"Stop, human."

The words were not what stopped Alexis. It was a gigantic hand that came down and crashed right in front of her, impacting with the ground below while sending small tremors traveling underneath until she was nearly knocked off her feet. Alexis was forced to do as she was told. Neck bending itself until her gaze fell onto the speaker; it traveled upwards past the imposing fingers. Then her focus went beyond the gleaming metal and past the tires above the hands and headlights on the chest. The word police was written on the shoulders. That had Alexis' eyebrows rising. Lois had told her that they could turn into stuff, vehicles it seemed, and by the look of it, Barricade was a police car.

It was beyond ironic. It was cruel.

"You will come with me."

Alexis knew a command when she heard one, knew when absolute obedience was implied. However, she paused. Her mouth opened, an intake of breath proceeding so that she could try to speak.

"What do you want with her?"

Alexis heard a male voice ask, one that was rather shaky and plagued with fear and anxiety. She turned to find Chris beside her. Michael stood behind him. She was surprised that he spoke up for her. She hadn't really said anything to the guy, although she did watch him off and on.

"None of your concern. Leave. Now."

Now that the work shift had finished, the others were long gone. They were the only three left inside the room. It suddenly seemed even bigger than it was and strangely quiet. Chris turned to look at her, his mouth taking on a frown. Brown bangs landed in his eyes before he swatted it away with one of his fingers. Squaring his shoulders and shifting, he stood up straighter.

"Not until you tell me what you want of her." His voice was hoarse, but it echoed around the area, building around them.

That was when the Decepticon got further down to the ground. Balancing his weight on the top of his metal digits and palm, he peered at the three of them with hard burning eyes.

"You will leave immediately or I will crush you, fleshbag."

Chris backed away. Gulping slowly, he turned to look at Alexis.

"It's okay," Alexis lied, "go." She wanted him to stay, didn't want to be left alone with the colossus, dangerous creature. However, Alexis didn't think Barricade wanted to kill her. But she was still a little out of it. Speaking up to Sideways and Starscream just hours before had left her with an adrenaline rush. One that had stayed with her for a while and boosted her energy, helping her work as she put more of the strange equipment together. That is until the vigor ran out. Then her movements slowed. Her brain making up for the lost pace it whispered sporadic, nearly manic thoughts. And when the confrontation played back inside of Alexis, she came crashing down.

Tears had started to build then, and she dropped her tools. Her view blurring exponentially, she closed her eyes tight. Alexis didn't allow them to release. She didn't want to give into the depression or the reality of the circumstances. Michael had been watching her; his eyebrows bunched together with concern. She forced herself to continue working.

And now she had to deal with this.

Chris placed a hand on her arm and squeezed it softly. His mouth creased downwards, damaging his pleasant features. Alexis watched as he walked away. A part of her wanted to run after him. Wanted to run and keep running until she was surrounded once more by people, voices, human voices, anything but what was in front of her.

She forced herself to refrain.

Barricade got back up, stretching until he reached his abundant height. His head angled down. He regarded her with what on a human would have been abject disdain.

"You will come with me," he repeated for the last time. His eyes brightened for a moment before they dimmed. "Your sparkling is unnecessary. He should go regenerate with the others."

She was immediately confused. But suddenly she comprehended what he was really saying, especially when she felt a tug on the back of her jean pocket. Alexis shook her head at the stupidity. She blamed it on the stress.

"Don't make me leave, Alexis. Tell him I won't leave you."

The kid was smarter than she was. He knew immediately what the robot was talking about. Although maybe that had to do with the way the large eyes were on the child with unshakable intensity. Alexis was about to say something but there was no need. Barricade seemed to have superior hearing.

"It seems your sparkling is still dependent. He may come along if he keeps his vocals locked and his insignificant body out of the way." Barricade turned to the side. His arm swept through the air, an indication that they were to start walking.

"Move."

They both just stood there for a moment. Alexis was unsure, which caused Michael to be as well.

"Now," Barricade said. His voice rose in volume, making her want to cover her ears. Instead, she found her feet moving. Anything to make the robot stop looking at her the way he was. Alexis couldn't stop thinking what a good little puppet she was. At the same time, she wondered what it would take to cut the strings.

There were moments Barricade regretted Megatron's death. Little things popping up that frustrated him. The last thing was when Starscream showed up with a large transportation vehicle that was filled with what the Seeker informed him were slaves. It would have been agreeable if he had been let in on the fact that Starscream was going to capture some to begin with or even given the pleasure of assisting.

Megatron could be trusted for his treachery. Most Decepticons could be, but the ruthless leader had also been known for his boasting, his telling of plans and movements so that, for the most part, one knew what was going on or what was expected of them.

After Mission City, things had been rough. For he was damaged quite severely. It was with tremendous difficulties that he had finally managed to transform back into vehicle mode to make an escape. The fate of Megatron, his once formidable commander, hastened his departure. His systems went off-line a couple of cycles later, his programming forcing him to go into regeneration mode due to his battle damage. Barricade woke up three human weeks later, finding himself at a police station garage being worked on by a large human who had the odd habit of pursing his lips together, a strange, foul sound coming out that made him wish he was still off-line.

The very next night, Barricade made his getaway, Energon shooting through him with renewed vigor. Tearing through a fence, he found a road and kept driving for some time. He only stopped to regenerate every now and again to at least stay functional.

And then his communication device came alive, Starscream's voice crackling through fuzzy and dim. Instructions were relayed, directions given. He hesitated. He had been alone for over two months. A short amount of time for a Cybertronian, but Barricade found he liked the solidarity, liked being his own commander and maybe even was starting to like the planet.

Earth was colorful and bright. Something he had to get used to when compared to the sharp, hard edges of Cybertron, the gleaming towering buildings and landscapes of metal. It was also filled with unusual terrain, ever-changing weather and other things that weren't regulated, planned or calculated. Still, he longed for his true home. Maybe that was why he went to the new Decepticon base. Maybe that was why he put up with everything, Starscream and even the humans.

They were following, both obviously wary about getting in front of him. Their movement was remarkably slow, as humans seemed to be on their own, incapable of any true speed. Barricade perceived they would stay near. Just the same, he kept his audio receptors highly tuned, picking up every pitter-patter of their minuscule feet. He listened for any signs of change.

"What do you think he wants with us?"

Alexis looked down at Michael. His large brown eyes were filled with curiosity.

"Maybe he's got some pizzas for us, to show appreciation for all the work we have done," she said, trying to lighten the mood as she forced a small smile.

"Naw, cheeseburgers and french fries along with... a new DVD of The Batman!" Michael scrunched his eyebrows and shook his head.

"No," she countered, "a real bed, a bath tub filled to the brim with hot soapy water and a bottle of Herbal Essence shampoo along with a new bar of dove soap!"

"No a..."

The humans were prattling on. Each taking a turn as they vocalized one thing after another. His processors buzzing inside, Barricade looked up the things he was unsure of, anything to keep his mind off the demeaning task that he had been given. Nevertheless, he supposed it was better than helping with the revamping of the base. He was never one for menial labor. He was more of a terrorize, stalk, capture and destroy sort of Con. Of course, now that the femme had been given to him; he would be sure to make her regret speaking up and menace her in his own little way. That promised to be fun.

She and Michael grew silent. Still following Barricade, they turned down a corridor and then to the left into another room that wasn't quite as big as the rest but was still spacious.

"Put that on," Barricade told her as they all came to a stop. One shiny finger pointed to a large table that held what looked to be a wide variety of equipment.

Alexis walked over to where he directed. However, he could have been talking about anything. Swallowing slowly, she turned to face the Decepticon.

He snarled, "The object on the left upper corner. Put. It. On."

Barricade was starting to think that he was given an even more substandard human than the rest of her kind. Finally, she did as she was told. Picking up the analyzer, she lifted it up to her eyes to peer at the instrument with interest.

"What is it?"

"Put it on and I will tell you." He made a motion and showed her how to put it over her hand.

"Tell me and I will put it on," she said rather hesitantly, her voice low and strained.

The female seemed to be able to vocalize well, which was auspicious. But her failure to do as he asked was aggravating Barricade's thinly wired patient circuits.

"You will do as I say, human. The device is harmless." He pondered why he offered her assurances. He surely didn't mean to, but Barricade was ready to get on with it.

Alexis turned her palm over. She was confused by what he expected. The object looked like a bracelet, a really large bracelet that was way too big. The metal band was the size of a basketball in circumference, matte silver, weighty and rather solid. Pushing aside her doubts, Alexis slid the thing over her fingers and down her hand, gasping when immediately it tightened then shrunk until it was comfortably wrapped around her small wrist.

"That was awesome," Michael gushed. Taking Alexis' hand, he brought it toward his eyes and stared at it more intently. "Just hope it's not some sort of alien death device."

"OK. It's on," she told Barricade. Now, she was more than disconcerted, especially with what the kid said.

Alexis watched as the Decepticon backed up a way. And that was when her eyes widened, shock and disbelief leaving her staring with amazement. A rush of sounds filled the room. Compartments on the robot were sliding, shifting and changing position. A rather beautiful display of technology and fluid movement that didn't stop until Barricade turned into a sporty police car that was now parked just a couple of feet away.

"You will now initiate repairs."

She stood there feeling as if her mouth was wide open, probably because it was.

"Do as I command or you and that other femme will die."

Alexis was starting to get it. It was the extra work she had to do. Although exactly how was she supposed to? Again, she stared at the device rather closely. Rotating her hand as she did so. She spotted a small discoloration that she pressed into with the tip of her thumb. Immediately, lights turned on that probed outwards toward the Decepticon. A hum of static built until the lights formed a more sharply detailed image of the vehicle in front of her.

Barricade came up with the idea of the female fixing some of his malfunctioning parts after the order Starscream had given him, and after he saw how adequately she built the various components given to her. He figured that if he had to deal with a disgusting human, it might as well be to his benefit. After all, the base was equipped with many things except for maintenance bots. He didn't have much optimism that she would be able to perform anything but the most basic of repairs, but his stealth manifold had bothered him for quite some time not to mention the interference in his visual perceptors, both considered easily fixable.

Slowly rolling forward, he gave instructions on what the human was supposed to do. Barricade watched as she listened intently, seemingly taking in everything he said. Her orbs of emerald actually lit up with what he could have discerned as intelligence if he didn't already know that the planet's inhabitants were senseless creatures. For the femme's sake, she would have to be more than met his optics. He had high standards and no matter how inferior a species; he would not tolerate anything less.