Long chapter, but lots of things to cover! Jack's first Cybertronian checkup, then he begins training with Sari and Arcee! Then dinner at the Darby's where some questions get answered…
Team Prime and the TFA Autobots returned to Outpost Omega One. Miko, Raf and Isaac rode in with TFA Bulkhead.
"Jack, it gives me great pleasure to see you in 'bot' mode, and to welcome you as our newest Cybertronian," said T:Prime Optimus.
"Hear, hear!" Said everyone.
"Mr. Darby, follow us, if you please," said TFA Ratchet, standing with T:Prime Ratchet.
"Sure! What's up?"
"It's time for your first Cybertronian checkup."
"Oooh! Oooh! I'm going too!" said Miko.
"Uh, no," said T:Prime Ratchet, holding up a servo, "this will be a private exam. Family members and Autobot partners only." He motioned for June and T:Prime Arcee to follow along.
"If it's OK, I'd like Sari to come also," said Jack.
The two Ratchets looked at each other. "Fine with us," said TFA Ratchet. "Sari's quite familiar with the exam." And Sari went in as well.
They arrived in the exam room. "Alright, Jack, get on the exam table, please," said TFA Ratchet, "and we'll get started."
Jack looked up at the height of the Autobot-sized table. It was way above his head. "Where's the ladder?"
"Ladder? Just jump!"
Jack raised an optic. "You're kidding, right?"
TFA Ratchet rolled his optics and sighed. "These new Technorganics," he grumbled, and looked down at Jack. "Let me explain. As a Technorganic, you possess Cybertronian strength, agility, and speed. Now, when Sari did her little shortcut thing with the AllSpark key, I had to turn those off for a while because of her overload. But you've already got those. Give it a go!"
Sari put her hand on Jack's shoulder for encouragement. "You can do it, Jack!"
"OK, here goes!" And with one bound, he jumped up onto the table! "Wow! I made it!"
"Well, of course!" said TFA Ratchet. "Now, let me explain something to you: as a Technorganic, you possess this same strength, agility, and speed in your 'human' mode as well. But beware! I don't want you showing off in the school gym, you hear? Just because you can now bench-press 500 pounds doesn't mean you should!"
Ratchet looked down at June. "Mom? You make darn sure he understands this! If he winds up getting involved in some altercation with a school bully, he's got to learn how to hold back! I'm serious!"
He turned to his patient. "Jack, with the Cybertronian strength you possess right now, if you're not careful, you could very easily kill someone!"
He looked at Sari. "Glad he invited you, Sari, you know just what I'm talking about."
June was looking very concerned. Sari put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, June. I have the same strength in 'human' mode as well, and I've learned how to hold back. He and I will work on it."
June sighed. "OK."
"So, how's the leg doing?" asked T:Prime Ratchet. "I understand you had some damaged circuits from that blast in Jasper."
"Oh, doing great!" said Jack. "Ratchet patched me up shortly after my Mom and I arrived at the spot where all the Autobots were."
"Nice to have a field medic around!" smiled T:Prime Ratchet at TFA Ratchet.
"Heh! Glad to lend a servo!" he chuckled.
"Anyway," he continued, "let's begin, Mr. Darby." And he turned on the examination equipment. A green light shone over Jack's chassis, and two bright laser-like beams crossed over him, intersecting back and forth several times, going slower and slower with each pass until they finally stopped. Several three-dimensional models of various parts of Jack's Cybertronian body appeared on large monitors, and a great deal of data began scrolling on others.
"Now, let's see what we have here," said TFA Ratchet.
T:Prime Ratchet looked at the health indicators. "Spark in good health. Processor, T-Cog, Mechanical Systems, Energon Levels, Backup Systems, everything looks good!"
He turned to Jack. "Perfect Cybertronian health!"
"Well, glad to hear that!" said Jack.
TFA Ratchet turned to Jack's list of mods scrolling and scrolling, and motioned to his namesake. "Will ya look at this," he said, pointing to the monitor. "What is it with these Technorganics and their endless list of mods?"
Both Ratchets watched the list going down. "Incredible," said T:Prime Ratchet. "Just like Sari's. You know, the first time I checked her, I thought my equipment was malfunctioning."
TFA Ratchet chuckled. "Whoever the bot was that created these sparkling protoforms just had fun stuffing them full of mods."
"Wait. Go back to the beginning," said TFA Ratchet. "Check this out!"
"What? What do you see?" asked T:Prime Ratchet.
"I remember Sari's sequence - the way in which her mods became activated. Jack's mods are in a different sequence. Now, isn't that interesting," he mused.
"Why do you suppose that is?" asked T:Prime Ratchet.
"Beats me. Why would they do that?"
"OK, you two," interrupted Arcee, "you sound like a couple of mad scientists. Mind cluing us in?"
TFA Ratchet cleared his throat. "Oh, er, well, Jack's list of mods are quite similar to Sari's, but with a few differences. Just a theory, mind you, but it looks like the differences lie in him being a mech, whereas Sari has a few that may be more for a femme. For example, in weaponry. Sari has those energy blades. Jack on the other hand, has a broadsword."
"Really? Cool!" said Jack.
"Also, some of the sequencing is different," said T:Prime Ratchet. "Sari got her plasma jets much later - is that correct?"
"Yes, when she was about...19, as I recall," said TFA Ratchet.
"But Jack's got them right now."
"I can fly?" Jack was getting excited!
"Yes. But Sari got her azusa skates right away, whereas you're not getting them for a few stellar cycles."
"No skating around for you yet, Jack," teased Sari.
"All very interesting stuff, I'm sure," said Arcee, "but what does he have right now?"
The two Ratchets went back to the display. "Well, let's see here," said TFA Ratchet. "Broadsword...plasma jets...Skyboom shield...Hyperspace mallet…Micron boosters…orbs, of course…targeting mod...Oh! Would ya look at this!"
T:Prime Ratchet check out the line item. "Ah! That's a good one!"
Arcee growled. "You two…"
T:Prime Ratchet turned around. "Sorry." He read the mod: "Enhanced optics. Full visual spectrum, and...X-Ray vision."
"Not in 'human' mode, I hope!" said June, having thoughts of Jack using it in school!
"Oh no no no, just in 'bot' mode," said TFA Ratchet. "Continuing on. Language mod…"
"So nice to be able to converse with you in Hindi, Jack!" said Sari in Hindi.
"Hey! And I'll be able to ace my French tests!" responded Jack.
"And of course, Sari won't be able to say things in Japanese, thinking you won't know!" said Sari in Japanese.
Jack and Sari started laughing. Everyone else just stood there wondering what they were talking and laughing about.
"Ahem!" said TFA Ratchet, calling an end to the multi-lingual exchange. "Alright, enough showing off, you two!"
"What about my mojo mod?" asked Sari.
"Hmmm, let's take a look here," said TFA Ratchet, scrolling through the mods. "Don't see it, but there's so many! You know what, Jack? You really ought to pay a visit to Dataminer – in our dimension. He loves poring through these lists."
"That's a great idea! Jack and I can go together!" said Sari.
"Oh! What about Cyber-Ninja abilities?" she asked.
"Well, that's not a mod, of course. You'll have to take that up with Jazz," said TFA Ratchet, "he'll want to examine his Spark to see if he has the potential."
T:Prime Ratchet looked at the monitor. "Let me see, where did we leave off? Ah, yes. I think that's about it for now. He'll be getting more in about a stellar cycle - is that right, Ratchet?"
"Exactly. Unlike with Autobots, who get their mods at protoform time, Technorganics get theirs gradually over time, until they reach their organic adulthood. You'll want to keep an eye on this field here as you do your regular exams on Jack," he pointed out a column on the monitor. "That will tell you which ones are coming due."
"OK partner," said Arcee, "looks like you and I have some training to do on using your mods, as well as getting you started on basic battle techniques."
"Battle?!" said June.
"Well, of course!" said Arcee. "He's not going to be a clerical drone bot - certainly not with a broadsword weapon! He was built for battle."
"Don't worry June," said T:Prime Ratchet, "he's not going to be running into the heat of battle against Decepticons just yet. Right now, he's a trainee."
Now, as long as you're here, Arcee, let's have a look at that arm," said T:Prime Ratchet. He removed it from the sling and put it under his scope. "It's healed quite nicely! But remember, it's not as strong as it was before. You'll eventually need a complete replacement of that arm, so take it easy. But for now, I think you can do without the sling."
"Thanks, Ratchet," she said, rubbing her healed arm.
Arcee, Jack, June and Sari left the exam room and headed back to the central command area.
"How about some basic training on those mods, Jack?" asked Arcee. "Let's go out into the desert and see how you do."
"Sounds good!"
"Sari, why don't you join us? You can help Jack with his mods," said Arcee.
"Glad to tag along, you two!"
Arcee transformed into her bike, and Jack got on. However, he was still in bot mode, and quite heavy, of course.
"Ooof!" Said Arcee. "Hey, partner, if you don't mind, can you transform into 'human'? Your 'bot' chassis weighs a ton!"
"Ooops! Sorry!" And with a blue flash, Jack transformed into his "human" mode.
"Aaah! Much lighter, thanks! First thing we're working on is your plasma jets!"
Sari giggled.
"OK, Mom, we'll be back!"
"Bye, Jack! Good luck!" she said, as Jack and Arcee took off and Sari flew behind. She stood at the entrance to the tunnel, pondering the events of the last 24 hours. Mothers have watched their sons grow up and start to spread their wings for thousands of years, she thought, but this one takes the cake…
She turned and began walking to her car, when she saw Isaac. He looked at her and smiled. "You know, it's a funny thing. Our children always have the capacity to amaze us with their gifts, their talents, their love, and just when we think we've seen it all, they go and raise the bar again."
She smiled, and put her arm around his back as he escorted her to the car. He opened the door for her. "You take care of yourself, June. Jack's going to be fine. He's a good boy, and Sari and the Autobots will teach him well, this I know!"
"Thank you, Isaac, and we'll see you for dinner tonight?"
"I am looking forward to it!" And he waved goodbye as she drove off.
Jack and Arcee arrived at a remote spot in the high desert, and Sari landed beside them.
Jack took off his helmet. "Looks like a good spot, wouldn't you say, Sari?"
"I was flying above and there was no one around for miles."
She stared at Jack for a second, and gasped. "Jack! Your eyes!"
"What?"
"Look in Arcee's mirror!"
He bent down to look at his face. His pupils had turned bright blue!
"Aaah!" He screamed. "What is this?!"
"I, I don't know," Sari replied, "except that my eyes used to be brown."
"Another part of the Technorganic process?" Said Arcee.
"I guess. It happened to me, so you too, Jack."
"So, what do I do? Sky blue eyes? How do I go to school like this?!"
"Uh, wear gray/blue contacts?" Sari suggested.
Jack gave her a "for real?" look. "Gray/blue contacts."
"Either that, or tell people you're wearing light blue contacts," said Arcee. Jack sighed.
"OK, drama over. Let's get started," Arcee announced, and transformed into bipedal mode.
"First order of business. Plasma jets. Sari, maybe you can be the coach," said Arcee.
"OK, Jack, let's go out into that open field to the left," said Sari. And Jack transformed into "bot" mode and stood a distance away from the two femmes. "How's this?"
"Good. Now, to power up the plasma thrusters, concentrate on your pedes and servos. Think about turning them into jets."
Jack concentrated, and the thrusters fired off in unison. "Wow!" he said as he started going up into the air.
"Pretty cool, partner!" said Arcee.
"Uh, how do I get down?" he asked.
"You control it by concentrating, and…" unfortunately, Jack thought about turning off the jets! He fell back to earth, landing splat!
"Ow."
"Uh, not that way," said Sari. "You have to concentrate on throttling back."
"Let's try it again. Don't worry! The first time, I crashed too."
Jack got up and tried once more. This time, he ascended, and when he reached an altitude of a meter or so, he thought about throttling back the jets, and he shakily came back down.
"Good! Now, try using your pedes for altitude and your servos for direction."
"Huh?"
"Like this." And Sari demonstrated the technique, ascending only with her pedes, then moving side by side with her servos. Jack tried it, and with practice, got the hang of navigating this way.
"OK, now do the opposite. Use your servos for altitude, and your pedes to move around." And Jack tried this maneuver, falling down once or twice, but with practice, he got it down.
"You're a good instructor, Sari!" said Arcee.
"Thanks! I had a good Sensei in Jazz."
"Now! A very important technique," said Sari. You have to know how to use your comm while in the air."
"My comm?"
"That little button on the left side of your helm. It's how you communicate with other bots. Try it out." And Jack pressed a digit on the button. "Like this?"
A beep came in on Sari's and Arcee's helms. "Yes, Jack?" Sari responded.
"Whoa!" he said. "I heard you in my head! But, I didn't see your lips moving, Sari."
"That's because I responded to you in Cybertronian," she explained. "When you're in the sky, going at Mach 3, or in space, speaking doesn't work. Autobots speak electronically. Now, I'll signal you, and you respond to me in Cybertronian." And Sari touched her comm.
"Jack?"
He touched his comm and not using his lips, responded. "Sari?"
"Very good!" They ended the comm lesson.
"Now, the reason I brought that up – in addition to showing you how to use your comm – is because when you're up in the air with your plasma jets, you have to press that little button to respond if someone hails you, or if you need to hail someone. Which means, you have to turn off the jet in your left servo and fly with only three jets."
"Actually, eventually you'll need to learn how to fly with just the jets in your pedes, like I did when I carried you to your mom. But we'll cover that after you've had some more experience. So for now, let's get you flying with three jets."
"Tell you what, Jack," said Arcee. Go up and hover about a meter with four jets, then turn off the jet on your left servo and hail me on your comm."
Jack gulped. "Uhh, Ohh Kay…"
"Hey! If you crash land, I won't laugh, I promise!" she smiled.
Jack rolled his optics. "Thanks!" And he gave it a go. He went up a meter, and hovered. He hesitated.
"C'mon, partner, I'm waiting!"
"Eee…" And he concentrated on keeping three jets going and turning off the jet in his left servo, all the while maintaining his hover.
"You can do it, Jack!" Yelled Sari.
The left servo jet turned off. The other three kept him up. He reached for the comm on his helm. "Arcee?"
She touched her comm. "Yes?"
"Hi?"
Arcee smiled. "Congratulations. Good job!" He came back down to the ground.
"So Jack? Are you ready for a flight test? I'll be with you."
"Uh, are you sure?"
"Hey, I did my first flight solo. I promise you, if you have problems, I'll catch you! Let's give it a go!" And she took off and hovered above him. "C'mon! Let's go!"
"Go for it, Jack!" said Arcee.
"Oh boy!" And he took off, with Sari right by his side. They climbed into the sky.
Sari looked over and noticed that ever since they took off, Jack hadn't taken his optics off of her. She smiled, and got on her comm.
"Jack! Look down!"
He looked away from Sari and suddenly noticed the clouds, Nevada mountains and desert landscape below him. "Whoa."
"We're cruising at about 8,000 meters right now. How does it feel?"
He successfully turned off his left servo jet and got on his comm. "This. Feels. Awesome! I could fly around up here forever!"
"I know how you feel," she responded. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Suddenly, Arcee cut in on the comm. "You two about done with the flight training?"
"Ooops," said Sari. She responded to Arcee. "On our way!"
"Guess we'd better head back, Jack. Which takes us to your last flying lesson for today."
"What's that?"
"Landing."
"Landing?!"
"Well, duh! I assume you weren't planning to crash land. Follow me." And Sari led Jack back to where they started.
"Now. Remember how you used your servos for altitude and your pedes for steering?"
"Uh huh." He said nervously.
"Keep your servos pointed down, and use them to throttle yourself slowly, steering with your pedes. That's it…easy…good…just a few more meters…and…you've landed!"
"Nice job, partner!"
"You'll be a pro at it before you know it!" said Sari.
"Now, I want to see that broadsword!" said Arcee.
"I assume it's your version of my energy blades," said Sari. And she released hers.
He looked at his arm. "How do I release it?"
Concentrate on your right arm. Then think about releasing your weapon."
"Just like I release mine," said Arcee, releasing her blaster.
Jack concentrated on his right arm, and thought about releasing his broadsword. He heard and felt clicking and shifting noises on his arm, and watched in amazement as his right servo disappeared and in its place was a long glowing Cybertronian broadsword.
"Wow!" he said, holding it up into the air and taking some swipes.
"Nice weapon for a warrior-class bot," Arcee commented. "You'll need a shield, Jack. "Let's see that Skyboom on your left arm. Do the same thing you did for the sword, only release your shield."
He concentrated on his left arm, and again felt and heard the clicking and shifting. This time, the armor opened up, and resting on his arm was a large shield, with a handle for his servo.
"It's a Skyboom shield," said Sari, "which means you control its size, all the way from small, to big enough to cover your whole body – and even others around you if need be."
"We'll train on those," said Arcee. "For now, just put them away. I want to see your orbs." And Jack retracted the shield and the broadsword.
"Now, the orbs come out of your palms." Sari held up her servo to show him. "Look at your two palms; you should have the same circles in the middle."
He turned his servos over. "Yep, you're right."
"Now, Ratchet said you also have a targeting mod. That's good! I didn't have that at first. It really helps. Once you aim at a target with your optics, you'll see in your vision targeting aids. When you and Arcee do offensive training with moving objects, you'll get a chance to see how that works."
"But to shoot an orb, you aim your palm out toward an object and concentrate about firing from that part of your servo. Like this." And she demonstrated the technique, firing a blue orb at a boulder, disintegrating it.
"There's another big rock. You try." And Jack did the same thing, only his blue orb was small, and did nothing other than push the rock a few feet away.
"What…?"
"No no! That's OK! Your orbs will vary in size and intensity, depending on the intensity of your will. The stronger you will it, the bigger and more powerful the orb will be. Think of it like a punch."
"Try again, only this time, give it more oomph." He tried again, and this time, the orb was much bigger, and blasted out of his palm, hitting the rock, disintegrating it into thousands of shards.
"Whoa!"
"Excellent! Again, when you train, you'll want to practice varying the size and strength of your orbs."
"What about the tossed one, like you did to Kālī?" asked Arcee.
"Oh. That one is extremely dangerous." She turned to Jack. "Please promise me you won't attempt that until you've had quite a lot of experience."
"I won't, Sari, I promise."
"Autobots never kill living beings with impunity. And that particular weapon does kill."
"Well, it's getting late," said Arcee. "And if I recall, you two have a dinner date with your parents at the Darby's."
"Jack, care to fly back to base with me?" smiled Sari.
"Sounds great!"
"Works for me, partner! Give my chassis a rest!" And Arcee transformed into her alt mode and drove away. The two Technorganics fired up their plasma jets and took off into the sky.
Arriving at Outpost Omega One, Arcee transformed back into bipedal mode and walked into the command center.
"Where's Sari and Jack?" asked Raf.
"Behind me," smiled Arcee. And flying out of the tunnel were a yellow and cream colored bot and a black and gray one. They landed on either side of the Ninja Scout.
"Cool!" said Raf.
Sari transformed, but only her head. The rest of her was still in "bot" mode. "Hi, Raf!" she said.
Jack did a double-take. "Wait a minute! How'd you do that?"
Sari chuckled. "Easy! Just think about transforming only your head." And Jack did the same. "Heh! Pretty neat!" as he looked at his Autobot chassis with his eyes.
Miko came down the stairs. "Whoa! Jack! What happened to your eyes?"
"Uh, little continuation of my Technorganic stuff, I guess. Hope my Mom doesn't freak out."
"Duh! Maybe you should wear sunglasses or something!"
"Hey, you know? That's not a bad idea! At least until I can ease her into it."
("I can drive you all home") said T:Prime Bumblebee.
"That'd be great, Bee, thanks!" said Jack. "You mind if we make a quick stop at the Mall? I need to pick up some sunglasses."
("No problem!")
"Great! Appreciate it!"
Raf chuckled. "I'm gonna have to get used to not being the only one who can understand you, Bee!"
"I'll meet you at your house later, Jack," said Sari. "Bulkhead's driving my Dad and me." And the kids piled into Bumblebee's car and took off. Sari walked down to the infirmary. She wanted to check on Smoke and T:Prime Bulkhead.
She walked up to Smokescreen's station. "How are you feeling, Smoke?"
"Doing, OK, Sari, thanks," he smiled. "Hey, I heard what you did with Kālī. Thanks for taking care of her."
"Guess I won't be transforming for a while," he said.
"I was talking to my Optimus. We're going to get a T-Cog from my world for you. That way you won't have to wait for one to be protoformed here."
"Oh, man, that'd be great! Thanks so much!"
"Oh, you bet! You rest up, and take care, OK?"
"I will! Be seeing you!"
She then went to see Bulkhead. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Oh, hey, Sari! I'm doing good. Doc says my chassis is healing great! Jackie was by earlier. He told me what you did. Good on ya! And Miko, she's here every day, stoppin' by," he chuckled.
"Glad to see you doing better! Hope to see you up and about soon!"
"Oh, I will be, you can count on that! Thanks for stopping by!"
"You bet!" And leaving sick bay, she met up with her Dad.
"So my dear, how was your training session with Jack?"
"Went great! He's doing just fine. But you'll never guess: his eyes are bright blue now, like mine!"
Isaac chortled. "Well, isn't that something! Must somehow be part of the development process. I wonder what June's going to say!"
"Jack's getting sunglasses, to lessen the shock."
"Heh! Good idea! Well, shall we head on over?" And they met up with Bulkhead, who transformed into his SWAT vehicle. Sari transformed fully into "human" mode and they left for the Darby's.
"Mom? I'm home."
"Hi, Jack! You're just in time to help set the table." June came into the living room.
"What's with the sunglasses?"
"Uh, well, I've got something to show you."
"Oh no! Please don't tell me you got a black eye fighting!"
"What?! No! Nothing like that! But you should maybe sit down."
Nervous, June got in a chair. Taking a deep breath and expecting the worst, she said, "OK, what is it?" He took off his sunglasses.
She gasped! "Jack! What happened? Your eyes!" She instantly got up to examine them. "Do they hurt? Can you see OK? Did you injure them in training?" She ran to get her nurse's bag. "Let me get my ophthalmoscope."
"Mom, no, it's OK."
She grabbed her scope and looked in his eyes. Shocked, she stepped back and dropped her instrument. "Jack…your eyes…they're not human anymore!"
"You're kidding! I had no idea. Well, now that you mention it, my vision is a lot sharper." The sun was setting, and he opened the door to look outside in the twilight. Although things were bathed in shadows, he noticed he could see details clearly, even those things that, to a human, would be very dark. He stepped back inside.
"My eyes…are like Sari's now! Remember when you examined them?"
"Yes. It was almost bionic, looking inside her eye. And now you, too?"
"Guess so. We were riding out into the desert to train, and on the way, it just happened."
"But, you're OK otherwise?"
"Yeah. Actually, better than OK. I can see things in the dark! But what am I going to do back at school? Sari suggested contacts."
"I guess that's an option," June replied. "Let's talk with Sari and her Dad at dinner." And they went to go prepare the dining room.
"June, this is delicious! Thank you for having us," said Isaac.
"My pleasure, Isaac. So, Jack gave me quite a start today," she smiled. "What with his eyes and all."
"Yes, I can imagine! Well, he chuckled, you should have seen the look on my face, when Sari upgraded herself, and went from being an eight-year old girl to a sixteen-year old!"
"Wait! You skipped over eight years?" Jack asked Sari. "That means you're actually one year older than me! You're only 17!"
Sari put down her fork. "Huh. I guess you're right! Except…I did hit 16 nine years ago…so, does that really make me 17?"
Jack shook his head. "Aaah! That gives me a headache. Or is it a processor ache?"
Isaac laughed. "Well, I'm nine years older than when it all first happened, and believe me, I feel it!"
"But as for the eyes," he continued. "The Spark guides the development of the human cells, and alters them as the Technorganic develops into adulthood. At least, that's how Dataminer, the Autobot expert explained it to me."
"So, I'm not 100% human then?"
"No, there are parts that remain Cybertronian even when you are in 'human' mode," explained Sari. "That's why when the skin came off, you saw the circuitry. And in place of a human brain, you have a processor."
"And a Spark chamber in place of a heart," said Jack.
"Correct. And your processor will continue to develop, especially with the mods that have come on board, like with that language mod."
"That's right, Mom! No more 'C' grades in French class for me!"
"Oh?"
"One of the mods – Cybertronian capabilities – that turned on in Jack is a language mod. He now can speak and understand millions of languages," said Sari.
June stopped mid-fork. "Millions?"
"Needed for all the planets out there in the universe," she smiled. "As well as the languages here on Earth."
"So good luck in school, Jack!" Sari smiled.
"By the way," said Isaac, "speaking of school. How did you manage to get Jack enrolled? I had to build tutor bots for Sari, since she didn't have any papers showing she was actually born."
"Oh! My husband works for the government, and through contacts, managed to secure papers for Jack: birth certificates, Social Security numbers, and such. We were leaving Nellis at the time, and after we took in Jack we settled in Jasper."
"So, none of that stuff's real?" Jack asked.
"No, honey, I'm sorry," she said.
"Then, where did I really come from?"
"That's a question I've been asking too, Jack," Sari said, looking at him. "Maybe together, you and I will find the answer someday. It could take decades, it could take hundreds of years, who knows?"
"Wait, what? Did you just say 'hundreds'?" asked June.
"Or longer. You see, Technorganics live as long as Autobots, and Autobots live for millions of years."
June dropped her spoon! She froze for a second. "Oh, I'm sorry!" and picked her spoon up. "I had no idea! You mean, Jack's going to live for millions of years?!"
"He should, yes. And another thing: he won't age. His Spark will keep him looking 18."
"18?" She looked at Jack. "You know, it's kind of funny," she smiled. "but as you got older, Jack, you started to resemble pictures of my grandfather when he was a teenager. I sometimes wondered, as you got older, if you would wind up looking like him. But it's not important. The important thing is we're a family, and we've got good friends!"
She got up and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you! And I'm excited about your future!"
"Me too, Mom," and he hugged her back.
"Now, about that broadsword…"
Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. "Oh, boy."
So begins Jack's new life as a Technorganic. June and Sari will help him adjust to "civilian" life so he can go back to school (wonder what will happen when he meets up with a certain bully?). And there is training with Arcee. Of course, he's not ready for battle – yet…
And of course, there are the Decepticons. Do they have any of Sari's CNA left?
Thanks for reading. Please review.
