Chapter 11: Said the Spider to the Fly

Pleasantly Jack hummed to himself. He always enjoyed morning showers. The water washing over his body, the steam filtering his breathing, the soothingness of it all. And it was even better when he had the house to himself such as with this particular morning. His mother had to go into work early and school was off for the day. So what better way to start it than having a little session in private? Of course due to the recent...enjoyments he'd been having it was a bit disappointing that he didn't have company. Still, peace was peace however he could take it. Jack certainly wasn't one to complain...at least not normally.

The curtain being thrown open? Now that was something to complain about as the ice cold air of the outside world froze across his body. The female Asian that performed the act?...now she was just a surprise to see. Blushing she looked down.

"Well hello to you too," Miko cooed with a sly smile. Jack blushed and pulled the curtain back over his body. "Hey, it's not something I haven't seen before," she told him with a wink. If steam could have come out Jack's ears it probably would've.

"No, but it's fucking cold without the curtain...wait, why are you here?" Jack suddenly realized what he should've been asking to begin with. Miko smacked her forehead.

"Oh right! We need to be at the base!" the girl told him, "Arcee's been yelling for over an hour before Bulkhead dropped me off to check on you she said."

"And why didn't I hear her?" Jack asked. Rolling her eyes, Miko reached in and, much to Jack's dismay, turned the water off. As the sound of the raining liquid lessened he could hear a sound that he thought had been part of the dripping becoming more prominent. Arcee's voice!

"Is he okay Miko!" she called. Miko gave the boy an accusing grin causing him to smile back innocently.

"But seriously?...over an hour?..." Miko repeated. Jack's mouth flattened.

"Mom was away so I wanted to have some alone time in here," Jack scoffed, "and are you telling me you wouldn't do it?"

"Course I would, just saying to let me in on that action next time we got the house to ourselves," Miko gave him a nudge in the ribs, "Now get dressed. We got a spy to weed out!"

Hastily Tarantulas flipped through the channels on his computer monitors. Over half of them were now filled with static! Ever since his operatives had stabbed him in the back, the Autobots had been finding and destroying most of his cameras! It was infuriating enough that the clones hadn't even bothered to do as they were told, but now the team of the Autobot he'd been trying to offline knew he was there! Angrily he slammed his fist on the computer console jolting one of the remaining channels to static. With a yell, the Predacon yanked the monitor out of its place on the table and threw it across the room, the container it hit exploding upon impact.

But what did he care? It was all for nothing anyhow! Optimus Prime was still alive and his agents were gone! The entire mission had been a complete failure!...well...not a complete one. There was still the information he'd been able to gather from the Autobots' database. Regardless of what he wanted, that would have to do. Besides, he still had one last precaution that he'd set in place in the chance that the team actually did find him. A bit more calm now, the Transformer slumped back in his chair and flipped on a screen of long pipes and corridors. Jasper Nevada's sewer system. Tarantulas chuckled to himself. He wasn't going down without a fight.

"Well I'm sorry Prime, but I need the monthly report tomorrow. You might be up to your heads with trouble right now, but I can't stop what the government orders," William Fowler told the leader of the Autobots through the monitor. Optimus Prime closed his eyes in anxiousness. There was no way he'd lose his cool over something so trivial. Even so, it still brought tension.

"I understand Agent Fowler," he told the human, "The report will be done by tomorrow. But please, if you'll excuse me I have other matters to attend to right now." Their human link nodded and shut off the communication.

"So what all is he shaking us up for this time?" Miko asked hopping out of the green car while Jack strolled up alongside it on his motorcycle. Free of their passengers, Arcee and Bulkhead morphed into robot-mode. "I told him it was an accident that I knocked over diamond," Miko reminded assuming she thought she knew what Fowler had called for, "Besides, the museum had like four." Bulkhead put a hand to his head and shook it.

"Certainly has your gracefulness," Arcee complimented. Bulkhead just grumbled incoherently in response.

"Fowler has nothing to do with any of you. He just desires some routine paperwork. Now then, as you know your clones pointed out that we have a spy here," Optimus Prime informed.

"They've been trying to find him, but it wasn't until they got me to help that we started picking out the cameras this Tarantulas guy had placed all over the base," Raf interrupted from the upper floor. Miko and Jack glanced up at the younger boy. As with whenever he was busy he had his computer unfolded in front of him, his fingers rapidly typing away on it. "And I do have some good news. After inputting all the coding from the cameras we've found so far I've triangulated the position of the signal they're transmitting from!"

"In English nerdenstein," Miko waved her hand slowly. Raf's face thinned a bit. He really did wish that he had smarter friends sometimes.

"We know his location," he stated plainly.

"Oh awesome! So let's go in there and kick his ass!" Miko exclaimed kicking the air as she talked, "I'm ready for everything and anything!"

"Of course you are..." Jack commented, "Just like how you were ready when theysecurity guard caught you when we were stealing that artifact once..." Shooting an icy look at him, Miko folded her arms over her chest.

"Just wasn't doin' my best," she grumbled, "Caught me off guard. Didn't think they'd have such quality in their security."

"Right..." the boy teasingly smiled. The two continued exchanging banter with each other until they heard Optimus Prime's voice speak about them.

"-which is why I regretfully must bring our human charges in on this," he finished a sentence causing Miko's ears to perk and Jack to look up curiously. Rarely did the Autobot leader ever let them in on something that he would consider all that dangerous, especially after viewing what kind of trouble the subject in question had caused recently. Eager for their own reasons, the human children approached the rest of the group.

"But Optimus, you can't be serious about sending the kids in to look for this madman!" Ratchet all too-willingly expressed his opinion. Prime closed his eyes.

"Old friend, if I had a choice you know I would keep them out of harm's way. But as it stands, our partners are the only ones small enough to fully traverse this human facility. And the smaller parts are undoubtedly where our assailant has made his headquarters..." Ratchet looked down at the children. Looking up at them, Miko and Jack saw a bit of a reserved atmosphere from each Autobot. None of them were all that comfortable about the matter.

"Can't we ask Fowler to send some troops over or something?" Arcee asked. Immediately Miko's eyes widened.

"Hell no!" she exclaimed directing all attention to herself. Her mouth shrunk nervously. "Er, I mean...you can trust us! We can take down a freaking Insecticon! We're ready!" Hesitantly she wrapped her arm around Jack's neck for support. After a few seconds of silence she squeezed him into a bit of a choke.

"Y-yeah, if things get bad we'll just pull back out," Jack gagged. Arcee glanced at Optimus. She knew it'd been futile to argue. She could tell by his eyes that his mind had been made up.

"As much as I dislike the notion, it stands to reason that Tarantulas has an interest in Jack and Miko. They would be the least likely to succumb to direct damage from the situation," Optimus reasoned. Arcee sighed.

"Then at least let me accompany them. I'm the only one that can fit through the corridors in any mode," the blue Cybertronian requested. Optimus nodded. Gleefully, Miko nuzzled her head into Jack's neck. They were going on an adventure!

"Lord Megatron!" Knockout's voice rang. The lord of the Decepticons cringed a bit at the pitch of the vocals. The doctor was happy...too happy. Ever since Megatron had agreed to let well enough alone with the suppressors Knockout had been in an unusually optimistic mood. Every day he'd report that he was getting another step closer to finding a real cure. But as far as Megatron could tell, what he had already was doing a rather decent job. But he wasn't a doctor. And he really didn't desire to put up with another lecture from the red Decepticon once more. Somehow his speeches bored him more than the old Cybertronian Councils' had!

"How are we feeling today?" Knockout inquired practically dancing into the Decepticon leader's quarters. Megatron's eye twitched.

"...health-wise I'm fine," he replied lowly. The sickening sweetness of Knockout's attitude seeped through his hands as he rubbed them together. Megatron pretty much felt like punching the troop right in the stomach. In fact, that wasn't a bad idea. A grin crossing the titan's face, he got to his feet and started walking to the medic.

"Well I have good news!" Knockout declared. Megatron didn't stop his trek. His goal filled him too much with joy. His expression drooping a bit, Knockout put a finger to the side of his head. "...fine! You can tell him!" Knockout grumbled kicking the ground. Reeling his arm back, Megatron wasn't prepared for the disgruntled medic to step to the side allowing the one that had actually discovered what he'd wanted to present to enter. Soundwave. Just before the large fist collided with his slender body, the silent Decepticon grabbed his leader's arm holding it centimeters from himself. Still feeling the sense of battle surging through him, the blindly enraged leader popped open the blade of his other arm and swung it at his loyal subject. But it was in vain. Soundwave already had his tentacles at his throat and effortlessly leaned out of the way of the cut. Megatron gave a few spasms before his mentality returned to normal. He'd felt it again! Like when he'd seen Optimus Prime that last time! The sense of destruction!

"...what the Pit was that all about?" Knockout wondered aloud. Seeing that the opponent was of no more of a threat, Soundwave lowered his leader to the ground allowing Megatron to shake off the restraining.

"I-I'm sorry," Megatron coughed, "Just felt the old days of the Coliseum come back...you still got it Soundwave." The sleek Decepticon bowed to the compliment. "Now...what is it you wish to show me?" Soundwave's faceplating flickered to a visual. A familiar visual. Megatron's eyes widened. "It's been found?" he gasped. Soundwave nodded. "I will personally see to it that-" one look at the questioning medic was all that Megatron needed to shift his thoughts a bit, "er...Soundwave...get a team prepared to start looking for it if you will..." Nodding, the tall Decepticon departed.

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Knockout chuckled taking his leave as well. The twitching of Megatron's eye returned as he pulled out a Dark Energon crystal that he'd been hiding in his armor.

"More than you'd know..." he muttered taking a bite from it to relieve the stress that the medic brought.

The Asian girl leaned snuggly into her embrace of the boy from behind. Air swept past their bodies, but it was different than when they were outside. This air was much warmer and musky. A somewhat stale odor formed the wind around them. Every so often they'd have to duck to avoid hitting their heads on the upper frames of doorways. To Arcee it was an entirely new experience. She hadn't had to squeeze through such tight fits since when she did reconnaissance during the Great War or when she'd chase Airachnid underground. And she especially never had passengers during those ordeals.

Even with the extra baggage though, the smaller Cybertronian was swerving in and out of rooms like a professional. Up till the point they were at now they hadn't encountered much oppression. The only time Arcee had really lost her cool was when the first trap had been set off. After that she'd been pretty keenly on the lookout for anymore of the trip lasers that had set off the acidic chemical that'd been launched at them previously. Luckily the humans, or at least Jack who'd pulled Miko down, seemed to have the same reflexes as she did when the decomposing compound had been thrown. That was the main thing that Arcee was worried about. She didn't give to shits what happened to her as long as her partner was safe. She wasn't about to have another Cliffjumper on her hands!

"So Jack, what do ya think this Tarantulas guy's up too?" Miko asked giving him a bit of a squeeze. The boy's grip on the handles of the motorcycle tightened a bit in response.

"Probably just some Decepticon under orders from Megatron," he figured, "But has to be pretty small if he's not anywhere that Optimus and the others can find him."

"Hence why we're being sent in to kick ass and take names!" Miko chuckled.

"Don't you mean get your ass kicked so that Bulkhead can tease you about it later?" Jack smirked. Miko sent a glare at the back of his head.

"If you tell him that that really happens you're dead," she grumbled. Realizing what she'd said, her eyes shot open. "Uh, I mean what're you talking about! I'll pop that bot's head right off!" Jack was in a fit of laughter.

"Oh don't worry, I'll tell him exactly what goes down," Jack laughed receiving a punch to the shoulder in return.

"Well, he's got a witness," Arcee added. The bike jumped a bit at the kick it was given. Not one to let such rudeness go unrepaid, Arcee braked for a second sending the girl that was riding her gruffly into Jack's back, a motion that filled his cheeks with crimson. He could feel the firm softness of her chest swish slightly as Miko pulled herself back a bit.

"Alright, stupid to mess with the thing you're riding," Miko admitted, "...hey...I just thought of something...if that spy guy has cameras all around then couldn't we have just told him what we were doing back in the lobby if he was watching us?" Jack's eyes widened. Miko was actually having a rare moment of using intelligence...and it wasn't a good thought...

"Relax," Raf's voice told them through Arcee's controls, "The lobby's the first place I scanned over. Made sure that everything this guy could've snuck in here was gotten rid of! The only real places I couldn't sift through were those halls you guys are in since some of them go on quite a ways unless you have a ride."

"That's a comforting thought..." Jack murmured. The rest of the ride was rather quiet compared to how talkative the two humans normally were with each other. They felt like endless halls of eyes were watching them. Monitoring their every move. Daring them to try something stupid, which normally Miko wouldn't be all that unfamiliar with. But under the circumstances that kind of action couldn't be allowed. It wasn't their attitudes that would be the problem however. As they entered into a new corridor the trio heard quite the high-pitched beeping. Her heart pounding a bit, Miko looked back and noticed the laser system at the floor that Arcee had driven through.

"Guys!" she yelped.

"Both of you off! No-ooowww!" Arcee's voice faded in the corridor as it lit up around them. Time seemed to move in slow motion. The walls and ceiling cracked and fragmented towards the occupants. Fire and smoke billowed through the collapsing passageway. Jack could see Arcee unfolding into her robot-mode from the sudden explosion. With a thud, the boy and girl hit the ground. Jack crawled over to try and see how Miko was when a slab of the ceiling fell on his back pinning him to the ground. Coughing up a bit of blood, Miko stumbled over to help the boy out of the mess when she felt something tug at her shirt. It took a few more tugs to finally distract her from the rescue operation. Looking up she could see a few strands of some sticky substance latching onto her clothing from a hole in the ceiling. When she realized what it was though, it was too late. With a scream the web yanked her up into the hole and out of sight.

"MIKO!" Jack cried.

"Prime!" a loud voice hollered. All the Autobots of the lobby looked to the open doors. Standing there was the government agent: William Fowler. His posture had faltered a bit due to all the unexpected stares he received. He was used to Optimus and maybe Ratchet eyeing him when he entered, but not usually such a large group at once. "Uh...hey..." he waved nervously from where he'd entered, "...what's up?..." Raf smiled and shook his head. The man really did act like a kid sometimes.

"We are currently in the process of weeding out a spy," Optimus Prime told him. Fowler's eyebrows wobbled around.

"A spy?" he exclaimed, "Why didn't anyone tell me!" Ratchet put a hand to his forehead. If there was one thing that they didn't need right now it was more human commotion than Miko alone would cause. "I coulda called in a SWAT team or some old buddies from back in the War Effort or-"

"Agent Fowler. Please pardon the decision, but that is the reason that we did not alert you," Optimus Prime told him. All at once the dark man's spirits dropped. He hated when he was left out of the loop on something, and even more when, what would normally be what people wanted the most from his line of work, rejected. "Due to the circumstances we've found it best to simply send Miko and Jack to search for the-"

"Hold the phone, you sent a boy and girl to hunt down this spy?" Fowler's jaw dropped, "...a boy and...a Miko?..." Ratchet's expression became doubtful. He'd have been lying if he were to say that Fowler's suspicions were without reason. "At least let me get some of the Pentagon folk to-"

"Agent Fowler, we have it under control," Optimus Prime assured him. Meanwhile, Raf's brows were furrowing. Once that loud static had sounded the line had just gone dead.

"Guys?...hello?...anyone yet?..." Raf asked the communications device he had hooked into his computer.

"...af...R-raf?..." a male voice coughed back disjointedly. His eyes going wide, Raf began typing various things into the computer.

"Jack!" he yelped, "What happened? Are you guys-"

"That thing got Miko!" he yelled back, "pulled her up through the ceiling!"

"WHAT!" Bulkhead and Fowler exclaimed. Ratchet's hand tightened on his head. "That's it!" the green giant yelled as he took a step towards the hallway Jack and Miko had disappeared down, "I'm going after-"

"How?" Ratchet asked. Bulkhead looked down at the small hole that the humans called a doorway then trailed his line of vision to his feet. Angrily he slammed his fist on the ground.

"SCRAP!" he yelled.

"Don't worry!" Jack's voice hacked. An engine could be heard near him. "We're going to find her! Promise!" While Ratchet attempted to keep Bulkhead from unnecessarily tearing up any more of the base than he already had, Fowler was making his way to another door. He may not have been made of metal, but he knew that he had the most training out of any of the humans. And whether the Autobots wanted it or not he was going to help.

Miko's head was swimming. The last thing she could remember clearly was the look on Jack's face as she was pulled upwards...and then...nothing. Her strength returning a bit, Miko began to wriggle around, her body testing its limbs. Having confirmation that she was still alive, the girl creaked her eyes open. The vision was blurry, but it was enough to be able to see. All around her lights burned into her line of sight in the distance. Dead ahead was someone hunched over in a chair quickly clacking away at a keyboard. Whoever it was could've given Raf a good run for his money when it came to technical support from the sound of it.

After another strained attempt to move, Miko looked to her right. Her vision was returning. She could now see what was holding her to the wall. The same web-like substance that had yanked her up was now her prison, like a fly in a spider's trap. She pulled again and fell back with a heaving chest. Her face was sweating. The action didn't go unnoticed. Soon a shadow fell over her weak body causing her to look up. The person that had been at the computer wasn't a person at all. It was a Transformer. One that she'd seen before...back at the ancient laboratory that the Autobots had investigated.

"Oh...Tarantulas...I get it now..." her voice slurred lazily. The small Transformer gave a bit of a scoff and lifted a claw to the underside of her chin. "So...ready to get your ass kicked?..." she chuckled. Tarantulas blinked and let out a short laugh.

"Oh why yes, please proceed," he played along. Miko struggled a few times while her mouth tried to bite at him. Tarantulas just remained standing in front of her, amusement filling his Spark. Eventually, the girl fell back into the suspension panting. "That all you got?" he antagonized. Lifting an eyebrow, Miko lifted her head and spat at him. Tarantulas eyed the dribble of saliva trickling down his cheek for a moment.

"GYAH!" Miko cried as his fist slammed into her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite think I heard your response..." Tarantulas muttered. Ignoring the pain, Miko grinned up at him.

"You just wait till my buddies get here..." she told him, "They'll-"

"They'll do nothing if I got you," Tarantulas finished, "Tis' the folly of "good guys". Threaten something they hold dear and they'll do whatever it takes to get them back. By the time you're in their grasp their hands'll be cold and lifeless and I'll be laughing like this!" Egotistically, the small Transformer let loose one of the most insane spouts of joy that Miko had ever heard in her life. He obviously was not a mentally stable Transformer. "Which brings me to you...what should I do with you once this all blows over?...have you impregnated with Anglemois? Feast on your still-living body? Or maybe I can dump you in acid and have you take on a clown-like persona..."

"You know about the Joker?" Miko's jaw dropped. Tarantulas swerved his brows.

"Kid, I've been through multiple universes. I think I'd know one of the greatest villains of all time," he replied. Miko was going to continue questioning the bug when he strolled back over to the computers. A second later his hands were in the air waving around furiously.

"Those pieces of slag!" Tarantulas hissed smashing his fist into the console, "They've already gotten past the final defenses!" Miko grinned.

"That's whatcha get when you try to down Arcee," she sang, "Cyber ninja bitch is gonna lay the smack down on you." Tarantulas' optic twitched.

"You shut your mouth!" he griwked, "Now...let's see...just need to program the flamethrowers too..." Miko's eyes lit up. He needed to get things in place still...meaning it was up to her to save them! The perfect mission for the perfect distracter!

"So...you listen to Slash Monkey?" she asked, "Of course you know if that's not your style I understand. Staying cooped up in these labs all day will do that to a bot I'm sure-"

"I said quiet!" Tarantulas barked.

"And what if I don't want to?" Miko shot back, "I mean I am a teenage girl. It's what I do. Now I was thinking maybe more along the lines of some jazz for you. I know a good place in town that can-"

"I...SAID...SHUT...UP!" Tarantulas roared taking a step towards her with each word until their faces were pressed together. The alarm that sounded retreated him back to the computer. "What! NO! They can't have...you just distracted...NO!"

"And it's all thanks to my big mouth," Miko boasted. Furious, Tarantulas pulled some sort of firearm out of the drawer next to him and began charging it.

"Yeah...definitely the Joker if you survive this..." he muttered. The shots that were fired though weren't his. Shaking, Tarantulas turned around to see the human girl free of her restraints and the female Autobot that released her crouched over in his doorway. Immediately Jack ran over and hugged Miko. Anger burning beneath her face, Arcee switched her targetting reticle to the purple Transformer. The guns were still smoking.

"WAIT!" Tarantulas held up a hand. In it was a button, "Unless you want more human casualties than you've ever had on your hands, you are going to back away! I've rigged the entire sewer system of Jasper with explosives! One press of this button and say buhbye to your friends' town!" A pang of hesitation hit Arcee. She didn't know what to do! Her target was right there...but if she tried anything...she couldn't... Reluctantly, the Cybertronian pocketed her weapons. Jack and Miko held each other in fright. There was no longer any doubt in Miko's mind that there was anything resembling sanity in the monster that was threatening them.

"So, that thing can level the town?" a new voice asked. Arcee, Miko, and Jack all looked behind Tarantulas in surprise.

"Why yes it...uh..." Uneasily, Tarantulas turned around. Before he could react, Agent Fowler had punched him clear in the jaw sending the device sailing to the ground next to him.

"Oh!...by Unicron, what the slag is your hand made of!" Tarantulas howled as he rolled around.

"Enough to take you down apparently," the human smirked kicking the button away from him. Grumbling in pain and misery, the Transformer flipped into its spider-mode and lifted its remaining legs up revealing a set of wheels.

"But not out!" Tarantulas yelled. Despite Arcee's quick shooting, the Predacon swerved out of the room and down the hall. He was headed the way that Fowler had come! Having had more time to become accustomed to the halls than Arcee had, he was in the main lobby within minutes.

"You are scrap!" Bulkhead yelled at the intruder. The only thing that the giant Autobot managed was toppling Tarantulas out of his beast-mode from the punch he barely missed him with. Shaking off the impact, the smaller Transformer climbed up the computer console that Ratchet normally worked at and began typing in things...coordinates. Arcee screeched into the open just as the Ground Bridge opened up.

"Till all are gone!" Tarantulas declared and ran into the portal. Bulkhead and Arcee began to take chase once Miko and Jack were off when the the medic interrupted.

"STOP!" Ratchet ordered. The vehicles braked painfully.

"What gives doc-bot?" Bulkhead growled, "We gotta go after him!" To their shock the Ground Bridge disappeared. Arcee and Bulkhead morphed back into robot-mode while Fowler came into the room panting. He needed to start going to the gym more often.

"No you don't. The coordinates he set were for a place you guys shouldn't ever have to go back to," Ratchet told them. Arcee and Bulkhead gave each other confused looks.

"Where did the spy evacuate to old friend?" Optimus Prime inquired. Ratchet closed his eyes.

"...Unicron."

-end of chapter-

Well this chapter took a while. More of an active one this time. More being revealed about Tarantulas. More being hinted at with Megatron. More mystery everywhere.

Honestly this fic would've probably ended by now had it not gotten the surprising amount of feedback that it did. Glad to amuse you all.

Here be epic Fowler: warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Human-Interference-306444852