Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. OH YEAH. I don't own Red vs. Blue either! Forgot to put that on the previous chappie.
A/N: Huh…don't have much to say this chapter. n_n I hope Mikaela and Maggie are IC enough. It seems Mikaela's a little quiet, but between the two, I'm thinking Maggie's the bigger chatter box.
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"Here's your change…Have a good evening!"
"Thank you very much. You too!"
Maggie passed the box to Mikaela and tossed the change into the appropriate hole in the center console. The coins clinked against the already accumulated pile of toll money and she secured two bottles of cold milk into cup holders. Pulling out of the drive-thru, she searched the streets for somewhere nice to sit and eat their delicious desserts.
Mikaela peeked into the box, noting with awe, "They smell so gooood…"
"I know, right? I'm excited. I'm glad the ice cream place was closed."
The brunette nodded reverently, closing the box reluctantly. "I didn't think they made them fresh at night."
"Me neither… Hm, how 'bout the park? Are there creepers in the park at this time?"
"Probably, but it's too nice not to go."
Maggie agreed and entered the park, the road twisting gently to follow the contours of the hill it was set in. She came to a stop at a spot near some tables that overlooked a lake and a part of the city. She cut the engine. It wasn't the New York skyline or anything particularly breathtaking, but it was quaint and colorful. The lights reflected on the water and the moon shone brightly above, unhindered by the wispy clouds that littered the stars. The wooden bench was still damp from a light rain earlier in the day, but it didn't bother either of them as they set the box of goodies down and twisted their milks open. Easing into friendly chatter with more confidence than they had a half hour ago, they caught each other up on the last year or so.
Six pastries later, they were analyzing the events in Egypt, Maggie asking questions on events she wanted more details on and Mikaela answering with thoughtful earnesty, when something caught the younger woman's eye. She knew what it was before it even registered that she should turn her head to look up.
A meteor.
"Maggie, oh my God, it's another one!" she exclaimed sharply, patting the blonde's shoulder in alarm.
"That's what it looks like when they fly in?" came the shocked reply.
They watched in silence as the fiery ball they both knew to be an alien in disguise streaked towards the Earth's surface and land somewhere over a hill. Maggie immediately began doing mental calculations, estimating its size and determining its distance from them. "I think I know where it landed. Or…an estimate."
Mikaela stood, reaching for her cell phone. "We have to get there first, just in case it's Autobot. We can take it back to Sam's house or the Look Out and then get it to Optimus and the others. If we can find it."
She knew the routine. A new bot landed, brand new to the planet and ready to get regrouped with the Autobots, who took on a disguise, contacted his (or sometimes her) superiors, and then determined a good spot to lay low for a while. But not everything always went smoothly. Sometimes a new bot crashed without a com system, or their ability to take on a disguise was hampered, or Decepticons leaped in from no where, or what they thought to be a harmless spot to hide out in turned out to be a really bad location. All of these things had happened before. If they could at least find the crash site, they could report it and then the Autobots would know exactly where to start looking. If they could find the bot, one way or another, they could lead them to a good rendezvous point away from the public eye and any prying humans.
"And if it's Decepticon?" Maggie asked, already packing up the box and grabbing her milk. She wasn't asking because she was scared, she was asking because she wanted to know the plan. They were both on the same wavelength.
"If it's Decepticon, we'll either know long before we get there, or it'll be gone when we find the crashsite." Mikaela quickly texted Optimus Prime their situation, feeling a little disrespectful in that she wasn't calling the guy…or speaking to him in person, as some part of her thought one should. She shook it off and read the answering text that had pinged her phone only a moment after she'd sent her message. Her eyebrows rose.
At least twenty Cybertronians are headed in for a landing this evening. Four have landed already. Should there be any sign of Decepticon presence, find safety away from cameras or traffic.
There was a surprised pause as she finished the text. "At least twenty? And I was sure he'd say more than that…"
Maggie stared expectantly for another moment, fully anticipating a warning to stay away or something, and then…
I do not wish to ask this of you unassisted and unprotected, but if you could scout the location of our comrade I'd be eternally grateful, Mikaela. I'm afraid our numbers are too stretched at this time.
The overwhelmed and slightly helpless tone in the words could almost be heard and this only helped solidify the womens' willingness to help.
"They have their hands full, and that's got to be an understatement," Maggie noted, ready to spring into action. "No wonder he's asking for help."
The blue eyed teen nodded once, no longer hesitating, "Yeah, come on, let's go!"
Both women hurried to the car and strapped themselves inside, neither with any qualms about what they were about to do. They had a simple, straightforward plan they were sticking to that they outlined on the way out of the park – they get there, they scope the place out, and should there be no one there (as was expected, the bot might scan an alt mode and go into hiding immediately) they'd hold their position until someone came to find the new bot. That was assuming it was an Autobot, which they both hoped dearly.
Mikaela texted Optimus again, just to ask if they could be sure, but he said there wasn't a way for him to know at this time. The delay between when she sent the message and when he replied spoke volumes - he was obviously really busy - and her mouth settled into a worried frown. Curious if this was reaching the news, she turned on the radio while Maggie pealed out onto a nearly empty street and listened as, sure enough, the weather reports were live across the air. Every station said the same thing – lots of big meteors, world wide planetfall, sudden, no warning, watch your heads.
"Look," Maggie hissed, pointing with a painted nail to the horizon. Streaking along the night sky were two more meteors, tiny and bright against the night sky. "They're way too far away for us to get to or find right now; probably something like ten to twenty miles, at least, depending on how high this hill is…They're on their own for now…"
As the road inclined and they sped left to start around the hill, Mikaela spotted a flat bed truck sitting unattended in a cracked old parking lot and pointed it out. "If it's injured, I can hotwire a truck. We'd just need a tarp or something to hide him."
Maggie nodded eagerly, "I have one in the trunk. It's kind of small but it'll be something."
Three minutes later the pair cruised to a halt just to the side of the road and gazed into the depths of the forest-covered slope for a moment. The crash site was somewhere in the trees. Listening, they heard no sirens, and glancing about revealed no one on the road. For now, anyway.
Maggie was the first to slide out of the car and she ran around to the other side, quickly opening the back door. "Here," she said, holding out a hand.
Mikaela handed her the brightly colored box of pastries and shut her door. In one hand was a large flashlight she found in the glove compartment. With her other hand free, she reached for her keys and switched on the tiny LED light she kept attached to it. The forest lit up before her. It wasn't until she was here, facing the darkness of the trees, that she felt the first tingling of fear. '…And if it's Decepticon?' had been the computer expert's first question. It echoed in her mind a few times. If it was Decepticon, they were pretty much dead.
A car door slammed, causing her to start.
"I grabbed a fire extinguisher," she lifted a large unmistakable red canister. "And I put the donuts in the back seat."
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Chapter 3 might be uploaded tonight as well...