Chapter X: Under Attack (Part II)
Bumblebee awoke to the sound of rapid cannon fire overhead, his blue optics whirred in and out of focus. As his sensory respecters came back online, Bumblebee slowly realized he was lying on the ground. Barricade… where was Barricade? The commander had lead the Decepticon away from Hot Rod, leaving the Lt. deal with Thunderblast. Bumblebee lead Barricade out of the populated city, into a more secluded area -- ironically, another warehouse district. The two engaged in battle; At first, Barricade had the advantage, but as the battle dragged on, Bumblebee gained the upper hand on his adversary with only mild complications. He even did Barricade the kind favor of ridding of his cumbersome mace. As Bumblebee prepared to take the Decepticon out with a well aimed cannon blast, he was blindsided by an attack from an unknown assailant.
Clutching the side of his head, he shook it clear of the cobwebs, Bumblebee spotted a hand lying on the ground just across from his. Bumblebee regarded his limbs with worry, the hand wasn't his. Sighing, he rose slowly from the ground, the cannon fire was getting closer now. Bumblebee surveyed the area for the location of the combatants. Suddenly, the distinctive scream of a buzz-saw cutting through metal brought his attention to the world in front of him. A pink blob rolled past him, flames leaping off its body as it landed in a crouch.
Bumblebee's optic widened at the sight of his second-in-command, beaten and dented, but alive. Arcee's optics shifted away from her enemy, locking onto Bumblebee's form. "Command--- arrgh!" Arcee was sent crashing to the ground, her chest smoking and red from the blast. Bumblebee threw himself in front of the fallen Autobot, unwilling to any further harm come to her. Thunderblast, instead of Thundercracker, stood before him, armed and sneering at the sight of him. Behind him, Arcee pushed herself up on her elbows, groaning. "I had hoped that you were dead, irritant!" Thunderblast snarled in cybertronian to Bumblebee.
Bumblebee wasted no time on responding, to her goad. He charged the Decepticons, guns blazing. Thunderblast dodged the first rounds of fire, she was not so fortunate with the last barrage. Bumblebee's blast's hit her in the weakened area of her stomach's armor and her spear arm, missing its point (which was undoubtedly the hand Bumblebee saw). Thunderblast stumbled backward. Bumblebee, taking advantage of her venerable state, grabbed a hold of arm and tossed her over his shoulder. Arcee joined her commander's side as she yellow robot pressed his foot against Thunderblast's neck and pulled violently up on her right arm.
There was a burst of electricity before the light in Thunderblast's whirring optics died. Arcee looked to Bumblebee, puzzlement etched across her face. "Is she dead?" Arcee inquired. Bumblebee shook his head, dropping the Decepticon's arm. "No, merely in status lock. She'll be like that for a while. Where's Barricade?" Bumblebee said. Arcee shrugged, her hands falling automatically on her hips afterward. "He wasn't here when I found you. Are you alright?" Arcee asked. Bumble bee groaned, his fingers rubbing his left wrist. "As well as can be expected. C'mon, we've got to find Rodimus," Bumblebee replied, breaking into a run. Arcee nodded curtly before following after the commander.
"Oh, shit," Sam whispered, the words hissing by his teeth. The last time he was this close to Decepticons, he had been slapped into a windshield, nearly crushed by toppling cars and caught in a dangerous crossfire between Autobots and Decepticon. It wasn't an experience he wished to relive again. Thundercracker approached them with every step they took away from him. Mikaela continued to try and arouse their unconscious friend to no avail. Whatever Owen had conked his head on, it did its job well, he was out like a light. Thundercracker's claws traced the scar on his face, teeth grinding. "Give me the human, and I perhaps I may spare your lives," Sam's stomach twisted in knots at the way the Decepticon's teeth grinded against each other. He could just imagine a human being grinded into fine meet between the beast's metallic teeth.
Mikaela searched for an escape route, her eyes surveying the area for an opening of any kind, but the proximity of the Decepticon made any thought of escape impossible. "I will not repeat myself, scum. Give me what I want or I will tear your limbs ---!!!" Thundercracker's attention was distracted by a shrill whistle overhead. Sam and Mikaela shared the briefest of glances before tightening their hold on Owen's arms and waist (on Sam's part) and making a break for the parking lot's exit. "Move your feet, Owen!" Sam hissed into the boy's ear.
Owen jerked in their grasp as if torn from a dream. His head raised up and his eyes opened. Sam gave silent praises to God on high when he felt Owen's feet knocking against his own in his own feeble attempt to keep in sync with his and Mikaela's feet. Behind them a booming cry of pain echoed off the building. Sam and Mikaela dared to turn around to view the chaos unfolding behind them.
The Decepticon that confronted them was now lying on his back, sparks flying from his chest. Sticking out its chest was a still-rotating buzz saw. Unbeknownst to his rescuers, Owen watched the hulking mass of steel and malice dying, his eyes wide with fear. Thundercracker's dimming red eyes locked gazes with Owen, he bore his teeth at the boy as he opened the undamaged compartment on his arm. In that moment, Owen's nerves dissolved; He couldn't hear himself screaming, couldn't feel his struggle against Sam or Mikaela's failing hold on his arms as he tried to escape them.
He was lost in the memory of his accident; The gleam of metal in the rain when the lightening flashed, the murderous red eyes leaning in to inspect him - or worse. Owen was unsure where he found the strength, but, the next thing he knew, he was running out of the parking lot into the street, screaming. "OWEN!!!" Sam cried, chasing after the manic boy. Mikaela followed after her companion, her purse slapping against her side. They sprinted quickly across the sidewalk into the street in the direction Owen had gone. As they approached the corner, Sam caught sight of Owen vanishing around the corner up ahead of them.
"C'mon," Sam breathed grabbing a hold of Mikaela's hand. With no obstacles in their way, catching up to Owen was mildly simpler to catch up to than it would've been had there been a crowd of people. "Owen! Owen, stop!" Sam shouted as loud as he could. Owen kept on running, his fear driving him mindlessly ahead. Sam and Mikaela were loosing pace with him, he was getting further and further away the more ground they lost. "Is -- is he ever going to stop?" Mikaela panted. Sam could only shake his head. He took a gulp of air that rushed harshly down his dry throat. As the two approached the end of the block, the deep, grumbling roar of a car approaching from behind had them picking up their pace again.
They had barely gotten to the curb of the sidewalk when the car rolled up to them from the side. They stumbled backward allowing the vehicle enough space to come to a halt. Mikaela recognized the car was Owen's despite the change of color, candy apple red instead of Midnight Blue. The Autobot symbol on the steering wheel was unmistakable. The passenger door swung open, revealing an empty inside. "Get in," Came the curt response. Sam and Mikaela relented to the Autobot's command and climbed inside the Mustang. They were thrown back against the chairs as Hot Rod took off down the street. They adjusted themselves in the seats just as the belts came over their chests and locked in place. "Where's Owen? Did you find him?" Rodimus asked. The teens shared another look before nodding in the affirmative. "Well, then, where is he? Why isn't he with you?" Hot Rod proclaimed incredulously. "Well, he, kinda ran away when he saw the Decepticon you were fighting!" Sam retorted nervously, gripping the arm of the chair. An irritated groan escaped Hot Rod; Leave it to human younglings to loose track of each other. "Slag it all, where'd you see him go?" He asked.
Sam paused for a moment. "You mean which direction?" He inquired dumbly.
"Yes! Which direction!" Rodimus bellowed. Sam jumped in his seat with a squeak. Mikaela leaned over and grabbed the stick, intending to give it a good yank, but the Mustang made a tight turn, throwing her against the car door. "I wouldn't try anything, I could throw you out and leave for Dropkick. Now where did Owen go?" Rodimus snarled.
Mikaela chose to ignore his threat and pointed down the street they were currently on. " He was going around the corner you just turned a few seconds ago. Keep going, he can't have gone far," Mikaela responded, hoping her answer was correct. They hadn't seen Owen go anywhere, but hoped Mikaela's guess was right. There was no response from Hot Rod other than the revving of his engine. As the Mustang picked up seed, Sam shot Mikaela a wary look to which the girl could only shrug innocently at.
Elsewhere, Owen continued to run down the sidewalk unaffected by the chaos that terrorized his school. No one --- no thing --- was following him, he had to get home, he would be safe at home. Assuming I can get there, Owen thought grimly. Through his blurred vision, he could barely see the sidewalk, let alone the crowd of people that surrounded him. His breaths were quick and shallow, making hiccup fit he was experiencing wasn't helping either. The closer he got to the curb, the more bunched together people became, making it harder to move forward. Several people brushed by him, hitting him hard on the shoulder nearly knocking him over. "Move, move! Get out of my way!" Owen forced himself shout. Those around him gave him disapproving glances, while others just ignored him. His arms began to tire, his legs were bound to give out if he couldn't get his breathing together. Owen tried to get his mind to focus on Dr. Baroness face; the way her mouth moved whenever he couldn't calm himself down during one of their sessions.
But nothing would come to him, only the outline of her black glasses. Swallowing against the knot in his throat, Owen broke through the crowd and finally reached the end of the sidewalk. The throbbing pain in his head and adrenaline pumping through his system were making things worse. Leaning against the pole, he prepared to breathe a sigh of relief when the building two blocks behind him exploded. Owen ducked against the pole and whipped around in time to see the unfortunate souls standing around the buildings crash to the ground or vanish in the billow of smoke and dust as it came rushing toward him.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy of screams, breaking away from each other and going in different directions, fleeing to safety. Owen grabbed a hold of the pole, bracing himself as the stampede came at him. He felt like a dummy being tossed about in a crash test, there was no mercy him as the civilians tried to escape the danger. Over the bobbing heads and faces of the people, Owen's eyes focused on the towering figure stomping out of the dust, red eyes fixed exactly on him. Owen's mouth ran dry when Dropkick was revealed from behind the silhouette of dust and smoke. Dropkick focused his locking system on the boy clinging to the pole for dear life and armed his shoulder rockets. Tears ran down Owen's dirt covered face as he watched the smoke curl out of the barrel and around the rocket.
"I'm so dead…"
(TBC)