Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, the movies, cartoons, shows, etc. All I own are my crazy thoughts and theories about this wonderful fandom that I love beyond the stars. As well as any OCs that may pop up in the chapters and from the depraved depths of my soul/mind.

Started: 1/27/17

Published: 7/16/17

Story: Life is full of wicked turns...

Chapter Warnings: Cursing.

Chapter Three: Plausible deniability...

Previously:

'I have a couple of options,' she thought calmly, 'Option one: I can act like a complete lunatic and start ranting at an empty vehicle, which might scare off these two morons. Option two: I can go into the bar, get these two arrested, and pretend this car doesn't exist. Option three: do the same as two, only call the cops and describe the car. Most likely I'll do number two or three. However, option four is very appealing right now, and I really don't give a fuck.' Her resolve hardened, her lips pressed tightly into a frown as she pushed past the drunks, marching straight to the vehicle.

"You fucking asshole! You fucking totaled my damn car!" Raising her crutch, with a niggling sensation of warning at the back of her head; she slammed it as hard as she could into the windshield, cracking it into hundreds of little spider web cracks.

The entire parking lot was dead silent for a long moment, before the drunk idiots cussed and staggered away. "That bitch just busted up that fucking car, bro!"

"Fuck we gotta get outta here before the coppers come, man!" She listened to their running footsteps, before she looked back at the car. Holding the crutch in her hand, she felt her heart pound in a rush of adrenaline.

'Fuck, now there's two options,' she thought, slowly backing away. 'Option one, that is a normal car that I'll be paying to repair, or option two,' she swallowed heavily as the engine roared to life, the lights flashing on as it moved aggressively forward. "Option two, I just fucked up a Decepticon's alt," she muttered aloud, stumbling back as it's, no his engine revved louder. "Fuck!" She threw her crutch, hearing it crack against his windshield again, before turning and running between cars, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she forced herself to run on her busted foot. Hearing the angry revving, she weaved back and forth, thankful that for whatever reason, he hadn't transformed and snatched her up. Ignoring the highway, she headed for the plains, grateful that the curbs were too high for his low-rise alt to navigate easily. She also hoped that he was squeamish about organic dirt and material getting into his systems, as she weaved her way through the inclines of the plain.

'Those books are fucking liars,' the random thought crossed her mind as she panted, hearing the car behind her but slightly distanced away. The authors who claimed adrenaline rushes made pain vanish completely by magic, obviously had never been in this stressful situation. 'What was that comedian's name? Oh, yeah, Bill Engvall, or something, and his Vicodin skit,' She felt the pain in her ankle, wrist, and torso as she hit the ground, rolling as she tripped before bouncing back onto her feet. She felt the pain, but she didn't care, too worried about the Decepticon chasing her down. She specifically did NOT glance behind her, using her ears to pinpoint his direction. She had seen too many horror movies to do that stupid trick and cliché. Spotting the tall chain-link fence, she suddenly realized he was playing with her.

Slamming into the fence, she heard the revving behind, almost sounding smug. 'I don't appreciate playing cat and mouse with you, fragger,' she thought angrily, turning to face him. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a dip in the ground. Feinting left, she dove to her right when he launched forward, his bumper slamming into the fence and uprooting it. Withholding the chuckle of glee, she hit the ground, rolling and scrambling under the now loose fence, crab-walking part of the way, until she was free. Hearing the furious growl, she didn't savor her brief victory, instead, she ran along the asphalt, eyes searching desperately. She heard the screech of shredding metal before the unmistakable sound of a transformation. It wasn't like in the movies or the TV shows, she noted absently, it was far more musically tuned than mere screeching of metal twisting. After that unearthly sound, came the heavy thuds of footsteps. Again, she kept her eyes forward, not daring to look despite the urge to. 'Plausible deniability, I didn't see shit!' she thought, slightly hysterical. Relief filled her chest, her eyes spotting what she needed.

"COME HERE YOU LITTLE INSECT!" She let out a small shriek, managing to dodge as claws slammed into the pavement beside her, the shock wave sent her rolling off the asphalt and into the ditch. Landing on her stomach with a wheeze, her arms automatically cradled her head, preventing her face from slamming into the ground and rocks. Hearing a dark chuckle above her, she uncovered her head, staring at the ground, before raising her eyes enough to spot the small maintenance gate. "Thought you could escape me, did you?" She felt the cold shadow loom above her, before it became visible in the lights.

'Definitely Decepticon,' she noted the silhouette of a spiky helm and shoulder guards. As she watched the shadow loom closer, hearing him reach out to grab her, a loud horn and roaring engine interrupted. Peeking up, she only caught the movement as he yanked his servo back, turning to face the threat. Taking her chance, she shoved herself up and lunged at the gate, shoving it open and somehow managing to wedge herself through the gap, ducking under the chain padlock. Hearing the furious roar, she felt the fence shudder against her before the sound of another transformation, and then the loud crash of a body-tackle. Ignoring the fight behind her, hearing a familiar rumbling voice cursing the Decepticon, she swallowed the amazed chuckle. 'No, fragging way, was that, Ironhide? Well he can take care of himself,' It was ironic, she noted, hearing more engines approaching, along with human voices shouting out orders, that she finally felt the vestiges of panic creeping up, now that she had rescuers.

"MISS! STOP!"

'Hell no!' She caught glimpses out of the corner of her eyes, more flashy vehicles, as well as simple ones, with soldiers pouring out. Her chest burned, the panic becoming more pronounced, as the soldiers ran to intercept her.

"MISS!"

"STOP! STOP HER!"

'Just keep running, keep your head down, don't look at any of them!' she chanted, finally spotting the sewer gate. Ducking around an incline, so they lost visual of her, she backtracked and hit the sewer gate. Pulling out her Swiss army knife, she sliced the thin wires that had been wrapped around a ripped section of the fencing. Wiggling through, cursing her boobs for getting caught, she closed it quickly and moved deeper inside the shaft. Hoping that they didn't notice the gap, she ducked around the first corner and waited, covering her mouth to cover the sound of her panting. She was grateful to her cousin for taking her exploring down here. Despite it technically being trespassing, he had shown her the passageways. It had been part game, part training, to get her thinking of escape routes. Of course her mom had scolded both of them when they got home, smelling like sewage after having miss-stepped and fallen into one of the drainage ditches.

"I lost her!"

"Does anyone have eyes on the girl?"

"How could she just vanish into thin air?"

"Hey! There's a sewer over here!" Tensing, slowing her breathing, she listened.

"That gate's locked up tight, no way she got inside,"

"Did you not see her out-run that Decepticon, or wiggle through the main gate? We had to cut the chain to follow her,"

"Yeah, but she ain't wearing a hundred pounds of gear, dumbass," A light smack. She breathed a sigh of relief, hearing them slowly moving away.

"Guys! This fence is ripped, she might have been able to squeeze through," Hearing that, she groaned and carefully began sliding along the wall, trying to move silently. "C'mon, give me a hand with this!" Reaching up, she touched a worn mark at the intersection, feeling for the scratch, there! She turned left, moving a bit faster as she heard their voices become fainter. Following the hidden marks, her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness until she came to a small alcove. Ducking inside, she felt along the bottom, finding the other mark on the right side, and reaching up. When her cousin had taken her, he had to boost her up, since she was so short, now, her fingertips managed to find the out-of-sight ledge. Feeling it out for a moment, ignoring the possibility of insects and spiders, she backed up before bouncing forward, her good foot kicking off the wall. Her hands grabbed the edge, fingers slipping before catching on the narrow groove her cousin had carved. Her wrist splint made it far too difficult to pull herself up, making her slip twice before she managed. Twisting, she grunted as she slid in on her side, her feet wiggling inside first and deterring anything. She bit her lip as cobwebs slid across her face, making her shiver in disgust, before she tucked herself inside.

'Think, Elly, think,' she rested her forehead against her hands, calming down slowly. Shifting her hips, she grunted when her cell stabbed her, making her blink. Pulling it out, she unlocked the screen before hesitating. 'I have to do this, but,' Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she pressed her lips to the picture of her parents. 'Do it, Elly, you don't want them to get dragged into this,' Firming her resolve, she clicked on her shared text chat to her parents. 'SHTF. Underground. Love you.' Her thumb hovered over the send button for another second before she clicked on it. Watching the text be sent, she nodded when it went through before pulling out the SD disk and shutting her cell off. She then proceeded to pull the cover off and take the battery out. With it in pieces, she set it down in the back of the ledge, unclasping her necklace with the hidden USB drive, snugly fitting the micro-disk inside it, before clasping it around her neck again. Listening, she nearly shrieked in surprise when she heard voices.

"Damn it! This is like a maze in here,"

"Quiet, we don't want to spook her if she's nearby. She's already been through the ringer today,"

"Why did she run from us, though? I mean I understand her running from the Decepti-creep, but us?"

"Most likely her focus had narrowed on escape, she pretty much blinded herself to everything else, at least that's my bet,"

"Oi, didn't tech-bot say her cell signal was near here? I mean its dead silent, think his scanners are malfunctioning?"

"He did say the signal was weak, due to the interference, we are underground after all." A chirp of a radio silenced them.

"Davis here,"

[This is Jolt, her cellular device just shut down, I am no longer receiving her signal. Davis and Kennedy, you two are closest to its previous location, be on the lookout,]

"Got'cha tech-bot, ten-four," Heavy footsteps moved along, passing the alcove, moving further into the tunnels. Counting slowly to sixty, Elly carefully wiggled around, sliding out from the ledge, gingerly dropping down with only a soft scuff. Pausing, listening intently, she didn't hear them come closer, if anything, it sounded like they had rounded a corner. Easing out of the alcove, she mentally recalled the map her cousin had nearly beaten into her head. Following them for two more turns, keeping her distance, she made a right when they took a left, following the marks at the intersections. She needed to go straight two more intersections, then take a left-right zigzag, before one final right. If she remembered it correctly, it would take her to another sewer gate on the other side of the new townhouses, which were a two minute walk to the bar. From there, she would either take her car if possible, or grab her bug-out bag from it, and go on foot. Either way, the odds were against her actually escaping, she was surprised she hadn't been caught yet in fact. If the Decepticon hadn't been playing with her, she would have been dead by now.

Mentally following her map, she didn't hear the soft footsteps until a light flashed over her, the soldier shouting in surprise and alarm, and making her take off with a curse. Running down the tunnel, she heard him calling out to her as well as radioing to others, making her take a right, instead of the first left, ducking into a side passage with another alcove. This one did not have a ledge, however, but it did have a small depression above the opening. Grabbing onto the hand and foot holes, hearing the soldier just around the corner, she jerked herself up and press up against the hole, looking down when the soldier appeared just underneath her. Holding her breath, and fighting against her trembling muscles as she pressed into the corner, she smiled when he left, going further down the tunnel. 'Humans rarely look up,' she was grateful to that piece of advice, and general bad habit. Hopping down, she retraced her steps, sidestepping into another passageway and kneeling in a corner as several other soldiers ran past. She could hear their shouts of confusion, as well as some colorful swear words, as she re-emerged down the original tunnel, taking the left and following that tunnel down.

More alert, and scolding herself mentally for that lapse, a rookie mistake, she listened more intently for soldiers, grateful that most of them weren't very quiet with their equipment. She had to duck aside several times before she came to a problem. The gate she was looking for was visible, however there was a soldier on the other side, and new chain-link. It had obviously been put up during the townhouse construction, making her curse softly. She hadn't wanted to attack any of the soldiers, escape was preferred. She didn't know if she could trust them, not after the creepy agents, the texts, and the knowledge swimming around in her head that humans could and would, betray the Autobots if given the chance. Not all humans would be xeno-friendly after all. Avoiding contact with the soldiers seemed the best option, and unfortunately, that was the only gate nearby with decent cover.

"Report," a mechanized voice suddenly sounded from the gate area, her chest warming uncomfortably, as her heart started to race. The soldier popped off a quick salute, looking up as heavy footsteps approached.

"Hey Sides, it's all quiet here, what about the decepti-creep?"

"Understood, and that slagger got away, turned aft and drove off after 'Hide knocked his pedes out from under him,"

"Reports indicated the girl was further inside, why post me here?"

"Prowl pulled up the blueprints of this drainage system, this is the closest exit nearest her vehicle. A logical choice if she was attempting escape."

"This gate looks new though, it wasn't tampered with like the other one. It would take her a couple of minutes to break through,"

"Easy there rookie, we need this spot covered, just in case the Cons are still in the area. Besides, you worried that a young femme will kick your aft-plates?" the front-liner teased.

"Oh, frag off," Peeking around the corner, she felt the footsteps move away, before he transformed and drove off.

'Think,' looking around, she wrinkled her nose as a half-baked idea came to mind. 'Let's hope I get a hold of him before he contacts his buddies, or better yet, I steal his radio,' Leaning down, she scooped up some of the putrid water on the ground, splashing it on her jeans over her thigh until a dark spot formed. Once it was large enough, she put her palm against her thigh, making sure that the spot was visible before taking a slow breath. 'I never wanted to be an actress, but let's see how bad my skills are,' Putting her other hand against the wall for balance, she heavily limped towards the gate, exaggerating a leg injury. "Help, please help," she called softly, furrowing her brows and wincing. The solder whipped around, startled, before rushing to the fence. "Please, I'm bleeding, I, I'm hurt, please, help me," she stammered, trying to weaken her voice.

"Fuck, hold on Miss, I'll call for an ambulance,"

"Please, I, I think, I'm, bleeding out," Falling against the wall, she halfway slid down, hoping it was too dark for him to notice the lack of blood. Nodding her head, as though falling asleep, she whimpered softly.

"Shit, shit, shit, hold on, I'm coming to get you," she watched through her bangs as he fumbled with the fence, hacking it open before struggling with the actual gate. "Miss, Miss! I need you to stay awake, keep talking to me!"

"C-cold, I'm s-so c-cold," She felt bad, the guilt creeping up as he became more frenzied, finally snapping the padlock off with the butt of his M16 Assault rifle. Shoving the gate open, he skidded on his knees beside her, reaching for her thigh. "Sorry about this," she swung her arm around his neck, hopping onto his back and pressing against his windpipe. As he grabbed her arm, she continued applying pressure on the strangle-hold. It took almost a minute before his struggles slowed and he slumped to the ground. Releasing him, she felt his pulse, noting it was strong and steady, before stealing his radio and propping him up against the wall. Hopefully he would wake up in a couple minutes, long after she was gone. "Sorry again," Heading out, she took a quick glance around before weaving in and out of cover, managing to scurry to the back of the bar and slip into one of the back doors.

Stepping around the kitchen with ease, thankful that she had occasionally been back here, she waved to a couple of the workers before emerging into the crowd. The atmosphere was still jovial, the patrons and workers oblivious to what was happening outside. Before she could sneak away, Yvonne spotted her, rushing over and firing questions left and right.

"Chica, where the hell have you been? You said ya were goin' to ya car, not, oh my god, what happened to ya? Do I need to call la policia?"

"No, no, I'm fine, just, a lil banged up," waving off her concern, Elly ducked into the bathroom, spotting her reflection. 'No wonder she was worried, I look worse than what a drenched cat would drag in,' she pulled at the tangled curls around her head, tying it back into a messy bun, washing her face of the dirt streaked over it, as well as most of the grime from her hands. As she was finishing up, she heard screams from inside the bar. A quick glance out, showed several soldiers entering.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a situation outside. For your own protection, please remain inside. We have dangerous terrorist activity present just up the road and have set up a perimeter to prevent injury to you. Please, remain calm, and follow our directions." One spoke up, voice firm and loud, as the DJ shut down the music. As people huddled together, murmuring, the soldiers started moving throughout the building, obviously looking for something, or someone. Elly ducked back inside the bathroom, eyes wandering over the small room.

"There is always another way out, just gotta look for it," she muttered, judging the stalls and dismissing them, before spotting a small window. Judging it, she winced and rubbed her chest. "Today is smooshed booby day, get over it," Moving one of the trashcans over, she paused before locking the door, then returned to balancing precariously on top, prying the window open with several low growls and grunts, as well as a couple of curse words. Nearly busting her elbow, she pulled herself up and looked around cautiously. The window faced almost opposite of her car, but with the other vehicles in the parking lot, she figured she could maneuver easily. There were only a couple of soldiers around, with two flashy cars blocking the entrances and exits of the parking lot. 'On foot it is,' she realized grimly, noting that the Autobots most likely wouldn't transform so close to the bar, in case of witnesses. 'That's probably what the Decepticon was doing too, herding me away, well at least I didn't endanger the people inside,'

Waiting for a soldier to move away, (he also did not look up, thankfully), she heaved herself up, shoving her head, arms, and shoulders through the window. Wiggling, she grunted, sucking in and uncomfortably manipulating her boobs until they were free as well. Halfway out the window, she felt her holster get caught, making her grunt before unclasping it, putting it between her teeth as she wiggled her hips through. Now sitting in the window, her legs still inside, she re-attached her holster to the small of her back, reaching up to grab one of the drainpipes for balance as she struggled to pull her booted leg through. Glaring at the current problem, she hastily unfastened it before dropping it unceremoniously to the ground, pulling her leg free. At this point, she was hanging by one knee from the window, her hands holding the weakening drain pipe above her. Pressing her knee into the wall, she eased her grip to the window, managing to contort her other leg free, before dropping down. The landing jarred her foot and ankle, making her collapse and grab it instinctively, before putting the boot back on, re-clipping the knife inside it from it having jarred loose. Hiding behind some bushes, she held her breath as another soldier walked past, looking out at the parking lot, but not behind him.

'This is going, far too well,' her eyes narrowed suspiciously, glancing around. The coast clear, she ducked between two cars, biting her tongue as her ankle throbbed worse and worse. 'Perfect time for the drugs to wear off, or perhaps the adrenaline burned through it,' Easing around the cars, heart pounding harder and harder, she grit her teeth as paranoia reared up. 'What the hell, can't they sense me on their sensors?' A particular spike of pain in her chest made her pause, grabbing her sternum. Glancing down, wondering how badly she had agitated her bruises, she felt her mind go blank.

Her chest was glowing, the jagged lightning mark spread down her sternum was glowing and pulsing. It flared again, sending another flare of pain, and gaining a low hiss through her clenched teeth. 'Maybe, I should turn myself in? This isn't right,' Just as the thought crossed her mind, she felt something coil around her. It was almost like someone had hugged her from behind, leaning their weight on her shoulders and back before pressing against the back of her head. There was no one there however; the heaviness seemed to press more and more onto her until she moved. Continuing almost in a daze, she moved from car to car until she reached her own, the key effortlessly sliding in and slowly rotated to unlock with a near silent click. Ducking behind the seat, she grabbed her backpack, still feeling befuddled, holstering her Springfield, before closing the door. Sliding on the backpack and tightening the straps, she felt the pressure urge her towards the road. Crossing the road and entering a strip of trees, she didn't notice the soldiers emerge from the bar. Her heart pounded in her ears, almost blocking out the muffled noises.

'Am I going into shock, now?' Her legs pumped harder once she realized the noises were shouts, the soldiers having spotted her, and taken chase. Running once more through the plains, parallel to the airport instead of towards it, Elly felt confused. She had no plan this time, the sewers were clearly compromised; she was headed in an unknown direction with no control over her body anymore, with multiple pursuers. As she thought that, one of the soldiers caught up to her, reaching out to grab her. It seemed for a long moment, that time slowed down, images flashing across her eyes, of him catching her arm and her suddenly seeing several defensive moves to immobilize him. A blink and his hand was around her elbow, dragging her back. Using her momentum, she could only watch blankly as her body contorted into the defensive moves that she had never before known or tried out.

Grabbing his forearm, she slid underneath his arm, popping up behind him and yanking his shoulder down, sending his side into her suddenly upraised knee. As he wheezed, startled at the sudden attack, she grabbed his other shoulder, swinging herself up until she was practically kneeling on his back, the heel of her hand striking a pressure point in his neck and sending him to his knees. As he started to fall, she launched herself over him, flipping in the air and landing on her feet, taking off again. 'What the fuck! How the fuck did I do that?!' She heard the shouting become louder and closer, two engines revving nearby as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Corvette, sliding dangerously on the grass, kicking up dirt as it raced to cut her off.

A haze crossed her eyes, suddenly knowing without a doubt that the mech in front of her was a speed-class front-liner, designated Sideswipe. As he slid to a stop in front of her, engine humming, she once again saw images flash across her eyes. She let out a muffled grunt as she flung herself forward, her hands slapping on his hood as she threw herself over him, her hip sliding across the warm metal before she hit the ground running without skipping a beat. A highly amused trill came from the second engine, a very familiar sleek Camaro racing ahead of her and trying to herd her closer to the airport.

For several long moments, he drove parallel to her, a sequence of cajoling trills and chirps in a rapid burst rang teasingly in her ears. To her utter disbelief she understood the message, even as it registered as Scout dialect somehow. =Be-calm_You-safe_We-help_We-worried-for-you_No-more-danger= Her steps faltered, gaining a reassuring click as he crept slightly closer. She felt her eyes burn strangely, as she glanced over, a startled whine escaping him just before something left her mouth.

=Danger_Me_Not-safe_Never-safe_!Stay-away!_!Highly-Dangerous!= The series of clicks and tones that left her throat was inhuman, and burned her vocal chords as she barked out the strict orders. She felt the Scout jerk away from her, the Commands demanding his obedience for a split second. The sudden buzzing in her ears was quickly identified as com-links, confusing her further. As soon as she understood what it meant, she heard him transform. Lurching forward, she felt his servo narrowly miss her, hitting her backpack but not catching her.

=!No!_!Stay!_!You-safe-now!_Stand-down_Prime-Directive= His Spark pulsed, his EM field brushing against her skin, pinging soothing emotions and honesty. Her chest burned, batting away the flickering pings forcefully, before it intensified. Elly stumbled, falling to her knees, as it felt like someone had just stabbed her in her chest, a scream of agony piercing the quiet night and ringing through the air. She felt the ground shake as the Scout slammed to his knees, his servos hovering over her as he beeped in panic, EM field pulsing worry and demands. Her head felt like it was suddenly bombarded, the faint buzzing turning into full-blown ringing. For a long moment as she knelt there, grabbing her chest and nearly curled up, she thought she could identify at least four mechs by their com-links and dialects, the strange information whirling in her mind finally, FINALLY making sense, as her palms registered the Spark pulses under her skin.

'Primus, there's a Spark inside me, what the fuck is going on?!'

"Bumblebee!" Slowly, as time seemed to stand still, she inhaled shakily. Her chocolate eyes looking up at the approaching mech, taller than everything around them, his blue optics weary as if he carried the burdens of the universe on his shoulders. She felt her chest, no, the Spark, pulse against her palms again, information pinging her out of nowhere. Optimus Prime, Vessel of the Matrix of Leadership, the last Prime, Autobot Commander. 'He's even more majestic than the cartoons and movies portray him as,' she wondered absently as he bent down to one knee.

"Calm, little one," he cajoled. His mistake was flaring his EM field. The Spark pulsed angrily, tearing another scream from her, Elly finally realizing that she was the one screaming, blood dripping from her nose. Her scream was cut off, however, a low guttural series of tones and static-spat hisses escaping.

=!Stay-back-Prime!_!Do-not-interfere-with-my-mission!= Her head jerked up, staring into his optics, watching them widen in shock and confusion. A soft crackling, almost like static, suddenly filled her ears, the Spark pulsing once more before her vision went sideways, everything blurring and swirling together. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, before a soft crackling made her ears pop, and she was suddenly gone.

Notes:

=Hello= = com-links

[Hello] = radio

"Bold" = spoken Common

Class Dialects:

(Not necessarily full sentences or even words, but more quick succession of glyphs and emotions used in their EM fields)

=Hello_?How-are-you?= Scout-rapid-burst. Punctuation marks are pings before and after the burst, denoting a question or highly important burst. Underscores are used to separate the rapid burst data.

=!Identify!= Warrior-burst. Spoken always as a barked order/demand. Gladiator-burst is similar except additional insulting and taunting, with vivid cursing.

Chapter three is complete. So what do you guys think? Read and enjoy!