This chapter is longer, at least as long as last chapter.
In this story, you can expect...
Mentions of slash between Cybertronians.
At least one important OC.
Cursing.
General teenage themes.
A Gothic girl who is violent, can be a total bitch, and something like mutant abilities, but isn't mutant abilities.
Possible OOC-ness, but I will try to keep that to a minimum.
Is that all? I think so. If you don't like any of the things mentioned above, kindly click the back button. Consider yourself warned.
Things you need to know...
[Blah] is Bumblebee's speech.
'Blah' are thoughts Lae hear through her powers
Blah is Lae replying using her powers
"Blah" is Sonar using her powers to talk to people
:comm. link:
Disclaimer-I don't own Transformers Prime
Danger is My Middle Name
Chapter 10
Cybertron was a ravaged wasteland. Nothing had been spared the effects of the war. The Decepticons seemed to cringe when they saw what remained of their home. Could it get any worse? Maybe, maybe not. That was why Megatron had brought the Freaks.
Freaks, to him, translated into extraordinary super-powered manual labor. Now, the real question was, would the other Freaks follow their leader here? How else would he capture them if they didn't? Ah, well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it, as the humans say.
He turned to his troops. Silas was carrying Lae's container, while one of the drones held Miko's.
Lae was calmly staring at him, her green eyes placid and knowing. It was very...eerie. As if she knew the outcome before the battle had even begun. There was something about these Freaks, something that set them apart from all species he had ever met in his extremely long life.
"You'll fail. You don't stand a chance. The Autobots will defeat you, and the Freaks will have revenge. You might as well give up," Miko challenged, standing up in her container and glaring at him. Contrary to Lae, Miko's brown eyes blazed with fury and hate, as though there was a storm brewing within. They were as different as night and day sometimes, but after monitoring them for a while, he had learned that they were actually very similar. Lae was just better at hiding her nearly uncontrollable dark side.
"You fail to comprehend your situation. I do believe we've won," Silas spoke up. That smug bastard. Megatron wanted nothing more than to set Knock Out loose on the abomination, but that was not possible. Yet. Soon, Silas would be no more.
"Don't count on it, Uncle. I do believe I know something you don't know," Lae spoke up. Ah. There it was. That evil glint to her eyes, the mischievous smile. She knew something, and from the way her evil side was showing itself, it was coming soon.
Megatron, enraged, stomped over to the container and snatched it away from Silas, determined to question Lae, only for explosions and gunfire to distract him. The warlord spun around. Prime.
The Autobots spun through the fray, destroying all in their path, a look of determination on all of their faces; they were after the Omega Keys.
"Something you didn't know, am I right?" Lae asked quietly. Megatron glared down at the Freak, ignoring the dark shadow that flickered across her eyes. She had known that Team Prime was here!
If he could define Lae in a few words? Sneaky Little Bitchy Freak.
"It doesn't matter. Decepticons, destroy Team Prime!" Megatron roared. He would never let them win. If he couldn't rebuild Cybertron in his own image, it wouldn't be rebuilt.
"I don't think so, Megatron," Smokescreen said, appearing from nowhere, dropping the Spark Extractor, and then disappearing again as the device activated, zapping all the drones in range.
Enraged, Megatron drew his Dark Star Saber and threw it at the Spark Extractor. Lae watched with wide eyes as it hit the device dead on, and then it shattered like glass. The warlord slowly, calmly, walked down to the sword and picked it up. He still carried Lae, and Silas followed confidently with Miko, who he had taken from the drone.
"Lord Megatron, the Autobots have taken the Keys and are heading for the Omega Lock," one drone said, running over to the warlord.
The poor drone never saw it coming, which was a blessing in and of itself. Megatron swung his sword effortlessly and sliced through the drone's body, separating the upper half from the lower half.
:Starscream, bring our...insurance, and some reinforcements.:
:Of course, Lord Megatron:
Lae could not hear this internal conversation, because she was unable to reach frequencies, she could only enter the mind, but she had a feeling that Megatron was calling for backup and putting his plan into motion.
Which meant Team Prime wouldn't know what hit them. Now, she had been inclined to sit back and let the Autobots do all the work, but now she knew she couldn't. They would never attack when Megatron put his plan in motion, considering the stakes, but...Freak assistance was one thing no one counted on except for the Freaks themselves. This is what Lae liked to call the "F Variable." Yes, "F" usually meant something bad, and in a sense, it was bad. For the enemies.
F Variable, a.k.a, Freak Variable. The unpredictable tactic, the wild card. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was better than anything any enemy could ever come up with.
~E.l.s.e.w.h.e.r.e~
Sonar opened her eyes suddenly, and everyone froze. The only Autobot left, Ratchet, didn't seem to notice. "Freaks, ready yourselves. Those who need it, grab some filters. Where we're going, the air is toxic. Siren, when we get there, we're going to need a spell. Mother Earth, take care of any natural obstacles, and then create new ones for our enemies. Soul Stealer, be cautious with the souls you take; we don't want to hurt our allies. Toxin, be careful in general; don't lose control. Lifeforce...we're going to need you to do that little...trick...we talked about. You're ready for it, yes?" Lifeforce nodded timidly.
Sonar nodded and then continued, "Everyone else, in groups. Flamethrower and Blackout stick together, Tsunami, Whirlwind, and Ripjaws, you three are a group. I'll be freeing Puppetmaster and Razor. Everyone else, chaos. Make it happen."
Nods all around, and everyone went about the base, grabbing their gear.
"Filters, who needs 'em?" Toxin called out.
"Has anyone seen my guitar?" Siren exclaimed frantically.
Throughout it all, Sonar stood patiently, awaiting her cue.
~E.l.s.e.w.h.e.r.e~
The confrontation at the Omega Lock couldn't be anymore tense. "Prime, I suggest you hand over the keys and surrender. We have the upper hand," Megatron gloated. Lae rolled her eyes; typical villain. They always thought they'd won, and then they were surprised when the tide turned and they lost.
"Why would we do that, Megatron?" Right on track.
"I'm so glad you asked." Oh, come on, how predictable can you get?
Cue Space Bridge from Decepticon side. As she knew, Starscream, Soundwave, and Knock Out stepped out, with Starscream and Knock Out carrying two containers with Raf and Jack inside.
Lae closed her eyes and called out, Sonar, now.
Cue Space Bridge from Autobot side. Lae's eyes snapped open as she watched her own troops come through.
Toxin came first. The purple skinned girl inhaled deeply, taking in the toxic air with relish, and then she grinned.
After her came Sonar, who looked around with a critical eye, her headphones pulled over her ears and dark sunglasses across her eyes. She was professional and emotionless.
Then came Soul Stealer. His hair hung across his eyes, and when he looked up, his black eyes caught a glare, making him look like a shark. He grinned his infamous vampire grin and stepped forward to stand by Sonar. A filter blinked it's blue light on his neck, indicating the device was active.
Fourth was Lifeforce. Compared to the others, she was not nearly as threatening. She twisted her long blond hair nervously and would touch the filter on her neck every so often, as though afraid it would turn off.
Flamethrower and Blackout were next, seeming to race each other to get through the portal first. Filters blinked on both their necks.
Tsunami, Ripjaws, Whirlwind, and Mother Earth all came out, one right after the other. Each of them also had on a filter.
Finally came Siren, and with her came the music. Her eyes had gone completely white as she cast her spell; the spell she had been specifically ordered to cast, the undertone for the spell being "Our Solemn Hour" originally by Within Temptation.
"You have taken our leader and our second in command. This is unacceptable. As third in command, and a powerful Freak advisor, I order you to release them and surrender, or suffer the consequences," Sonar said, her voice full of power, matching the undertones of the song. It was something no one but a Freak could pick up on.
Megatron stared for a moment, and then he started laughing. It was strange to hear the Decepticon warlord's mocking laughter, and Lae decided she didn't like it at all. It was just too strange. So she shouted so all could hear, "Freaks, Seek and Destroy!"
That got the Decepticons' attention.
Siren pulled out her guitar, and the music suddenly became unbearably loud, weaving a tight spell over all of the battlefield. The haunted sound confused the Decepticons, but seemed to raise the Autobot's and Freak's spirits.
[Should we fight? What if Raf, Jack, Miko, or Lae get hurt in the crossfire?] Bumblebee beeped as he watched the Freaks spring into action. Sonar was already running at the Decepticons holding the containers.
"Hold your breath!" Toxin shouted to the other two Freaks, even as Sonar let out a glass-shattering scream. The Decepticons all clutched at their audio receivers, even as the glass of the containers holding Miko and Lae shattered, and the two Freaks fell to the ground. Sonar ran over to them and handed them both filters.
The two attached them to their necks, and blue light flickered and there was a beep as a blue shield materialized for a brief second before fading. Miko grinned fiendishly, and her arms transformed into swords as she said, "Let's kick some ass."
Like a drill she was off, spinning her arms together like a drill and jumping around like a kangaroo. She had no trouble jumping up to drill through Decepticon sparks.
Silas was running towards Lae, who had her back turned, but Mother Earth intervened, stamping her foot on the ground. What should have done nothing was actually an incredible feat where the ground split open, swallowing Silas whole, and then slamming shut like a door, forever trapping Silas under Cybertron's surface.
Decepticon drones were falling left and right, all thanks to the Freaks and their incredible powers, but the commanding Decepticons who had Jack and Raf had disappeared.
"Autobots, find our human allies, save them, and protect them!" Optimus ordered, and the Autobots charged into the fray. They all fought bravely against the incredible odds, but they were simply outnumbered. All too soon, all the Freaks and Autobots had been herded into a circle, with the commanding Decepticons, Raf, and Jack, still MIA.
"Surrender," one drone ordered in a monotone voice.
"Not in a million years!" Smokescreen snapped before anyone could answer.
A thousand blasters charged up, and the spell still playing via Siren faltered, but came back full force a moment later.
"Lifeforce, remember what we talked about earlier? Now would be a perfect time to..." Sonar spoke up, then trailed off as the drones seemed to stare her down.
Hesitantly, Lifeforce dropped to one knee and placed the open palm of her left hand face down. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a brilliant green light split the dark night, traveling in spiral cracks to cover the ground in haphazard patterns. The ground started to tremble. There was a roll of thunder, and a crack like lightning. Cracks opened in the ground, pouring more of the brilliant light into the air. Lifeforce stood up, throwing her glowing hands into the air, and then the cracks opened wider, until large Cybertronian frames began climbing out, their optics a blinding green before fading to the normal Autobot blue.
"What the slag? Last thing I remember is pain, and then...nothing," a crimson Autobot said, looking around in confusion.
"No time to explain; the Decepticons outnumber us. We need your help!" Bulkhead called to them.
The drones looked very confused by this recent turn of events, and they faltered slightly, looking around at the Autobots and Freaks in confusion. They couldn't seem to understand how random Autobots long buried under the ground had seemingly come back from the Well of Allsparks.
"Well, Sides, lets show these Decepti-creeps why we were called the Terror Twins," the golden mech standing next to the crimson one said confidently. With identical smirks, the two leaped into action, and everyone else soon followed.
~E.l.s.e.w.h.e.r.e~
Back at Autobot base, Ratchet was waiting rather impatiently for some kind of update. Really, they dared leave him hanging like this. When they all returned, Ratchet would be having some serious words with Optimus. It was unacceptable for him to be left out of something like this.
Ratchet jumped as the familiar sound of an incoming transmission rang through the eerily quiet and empty base.
"Prime?" Ratchet asked as soon as he answered, barely keeping the hope out of his voice.
"What? Nah, Doc-Bot. Just me, your favorite Wrecker," Wheeljack answered somewhat cheerfully. Ratchet really wanted to bang his head against a wall right now. Wheeljack got on his nerves at the best of times, and right now...he didn't even want to think about it.
"Anyway, Doc, I'm heading for base right now. Just thought I'd call in to check on Bulkhead. How's he doing? Up for any wrecking yet?" Wheeljack asked before Ratchet could reply. What was the point in the Wrecker asking questions if he wasn't going to let Ratchet answer any of them, honestly?
"If you must know, Bulkhead is currently on Cybertron with everyone else, fighting the Decepticons and trying to rebuild our home," Ratchet snapped. Wheeljack was honestly getting on his last nerve.
"Seriously? Wow. Looks like you've got a lot of explaining to do when I get there in a few klicks. Can't wait to hear about everything that's been going on," Wheeljack replied. Ratchet couldn't tell if the Wrecker was being sarcastic or serious, so he simply chose not to address it.
"Yes, well, I really must wait for a call from Prime so, goodbye," Ratchet said curtly, then quickly ended the call before Wheeljack could say anything. Then he continued to wait. Only to receive another call, this one from Nurse Darby.
"What?" Ratchet snapped, and then flinched, realizing who he'd just snapped at, although unintentionally.
"Ratchet, have you heard from Jack? He's disappeared, and he's not returning any of my calls; I'm really worried," June said, apparently ignoring the fact that he'd just snapped at her for no reason. Ratchet cycled a sigh through his intakes. He was not their guardian; it was not his job to watch them!
"No, I have not heard from Jack, or Miko, or Lae, or Raf, or any of the team! The only ones I have heard from is you and Wheeljack!" Ratchet snapped. If he was human, he would be screaming from anger and frustration right now. Doubts and worries were swirling around in his processor, drowning rational through and driving him crazy.
"Oh...well, will you contact me if you hear from him?" June asked. Ratchet took a deep intake, and forced himself to calm down.
"Yes, Nurse Darby, I will contact you if I hear from Jack, but for now I must stay off communications to await contact from Prime." With that said, Ratchet ended the transmission. He drummed his fingers against the edge of the equipment impatiently. It was a bad habit he had picked up from the humans. He was so focused on the screens, he didn't hear Wheeljack come in.
"Doc! Hey, Ratchet!" Wheeljack shouted as he walked over to the medic. Ratchet jumped and spun around, glaring at the grinning Wrecker, who looked all too pleased by the fact that he had managed to sneak up on the medic. "Aw, did I scare you, Doc?"
"Wheeljack! You are such an imbecile! You could have been an enemy, and I would have shot you! At least give some warning before you walk right in here! Call base on the comm.s and say you're here, or something! And another thing-" Here Ratchet cut off and suddenly grasped at his chest plates, his face screwed up in concern and wonder and awe.
"Doc?" Wheeljack asked hesitantly, reaching out to place a hand on the medic's shoulder.
"I don't believe it," Ratchet marveled aloud in awe, ignoring Wheeljack in favor of walking over to grab a medical scanner and running a scan over his chest plating. Wheeljack looked confused as to what was going on even as the device beeped an affirmative. "Impossible. They offlined long ago."
"Who did, Ratchet?" Wheeljack asked, calling the medic by his name for once.
"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, my bondmates, the Terror Twins," Ratchet replied faintly, his optics glazing over as he probed the newly awakened bond slightly, afraid that if he touched it, it would fade away like an impossible dream and leave him devastated like so long ago when he felt them offline the first time. He nearly cried at the wave of love that came back before both twins pulled away from the bond.
"Primus, thank you. I don't know how, I don't know why, but thank you," Ratchet whispered quietly, optics still glazed in awe. He seemed to have forgotten everything, so when the screen beeped again, indicating an incoming transmission, Wheeljack had to answer it.
"Yeah?"
"Wheeljack? What happened to Ratchet?" Optimus asked in confusion.
"Doc-bot is in some kind of shock 'cause he claims his bondmates are alive all of a sudden, so I guess I'm kind of in charge of all this technical hoo-haw until his processor comes out of crazy town," Wheeljack replied as he stood in front of the homemade machine. He could make sense of most of it, although not all of it. Optimus sighed over the comm.
"He is not crazy, the twins are alive again. But that is beside the fact. The Decepticons have retreated to Earth; we need a 'bridge. Also, our Freak allies are starting to fall to the Toxins. Alien-human pretenders or not, they will not last long."
Wheeljack was already locking in on their coördinates, "No problem. I just got a lock on the 'cons. ...They're right near the base. I can send you right to their 'fortress'," Wheeljack explained.
"Thank you, Wheeljack," Optimus said, and then ended the call. Wheeljack typed at the station, and watched the stats of the team carefully, pleased to see their positions change without a flaw. The former Wrecker shot a look towards the dazed medic.
"Sorry, Doc. I know you're a little loopy, but I got to help out with this battle," Wheeljack stated, even though he knew the medic wouldn't respond. As he suspected, Ratchet said nothing, so he collapsed into his alt mode and took off out of base. The Decepticons were so close to base, they obviously knew the Autobots were there; no point in hiding it now.
~E.l.s.e.w.h.e.r.e~
"Freaks, this is our turf, and they dare desecrate it with their outrageous structures! Unacceptable! Lifeforce, I want every dead Autobot on this planet among the functioning again! Tsunami, Mother Earth, Whirlwind, Flamethrower, Blackout, I want the ecosystem thrown out of whack! Complete chaos is what we need people, let's go!" Lae roared to her troops as they arrived back on earth.
The Freaks jumped to obey, Whirlwind flying into the sky, and the other elementals also taking off in separate directions. Lifeforce held out her hands in front of her, her whole body lighting up a pure, healing green as she activated her powers.
Smokescreen stooped to be closer to Lae's height. The Freak girl turned to regard him as he gave her a lop-sided grin.
"Let's say we take out those Decepti-creeps, huh?" he asked. Lae smiled slightly and nodded. Smokescreen collapsed into his alt mode and opened the driver's door so Lae could climb in, which she did without pausing. The door snapped shut, and Smokescreen hit the gas, racing towards the tower Megatron had managed to build in little time. Vehicons tried to stop them, but Bulkhead, Miko, Sonar, Soul Stealer, Sideswipe, or Sunstreaker would always interfere.
Razor, you and Bulkhead might need to back us up, Puppetmaster called to her second in command.
"Roger that, Puppetmaster," Miko said aloud suddenly, turning away from the battle and racing after Smokescreen, calling to Bulkhead as she ran.
Her heart rate increased as Siren's spell switched to "Down" by Thousand Foot Krutch. "People used to tell me that I'm on my own," Miko muttered. Adrenaline chorused through her veins, her heart pounded in her ears. Everything in her path was destroyed; she felt stronger than ever, as though the song was powering her.
Leaping into the air, she turned her body to steel, and dove straight through a drone in her path. She hit the ground running.
"Mother Earth, gimme a boost!" Miko shouted as she ran. The nature-lover obeyed, shoving her fists up, and the earth underneath Miko exploded upwards, sending the girl flying through the air to attack a flying drone. She smashed straight through it, a grin crossing her face as she grabbed a piece of separated metal and, placing it flat like an improvised skateboard, she used it to go flying into the Decepticon fortress.
"You want to try to take me under, I'll never bow 'til I'm six feet under. Listen to the sound of rolling thunder, you can't break me, you'll never take me down," Miko sang as she sped through the base. Feeling the metal give, she leapt off and did a tuck-and-roll, quickly popping back to her feet afterwards to run off through the base, that same song seemingly stuck in her head.
She was strong! It was like being on an euphoric high. Dreams of grandeur suddenly seemed within her reach. Nothing could touch her, nothing could bring her down. Drones ran across her path, but she crashed through them. She was indestructible!
Razor, I want every machine in this fortress destroyed! I'm shutting down these drones; permanently, Lae's voice suddenly echoed in her head. Miko grinned and made a bee-line for the control room.
~E.l.s.e.w.h.e.r.e~
"Starscream! You fool!" Megatron hissed, turning on his treacherous second in command with the intent to maim in his optics. The slender Seeker cowered under his leader's fierce glare. When Megatron was bellowing as loud as he could, yes, that was scary, but when Megatron's voice was low, that was downright dangerous. That usually meant he was in a very really danger of being deactivated.
"It's not my fault, I didn't do it," Starscream blubbered, ducking behind Soundwave. Megatron wouldn't dare attack his loyal third in command, would he? Starscream sure hoped he wouldn't.
"Then whose fault was it? Certainly not Soundwave's," Megatron snapped, taking a threatening step forward.
"No, Megatron. It would be your own fault for crossing the Freaks," a new voice spoke up. The Decepticon high ranks snapped their helms around to see the small, half-alien half-human teenager, Lae.
"Foolish Freak! I am indestructible! You dare attempt to attack me on your own? Oh, how naïve. Vehicons, attack," Megatron ordered, that stupid smug look on his face. Lae wanted to hit him until that look was wiped off his face. However, that look faltered when no drones came running, and Megatron became confused, while Lae grinned fiendishly.
Megatron snapped his helm around to face the Freak, his optics cycling wide while he snarled, "You sneaky Freak! What have you done?"
Lae pretended to look offended, glancing around as though she thought Megatron was talking to someone else with wide-eyed innocence, "Why, me? You believe I did this?" Then, Lae smirked. "Yeah, it was nothing much. They all function similarly; it was a simple thing to go into all their heads and shut them down where they stand. And don't even get me started on those Insecticons. A hive mind, really? Too easy," Lae scoffed.
There was a rumble, and then the whole fortress trembled. Starscream jumped to his feet, while Knock Out looked alarmed. Soundwave, as usual, remained silent and impassive, but Megatron's optics narrowed in fury as he took a threatening step towards the Freak.
"Ah, and that would be my troops shaking things up outside to bring down your fortress, while one of my agents shuts down everything in here," Lae said wisely, her calm gaze never faltering as she watched Megatron closely. Her calm was never-ending, and that calmness indicated that she had everything under control; she was a puppeteer, and they had all fallen into the steps like good little marionettes. He was only now realizing that she had planned everything out exactly as it should be. In that instant, he had a respect for this strange child. Her diabolical plan came to fruition in ways he could never hope to achieve. She was a true mastermind.
The whole fortress began to shake again, collapsing in on itself as the outside ecosystem started to fall apart outside in an attempt to bring down the fortress. Megatron hesitated, unsure if they should retreat. As if drawn there, his optics wandered over to the Freak. She was now glaring darkly at him. Leave leave leave! Suddenly entered his processor.
"Retreat, and scatter. We'll regroup later," Megatron grudgingly said, grabbing Starscream's arm and racing out one way. Knock Out took off at a run towards the only grounder exit, but Soundwave just...stood there.
Damn, why won't he leave? Lae thought to herself as she wobbled unsteadily. The whole fortress was collapsing, she knew she needed to leave, but she couldn't until she was sure the Decepticons would get off her planet. Damn it Soundwave, leave so I can get out of here! Lae thought. Her brain was pounding against her skull. Was it swelling? I think I'm going to pass out, she thought faintly. Damn it! Karma's a bitch, was her last thought before she passed out.
There's chapter ten. There is an epilogue left, and I'll get it up tonight.