CHAPTER 14
The explosion knocked everyone off their feet including Shadowstar who took the full brunt of it. The femme's body slammed hard onto the roof of the clock tower. Gasping, she forced herself into a sitting position. Her spark chamber was still open but the key no longer rested in it. It lay on the roof just out of grasping distance.
"No!" she gasped, reaching for the key. "Why?" Why did it reject me? What happened? This can't be how it ends. It has to make me normal!
The Autobots were also getting up. Prowl was the first to rise. He turned to the vampire femme. "Mistress!"
He tried to run toward her but an aura of energy surrounded him and he was lifted off the roof and pulled toward the pavement. Below stood Ratchet who had just arrived. He held his large magnets in front of him. "I'm sorry, kid," he said. "But you left me no choice."
Prowl glared down at the medic and tried to free himself from the pull.
Ratchet turned to Bumblebee who was just getting to his feet. "Get Sari's key!" he ordered.
Bee nodded and ran over to retrieve it. Just as he picked it up Shadowstar stood, her chest heaving as her discolored spark let out tiny waves of negative energy. Bumblebee noticed her frame was covered in a spidery array of cracks. "You shall not have it," she panted. "Not today."
Bumblebee stepped away from her. She can still move?
She came toward him, her steps uneven. She looked more like the living dead now. She reached out her hand. "Give me that key!" she ordered.
"No way!" he said, stepping toward the edge. "I'm not giving you anything. This doesn't belong to you and it doesn't work on you anyway."
"Then I'll make it work," she ground out.
She lunged toward him. Bee lost his footing and fell off the roof, plummeting to the pavement. He hit the cement, creating a large jagged crater.
"Bumblebee!" Sari exclaimed running over to him. "Are you all right?" she asked.
He groaned and pulled himself into a sitting position. "I'm fine," he answered, rubbing his head. "Nothing an oil bath won't cure." He held out his hand. "Here." Her key dangled before her.
"My key!" she exclaimed, grabbing it and tying it around her neck. "I thought I'd never see it again."
"Well it wasn't hard to get," he said, looking up at the tower. "Considering that it rejected our vampire friend and did a number on her frame."
Shadowstar leaned against the support beams and glared down at the yellow Autobot. The damage let out tiny sparks and she still panted heavily. I'm low on energy. I need energy. That's when she noticed Bulkhead who was only now getting up. He'd been the only one who hadn't ended up going off the tower roof besides her. Ah... she turned to him. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I just hope he's not bitter. He looks kind up... watered down.
The green Autobot saw her coming and pushed himself into a standing position. "No you don't! You stay away from me!"
Though she was in pain she could still smile. "Don't worry," she said, her gait unsteady. "This won't hurt a bit." She reached out her hand but before she could get too close she was hit by a static charge and knocked to the roof. Grunting, she pushed herself up and looked over her shoulder. There was only one person with static charges around here and he was starting to get on her nerves.
The annoying yellow mecha had returned. "Not this time, Buffy," he said.
She made a face. Buffy? "You again," she said, her voice filled with disgust. She pushed herself into a standing position and faced him, though she looked a bit off balance. "I've had about enough of you. I think it's about time I dealt with you properly."
"You're in no condition to deal with anyone," he said, smirking.
She raised her head and looked down her nose at him. "No? Well let me prove you wrong!"
She lunged at him, her hands extended like claws. This time he didn't have a chance to move. She grabbed him by the arms and latched her fangs into his neck. A bright blue light surrounded both transformers. Bumblebee screamed in agony as his energy was drained out of his body. She would have drained him completely but Bulkhead's wrecking ball slammed into her and knocked her away from Bee. She fell off the roof and slammed into the ground, deepening the crater Bumblebee had started.
Bulkhead ran over to Bumblebee. "Are you all right?" he asked helping him sit up.
"I think so," Bumblebee said, grabbing his neck. His eyes bugged out and he stared at his hand which was covered in robot blood. "She bit me!" he exclaimed, beginning to freak out.
"Calm down," the bigger Autobot said.
"How can I calm down?!" Bee exclaimed, his eyes wide with panic. "She bit me! I'm gonna turn into a zombie!"
Bulkhead couldn't say anything to make him feel better. He just might be right. "We don't know that," he said.
They heard laughter from below. Both robots moved to the edge of the tower. Shadowstar was getting off the ground. She stood up, her balance a little off. She looked up at the Autobots on the roof. "Don't worry about your friend," she said, wiping the mech fluid off her chin. "I didn't give him the virus. He's not worth it. Not from they way he tastes anyway. But he did give mesomething useful." As she spoke the cracks in her frame began to disappear. Her spark returned to its normal color and pulsation then the chamber closed, covering it with the protective metal layer of her cockpit. "Let me show you my gratitude." she jumped into the air, the thrusters in her feet activated and rocketing her toward the two Autobots.
Meanwhile Optimus had run over to Ratchet when he'd noticed the medic standing a short distance away. "You're here!" he said, looking relieved. "Were you able to come up with an anti-virus?"
The medic nodded. "Yes," he replied, nodding. Then he added. "But it won't work by itself."
Prime stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"I need it to be injected into his spark," he replied. "The only way I'll be able to do that is by using Sari's key."
The human girl's eyes widened. "My key?" she said.
He nodded.
"But," she looked down at her key which was glowing dimly. "The key rejected him the last time I tried."
"We'll have to make it work," he told her. "If that femme is able to forcefully jam it into her twisted spark despite resistance it should work for Prowl too. I'll use my magnets to keep him still and you jump onto his chest and force the key into his spark. It will be hard but doable."
"I hope so," Optimus said looking up at the tower where the femme was fighting Bumblebee and Bulkhead. "We're running out of time."
Sari looked up at the tower then over where Prowl lay pinned to the ground by a magnetic force. He still struggled but he seemed to be slowing down. She nodded. "Yes, you're right." she pulled off her key and handed it to Ratchet. "Do what you have to."
He took the key. "I'll do this much but you'll have to do the rest," he said again. "I can't give it to him and hold him down at the same time."
She cast another uncertain glance at Prowl. "Uh.. sure," she said hesitantly. "I'll do what I can."
Ratchet held the key up and pulled out something. He brought it close to the key. The key let out a flash of light then went dark. The medic dropped his hand and handed the key back to the girl. "Here," he said. "Now let's get this done."
She nodded taking back the key. She turned away from him and ran over to where Prowl lay on the pavement. He was no longer struggling and seemed to be exhausted. She sighed in relief and started to carefully climb onto his chest. When he saw her coming he bared his fangs and growled. She took a step back, afraid to get to close to his face. He glared at her but didn't seem to be thinking of doing anything else. Maybe he knew she was was planning on doing and wanted her to do it. Or at least that was a nice thought.
Sighing again, she stepped forward until she reached the center of his chest plate. Once there she straightened up and stood over it, holding out her key. The spot, as if sensing the key, began to open, revealing his discolored spark. It wasn't blue anymore but a purplish green color. She stared at it a moment then began to bring the key down toward it. She felt resistance coming from the key and his spark as well ,but not too much. She kept on bringing it closer, forcing it into his spark even though the resistance grew stronger the closer she got.
Finally the key went in. A bright blue light flashed and surrounded the cyber ninja's frame. He le out a pained wail and thrashed around, almost knocking the girl off. She held on tight, refusing the remove the key until it was finished. It had to fix him it just had it.
Finally he stopped thrashing and Sari saw that his spark had returned to a healthy blue color. She removed the key and straightened up. As she did she noticed Prowl staring at her, his expression more normal. "Uh Prowl?" she said. "Are you okay?"
He nodded slowly. "What happened?" he asked.
"You don't remember?" she asked, blinking.
"A little."
"You got some kind of weird vampire virus that made you a slave, and you stole my key, and kidnapped me, and beat Bumblebee up and..." she looked over her shoulder at the fight on the roof of the clock tower. "We're all in big trouble."
Prowl pushed himself into a sitting position and looked where she was looking. He saw Shadowstar fighting Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Her.. He started to stand. "I have to help."
"But wait!" she exclaimed, scrambling onto his shoulder. "You can't do that. Not after you just got fixed. She could do it again and-"
"I have to," he cut her off. "She won't do it again. Besides...this is personal."
He took her off his shoulder and gently set her on the ground. He pulled out his shuricans and jumped toward the roof before she could say anything more.
Bumblebee was low on energy. Since the femme had bitten him he couldn't do much fighting and most of his moves were sloppy as well as his thoughts. He did manage to avoid getting punched but not kicked. Shadowstar seemed to have taken all his hyperactive energy when she drained him so she was faster than before. She'd nearly knocked him off the roof quite a few times but he'd always managed to regain his balance.
The yellow transformer shot at her with his stungers but the shots went wide and he missed her by a mile. She laughed at his attempt and kicked him in the face again. "Try aiming!" she taunted.
He flew backward, screaming, until his back slammed into Bulkhead's chest. "You all right?" the green Autobot asked his comrade, looking down at him in concern.
Bee nodded. "Just a little low on energy." he admitted.
"Then get behind me," Bulkhead ordered. "I'll take care of her."
Bumblebee quickly obeyed the order, scrambling behind the much bigger bot. Bulkhead faced the femme and wound up his wrecking ball. He threw it with all his might. She raised a hand and the rope tangled around her arm. "You're just making things easier," she laughed. She grabbed the rope and heaved.
The green Autobot yelped in surprise as he was lifted off his feet and careened past her. He smacked into the roof. She untangled the rope and swung him around again. This time he slammed into Bumblebee, flattening him.
"Get off me!" the yellow transformers screamed, trying to wiggle free.. "You're crushing me!"
"It wasn't my fault!" the green Autobot shouted, trying to get up but looking like a turtle who landed on its shell. He wiggled his arms around, attempting to right himself. He wasn't doing a very good job. 'I can't get up!"
Shadowstar laughed, walking over to the two Autobots. "You're pathetic," she said. "You can't even defeat a simple femme." she pulled out her gun. "I think it's about time I stop playing games. You're not worth it." she aimed her gun. "It's time to take your punishment."
Just when she was going to pull the trigger a throwing star zipped through the air and lodged into her wrist. She cried out and stared at the star in surprise. "What?" she looked up and saw Prowl standing on the edge of the roof. She noticed he looked more like his old self than before, like something had changed."You! But you're-"
"Not anymore," he cut her off. He held up his arm, holding it close to himself. He held two more stars between his fingers. "I think it's about time I dealt with you properly."
She glared at him, yanking the star out of her wrist. "I don't know how you regained control of yourself nor do I much care," she growled. "Because either way you're going to regret this."
"I doubt it," he said flatly.
She smirked. "Let me prove you wrong."
The femme jumped at him, swinging her leg in a round house kick. He dodged the blow and hit her in the face with his hand. She screamed and jumped away, activating the thrusters in her feet and shooting into the air. Prowl wasn't too far behind. He jumped right at her, activating his own thrusters, and catching up with her. She stared down at him wide eyed. How can he?
Now he was right in front of her. He took in her surprised expression before he swung at her and made contact with her side. She yelped and backed away, holding her side. It was only dented but it hurt. She glared at him, baring her fangs, her red optics flaring with hatred. "You're going to regret this."
He frowned. "I already have," he told her.
She raised her gun and shot at him. The blow hit him in the shoulder, knocking him away and downward. He fell, holding the damaged area. Above the femme banked then dived toward him, her teeth bared and her hands stretched out in front of her, her slim black fingers like talons. They slammed into him, grabbing his arms in a iron grip and pushing downward toward the pavement below. He struggled against her hold then lifted his arm the best he could and dug one of his throwing stars into her arm.
She screamed and released his arm. He pulled it back then punched her in the face. She covered her face with her hands and he was free. He regained his balance and shot away from her, back into the air. She lowered her hands, seeing her own blood on them then looked up and spotted his shrinking figured. She screamed again and shot up after him. "I'll kill you!"
Prowl looked over his shoulder and saw the femme catching up with him. He turned to face her and swung at her when she got close. She jerked back just in time to avoid the blow. She raised her gun again and fired at him. "This is all your fault!" she yelled, too hysterical to really think about what she was saying. "If you had just-"
"How is it my fault?" he demanded, throwing one of his stars at her. "You're the cause of all of this! and it's not like youare innocent of anything! You're nothing but a Decepticon."
"Rather be a Decepticon than an racist Autobot!" she growled, catching it. "At least they didn't try to take me apart like some kind of experiment, unlike your kind." she threw it back at him.
He ducked and came up behind her. "Who did that to you?" he asked.
"As if you didn't know, Autobot," she hissed, turned to face him. She was not about to let him sneak up behind her. "You Autobots are all the same. If something is different you experiment on it and try to see how it works. You all think you're better than everyone else. Well I won't let it happen again. I'd rather be knocked offline than let it happen again."
"You might just get your wish."
"Not if I can help it." she fired at him again. His body wavered and vanished. She turned around just as he kicked at her. She took it in the chest and flew backward, spiraling head over thrusters. When she righted herself she flew toward him. "I will have that key and I will become normal!" she wailed. "That is all I care about."
He dodged a wild blow. "Then you'll lose all the abilities you have," he pointed out. Not that he wouldn't mind her losing some of those abilities, like the one that made him a zombie for instance...
"Do you think I care?" she demanded. "Do you think I like being the way I am?" she grinned. "Of course some things I'd still be able to do even as a normal transformer." she pointed at him. "I'd enjoy seeing the things I consider toys in pain either way... and when I do become normal, and I will, I'll make sure you're the first to know."
He frowned at her. "That's not going to happen," he said flatly.
She smirked. "No?" she asked. "Let me prove you wrong." she fired shot after shot, causing Prowl to duck and weave rapidly to avoid the blasts of burning plasma. "I'm done talking. You'll never understand anyway. Not you or your little friends. It's time to say good bye and when I'm finished with you I'm going to tear your friends apart piece by piece!"
No you won't.
Eventually she stopped firing and he was able to make his own move but, just as he was getting ready to, she shot toward him and grasped his neck in one of her hands. She raced across th sky with him in front until they met a building. The impact sent a shock wave through the building and into the pavement which knocked everyone else over.
Prowl struggled against her hold but couldn't break free. She aimed a punch at his face and hit him so hard his optic visor came off and fell to the ground far below. A few seconds later he and the femme were following the visors path toward the ground.
A/N
Ever notice that Prowl is the only Autobot whop can fly without help? Hehehehe. I REALLY don't want to kill her. I just quite figure out what I'm gonna do with her though.....