Chapter 6

When Novo came to he was greeted by a sharp pain throbbing deep inside his left arm. He let out a loud hiss before slowly sitting up to get a look out the windshield. It was dark out and the only thing passing by Blade Runner's headlights was never ending desert. How long was he out for?

"Feeling any better?"

Novo moved the digits on his left hand, still not use to hearing the joints clinking. He then bent his elbow which had always been stiff but now seemed rather fluid. Gingerly he took off his leather jacket and t-shirt so he could get a look at his arm. What he saw made him swallow a little too loudly.

To the unfamiliar eye it would appear as though nothing has changed but to Novo he could clearly see the nanos had done their job. Though it was only 1/2 an inch of change, it told Novo that if he didn't stay on a strict diet he would turn into a machine himself.

"Hey, Novo you all right?" Blade Runner's deep, booming voice showed his worry. "There's a town coming up. You should get something to eat."

Novo nodded. "Good idea." He checked his watch and let out a few curses. "How far out are we? If it's the town I'm thinking about the gas station closes at ten."

"Fifty minutes but we can burn rubber if we need to."

"Yeah speed it up, just keep an eye out for police."

Blade Runner turned his lights off as he picked up speed. "It's a good thing we're equipped with night vision."

Novo chuckled as he allowed his body to relax. "Man, I miss you guys."

Several Miles Away

After the team recovered Pipes from a rundown storage facility they began the final leg of their journey. Currently Mark found himself wide awake and dying for a nice, hot shower. When was the last time he actually was able to clean himself without using a bathroom sink?

Anderson loudly grumbled as he tried to shift his 6'2" frame on the cramped rear seat. "Man, next stop we take I'm going to see if I can hop into one of the other guys." He leaned forward to get a look out the windshield. "Beltline, do you ever get tired?"

"Definitely, we have to recharge just like humans just not as often."

"And do you use normal gasoline or does it have to be something completely different?"

"We have to convert your gasoline into working fuel for us. Unfortunately it's just not powerful enough for our race to survive on."

Anderson somehow got himself into the passenger seat, a feat of flexibility that surprised Mark. He then started to laugh as his friend fought with the seat controls so his head wouldn't hit the roof.

"Dude, you're like a giant in this car."

"Yeah, no offense Beltline but I never really liked tiny sport cars. I'm going to see if Pipes wouldn't mind if I crashed inside his cab for the night."

Beltline chuckled as he situated the seat for Anderson. "Your father never liked riding with me either."

Once comfortably situated Anderson tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "That Spencer kid, he's only fourteen. You feel right about bringing him in on what could possibly turn into a massive alien blood feud?"

Mark shook his head. "No, but according to him his mom is dead and his dad could care less about him. Besides, he seems pretty leveled headed."

"Yeah, right now but what if he has to fight? You see how small he is?" Anderson pivoted his head to get a look at Mark. "I mean, would you trust him with your life?"

"Good point but there was a teenager involved in the unit back in the sixties. I saw him in one of the photo books my dad had kept."

"Right, and where is this kid now?" When silence only followed Anderson laced his hands and put them behind his head. "I'm going to attempt some sleep."

XXXX

Since the rest of the team was on their way, Novo decided he would wait for them at the gas station, the last stop before Freedom Base. After nearly wiping out the store's meager food supply Novo made his way back to Blade Runner who had parked himself in the darkest part of the small lot.

"Clerk told me he's actually getting another supply of food in tomorrow." Novo put the bags in the passenger seat then reached inside one for apples and a can of ravioli. "Besides with Mark, Anderson and now Spencer with us we need some food at the base. So I'm going in tomorrow to gather up some perishables."

"What have you been doing all this time while were in stasis?"

Novo sat in the driver's seat and gave Blade Runner a shrug. "Putting away massive amounts of money, living off the grid and waiting for the signal from Beltline that things are a go."

"Do you ever miss them? Their fathers?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't risk showing my face to them not after what happened to my family." Just thinking about his wife and son almost brought tears to Novo's eyes. "Anyway, once we're back at Freedom we need to wake up the rest of the team and continue the search."

He had no idea when he fell asleep, but when Novo woke up with a start he saw the sun cresting over a nearby mesa. Rarely, if ever did he sleep for more than eight hours and it began to worry him. What were the nanos doing to his body?

"You okay?" Blade Runner's voice seemed rather worried as he turned on the dome light. "You seemed to be in a lot of pain and I couldn't wake you."

Novo quickly pulled his jacket sleeve up but didn't see any changes. "Yeah, I'm actually feeling a lot better just starving."

He raided the closest grocery bag and began to eat like a man discovering food for the first time. Midway through his fifth pop tart it suddenly accord to him the last time he had felt this way. It was shortly after the accident, when he woke up from a month long coma and discovered his left arm had to be amputated. The shock didn't end there though. A metallic one had actually begun to grow, the nanos doing their job to repair his damaged body.

"We need to get you to Freedom Base so Beaker and Perceptor can check you out."

"Right, but we need to wait for the team to arrive." Novo finished eating three more pop tarts before starting on some apples. "How far out are they?"

"About thirty klicks."

"They made good time, must not have stopped to rest themselves." After Novo ate another apple he chugged down a couple of energy drinks and was working on his third when a supply truck pulled in beside the store. "Hang tight I'm going to have a chat with the driver."

The driver of the box truck brought his hands up, a look of terror on his face. That was when Novo realized he wasn't wearing his sunglasses and quietly cursed himself for his lapse in thinking.

"Their contacts." Novo quickly took out a wad of money to let the driver know he wasn't going to rob him. "Not going to hurt you. Just wondering what you have inside the truck."

"Mostly paper goods but I do have some fresh produce from a local farm. There might be some canned goods in there as well."

The sound of a large engine brought Novo's attention toward the street where he could see Pipes and the rest of the team making their way to the gas station. Sitting in alt-mode inside Pipes' truck bed was Velocity telling him that Mark and Anderson were sleeping. A new vehicle, a dark green, late model Jeep brought up the rear.

Another vehicle, this one belonging to the store's owner pulled in beside the truck and parked. The older gentleman had met Novo last night and he gave the latter a smile as he went to the front door.

"Now I see why you need all that food." The gentleman unlocked the door and waved for Novo to come in. "Your friends have some nice cars."

Novo gave the man an innocent shrug as he made a bee line to the coolers. "We love our classics, that's for sure."

The door dinged open causing both men to look to see who had come inside. A young boy came into the store, a huge smile on his face. Novo instantly knew who the kid was all thanks to Blade Runner who kept him up to date on the latest news. Apparently the team had come across Hound and this kid Spencer, who is only fourteen.

Spencer went up to Novo with a two shopping baskets in hand. "Thought you might need some help."

"Thanks. Grab some milk, cheese, eggs anything that we can use."

While the boy went to grab the needed items Novo went to the small freezer aisle to grab some dinners. Once he cleared out the whole case he went to the front counter where the driver stood with a smile on his face.

"Bill told me you're a good man." The driver handed a set of keys to Novo. "Third gear tends to stick a bit but she'll run for awhile."

Novo took the keys and pocketed them. "Thanks, really appreciate it."

The bell above the door jingled, a signal that another customer had come inside. Novo could hear the man's boots make their way to the cooler then abruptly stop.

"Hey, where did all the food go! Twerp, let me have that milk!"

"Sir, I'm getting items for our camping trip." Said Spencer.

Novo turned to see a large, beefy man towering over the boy. "Leave him alone."

"Or what?" Said the man.

Really not wanting to get into a fight Novo made his way between the man and Spencer. "Spencer, take the items to the counter." He then brought his attention back to the man in front of him. "Listen, I'm real sorry about the food but my friends and I are camping out..." The man swung at Novo with a large fist, the latter quickly catching it with his robotic hand. "I really think you need to calm down."

The man's eyes narrowed but he didn't back off, instead he just glared at Novo. "Impressive, but not good enough."

Novo began to squeeze knowing if he really wanted to he could crush the man's hand. Eventually the man did back off but not before uttering some choice words under his breath.

After directing the young kid to the snack aisle Novo made his way back to the counter so he could pay for the food. Novo had put his hand inside his jacket to get an envelope of money when he suffered a hit to the back of the head that nearly immobilized him. Novo then felt a hand spin him around causing his stomach to flip.

It took only seconds for Novo to realize that the man was now standing before him with a can of paint in one hand and a small knife in the other. The man sneered at Novo then swung the can of paint towards him. Novo easily dodged the large item but by doing so felt a sharp pain in his thigh.

"Not so tough now, are you?" The man yanked the knife out causing Novo to hiss at the pain it caused. "What the hell? Why is your blood blue?"

Novo held up his hands hoping the man will stop this nonsense. "Listen, I don't want to cause any problems. If you want some milk, you can have it."

The man let out a primal scream as he lunged at Novo once again. With instincts built in from the nanos and years of training Novo managed to avoid being stabbed or hit. But no matter how fast he was the knife did make contact three times causing deep cuts on Novo's chest.

"What are you!" Shouted the man.

A scream escaped Novo's mouth as he ran towards the man with his left hand. He was aiming at the solar plexus in the hopes it'll knock the wind out of his attacker. What happened next would haunt him for years to come.

Instead of hitting the man, somehow Novo's hand had turned into a sharpened blade which he shoved right through bone as though it was only marrow. The man's eyes got wide with horror as his body began to slide down the blade, his blood dripping onto the store's linoleum floor.

"Dear God..." Novo slowly began to pull the blade out not liking how he could actually feel it go through tissue and bone. "I'm sorry...I..."

Large amounts of blood began to bubble out from the man's mouth as he slumped to his knees. "You are not...human..." With these final words he folded over, eyes still wide in horror.

Novo glanced at the blade that was his left arm to see blood and tissue coating it's shiny service. What was happening to him? He spun around to see Spencer behind him, tears streaming down the boy's face.

Bill, the store owner took out his shotgun and aimed it towards Novo. "I'm not sure what's going on but I'm giving you five minutes before I call the police."

XXXX

Anderson was sound asleep when he was violently woken up by somebody pushing his feet out of the way. Before he could react to what was going on Pipes shot forward causing Anderson to worry. He sat up to see Spencer clutching something against his chest. The boy's eyes were wide, his demeanor showing Anderson he had just seen something horrific.

"You okay?" Spencer quickly shook his head as he curled into a ball. "What happened in there?"

"He killed that man..."

Spencer began crying causing Anderson to feel a bit uncomfortable since he had no idea how to deal with a crying child.

"Uhm...who killed who?"

"Novo...he's not human."

Anderson gave the kid a shrug. "Well, I could have told you that."

Spencer shook his head . "You didn't see it." The boy turned to look right at Anderson, tears streaming down his face. "His hand turned into a blade!"

"Okay..." Anderson drew the word out as his mind tried to process what the boy just told him. "What do you have in your hands?"

"A block of cheese." Spencer put the food on the dashboard so he could wipe a sleeve across his face. "I really think Novo didn't know what he did until it was too late."

Freedom Base

As Sonicblaze went through the large shuttle making sure things were still operational his mind kept going to the call he had received from Beltline. Apparently something was seriously wrong with Novo and now the team had to go into deep cover. And there was only one bot who could figure Novo out.

"Naito, is he ready to come out of stasis?" Sonicblaze asked as he walked into the duel level stasis facility. "Because we really need him right now."

Naito gave Sonicblaze a quick nod before heading towards a red and teal robot laying on an examine chair. There were already wires attached to the spark chamber and a few others to the bot's neuro-processor.

Sonicblaze gave Naito a nod to proceed. "How long will it take?"

"Not very." Naito began to type away on a keyboard, his attention not once wavering from a large screen. "Okay, here goes." He punched in a command sequence then moved back to the bot's side. "Perceptor, time to wake up."

Washington D.C

The basement wasn't really lavish, but seventy-two year old William Bowman made do. He shuffled to the coffee machine, poured himself a cup then made his way back to his cluttered desk. He put on reading glasses so he could read the latest report to come down the line.

According to several people in rural Georgia there had been some unexplained light phenomenon. William really hated dealing with folklore but until he officially retires he had no other choice.

"Mr. Bowman, got some files for you." A young man, named Colt came into the room with three thick portfolios in hand. "Do you really enjoy it down here in the dungeon? Surely you could be doing something upstairs."

William shook his head. "If only you knew..." He stopped in mid-sentence upon seeing an all too familiar symbol on a thick, blue folder. Ever so slowly he ran a hand against the paper as though worried it'll disappear. "Cyan clearance, wow it's been years since I've seen this."

Colt leaned forward hoping to get a peek at what was in William's hands. "I've never seen that symbol before."

"I need for you to live immediately. And make sure the door is locked behind you."

"Sir, maybe I could help..."

William shook his head. "This is way above your pay grade. Now leave."

Once Colt did as he was told, William quickly grabbed a letter opener so he could slice through the tape holding the folder together. Apparently the Cyan word base still worked and had flagged this information as vital. And once he began reading he saw why.

"Novo, what are those nanos turning you into?"

A Few Hours Later

When the team arrived at Freedom Base Mark got out of Beltline confused as to what he was seeing. He expected the tail end of a space ship sticking out of a mountain not a dilapidated building. Granted the garage door to the small warehouse was the largest Mark had ever seen.

"Home sweet home." Blade Runner had transformed making sure Novo, who has been in shock since the store incident was safe in his right hand. "All right buddy, lets get you inside and see what's happening to you."

"Wow, I don't think I'll ever get use to them transforming like that." Said Spencer as he made his way into the warehouse.

Anderson clapped a hand on Mark's shoulder and shook his head. "And to think you were once a New York stock broker."

Ignoring Anderson's little jab, Mark made his way inside the warehouse just in time to see Blade Runner disappearing into the floor. Pipes came in next, waving for Anderson and Mark to follow him.

Once Mark stepped onto a metal platform Pipes pushed a large button sending it down into the ground. It took a few minutes of traveling before the platform came to rest in front of a large, metallic sliding door.

Pipes reached out, entered a code then motioned with an arm to the massive interior within. "Welcome, to Freedom Base."

Mark slowly took a step forward not believing what he was seeing before him. The interior of the shuttle was massive and as he followed Pipes he could see several hallways leading to places unknown.

"The human bunker is this way." Pipes turned down a large hallway and stopped at a small door built into the wall. "Knowing Novo he's probably been keeping up with maintenance so you should find it in move in condition."

Anderson chuckled as Pipes went back the way he had come. "Move in condition?" He put a hand against a panel and let out a low hiss. "I think the wall just bit me."

"On the contrary, I was making sure you are indeed related to a Eugene Miller." A booming voice said from no where in particular.

"Did the..."

Anderson gave Mark a slow, careful nod. "Yeah, I think the wall just talked."

XXXX

"Put him down on the table so I can began the full body scan." Perceptor went to a computer console to type in some commands. "Novo, you need to tell us what happened? I can't help you unless you do."

Novo shook his head. "I killed him..."

Blade Runner crossed his arms and shrugged. "He's been saying that since the store incident."

Beltline held up a data pad so Perceptor could see the video he managed to get by hacking into the store's systems.

"Thankfully, most information on Earth is now kept digitally so I was able to get this."

After watching the video Perceptor brought his attention back to Novo. "Is this your first time in a high stress situation since the accident?"

Novo slowly nodded. "Yeah, I've always tried to remain under the radar."

"I see..." Perceptor rarely was quiet but he had to be in order to process all that he was seeing and hearing. "It appears the nanos have gone instinctual. I've never seen anything quite like it before." He began the body scan but mid-way through he had to pause it. "Sonicblaze, I need a word with you in private."

Once out of audio range Sonicblaze let out a deep sigh. "How bad?"

"When he got into the accident and was completely covered in your Energon, it infused his body with your coding."

"Meaning exactly?"

"Novo, no longer has any human bone structure. What I found in the scan is simply remarkable. He has traces of Tutonium, Tetrinite, and Durabyllium among other metals that make up a Transformer inside what should be his skeletal structure. Sonicblaze, Novo is virtually indestructible."

Sonicblaze ran a hand down his face then looked at his own armor. "Shockwave infused me with Tetrinite and Durabyllium so I could live through my EMP bursts."

"Exactly. And the nanos in your system has learned to work with both metals making you tougher than even Ironhide."

"So what your telling me, by somehow surviving an accident that killed his family, Novo may never actually die?"

Perceptor slowly nodded his head. "He only looks a little bit older than when we met him in 1966. Novo is seventy-nine years old, he should be looking his age but he isn't. It's a medical breakthrough."

"Okay, do what you can to make him comfortable." Sonicblaze was about to walk away when he thought of something else. "Still doesn't explain how he was able to morph his hand into a weapon. Won't he need a t-cog for that?"

"Yes, but with the nanos his brain has changed into what the human's call, a super computer." Perceptor shook his head as looked at his dear friend laying on the examine table. "Novo is no longer human, he's something completely new, even to me."