AN: I forgot to mention this in the first chapter but, I don't own the picture I used for this story; I just really wanted to use it, so I said whatever I had to that would let me upload it. The image belongs to whoever made the 2005 Fantastic 4 movie, and I don't even know how you would begin to ask for permission to use something like that. But I take responsibility for my actions, and if the people who run the site want me to take it down, then I will; because I have no money to give them should they try to sue. Oh, and if you guys like this story so far, then please send a review; because this story lives off of reviews.


Chapter 2: Choices and consequences

Army base, hanger E

When Jack and the others got back to base, Fowler informed them on what was happening since they left for Japan. Apparently the news report that they were a part of, was going world wide; not only that, but the pictures and videos that people took with their phones, were uploaded to the internet and went viral. So now any chance of keeping this under wraps, along with any hope of them staying out of the spotlight, just went down the drain. Then Agent Fowler told them that it would probably be a good idea for them to remain on the base and lay low for a while, just until they manage to find a cure for what they have.

But after hearing that, Jack refused almost instantly. He said that while he agreed that finding a cure should be their top priority, that they also shouldn't let something like this stop them from living their lives. He knew that spring break was going to be done soon, and that would mean that they would have to go back to school, and his mom would also have to return to work. June and Fowler argued to Jack, that maybe this whole situation took precedence over their social lives. But then Jack stated that he only had one year left of high school, and that none of them should put their lives on hold so that people at an army base could preform tests on them. He said that they couldn't hide from the rest of the world while they tried to solve this problem, and they shouldn't have to either; especially since what they had wasn't something that couldn't be fixed.

And everyone present could just tell that Jack honestly believed every word that he was saying. He was always the bravest and most hopeful out of all of them; probably because he knew that no matter what obstacles they faced in the past, they always found a way to overcome it, together. So then everyone talked, and then they came up with a compromise. They would stay at Unit E and let them run their tests for the remainder of spring break, and then they would let them return to their normal lives while they tried to figure out what to do next.

After the plan was made, the Autobots decided that they would stay to help their friends find a cure. Raf was also allowed to help them find a cure; not only because he was the smartest person they knew, but he was also the most eager to help Miko and the rest of his friends. So no matter what happens, they would figure it out as a team. And So the rest of spring break just sort of flew by; and they were even allowed to go home to their families, or in Miko's case, host family, the day before school started.

And some of the Autobots even returned to their roles as the kids guardians, just to keep an eye on them and to help them transition through this tough time. And while Jack was riding home on Arcee, he knew that as long as they were in need of help, that the Autobots would never abandon them; and he was glad to know that they had such good friends. But as he pulled into his driveway, he couldn't help but feel that with their guardians back, that it was just like old times; which made him happy to think about.


Darby residents, the next morning

Jack got up and dressed for school, but as he did, he couldn't help but wonder how Raf and Miko were doing. Unlike Jack's mom, the people that Raf and Miko live with, didn't know about the Autobots. And with their story going live, all over the internet; Jack thought that their families, or host family, would be pretty mad at these new chain of events. Their parents knew nothing about the Autobots, and it wasn't as if they could tell them that they were going to another planet for spring break; because then they never would have let them go. So they lied to their families and told them that they were going on a family trip with Jack and June.

When Jack got down stairs, he saw his mom getting ready for work. "Hey mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" "Sure honey, what's on your mind?" Jack snapped his fingers to make a little flame appear, before he snapped them again to make it disappear. "It seems as though I'm getting the hang of this. And I was just wondering if you've thought any more about how things might be going with Raf and Miko." "Yeah, I have actually" she said. "I mean you, me and Raf still look the same; but I can't even imagine what Miko must be going through right now. Who knows what her host parents would've done when she came home looking the way that she does now, especially after she explained everything to them" Jack said. "I know what you mean, Jack; but you have to remember that Miko's really going to need you, now more than ever. She's going to need both you and Raf, as her friends."

"I know she will, and I also know that going back to school is going to be really hard. Because we're different now, and a lot of people are going to have questions. And I can only guess how things are going to go for you when you go back to the hospital" Jack said. "You let me worry about that. And as for school, all you and your friends have to do, is just be there for each other; I love you" she said before she kissed his forehead and left. Then Arcee gave Jack a ride to school, where he met up with Raf and Miko. And even though Jasper was a small town, it was still virtually impossible to stay under the radar after what happened. The school was swarmed with reporters and photographers who were taking pictures, and even interviewing a few of the students and faculty.

And when Jack made his way up the stairs of the school with his friends, he saw that Sierra was one of the people getting interviewed. "So do you know any of the students that went into space?" a reporter asked Sierra as a camera was filming her and a microphone was shoved into her face. "Oh absolutely, actually, me and Jack Darby are boyfriend and girlfriend" she said to the reporter. And when she saw Jack walking up the stairs, she grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of the camera. "Go on, Jack; why don't you tell everyone, as my boyfriend, how long we've been dating, and maybe even how you asked me out" she said. "What?" Jack said before he pulled Sierra inside the school, so they could talk away from the reporters. "Ok Sierra, what's going on; because last I checked, you broke up with me, remember?" Jack reminded her.

"Well that was a while ago, and I was thinking that maybe we could give us another shot" she said. "No, I'm willing to bet that you thought that you could benefit from this. Maybe you figured that if you told everybody that we were dating, it would go on the air and instantly spike your popularity. But that's not going to happen; I'm not going to be your stepping stone to fame" he said right before he started to walk away. The first couple hours of school went off without a hitch, except for Miko breaking almost every chair that she sat down in. But soon it was lunch time, and the three friends all sat down at the same table to eat together. Although they were the only ones sitting at that table, everyone else just avoided them like the plague. They all sat at their respective tables and stared, mostly at Miko.

"Hey guys, check this out" Jack said as he held out his hand and started a small fire in the center of his palm. "At least I've sort of got it under control, now. What about you guys?" he asked as he extinguished the fire. "Well, I have been practicing, a little; and I think I've figured out how to make it happen. But I haven't mastered it yet" Raf said as he stretched one of his fingers, and then returned it to normal. Then they both turned to Miko, which she took as a sign that they were curious to know if she gained any control over her new abilities. "Nope, nothing's changed for me. I'm still a big orange rock, and I still freak people out" she said before she tried and failed to pick up the fork on her tray. But no matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't get her big stone fingers to grip it.

Jack helped Miko pick up her fork before he said "So, how did the people at home take it when you both showed them that you were...different" Jack struggled to find the right word for their respective conditions. "Well my siblings thought that my stretching was kinda cool, in a weird way; but my parents were really mad that I lied to them about where I was going, and at the fact that their son is now a human rubber band. They almost grounded me, but I guess they forgot about it in the heat of the moment." "My host parents were pretty shocked when I came through the front door, looking the way that I did. But when I told them everything that happened, and about how my parents left me; they just hugged me and told me that I could stay there as long as I want. Personally I think that they just feel sorry for me; but at least they didn't run away or kick me out, which already makes them better than my real parents."

"Miko, I can't say it enough; I am so sorry about your parents. But you have to remember that you're not alone in this; your host parents were generous enough to let you stay with them. And if worst comes to pass, then you'll have Raf, and my mom, and...me. We're all in this together" Jack said as he rested his hand on one of Miko's, while Raf did the same thing. "Thanks guys, it's nice to know that I'm not going through this all alone" she said. "Amen to that" Jack responded in a humorous way.


After school, the three friends decided to meet up at Jack's house. Miko asked Jack how him and his mom were dealing with things. And Jack told her it was kinda like the time she first found out about the Autobots; so they weren't strangers to the craziness of life, but the one bit of comfort that they had was to know that it happened to both of them, and that they didn't have to go through it on their own. This was just another thing that they would deal with as a family. And not long after their little chat, June returned home from the hospital. Jack asked her how her first day back at work went. She said about normal, unless you count all the people who either looked at her funny, or asked her a bunch of questions. Apparently all of those people saw the news, or they discovered what happened through the internet. Everyone at the house talked for a bit, but then Agent Fowler stopped by and told them to come with him. He said he had something important to show them.

So they all went with him, June rode with Fowler, and the kids rode with their guardians. They drove down the desert road, until they eventually came to a mountain, similar to the one that the Autobots used as their first base. When they drove up to it, a secret entrance opened up, and they went through it. As they were exiting the tunnel, Fowler looked at a surprised June and said "What, you thought that the government had only one secret base in Nevada?" When the vehicles came to a stop, everyone got out/off of their respective rides. Then the Autobots transformed, and everyone present took a good look around.

They were all amazed at how much it looked like the old base. "Ok, why do we need a new secret base?" Jack murmured. "Well maybe because they're awesome, so why not? Miko replied. "Actually I thought that you guys would like the privacy; now you can run tests on yourselves without the people from the government bothering you. But we'll still be checking in from time to time. Oh, and this base has everything the old one did, and more; so you can get started whenever you like" Agent Fowler stated. "I don't know what to say, Fowler" Jack said. "Don't say anything, it's the least I could do. I hope you all can get this figured out, I really do" Fowler said before he left. Not long after he was gone, the others started to familiarize themselves with their new base.

And once they got used to their new surroundings, they thought that they might as well get to work in trying to understand what happened to them. So everyone paired off into groups so they could run multiple tests at once. Raf and June were helping Miko, while Ratchet and Arcee tended to Jack. Raf and June used an X-Ray machine that they found in the base to examine exactly how much of Miko was covered in rock. "If we're going to identify the source of the mutation, we need isolate your irradiated DNA; so we can activate positional genomes, and determine the extent of the damage" June instructed. Then Miko looked at Raf in a state of wonder and confusion. "We have to do a physical in order to see what got zapped" Raf said as he translated June's words. "Oh, well why didn't you just say that?" Miko asked. "Wait, I thought that the tests we ran when we got back from Cybertron, said that we didn't have any radiation in our blood?" Raf inquired.

"That was almost a week ago, Raf. And a week ago, my son wasn't catching on fire, and you couldn't stretch like you were made of elastic. Look, the way I see it, we were all hit by those cosmic rays; so maybe we should at least check for any new signs of radiation in our systems" she stated. "Alright, fair enough" Raf murmured as they fired up the X-Ray. When they used the machine, they saw that her organs were covered in rock, even her still beating heart was completely encased in rock. "Her internal organs are completely solid" June said. "Well how bad is it, and please be honest" Miko said. "Well I think that it looks worst than it actually is; the important thing is that you don't feel any pain or discomfort, despite what's happened to you" June responded.

Then after they were done with the X-Ray, they moved on to the reflex test. They started tapping Miko's knee with a small hammer, but unfortunately she couldn't feel any of it. So Raf brought out a bigger hammer and whacked her knee with it; however, this caused her to kick a piece of furniture against the wall and break it.

And on the other side of the room with Jack, Ratchet and Arcee set up a chamber for him to test out his fire powers. Since Jack remembered what happened the last time he lit on fire, he first took off all his clothes before he stepped into the chamber and bust into flames, while Ratchet and Arcee monitored his condition from the outside. "He's heating up from his core" Ratchet said as he analysed the data. "But all of his vitals are completely normal" Arcee added. And as time progressed, Jack's flames only grew hotter in terms of intensity. "It's hotter than I anticipated. Ok Jack, that's enough" Ratchet ordered. "Are you sure; because I know I can go hotter." "Jack, just extinguish yourself, already" Arcee told him. "Ok, fine" he said before he relaxed, causing all of the fire to go away. "So why did you guys tell me to stop? Because I was just starting to see how far I can go" Jack said.

"Jack, you were almost at four thousand Kelvin; any hotter than that and you're approaching supernova" Arcee informed him. "Ok, well that sounds interesting" Jack mentioned. "Yeah interesting and dangerous; that's the temperature of a star, or more accurately, a sun" Arcee exclaimed. "And not only could you kill yourself if you ever managed to go that hot; but you could set fire to Earth's atmosphere and destroy all life as we know it" Ratchet explained in further detail. "Got it, supernova, bad" Jack said as he gave two thumbs up before he left the chamber to collect his clothes. After Jack got dressed, he lit his hand on fire, just for a second; only to find out that his sleeve had been burned and singed because of that action. Since Jack and Raf were both making good progress with their abilities, the last one to be tested for the day, was June. She had monitors hooked up to her skin, while Raf kept track of her vitals. "It's not invisibility per say; you should be able to bend light around other objects, or even people. If you could control your emotional state better" Raf said. "Excuse me?" June asked while being a little upset at that comment. "I saying that if these powers are psychological, then it wouldn't hurt to have more dominion over your emotions. Can you remember your exact emotions on the bridge in Japan?" Raf asked her. "Anger, rage, frustration" she said with a frown. "Ok; well is there any way to duplicate that, like with a repressed memory, or-" Raf stopped as he realized that he was probably making her upset. "I'm sure I can think of something" she said with a forced smile.

It had now been an hour since the testing began, and June was the last one to complete her examination. "So how's that coming?" Raf asked as he looked back and noticed that June was now totally invisible. But then a force field erupted out of her body and knocked Raf down to the ground. "Oh Raf, I'm sorry. I guess I was just focusing on a little too much rage" she said as she helped him up. "It's okay, technically I did ask for it. But that's what these tests are for; to find out what we can do with these new abilities." "Hey guys, I think we have a serious problem" Jack said as he referred to his now burnt clothing. However, Raf and Ratchet were pretty sure that they could come up with a solution for that problem. But right after that awkward exchange, Raf's phone rang; and the caller ID said that it was his parents who were trying to call him. Probably because school ended an hour ago, and he still wasn't home yet. And when he answered the phone, he knew that he couldn't tell them where he was, even if they did ask. So when he told them that he was with his friends, they were a little relieved to hear that; but when he told them that he was with June, they just got all mad, all of the sudden.

"Uh Mrs. Darby, they want to talk to you" Raf said as he handed her the phone. Then the rest of the kids gathered around to find out what could be so important for them to want to talk to June. "Yes Mr and Mrs. Esquivel, I'm a parent myself, so I can understand how you must be upset. But I want to assure you that I mean your son no harm. Uh huh, well I'm sorry you feel that way. I will have Raf home as soon as possible" she said before she hung up the phone and gave it back to Raf. "Well the good news is that they're not mad at you, Raf. They're just worried about you, and they want you to come home. As a matter of fact, I think it's time that everybody went home" she said. And immediately after that, they all got in/on their now transformed guardians, and went home; with June riding on the back of Arcee with Jack.


Then when Arcee dropped Jack and June off in their driveway, Jack finally got up the nerve to ask his mom a question. "So mom, what else did Raf's parents talk to you about?" "Nothing that concerns you, Jack" she said with a sad look on her face. "Actually, it does; you're my mom, and for as long as I've known you, all you have ever done was to love and protect me. And now it's my turn to protect you; so if someone has a problem with you, then they have a problem with me. And there's nowhere I'd rather be standing than right by your side, all the way. So don't turn away from me, please." "Raf's parents are suing me, alright. They told me to stay away from their son, and that they would be pressing charges for child endangerment" she regrettably told Jack.

"But that's ridicules; anyone who knows you knows that you're the greatest mother in the world, and that you'd never willfully endanger a child." "He's right, June; you couldn't of known what would happen, and nobody would have thought to blame you for something like that" Arcee said. "But regardless, I still lied to them about where I was taking their son; I knew I couldn't tell them the truth, so I told them that it was a family trip. They trusted me to keep their son safe, and I violated that trust by bathing him in cosmic radiation, and bringing him home all...stretchy. Choices have consequences, Jack; when I chose to lie to them, that was my choice, and now this is the consequence of that choice. And I kinda understand where their coming from; if someone had hurt you, then I would want justice. So maybe I deserve to be sued, and maybe I deserve to go to jail for what I did."

"You know what, no you don't; and it might have been Miko's idea to go into outer space, but we all missed the Autobots. And we probably would have gone regardless of whether or not you came with us. Plus, weren't you the one who told me how that storm was a freak of nature, and that no one could have possibly seen it coming. You know, maybe I could talk to Raf's parents; or failing that, at least we still have Fowler to fall back on" Jack said. "No, Jack; I appreciate that, but I can't ask you to fight my battles for me" June replied. "You didn't ask for my help, I volunteered it. And if past experiences has taught us anything, it's that no one goes after my mom and gets away with it. We're a family, mom, and that means we do things together; everything's going to be alright, mom, I promise." "Wow, that was a nice speech; you're a good son, Jack" June said. "Thanks, and you're a great mom" he said before they embraced in a hug.


The next morning, Jack was getting breakfast before he left for school. He was about to defrost a bagel in the microwave, when he suddenly got an idea. He held the bagel in his hand and warmed up his palm, until all the frost eventually melted off of it. Then after he thawed the bagel, he also used his powers to toast it. Jack was amazed by what he could do with his new abilities; and as he made breakfast for him and his mom, he began to think about other ways that he could use his fire. And when June walked into the kitchen, she smelled something cooking, something delicious. "Oh hey, mom; I'm making bacon for breakfast, do you want some?" "Sure, I'd love some" she said. "Hey, watch this" he said as he used his powers to cook the bacon in his hand, before he put it on a plate and handed it to her. "So I see you've been practicing" June stated.

"Yeah, I've been trying to get better control of it; and bit by bit, I've been slowly getting used to it. And in the end, isn't that what's most important. Getting a handle on these powers, so that we don't unintentionally hurt someone." "I couldn't of said it better myself" June said as she took a bite of her bacon. "Ow, hot, hot" she said as she spat out the bacon. "Huh, it's hot, I didn't even notice" Jack said before he took a bite of his piece of bacon. "I guess my powers protect me from extreme temperatures" he said offhandedly. "Oh, and check out what else I've been practicing" Jack said as he took a step back and took off his socks and shoes. Then Jack started a fire underneath his feet, that propelled him slightly in the air, like a pair of thrusters. "Are you flying?" June asked. "Yeah I think so, whoa" Jack muttered that last part as he lost his balance and fell back onto the floor.

"Yeah, you might want to work on that last part. Now clean those scorch marks off of the floor, finish your breakfast, and then get to school, I love you" June said before she left. Jack cleaned the scorch marks, put his socks and shoes back on, and finished his breakfast; but before he could leave, he noticed that the bottom of his pant legs were all burnt. "I really gotta fix this whole burning my clothes when I flame on thing" he said before he departed from his house.


After school got out, Jack and the others started to talk about everything that's happened over the last twenty four hours, and about what they should do next. "I can't believe that my parents are suing your mom" said Raf. "Me either, I mean she's one of the nicest people I've ever met, a little uptight at times, but nice" said Miko. "You know, maybe I can try and talk them out of this" Raf said. "And I would really appreciate that, Raf; but right now I'd just like to know if you've got a plan to cure us" Jack replied.

"Actually I just might" Raf said as he pulled out a device and some diagrams from his backpack. The device Raf had, was small, about the size of a fidget spinner. And when Raf activated it, a small cosmic cloud appeared in the center of it. "These are artificial cosmic rays, created by a small generator. Ratchet made this so that I could show you what we'll be dealing with. Just don't touch, they may be artificial cosmic rays; but the effects are no less real" Raf said as he powered down the generator. He then moved on to the diagrams. The drawings showcased a much larger generator, and a chamber big enough for someone like Miko to step inside.

"Me and Ratchet are going to build a machine, to recreate the storm; the cosmic rays will travel from this generator, into this chamber" Raf said as he explained the diagram. "If we can reverse the wave signal-" "It will return us back to normal" Jack said while finishing Raf's explanation. "Alright, well I think that we should go get my mom, and maybe Fowler; and then go to the base to tell them the game plan." "Jack, you know that my parents don't want me anywhere near your mom; and I really don't want to make things worst for her." "Raf, my mom is not going to hurt you; and she knows more about medicine and the human body, than any of us. We're gonna need her help; plus, if we're going to get cured, then odds are that she's going to have to be with us, so she can get cured too. Now if you feel that bad about your parents, then just don't tell them; I know it probably feels wrong for you to lie to them. But if there's one thing that I've learned from helping the Autobots, it's that sometimes you have to do the wrong thing to do the right thing."

When Jack was done explaining things, Raf agreed that he may have a point. So it was decided that they would all meet up at base, and go through the plan for everyone who wasn't present to hear it. But as they were leaving, they ran into Vince, outside. He was resting against his car, and then he said "Well if it isn't Darby and his freak show." "Uh, not now, Vince" Jack said before Vince got up and grabbed Raf by the shirt. "Come on squirt, why don't you stretch for us" Vince bullied. Then Miko grabbed Vince's shoulder and applied pressure to it; before Jack lit a fire in the center of his hand. "I said back off, Vince" Jack said before he extinguished the fire. Then when Miko let him go, Vince took a step back and said "I always knew you were a freak, Darby. And now the whole world knows it too." "Come guys, let's go" Jack said as he and his friends took their leave.

When they were gone, Vince noticed a small object on the ground; it had been the same generator that Raf had used as a demonstration for his friends. He picked it up and said "That nerd must have dropped his toy, oh well." When he went back to his car, he pushed a button on the machine, and the storm appeared in the center of it. And Vince, being the not too bright guy that he was, decided to touch it. But when his hand made contact with the storm, he received a painful shock that made him drop the device and lean against his car. "Stupid piece of junk" he said as he smashed it with his foot; then he got in his car and prepared to drive away. But little did he know that the damage had already been done; his cells were exposed to cosmic radiation, and they were beginning to change. He started his car and tried to drive away, but for some reason it just wouldn't move; so he got out to see why. And then he saw that his tires were melted to the ground. And he remembered that Jack walked past his car to leave; so he could have easily done this. "DAMN YOU, DARBY!"


AN: That was a lesson I learned in real life; someone once taught me that sometimes you have to do the wrong thing to do the right thing. A bit contradictory, I know, but the man who taught it to me was right. For example, Jack didn't tell his mom that he was helping the Autobots for the longest time, because he was trying to save the world. Doing something wrong for the right reason, doesn't always make you a bad person; it just makes you the only one who's brave enough to do it. Happy holidays and a happy new year. STAY AWESOME!