Author Notes: Sorry for the long wait but life jumped in and had its way for while. The wait will be worth it as things are heating up and the next group of the Chapters are going to fast paced so be ready. OH and Dark of the Moon I must cry manly tears of Awesome in awe of the movie so worth the money and 3D. Movie critics can go the hell that movie was great. Except to influences from the movie appear in the later chapters and stories of the Trilogy.

Chapter 8: Blinded by Light

"Shockwave, everything is going as planned – the human train just took a tumble," Ramjet conformed for the tactical commander from overhead.

"Excellent – you two know what to do." Two shadowed silhouettes disappeared in the night forest. "Now" – Shockwave transformed into his bipedal mode, bracing and locking himself onto the ground as he took aim at Skywarp, who was holding Ramjet off – "time to deal with treacherous trash."

The cannon charged, leveled its crosshairs – and fired.

Skywarp turned to see the antimatter charge heading straight for him – seconds before as small human flew in front of him, arms spread wide, and absorbed all of the blast.

'Crazy human! Have you –?"

She turned back and looked at him, hair shining and body glowing.

"Too much," she whispered before heading straight up into the air, as high as possible. Carol just made it to a safe distance before her body released all the energy at once, lighting up the night sky.

"Squishy went out with a bang," Ramjet jested, raising his weapon at Skywarp.

"I could say the same for you." Grinning, Thundercracker grabbed the red Seeker from behind, bracing his fist against his back. The storm-blue Seeker grinned maliciously and fired off a concussive blast that snapped Ramjet in two. Skywarp did not give the jet a second glance as he looked skyward, picking up the image of a falling body.

"She still alive."

He transformed and warped up to her, opening his canopy and using his solid matter hologram to catch his falling partner. She landed in his arms roughly and groaned in pain before coughing up blood.

Florence

"Hey, squishy with the suit!"

"Skywarp, what hell is going on? And I told you my name is –"

"Not now, slag it! Carol is hurt! I don't know what do she's coughing up your human vital fluid," the mech replied frantically.

"Wait, what happened?" Tony asked. Skywarp gave him a quick breakdown of events. "Okay, I'm forwarding you the location of my Tuscan villa. It's an Avenger haven – we'll have what we need to treat her there." He turned to Ratchet. "Ratchet, I just gave you full access to Carol's medical records and all the files we have on her unique physiology, along with some basic information about the Kree. I need you to get my villa as fast you can."

"Already en route, Tony. What are you going to do?"

"What I do best," he said, armoring up and blasting into the air.

Lightning came to with the taste of blood in her mouth and a pounding headache as her vision came back into focus. There were bodies scattered everywhere and fire burned all around her. She pushed a piece of debris off her, but suddenly stopped. There was a passenger that had barely survived crawling to safety just before her. The woman looked bloodied and terrified, and she met Lightning's eyes for just a moment before a long, spike-like leg impaled her and tossed the body to the side. Lightning scanned her surroundings and quickly found Rose, who was trying to pull Gabriel to safety.

"There you are," hissed a female voice as a giant robotic spider came into view.

Lightning was never one to panic – she always hid her inner feelings. Still, she was not as cold or unfeeling as everyone thought. No – her problem was that she was the exact opposite. She sometimes felt too deeply for those around her, her friends and family, so she hid her true feelings behind a mask of indifference and anger. One of the only people that could see through to how she felt inside was defenseless.

"Not again," she mumbled, struggling free. " I won't—"

Her mind went back to the day her parents died , the day she and Serah had been orphaned. No matter how much she struggled, she could not get herself free.

"Please …"

Then she heard it – an ethereal voice like nothing she had ever heard, powerful and calming in the same breath:

By grace of Etro, let thunder herald your arrival. Come forth, sunderer of falsehood.

A name in blood, a pact of truth. Odin shall rise, his bond eternal and unyielding.

Her body went rigid, every hair standing on end. The area around her cracked and charged with electricity, and the smell of ozone filled the air. She arched her back in a silent scream, eyes glowing a fluorescent white. Sparks of lightning ran over her body and on the ground, forming a runic circle beneath her. Her guardian crystal appeared over her chest, and the brand on her left breast flared to life in a rose color that could be seen clearly through her clothing.

"Black Arachnia, I am picking up a large energy signature. What is going on?"

Shockwave's voice diverted the femme's attention away from her prey. She turned to see a large crystal sphere floating in the air. Then a sudden gust of wind preceded a flash of light and a shower of blood-red rose petals. What looked like a knight stood with the legs of a horse. In his right hand was a double-bladed staff, and on his left arm was a shield.

"I'll get back to you."

She ended the com link before turning towards Lightning.

"So, Princess – you went and found yourself a knight in shining armor," she said.

Lightning paid no heed to the taunt. She raised her handgun before pulling the trigger, only to hear the worst sound possible — the click of the empty firearm.

You need no weapon, for you are your weapon. Now strike.

She glanced back at the creature for a moment as the black-and-purple machine bore down on her. I am the weapon, she thought to herself. Her eyes narrowed as the machine shifted into its robotic form. The Decepticon stood about seven feet tall in the form of a slender woman. Four glowing optics narrowed as four more spike-like arms grew from her back. She crouched down low to the ground. Lightning bolted forward, throwing her hand behind her as she gathered the air around her, molding into sphere in her hand, making it condense, swirl and spin, faster and faster. Black Arachnia jumped through the air, blades poised to strike. She was greeted with the loud clang of her blades clashing with the shield of the knight. Lightning threw her hand forward, and – on instinct – released the sphere, which exploded with a tremendous amount of force, sending the shocked Decepticon smashing into a nearby rock face.

"Impressive."

Lightning turned around, and what looked like a wolf shot out of the shadows. The knight spun around quickly, blocking the new combatant's attack. The wolf landed deftly on all fours and circled, red eyes glowing. Lightning threw a bolt of electricity that missed its mark, hitting the Transformer in stasis behind her attacker. Its frame seemed to absorb the charge. Her attacker grinned and attacked again, this time transforming in midair and grabbing the knight's shield before landing and throwing it to the ground.

"No knight in shining armor to save you this time, Princess."

Lightning found herself swept off her feet. Her head hit something with a crack, causing her vision to blur. Taking one of her back legs, Black Arachnia plunged it through the woman's thigh, relishing the agonized scream she let out before lifting her into the air, letting her dangle just in front of her face.

Rose held Gabriel close as she watched the battle play out, terrified. The she noticed the machine she'd found with Leslee. The woman had hit it with a lightning bolt, and it had seemed to absorb the energy.

Maybe …

Black Arachnia tossed the wounded woman down on the ground. Her impact was marked by a wet smack.

"Go ahead … crawl."

She struck out again, this time pinning Lightning down through the other leg. Lightning looked up. One side of her face was covered in blood from the gash just above her hairline. She saw the girl, Rose, pointing at the something – she was pointing at the mech that she and her mentor had found under the Italian villa. Reaching out, she summoned every ounce of her remaining strength and poured it into her outstretched hand. Lightning danced from her fingertips and arched towards its target as she poured more and more energy into the mech.

"What are you—?"

Lightning's attacker looked up as the Cybertronian came to back to life. Black Arachnia found herself staring at a very angry robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"This is not going to go well," her companion Six Shot quipped as the metallic dinosaur let out a loud roar before looking at the two. Its blue eyes narrowed.

"It won't know who is its friend or foe this soon after coming out the stasis lock."

The beast looked in Rose's direction, then back at Black Arachnia, and then once again at the woman on the ground.

Protect human.

A thought – more of an instinct, a need, hardwired into its very being – shot through its head. It lowered itself down, snarling at the two Decepticons, challenging them to attack.

"Willing to be your aft on it? 'Cause I'm not."

Six Shot shifted from wolf mode to flight mode just as Skyfire landed, gun at the ready. Ironhide and Barricade arrived a moment later.

"Shockwave to Six Shot — we have lost tactical advantage. Fall back."

"That's our cue," Black Arachnia hissed before leaping onto his wing.

All eyes and optics were on the sky until the duo was gone.

"This is Captain Lennox. We need a Medivac," Will said into his radio, seeing Gabriel and Lightning's condition. "It's okay, Miss Connelly. We're here to protect you."

"That's obvious, because we have yet to try and kill her," Barricade sneered. "I think she is intelligent enough to tell the difference."

"Shut up," Ironhide barked at him.

"Easy, now. Everything is going to be all right," Will said to Rose, who he could tell was horribly frightened. She was holding onto Gabriel so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

"I'm sorry." Rose looked down at the man she was holding, who whispered: "I'm sorry about your friend."

Will gently took her hands from around Gabriel as the sound of helicopters pierced the air.

"Where's Thundercracker?" Lightning asked Epps as he tended to the wound on the side of her head.

"Covering Skywarp's wing."

"Slag it, TC – get this guy off me!" Skywarp barked, rolling though another gunfire from Dirge and Ramjet.

Thundercracker dove in, firing. The two fliers broke off the pursuit and dodged the hail of gunfire. There was a sudden weight on Skywarp's wing. Norman Osborne raised a fist.

"Skywarp – bank hard right, now!" Tony ordered.

The black seeker did as he was told. The maneuver was enough to jar Osborne as Tony slammed into him, knocking him off Skywarp's wing.

"Go! I'll handle Osborne!"

"Dirge and Ramjet are breaking off," Thundercracker's voice said over the com, and his long-time wingmate could hear his worry.

"Go check on her," Skywarp said simply before cutting off communication, pushing himself to go faster.

"Hey, Norman! Long time no see," Tony jested as Ironman, hovering in the air across from the man that had tried to take everything from him.

"Go ahead, Stark – try to shoot me down. There will be no repeat of Asgard," Osborne said before Tony's armored fist met his faceplate. "Oh, I see! We're going to do this the old-fashioned way."

Osborne roared in rage as the two men locked in combat in midair, exchanging blows as the tumbled. "No – not this time, Osborne!" Tony grabbed the other arm, twisting it hard, then placed his palm over his ribcage and fired a repulsion blast. Osborn cursed in pain as he was sent spinning through the air a few hundred feet away.

"Osborne, fall back."

The man growled, glaring at Tony, before turning and flying off – leaving Tony with more questions than answers.

Thunder and Lightning (Lightning's Theme)

Thundercracker landed just as they were loading both Gabriel and Lightning into the Medivac. His optics found the pink hair. Lightning was conscious, but her head was bandaged.

"We don't have a lot of time. The Italian government has a cover story for us, but they'll only keep the cameras away for a while," Skyfire announced.

The blue Seeker spared him a glance before transforming and taking off into the air. He circled around a couple of times as they made the necessary preparations for takeoff. Once they were in, the Medivac settled into formation to the right of the helicopter carrying Lightning.

"This is NEST Seeker Thundercracker. I want a status report on one of your patients – the woman."

"She'll be fine. She has a concussion and two deep stab wounds in both her legs, but she's a tough one. From what the other girl told me, she had some kind of spider thing like you guys by herself," the medic informed him.

"Held off Black Arachnia. Hm." He did not want to admit it, but he was impressed. "Put her on."

Lightning's voice came a moment later:

"What?"

He could hear the exhaustion in her voice, the storm of emotion brewing just below the surface.

"It won't happen again," he said, straight to point. She looked out of the window at the blue MIG-29 flying next to the helicopter. In the cockpit she could see a dark-haired, pale-skinned man with stormy red eyes looking back at her.

"You kept the fliers off the train."

"They were nothing."

"Then you have nothing to apologize for – I just have to get stronger." He heard her voice crack slightly – she must have been terrified down there by herself.

"We both do," he admitted. None of them were truly ready. They had found another of the All Spark avatars at the cost of three injured allies. It was victory, but it did not feel like one to him. She was his partner, and Black Arachnia would pay for harming her the way she did tonight. "I have a partner to protect."

"I don't need protection."

There was a warmth in his deep voice that she had not heard before. It brought a small smile to her face, and an odd sense of comfort. Tonight she had never felt so weak and helpless. Even after summoning whatever she'd summoned, she was still no match for those machines.

He is the roar after your flash. Trust him, for only together will you be the storm. Never fear. Our pact will be in blood. Call and I will come to your aid, for I am Odin, the sunderer of false hood

"Sure you don't," Thundercracker said.

On the ground, Grimlock – Ironhide recognized him in an instant – was loaded into a large tracker trailer. The newest Autobot had not changed into his robot form, but Ironhide remembered him as one of his old students. Clearly the recognition was mutual: he listened to the old weapons master.

Gabriel had finally awakened, but was still very weak from blood loss. He found himself looking up into a pair of tired and confused blue eyes.

"Why?" Rose asked.

"Because she loved you and wanted to save you," he answered, his voice weak and hoarse.

Rose pulled the blood-covered envelope out from her pocket, trying to hold back tears. "I know that – but why me?"

"The mark on the back of your neck. It's some kind of the marking that signifies you as a carrier of the All Spark – whatever that is," Lightning answered somewhat harshly.

'The mark on the back of the my neck? It only appeared to about two days ago." She paused. "Oh, God, she's dead because of me."

"No – she's dead because she knew you were more important than her. If you want to honor it, then be that – whatever that is. We almost died to get you off that train, so don't make us regret it. Don't make Gabe regret killing an innocent woman so you could live."

Lightning was harsh – it was her nature – but it was the truth. She and Gabriel had almost died tonight, trying to save this woman, so she'd better have been worth all the trouble. Lightning turned her head to the side, letting sleep take her. She did not want to think right now – there would be time for that later.

"Thank you, both of you."

Rose trailed off, the thought of her deceased mentor stirring a swell of grief in her chest. Gabriel gave a weak but reassuring grin that somehow cut through her misery.

"I didn't know her, but when I pulled the trigger, it was promise – a promise that I would protect you from now on. And I will – we all will."