Chapter 7: Speed Metal

Two weeks since the events of Convoy…

Jack stood in the empty desert dunes, the wind blowing dust across the smooth curves of the dunes.

"Hello!?" he yelled. "Anyone there?" The only answer was the sound of the wind blowing across the desert floor.

He turned, looking for signs of anyone or anything, when a voice caught his attention. "Hello child," a voice said, though it was greatly distorted by the wind.

Jack whirled towards the voice to see a mysterious figure, his form blurred by the sand. "Who are you? Where am I?" he demanded.

The figure seemed to shake his head in disappointment. "Can't even remember your own father can you boy? Then again, what would I expect from a disappointment like you?" He couldn't make out the voice, though the tone was clearly mocking.

"You aren't my father!" Jack yelled.

The figure chuckled. "How would you know? You're just a killer wearing a human skin. A monster with no regards for life," he stated.

"You're wrong! I'm no killer!" he screamed, slicing his hand through the air.

The figure chuckled again. "Oh really, and I suppose these men just died on their own?" As the words left his mouth, three figures, the men Jack had killed, formed, surrounding him.

Jack was horrified, as each one was in the condition they're bodies had been in when they died, two of them wearing masks. One had a caved in chest, the other's head was rolling casually from side to side as if only loosely held in place. The last one had no mask, his empty eyes stared at Jack, but the two neatly burned holes in his forehead caught his attention most.

All three slowly began to approach, whispering vicious curses towards him.

"Murderer!"

"Killer!"

"Monster!"

"Alien!"

"N-no!" Jack screamed as he tried to step back. His step froze in place and he felt weak, weaker than he'd ever been before.

The three dead men continued to approach him, hissing their curses. "I'm not a killer! I'm not a monster!" Jack yelled as he struggled to break free, the men growing ever closer.

"I'm not a monster! I'M NOT!"

He woke with a start in his bed with a loud scream. He started, panting heavily and looked at his clock. It was two in the morning. It was the same nightmare he'd been having since the train, and it was just as bad every night no matter what he did before or after.

He'd tried talking with Optimus about it again, but the leader said that the only real probable way for the nightmares to stop was to either meet his true father or come to terms with what he did.

The former was likely impossible, leaving the latter as his only option. While he accepted what he'd done was necessary, he also knew he'd overdone it. He could have easily incapacitated the men without much effort, but he'd let his anger get the better of him, and now they were dead.

Jack's brooding was interrupted by a knock on his door. "Jack?" his mother called. "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine Mom," he said shakily.

The door opened, and June poked her head in. "You don't sound fine to me," she stated.

Jack just looked away and sighed. "Another nightmare?" she asked as she stepped into his room and sat on the corner of his bed.

Jack just nodded his head. "Still don't want to talk about it?"

"I-I, I'd rather not Mom," Jack said. "Maybe another day, just not today."

"I understand," she said and embraced Jack in a hug. "Just remember, if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here for you, okay Jack?"

Jack pulled out of her embrace and nodded. "Okay Mom."

June smiled before yawning. "Well, I'm going back to bed. You need anything, water, cup of warm milk?"

Jack chuckled half-heartedly. "I'm fine Mom," he said.

"Okay," she said as she stepped into the doorway before turning back to face Jack. "Goodnight Jack."

"Goodnight Mom," he responded. She smiled and closed the door behind her. Jack fell back onto his pillow, his hands on his face. He'd had a repeat of this scenario almost every night for the past two weeks, and each time he wished so much he could tell Mom what happened, but if he did, she would know about the Bots, something he would never do. After what had happened, he wanted to make sure his mother stayed as far away from that part of his life as possible. She had enough to worry about without worrying about him being involved in an interplanetary war with a race of sentient robots.

Jack sighed and pulled his sheets over him. Now was not the time for thinking about such things, and, slowly but surely, Jack fell back into a restless sleep.

Later that day…

Jack hopped on Arcee as the bell rang, eager to get away from school. He didn't even have a shift at the K.O. Burger that day. Truthfully, his work hours there had shortened significantly, and Jack was considering quitting. The money was hardly helpful at home, and if he quit, he could spend more time with Arcee and the others.

After the train incident, Jack had quickly apologized to the others for snapping, and they had quickly forgotten about it. Even Raf and Miko seemed to have forgotten Jack's show of anger aboard the train, leaving Jack as the only one still haunted by the experience.

Jack shook his head. Such thoughts were to be thought of later in private. Right now, he should enjoy the ride to base with Arcee. This was always his favorite part of the day, and even though she wouldn't admit it, Jack had a feeling she enjoyed their rides too.

Currently, Arcee was navigating the maze of streets that defined Jasper. Despite its relatively small size, there were quite a few intersections in the town, and it was here that Arcee came to a stop.

"Jack?" a voice called and Jack turned to see, to his surprise, Sierra. He had known the girl since elementary school, and out of everyone that he knew, she had seen the most of Jack's powers, though he'd managed to convince her that she had seen things when she claimed he'd saved the bus.

Jack would also be lying if he said he didn't have a small crush on the girl. She had stood up for him a few times when he was younger and bullied by Vince, who still antagonized the boy. Right now, the red head was standing on the side walk with a friend, her school books clasped against her chest.

"S-sierra?" he responded in kind.

The girl looked over his bike. "That's… a nice bike. Where'd you get it from?"

Jack rubbed the back of his helmet. "Oh… you know, I found it online."

Sierra nodded. "Would you mind if I took a ride?" she asked.

"I…uh, sure, anytime," he said hesitantly.

Arcee's mirror flicked towards Jack. "I'm your guardian kid, not your wingman."

Jack sighed and was about to tell Sierra that today wouldn't work, when a large muscle car with flame decals pulled up next to him. Driving it was that cocky jerk, Vince. "Hey hey, small world," he said in a mocking tone.

"I'm having a conversation," Jack said, gesturing to Sierra on the other side of Vince's car.

Vince rolled his eyes. "Cheer captain here might enjoy watching you take on four wheels of muscle car," Vince stated, while Sierras friend whispered something into her ear, causing them both to giggle slightly.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Are you challenging me? To a race?" he asked in disbelief.

"You catch on quick ponch. What do you say?" Vince stated. Jack inwardly sighed. He saved the jerk's life, and he still bullied him years later.

"Ugh," Jack said, as Sierra gave him an expecting look.

"Well…" Jack started, before the light turned green. Arcee took off before he could answer, causing him to grab hold of the bars.

"You-you didn't let me answer," he said as she drove away.

"Nope," she stated plainly.

"Arcee we can smoke him," Jack complained. He didn't want to race to impress Sierra. He wanted to put that arrogant jerk in his place, without burning his brains out.

"Yep," she said curtly.

He sighed. "You just don't get it," he moaned.

"I don't make the rules Jack," she explained. "Optimus does, and rule number one, in case you missed it, never abuse power, even horsepower."

Jack visibly flinched as she reminded him of that rule. Ever since Optimus found out about Jack's abilities, that rule had been applied to Jack's life as well.

Jack sighed again as Vince pulled up beside him. "Vince," he started, "maybe racing isn't such a good id-" He was cut off by a laugh from Vince.

He turned to look at the bully, not really surprised he was laughing at him. "Figured," he said in a mocking tone. "You ride around like your bike's something special." The bully put on a cruel smile. "But it's just a clunky trunky bike." He paused. "And ugly."

Jack felt Arcee bristle at that comment. The light turned green, and Vince did a burn out before doing a U-turn around Jack, heading back to probably hit on Sierra and her friend.

Jack coughed away the smoke while Arcee spoke. "That's it. The yahoo's going down." And took off after Vince, causing Jack to struggle to hold on.

"Whoa!" he yelled. "What happened to rule number one?"

"It gets bent," she stated. "Just this once."

Jack pulled up behind Vince. "Ready when you are Vinny," he said confidently, revving the engine.

Vince scowled. "Dirt road by Trucker's Ranch, one hour," he said.

One hour later…

Jack and Arcee were parked next to Vince along a long stretch of empty road.

"From here to the mile marker," he explained. "Ready, go!" And he took off, leaving Arcee and Jack in the dust.

The pair took off after him, and Jack mumbled. "Well that was fair."

Vince easily pulled ahead, maintaining his lead, as Arcee and Jack began to catch up to him. Things were going slow, and Vince remained in the lead.

"Uh Arcee?" he asked

"Winning isn't enough Jack." she paused for a moment. "You want to make him cry," she stated sadistically, causing Jack to shiver slightly. Arcee could be terrifying when she wanted to be. Jack was just glad he'd never earned that fury from her.

Arcee's speed doubled, and she took off, quickly catching up to Vince, cruising alongside his car. The bully looked to his side in surprise, and Jack gave him a mock salute before Arcee took off again, pulling into a wheelie as they passed Vince and rocketed ahead.

They passed the mile marker, and Jack whooped in victory while Arcee blared her horns "Outstanding!" he yelled in delight. "Hey?" he asked questioningly. "Now might be a good time to offer Sierra a once around the block?" he said hopefully.

"Don't push it," she warned. Jack sighed. Well, one out of two wasn't bad, right?

Aboard the Nemesis…

"You have been street racing among the humans again, haven't you!?" Starscream demanded as Knockout casually walked next to Lord Megatron, who was lying on a berth in a coma. He'd been that way since the space bridge explosion, and Knockout was supposed to be the doctor in charge of his recovery, along with his assistant Breakdown. That was why they'd been brought here, but Knockout seemed content to let Breakdown do cosmetic work while he ran around on the planet's surface.

"I'm not only an automobile," he stated coolly. "I'm an automobile enthusiast."

"I do strive to run a tight ship Knockout. I would strongly suggest you seek my permission before you decide to disappear on one of your… jots," Starscream warned.

"No worries, Herr commandant," Knockout replied casually.

Starscream scowled. "It is lord to you," he growled.

"Only if Megatron takes a nose dive," Knockout said calmly.

Starscream snarled. "The day our master emerges from stasis, I will graciously relinquish the title." He paused before continuing. "But I believe that that outcome is unlikely, given the quality of medical care around here."

There was silence as the two glared at each other, before Starscream turned and walked away. "So keep buffing," he said as he walked away. "We do want Megatron to look his best for the memorial service." And the seeker left the room, the doors slamming shut behind him with a hiss.

"Buff this," Knockout said while gesturing rudely in Starscream's general direction. He turned around with a laugh. "I don't see how he expects us to take him serious, what with the fact that he got his aft handed to him by a human."

Breakdown, his large, blue assistant, looked at him quizzically. "You didn't see the footage!?" Knockout asked, amazed. "Starscream got flung around like a ragdoll by a human child. How pathetic is that!?" he asked.

Breakdown snickered as he got back to work. Knockout, on the other hand, began working on repairing the scratch on his paint from his latest street race.

Back at the Autobot Base…

Jack and Arcee rolled into base before Jack got off. Arcee rolled next to him for a few feet, before assuming her 20 foot tall robot mode, lights glinting off her.

She stopped and looked at Jack. "Not a word to anyone," she warned.

Jack smiled as he took his helmet off. "Our little secret," he promised with a wink. Satisfied, Arcee walked off into base.

Suddenly, Miko ran up from behind Jack, startling him as she made an attempt at imitating a motorcycle engine. "And the winner is Jack!" she said excitedly.

A shocked and worried expression appeared on the teen's face. "How did you find out?" he asked hurriedly.

She looked at him with an amazed look. "You're kidding right?" she asked.

"The whole school knows how you knocked the pants off that blow hard bully Vince," Raf explained as he walked up to the two.

Jack hurriedly pulled the two into a huddle. "You guys have got to keep this a secret, got it? Especially from Optimus. He's been on me a lot about being responsible ever since he found out about my powers," Jack explained.

The two nodded in understanding, and he let them go. "Good, now, who wants to watch TV?" he asked.

The next day, at Jasper High…

Jack walked down the steps of the high school, running a hand through his hair as he sighed. The whole school had been abuzz about what happened between Vince and Jack and how he had beat him badly. People kept asking him all sorts of questions about how he beat Vince, if he was going to race him again, and, of course, if they could ride his motorcycle.

Any other kid would have been in heaven. Jack hated every second of it. He always tried to stay hidden at school, and being the center of attention was horrible for him, torturous even.

He heard the door open behind him and turned to see Sierra standing there. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied

"I've been looking for you," she said. "The race, how great was that? It was like, yeah, go Jack," she said nervously.

Jack let a small smile grace his lips before he rubbed his head in embarrassment. "It was nothing," he said humbly.

Vince bumped into his shoulder from behind. "You got that right!" he said angrily as he turned to face Jack. "If you think you can run with the big boys," he pointed a finger at him, "the circuit. Tonight. 11 PM," he said ominously.

Jack looked from Sierra to Vince, before smiling halfheartedly.

Later…

"You agreed to what!?" Arcee demanded as they drove to base.

Jack sighed. He knew he'd regret this. "It was some sort of secret racing club, and I didn't have a choice. Sierra was standing right there," he explained.

"You always have a choice Jack," Arcee lectured, again causing Jack to flinch. How did this femme know to say all the right things to make him feel guilty?

"And what part of 'just this once' did you not understand?" she asked angrily.

"I know. I'm sorry… But we're on, right?" he asked hesitantly, though he already knew the answer.

"We are not on," Arcee stated, ending the conversation. Jack sat back slightly in the seat, disappointed but not surprised. Well there was one other option…

Autobot headquarters…

Raf was playing a racing game on the console in base, concentrating intently on the race.

"Raf?" Jack asked, causing the boy to lose focus and crash before he turned to his friend. "Is there any way I could borrow Bumblebee for, like, an hour?" he asked nervously.

Bee whirred and beeped indignantly as if the idea of asking if he could be borrowed was offensive.

"Jack," Raf said. "You know racing is against the rules. What if Optimus found out?"

Jack winced. The last thing he needed to do was think about the sort of reaction the Prime would have to Jack street racing.

Bee and Jack both sighed or beeped in disappointment at Raf's burst of responsibility.

"But Raf," Miko interrupted, "Jack's got to get the girl," she explained, causing the twelve year old to look at her funny.

"Whoa, whoa," Jack said. "Who said I was doing this for Sierra?" he asked.

"Well duh," Miko said. "Why else would you have decided to beat Vince?"

Jack shrugged. "That's it right there. I wanted to put that smug jerk in his place. Sierra's nice and all, but she and I have a… complicated past," Jack explained.

Raf thought about everything he heard. "Well…" he started.

"Come on Raf," Jack pleaded. "Just this once?"

The Circuit…

Jack and Bumblebee pulled into the empty canal that functioned as the circuit. Various customized muscle and sports cars were scattered around, their drivers chatting with other drivers or their girlfriends.

Jack ignored them all as he and Bumblebee pulled up next to Vince. The bully turned in surprise at the muscle car, as Jack rolled the window down. "Bike's in the shop," he explained.

Vince set his face back into a scowl and looked ahead. Jack furrowed his brow and looked forward. He failed to notice the familiar red European sports car in the rearview mirror. The flag girl stepped out in front of the cars, and Jack was surprised to see it was Sierra. She waved shyly at Jack before preparing the flags.

"Racers are you ready?" the announcer asked. "5…4…" Everyone's engines began to rev. "3…2…1!" And the cars shot off like rockets down the circuit.

Jack and Bee quickly pulled ahead, Vince behind them, as well as the red sports car. Suddenly, the red car began to ram Vince repeatedly. Bee started beeping franticly though Jack couldn't understand him.

"What was that Bee?" he asked as he turned around in his seat. "Wait. I know that car," he said when Bee yanked control from him, causing him to yelp in surprise.

Recently, Miko had been taken to Greece by Bulkhead in an attempt to get her to work on a history project. It failed as they were attacked by an old Con rival of Bulkhead's. Jack hadn't been present for the aftermath as he'd been having another practice session, but Miko had shown him the pictures she'd taken while talking about how cool breaking into a museum had been.

He was a little worried about that last bit actually.

The yellow muscle car and red sports car began speeding along the curved wall of the canal, Jack looking around frantically. In any other condition he would take the Con out, but with Bee around that wasn't an option.

He looked in the mirror and saw blasters unfold from either side of the sports car and aim at them, charging. It began to unleash a barrage of energon bolts, causing Bee to take evasive maneuvers and give Jack mild motion sickness.

"Now I remember why I prefer motorcycles," he muttered.

Bumblebee, deciding he needed to get the teen to safety, drove up the wall and used it to jump onto the highway, the Con in close pursuit.

"Can you lose him Bee?" Jack asked as the Con continued to fire at them. His answer was a series of beeps and whistles.

"What did you say?" he asked, receiving more beeps and whirrs as a reply. "I hope that means yes, 'cause I'd rather not have to call base for backup," he said nervously.

Meanwhile, back at base…

Miko and Raf were in the middle of an intense racing game, Bulkhead watching eagerly. Optimus was in his quarters filling out paperwork, and Ratchet was busy cataloguing the energon stockpile. They heard the sound of metal footsteps and noticed Arcee.

The femme looked around for a moment before asking. "Anyone seen Jack?"

Raf, Miko, and Bulkhead all froze at her question and looked between each other quickly.

"Not since…" Miko paused for a moment trying to come up with an excuse. "We last saw him," she answered quickly.

Arcee's eyes narrowed. "They're racing aren't they?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Just this once," Raf said nervously.

Arcee turned to Bulkhead. "Did you know about this?" she asked the Wrecker.

Bulkhead turned away for a moment. "No," he said, before noticing the look in Arcee's eyes. "Maybe. A little."

Arcee sighed in frustration when the terminal activated, showing Bee's ID tag. The scout began to rapidly beep a message over the channel.

Raf got up from the couch. "You're being chased by Knockout?" he asked. Bee beeped what sounded like a yes.

Miko stood up, fist clenched. "That sounds like a Decepticon."

"Bee, do not engage. Your first priority is to keep Jack safe," she ordered before turning to head after them. "Before I get my hands on him," she muttered darkly.

Back with Bee and Jack…

Jack shivered as he heard Arcee's threat over the com. He was touched she was concerned, but given how she sounded furious as well, he was pretty sure she meant her threat.

Knockout continued to tailgate the two before Bee began to dump out an oil slick, coating the road in the slippery stuff. Knockout quickly lost control and began to spin out of control, before coming to a stop.

"Slick," Jack quipped. The pair quickly drove off before finding a bridge. Bee went off road and pulled under the bridge, hoping to lose Knockout. Bee shut off his lights, and the two waited in silence.

They heard the rumble of Knockout's engine as he pulled onto the bridge above them and did the same, shutting his lights and engine off to listen for the Bot. For several seconds, neither side dared to make a move. The entire area was dead silent. There was a sudden clicking noise before Knockout's engine flared to life, and he drove off.

"I think we lost him," Jack said in relief. He looked forward and, to his utter disappointment, saw the telltale headlights of Vince's modified muscle car. "You got to be kidding me," Jack cursed as Vince got out of his car and slammed the door.

"Darby!" he yelled as he approached the duo, slamming his fists together as he did.

"Vince you have to get out of here, "Jack warned. "You win. Congratulations. Now, go."

The redhead slammed his hands on the hood. "No, start her back up loser. We're finishing this race!" he commanded angrily. Jack groaned at the bully's anger issues. "Don't want to finish the race, fine. Then we got something to settle right here, right-" Vince was cutoff as a large, metal hand reached down and plucked him off the ground, Vince yelling in surprise.

Jack struggled with Bee's seatbelt, trying to get it off so he could rescue the bully… again. Bee was resistant though and kept beeping at him, likely telling him to stay hidden. Jack heard the sound of Knockout transforming and driving off and cursed as Bee finally let him go. He rushed to the top of the bridge, but Knockout was long gone by now.

Bee pulled up behind Jack, who turned to the scout. "Bee, come on he's getting away!" he yelled, and the scout began quickly beeping at him. "I can't understand you!" he yelled, slightly too loud.

He rubbed the back of his head while he thought. "Look, how about you honk once for bad news, twice for good news." Bee promptly honked twice, and Jack looked over to see, to his relief and horror, Arcee and Bulkhead approaching.

The Bots transformed before him, and Arcee stood in front, hands on her hips. Before she could begin lecturing him, Jack interrupted her. "I know Arcee, I'm in a lot of trouble, but right now Knockout just snatched Vince and is taking him God knows where."

The femme raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What would he want with Vince?" she asked.

"He probably thought he was Bumblebee's human friend," Jack sighed angrily. "I'm not even Bumblebee's human friend. Look, that isn't the point. The point is that Vince is in trouble," Jack explained.

"Oh well, tough break for Vince," Bulkhead shrugged, earning an astonished look from everyone, especially Jack.

"Bulkhead!" Jack yelled.

"What?" Bulkhead asked innocently. "I hear the guy's a jerk."

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That might be true, but he's also innocent, and your job, no matter what you want to think, is to protect the innocent! Even Vince doesn't deserve to get crushed by Cons," Jack said.

Arcee looked at the boy, a hint of approval hidden in her optics, before she collapsed into vehicle form. "Hop on," she ordered.

Back at base…

"They should have called by now," Raf said worriedly. "Do you think Bumblebee's okay?"

"Don't worry Raf. Jack and Bulkhead would never let anything happen to Bee," she said encouragingly.

The sound of Optimus's footsteps caught their attention, and the two turned to see the Autobot leader walking in from the hallway. "We should just tell Optimus the truth," Raf whispered

"Absolutely not," Miko whispered back. "We made a deal. Just act completely normal," she ordered, and the two turned their attention back to the Prime.

Optimus approached the two. "Raf, Miko, do either of you know where the others have gone?" he asked.

"Why, no, sir. We do not know," Miko said stiffly

"Miko is correct. We do not know," Raf agreed, his voice cracking.

"Why would we know?" she asked even more stiffly. It was a minor miracle that with lying skills this bad, the two hadn't exposed Jack or the Bots to the public.

Optimus raised a brow, in suspicion. "Hmm..."

Jasper, Nevada…

The small convoy of Bots raced down the highway, searching for Knockout and Vince. There had been no sign of the Con since they'd begun searching for him. The three came to a stop at a stop sign for a moment when they saw Knockout race by.

Jack did a double take, before he and Arcee raced after him, followed by Bulkhead and Bumblebee. They raced after the Con down the street until he turned sharply into an almost abandoned parking lot, a single beater parked in the corner.

"On your guard boys," Arcee ordered as she fell back into line with the others. "It could be a trap."

"Remember, no shooting" Jack reminded them, and the two mechs took off.

Arcee pulled over. "Speaking of safety, here's where you get off."

Jack sighed inwardly, before stepping off of Arcee. She raced off after the two while Jack stood there. He turned and looked through the buildings, listening and watching. He looked up and saw Arcee gracefully scale a nearby water tower for a tactical advantage before she flipped up top and landed gracefully atop it.

Jack smiled. "That's my girl," he said. The sound of blaster fire and the collapse of stone caught his attention, and he turned to see Bulkhead and Bee engaging a large blue mech with an orange faceplate. This had to be Breakdown, Knockout's infamous partner and Bulkhead's rival. The two mechs engaged him while Knockout remained parked in vehicle mode.

"Now, where is the two wheeler?" he muttered to himself. As if in answer, a large, blue and pink foot slammed itself onto his hood, and Arcee began punching his hood. "Hey, watch the paint!" he yelled before taking off.

Arcee managed to hold on as he barreled out of the parking lot. Jack watched them drive by before Knockout made a sharp turn, knocking the femme off of him. She slid across the pavement, ready to go after him, when Breakdown's servo latched onto her shoulder and flung her back into the lot.

Jack looked back as Knockout drove off. He knew what he had to do and looked to make sure there were no onlookers. Confident that his secret wasn't in any danger, he took off, sprinting after Knockout, quickly catching up and tailing the Con.

"What's this?" the Con asked in amazement. "So you want to race, hm? Let's see you keep up with maximum overdrive," he initiated it and took off, hitting 250 easy.

Jack saw him start to pull ahead and leapt through the air, twisting as he did, and skidded back against the ground, in front of Knockout.

"Do you have a death wish!?" the Con screamed at the human. Jack didn't move. "Fine, looks like I'm scraping fleshy out of my grill tonight," he muttered in annoyance.

Knockout floored it, barreling towards Jack, who braced himself for the impact. The Con slammed into Jack, whose feet began to dig into the ground, pushing up asphalt and the like. Jack lifted and flung the Con on his side. Knockout let out a yelp of pain as Jack jumped on the mad doctor's side.

He reached down, shoved his fist through the door, and ripped it off, prompting another yell of outrage from the medic. Jack pulled Vince out of the car and flung him over his shoulder before jumping off the Con and setting the unconscious boy down on the ground. He turned back to Knockout, who transformed angrily.

The Con ran a hand over the arm where his door use to be and glared at Jack with contempt. "Do you know how hard that is to replace!" he yelled and charged at the human.

He aimed to grab Jack, but Jack had gotten used to the tactic and dodged his swipes. On Knockout's third attempt Jack grabbed his servo and twisted on his heel, flinging the Con into the side of a mesa. He was stuck to the wall for a moment, before he fell back to the ground in a daze.

He stood up shakily and saw the bully at his feet. He picked him up to salvage some sort of victory, but he heard the sound of a truck horn and turned around just in time for Optimus to ram the Con. He went flying and landed in the dirt, moaning.

When he got up, he saw Optimus and transformed, driving off. The whole time, his vehicle mode was blaring "your door is ajar".

Optimus transformed and grabbed Vince before he hit the ground. He looked him over for any visible injuries and looked to Jack.

The alien teen sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Optimus, this was my fault. Don't blame the others," he said. He'd been stupid over this whole event and let his more teenage instincts take hold. Because of that someone else got hurt, and Jack had sworn after the train to never let another person come to harm because of him.

Optimus scowled, or did his best impression of a scowl, before speaking. "For now our focus shall be on returning this boy home, as well as sending you to base. Explanations shall come later."

Jack was silent. There wasn't anything left to say or do except anticipate the coming lecture from Optimus.

Aboard the Nemesis…

"Knockout! Was I not clear!?" Starscream snarled at the medic. "You have defied my orders yet again."

"My mistake, commander Starscream," Knockout said quickly. "But, I've learned my lesson… and paid the price," he said, rubbing the area where his door had once been. It would take days to replace it and hours of washing and buffing to get the scratches out.

Starscream growled at his use of the title commander. "It. Is. LORD!" he screamed at the medic. "And you have paid when I say you have paid." With that he raised a single talon at the Con.

Knockout began stepping back slightly, while Starscream chuckled darkly. "Do not worry. Your punishment shall be merely… cosmetic," he said with an evil glint.

"No not the finish, anything but the finish!" he screamed in fear. His screams of terror echoed through the halls of the Nemesis as well as the sound of metal screeching along metal.

The next day…

Jack walked towards Arcee in the school parking lot, helmet in hand. The lecture from Optimus had been less painful than he thought. Jack had taken full responsibility for everything, and Optimus in the end felt as though the experience had been enough punishment for him.

Jack had dropped Vince off in his car, and he would only assume what happened was a dream. Personally, Jack was glad it was over. He was really getting tired of saving Vince.

"Hey Jack," Sierra said as she walked up to him, hands clasped together.

"Hey Sierra," he said dismissively.

"So how about that ride?" she asked delicately.

Jack sighed. "No," he stated as he got on Arcee.

"Wait. What?" she asked.

"You heard me," he said and drove off, leaving the girl standing on the sidewalk, dumbfounded. Had the guy on the lowest rung of the social ladder rejected her? She furrowed her eyebrows. Looks like she had a new challenge.

Jack and Arcee drove to base in silence. Arcee had been willing to allow a small drive with Sierra for Jack's sake and had been shocked when he flatly rejected her. Now, the femme couldn't get her mind off of why he had rejected the girl he had an obvious crush on.

She broke the silence. "So Jack," she began, "you know I would have let you give her a ride right?"

Jack shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'm over her." He was silent after that, and none of Arcee's prodding would get him to answer her. So after a time, she gave up. He clearly didn't want to talk about it.

Jack looked at the sun as they drove, blissfully letting it soak him. He had rejected Sierra because, in the end, she would never stick with Jack, never understand him. Jack had decided after last night, after rescuing Vince, that if he was to ever be involved in a relationship, it wouldn't be with a pretty face gossip like Sierra. He needed to find someone else to be with, someone who he could share his secret with.

The only question on his mind was…who?

A/N: And here it is folks, chapter 7. I initially had some difficulty with this chapter, until I received help from a follower named RexBlaster, who helped me find this episode. After I found it, this chapter became much easier to write. Next chapter is Predatory, and for those who will ask, no, Arcee will not find out about Jack's powers in Predatory or Crisscross. The chapter where she finds out is going to be far more emotional and hopefully strengthen the romance I have planned. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and remember to review with critique and PM me with plot questions or ideas. So long.