Nightbird
Author's Note: I hope you all are enjoying the story. I recently found out that in the G1 Transformers there's a character named Nightbird. But the only difference is she's a Decepticon. But hey, didn't know at the time. This Nightbird in my story is mine and is in no way related to the G1 Nightbird. And in case you're wondering, Emma is 17 in here. Glad we got that cleared up. (-_-)
Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Hasbro. Nightbird is mine.
(Thoughts)
=Speaking Cybertronian=
::comlink::
"AHHH!" Emma found herself being slammed against the wall of her room. Groaning in pain, she tries standing up but is knocked down again.
"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? I CATCH YOU IN HERE WATCHING THAT CRAP ON T.V?!"
She stands up again and holds her arm, sore from the impact on the wall. She looks up at her mother, who's angry at her again for something that wasn't even worth getting upset over. Emma coughs a little and speaks in a small voice.
"Mom... I was only watching my Anime... There's no bad-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! ALL OF THAT IS NOTHING BUT JAP-CRAP AND SHOULDN'T BE EVEN BE ON THE AIR!"
Emma had enough of her mother's anger and yelled at her. "Quit it! Quit talking like that! You sound like a raciest!"
That of course got her backhanded across the face. Blood ran down from her busted lip and hurt when she touched it. She moved until her back was against the wall. She was scared out of her mind, sure her mother yelled at her but she never put her hands on her until now. She blinked and could've sworn that her mother's eyes were turning red from anger.
(All of this... because I was watching a Pokémon movie? All Ash was doing was kissing Bianca... How is that bad?)
Emma suddenly felt cold and saw that the room turned dark, she looked around but the only thing she could see was her mother's angry red eyes. Falling to the floor, she curled up and put her hands on her head. She still heard her mother's voice yelling at her but this time it sounded twisted and warped, like that of a demon. She soon heard others voices taunting her. At this point she started sobbing quietly, wishing for this nightmare she lived in to end.
"UGLY BITCH!"
"EWW! LOOK AT THE RETARD!"
"HOW COULD YOU MESS UP EVEN THAT?!"
"DAMN YOU'RE SO STUPID!"
"HEY RETARD! WHY NOT JUST JUMP OFF A CLIFF!"
(Stop it! Stop it! LEAVE ME ALONE!)
...
Emma woke up screaming then quickly put her hand over her mouth. She looked around and saw that she was still in the cop car. Breathing heavily, she rubbed her face and tried not to cry at the nightmare she had. It felt so real that she was still shaking and trying to calm herself down. Once she did, she noticed that Barry wasn't there with her.
"Mr. Cade?"
Looking out the car window she saw that they were in some kind of abandoned factory. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she opened the door and stepped out. When she did, she realized that it wasn't a factory at all. It looked like some kind of futuristic building. The walls were dark and some had glowing lights on it. The ceiling was so high that it looked like it reached the sky. She also saw a huge door down the hallway, bigger than any door she'd seen before. She then wondered exactly where she was.
"Wow... Where am I?"
"You, little girl, are on a ship. The Nemesis."
Quickly turning around she saw only the Mustang but not where the voice came from. It sounded like Barry Cade's voice except it was deeper in pitch. "Mr. Cade? Um, where are you?" She suddenly heard laughing coming from the car itself and was surprised to see it move closer to her without a driver.
"Oh, I'm here Emma. Are you surprised to see a talking car?"
She slowly nodded as a small grin broke out on her face. "I don't believe it... y-you're an A.I!"
"HA! I'm not some pathetic scrap created by humans. This is only my disguise."
Emma tilted her head, confused by what he meant by that. "Disguise? If you're not an A.I, and if you're not a human, then... what are you?"
She got her answer when the Mustang started to shift its parts and transform. Emma watched in awe as the Police Car transformed into a bi-pedal robotic being with what looked like 4 red eyes. She backed up a little as it leaned down closer to her face. To say she was surprised was an understatement. All Emma did was stare at the robot as her mind tried to come up with an explanation about what she's seeing at the moment. It suddenly laughed seeing her face and gently poked her.
"So, you surprised?"
"...Wa?"
It laughed again and shook its head. "You can't even speak you're so shocked! Since you're incapable of forming words I'll tell you a bit about myself and where we are. My name is Barricade and I'm a Robotic Life Form from the planet Cybertron. We're capable of scanning and transforming into various vehicles, provided they serve a good use to us, and use them for disguises. This also serves to blend in so we don't stand out." A police officer appeared from out of nowhere and fizzled a bit before becoming solid. Emma blinked and walked towards the holoform.
"So... this is like a hologram..." She poked his arm and saw him looking at her grinning. "But solid..."
Barricade nodded. "Correct. This is called a Holographic Form Projector or Holoform for short. My kind uses these whenever we're out where humans are. Quite convenient if you ask me." The holoform disappeared in a shower of sparks, making Emma jump in surprise. She then looked up at his face, still shocked by the fact she's talking to a robot. Wait, something he said stood out to her.
"W-wait... You said 'from the planet Cybertron'. So are you... an Alien?"
"Yup. In the metal flesh kid."
She looked around the place for a bit, and then turned to him. "And we're on a... space ship?"
"That's right. I told you before, it's called the Nemesis. It's not moving right now, due to a fraggin' engine problem..."
"Oh..." Emma was amazed by the fact that aliens existed. It hasn't sunk in yet that she's currently talking to one. Curious, she reached out a hand and touched Barricade's arm. It felt warm to the touch, like a human's body heat. Barricade watched silently as the little human examined his arm. Normally he wouldn't even dare let a human touch him, as he thought they were nothing but disgusting insects. But this one was different. Somehow he knew that Emma wasn't like any other human he's seen. And by reading her files plus listening to her backstory he can see why she's far from normal. Barricade decided to silently watch her over the course of two weeks. From monitoring her at school to watching her at her home. And it took all of his willpower not to step in and kill her disgusting mother. During the first week he watched and listened to her mother berating her constantly. Emma seemed to take it in stride but as soon as she goes to her room she always would bite her arm and punch the air around her. Sometimes pulling her hair in anger. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel sorry for her. No creature should treat their young that way, glitched or not. He looked up the term 'Autism' and found out that it's a brain disorder that causes the person affected to develop slowly. There are various levels and by watching and listening to her, he assumed that she had the 'mild' version. Plus after further research, he found out that humans with the mild level of Autism have a higher brain capacity and function than normal humans. She wasn't lying when she said that she's really smart. He noticed her looking at him strangely and tilted her head.
"Are you okay Mr- I mean Barricade?"
"Hm? Yeah, I was surfing the web."
"Oh... Um... I'm curious... How do I start a new life here? Are there any other humans around?"
Barricade scoffed at that question. "No, If other humans were around we would've killed them. You're only here because you're special."
That answer kind of scared her, but she knew that he wouldn't hurt her. He held out his hand and spoke. "Climb on, I'm gonna take you to meet someone. And you better hang on tight if you're afraid of heights."
Emma nodded and slowly climbed into Barricade's hand. She felt herself being lifted far up into the air and shut her eyes. She wasn't scared of heights, but the sudden motion of her being lifted that far up caused her to get a little dizzy. Soon she opened her eyes and gasped. This ship was ginormous! There were more giant doors around and not only that, she saw some other bots in one room talking in a strange language. This was amazing to see. She heard something odd and turned her head, seeing a strange smaller bot come out of Barricade's chest and run towards her. She stared at it as it waved and giggled.
"H-Hi! I'm Frenzy! Barri Barri's friend!"
"Um... Hi." She saw him poke her chest a few times and slapped his hand away, frowning. Frenzy snickered and made a grabbing motion with his claw-like hands.
"You got big squishies! Hehehe!"
"...Don't touch me. It's rude to touch women there."
"Oh? You shouldn't have such big squishies there! Poke poke!"
Frenzy tried poking her chest again but got his hand slapped away again. He laughed loudly seeing the angry look on her face. Barricade vented and glanced down at his hand. "Enough Frenzy, she doesn't like that."
"So what Barri? Squishy femme shouldn't have such big squishies! HAHA!"
Emma sighed and folded her arms across her chest, protecting her breasts from being poked again. "Your friend is perverted..."
"I know... He's weird."
"HEY!" Frenzy glared up at Barricade who only rolled his optics. The little mini-con turned back around and poked Emma's arm. "Hey hey! You were screaming earlier, did you have bad dream?"
Emma looked at him and thought back to when she woke up. She slowly nodded and spoke in a quiet voice. "Yeah... I-I don't want to talk about it..."
Frenzy poked her again, apparently not getting the message. "I bet it was really really bad huh? Was it? Was it?"
"Frenzy, shut up." said Barricade. He heard her scream in her sleep too before she woke up. And if she doesn't want to talk about it he won't ask. Frenzy huffed and folded his arms, pouting like a kid who didn't get any candy. Emma shook her head at him and looked around some more. They passed by a lot of rooms, including one that had a robot inside with red armor putting some things away. It was amazing to see that these creatures were aliens. (Robots in disguise.) she thought. Soon they walked to a door that had a cat-like symbol on it, and Emma realized that same symbol was on Barricade. She pointed to it and asked a question.
"I saw that on your shoulder. What is it?"
"Heh, you'll see." He knocked on the door and heard a voice that said "enter". The door opened to reveal what looked like a Command Center. There, Emma saw all kinds of robots working on computers and things. But what caught her eye was a grey colored robot that was bigger than the others. It turned around and smiled when it saw Barricade.
"Ah, Barricade. I see you finally found a human I presume?"
"Yes Lord Megatron. And is willing to partake in Shockwave's experiment." He held out his hand as Frenzy climbed up to sit on his friend's shoulder. Emma gazed at the huge robot as it leaned forward and grinned, his razor-sharp teeth showing. (Wa? Robots have teeth?! This guy is kinda scary...)
The large robot, now known as Megatron, stared at her still grinning for a few moments. Was he examining her? Either way his gaze made her uncomfortable as she starting fidgeting. Then he spoke up, spooking her with how deep and raspy his voice was. "Hello fleshling... I am Lord Megatron, Commander of the Decepticons. Your designation?"
"U-um... E-Emma Bowman... S-sir... N-n-nice to m-meet you..." She didn't look at his face; it was unsettling to stare at him for some reason.
"Emma Bowman... Heh, such a wimpy name." he said disdainfully.
"...My mother gave me that name... B-but I don't like it either... Sir."
"Ah yes... Your "mother"..." Barricade sat her on a table and stepped back a little. Megatron circled the table as Emma looked on, somewhat in fear of what he was going to do. He put his hands behind his back as he spoke. "I've heard about her... Barricade here gave me a file he found on you and of her. She shouldn't even be called a "Mother". She's one of the worst creators I've ever seen." He leaned in close to her, making her take a step back. "Just because you have a little... glitch, that gives her an excuse to treat you like scrap. It's a shame really, she's suppressing your natural talents."
Emma nodded. "Y-yes... Uhh... Barricade said that... y-you can help me start a better life?"
"Correct youngling. IF you agree to my friend's experiment."
As if on cue, another huge robot walks in and stands next to Megatron. It was a dark purple color and had one huge red eye, like a Cyclops. It stared down at her unblinking, causing her to shrink back in fear. Megatron saw this and chuckled. "No need to fear him youngling, this is my friend Shockwave; a brilliant scientist. He is working on a project to fuse Cybertronian technology with human DNA. Not only will it provide the human with enhanced strength, it'll also protect them from your kind's unruly diseases."
"Really?" She looked at Shockwave. "You can do that?"
Shockwave's optic glowed a little in response. "Correct. It is logical to enhance human DNA in order for your kind to survive. Plus it'll help in controlling your glitch that you suffer from. It'd be illogical to refuse the offer."
Emma looked back and forth between them and crossed her arms, thinking. A hybrid of man and machine, like a cyborg. But if she doesn't do it, then they'll probably take her back home to where her mother will be waiting and get someone else... Speaking of her, she checked the watch on her phone. It read 2:45pm, another hour and her mother would be home expecting her to be in her room, if she wasn't... No, she can't be scared of her anymore. If she had a new life, then she'll be able to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Looking back up she saw them talking to one another in that strange language again. She made her decision.
"Um, excuse me?" she called to them and all three stopped to look at her. Resisting the urge to run and hide because of how scary they look, she walked forward a bit and took a few breaths to get her nervousness under control. "...I'll do it. I'll volunteer for the experiment. But I want to ask you something Shockwave."
The scientist tilted his helm. "Yes?"
"If I go through this... will you be able to erase my memory?"
Megatron and Barricade looked surprised to hear that from her. "Erase your memories? Why would you want that?" Megatron asked.
Barricade seemed to figure it out. "It's because you want to forget how badly you were treated right?"
Emma nodded. "For years, ever since I found out I had this, as you guys say 'glitch' I've been treated like crap. I'm sick of it and I don't want to remember all the things people have done to me." She looked away for a moment and shook her head. "Especially the horrid treatment my own mother did to me..." She then looked back up at them. "I'll do it ONLY if you're able to get rid of those nasty memories.
The three Mechs looked at each other and, what Emma assumed, were using some kind of comlink to speak to each other. She decided to wait for their answer and pulled out her phone, selecting an app to play Candy Crush. Frenzy, who was still there watching, jumped down from Barricade's shoulder and watched her play. Meanwhile, Megatron, Shockwave and Barricade were communicating through the comlink.
::Well? Can you or not? Either way she'll still agree to the experiment.:: asked Megatron.
::I can create a version of the Cortical Psychic Patch to reverse the way memories are stored. But I don't know if she'll survive the procedure.:: Said Shockwave.
::Hey, you don't have to erase ALL of her memories do ya?:: asked Barricade.
Megatron and Shockwave stared at him for a few minutes, making the Police car feel like an idiot for asking. Megatron chuckled and glanced back at the girl, who was trying to keep Frenzy from taking her phone to play games. ::I see now... You like the fleshing, don't you Barricade?::
::No! Pfft! Why would I? I just don't want her to lose that memory of her meeting me is all. I told her some useful information that would help her in case she got into fights.:: He boldly pointed a finger in Megatron's face. ::And that doesn't mean I care or anything! She's nothing but a weak human!::
The Commander laughed and brushed away his finger. ::Of course Barricade. Shockwave? If you need a test subject we can get another human to perform the reversal patch on.::
::That won't be necessary my Lord. I did the calculations and I am 100% sure it'll work on erasing her memories, plus she'll be able to survive the procedure. How it'll affect her upon awakening is still to be determined.:: Shockwave looked at Emma and did a quick scan of her brain, which he found to be abnormally active in certain areas. ::Hm... Certain parts of her brain are active when they shouldn't. And are increasing in power...::
Barricade looked at Emma. ::Oh, she told me that she has many talents. One of them being able to hack computers. She rarely does it though.::
::Really now? That is useful information... Maybe you can enhance that part of her brain during the procedure...:: Megatron was already liking the human femme. He could tell that she has hidden abilities that could be used for the Decepticon cause. "Emma dear?"
Emma was letting Frenzy play with her phone, after the Mini-con kept bugging to play with it, and looked up at Megatron. "Yeah? I noticed you all were quiet for a while. Do you have internal communications?"
"You have a good eye for noticing. Yes we were speaking amongst ourselves and Shockwave will be able to erase your memories."
For the first time in years, Emma laughed and jumped up and down. "This is great news! Shockwave thank you so much for doing this! If this is the new life you promised me then I'll happily do the procedure!"
Shockwave's optic dimmed a little, his way of smiling. To others, this was his way of showing emotion. "You are most welcome Emma Bowman. Lord Megatron, I'll be in my lab." He bowed and left the room. Megatron looked back and spoke to him through his comlink. ::Shockwave, let me know when the Reversal Patch is ready.::
::Yes my Liege.::
Megatron stopped a solder to talk to him after the scientist left. Barricade turned and watched as Emma was doing a little dance with Frenzy, the poor bot was confused but danced along with her. He didn't show it, but he was happy for her. She'll be able to start a new life here with the Decepticons. Which reminded him... "Emma?"
The girl and Mini-con stopped dancing and looked up at him. "Yeah Barricade?"
"Do you remember the symbol you saw on me plus the door out front?"
She nodded. "Yeah. What is it?"
"That is the Decepticon symbol. It stands for our right to do as we please, whenever we want, whenever we want. It's like this, back on our home planet there was this war. We Decepticons hated the rules the other faction forced on us and rebelled against them. The war caused our planet to go into a "Hibernation Shutdown" and we can't return until we get all ten shards of the Allspark."
"Whoa... So, you're telling me that this other faction tried to rule over you and the others?" Emma asked.
Barricade nodded. "Yeah. Those damn fraggers caused our planet to not only shut down, but they caused all kinds of fragging problems for us. Imagine Hitler but ten times worse."
Emma covered her mouth. How could those evil bots do that to them? And now they're homeless because of it. She hugged herself and looked at him in the optic. "And this faction... Who are they?"
"The dreaded Autobots..." Megatron overheard their conversation and walked back over to them. He had anger in his eyes as he spoke. "The Autobots are nothing but monsters! Trying to stop us at every last turn! They're pure evil... I once considered the leader my own little brother, until he turned on me..." He made a fist in his hand. "Emma, the Autobots are what we have been fighting for thousands of years, fighting for the right to have a peaceful life again! If only we could find the Allspark shards, then we'll have a chance on restoring our beloved planet and finally go home."
Emma had tears coming out of her eyes, she quickly wiped them away and hid her face in the sleeve of her jacket. Megatron noticed this and gently removed her arm so he could see her face. "Do not weep youngling... I know it's hard to hear but it's the truth..." The girl looked up at him and suddenly smiled, determination in her eyes. Only reason she was brought here was because she wanted a better life for herself. But after hearing why they were here, she wanted to help them. Help them anyway she can.
"M-Megatron? After I get enhanced, I-I want to help you."
"You want to help us?"
She sniffled and wiped her eyes again. "Y-yeah. It's the least I can do... Since you're letting me stay here... It's not right! Why is it that when someone wants to be free, someone else thinks they can control their lives?! It's not right!" she yelled.
Megatron grinned. "You are absolutely right Emma! It's wrong to try to control other's fate! And their will! It's like being a slave, to have no freedom ever again…" He held out a finger to her. "It seems we have much in common my dear. Join us, help us fight for our right to be free, join the Decepticons and their goal!" Emma looked at his finger, then at Barricade and Frenzy. Both bots were grinning ear to ear (if they even had ears) and nodded. Smiling, she shyly reached out and grabbed Megatron's finger.
"I'll happily join and fight for what's right! I'll become a Decepticon!"
Megatron had an evil look on his faceplates as he gently moved his finger up and down, simulating a handshake. "Welcome to the cause dear Emma." He let go and stood up, facing the door. "Barricade here will show you around the ship then to your room. We prepared it for a human arrival. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask." He then left the room. Barricade opened his hand, letting Emma and Frenzy climb on and left the room also. One of the Decepticon Drones L44-RY, known as "Larry" spoke quietly to another drone.
"Hey? You think Shockwave's experiment will work this time? So far three humans off lined because they couldn't handle the fusion."
A drone named L3-1F, known as "Leif" shrugged and kept typing on his computer. "Don't know man. She might survive this one. If not, then we can find another human."
"Eh, fourth time the charm right?" They continued working on their computers, not speaking anymore on the matter. Meanwhile, Barricade was showing Emma around the ship when she asked a question.
"Sorry to interrupt but... What are Allspark Shards?"
"They're fragments of the Allspark, a huge cube that can restore our planet to what it once was. But during the battle in Mission City it somehow separated into 10 shards and scattered across your planet. So far we only have three, the Autobots have two. The other five are still out there..."
She noticed that Barricade has a hint of sadness in his voice and rubbed the metal between his armor, making him look down at her. He saw her with a big smile on her face. "I wouldn't worry about it. Once I get the enhancement I'll be able to help you all. Hehe, I'll be a cyborg Cybertronian!" She heard him chuckle at that. "Thanks. And the term we use is Techno-Organic, but cyborg sounds better."
"Yup! I promise to help you guys out in any way I can Mr. Cade." Emma smiled at him and Barricade smiled back. Frenzy snickered and started poking fun at them.
"Barri barri loves squishy! Barri barri loves squishy!"
The Mech rolled his optics and hit the Mini-con on his head. "Shut up runt."
"HEY! NO HITTING! IMA TELL SOUNDWAVE!"
"I said SHUT UP!"
Emma laughed at how they're acting. It's like they're brothers. To think that meeting that Mustang for the first time would lead to her having a new life, and maybe a new family. To repay the Decepticons for helping her, she has to do everything she can to help them. (Once I'm enhanced, I'll help out by finding the shards, then by destroying the Autobots... Everyone deserves to be free…)
…..
An hour later, a Mech by the name of Soundwave has just finished erasing everything about Emma that was stored in Earth's computers. Even if someone noticed she was missing they wouldn't have the data to find her. She was officially off the grid. Megatron walked in and saw that he was standing there waiting for him.
"So Soundwave, you done with erasing all the files?"
He nodded and pointed to the screen, where a picture of her mother was displayed. "Ah, forgotten about her… Well, it's not like anyone would believe her if her daughter went missing. Since there's no record of her ever having a daughter." He chuckled darkly as he looked on the screen. Soundwave then played back a recording of his voice of something he said earlier.
"Join us, help us fight for our right to be free, join the Decepticons and their goal!"
Megatron waved him off, getting what he was trying to say. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Besides, she requested to have her memory erased anyway. Even if little Emma found out it was a lie it won't matter, because she'll be completely under our control. The Autobots won't know what hit them!"
Soundwave nodded, understanding why his leader lied to the human. It won't matter, as long as she's under the Decepticon influence. He saw Megatron turn to leave but glanced back at him.
"Oh, monitor her mother's whereabouts. If she causes a stir make sure to have her… disappear as well."
Soundwave didn't respond and went back to his computer, hacking into a local satellite and aiming the camera towards a small house in what looked like a run-down neighborhood. There the mother was just arriving home with a scowl on her face. Soundwave tilted his head as he watched.
"...This will be...Interesting..."
AN: Remember that ending scene in Pokemon: Latios and Latias where Bianca (who was Latias in disguise) kissed Ash before leaving? Yeah I remember my mom questioning me about it and I had to explain to her that it was a Pokemon, not a human. That was a headache...