Chapter 11
It was barely three days after the Steelhaven had been grounded. Since Jazz's defection, Optimus had grown less complacent and had decided to patrol the city to keep his enemies in check. Tonight he was on patrol with Ratchet and Goldbug. Ratchet was staring grimly into a window. "It's primitive. It's barbaric. There oughta be a law against it!" "It's just an auto supply store, Ratchet" "You mean they actually sell spare parts on the open market?" Optimus was confused. He did see the logic of selling those sorts of things openly during wartime, but the items here were laughably useless.
Just then Goldbug rolled out. "Hey, Boss! Check out my new horn!" Goldbug honked before transforming. "This place has the greatest stuff" He pulled an assortment of items out of his chest. "Fuzzy cube thingies, whatever this is, human female replica…" "You did seem to have a soft spot for the femme-bots, Goldbug" Goldbug froze up and squeaked, thinking of Circuit Breaker. "What? No way! You know how I work!" Ratchet walked up and hit him hard on the head. "Knock it off, kid! We're heading back to base, now!" "What crawled up your tailpipe? The night is still young, unlike some bots I know…" Optimus stepped in between "I tend to agree with Goldbug, ratchet. You don't seem to get out as often as you should"
Ratchet rubbed his arm. "Just got a funny feeling, is all. Old war wound's acting up again. Usually means trouble" Goldbug didn't want to hear it. "Aw, forget about the past. Loosen up! Enjoy the bright lights, the big city!" Suddenly, the street lights shut off. "Okay, enjoy the big city" To add to it, a strange muscle car crashed passed them. "One of Sentinel's maybe?" "No, too big. Too intimidating" Optimus summed up. "Goldbug, lights and sirens. We're taking him down!" Goldbug transformed and shot at the car with his stingers. The car dodged and turned around towards Optimus and Ratchet. Optimus noticed two civilians walking across the street at the time and halted, allowing the car to plough through, or maybe over them. Ratchet prepared his magnets but suddenly recognised something about the car…
Cybertron (Flashback)
"Ratchet! Field tech Ratchet, report! What's your status?" Ultra Magnus blared on Ratchet's comlink. There were shockwaves, explosions and laser fire all around him. "Decepticon fire everywhere, sir. We're pinned down!" A blast threw Ratchet off his feet and almost over the edge of a hole. He heard someone cry 'medic'. Ratchet looked down to see… a beautiful femme bot. "Ratchet, have you located the Intelligence Officer?" Ultra Magnus demanded. "Affirmative, sir, but so have the Decepticons" "Get her back to base in any condition – be it enlisted, incarcerated, or embalmed, I don't care!"
Brushing away the callousness of his orders, Ratchet landed using his magnets. "Something's wrong, Doctor. I can't feel my leg" That was because she had no left leg to speak of from the knee down. "For starters, you're in shock." He checked her optic with a flashlight. "What's your name, soldier?" He asked, feeling a bit more concerned than normal. "Ar – Arcee, sir" "Don't call me sir. I work for a living. My name's Ratchet. Remember it." Ratchet activated his EMP Generator in order to ease the pain of her injured leg. "No! Don't use that. You could delete the access codes" Ratchet didn't speak, but instead just shut her down briefly. "Don't worry. This thing's way too low to do any permanent damage"
Present day
Ratchet stared blankly at the car and was knocked aside. He clutched at his leg where the spikes had pierced him, and could only watch as the car sped away. "I understand that you served in the war, Ratchet. But your actions over the past few stellar cycles have really proven otherwise!" Optimus lectured. "Don't lecture me, sir!" Goldbug stormed up "Why not! You froze up the way Scoop did against the Devastator Winds!" "I did not freeze up. Must have been a glitch in my systems" As they were speaking, the muscle car scanned images of the bots he'd just encountered, and identified them as Autobots.
Autobot HQ
When they got back to base, Ratchet had shut himself in his room to perform a self-diagnostic or two. But Optimus didn't care if he stayed in there forever; he was busy observing the muscle car with the others. "I've been monitoring all media for reports of power outages and this mysterious vehicle" Prowl reported. "Wait" He pushed some buttons, having found something – a news report – "We take you live to our News 44 – copter following a high-speed police pursuit in progress." The image switched from the human to the chase scene. "As you can see from this angle, the street lights have been going dark in a pattern following the pursued vehicle"
Ratchet peeked from behind a wall, watching the report, and getting that same feeling he had earlier that night.
Cybertron (Flashback)
Ratchet had finished his quick repairs on Arcee and transformed. "Let's get you out of here, soldier" He loaded her up into his trunk. "Too hot above ground. Better take the old tunnels." He drove in the direction of the tunnels, and looked back to see bright blue headlights. "Breathe my exhaust fumes, Decepti-creep!" Ratchet sped faster, right into the trap that had been set for him. His treads were busted, so he unloaded Arcee and transformed for battle. The pursuer transformed and stepped out to reveal a tall, lanky, skull-faced transformer. "I don't want to hurt you, medi-bot, but I can't let you leave with those access codes" Ratchet charged forward, but the bot flipped him over and held him to the ground. "That all you got? You're going to put me to sleep" Ratchet activated his EMP. "I'll put you to sleep, permanently!" The robot dodged the EMP blast and ran for Arcee. This put Ratchet in a bad mood and shot him in the back with his EMP generator. Before he fell down, the robot slipped a grenade right into Ratchet's face. All went black…
Present day
Ratchet came to his senses when he fell back onto the ground. He looked up to see Bulkhead in vehicle mode. "What the slag was that for?" "Eh, just wanted to make sure you were still online" Bulkhead wheezed in laughter and drove off. Ratchet growled and drove after him, to see where the other went.
The group had caught up with the police following the muscle car, lights going out as described. Optimus transformed, flew up and slammed right in front of the muscle car, denting a fuel truck. Since his battle with Starscream, his rebuilt jetpack was only good for high jumps instead of long distance travel. The other Autobots were in pursuit, until the car shot out something. All went black, then when it cleared up the car disappeared. "Hey, no far!" Bulkhead yelled. Ratchet transformed and skidded to a halt. "That car… the blackouts…" Things were adding up…
Cybertron (Flashback)
Ratchet was busy at work in his underground lab. Arcee was resting nearby and the bot who attacked them was strapped to a table. "He should be waking up soon" Ratchet rubbed his face, he had repaired the damage done by the grenade, except for his broken chevron. The bot began to stir. "Wh.. what is this? Where am I?" For some reason he couldn't feel his right arm. He looked down and gasped loudly. His right arm had been replaced with a hook hand!
"You don't like it?" Ratchet asked, disappointed. "But almost everyone has two hands! Five digits? Pffff, how boring! You... you're more interesting now!" "You know me?" "Not by name, no, but I do know your reputation – 'the bounty hunter who never gets paid'" The bot scowled "My name is Lockdown, and I'm a real freedom fighter." "Why bother?" Ratchet asked "If Megs had just kept to his studies, he wouldn't have created needless suffering with his stupid lackeys" "No! Ultra Magnus created needless suffering!" Lockdown glanced at his hook hand "You and the rest of the Autobots are the barbarians!" "Oh, shut up!" Ratchet punched him, knocked a tooth or two loose. "I've got a delivery to make. If Ultra Magnus is forgiving, maybe he'll hire you" Lockdown breathed heavily. He would never serve one as ember-less as Ultra Magnus.
Present day
Optimus readied his shoulder cannons "You must be new, and thus not familiar with Autobot law, but you'll soon find out" Suddenly, the muscle car shifted, folded and transformed. "Autobot law is a travesty, and yours isn't much better!" He replied, blasting Optimus with a hand-mounted gun "Bots usually call me Lockdown" He picked up Optimus and disappeared in a blast of smoke. Ratchet yelled wordlessly at the empty space.
"My scans show no sign of Prime or the muscle car" Prowl reporting, looking at his map. Goldbug was in disbelief. "How does some human just disappear with Prime and mask his energy signature?" Everyone looked at Ratchet. "Something you're not telling us about this muscle-car guy?" Bulkhead asked. "It's not a guy, and it's not a car. It's a Decepticon." Ratchet started quivering the more he spoke. "His name's Lockdown. We clashed during the war. And I hate him!"
Somewhere, in a darkened ship, Optimus was restrained on a table by cables. His jetpack has been taken away, along with his axe. "It would be a lot less painful on us both if you'd just keep still, Orion Pax" "That name has no meaning to me anymore" "It does to Sentinel Minor" Optimus gritted his teeth. "Sentinel, I've changed my mind" He thought 'I was just going to have you drawn and quartered when I found you. But now I'm going to have you drawn, quartered and cannon-blasted!' "He turned back to Lockdown "My men will find you before you can even get off this planet!" "You're hopeful. That's something I haven't heard in a while" Optimus was confused. "And here I thought you Decepticons had a code of honor" Lockdown almost yelled "There's no honor in remaining affiliated with the losing side. Leaving it for the winning side, that's just good business"
"Then why not join me? I could use men." Lockdown shook his head "Then I'd be back on the losing side" Optimus growled and launched his grapplers, grabbing his axe and slicing through the cables. Before he could attack he was shut down. "Mmm, that axe is the first thing I've ever seen that could slice through those cables. I was right to take it away. But just to be on the safe side, I'll take those grapplers as well." He readied the generator on his hook hand "Hold still. This won't hurt a bit, at first."
Downtown Detroit
The Autobots regrouped. "We've been searching for megacycles" Goldbug whined. "We're never gonna find him" "That's because Lockdown was hiding in plain sight" Ratchet remembered. Prowl activated his holo projector, showing a image of Old Detroit where Lockdown and Optimus disappeared. It was replaced by a map of the same area three days ago. "Hey! That warehouse wasn't there before" Bulkhead pointed out. The pieces fit together. The warehouse must have been a holographic projection, masking Lockdown's ship, the Death's Head. "Come on! Let's crush his processor!" Bulkhead cried as they transformed.
On the ship Lockdown was conversing with Sentinel's messengers, Getaway and Windcharger. "You have Optimus Prime? Hand him over now, Decepticon!" Getaway screeched. "Just remember, this deal isn't fully trustable. Which means you keep your end of the bargain first" Getaway slinked away, leaving only Windcharger. "Patience, bounty hunter. You will not be disappointed with your upgrades, provided we are not disappointed with your results"
Prowl, Bulkhead and Goldbug transformed outside the warehouse. Bulkhead was ready to charge in when Prowl stopped him. "Proceed with extreme caution if you wish to live, bruiser" Bulkhead knocked him aside. "Just 'cause Prime's not around to zap you doesn't mean you can push the rest of us around!" Prowl vowed to prove him wrong. He'd have to prove it fast, because autoguns came online and started blasting. Prowl leapt up, sliced one of the guns off and destroyed the rest with it.
Bulkhead crashed through the wall, only to find an empty room. "Come out so we can play rough" Bulkhead swung his wrecking ball at a steel beam. Lockdown leapt down from the ceiling and fired some sort of glop, which engulfed Bulkhead entirely. "That stuff can't hurt me!" "Don't wanna hurt you" Lockdown walked away, leaving Bulkhead looking like a puffy, oversized toaster. As he was heading towards the other two he was tackled by Ratchet.
"You!" "Yes" "I guess I'll have to bring you all in as well, so you don't create more needless suffering" Ratchet growled as Lockdown twisted his own words, and blasted him with his magnets, sending Lockdown flying. He then wandered over to the warehouse. "Think. It's a ship. There's an airlock, not a door" He ripped off the covering and opened the door, Prowl following stealthily behind him. Ratchet wandered down the tunnel until he got to the main room. "About time you did something useful, Ratchet" Optimus griped. "Not even a thank you. And they call me rude" Ratchet thought, releasing Optimus from his bonds. Optimus rubbed the areas where his grapplers had been taken out. Then the ship started to rumble. "Launch sequence starting. We gotta move!" Lockdown came through the door and knocked Ratchet back. "Nobody's going anywhere." He went over to Ratchet. "I might as well take care of you now." He said, raising Prime's axe up high. Optimus snuck up behind a trophy case and pushed it onto Lockdown, trapping him.
Ratchet wordlessly yanked the grapplers and EMP generator out of Lockdown's arms, causing him to scream. "E-EMP" He uttered…
Cybertron (Flashback)
Lockdown struggled in his bonds until he broke them off. "Huh?" Ratchet turned around and activated his EMP Generator, but was tackled by Lockdown. "You've twisted your last ember, sicko" Ratchet set the generator to full blast, intending to take Lockdown offline for good. Arcee heard the commotion and came at Lockdown, who punched Ratchet's arm away, blasting Arcee with the EMP blast. "No!" Ratchet yelled. Lockdown kicked the EMP Generator off, grabbed it and made a break for it.
Ratchet cradled Arcee, knowing what had happened. "You alright, Arcee?" She responded with what were probably her last sane words "Who's… Ar… cee? Where are we? What's going on? Do… I know you?"
Present day
Ratchet stomped over, attaching his EMP generator at full power. "Words can't describe how much I hate you, Lockdown. But my EMP generator can" Lockdown gasped as he was blasted. Ratchet then got his claws out, grabbed Lockdown's head and activated his magnets. The memory-wiped Lockdown screamed in pain as his head was being ripped apart. Ratchet yanked and Lockdown's head shattered, leaving nothing but a lifeless body. Then Ratchet blasted the control panel, sending the ship plummeting downwards towards the river. After tying the gear to Optimus they jumped out before the ship crashed.
Autobot HQ
Ratchet dropped Optimus off outside HQ. He'd probably be able to fix himself when he came to. He looked down at his Autobot insignia. "Damn this war to the smelting pool" He uttered. He tore off the insignia and tore it into shreds. Now that he had had his revenge, he saw no point in being part of a conflict he hated. As he drove away he remembered what he could…
When he got back, Ratchet was dismissed from the Autobots. He never saw Arcee again, but he heard stories about how she had been turned into a berserker. How she slaughtered millions of Decepticons before being killed in the final battle. His chance for love gone, for good.
He bumped into Goldbug, unexpectedly. "Where're you going, Doc-bot?" "Away from HQ and from this war. Tell Prime, I don't care." "Um… did you see Prowl?" Goldbug asked, trying to change the subject. "No, and I don't care." Goldbug sighed and began to drive off when Ratchet called him "Oh, kid. About Circuit Breaker… If you really feel the way you might feel about her, protect her with all you've got" Goldbug was touched. He drove off, wishing Ratchet luck.
At the bottom of the river, Prowl crawled out of the wreckage, screaming as his shackles shocked him…