I was staring at you," he replied smartly. He eyed her hand that hovered over her knife, then back into her fiery eyes that seemed to mirror his own. "I wouldn't try it," he warned.
"I'm not scared," the girl snapped. "I've sent plenty of fools to the hospital with this Bowie… the blood on it is still fresh."
"And I've sent plenty of fools to the hospital with my bare hands," Ironhide shot back.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" the girl taunted. "I'm not afraid of you." For a moment, she took her hand away from her knife so she could retie her long jet-black hair. Her aggression was intriguing Ironhide; it seemed like all she wanted to do was fight even though she was the one who ran into him and technically "started" it.
"More or less, it was meant to make you back down," Ironhide replied sharply. "But since you're not taking the hint, I guess I have time to teach you a lesson." He'd started preparing when a new voice made him freeze.
"Ian, knock it off!" Ratchet stepped in between him and the girl.
She smirked. "Well, looks like you can't show me how 'supposedly' badass you are."
Ironhide glared at Ratchet with pure annoyance, but flashed a cocky grin at the girl. "You can just consider yourself lucky."
"Me?" She scoffed. "Lucky, ha, you should be the one considering yourself lucky." At that moment, Barricade's holoform stepped out of a nearby knife store, and he looked quite pleased.
"Oh, Lori, our new shipment came in! There's a sword you simply must see!"
The girl looked pleased with herself. "Be there in a sec!" she crossed her arms with her own cocky grin. "At least somebody appreciates me." Her taunting made Ironhide's hand twitch for his own concealed weapon, but Ratchet was pulling him away. He muttered "whatever," under his breath. The girl laughed, spun around tightly, and practically skipped to the knife shop where Barricade was. But now Ironhide could see her back, which was a roadmap of scars and slightly fresher injuries, all easily seen since she was wearing a racer-back tank top. He stopped in his tracks. It was obvious the girl was a fighter, but there just too many scars for his liking. He wondered just what the woman had gone through. He ignored Ratchet's tugged as he stared after with an unreadable expression.
The girl stopped halfway through the door, looking annoyed all over again. "I can feel your stare! My scars are from all the fights I've gotten into. Pavement is not very nice to land on."
"I guess you not that good of a fighter if you're getting thrown around so much." It was Ironhide's turn to smirk. "Come find me if you want any real pointers." He turned with a nonchalant wave, hoping to get her curious about his skill.
"Oh, please," the girl scoffed. "Thrown around; it's from several idiots who would have been very happy if I'd stayed down. But I'd get right back up to beat them with inches of their lives." Her voice softened. "But my newer scars are from a fainting spell…" That little fact made Ratchet stop now. All his previous observations had shown her as healthy. What would cause a fainting spell in her? But Ironhide wasn't thinking about the details.
"Maybe you should get some help, kid," he muttered. The girl rolled her eyes.
"Please, as if you could help me. Why the sudden nice tone, you feeling pity for a stressed out, hostile lady? Give me a break." She stepped into the knife store with a gasp. "No way… Cade, is that…?"
"Awesome, isn't it? Your two favorite things combined into one, fully functional both ways!" Ironhide heard Barricade say. He continued to walk, inwardly wondering what weapon Barricade was showing the girl when Ratchet pulled him out of his thoughts.
"She has a point; you're never nice," Ratchet commented as he caught up with Ironhide.
"She reminds me of myself," Ironhide muttered as he halfheartedly shrugged.
Lori stepped out of the knife shop looking and feeling much better, happier even, with a broad smile spanning her face. She had what appeared to be an electric guitar strapped to her back. She was humming an upbeat rock tune, all but skipping. She passed through the park, where Ironhide also happened to be.
Ironhide was at a picnic table, with various gun parts spread out across a cloth. He was cleaning the pieces and had a small radio playing when he heard the humming of a song liked. Looking up, he spotted the hostile girl from earlier.
"So you can smile?" He asked playfully. "I though you wore a permanent snarl."
The girl rolled her eyes. "Only when I'm in a bad mood, but that's nothing good music can't fix." She stroked the neck of her guitar. A random wolf whistle passed through the air, and she tensed. "I really the men sometimes…" Her hand hovered over one of the fret markers, which looked ever so slightly different from the others. Ironhide tore his eyes from the stunning instrument, and glared in the direction the whistle had come from.
"We're not all bad," he assured. "The guy who gave that to you isn't bad." He momentarily chuckled at the irony of that statement. "I take it you play, are you any good?" The girl smiled once again.
"I'm damn good," she answered, "I had a band… but we broke up. I always thought it would be a good way to show up my mysterious old man, since the deadbeat never showed up in my life. I live alone, and it's not easy… especially when I live a dark side life as the Alley Scourge."
"That's tough, kid," Ironhide said soberly. "Doesn't sound like you've had an easy road, but look at it this way; you've become stronger because of it. Hell, so strong you can send people to the hospital daily." He chuckled, trying to get her back into her cheery mood before she'd been whistled at. Thinking of how she'd said good music could fix anything, an idea came to him. "I may not be your deadbeat father, but I'd sure like to hear you play." The girl though for a moment, then grinned. She unstrapped the guitar, tuned it, and then began to play "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses. A huge smile spread cross Ironhide's face, and it turned into a happy laughed as the girl played. As he nodded his head to the beat, he thought to himself, she's good. As she finished the song, she regained her relaxed composure.
"Now for the awesome part…" she trailed off as she placed her hand back over the slightly different fret marker, pressed it with a noticeable click, gripped the very top of the guitar, and slid a slender sword out of the guitar's neck. "Dually functional; if anybody messes while I've got this baby… well, let's just say it's gonna hurt."
"Oh, shit!" Ironhide actually jumped when he saw the blade pulled out of the guitar, not expecting such. "Damn, kid, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" He got up and around the table to get a good look and the gleaming carbon-steel blade.
"It was ordered in special for me at my favorite knife store," the girl remarked. "It looks a bit like another of my axes, and I have quite a few." The same wolf whistle came again, only this time it was followed by a voice.
"Can I get in on this action?"
"Why I oughtta…!" The girl's eyes seemed to flash as she whipped around, in the process smacking Ironhide with her long ponytail and nearly slicing the random person's neck open with her blade. "Back off, jackass, or next time I will aim for your goddam throat and won't miss!" as the startled man fled, the girl turned back to Ironhide, suppressing a giggle when she noticed him spitting out, or trying to at least, strands of her hair.
"Jeez, kid, your hair is a weapon in and of itself," he joked as he made sure there was no more hair in his mouth.
"I'm sorry," she replied. "So anyway, who was your buddy earlier?"
"He's an old friend of mine who tries to keep me out of trouble, but he's not very good at it," Ironhide answered. "But going back to that sword of yours, are you a collector or something of blades? I recognize that Bowie from earlier, you have a favorite knife store, and now you're nearly beheading jerks in the park. Got a thing for sharp objects?" He was considering showing her his own collection of custom made blades.
"My knife shop buddy asks me what blade I don't have every other visit," the girl answered. "Luckily, my house is big enough that I have a whole room dedicated just to blades, and another just for guitars."
"I bet those rooms look like heaven," Ironhide commented, clearly impressed. "Can you wait here for a sec?"
"Sure," the girl replied, shrugging. Ironhide quickly walked over to his true form (in vehicle mode of course), and grabbed a large roll up bag from the back. When he was back at the table, he quickly cleaned up his gun mess and rolled out the bag, which was full of his own blades, all varying sizes, and handmade by him. He picked up a decent sized blade that had a bullet with angel wings for the handle, and had "Hell on Earth" engraved on the blade.
"This one's my favorite," he said, watching the girl's eyes widen with delight.
"Wow… I'm impressed," she said softly as she sheathed her guitar sword. "You've got a cool truck, too. I think you got me beat on custom blades… 'Hell on Earth' reminds me of my favorite AC/DC song." She began to hum the chorus happily. Ironhide chuckled, very much enjoying the girl's company.
"I have guns too, unless you're not into those…?"
She shrugged. "Too noisy for me… this is ironic since I once blew out three high quality amps in six months. I'm not too fond of the kick-back, either. At least with a knife I can feel it doing its lethal job. It's kinda satisfying… in a creepy sort of way." Ironhide was beginning to really like this girl.
"You've got a sick sense of humor, kid, did you know that?" Ironhide nudged her playfully. "But it's cool with me, I've got one too. We've got a few similarities."
"I guess we do," the girl muttered, chuckling softly. Suddenly, somebody grabbed her from behind and spun her around. This attacker was big and burly, but still shorter than she was.
"Nobody threatens my people… those who do pay," the attacker snarled. "Your payment is gonna be fun for me."
"I am not in the mood for this bullshit," the girl said in a deadly low voice, eerily similar to how Ironhide occasionally spoke when he was incredibly angry. She swung a clenched fist and caught the man in the jaw with a wet snap, but he didn't let go of her. She swore under her breath, clasped her hands around his waist, and effortlessly vaulted him over her, looking quite furious. As he picked himself up, looking utterly stunned, the girl took and defensive stance. Ironhide thought damn, she's strong, but felt it was still wrong for a guy to beat up on a girl, regardless of the fact that this particular girl could very easily turn the guy into a bloody pulp. Before she had a chance to continue fighting, Ironhide grabbed the guy and lifted him off the ground by the collar of his shirt.
"Listen, you little punk," Ironhide snapped. "Didn't your Pa ever teach you how to treat a lady? Beat it!" He roughly shoved the visibly frightened man away.
"I could have snapped his neck you know," the girl hissed, looking slightly annoyed. But then, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I did that to a trio of cops a few months back…" she blushed in shame.
"I know you could have, but you can send him to the hospital next time and I'm not around to so for you… Wait; you killed those cops?" She'd said snap their necks, right? Ironhide blinked in surprise.
"They… they were off duty, a little tipsy… and… well… they pissed me off." She looked down. "And I mean really pissed me off. If I get to a certain point of anger, I go blank. The next moment I knew, they were on the pavement, necks twisted… I didn't mean to, but they pushed me too far!" she shut her eyes, and a single tear trickled down her cheek. Ironhide didn't know what to think of this new fact, however, he could relate.
"It wasn't your fault, kid," he assured. "I have a very similar anger issue, and you don't wanna be the person I let it out on. My friend from earlier usually gets me out of those fits, but you gotta remember, you were defending yourself." He didn't want to push the boundary, but he placed a hand on her shoulder. The girl smiled sadly at this gesture of comfort, and noticed the scars on his hand.
"You're an ass kicker too, eh?" She sighed. "Welcome to the club… Has anyone ever told you you'd make a great dad? My mom would have loved you… she was one badass, short-tempered woman. Anytime I'd come home with a report of getting bullied, she'd find the bullies' house and give them one hell of a bitching out." Ironhide gave a hearty laugh.
"That must have been a show!" He pictured a tiny human mother defending a younger version of the girl. "From the sounds of it, though, you have a lot of your mamma in you; you don't take shit from anyone, and have a short temper." He smiled, but then answered her question, "But I've never been told I'd be a good dad… probably because I can just see myself jacking it up."
"At least you'd be there for your kid," the girl muttered, looking annoyed again. "My father never was; I doubt the damn guy even knows I exist!"
"Well, it's his loss," Ironhide said. "He missed out on raising a great kid."
"It would have been great… had I not made such a dark name for myself." The girl sighed sadly. "My band was the only thing that was going to help put away my bloodstained nickname, but I guess that ain't happening. If anything, I'd scare the poor sap out of his wits." Both then noticed Ratchet walking up, and he was wearing a very smug grin. "… He looks amused…"
"That's never a good thing," Ironhide muttered in a low voice he knew only the girl could hear, and then faced Ratchet. "What's up, Ryan? Remember this spitfire from earlier? Well, check us out; we're getting along now… Hey, kid, what's your name? I don't think we were properly introduced."
The girl muttered softly, "I'm not surprised." And then spoke in her normal voice. "The name's Lori Azura… just Lori since my mom kicked the bucket."
"I'm sorry to hear that ki- I mean Lori," Ironhide said gently. "She raised one tough cookie. I'm Ian, and this is my friend Ryan."
"Nice to meet you both," Lori replied. "You just missed me nearly take some dumbass's head off, Ryan."
"That would have been a fun explanation to the authorities." Ironhide then whispered to Lori, "If they'd caught us, that is, but we would have been long gone."
Lori snickered, "Oh, yeah."
"Why am I not surprised that one minute you're at each other's throats, and the next buddy-buddy?" Ratchet asked, still looking very amused.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ironhide asked defensively.
"Whoa…" Lori's eyes darted between Ironhide and herself. "We're wearing similar tops… and uh… well, we're not 'buddies' just yet; we're just getting to know each other. We have some similarities, and it's pretty cool."
"I'm sure you could come up with more if you really tried," Ratchet said, raising a brow. "Though, I personally thought your looks said enough. Honestly, 'Hide, you can't be that simple-minded." It had been a while since Ironhide had wanted to punch the Autobot medic, but at that moment, that's exactly what he wanted to do.
"You really wanna piss me off, Hatchet?" he growled, since his good mood was getting ruined.
"Hatchet…?" Lori snickered.
"It's a nickname Ian likes to use," Ratchet answered.
"He earned it, but that's a story for another time," Ironhide said sourly. His mood was still a bit sore, so he busied himself with packing up his blades. Lori sized up Ratchet, looking somewhat unimpressed.
"You don't look that scary, weird maybe, but that could just be me," she muttered, crossing her arms.
"Long story short, let's just say that when he's mad, he never misses," Ironhide said, unconsciously rubbing his upper back. Ratchet smirked triumphantly.
"I'm still not scared of him." Lori shrugged. "Look at me; what do I have to fear? I tower over my boyfriend… and half the dumbasses in this city." The two holoformed 'Bots shared a look; Lori thought she was so tall, and they both found it funny since their true forms were much taller.
"Just what is so funny?" Lori asked, tapping her foot.
"Oh, nothing, just an old inside joke," Ironhide said. Lori rolled her eyes. Ironhide went to put his stuff away, leaving Lori and Ratchet to themselves.
"So…" Ratchet muttered. He was terrible at making small talk, and wished Ironhide would hurry back.
"What?" Lori asked, slinging her guitar-sword over her shoulder.
"I see you have a guitar… are you in a band?" Ratchet asked.
"I was… we broke up," Lori answered with a sad, longing sigh. "I was lead singer and guitarist." It was obvious this made Lori upset (and was probably what had caused the saddened flicker in her eyes when he had visited her incognito), so naturally, Ratchet wanted to try to make her feel better.
"You were lead vocals and guitar?" He remarked. "That must mean you're good. Couldn't you found a new band, or take over another one? With skills like yours, it shouldn't be too hard, should it?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a sketchy looking duo approaching Ironhide, who was still putting away his weapons. Lori noticed this too.
"Ian, you've got company!" She yelled, pulling a pair of throwing knives from her pocket. She launched the individual knives at the duo, hitting them both in the lower back. Ironhide turned around, noticing the two downed men with knives in their backs, one of them was also holding a pistol, and gave Lori a smile and thumbs up. Ratchet's reaction, however, was quite different.
"Are you out of your mind!?" He snapped. "You can't just throw knives into peoples' backs!" He sprinted to the duo, giving them medical attention.
"They were gonna hurt him," Lori huffed. "I had to slow them down!"
"Trust me when I say he could have handled it," Ratchet muttered in annoyance. Ironhide ignored the medic, and nudged a knife deeper into one of the duo's back, making the guy cry out in pain.
"Serves those punks right," he growled softly as he made his way back to Lori. "Guess we're even now, eh?" he asked her.
"I guess so," Lori answered with a smile.
"And thank you."
"No problem," Lori said. "It's a personal rule of mine to never leave home without a few throwers. You never know when you're gonna need 'em."
"Smart girl; you're definitely going places in your life," Ironhide complimented.
"If I can put my darker side behind me…" Lori said sadly. She then noticed something. "Okay that is kinda creepy… We both have black hair, blue eyes, and muscular builds…" Ironhide looked at himself and her, noticing the same.
"Yeah, so what, lots of people have black hair and blue eyes," he said, trying not to think about it too much. "You probably work out, and so do I. What's so creepy about it?" This conversation had reached Ratchet, but he stayed at a distance to see how it would play out.
"But what are the chances that we're both scarred up bruisers and ass-kickers?" Lori pressed, her eyes widening. She had a point, Ironhide had to admit.
"What are you trying to say?" He asked carefully, now taking in all the details.
"You were quite amused earlier…" Lori said, looking directly at Ratchet. The medic strolled up, looking innocent.
"I'm allowed to smile," he replied calmly.
"Something tells me there's more to this…"
"Naturally, but I believe Ian will provide better answers once he puts two and two together," Ratchet said, looking at a lost-in-thought Ironhide. "Let me help; Lori, what is your age?"
"I'm 23 years old a week ago…" Lori answered, starting to low-key freak out. Using this information, a possibility occurred to Ironhide… but that couldn't be; it was impossible. A glance at Ratchet confirmed his thoughts.
"Alexa…" he said, slowly looking back at Lori.
"You knew Alexa? Oh, my God… please tell me this is all a sick joke…" Lori looked like she might faint.
"Alexa…" Ironhide muttered again as continued to stare at Lori. He could clearly see all her Alexa features, however, her father's genes proved to be much more dominant. "You're Alexa's kid? … Oh, frag, I need to sit down." He dropped himself on the picnic bench he'd been on earlier, when he'd been cleaning the gun.
"This is not happening…" Lori whispered, her face blushing brightly.
"I'm afraid it did happen, about 23 years ago," Ratchet confirmed.
"How is this even possible?" Ironhide asked, shaking his head slowly.
"You tell me," Ratchet answered. "You're the one who got involved with this Alexa woman." Ironhide glared darkly at him, but his expression softened as he looked back at Lori.
"Lori?" He asked gently. She was shaking her head as well.
"I can't believe I just openly insulted you so much," she remarked. "But still… how is this possible?"
"You wouldn't be who you are without some insults thrown in." Ironhide shrugged. "But as for 'how,' well… that's where things get a little complicated." He did a thorough scan of Lori, and picked up her Cybertronian side.
"If that's the case… before I get pissed off, why weren't you there for me my whole life?" Lori didn't want to be mad at him, Ironhide could tell.
"I didn't think I could get your mother pregnant," he started shakily. "And I never knew you existed. If I had…" He realized exactly what he'd missed out on, and felt himself being torn apart inside with regret. "There's nothing I can say to make things all right, but Alexa raised you perfectly. You're tough as nails, always prepared, talented, and you defend others. You get you anger issues from me, but you use it to your advantage." He tried to smile, but now he felt like such a deadbeat, and his smile was faltering.
"There's more to this story than you're letting on, I can tell," Lori said with a shaky undertone in her voice as well. "The same way I could tell those guys wanted to hurt you…" all the color drained from her face.
"There is more," Ratchet said, not noticing Lori's loss of color. "But for now, let just this be the big news for today. We wouldn't want you too overloaded with information."
"You okay, Lori?" Ironhide asked, noticing that Lori wasn't looking so good.
"I'm not sure…" Lori replied, swaying a bit. Naturally, now that he knew she was his, Ironhide felt protective of her, but Ratchet shoved him aside.
"I'm a doctor, let me help." Ratchet put a hand on her shoulder to steady her as she nodded. Ratchet did a thorough medical scan to pick up anything wrong with Lori.
"I'm just so… shocked, I guess," Lori stammered. "I thought my father was a low-life… and now I learn he's nothing short of badass…" She shuddered, feeling like an utter fool for behaving like an ass.
Both Ratchet's and Ironhide's worry instantly faded. In fact, Ironhide began to laugh warmly.
"Kiddo, you have yet to see how badass I am!" he declared as he slung an arm around his daughter. Ratchet simply rolled his eyes. Some of Lori's color returned as she giggled a bit.
"I can't wait to see my boyfriend's reaction," she joked. Ironhide felt like he hit a wall knowing this; it was a new feeling.
"I know I've barely come to realize I'm your deadbeat father, but I don't know about this boyfriend of yours," Ironhide warned. "Have I met him? Will I approve of him? Is he good enough for you?" Ratchet laughed at his reaction.
"Calm down, Papa 'Hide, you haven't been a father for five minutes and you already have restrictions," Ratchet commented. Lori laughed more, her cheeks getting rosy from her musical laughter. It reminded Ironhide of Alexa's musical laugh, making him that much closer to his daughter.
"Well, if you must know, it's that guy Cade from the knife store across the street," Lori answered after she'd calmed down a little. "He's the one who ordered this sword-guitar for me. He's such a romantic." Ratchet's merry expression slipped off his face, and Ironhide became visibly angry.
"Cade, from the knife shop, is your boyfriend?" He demanded in a deadly low voice. "Perfect, now he's given me a real reason to kick his ass!" He stormed off to his truck, whose engine had roared to life when Ironhide had yelled. Lori's face twisted in confusion, and she raised a brow.
"… Did he not hear the 'such a romantic' line?" She asked, tilting her head. "Cade is a lovesick fool over me. More than likely because I damn near ran his ass over…"
"As interesting as that story would be, that's not why he's mad," Ratchet explained. "We know Cade, and well, we're nothing short of enemies. … So, should I stop you father or do you want to?" He watched Ironhide practically tear across the street toward the aforementioned knife shop.
"You might want to…" Lori trailed off, looking a little crestfallen. "I'm his daughter after all; he might not listen to me now."
"You might be the one person he will ever listen to," Ratchet remarked. He was about to start running to catch up when he spotted a flame-accented semi speed down the street to cut Ironhide off. "Well never mind, I guess I don't have to stop him either."
"Is that a friend of yours?" Lori asked, looking at the shop worriedly. "That's a nice big rig he's got." But inwardly, Lori remembered the semi from the day the band had broken up.
"Our boss and our friend," Ratchet replied. He could hear Optimus order Ironhide to stand down via comm link, as he didn't want a big fight to break out in the city. Ironhide was fuming, but he listened and returned to Ratchet and Lori.
"Jeez, you nearly killed the one guy who buys me enough chocolate to last three life times," Lori complained. "He also buys me loads of roses and plush animals; I have a mountain of plush animals in my room. Cade is my hopeless romantic."
"You clearly know a different Cade than we do," Ironhide muttered. "Anyways, I don't know how to say this, but Cade and I have been known to duke it out in the past. His crowd and mine don't mix." He couldn't help but think about what Lori had said about plush animals and want to use that as blackmail.
"I would love to hear this story," Lori remarked. "As for all those gifts, you want to see my house? You might as well live there, it's been lonely at night, and you are my father." Suddenly, she was almost tackled to the ground by a flash of black leather, but she kept her footing. Lo and behold, the person who nearly took her down was none other than Barricade, who looked utterly terrified.
"Thank goodness you're okay, Lori! I almost got attacked…" Barricade trailed off when he caught sight of Ironhide and Ratchet, and all the color drained from his face. The drastic difference in height between him and Lori was almost comical.
"Feeling lucky, punk?" Ironhide threatened as he popped his knuckles, grinning.
"We've got the numbers now, Cade," Ratchet added, smirking with his eyes narrowed.
"Cade, my darling, meet my father…" Lori sighed. She draped her arms around Barricade's shoulders and rested her head on top of his. "I won't let him hurt you."
"Your father…?" Barricade stammered. Ironhide couldn't believe Lori was defending the 'Con, but would never hurt her, so lowly growled at Barricade. Ratchet looked like he wanted to say something, but knew Ironhide wasn't going to attack when he shouldn't either.
"I dare you…" Lori challenged, holding Barricade tighter.
"I'll just beat his ass when you're not around," Ironhide snapped.
"Don't even think about it," Lori shot back, "He'll tell me, won't you, Cade?"
"You're too sweet, Lori…" Barricade whimpered. Ironhide had to resist the urge to gag. He wasn't fond of couples being all cutesy around him.
"It's not very manly to have your woman fight your battles, is it, Cade?" He taunted. "Come on, let's have a little sparring match, just you and me; this way I can kick your ass and show my daughter just how badass I am!" Barricade only cringed in fear, seeking comfort in Lori's grip.
"I've changed, Ironhide… I won't fight you," he finally replied. Lori looked downright confused. "Oh, slag…" Barricade covered his face with his hands at what he'd let slip, realizing that Lori had no idea what was going on.
"Explanations; now," Lori demanded, looking ready to punch Ironhide herself, was she not occupied with Barricade. Ironhide gave the 'Con the death-glare.
"You just keep giving me reasons to beat you silly," Ironhide sneered. "It's just a nickname, Lori." He tried to look innocent, but Lori looked like she was no longer buying it.
"It's kind of like yours, the Alley Scourge," Ratchet interjected, trying to play innocent as well. Lori winced at her infamous name.
"I'm finding it harder to believe you," she spat.
"Let's just say it's complicated…" Barricade warned.
"My whole life has been complicated," Lori all but snarled. "I can handle a little more."
"Lori, none of us want to scare you," Cade tried gently, but this only made Lori angry.
"I am not a child anymore!" she snapped harshly through gritted teeth. "I am 23 years old, please treat me as such!" Barricade looked both afraid and concerned, and this was an odd site for Ironhide and Ratchet, but they would bring it up later.
"Lori, it's quite a bit to take in, we should do this slowly-"
"Nah, Ratchet, she deserves the truth." Ironhide cut Ratchet off.
"We need to run this by the boss," Ratchet softly growled. "Besides, we don't know what Cade's boss has in mind for her yet. I don't trust him because he's nice for her. I don't believe he's changed all that much."
"Do you promise not to freak out, Lori?" Barricade asked carefully.
"It takes a lot to freak me out," Lori huffed. "I want the truth; so long as we can stay together."
"I'd love to see your father let us…" Cade's voice wavered in fear.
"My house, my rules," Lori assured. "Unless he moves in…" She trailed off as she was lost in thought.
"You two are gonna make me sick." Ironhide rolled his eyes. "Anyway, if I have to move in to keep you out of trouble, then I will. But Cade, I think we should talk about this first."
"Yes, sir…" Barricade replied like a guilty teenager.
"If you move in…" Lori mumbled, "Aw, man, I won't get to freely run around my house in my Bon Jovi pajamas…" she sighed in early defeat.
"Kids… come on, Cade," Ironhide was smirking. "Ryan, entertain Lori while we have our talk." Lori reluctantly let go of Barricade, and crossed her arms.
"But I suck at small talk…" Ratchet complained. Ironhide put a hand on his shoulder.
"You'll do fine," Ironhide assured as he stepped a good distance away from Ratchet and Lori so they wouldn't hear. He then turned to Barricade with a hard expression.
"What's your gain in this, huh?" he demanded to the 'Con. "Why are you snooping around my daughter? Did Megatron send you to do this? What do you mean you 'changed?' Answer me!" He resisted the desire to punch Barricade since Lori could see them still. Barricade shuddered.
"None of that…" he began nervously. "Lori and I met a few months ago… She's got this huge silver truck she nearly ran my holoform over with, and when she came out to apologize… I haven't stopped being in love with her since. I haven't seen or spoken to the other Decepticons since Lori almost 'hit' me." He'd smiled at the memory of the incident. However, Ironhide found the lack of communication suspicious.
"Why would the 'Cons stop contacting you, are you rouge?" he asked.
"I ignore them," Barricade replied casually. "I don't want them taking Lori away from me… or you now."
"So you are rouge, because of Lori?" Ironhide pressed. For the first time, he felt that Barricade was being sincere. Of course, he wasn't going to let the now ex-'Con off the hook.
"All because of Lori," Barricade confirmed. "She's so kind, talented, amazing… She's brought out a side of me I never knew existed… I really love her. Have you heard her sing? Her voice is intoxicating. And she shreds the strings of her guitar. I wish I could be more like her… I'm tired of being allied with the Decepticons." Ironhide felt old listening to lovesick Barricade talk about his daughter. It was definitely a side he'd never seen out of the ex-'Con, but it did bring a sincere smile.
"She is quite amazing, isn't she?" Ironhide sighed, finally warming up to Barricade. "Okay, fine, since you no longer ally yourself with the Decepticons, I will allow you to date my daughter."
"Really…?" Barricade smiled hopefully. Ironhide was so tempted to say "no" and burst the little happy bubble around Barricade, but he didn't.
"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't joke about something like this." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Just know that if you ever hurt her, I will kill you; this is a fact. … Anyway, now for the hard part: how are we gonna tell her the truth about who we really are?"
"That's a good question," Barricade answered. "She claims we won't freak her out, but I doubt that."
"I guess we'll just see how this plays out," Ironhide said. "Let's get back to them… Ratchet looks like he's about to piss his pants." Lori had shown the medic the hidden sword in her guitar, and he had just realized that he definitely should not threaten her in any way, shape or form. Lori herself was trying not to laugh.
"I wasn't expecting such a reaction," she tried to apologize. "I promise not to use it on you."
"Well, I would hope not," Ratchet replied, having stepped a small distance from her and the sword she wielded. "You're a crazy one, that's for sure. And thankfully, they're back."
"Maybe I can just embarrass him with my pajamas," Lori mumbled. "So, are you on better terms now?"
"It's a rocky foundation," Ironhide answered, "but we'll see. Now, are you ready for the truth?"
"Yeah, I am." Lori nodded.
"Well, it's best not to tell you in public," Ironhide considered. "And it might be easier to show you. Do you know any nearby deserted areas?"
"The most privacy we're gonna get will be at my place," Lori answered. "Shall we?" She gestured in the general direction of her truck.
"I still say we run this by Prime," Ratchet complained, arms crossed. "Besides, her house isn't big enough."
"Be quiet, you old fart," Ironhide scolded. "I'd like to see her place. Lead the way, Lori."
"Ryan, my home is an old farm house in the county, so it's huge," Lori explained. She lead the little group to her truck, unlocked the silvery beast, jumped into its cab, and fired it up with deep, satisfying growl. "Come on in, there's plenty of room." She reached across the cab and popped open the front and rear passenger doors.
"Mamma raised you right!" Ironhide praised. He immediately jumped in the "shotgun" seat.
"I hope you guys like AC/DC…" Lori eluded, pushing a button the radio console. Their hit "Highway to Hell" began to blast from the speakers.
"You've got taste, Lori-loo!" Barricade commented, jumping into the back seat.
"Are you coming, doc?" Lori teased. Ratchet was irritably tapping his foot, arms still crossed.
"Fine, I'm coming!" He reluctantly agreed. "Move over, Cade." Barricade shimmied himself behind the driver's seat to let Ratchet in. Once the doors were latched, Lori pulled out of the parking space, happily singing along with the music. In the distance, so they wouldn't make Lori any more suspicious than she already was, Ironhide's, Barricade's, and Ratchet's vehicle forms followed. In Lori's truck, however, Barricade and Ironhide had themselves a good time singing along to the music with Lori while Ratchet just rubbed his head in frustration.
"Oh, quit being a grouch," Lori playfully whined. "Have some fun with us!" But Ratchet continued to stay in his crabby mood. Lori travelled down the highway for a few miles before taking the last county road exit before the major interstate junction. She stayed on the county road until the last left turn before national forest land, and down this lonely little road, which was really more like an extra-long driveway, Lori's large house could be seen. "And that's my humble abode… it's pretty lonely all the way out here, but I manage."
"I can totally see myself living here," Ironhide commented. "This is a cool place."
"Well, you being my father and all, you can if you want to," Lori invited. "It's been so lonely at night since the band broke up." Her smile faltered a little at that statement.
"I'll run it by my boss, but he should be fine with it," Ironhide assured. "Besides, if things are going the way I think they're going, Cade will always be visiting." This got Lori to laugh.
"Already protective, but you're right," Lori admitted. She pulled her truck onto the cement patch in front of a closed garage, and shut it off. "And we have arrived." She tried to sound like a peppy tour guide, but it came out sounding funny.
"Can we get a tour?" Ironhide requested.
"Sure," Lori agreed. "Come on." She jumped out as she pulled her house keys out of her pocket, leading the group to her front door. She opened her door, revealing her sparsely furnished living room- all that occupied the space was her couch and her complex entertainment system, which was her TV, sound system, and gaming console. The rest of the space was bare hardwood. "This is the biggest, emptiest room in the house… for a good reason."
"And that reason would be…?" Ratchet pressed.
"When the music is on, I'm dancing!" Lori answered with a grin.
"That'll be fun," Ironhide commented. "But where's that guitar and weapon room of yours? I wanna check that out!" Lori's grin widened as she led them down the main hallway, within which were five closed doors.
"First two on the left are where I'm storing gear," she explained. "Last one on the left is my room. First on the right is my guitars, and the second one is my blades." She opened each door respectively. In the guitar room, there were a few stands and open cases surrounding what appeared to be a covered piano, but all four walls were covered in wall-mounted axes; from acoustic steel string to bass to double-necked, Lori had them all, and each guitar was unique, no two were the same in body or color. In the knife room, the walls were covered in over 200 different knives, swords, and various other blades; some hung down, others sat in vertical mounts, and a few were ornately hung at fashionable angles. Ironhide's knees almost gave out in amazement, and Ratchet was mildly impressed. Barricade looked delighted as well, recognizing many of the blades he'd sold to Lori.
"Baby girl, I uh, I seriously need to hug you right now or something," Ironhide stammered. "These are precious paradise… I may faint." His voice was thick with pride for his daughter's collections. Lori blushed happily.
"Thank you, I worked hard to get all these," she said. "Though, a hug would be nice." Ironhide was undoubtedly excited to hug Lori. He'd felt jealous every time Barricade had shown her affection. Now that he had his chance, he would make sure Lori felt all his joy as he pulled her into a bear hug. "Love you too…" Lori struggled to speak as her chest was constricted by her overjoyed father.
"You know I'm never letting you go now, right?" Ironhide asked, voice ever so slightly faltering.
"I'm not one to argue," Lori replied. "I've been horribly lonely without mom. It's going to be great to have somebody in the house again." The two barely heard the soft click of a camera shutter.
"Oops, my hand slipped," Ratchet teased, stashing the offending camera before Ironhide had seen it. Lori had spotted it, though, and she laughed.
"Uh oh, Ryan's got blackmail!" She laughed more when Ironhide cursed under his breath.
"Hatchet, give me the camera," he ordered calmly, letting go of Lori.
"No," Ratchet answered, and booked it out the door as Ironhide gave chase. Lori had to lean against the wall she was laughing so hard.
"Are you enjoying your newfound family?" Barricade asked, eyeing the door cautiously.
"Yeah, actually," Lori admitted. "This is hilarious!"
In the distance, they could hear Ratchet yell, "Ow, motherfucker!"
Right after, they heard Ironhide laughing until he was suddenly cut off, and he asked, "Ouch! Did you just bite me?"
"Worked, didn't it?" Ratchet asked with a smug tone.
"Yeah, it sure did," Ironhide admitted. "Wait…" The sounds of aggressive slapping could be heard outside.
"And I thought my old 'buddies' were crazy," Barricade muttered. "They're crazier."
Lori shrugged. "The guys in my band did the same kind of thing. I'm used to it by now, but it's never unamusing." Suddenly, the loud sound of metal banging against metal could be heard, and the ground shook.
"Are you crazy, stop that!" Ratchet demanded, but the loud banging continued. "Ow, okay, okay, jeez, I get it! Put the damn tree back, and whip that smile off your face." Lori looked towards the direction they had gone, and raised a brow.
"What the hell was that…?" she mumbled under her breath. Ironhide and Ratchet soon returned, both a little dusty.
"Okay, where were we?" Ironhide asked, playing innocent again. Lori tapped her foot and crossed her arms.
"I do believe you were finally going to tell me the truth," she answered. "I get the impression that the sounds I just heard are involved." Ironhide and Ratchet looked at each other.
"Alright, Lori, let's take this slowly," Ironhide said carefully. "Cade, feel free to butt in whenever you want. … so, do you believe in aliens?"
"Sure," Lori answered with a shrug. "Humans cannot be the only highly intelligent forms of life in the whole of space. That would be depressing and ridiculous."
"That would be ridiculous," Ironhide agreed with a chuckle. "But how would you feel if you found out that they had been living around humans for a while, just in disguise?"
"Not surprised," Lori replied calmly. "We humans are crazy, and must be pretty entertaining to watch."
"That's true," Ratchet agreed. "Your species is very crazy."
"Are you telling me you guys are aliens…?" Lori asked, looking a touch skeptical.
"More or less," Ironhide answered.
"Well, that would explain my height and build," Lori remarked with a small nod.
"When you see how we really look, that will explain it more," Ironhide eluded. "Do you think you're ready for that or no? It's okay if it's too much too soon."
"I'm game," Lori decided. Ratchet noticed that she didn't look the slightest bit shocked; not wide eyed, afraid, not even the state of denial. She was so calm it was impressive.
"We'd better go outside, then," Ironhide replied. He led everyone outside, where his, Ratchet's, and Barricade's true forms were parked.
"Nice rides," Lori commented.
"They're not our rides," Ironhide explained, his holoform flickering a little.
"Holograms…?" Lori guessed.
"Yeah, pretty much," Ironhide confirmed, "but this is what we really look like." All at once, their holoforms vanished and the three vehicles in the yard transformed. Ratchet stood with his arms crossed, Barricade looked a bit nervous, and Ironhide knelt down to get closer to Lori. "This is what you Papa really looks like, kiddo." Lori had stumbled backward, startled. But now she was giggling like an excited young child might.
"Wow, awesome!" She managed to say. Ironhide smirked and set his hand out palm up to her. "I have the coolest dad ever!" She happily stepped onto Ironhide's hand. Ironhide carefully stood up and placed her on his shoulder. Lori grinned in delight.
"I know," he teased. "But my real name isn't Ian… I'm Ironhide. Ryan's real name is Ratchet, and Cade, well; I'll let him introduce himself."
"My full name is Barricade," the ex-'Con explained.
"You all have awesome names!" Lori exclaimed.
"You're taking this very well," Ratchet observed. He was ever so slightly nervous about Lori being on her father's shoulder.
"I did say it took a lot to freak me out," Lori reminded.
"She's definitely your kid, 'Hide," Ratchet said as he rolled his optics.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Ironhide replied. "Anyways, Lori, I'm sure you've got questions so ask away." Lori's eyes darted to Barricade, the back to her father.
"So, what's the deal with you and Cade?" Lori finally asked. "Who did he run with before I met him?" Barricade looked like he wanted to blush, but couldn't, so he looked down in regret.
"On our planet, a civil war broke out," Ironhide explained. "Long story short, we were on opposite sides. He fought for the Decepticons under the rule of Megatron, while Ratchet and I fought with Optimus Prime and the Autobot Army."
"Is this still going on?" Lori asked.
"I left the Decepticons when I fell in love with you," Barricade said softly.
"Ever since I nearly ran over your hologram with my truck…?"
"Yeah," Barricade answered.
"So, I've changed you," Lori reflected.
"Ya'll need to stop getting all cutesy around me," Ironhide complained, shuddering. "I still see your boyfriend as a murderous 'Con. And yes, the War is still going on, but we're tolerating Barricade because he went rouge for your sake. Which reminds me; Ratch, wanna radio Prime and let him know about Barricade's allegiance?"
"Sure," Ratchet agreed.
"I can't help myself," Lori muttered with a giggle. "Now; you think your boss will be okay with this…? … And me…?"
"He already knows about you," Ratchet assured. "He's kept an eye on you before. He should be fine with you. Now, as for Barricade, I'm not sure."
"Wait, you and Prime both knew about Lori?" Ironhide demanded. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"We didn't know how you'd react," Ratchet explained. "You get violent over the littlest of things, and besides, we weren't totally positive she was yours, we could only guess. We still stayed our distance so we wouldn't make her nervous."
"Now that you mention it, I think I did see your boss at a distance," Lori said.
"Was it a semi-truck with a flamed paint job?" Ratchet asked.
"Yeah," Lori answered with certainty. "I really like the flames."
Ratchet chuckled. "I've told him they don't help him blend in, but I guess he really likes them."
"There's nothing wrong with standing out," Lori remarked. "Outside of school…" she added under her breath.
"Well, we're pretty good at standing out," Ratchet joked.
"No kidding," Lori agreed.
"You still want me to move in?" Ironhide asked.
"Of course," Lori answered. "The closest neighbor is five miles up the road."
Ironhide nodded happily. "Just let me get permission the next time I see Prime."
"Awesome," Lori muttered. She yawned, beginning to get tired.
"Oh, right," Ironhide said, gently setting Lori back on the ground. "We'll let you get some rest, kiddo."
"I'm not that tired," Lori protested, "It's just been a long day." She disproved her protest by yawning again.
"If you say so," Ironhide teased, able to see she was in fact quite tired.
"We should probably get going, though," Ratchet spoke up. "We still have a war to fight, and we still have responsibilities to attend to. Plus, we have to report to Prime. Let's go, 'Hide." Ironhide didn't want to leave, but knew Ratchet was right.
"Fine," he reluctantly agreed, "but here's a number you can call to get a hold of me if you need to, Lori." He handed her a slip of paper with a set of digits printed on it.
"Okay," Lori pouted. "Thank you."
"Are you staying, Cade?" Ironhide growled lightly.
"No, sir," Barricade stammered. "My next shift is in an hour."
"That works for me," Ironhide replied with a smirk. "Anyway, see you later, Lori." He gently placed a hand on her head.
"Bye, Dad" Lori giggled. "You'd better get to work, Cade, I don't want you fired." Barricade nodded and transformed. Ironhide and Ratchet transformed as well. Ratchet pulled down the driveway promptly, but Ironhide did a quick donut around Lori, to briefly separate her and Barricade, before he left as well. Barricade reluctantly left too.
Lori laughed to herself; who would have thought she was half alien robot? She had an interesting life, indeed. She turned to walk inside, but remembered she had groceries in her (hopefully) normal truck. Once that chore was done, a thought crossed her mind; in the event that she ever had guests, her father would need a discreet place to activate and deactivate his holoform. She debated what room he could slip into to do so, and remembered that all the band gear was spread out across two bedrooms when it could be compacted into one. It took several hours and liberal amounts of swearing, but she got the job done. Noticing that the time was well past midnight, she quickly changed into her pajamas, dropped herself into her bed, and was out cold before she could feel the coolness of her pillow.