The Human Prime
Chapter 10: MECH's Final Preparations Part 1
Artemis sat on the desk in front of the black elder man, waiting for an explanation. The man was screaming at Optimus about involving another civilian in their situation. She attempted to cut in, but he was talking too loudly to hear her. Ratchet finally managed to get him to calm down so that she could talk.
"Agent Fowler, it's not what you think." Ratchet announced over him then looked at Artemis. She smiled nodded and went to explain.
"Sir, I am not a civilian, I am highly capable of holding my own against the Decepticons. I bet my money that I have known the Autobots longer than you, even if we only met face to face less than a week ago. I am a very particular case." She insisted to him.
"And this other girl is she a 'particular case' too?" He responded angrily which made her a bit nervous.
"Well, no, but I've been taking care of her since she was very young. Keeping her away from them would be cruel." She smiled a little, but he was un-amused. "My name is Artemis."
"Artemis…wait, Artemis of X-Tech?" He folded his arms and waited so she nodded. "I guess I could let this slide." He softened up a bit. A lot of X-Techs medical technology helped many soldiers in the army, how could he stay mad at the person who is leader of the company who saved a lot of his allies. "I'm special agent William Fowler."
"Pleasure to meet you Agent Fowler." She let out a sigh of relief.
"So, you discovered MECH agents at your facility." Fowler asked unfolding his arms and looking an Optimus.
"I had them ejected from the building immediately, but I don't know how long they've been working for MECH." She shook her head before looking at Agent Fowler once more.
"I got to make a call." Fowler retreated toward the elevator, holding his phone.
"Hey Ratchet, tell me more about MECH." Artemis turned towards him trying to stay focused, but couldn't help but feel disappointed that she could not go on patrol with Optimus.
"They're savages, they completely deconstructed Breakdown-" Ratchet heard Artemis let out a chuckle that the mere irony. "Attempted to disassemble Arcee, and seized Bumblebee's T-cog in which we recovered damaged."
"So there trying to crack the Cybertron biological code." She bit at the fingertips of her armor, the gears turning in her head already.
"They've gotten closer and closer. Even now, I sense they are building up their last preparations." Optimus placed his hands on his hips.
"Why don't we set them back?" She looked up at her partner who gave her a questioning look.
"Meaning?" Ratchet scratched his chin.
"Set a trap for the head honcho, and derail there objective."
Late Morning
"The kids are at school, Wheeljack agreed to give us some backup, and we got the go from your boys from the Pentagon?" Artemis slipped some more padding in her boots to maximize comfort, anticipating the fight ahead.
"I got to say, I'm not sure this is going to work, but I maybe we can finally stop these mechanical terroristic freaks." Fowler extended his hand towards her, but she respectfully declined.
"Let's go over the plan again." She got up from her place on the couch and pulled a belt from a box of clothes. "First, an announcement will play over the news later today that I will be personally delivering a prototype power core to the Florida research facility. A long trip guaranteed to have its appeal."
"I'll take the back roads and stay alert to any suspicious characters." Arcee gestured to Bumblebee who buzzed about being her backup.
"I'll take the back while Bulk covers the front." Wheeljack exchanged a pound with his partner who began to say something about being just like old times.
"Artemis and I will be riding with Optimus, and we'll be carrying a dummy. MECH hops on board and-" Before Fowler could finish, Artemis chimed in.
"I'll take on Silas and we'll finally cut off the head of the viper." She started walking down the stairs before he could yell at her. "Let's roll Optimus."
In the Skies
Mira held tightly onto Dreadwing, him refusing to allow her in the cockpit hinted that he was still upset with her putting ideas in his master's head that he was incapable of slaying Airachnid and being correct. However, his attempt to pay her back for the experience was failing miserably. Mira laughed and squealed loudly into the wind, feeling the full effects of the adrenaline rush. She made sure to dig her metal claws deep into his metal exterior.
"Hurry up, Commander; I don't want to be late for my date." She heard him groan slightly when her claws pierced too far and began drawing Energon. Despite the trouble she caused him, Dreadwing sped up his efforts.
Within moments, they got close to a helicopter. Mira noticed it as the MECHs chief copter. As the got closer, she made sure to say good bye to her good friend Dreadwing. She jumped over to the copter and waved at him as he zoomed passed as quickly as he could. Mira got in and immediately made it to the front to talk to Silas.
"Is everything set?" She managed to scream over the sound of the whirring blades.
"It was announced that she will be taking a little road trip with a prototype power core, obviously a trap. Oddly enough, she has no idea that we will be going after her." Silas responded to her with mild interest.
"Excellent." Mira went back to sit with the one other follower that was strapped in and silent. She sat down and buckled into a seat then pulled out a wire. She twirled it around her finger until the man began look at her questioningly.
"What is that?"
"A brain tap."
Artemis POV
I twitched in my seat, being on the road for so long made me antsy in anticipation. When we hit the road, it didn't take long before Agent Fowler fell asleep. Even with something such as a trap, he could fall asleep when night fell and the hour became late, though it was somewhat our fault for getting on the road at such a late hour.
I laughed a little thinking about Ratchet and Mrs. Darby. Due to all the bots on such a high priority mission, they had the duty to pick up the kids, poor Ratchet's probably screaming for mercy by now. When I started to get a little tired, I leaned my head against the window.
"Artemis." Optimus' voice was quiet and sweet, like I was already dreaming, but I knew I would never sleep that fast.
"Optimus?" I forced my eyes open to listen to him. "You're not going to tell me that it's not safe and I should go home, are you?"
"Look out the window." I was surprised at his request, but did so anyways. I expected to see a sign of MECH or Decepticons, but the only thing I saw was a diamond filled sky of twinkling stars. "I also imagine I am looking up at Cybertron when I look up at the stars." I immediately wondered if he saw the Cybertron he grew up in or the one he left behind.
"You are quite a renaissance bot." I didn't think of how my words would affect the conversation. Words like those were something I was inexperienced with; they are words you would share with a person you liked, really liked.
"Thank you." He sounded almost taken back and I tried to ignore my previous words; it was just a slip of the tongue.
"Do you think our plan will work?" I didn't get a chance to hear his answer; my body became suddenly exhausted at the thought of the plan. I fell asleep so fast, that I don't even think Optimus had a chance to answer with his normal sophistication.
Next Day
"Artemis, Artemis, wake up." Fowler shook her shoulder to arouse her from her sleep. Artemis lifted her head from the window and took a second for her eyes to adjust to the morning sun. Before she could even awaken fully, she noticed a green car tailing Optimus.
"Is that them?" Artemis took her headset and slipped it over her head.
"Yeah, that's Si." Fowler looked out his window and found a helicopter following behind them.
"There on top of the trailer." Wheeljack informed them via com-link. Artemis grunted and rolled down the window.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Fowler reached over to grab her arm, but couldn't reach since she was already half way out the window.
"I'm going to take care of it." She climbed up onto the trailer, finding a masked man kneeling on the roof as if he were waiting for something. "Guess no time is better than the present to test out my boots." Artemis felt her boots magnetize to the trailer, allowing her to stand up sturdily.
When the man attempted to stand up and take her on, Artemis used his instability against him and knocked him off into the windshield of the car behind them. She checked over the side and found him to be okay; his ally pulling him into the car from the sunroof.
She heard chopper blades above her then a clunk on the trailer. When she turned, she found Silas standing on the trailer with her and the chopper drifting away. His fists were level with his chin and his emotionless expression showed signs of a smirk. Artemis brought her fists up and got closer to her opponent.
"Silas I presume?" Like a boxer in the ring, they began to circle one another attempting to find an opening.
"You presume correctly." Silas took a step forward and when Artemis tried to step back she found herself at the edge of the trailer. "I suppose that would mean your Artemis." She took a side step to get herself off the edge and smile through the hair that was whipping in her face.
"Why don't you come and find out?" She egged him on, gesturing for him to come closer. What form of a smirk that was forming on his face was gone, he advanced toward her, but she threw the first blow. Unfortunately for her, he was highly trained and blocked it easily. However, when he through a blow and hit her in the stomach region, she only recoiled back and retook her stance.
"Hm." Silas shook his hand slightly before forming it back into a fist, grunting slightly from the blow.
"Not even you can punch through steel, Silas." Artemis smiled at him as he found out how tough her armor really was. She was so preoccupied with the fight she didn't even hear the helicopter's blades whirring behind her.
"Artemis, behind you." Wheeljack pointed out to her when she didn't turn. She responded and turned to look over her shoulder, but was utterly shocked. Mira jammed a small Taser-like weapon into the cloth covering her neck.
Artemis couldn't get out any words before she took to her hands and knees. The overwhelming amount of electricity made her feel like her heart was skipping multiple beats; she had to gasp to get a proper amount of air into her lungs. Before, she could fully recover, Mira stuck her for a second time and this time everything went out in black.
Silas jumped over to the copter that was waiting for them and held out his arm for Artemis. Mira picked up the motionless body and handed it to him. Before she could get in herself, Arcee came busting out from the woods alongside the road preparing to leap at the helicopter. However, the copter drifted higher into the air without Mira, knowing to well she could make her way back on her own.
"Prime, they got a hostage!" Fowler yelled from where he was sitting in the truck. With the alert, Optimus unhitched the trailer and transformed right on the road. Thank goodness there was no on around or else he would be getting an ear full.
Mira took it as a sign to bow out and jumped down to the MECH car waiting for her. She waved at her angry Autobots with a smile on her face as the car zoomed to a hidden road into the forest. Arcee was about to go after it, but Optimus insisted that she leave it to Bumblebee who was in that general direction.
"What would they want with a kid?" Fowler was steamed; he kicked dirt up into the air, but immediately began hacking up a lung.
"What wouldn't they want with her?" Ratchet responded who was listening in on the conversation. "Artemis is a full access pass to information about Cybertron. All one has to do is find a way to tap into the brain and read off information from it as if it were a book."
"Then this is really bad." Bulkhead stated bluntly. Optimus gave a grave look to his soldiers then looked up at the sky where the helicopter had been.
"We must retrieve Artemis straightaway."
Artemis POV
When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was blackness. I blinked and squinted, but all I could see was utter darkness. It took me awhile to realize that there was a blindfold over my eyes. The next thing I noticed was dripping, water constantly dripping over me in a steady stream. I felt so wet and cold, it was as if I were drowning. Then I noticed my body was completely bound. I tried moving everything, my arms, legs, head, and torso, all suppressed.
Finally, I heard the voices. I recognized some to be Silas and my sister, but others were foreign to me. I tried hard to listen, but I couldn't focus closely enough to make out a single word. I brushed my fingers against what I was strapped to which seemed like an iron slab. To my surprise, I found my fingers trembling. No doubt the rest of me was too, but I wasn't sure if it was from being cold or from fear.
"Relax dear sister, just give into the pure torture and it will all be over soon. Don't resist, you'll waste both of our time." Mira whispered into my ear which sent a chill down my spine from her mere breath.
"Waterboarding is illegal 'dear sister,' though you can't surprise me with anything you do anymore." Even though I sounded so strong and so unbreakable, I could feel the back of my head begin to ache as if my spirit was already cracking.
"I got a lot more up my sleeve if you want me to surprise you, Artemis." I could feel her fingers brush up my unmasked cheek, they were cold and sharp; she must have been wearing her armor.
"Mira." Silas sounded so critical. Mira might have been willing to wait for an eternity, but he was not. I could hear them bickering about me, but I wasn't sure what they wanted. Then I felt her roughly tug off my blindfold. The lamp above me was blinding, but I wasn't sure if it was just because I had been sitting in the dark for so long, or if because if it was just that harsh.
"Do you know what this is?" Mira showed me a leg and I knew exactly who it belonged too.
"Airachnid's severed leg, she's been missing one." I stated to her which she smiled as if knowing something I didn't.
"Correct, but did you know Airachnid was the killer to probably hundreds of Autobots?" She examined the legs again before putting it on an electronic arm that hovered just next to me.
"I think I could figure that out."
"Artemis, Artemis, Artemis. Your memories are triggered by essence and there is no essence stronger than that of touch. I've weakened your mind enough that you won't be able to block them out." It took me a second to decipher what she was saying, but when I did, I struggled enormously. She was going to use my gift against me. She was going to make me experience the deaths of those hundreds of Autobots slain by Airachnid's claws.
"Mira, you-"
"Now, now, no time to be calling names." She lowered the tip of the severed spider leg just enough for it to touch the center of my forehead. First came the wave of pain that simply overflowed as if it were filling my entire body instead of just my head. Next was the blurry vision as if millions of images were flashing in front of my eyes within seconds. Finally were the memories, thousands of them, Autobot after Autobot being gutted at the Airachnid's hand.
Mira lifted the leg from me as I felt the relief with a mix of pain and exhaustion. I inhaled sharply as my body trembled, this I knew was visible just by the smirk on my sister's face. Gasping and groaning, she sat back and chuckled through her teeth. It made my stomach churn just seeing how much joy she had seeing me in pain.
"Round 2."
Autobot Base
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Sam screamed at Ratchet with a sense of panic. Agent Fowler, Jack, Miko, and Rafael showed equal concern.
"Sam, I know you're worried, but we don't even know where to start looking for MECH. We've been scouting the area ever since the incident, we're trying everything we can, but there is just no trace of them." Ratchet worked on the computers, trying to determine where to search next.
"But, But-" Jack came and put a hand on her shoulder which stopped her. She put her face in her hands and it wasn't positive if she was crying or not.
"Agent Fowler, don't we have some of MECH's agents in custody. You think we could get a clue by interrogating them?" He saw Agent Fowler ponder the idea for a moment.
"Let me 'interrogate' them, I'll make them squeal." Wheeljack slammed his fist into his hand, expressing his outrage.
"Easy Wheeljack." Optimus gestured him to calm down, but then saw Sam smile up at her guardian. The whole scene was a pick me up for the worrying human girl. He has to commend Wheeljack.
"I'll make a call; maybe we can actually get a clue about where MECH's keeping our kid." Fowler got out his phone, dialing his pentagon boys.
"Ratchet, do you think she'll be okay?" Rafael frowned up at the doc-bot.
"I hope so Rafael, I hope so."