"Not one of your better moves, you three," Ratchet grumbled, motioning to where Ironhide, Optimus, and Lennox were sitting, Lennox in the palm of Ironhide's hand. "You could have….you could have gotten everybody either injured, or worse, killed."
"But they stopped the bugs, didn't they?" Zora said incredulously. She looked up at Optimus. Pretty much all of the paint on him was gone, replaced by a burnt covering that Zora was sure hurt like hell. Ironhide looked better, since he hadn't been caught in the blast. William Lennox, whom Zora had met the day before, was fine, besides a few scratches, and what would soon be bruises.
"These bugs are deadly. They almost managed to offline Ironhide. There's no telling what else they can do." Optimus tried to stand, but was forced back down by Ratchet, who mumbled something to Prime in there native language.
"Then we slap some grenades on them, and blast them sky high! Simple….right?" Zora said. "I mean, there bugs. They can't be that smart."
"That is where you are wrong, Miss Parker," Optimus looked down at the human, who shifted uncomfortably. "From personal experience, I must say that these creatures are far more intelligent that your average organic insect."
"So they're smart bugs?" Zora cocked an eyebrow. "Wait….are they the same bugs that carry the plague?"
Ratchet answered for Ironhide. "Yes."
"That makes them ten times more dangerous." Ironhide grumbled, giving Zora a not-so-nice look before getting to his feet. Ratchet nodded for him to go, and he left, taking Lennox with him.
"What's his problem?" Zora asked, frowning.
"Ironhide is upset that he didn't get to play hero," Ratchet said, back turned. "You know why we call Ironhide trigger-happy? He has an unhealthy obsession for explosives. He was outsmarted by a human in the instance of his own profession."
"Dude. Talk about egotistical." Zora said.
Ratchet stepped over Zora, placing a hand on Optimus' shoulder. When he pulled away, it was black with ash. Optimus gritted his dental plates, groaning.
"You need to take it easy, Prime," Ratchet said. "You're lucky the explosion didn't cause any major internal damage."
Optimus sank back, visibly disappointed. He glanced at Zora, who waved nervously. She still hadn't gotten used to the towering creature, despite his gentleness. She had met Bumblebee, whom she had put on her top ten lists of favorite aliens robots. He was a cute bot,' peppy and funny in his own way. No wonder Sam considered him a brother.
Optimus, on the other hand, still made her edgy. Still put a fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach. The way he acted, the way he spoke. She guessed she was edgy. Maybe it was something else. Something she hadn't realized. The word, though, slipped from her mind as soon as she had grasped the concept.
"So, what to do, what to do?" Zora murmured, biting her lip and pacing. She leaned against Optimus' leg, resting her head against a patch of deep blue armor. It had managed to survive the blast, and Zora was glad at this moment because it saved her the trouble of having to wash soot and ash out of her hair. That and the fact that it was the only recognizable part of his burned body.
"Does it hurt?" She whispered, peering up at Optimus' face. The Autobot leader looked down at her, optics full of sorrow.
"Physically, yes. Not that I haven't endured worse," Optimus hissed as Ratchet pulled at a wire. "The pain of having lost so many humans during the battle hurts more than anything else."
"You did your best, Prime," Ratchet said. "This whole thing….is new. New to us, new to the humans."
"Hey, look. I haven't known you guys for very long. But now I understand that the world needs a hero," she patted Optimus' leg, grimacing when it came away covered in ash. "And if anything, I'm glad those hero's are the Autobots."
Sam had left some time ago with Bumblebee, claiming that he wanted to go to town to see the sights. Zora was more than glad to go with him, and, of course, bring Mikaela and Drake along. She knew the sights more than anyone since this was really part of her hometown.
Now, she sat inside Bumblebee's alt mode, the young scout driving slow down the street. The town was a bustle of activity, everyone seeming to be out and about like never before. Zora gulped. It was her first time outside the base, out in the normal world, where giant alien robots were just a rumor, and for some, a hoax. She wondered if the pedestrians could sense Bumblebee or something, for they kept shooting the Camaro strange looks.
There was that, and the fact that it was almost impossible to miss a yellow Camaro driving down a street in Florida.
"Shopping?" Mikaela said as they approached the mall. Both Sam, who clutched the steering wheel fiercely and was smiling at anyone who looked at him, and Drake groaned loudly. Mikaela lightly smacked Sam on the shoulder.
"Hey, lighten up," she said, "I was directing the question towards Zora. You guys can go….do some guy stuff or whatever guys do."
Drake rolled his eyes. "You mean, like carry you're bags?"
"Is that an offer? Oh, thanks Drake!" Zora said, smiling and laughing. Drake groaned again.
"Sam, help me out here."
"Nope. You're on your own." Sam kept his eyes firmly planted on the road.
A small, metallic chuckle sounded. Zora and Drake looked around for the source of the sound, only to see Mikaela and Sam staring at them, trying not to laugh.
"It's just Bee. Jeez, you don't have to freak." Mikaela shoved a lock of dark hair out of her eyes, drumming her fingers against the small purse in her lap.
"We just have to hope that the cons don't show. Either that or the stupid plague," Sam grumbled. "Although, we are like alien-magnets."
Zora huffed and leaned back. Bumblebee sure did know how to make a human feel at home. Although, anyone would be able to tell that this wasn't a normal car, or even a semi-normal car. It had a sort of aura to it, a mysterious one. Moreover, the seats were way to comfortable and moved whenever you hit a window or a door.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence, Bumblebee pulled up to the mall, practically throwing Zora and Mikaela out. A metallic chirp sounded from the dashboard, and Sam and Drake still sat where they were, doors open, bright faces smiling out at the two girls.
Mikaela put her hands on her hips. "What? Not going to come?"
"Well, you see….." Drake began.
"….there's a video game store down the street. Um, so, Bee is going to drive us there." Sam finished. He fiddled with his thumbs nervously. The glare his girlfriend was giving him looked like it could melt ice. It didn't help that Drake was lounging in the back, looking totally oblivious.
Bumblebee chirped madly, and in her mind, Zora translated it to mean something like "Hell, no."
"Pleassseee…." Drake and Sam said simultaneously. Zora looked around. People were giving them strange looks, as if it was abnormal to see three teenagers talking to a hot yellow Camaro. Zora elbowed Mikaela in the ribs.
"Just leave it. People are staring."
"Bu-
"Leave it."
Mikaela shrugged and sighed. "Alright, boys, I guess we'll have to carry our own bags. Such a shame."
Drake snorted. "Yeah, yeah, such a shame. Not. Now drive, Bumblebee, drive!"
As the doors slammed shut, Bumblebee chirped excitedly and rolled forward. Zora and Mikaela backed away as the vehicle sped away, taking the two boys with them. Zora rolled her eyes.
"He's such a sweet boyfriend. You sure did get a good one," she murmured to Mikaela.
"The best."
Dex was alive. However, Dex was pissed. Oh so pissed.
Why? Because the bugs had failed to destroy the Autobots. It was a simple task, really, for the bugs were nearly indestructible. However, as he and Barricade watched the fight from a little ways away, he saw that the Autobots had discovered the bugs weak spots easily.
Well, Optimus Prime had discovered them, and then had proceeded to inform the rest of the Autobots, including his weak fleshy friends.
"They've figured it out," Barricade said, his alt form backing up a little. Dex leaned against the door, examining his nails. Which were fake. His whole human shell –which he hated – was fake. A simple disguise.
"Ya' think? Man, I was hoping that at least one Autobot would die.
"Look how that turned out," Barricade snarled.
Dex rolled his eyes, patting the front of Barricade's hood. The Decepticon growled and rolled back, headlights blinking on. Dex shielded his eyes as the door popped open.
"In. Now."
"Alright, grumpy. Jeez," Dex grumbled, sliding into the driver's seat. He leaned back as Barricade backed up, pulling onto the main road. He wasn't a particularly gentle driver, not bothering to buckle Dex in. However, Dex didn't care. It wasn't like a car accident would hurt either of them.
"Where are we going?" Dex grumbled.
"Megatron has….requested to see you. He's not happy."
Dex was pretty much fragged, then. Megatron was never in a good mood, and usually, Starscream suffered because of it. It wasn't Dex's problem, though, Starscream didn't know when to keep his mouth shut, so Megatron shut it for him.
Dex was a good Decepticon. Well, good in Decepticon terms. He was their best Pretender (Actually, he was their only pretender, for the wretched bitch Decepticon Alice had been killed a couple of years ago) and a fine warrior. Megatron would be taking risk by disposing of Dex himself, however, Dex didn't think Megatron wouldn't do it. The great Decepticon leader had suffered so heavily after the battle of Egypt that many of the other Decepticons, including Barricade, had come to question his sanity.
It wouldn't be long until Starscream, or even Dex himself, pushed Megatron too far. Probably. It seemed like the most plausible thing, since Megatron was already losing his mind.
Something after the Battle of Egypt had destroyed a part of his sanity, and no one was sure he would ever get it back.
Too late, Dex thought. Too late to do anything. Megatron was sure to fade away into insanity, his lust for power being his ultimate downfall.
It made Dex's processors spin. He was probably the only Decepticon who saw the truth. Him and Starscream. But Starscream had his own discernible flaws. Dex had been there when Starscream had led for those painful two years after Megatron was offlined by the wretched Witwicky boy, and that was when he had shown his true colors.
Dex sighed and shook his head. Madness. This whole planet…this whole war and what it stood for…was madness.
And he was the only Decepticon to see and embrace it.
