Knockout was starting to get more comfortable with taking Kristina around the Nemesis with him, although it took much begging on the young lady's part. They usually spent their time in the medical bay where she'd watch him work on injured soldiers. It was a while before Knockout got another mission assigned to him, sighing when she looked at him a bit hopefully from where she sat on his shoulder.
"You can't come." He stated as he walked out of the control room.
"Come ooooon. Knockout please, I'm getting so bored here at base. There's only so much monotony one can take of fixing a few bots and surfing the web for days on end."
"Hey, I take you for drives almost nightly." Knockout pouted some.
"Yeah, to my apartment for quick showers then to late night stores to get some food. We haven't even gone street racing or to see a movie since our first day, you could at least let me go with you on a mission. I promise I won't get in the line of fire or anything, I'll stay on the sidelines or something." She pleaded.
Knockout tried to stay firm in his decision but couldn't stand her pleading eyes. "Alright, fine, I guess it couldn't hurt since we're just going after a Data Cylinder. But when I drop you off to a safe zone, you stay there."
Kristina grinned and nodded. "You got it. Let's just drop by the room so I can get something." She saw his brow raise. "It's for protection."
Knockout took her to his room and let her rummage through her purse, seeing her pull out a rather large taser. "What is that?"
"A Taser, used for protection in case someone comes near me." She smirked a bit as she pushed the button and a loud crackling noise came from the shock prongs. "19 million volts of electricity, it's bound to do at least something against a big metal enemy."
Knockout shook his head with a chuckle and picked her back up. "Just be careful with that, I don't want to be on the end of that jolt."
Kristina laughed, looping the safety strap on her wrist and tightening it as they went through a space bridge with Breakdown. Knockout placed her behind a rock face and walked off with his assistant in their search, the latina sitting there and fiddling with her phone as she took it out of her pocket. A bit later she heard revving engines along with laser blasts come in her direction. The latina stood up a bit as she peeked from behind the large stones and saw her allies transform and fight back.
"Damn." She watched in awe, pocketing her phone and grinning at seeing that they had the Data Cylinder.
The battle continued to get heated, Kristina watching as the cylinder was knocked away and rolled near her. She didn't realize it was aimed right at her where it stopped then saw Miko make her way across the battlefield to it. Kristina bit her lip as she knew she had to stay where she was, contemplating the pros and cons when a space bridge opened up. The teen struggled as she tried pushing the Data Cylinder into the portal, Kristina cursing under her breath and stepped out from behind the rock face as she was about to go and stop Miko.
Before the latina could jump out of the way, she was suddenly hit with a beam from the Data Cylinder, body floating slightly as the vast information flooded into her. She landed hard and motionless onto the ground when the beam finished, pupils shrunken and staring off into space.
Miko gasped when she saw this, running over to her. "Where did you come from?! Are you ok?!" she asked frantically, shaking Kristina a bit but getting no response. "Bulkhead!"
The Autobot looked when he heard his friend screaming, seeing her kneeled with another human. Knockout looked to see what Bulkhead was staring at, optics widening as he saw Kristina down. He started off towards them but got slammed away by Bulkhead as he too was on the path. The green Autobot reached them first and picked them up, hurrying into the space bridge as the others retreated as well.
The medic quickly transformed and sped to the portal, sliding to a stop when it disappeared too quickly for him to go in. Breakdown went and picked up the cylinder, having caught what had happened from the corner of his optic during the battle.
"Knockout…we have to go back to base and take this to Megatron." He said after a long silence from his friend.
"They have her, Breakdown, I can't just leave her with them!" the medic suddenly shouted.
"We can't do anything without knowing where their base is, Knockout!" Breakdown yelled back. "There's nothing we can do."
Knockouts engine revved in his building anger, he felt so foolish for having brought her along in the first place and began blaming himself for her abduction. Breakdown called for a space bridge and looked to his friend.
"We'll have a better chance at finding her when we get back to the Nemesis, Knockout. Ok?" he tried to reassure.
Knockout transformed to bot mode and stayed silent as he looked down and saw Kristina's glasses on the ground. He gently picked them up and put them away in a compartment as his fists clenched, going to deliver the cylinder to their leader.
Ratchet watched as Bulkhead came in through the ground bridge, blinking when he saw a new human with the wrecker and Miko.
"What's going on?" the medic asked.
"She got hit with a big laser from the scroll thing! Now she's talking in tongues or something?!" Miko said worriedly as Kristina started mumbling loudly.
Ratchet squinted a bit then optics widened. "She's reciting Cybertronian Equations. The Data Cylinder's information must have downloaded into her."
"How is that possible? She's a human, you can't download stuff into humans….right?" Bulkhead asked as he looked to Miko who gave him a confused shrug in reply.
"Take her to the medical berth." Ratchet ordered, going with them as the others came and followed them.
Kristina laid there staring at the ceiling as she continued mumbling equations, looking to be in a complete trance.
"Wait, isn't that the human Megatron had as a hostage?" Arcee questioned.
The group took a second look at her, those who had been there slowly nodding in agreement.
"Guess we made a rescue then." Bulkhead said rather proudly, grinning.
"Guess so." Ratchet mumbled. "But now we have a new problem, getting that information out of her system. She's saying it too fast for me to catch it all, if only we could get it written down or download it out of her."
"I could record her talking with my computer." Raf piped up as he and the other humans had followed as well. "I can use a program to slow down her speech and we can listen to it."
"That might just work, try it out." The medic approved.
The young boy went and grabbed his computer with a headset microphone then returned, being picked up to the tall berth by Bumblebee to Kristina then yelping as she suddenly shot her arm out to him and nearly jolted him with her taser the second he got too close. The latina stared him dead in the eyes but was still in her daze, muttering off numbers and formulas as he was thoroughly creeped out.
"W-What was that about?!" the boy exclaimed, watching as she slowly laid back down and stared to the ceiling again.
"Maybe she thinks she's still with the Decepticons?" Arcee asked. "There's no telling what else they did to her, she must be traumatized."
"We need that information." Ratchet said flatly.
"I think she just needs space right now." Jack offered on his opinion, looking up to the medic. "Arcee's right, she has to be traumatized after being with them for so long. Maybe she'll calm down after a bit and be able to tell us what she knows."
Ratchet huffed a bit in his lacking patience but nodded. "Very well."
Miko kept staring at Kristina, having kept quiet some as she felt guilty for activating the cylinder and causing its information to flow into the young lady. The teen grabbed Raf's computer from him, slowly climbing up the berth and laying it near her then quickly jumping away as Kristina caught her and swiped the taser at her as it crackled.
"That was close." Miko exasperated, holding a hand to her chest. "Never been tased and never want to be."
"Let us leave her to rest for now." Optimus ordered, having everyone leave and noticed Miko straggling behind some. "She will be fine."
"Yeah…I hope so." She mumbled, finally walking out.
Megatron growled as they all discovered that the Data Cylinder had no more power, clenching his fists.
"What happened?" he glowered.
Knockout and Breakdown looked at each other uneasily from their masters' anger, the assistant choosing to speak up first.
"I think it lost all its data when it was activated." He said.
"You activated it during battle!?" Megatron roared at them.
"I-It was an accident! One of the Autobots humans activated it and…it beamed into our human…" Breakdown mumbled near the end.
Megatrons glare quickly turned to Knockout. "And just what was your human doing on the battlefield?!"
"She was just watching! I set her far away from the battle but when the cylinder got knocked away I guess it ended up near her!" Knockout gulped, holding his servos up in front of him.
"Where is she now?!" the leader demanded to know.
The two looked at each other again then spoke in unison. "With the Autobots."
Megatron nearly blasted them at hearing the situation, clenching his fists and almost punching a wall. He gritted his sharp denta and glared harshly at them.
"Get. Her. Back." The warrior commanded darkly. "NOW!"
Knockout and Breakdown both scrambled out of the room, glad to have gotten away from the raging leader. The medic looked to his friend.
"Now what? We still don't know where she is." Knockout frowned, not liking the situation any more than Megatron was.
"Is there anything we can track her down with?" Breakdown asked, trying to think of something helpful.
"…her phone. She always has her phone in her pocket, we could possibly track that!" the medic exclaimed, quickly going to a nearby computer system and typing in her phone information.
Knockout watched as the screen pulled up with a somewhat weak signal in the middle of nowhere, seeing it was traveling towards Jasper.
"Come on, Breakdown." He said, determined to get her back as they set off.
"Miko, I really don't think this is a good idea." Bulkhead worried, driving late at night with the teen.
"She needs this, Bulkhead. Just listen to her, she's obviously still traumatized." Miko said, patting Kristina's arm as she just sat there.
Kristina's rambling had slowed down to a more understandable pace but was still in a daze, having been snuck out by Miko and Bulkhead. She even calmed enough that she was no longer attacking anyone who got close yet still kept her taser strapped to her wrist.
"I know you feel guilty for activating the cylinder on her, but this doesn't mean we have to do this." The green Autobot informed, on edge as they got into town. "Ratchet would have taken care of her."
"Uh, all he was worried about was getting those math things out of her brain. The computer got hours of it, I'm sure that's enough. Now we have to help her the human way." Miko said, being stubborn in her decision.
Bulkhead sighed, going to the drive-in theater. "Why are we watching a movie though? How is this supposed to help?"
"By occupying her brain with it! If we fill her head with a movie, maybe it'll push all that cybertron info out and she'll be back to normal!" the teen explained, seeming proud of her idea as she got their tickets then ordered soda and candy for them.
"With a midnight release cartoon?" Bulkhead questioned.
"Hey, I bet she likes these kind of movies!" Miko pouted, looking to Kristina as she got quiet. "See? She's paying attention!"
Kristina stared at the screen, still mouthing equations but silent as the film started. The trio watched to movie as Knockout and Breakdown drove by, having tracked her signal there.
"Are you sure, Knockout? It's a theater, why would the Autobots bring her here?" Breakdown questioned.
"That's where the signal is showing. Now come on." The medic replied, both of them driving in separate isles and viewing at cars with their cameras, the signal not being precise as it was weak.
Bulkhead froze as his rearview mirror caught sight of them. "Uh, Mikooo."
"Sshhh, you're going to break her concentration." The teen hushed, glancing at their passenger and relieved as she was still watching the movie.
"But Miko, Decepticons." The Autobot whispered.
Miko sat up straight, looking around through the windows and freezing as Breakdown rolled by them from behind their isle.
"…let's get out of here." She said quietly, ducking down and making Kristina do the same as Bulkhead tried to drive out discreetly.
Knockout suddenly drove to the exit when he saw the signal moving again, his side ports opening to reveal his blasters and aimed at Bulkhead when the Autobot reached the path.
"Let the human out and leave." The medic ordered, charging his lasers.
Bulkhead frowned internally, his other exit blocked as Breakdown drove up. The Autobot thought for a moment then suddenly spun his wheels quickly, kicking up a dirt cloud as he drove right for Knockout and slamming into his front. The medic yelled out as the hit broke one of his front lights and dented his grill, growling angrily and shooting repeatedly.
The Autobot sped off as fast as he could, knowing he couldn't risk transforming with so many humans around. The hit and run already caused a few screams, Knockouts and Breakdowns shooting not making anything better as a chase ensued. Bulkhead cursed under his breath as the medic was quickly catching up, trying to avoid cars as they drove through the city.
Knockout pulled up next to the green bot and transformed, jumping onto his enemy and bringing out his saw as he began cutting through the car roof. Bulkhead let out a pained yell, swerving and trying to shake him off as he veered off the road and into a parking lot. The Autobot suddenly pushed his breaks, successfully forcing Knockout to flip forward off of him.
Kristina's eyes focused a bit as she saw the medic, mumbling getting louder as if trying to figure it all out.
"You two need to get out so I can transform and fight, Miko." Bulkhead said, growling a bit as Breakdown blocked the parking lots exit.
Miko quickly unbuckled herself then Kristina, opening the door and trying to pull her out.
"Come on, lady! We have to go!" the teen pleaded, yelping as Kristina suddenly turned her taser on again and tried to jolt her. "Not this again!"
Kristina murmured as she opened her own door and slowly got out on her side, continuing to stare at Knockout. Bulkhead finally transformed and readied himself for the fight.
"Get her out of here, Miko." He insisted, trying to keep his senses on both Decepticons.
"How?! She's gonna tase me if I get near her!" Miko exclaimed.
"Step away from our human, Autobot." Knockout ordered again, bringing out his energon staff and starting it up as it lit with shocking energy.
"You're not gonna hurt her anymore, Decepticon." Bulkhead glared, not knowing Knockouts anger was at indignation that the green bot accused him of harming her.
"Have it your way then." Breakdown smirked, shooting Bulkhead in the back with a shoulder blaster.
The Autobot shouted from the hit, stumbling forward a bit but regaining himself as Knockout rushed at him. The wrecker swung at him but missed as the medic jumped high and landed a harsh electrocution right into Bulkheads neck, causing the large Autobot to fall.
"Bulkhead!" Miko yelled, looking for anything she could use as a weapon and seeing an old bat near a dumpster.
The teen quickly ran to get it, turning and blinking as she saw Kristina was now on her side of the scuffling bots. The latina was slowly walking towards her, dazed eyes staring as she recited equations but had her taser ready and crackling. Miko was so confused as to what was going on, slowly raising her bat.
"H-Hey, I'm on your side." She tried to assure. "We rescued you, remember? The Decepticons held you hostage, but we got you out of there." The teen explained, chills going up her spine as she was getting creeped out by the dead stare.
Kristina kept stalking to her as if her subconscious was ordering her to help Knockout by keeping Miko away. The teen stepped back but held the old bat at ready.
"Please don't make me do this." Miko begged, not wanting to have to hit the young lady as her back pressed to a wall. "Please."
The teen watched as her offender wasn't listening, biting back tears and clenching the bat as she rushed forward and swung. Kristina had no conscious to dodge an attack, getting hit square in the head and slamming into the ground. The bat was so brittle its wood actually splintered and broke in half on impact.
Knockout caught the act happen right when Miko swung, optics wide as he suddenly jumped off of Bulkhead and ran to her. The teen quickly ran away as Knockout rushed and threatened her with his staff, seeing how distraught he look and confused by it. The medic knelt down and hesitated before rolling Kristina onto her back, seeing blood drip along her head and splinters sticking from the side of her face. He soon glared at Miko and stood, changing his servo to a drill as he stalked to her.
"I'll rip you apart for that." Knockout growled darkly, spinning his drill as she backed away.
Just as he was about to skewer her on his weapon, Knockout stopped as he heard a grunt from Kristina and looked back. He watched as her body convulsed for a moment then rise as a large beam shot from her eyes and into the sky. Everyone stopped where they were as they watched, Knockout fully turning back to her.
Bulkhead had Breakdown pinning him, suddenly slamming the Decepticon off with his wrecking ball then running over to Miko. He stood in front of her protectively as they watched the medic kneel once more and try to touch the wounded human.
"Bulkhead, I-I didn't want to hit her but she was going to attack me…" Miko said, voice a bit shaky.
The two watched in confusion as Knockout picked her up and cradled her a bit in his servos, seeing him start to shake.
Bulkhead watched with a stern look, not knowing what was going on. "Put her down, Knockout. I won't let you take her and hurt her anymore."
Knockout's anger flared as he swiftly glared at Bulkhead, aiming his drill at them. "How dare you accuse me of hurting her when your wretched human hit her with a bat?! I've done nothing but try to keep her safe! Just look at what your human did!" he shouted, holding out Kristina so the Autobot could see the damage.
"What do you mean keep her safe, she was your hostage! Last I saw, Megatron was crushing the life out of her!" Bulkhead rebutted.
"Just because I can't get back at Megatron for hurting her doesn't mean I'll let either of you live after what just happened!" Knockout bellowed, drill turning into a saw and buzzing loudly.
Just when the medic was about to attack the Autobot, he froze as Kristina let out a scream. He looked to her, seeing her grabbing at her face as she woke in pain.
"NGAAAH! MY FACE! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" she shrieked, pain almost making her pass out again as she tried to touch her face.
"Don't touch, you're seriously injured!" Knockout tried to calm her, servo returning as he tried to pull down her arms
Bulkhead observed, confused but seeing the way the medic was trying to help her. "…she needs a hospital."
"I KNOW she needs a hospital, you fragging idiot!" Knockout seethed at him, returning his concentration on trying to calm his friend.
"N-No! I can't afford the hospital! J-Just take me home, I have a first-aid kit!" Kristina cried, trying not to have a complete panic attack as she felt large splinters on her face.
Miko and Bulkhead looked at each other then back at Knockout, not knowing what to do as they argued about the situation.
"I'm taking you to the hospital and that's final!" Knockout finally shouted.
"No you're FUCKING not! I don't have money to get treatment! They'll kick me out if I don't have anything to pay with!" she yelled back, clenching teeth as it hurt to speak. "You seriously think I can afford a doctor on my minimum wage salary?! You're a doctor, you fix me!"
"Maybe Ratchet can he-"
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Knockout and Kristina shouted in unison.
Bulkhead and Miko backed away some from their shouting, getting really uncomfortable from the bickering.
"Fine, I'll treat you but I'm not promising that I can fix you, you stubborn idiot!" Knockout shouted.
"Fine!" she shouted back.
Knockout looked back up and glared at Bulkhead and Miko. "Don't think for a second that this is over!" he warned as he transformed and had Kristina in his passengers' seat, driving off with Breakdown.
The Autobot and teen stood there as they heard the shouting fade as the Decepticons left. Miko looked up at her friend.
"IIII don't think she's a hostage." She said.
"I don't know what to think." Bulkhead admitted, both of them dumbfounded at what they witnessed and heard.
