Transformers 3 concept

Chapter 14

Get the party started

Alex slipped into the passenger seat of the squad car. Princeton looked at her, a line appearing above his visor.

"Don't look at me like that. You know perfectly well I couldn't go to school at a time like this." She said.

"You get it?" he asked.

"Yeah." She said simply.

"Good." He smiled. "Great. That's a relief."

"But will it help?" she looked at him, then suddenly frowned. "Will you take off those stupid glasses already?"

"You won't like it…" he said, fingering the frameless glasses.

"I don't care. Take it off."

He hesitated, then pulled them off, looking down before giving Alex a sidelong glance. He gave a tiny smile, feeling rather exposed.

Alex's eyes widened, then screwed shut. "Put them back on, put them back on!"

Slightly insulted but understanding her reaction, he slipped the glasses back on. "Told you."

"Still, geez! I'll never get mad about that visor again! Seriously, that's messed up!" she wrinkled her nose in memory.

"Alright, we're good on that. Now do you want to help me with this job or not?" he scowled again.

"Yeah, of course I want to help. Why wouldn't I help? This is just, like, the most important thing that's ever happened."

"Don't get snippy. We have work to do." He frowned, then the car pulled away.

The blue Sierra weaved through traffic, waiting for just the right moment…

Buildings grew bigger, the streets became more crowded. People walked along the sidewalk, blissfully unaware.

"Battlefrost reporting. Beginning distraction. You in position, Cabbie?"

"I'm ready when you are, Frost!" he said excitedly, as usual.

"Cabbie…" she stopped, hesitating.

"Yeah?"

"Just… Be careful, ok?" she said quickly, managing to get the warning out before the program stopped her.

There was silence for a moment. "I will, Frost. You too."

She nodded, knowing he couldn't hear her, but not really caring. Something caught in her throat at the sudden thought that something might go horribly wrong for him. This was the 'bot's first time in action. He could get over-excited, or forget something important. What if this was the last time she ever talked to him?

She was about to tell Cabbie one last thing when the Program shut off her comm. link.

"odds of success are highest at this time. Initiating distraction procedure." Battlefrost nearly laughed at the Program's word choice, but the disappointment of not being able to say goodbye to Cabbie depleted her sense of humor.

With a sigh, she yanked her front wheels sideways, crashing into the car beside her. The car spun out, colliding with yet another vehicle. Battlefrost turned again, crashing into car after car, sending them spinning into other cars and buildings. Organics ran along the sidewalk, trying sometimes un-successfully to escape the run-away cars.

In seconds, the street was a mass of totaled cars and cries of pain and panic. And Battlefrost didn't stop there.

Slowing to a stop, she sat there a moment absorbing the chaos.

And then she transformed.

Fleshlings screamed at the sight of her. She responded with gunshots. Some of the totaled cars tried to get away. She responded by tearing them apart with her claws.

Blood covered metal, and for a split second she observed her red servos in horror. But the program took over then, and she laughed. She laughed loud and long, and continued shooting and ripping and just asking the Autobots to come and get her.

Sam sighed, watching yet another customer leave the shop. His eyes were beginning to droop, as they used to when he had a long day in college.

Sam's new boss, a chubby man who Sam couldn't remember the name of for the life of him, noticed. The man looked at the door, then at Sam.

"Hey, new dude. It's almost closing. No-one else is gonna come in. Go ahead, leave a bit early. You worked hard today, and you earned it." He smiled kindly.

Sam gave the man a thankful smile. "Thanks, man." He said, grabbing his jacket and heading outside.

He looked up and down the street, frowning. Bee was gone. Again.

Annoyed that he would have to explain to Alex why he was arriving home in a taxi, he stepped to the curb and held out a hand, trying to catch a taxi-driver's eye. It didn't take long for one to pull up. Sam slid into the back seat, telling the man his address.

The driver looked back and nodded, flashing Sam a smile. The drier looked young, with shaggy brown hair and a round-ish face. His eyes were an odd shade of reddish-brown, probably with colored contacts.

The driver turned, returning his attention to the road. Sam, bored, decided to call Mikaela, if just to say he was on his way home.

He pulled out his phone, hit speed dial and held the phone to his ear. It rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, 'Kela. I'm on my way home. How's Alex?"

"She's not home yet."

Sam frowned, looking out the window of the cab. The driver was taking an odd way to his home. But he was more concerned with why Alex wasn't home. School should have ended nearly an hour ago.

"Maybe she missed the bus."

"She has a cell phone."

"The battery died?"

"Possibly, but still…"

"Don't worry about it, she'll be fine. Hold up a second…" he took his ear away from the phone for a second. "Hey, man? You're going the wrong way. You want directions?"

The cab driver didn't seem to have heard him. So he tried again, leaning forward and reaching to put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Dude? Hey, wrong…" He cut off as his hand missed the man's shoulder. He looked down at it, and blanched in horror. His hand hadn't missed. His hand had gone straight through the kid's shoulder.

"Shit!" he threw himself back, then tried the door. It was locked, and the pin refused to move. Kicking it uselessly he held the phone back up to his ear.

"Sam? Sam, what's wrong?"

"Mikaela, lock the doors. Close the blinds, stay somewhere safe. Call our parents, tell them to do the same, okay?" He said frantically, eyes racking the cab's interior for an escape route.

"Sam, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"I don't know, alright? But, just… stay inside. Don't leave for anything unless 'Bee's with you. Try to get a hold of Alex, tell her to… tell her to call Princeton. He should keep her safe."

"What the hell is going on, Sam?"

He stared at the still non-responsive driver-hologram. "I think I just got inside a Decepticon, 'Kaela."

Mikaela swore, then suddenly the phone went dead.

"Shit," he said, staring at the screen. The 'Con must've blocked the signal.

He kicked at the seat in front of him, then he had an idea. Pulling out Bee's keys, he began to rip at the car's interior. He slashed the seats, scratched the door panels, and was about to take a smash at the window when the seatbelt wrapped itself around him like a snake.

"You mind, man? It took me forever to get the interior right." Came a metallic voice from somewhere. The hologram still hadn't moved. Looking out the window, Sam noticed that the buildings were growing few and far between, and the cab was picking up speed.

Then, suddenly Sam was thrown violently against the door as the cab swerved, narrowly avoiding a blue Ferrari. The cab said something in Cybertronian that sounded suspiciously like a swear, then shot off before the Ferrari could turn around. The blue speedster turned and gave chase.

And the race was on.

A red, sleek 'bot shot along the highway. She had skates on her feet, which nearly threw her down the street, but she managed to keep up with the speed of her feet quite nicely.

"ohslag,ohslag,ohslag…." She swore as she flew down the pavement. "Don't let me be late, oh please, Primus don't let me be too late!"

Suddenly she skidded to a stop, just narrowly avoiding being crushed by a large, tan robot.

"Ooh, little Autovots! I like zis Planet!" the robot laughed, bending down for a better look. This gave the small, humanoid looking 'bot a better look at the 'con's faceplate. It kept shifting and moving, with sharp, needle-like teeth. Then the teeth disappeared and a red lens descended down over one of it's eyes. "It haz no insignia, perhaps it iz not an Autovot." But then the lens moved sideways, becoming a visor. "Vho cares? Let's kill it!" the Decepticon lowered a cannon.

With a swear, the small 'bot took a step back, then shot of in the opposite direction. She had no hope of winning, not without backup. But she couldn't call anyone, there was too much going on at the moment for anyone to be available.

But there was one thing she could do.

Changing her course, she shot off again, leaving only a cloud of dust in her wake. The 'Con couldn't even attempt to keep up, so instead, he headed towards the next nearest Cybertronian signal.