Yo! I'm posting a day early, because the weekend's gonna be super busy for me! So I figured I'd jump the gun a bit instead.
Shadescribe: Yeah, I couldn't avoid the "re-intro" bit, much as I tried. It's gonna happen at least two more times, so...yeah. Well, you're gonna have to wait and see for their reactions - both for Maria's powers and Fowler's meeting. The latter's actually gonna happen in this chapter!
Here we go!
Chapter 4
It took a couple hours before Maria picked up the faint sound of a plane engine nearby.
The teenager looked up, then stood up and moved off the ramp that led into Ultra Magnus' shuttle - the Autobot and brought it over before disappearing inside the Harbinger with Jolt and Ratchet. Joshua had snuck in after them.
The rest of the Cybertronians were scattered around the clearing or investigating the area to make sure that there weren't any Decepticons tailing them.
"What is it?" Jack asked, noticing Maria moving.
"Something's coming..." Maria frowned before turning her blue eyes to her brother, who was leaning against a tree. "Matt, can you sense anything?"
"Hmm?" Matthew looked away from Raf, cutting off their conversation about Cybertronian teammates. When he registered the question, he closed one eye and looked upward. After a moment, his face shifted from slight recognition. "Yeah. There are two humans flying this way. And no sign of Starscream."
"Huh?" Miko looked over in their direction in surprise.
"Starscream?" Liz, who was standing near Miko, blinked a couple times before frowning at her older siblings.
"Who's coming?" Collin asked from where he was standing next to Coil. The two of them had taken to standing at the near the entrance to the Harbinger, with Khrista.
"What do you mean, 'no sign of Starscream'?" Arcee looked over at the human with a suspicious frown. "And how do you know that name, anyway?"
Maria couldn't help but notice that the femme had been slightly suspicious of them ever since Wildfire had driven off to take Morgen and Kate back to the house to get some dinner for the human kids. She couldn't help but wonder if Arcee and the others could sense that there was something different about Maria, her siblings, and her friends.
"I've got a bit of an ability like Sparkseer's," Matthew explained, opening his eye and looking over at Miko and Arcee. "I can sense other people's auras - or Sparks."
Miko's eyes widened in shock. "You mean like that Pokemon-thing? Rukario, right?"
Maria blinked in surprise when she heard the Japanese name for the Jackal Pokemon. She hadn't really thought to ask if Miko was even into Pokemon.
"Yeah," Matthew confirmed.
"You still haven't answered my question," Arcee stated warningly.
"It's a bit of a long story," Maria responded, rubbing the back of her head with an embarrassed expression. "And I should probably explain it when everyone's gotten back together."
"We won't end up getting any strange looks more than once that way," Matthew added knowingly, nodding.
"It's strange enough knowing that you have Sparkseer's ability," Arcee responded.
Matthew shrugged. "Trust me, the story behind how I figured out the ability is even crazier. Not to mention my siblings' abilities."
"You mean like how Maria can create fireballs?" Raf spoke up.
"Wait - you can do what?!" Jack looked at Maria in surprise while she laughed at his reaction.
"It's not really all that big of a deal," Maria commented. "That fireball I made earlier was done with only a small fraction of my power. I can do a lot more than that if I wanted to."
Miko looked like she want to ask something, but the sudden, loud blast of noise from above them caused her to stop short.
Maria looked up and watched as what looked like a jet fighter plane of some kind circled around the clearing for a moment before coming down for a landing on the grass. After the aircraft had managed to come to a stop, the cockpit popped open, allowing two figures to climb out.
Jack, Miko, and Raf instantly ran towards the two figures and caught one of them - a woman with black hair and a relieved expression on her face - in a massive group hug.
This left the African American man who had come with her looking a little left out, but then he caught sight of the unfamiliar figures standing in the clearing.
"Who are you supposed to be?" the man asked, stomping over and pointing at Maria and Matthew.
"I'm Maria Carlsdale, and this is my brother, Matthew," Maria said, motioning to her older brother. "If you were looking forward to having a talk with our dad, you just missed him and Mom - they should be coming back soon with dinner, though."
"We might be able to answer any questions you might have about us, though," Matthew added. "Within reason, of course."
The man eyed the two of them suspiciously, then noticed some of the large figures who were scattered around the clearing. "Who are they?"
"Friends," Maria chirped happily in reply. "That's Sparkseer, Shape-Change, First Aid, and Coil over there. Jolt is in there with Joshua - one of my neighbors - and Ratchet." She motioned to the Harbinger. "And the shuttle over there is Ultra Magnus'. He got here some time ago from Cybertron." Her face shifted a little as she spoke, gaining something of an annoyed expression.
"He didn't exactly hit it off too well with my sister," Matthew explained when Fowler frowned at Maria. "According to what we've heard, he's the leader of the Wreckers and is about as stiff as I've ever seen a military man."
Fowler inclined his head slightly when he heard that. "Considering what I know about Wheeljack and Bulkhead, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they would need someone like that to keep them in line."
Maria snorted at that.
"How did you kids come into contact with-"
The sound of a revving engine cut Fowler off as Wildfire drove into the clearing. She stopped next to the fighter plane and revved her engine suspiciously. Moments later, Frieda stepped out of the driver's seat and walked over to Fowler. The woman, who was surrounded by Jack, Miko, and Raf, looked up when she noticed the red-haired young woman eyeing them suspiciously.
"You two were the ones who were with Bumblebee and Ratchet?" Frieda asked, frowning.
Fowler eyed Frieda suspiciously. "Yes. And you are?"
Frieda gave a smirk, then dissipated in a shower of sparks as the back seat doors opened, letting out Morgen and Kate - both carrying coolers and a number of plastic containers.
"What in the name of-"
"Save whatever swears you may have for the Cons, Agent Fowler," Wildfire said as she transformed to her bipedal form. "My name is Wildfire. I am Maria's guardian."
"Guardian?" Fowler repeated.
"For twelve years," Maria added.
"I'm June Darby," the woman who had come with Fowler spoke up.
"Jack's mother?" Morgen moved over. "I'm Morgen Carlsdale - the one who talked to Fowler on the phone a couple hours ago. If you're looking for Joshua, he's in that ship thing over there." He nodded in the direction of the Harbinger.
"They are coming out presently," Sparkseer spoke up from where he had been sitting, inspecting his golden spear. "I believe Joshua and Jolt may have noticed your arrival."
"It is hard to ignore the sound of a jet." Jolt appeared at the entrance of the Harbinger, followed shortly by Joshua, Ratchet, and Ultra Magnus, who had to practically bend over double in order to leave the crashed ship. "Hi, I'm Jolt. Agent Fowler, right?"
Fowler nodded, then walked over as the mechs and looked him over as Joshua moved to stand in front of his guardian. "How many of you have been hiding right under our noses?"
"There's six Cybertronians, two Reploids, two adults, and various human teenagers with unusual abilities," Joshua said matter-of-factly.
"Reploids?" Nurse Darby repeated.
Maria, on the other hand, had something different to say. "Joshua! I wanted to have that as a surprise for later!"
"Hah!" Khrista shot back. "You already surprised them! Throwing a fireball around in front of Raf and Ratchet?"
"And you walked through Ratchet's foot!" Matthew called playfully..
"Walked through Ratchet's foot?" Nurse Darby repeated in surprise.
"How in the world did -" Understanding crossed Fowler's face. "You're that girl I heard about - the one who had a video game made after her, aren't you? Khristine Langstrom?"
"It's Khrista," Khrista corrected. Her shirt flashed a bright gold, and she suddenly teleported over in front of Fowler - much to his and the others' surprise. Maria simply rolled her eyes while Matthew chuckled at the dropped jaws and wide eyes. "Only Mom and Dad call me Khristine, and that's only when I'm in trouble."
"Cool!" Miko exclaimed. "Can you do all that other Pokemon stuff, too? Like the attacks?"
"When I want." Khrista gave a lazy shrug, her shirt shifting back to the dull red. "And the same goes for little miss Flare-Up over there, but she only uses Fire-Type ones." She looked pointedly at Maria, who gave a smile and nodded in agreement.
"What did he mean by 'Reploid'?" Nurse Darby finally asked, moving forward. "That doesn't sound like something that's human."
Maria let out a sigh. "It's not." She made a motion with one hand, and her clothes blurred before they abruptly transformed into a strange set of armor that looked exactly like Joshua's - except that hers was red, orange, and gray. "A Reploid is something that looks and acts like a human, but is actually an android. They're from the MegaMan X video game series, if you ever think of looking them up later."
Maria glanced over at Miko, Jack, and Raf, noticing that all three of them were looking at her with wide eyes - turning into shock and recognition. "I had a bit of an accident a while back, so I was forced to transfer into this form in order to keep living. Joshua over there still has his original body - it just got transformed into a Reploid one recently."
"Awesome!" Miko declared.
"How?" Nurse Darby looked shocked. "What could have happened to cause-"
"That's a long story that can wait," Wildfire spoke up. "We've got some Cons to take out so that we won't have that particular threat hanging over our helms." She looked over at Ultra Magnus, who had been eyeing the proceedings with an expression of annoyance - most likely because he was being ignored. "Ultra Magnus, Agent Fowler has connections with this planet's government. It would be wise if any plans we are about to discuss were talked about in his presence."
Fowler eyed Wildfire with a strange expression, then gave a nod in agreement. "I've got the Sky Strikers ready to go ahead and scramble for an attack on that tower Megatron's got in Nevada, but we won't be able to do anything with those lasers he's got pointed at Washington."
"Lasers?" Maria repeated sharply.
"He used them to destroy Jasper," Raf piped up.
"Primus above and below..."
"Watch your language," Ratchet said sharply, frowning disapprovingly at Maria. "Wildfire, it seems that she's managed to pick up your habit of swearing."
"Not my fault," Wildfire huffed in reply. "I doubt she could hear what I said half the time." She looked over at Shape-Change, who appeared to be amused. "Do you have any idea what it is that we're going to be up against? It sounds like we have another version of Darkmount on our servos."
The mostly-gray shifter's expression became a more serious expression. "Even if it is another version of Darkmount, we won't be able to guarantee that the layout is exactly the same. What I can remember of scouting out enemy territory may be absolutely useless."
"Then we will have to improvise." Ultra Magnus definitely sounded annoyed with the fact that he was being ignored. "According to what Ratchet and Jolt have already informed me of, the Ground Bridge we have available to us will only let us get near Darkmount, rather than inside it, which is where we will need to be in order to nullify its fusion cannons."
"Then we'll just have to sneak past enemy lines." Wheeljack grinned wickedly. "Wrecker Style."
"I could not deal with 'Wrecker Style' back on Cybertron, and I refuse to deal with it here," Ultra Magnus responded in an almost barking-like tone. "After all, as Megatron no doubt has more forces and firepower at his command than we do at present, we will require that his forces are to be spread thin if we have any hope of completing this mission...or of surviving it."
"Wrecker Style is probably how we do things around here," Khrista commented to Maria. The Reploid smirked at the statement and gave a thumbs-up in agreement.
"Spread them thin..." Morgen gained a thoughtful expression as he put down the cooler he had been carrying. His wife did the same and looked over at him with something of a sly expression.
"Don't tell me that you're planning on pulling one of those tricks like you did the last time we had to go against the odds," Kate remarked.
"Oh, something like that, but one of the less flashy ideas," Morgen responded off-handedly.
"What are you talking about?" Raf asked, looking at the Carlsdale parents curiously.
Morgen waved off the curious stares. "It's just something that my wife and I have had to do on and off in the past. I'll fill you in on the details from that particular adventure later, but the point is, we have an idea that might be able to work against these guys to thin out their numbers."
"You do?" Maria looked at her parents in surprise.
"Perhaps it would be wise if you informed us of what exactly your idea is," Ultra Magnus stated pointedly. "I would like to know whether or not it would be wise to trust a native."
"Well, Thor, the idea's pretty simple." Morgen's grin widened when he saw the wide optics he was getting from the leader of the Wreckers. "We've got one of the Cons ships, right? If we can access their communication system, then we'll be able to make them send their men out to dummy locations across the States. Before they can figure out what it is that's going on, we'll be on the attack already."
Maria paused to consider that idea for a moment. "Sounds like a decent idea...but would it work? I mean, Buckethead has Slenderman still, right?"
"Slenderman?" Jack repeated.
"Soundwave," Sparkseer supplied. "The Carlsdales have provided code names - some might even go as far to say "nicknames" for each of the Autobots and Decepticons which they have heard of. One might say that 'Buckethead' originated from Matthew and Maria."
"What?" Matthew shrugged helplessly. "His helmet looked a lot like a bucket. What else was a six-year-old supposed to call him?"
Fowler looked like he was about to blow a gasket. "How in the name of -"
"Later," Maria interrupted.
"I must admit, the idea which you have presented has some merits." Ultra Magnus commented. "We can utilize the Ground Bridge to spread the Decepticon forces as thinly as possible."
"And, considering that we have access to their frequencies through the Harbinger, we can use that to send the Decepticons to other locations under the premise of an Autobot attack," Jolt jumped in. When he saw the look Ultra Magnus sent in his direction, the mech ducked his head and added, "Sir."
Ultra Magnus paused for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "Perhaps we will utilize that, as well. Afterwards, we can turn our attention to attacking Darkmount."
Maria and Wildfire exchanged grins at that.
"That's definitely something that I'm looking forward to," Maria commented, slamming a fist and an open palm together in front of her.
"Oh no you don't," Arcee spoke up abruptly. "There's no way that you would be able to withstand an attack from one of the Decepticons, let alone a Vehicon."
"Coil and the humans are going to stay here," Ratchet agreed, "As well as First Aid and myself, as we are hardly fit for any sort of combat situation on this scale."
First Aid nodded in agreement. "Besides, we're going to need to be able to take care of any injuries you might get - and if we don't have any, then we won't have to worry about bleeding out while taking care of you."
Matthew glanced over at Maria and Wildfire and smirked when he saw the looks on their faces. "Ratchet, I don't think that even Megatron himself would be able to hold those two back."
Maria snorted. "You got that right. I'm not planning on staying off the battlefield if Wildfire's going."
"And I am," Wildfire confirmed.
"I am planning on going, but you do not see me attempting to convince Ratchet to let Matthew come with me," Sparkseer said pointedly, frowning.
"He's not covered in armor and could go off like a volcano at any time," Liz spoke up. "Course, neither am I or Collin."
Maria gained a wide grin at that.
"Go off like a volcano?" Bulkhead repeated.
Maria snickered. "Like Raf said earlier, I can throw fireballs around. What does that mean if I get mad enough?"
Bulkhead's optics widened at that while Miko gained an eager expression.
"Cool!" Miko exclaimed.
Wheeljack gained a wide grin. "You know what, I think I like this kid. She's got definite Wrecker material."
Ultra Magnus didn't look happy at the prospect. "As much as we would appreciate the assistance you might be able to offer, I highly doubt that you would be able to hold your ground against a Cybertronian."
Maria snorted. "Are you so sure? Agent Fowler, if you'll recall the video game that was made after Khrista's own adventure, you should know that she's been in some pretty interesting situations. And I've been in battles similar to those before."
Everyone in the group looked at the government agent, who had a suspicious frown on his face.
"That may be, but she hasn't-"
"Dialga is part Steel and just about as tough and powerful as an average Cybertronian," Shape-Change spoke up. "And not only has Khrista stood up to him, but Maria has as well."
"What?!" Miko looked at Maria with wide eyes. "Since when?"
"Ever heard of the game Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky?" Maria responded. She grinned. "I've been on a couple more adventures than Khrista has, and I know that I'll be able to hold my own against those Vehicon things."
Ultra Magnus opened his mouth to protest, but Wildfire beat him to it.
"She's a World Jumper; of course she knows she can handle it," the red and orange femme stated.
The statement got mixed reactions: confusion from Jack, Miko, Raf, and Nurse Darby, a frown from Agent Fowler, smirks from those who knew Maria, and surprise from the Autobots who didn't.
"World Jumper?" Ratchet repeated. "Impossible. They don't-"
"How did my parents, Matt, and I end up on Cybertron, then?" Maria pressed. "How is it that Wildfire's back in action? Trust me, Ratchet, this stuff doesn't normally happen."
"Don't you think I know that?" Ratchet snapped in reply.
"Hold the phone!" Fowler yelled. "What do you mean, ended up on Cybertron?!"
Joshua let out a sigh. "Twelve years ago, according to what Mr. and Mrs. Carlsdale have told us, they, Matthew, and Maria were all transported to Cybertron in the early stages of the war. The codenames of the Autobots and Decepticons had to have come from somewhere."
"And how did you manage to get there?" Fowler asked, frowning.
"In one of the most cliche ways possible," Morgen responded dryly. "We were sucked through a TV. Next thing we know, we're sitting on the desk of one of Optimus' closest friends."
Fowler looked at Morgen like he was insane. "You're serious."
"Yup. Wasn't the first time that it happened to me and my wife, either."
"You still haven't told me about all your adventures yet, either," Maria commented, pointing at her parents. "You owe me because I've been telling you guys what I've done so far."
"Later, Maria," Kate said seriously. "We should probably eat first and figure out how to follow through with that plan."
There came a round of growls, and a number of heads looked down at their stomachs.
The noise got a loud laugh from Morgen as he opened up the coolers. "All right, you guys. Eat up! Can't take down Darkmount on an empty stomach, you know!"
Aaaand there's the Cliffhanger. Sorry, guys, but you'll have to wait a bit for the actual attack. Two chapters, to be precise.
Soooo...I'll see you next week!