TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED – KALEIDOSCOPE
Chapter 21: Ghost in the Machine - Part 3.
"As you can see on our footage from the scene, one of the main warehouses in this compound owned by Sumdac Systems has been nearly completely destroyed earlier tonight by a devastating fire, reducing it to but a burnt-out shell as well as turning most of the machines it housed into ruined lumps of melted slag.
"With the maniacal arsonist Pyro Goblin still securely behind bars, the authorities have yet to declare what might have triggered this particular incident, be it foul play once again or just an unfortunate freak accident - but the investigation is still ongoing and we've been told that they are not yet ruling out any options.
"In other news, the infamous trio of criminals wearing animal-masks have struck again in Detroit; this time brazenly targeting the international jewellery exhibition that was hosted on-"
Turning off the late night/early morning news update, Optimus reached over the old couch he was sitting behind and placed the small TV-set in his hand back down on the table in front of it while taking care not to disturb the little human slumbering below.
Looking down, the giant robot noticed that Sari had managed to kick off some of the blanket in her sleep as its bottom-half was now draped down over the side of the couch instead of over her legs. After reaching down and rectifying the situation by carefully pulling the blanket back properly over the little girl, Optimus leaned back and reassumed his resting position - his back against the wall behind the old couch and his arms crossed over his chest as he closed his optics and powered down for the night.
The city of New Detroit might've had its shares of troubles and incidents going on, but at least for this odd couple that'd made the old abandoned car-factory into their home, it had been a pretty quiet and serenely uneventful night.
"Uuurhyaa!" Bulkhead roared a battle-cry as he launched at a set of manipulator arms coming out of the floor and tore them apart from their anchoring with a quick and vicious bear hug.
«Ka-Crash! Clang! Clatter!»
As plumes of dust and electrical sparks sprayed up from the devices' fracturing, the Autobot threw the uprooted cranes haphazardly to the side before turning back to the other Autobots exuberantly.
"Hah! Who needs sensitive," he scoffed. "Smashing stuff IS fun!"
"Okay. Not really what I meant earlier, Bulkhead," Arcee commented while sheathing her twin swords into her backpack. "But you may as well keep hold of that for the moment."
As broken cranes and smoking bits of debris clanged and lay cluttered across the floor all around them, the group of robots now took a moment to gather themselves as they had finally managed to neutralize all the threats in the room.
"So... What exactly caused this to happen in the first place?" Prowl asked whilst brushing dust off shoulder.
"Yeah..." Bumblebee chimed in as he kicked at one of the broken crane-pieces at his feet. "Did Wheeljack get some of Teletraan's wires crossed during the repairs, or...?"
"Hey!" the scientist snapped, clearly offended.
"I doubt it," Ratchet replied calmly as he stood up. "Not even Wheeljack could mess up this bad."
"Hah, see? Not even I could-! ...Wait."
"Anyway, we need to get to the bridge," the medic continued unabated. "Bulkhead! Take care of the door!"
"Roger that, Doc-bot!" the large Autobot replied as he stepped forward, confidently clanging his big fists together.
Seconds later, the sealed doors were violently smacked outwards out of the doorframe, followed by the Autobots quickly filing out and rushing down the dark hallway as a group.
"Move it everyone!" Ratchet barked as he led the charge. "Hmph...! First the fake distress-signal that led us into an ambush, and now the Orion's been turned on us. I promise you, if all this is coincidental then I'm a stinking Quintesson!" he angrily scoffed.
"But then how in the world did whoever's responsible manage to do this?" Arcee asked as they could already see more manipulator arms deploying out of the walls up ahead of them.
"The 'how's' and 'who's' can wait. All that matters right now is getting Teletraan-1 back under control, pronto!"
"If you need speed then I'M your bot!" the yellow youngster declared as he suddenly raced ahead of the group, using the car wheels mounted on the back of his legs to boost his speed.
"Bumblebee, you moron! Get back here!" Ratchet shouted out after him. "We need to stick together!"
"Sorry, Doc, but like you said, speed is of the essence! And this looks like a job for wheels on heels!" Bumblebee called back confidently as he quickly zipped and weaved pasted the manipulator arms that sprang out in his way like a slalom skier, proving too fast and nimble to be caught.
However, his smirk was wiped off his face as more heavy-duty defense-weapons, namely two laser-turrets, popped out of the walls and started firing upon him.
"?! Ah!"
As the young-bot franticly tried to weave past the laser-shots now flying in his path as well, a large panel in the floor suddenly split and opened underneath him - his forward-momentum causing his body to fly across the deep gap and smack against its far edge at chest-level.
"Oof!" he exclaimed from the impact before clawing desperately onto the floor in front of him to keep himself from falling down further. "Gha! Help!"
"Bumblebee!" the others called as they stormed forward, the five of them together doing their best to make short work of the manipulator arms in their way.
The whirr of something mechanical turning on their pivots caused Bumblebee to look up from his position and grimace as he realized the laser-turrets were now locking directly onto his helpless form.
But the yellow Autobot's screams of panic got caught in his throat as the pink energy from Ratchet's magnets suddenly grabbed onto him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him backwards out of the hole in the floor, just in time to avoid the lasers as they peppered his previous position.
The two turrets immediately swiveled back around to pursue their target, but before they could let loose another volley, they were subsequently destroyed by a direct hit from a wrecking-ball and a rocket punch respectively.
As the panels in the floor closed back together by themselves, Bumblebee sat where he'd been unceremoniously plopped down in front of the trap as the other Autobots crowded round him, panting from the effort it took of getting through the obstacles in their way in time
"...Ph...Phew. That was a close one," Bumblebee breathed as he craned his neck to look back up at them. "Thanks, Doc-bot-"
«Clang!»
"OW!"
"Now will you listen?!" Ratchet snapped after delivering a quick slap to the back of the young-bot's head for his stupidity. "Teletraan-1 has turned all of the ship's internal defenses against us, meaning that if we'll want to get through this in one piece then we'll need to stick together!"
"It's not my fault," Bumblebee whined as he abashedly rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. "I thought I only had those annoying cranes to worry about! I wasn't expecting, well... That!"
"The Orion may be old, but it was still a military ship! Meaning it has plenty of ways to defend itself," Arcee explained as she helped the youngster onto his feet. "Heck, all those cranes are even partially just meant to serve as the ship's self-maintenance system."
"You're kidding me..." the yellow Autobot whined weakly.
"Granted, most of the Orion's internal defenses were deactivated way back when the ship was taken out of active service... That is, at least, until recently when some 'bot had the bright thought that we should go and turn them all back on," Ratchet harrumphed with an accusatory, sidelong glance.
From where he was picking up and reattaching his hand, Wheeljack immediately whirled around to protest.
"Oh-no. You are NOT pinning this on me. I thought it simply would be a good idea to bring all the defenses back online after we'd - relatively recently, I might add - had the Decepticon Overlord himself visiting aboard our ship! And you AGREED with me!"
Ratchet grimaced in frustration, unable to rebuke the scientist's words - but before the argument could continue, the voice of Teletraan-1's once more sounded throughout the ship.
"Warning: Engine reactor output starting to dangerously exceed safe levels. Remedial action recommended."
"What?! The reactor?!" Ratchet exclaimed as he and the scientist looked up at the message.
"Uh-oh. I knew that I didn't like that particular hum coming from the engine," Wheeljack said, referring to the low rumbling that had been present in the background ever since the ship's generators had activated. "This is sooo very not good..."
"What? Is the ship's engine gonna blow?!" Bumblebee asked in alarm.
"We'll never be able to go home if that happens!" Bulkhead added.
"Oh, it's worse than that," Wheeljack told them. "If the reactor goes critical like that, then it will likely detonate with enough force to take out most, if not all of this entire ship!"
"WHAT?!" the young-bots shouted together.
"We CAN'T let that happen!" Arcee declared fiercely.
"Over my spark-less shell it will,'" Ratchet hissed darkly. "Let's stop standing around gawking at each other! We need to keep going!" he called out, prompting the group to scramble onwards once more.
Back at the bridge, a yellow dot started to blink on a schematic of the ship's hull, signifying that something had been activated. ...Or opened.
"The only way the engine reactor could end up like this is if someone intentionally disabled every single one of its safety protocols," Wheeljack declared as they ran.
"Then I guess we're indeed dealing with some hostile force here, and not just a freak accident," Prowl surmised.
But as the Autobots continued running, Bulkhead blinked and brought a hand up to his audio-receiver as he noticed a sound growing in the distance.
"Hm? Hey guys, what's that rumbling sound?"
"What, you mean the noise from the engines?" Bumblebee asked as he ran alongside him.
"No, this is something different," Arcee called out as she picked up on it as well. "The engine room is at the back of the ship, but this is something's ahead of us. And it's coming closer...!"
The rumbling grew louder, and the source became apparent as a rapid torrent of seawater came crashing round a corner and down the dark corridor towards them, smashing into the surprised Autobots with tremendous force.
Bracing his arms against the walls, Bulkhead managed to weather the turbulent water splashing past him at chest-level while also serving as an anchor for Wheeljack and Arcee who clung onto the larger Autobot from either side. But while Ratchet managed to magnetically secure his grip against the right wall, Prowl and Bumblebee - the two lithest members of the group - failed to successfully brace themselves and were washed away and sent adrift by the powerful stream.
"SCRAAAAaaaaaaappp~!" Bumblebee cried out as he and Prowl were helplessly carried away back down the winding hallway.
Watching them go, Ratchet groaned out loud before turning to Bulkhead and the two 'bots clinging onto him.
"You guys find a way around and keep heading for the bridge! I'll get the young-bots and try to shut down the engine reactor manually instead!"
"Ok! Good luck!" Wheeljack called, giving a thumbs-up where he hanged under Bulkhead's right arm.
"Be careful!" Arcee added.
After giving a brief nod in reply, the medibot released his magnetic hold on the wall and allowed the rushing torrent to carry himself down the corridors as well.
Soon, Ratchet had directly hacked into and closed one of the ship's steel gates after them, allowing him and the two young-bots a moments respite as the water-level receded to ankle-height around them.
"Ptui! That... was unpleasant," Prowl groaned as he gingerly sat up in the water.
"Urgh. I think there's something stuck in my grill," Bumblebee groaned where he lay on his back, rummaging around in his waist-section until he pulled out a live, flailing fish.
Sitting up and throwing the marine animal in distaste over his shoulder, he accidentally managed to hit Prowl straight in the face, much to the latter's annoyance.
"Hey, watch it you klutz," he said as he peeled the creature off his face and carefully deposited it into the shallow waters around him.
"What's the matter, Prowl? I though you were interested in studying the animals on this planet up-close," Bumblebee smirked mockingly back at him.
"You are simply intolerable, do you know that?!"
"And you're nothing but a joyless, self-righteous-"
"Enough!" their captain barked, making the two wince. "We need to get up and moving before something else happens-!" he managed to get out just before he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck as another set of manipulator arms emerged from the walls and pounced upon the trio.
As Ratchet and Bumblebee got picked up and thrown against a wall where they collapsed in undignified heaps next to each other, the yellow youngster peeled his face off the floor and grumbled as his head remained half-submerged in the water.
"...Y'know, I know it's not really his fault and all... But I think I'm really starting to hate Wheeljack, just a little."
"Hmph. Trust me, I know the feeling," Ratchet replied with a groan.
"*Hatch-VrMmm!*" Wheeljack sounded, producing a noise that was a cross between a sneeze and a revving car engine.
"You ok, Jackie?" Arcee asked as the trio had successfully made their way around the flooded parts of the ship and were now once again in full sprint forwards.
"*Hrk* I'm fine. Just still had some water in my carburetor there," he replied, coughing a little. "Anyways, get ready again, Bulkhead. We've got upcoming."
"No worries," the large Autobot called energetically as he led their charge towards the bridge. "I'm ready for anything!"
Consulting the ship-schematics displayed on the screen on his left forearm as they ran, Wheeljack was able to warn Bulkhead about the security-measures before they came upon them while using his car-lights to point out their exact locations.
"Okay, Bulkhead. Six steps ahead on the right wall!"
"Got it!" Bulkhead responded as he whipped forward one of his wrecking-balls and smashed apart a laser-turret as soon as it emerged out of a compartment in the wall.
"Now another on the opposite side in four!"
"Shot down!" Bulkhead called as he tugged back on the wire and jerked his arm to the side, causing the launched wrecking-ball to swing sideways and cave in the compartment-panels on the other wall before they could fully open, making the weapon unable to even deploy.
"Next are manipulator arms on each side in five!"
"Just let 'em at me!" he shouted as he reeled the ball back before leaping into the air towards the cranes as they emerged to grab hold of his arms, using his own bulk and forward momentum to tear the devices straight out of the wall.
"Good job, Bulkhead, but try to remember that this is still our ship," Arcee called forward as they followed. "We don't want to damage it too much."
"Don't worry, Arcee," Bulkhead laughed as he shook the damaged manipulator arms off himself. "I've got everything under control. Ha-ha-haa!"
"Sigh. I fear I may have created a monster," Arcee said quietly with a sagging head, earning a laugh out of Wheeljack beside her.
"Hah. Sure looks that way."
"Thick-bolted moron," Megatron sneered darkly as he observed Bulkhead
and the others run past through one of the ship's security sensors.
"You won't be able to keep laughing for much longer."
Moments later, the three were standing in front of the bridge - though to no one's great surprise, the entrance had been closed by thick steel doors, denying them access.
"Now remember; the bridge is extra heavily secured so we need to be prepared when we get in," the scientist warned as he tore open the switch panel next to the doorway and started tinkering with the exposed circuitry. "Now just give me a moment to finish hacking into the gates' controls and we should-"
"We don't got time for that," Bulkhead said as he came forward and started to wedge his claws in between the shut doors. "Leave it to me, Wheeljack. I'll be able to handle anything this ship can throw at me."
"Hmrh. As the system's designer, that kind of gives me mixed emotions..."
With a grunt of exertion, Bulkhead started to slowly pry the gates apart - the door's own servomechanism fighting back against every inch of gap he achieved.
"Come on, Bulkhead. You can do it," Arcee cheered him on as he struggled.
"Hngh... Almost there..." the large Autobot groaned through clenched teeth as he leaned his weight forward; putting all his power into dragging the gates away from each other.
However, the doors suddenly changed gears and immediately slid open of their own accord, causing Bulkhead to loose his balance at the sudden loss of resistance and stumble forwards into the room.
"Whoa-Whoaaah...! Oof!" he went as he tottered forward, flailing his arms wildly in attempt to steady himself before he finally fell on his front-side, smacking his large jaw against the floor.
But before he could pick himself back onto his feet, a pair of manipulator arms five times the size of the ones they'd encountered so far appeared out of the walls on either side of the room and clamped down around Bulkhead's torso, keeping the large Autobot's arms pinned as well.
"Bulkhead!" his companions called from the entrance as the two large cranes lifted him off the floor.
"Ghh! Hey! Let go!" he complained as he struggled against the secure grip the two cranes had on him, leaving him only able to feebly kick his legs around.
He froze however as a compartment opened on one of the arms, allowing a smaller crane with a blaster at the end of it to unfurl and aim itself at his head.
"*Gulp* That can't be good...!" he sweated nervously as the weapon was charging its laser, the glowing energy from the barrel quickly going from yellow to red.
Fortunately, the blaster then powered down and fell silent after a streak of light flashed across the smaller crane arm it was mounted on.
"Arcee!" Bulkhead exclaimed in relief to the femme who was now next to him in a stance with her swords as the severed crane-extension cluttered harmlessly onto the floor.
"Hang on. I'll get you out of there," she called as she went directly into a near 180-degree leftward swing with both swords towards one of the large manipulator arms - only for her blades to bounce off the crane's surface, producing little more than a few scratches on the metal.
"Wha-?!"
"That won't work, Arcee. The metal on these cranes is just too thick," Wheeljack said as he popped into view on the other side of Bulkhead. "Fortunately, I've got an alternative solution on hand, pun intended," he stated as he held up a hand and transformed it into its new plasma-cutter configuration. "I'll have you down in a nano-click, Bulkhead."
Activity from above them however caused the three to look up towards the ceiling, just in time to see more manipulator arms of the smaller variety deploy themselves and reach out towards them.
"...Okay, maybe two nano-clicks."
"Don't let up, you two! We need to get to that reactor in case the others don't get Teletraan-1 back under control in time!" Ratchet called as he and the others were busy fending off the manipulator arms around them.
But while they were making headway, the Autobots had to constantly be on the defensive as new obstacles continuously sprung up in their path. And as they moved about in order to avoid getting pinned down, the two younger 'bots eventually bumped against each other by accident with their backs.
"Hey, don't get in my way!" Prowl complained over his shoulder as he reaffirmed his kung fu stance, wielding shuriken in both hands in their chakram-mode.
"Me? I'm not the one standing around in the middle of the hallway like a lead weight!" he snapped back as he defended himself against the manipulator arms in front of him with his stingers."
"It's called moving with purpose," Prowl said through gritted teeth as he focused on the cranes on his own end. "Making each act count by moving with precision, wait for the right moment... And strike!" the cyber-ninja demonstrated as he sidestepped a crane just as it launched for him and quickly struck at its joints with the spinning chakrams, cutting it apart and disabling it.
"It's a much more efficient way of fighting than flailing all over the place like some frenzied scraplet," he finished as he returned to his stance, bringing the two back-to-back once more.
"Well, to me it just looks like you're lazing around while Ratchet and I do all the work," Bumblebee snorted as he kept firing his stingers, causing the 'bot behind him to let loose a growl of frustration.
Meanwhile, Ratchet was restraining one of the manipulator arms with his magnets and started moving his arms in front of himself in a circular pattern, causing the metal crane to twist and warp like a screw before finally being torn to pieces as its structure couldn't take the strain anymore.
Launching the still magnetized fragments to tear apart the two other cranes in front of him, Ratched then turned back towards where Prowl and Bumblebee were dealing with the remaining ones in the vicinity. However, as the amount of them had lessened, the two seemed now to be more preoccupied with bickering amongst themselves than actually focusing at the task at hand.
And while they still seemed to have the few crane arms that were left under control, the two were too distracted to notice the appearance of a rocket-turret as it emerged out of the ceiling and angled itself towards them.
"Watch out, you fools!" Ratchet called as he hurried through the shallow water to intersect himself between them and the weapon's line of fire.
However, he was just a split-second too slow in bringing up a magnetic barrier before the weapon launched its payload, and the small rockets detonated against and tore apart the unfinished shield, sending the medibot reeling back from the explosions.
"RATCHET!" the two Autobots exclaimed as their captain splashed down onto his back between them as a smoking mess.
Ahead, the turret reloaded itself for a second volley, but its aim was ruined by one of Prowl's shuriken smacking its barrel aside, followed by a second ninja-weapon cutting into its mounting structure and exposing the electronics. This in turn allowed a sustained stinger-blast from Bumblebee to make the weapon blow itself clean off its hinges, falling harmlessly onto the floor with a splash.
With all the immediate threats dealt with, the two Autobots quickly tended to their captain, helping him sit up and recline against the wall. The old medic was obviously worse for wear as he had sustained several smaller fractures to his armor and internal circuitry, causing erratic electricity to spark across parts of his body from his wounds as he sat cradling his midsection.
"Ratchet."
"Are you alright, Doc-bot?"
"F... Forget about me! Somebody's gotta go shut down that reactor!" he wheezed, glaring up at the pair through the pain. "This... This ship is too important. We can't allow it to be destroyed. Not... *wheeze*, Not like this."
As the medic took labored breaths, Prowl nodded and stood up with a look of determination.
"Understood. Bumblebee, you watch over Ratchet while I'll go ahead to the engine room."
"What? No way, I should go! I'm fastest!" he protested as he sprang to his feet as well.
"You mean the most irresponsible," the cyber-ninja snorted derisively. "In order to get this quickly over with, we need to act with care and precision."
"Forget precision. We need action!"
"FOCUS!"
«Clang!»
"OW!" the pair exclaimed in unison as they reeled back from having their heads magnetically smacked together.
"You rusted gear-heads! This isn't the time or place for this! I need you to focus at the task in front of you!" Ratchet snapped, breathing heavily from the exertion as he lowered his magnets, proving that despite everything he wasn't so damaged that he couldn't still shout in anger at the two youngsters.
As they stood nursing their foreheads, the youngbots glanced at each other before looking away with remorseful expressions on their faces.
Seeing that the two looked properly cowed, the old medic continued.
"Look... I'm not asking you to be friends. I'm not even asking you to get along with each other! But in situations such as this, I need you to be able to put your Egos aside in order to cooperate and watch each other's backs as a team!" he lectured them. "Remember! You're not only fighting for your own sakes here! The lives of the entire crew is at stake!"
"..."
"..."
Wincing as a particularly large electrical surge arched across the left side of his torso, Ratchet panted as he then met the optics of the silent young-bots standing over him with one final glare.
"Now... Go get your CANS down to that engine room!"
Using Teletraan-1's sensors, Megatron saw that out of the Autobots that'd been making their way through the back of the ship, two of their energy-signatures were once more headed towards the engine room while the third remained stationary.
"Hmm. It appears I've already managed to take one of you out of the equation," he mused before returning his attention to the video-feed of the 'bots still struggling on the bridge. "But don't worry" he said sinisterly. "You will all be completely reduced to molten scrap soon enough."
"Warning: Reactor output approaching critical levels. Immediate action recommended. Warning. Warning," Teletraan-1's voice droned as the engine bay was virtually illuminated by the reddish glow the large, steaming reactor was emitting as it was on the verge to dangerously overload.
This room naturally had defensive measures as well, and the odd number of service cranes and manipulator arms were already standing by for anything to enter through the room's one entrance.
Suddenly the metal doors exploded inwards, followed by Prowl and Bumblebee leaping through the smoke and out into the room.
The manipulator arms quickly extended themselves as they attempted to grab at the Autobots, particularly Prowl who was leading the charge by a good distance. However, the cyber-ninja was nimbly and acrobatically dodging and maneuvering past the reaching arms, quickly alternating back and forth between his vehicle-mode as he advanced alongside the edge of the room on his way towards the engine reactor.
Unfortunately, his target destination was easily predictable, and as he attempted to leap out into the open and towards the reactor's control-panel, one of the manipulator arms managed to swing down and score a hit against his back, making the cyber-ninja crash forward onto the floor and giving the other cranes an opportunity to pounce upon him.
"Nooo!" Prowl cried in frustration as he was grabbed tightly from several directions and held suspended into the air in their claws, well away from the control panel.
Twisting in their tight grasp, Prowl managed to look back towards the edge of the room where Bumblebee was still lingering.
"It's up to you now, Bumblebee!" he shouted. "Get ready to strike at my signal!"
"Foolish Autobot," Megatron commented in Sumdac's lab.
"Your friend has even less of a chance to get through than you did."
At the Decepticon's electronic command, all the remaining manipulator arms converged towards the back of the room, bearing down upon the yellow youngster as he blindly charged headlong towards them.
However, as the many claws were thrust forward, they only managed to clamp down upon thin air and each other as the Autobot itself proved to be incorporeal; his image fizzling and fading away amongst the manipulator arms.
"A hologram?!" Megatron exclaimed in surprise.
"The decoy worked," Prowl smirked slyly before craning his neck upwards. "Bumblebee! Now!"
At the call, the real Bumblebee came bursting dramatically out of the ceiling nearly right above the control panel, having used the ship's service ducts to sneak past Megatron's notice.
"No! Grab him! Destroy him!" Megatron franticly ordered as he
willed the security systems to do his bidding.
"Hurry, Bumblebee!" Prowl called out as they only had seconds before the manipulator arms would be reconvening towards the front of the room.
"Hurrying's what I'm good at," the yellow youngster smirked as he immediately started flipping a succession of switches on the panel.
"Now to shut this baby down," he then declared as all that remained was to pull down a particularly large lever on the reactor.
But just as he grabbed onto the manual shutdown switch with his hand, the manipulators came clamping down upon him from behind and lifted him off the floor, attempting to pull him away as the Autobot remained hanging onto the lever for dear life.
"Hnngh. Sorry buddy," he groaned as he struggled against the tug of the manipulator arms, "but you LOSE!"
With a forceful cry of exertion, Bumblebee managed to throw down the switch and initiate the reactor shut-down just before the manipulator arms managed to pull him completely off it.
"NO!"
"Manual shut-down initiated," the electronic voice of Teletraan-1 sounded throughout the ship. "Dumping excess energy from engine reactors."
"Yes!" Prowl exclaimed victoriously as the overheating reactor both audibly and visibly began to power down before them.
"Ha-hah! We saved the ship!" Bumblebee cheered, even as he was held suspended into the air as well.
His smile disappeared however as the remaining cranes that weren't busy with restraining the pair suddenly began rotating their clamps, spinning them around faster and faster until the cranes' end-piece configurations had effectively turned into buzzing drills.
"Gulp. But who's gonna save us?" the yellow Autobot shivered as the drills slowly started advancing towards them.
At the bridge, Arcee was holding her blades crossed in front of herself and pushing back against the open claw of a manipulator arm as the device tried to overpower her.
Forcing it back momentarily, Arcee then sidestepped the crane as it lunged for her once more and swung herself around, striking across its length with her twin swords on each rotation and slicing it into pieces.
But as the destroyed crane clattered against the floor, Arcee was quickly forced to move as a large shadow came hurtling towards her.
"Uwaah. Arcee, look out!" Bulkhead yelled in alarm as the two larger crane arms that held him captive tried to outright slam him against her.
As he came forward in their grip like a battering ram, the femme deftly leapt over the attack and mounted herself atop one of the crane arms where she quickly proceeded to jab a sword into the joint of its claw, seeking to weaken its grip around her friend.
"Whoa there!" she let out as the cranes suddenly started to wildly buck and move about.
As the manipulator arms were holding onto Bulkhead from opposing sides of the room, neither of them now had the leeway to slam themselves directly against any of the walls if they wanted to maintain their shared grip around him. However, this didn't stop them from swinging their hapless captive erratically back and forth as they attempted to shake the femme off instead.
Still, the pink Autobot stayed mounted atop the large crane like a professional rodeo rider, supporting herself with one hand while maintaining her efforts to repeatedly hack away at the mechanical joint with the other.
"Guooh, I'm getting dih-hi-zzyyy~!" Bulkhead groaned with swirling optics as he was being shaken about like a rag doll.
"Just hang in there, Bulkhead!" Arcee reassured him, having managed by this point to cut a deep tear in the claw's joint and was now jabbing her sword in-between its grip around its captive to use like a lever.
"*Hnh* Wheeljack!" the femme called out as she worked with both hands on the sword hilt to widen the tear. "How are things coming along over there?!"
Standing in front of the main control console at the center of the bridge, the scientist slammed his hands down upon the dashboard as the computer panels repeatedly flashed an "Access Denied" message.
"I don't get it!" he complained as he brushed off the broken remains of a manipulator arm that was clinging lifelessly onto his shoulder. "I've blocked all and any external channels, but I still can't shut down Teletraan-1! The hacker is somehow still able to remain within its system, as if they were right here aboard the very ship... themselves...!"
His eyes widening in realization, Wheeljack deployed his scope-monocle over his left optic and started scanning the bridge's various operator consoles; the readings presented to him spiking as his gaze settled upon the workstation located on the pilot's left-hand side.
Quickly making his way over, the Autobot then crouched down and shouted in confirmation as he checked the underside of the console.
"Bingo! Foreign doohickey detected!"
"What? What is it?" Bulkhead called over as Arcee's efforts was gradually allowing him the leeway to pull one of his arms free.
"It looks like some kind of miniature drone that's hooked itself into the ship's computers, allowing it to directly interface with Teletraan-1! Now, if I could just..." he gritted out as he attempted to reach under the console and grab the thing, only for the pocket-bot to skitter out of his reach and disappear inside up amongst the console's hardware.
"Dang it! It got away!" Wheeljack groaned, slamming the fist upon the floor in frustration before he stood back up and made to roll up his nonexistent sleeves. "I guess I'll have to open this entire baby up! You guys just hold on just a little bit lon-"
"Wheeljack, move!"
"Huh? Whoah!" the scientist exclaimed as Bulkhead suddenly launched one of his wrecking-balls past the startled scientist, violently smashing the entire console apart.
As destroyed computer hardware clattered against the floor in pieces, the large manipulator arms then froze in their tracks - remaining momentarily inactive before they finally released their captive, putting him down gently onto his feet. Arcee then dismounted as well, and the three Autobots watched on as the giant crane arms quietly retread away from them and disappeared back into their compartments inside the walls.
As the bridge grew quiet, Wheeljack blinked as he processed the situation; still seated on the floor in his half-startled stance from dodging the sudden wrecking-ball.
"...Huh," he eventually muttered as his scope retracted back into his helmet. "Yeah, okay. I guess that works..."
Back in the reactor room, Bumblebee and Prowl winced as the crane-drills were almost upon them, aiming to crudely lobotomize the pair from upfront, only to suddenly halt their approach and slowly stop spinning mere inches away from their faces.
As they became completely inactive, the two 'bots could only blink and look at each other in confusion before the manipulator arms that were holding them suspended proceeded to let go, unceremoniously dropping the pair onto the floor with a thud.
Sitting on the floor with his back resting against the wall, Ratchet looked up as all the lights turned back on around him in the hallway - and in all likelihood the rest of the ship as well - prompting the injured medic to release a tired but satisfied smile.
"I'll go check on the others," Arcee called out as she sheathed her sword and promptly exited the bridge - transforming into her vehicle-mode before racing down the hallway.
"Be right with you," Wheeljack responded offhandedly as she left, busy at work examining Teletraan-1's systems via one of the intact consoles. "There. Everything should be in order now."
Dusting off his hands in satisfaction, the scientist then turned back towards the smashed console where Bulkhead was sitting on his knees and carefully sifting through the wreckage.
"Hey, Wheeljack. Is this it?" Bulkhead asked as he held up the twitching, short-circuiting remains of the small pocket-bot by one its bug-like legs.
"Ap-ap-ap, careful now, Bulkhead!" Wheeljack admonished as he hurried over and secured the drone from the larger Autobot's stubby claws. "This thing already looks to be in a pretty rough shape. We need to take care not to damage it any further if we want to be able to-"
The small robot suddenly started to twitch and rattle uncontrollably in the scientist's hands, causing him to turn towards it just in time to catch it detonating in his face.
«Boof!»
"...examine it..." Wheeljack sighed with a flat expression, his hands and beard now partially smudged with soot from the small explosion the robot's self-destruction had caused.
Bulkhead, blinking wide-eyed at the disgruntled scientist, decided wisely not to say anything.
"I HAD them," Megatron snarled darkly as his anger caused rampant energy to surge through and burn-out some of the hidden laboratory's computer equipments. "They should have been destroyed!"
As steam wafted off the various machinery he'd short-circuited in his violent tantrum, the Decepticon bemoaned his current condition once more.
"I cannot remain in this unacceptable operational status...! I need a body!" the Decepticon ranted loudly before he finally forced himself to calm down. "Hmph... It appears that for now I'll have to rearrange my priorities... and move on to commencing the next stage of my operation!"
Due to its stripped and damaged state, Megatron barely had enough of a face left capable of outwardly reflecting his emotions. But if he had, a dark and sinister sneer would now have most likely been slowly stretching across it.
"Yes... I think it is high time I took greater advantage of the Professor's lifework. As well as of his successors."
The red light in his stripped left optic-sensor flashing ominously, Megatron descended into deep thoughts.
"Ow! Watch it!" Ratchet barked as he sat on an operating table in the med-bay with Wheeljack standing behind him, working on repairing his injuries.
"Sorry 'bout that. Most of the machinery I tinker with don't usually tend to have pain-receptors."
"And Cybertron is undoubtedly better off for it."
"...I resent that statement."
It was at this point that the rest of the crew came marching into the med-bay with Arcee leading the group, retracting her eyeshield up into her helmet as they entered.
"Okay. We've swept the entire ship several times over but we've only found what we believe to be the disintegrated remains of two more of those drones."
"The little guys must've snuck along when you all returned from that warehouse," Wheeljack mused as resumed his work on Ratchet's shoulder, eliciting another angry yelp of pain from his patient.
"Meaning that the ambush at the warehouse might've just been a ruse from the very beginning," Prowl deduced as he took his position leaning back against a wall with crossed arms.
"Huh...! They sure seemed serious enough at the time to me," Bumblebee tiredly scoffed, prompting a nod in agreement from Bulkhead behind him.
"The other two that snuck aboard most likely self-destructed at the same time as the one on the bridge, doing so as a precautionary-measure so that we wouldn't be able to analyze them," the femme continued. "But going by what little remains... these robots were definitely domestic," she said while holding up a tiny, bug-like metal-leg between her fingers.
"So we really think that there's someone on Earth that's targeting us?" Bulkhead asked.
"Who or whatever it was, they were even able to highjack Teletraan-1 and completely overwrite its systems... That's not something that can be done by just anybody, even including Cybertronians," Ratchet huffed, folding his hands in front of his chin in contemplation. "No, I don't like this. I don't like it one bit!. We need to get to the bottom of this..."
At their captain sat absorbed in his own thoughts, the rest of the room carefully glanced at one another as they mulled over his words.
"..."
"...Sooo, does that mean we might be staying on Earth longer than planned?" Bumblebee finally asked cautiously, snapping the medic out of his contemplation.
"Hmph! Well, about that-"
"Why yes, Bumblebee. I believe it does," Arcee suddenly cut in, nodding while smiling a little too serenely, even for her.
"...Hang on, Arcee. What are you-"
"At the very least, it'll take a bit longer than anticipated to get the ship back in working order after this little incident," Wheeljack mused out loud as well, causing the medic's head to swivel back and forth between the two.
"And it would simply be unreasonable to continue keeping everyone cramped on the ship for the duration of such an unplanned, extended period of time. Especially if we're supposed to investigate matters as well."
"Now hold up just a nano-click. I didn't-"
"Very true, Arcee. There's only so much one can find out from the bottom of a lake, after all."
The three young-bots blinked in puzzlement as they silently followed the suspiciously toned banter that went back and forth like a tennis match over their captain's head.
"And who's to say whoever's responsible for tonight won't end up endangering the human civilians as well at this rate," Arcee continued.
"If this is truly the same culprit as the one behind the CMX-incident, then that is a very distinct possibility."
"Indeed. We can't just turn our back on them."
"Even if they are organic."
"No, that wouldn't be right at all."
"Not for an Autobot at any rate-"
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, I GET IT!" Ratchet finally snapped at the conspiratorial banter. "I. GET. IT. You've two have PERFECTLY made your POINT."
As the pair looked obnoxiously smug, the young-bots quickly exchanged glances.
"Then... Does that mean...?" Bulkhead attempted with cautious optimism.
"*Grumble* Yes-yes, it's fine! You can all start going top-side again if you absolutely want to..." the medic grudgingly answered. "Just as long as you make sure to reserve caution at all times!"
"Alright! This night might've actually been worth it after all," Bumblebee thrust his arms into the air with a cheer.
"Totally," Bulkhead smiled widely in return.
Heck, even Prowl looked happy where he stood.
"However!" Ratchet punctuated angrily as he stood up, "The ship is currently a MESS! And no one's going ANYWHERE until we've gotten it all cleaned up! Is that understood?!"
"Yes, sir!" his companions all responded loudly, their mirth still present on their faces.
But as half of the crew started filing out of the med-bay to get to started on the clean-up operation, Arcee remained in the room with the scientist and his patient, showing no intention to leave.
"That means you too, Arcee," Ratchet harrumphed as he sat back down on the table. "Go out there and make yourself useful."
"Sorry, Ratchet," she raised an optic-ridge while looking down at him with crossed arms and an askew smile. "But I'm not going anywhere until I've helped Wheeljack here with patching you up."
"...You realize as this ship's captain, I could simply order you to leave, right?"
Her arms still crossed, the femme simply shrugged before leaning forward to match his gaze.
"Try me," she dared him.
As Wheeljack quietly watched, the two of them were locked in a brief but fierce staring-contest until - eventually - the medic finally relented and turned his head away with a groan.
"*Sigh* Fine. Suit yourself," he told her in a dismissive tone while seeming somewhat just a little less annoyed than he actually wanted to appear.
Looking past his patient and the triumphantly smiling Arcee, Wheeljack blinked as he noticed something black and golden disappear just outside the door.
A little down the hallway, Prowl lingered in place for a moment - angrily slamming a fist against the wall before he sullenly started trailing after the other two young-bots who had already gone on ahead.
"I see," Wheeljack chuckled as he and Prowl later hung out in one of the ship's hallways, leaning back against the same wall. "So that's how it is. No wonder you're feeling down."
"Looking back at it now, it's always been pretty obvious where her spark lies," the cyber-ninja sighed before burying his face into his hands. "I just feel like such a blasted fool."
"Hey now, there's nothing to be ashamed about. These things happen," the scientist consoled the 'bot beside him, using the back of his hand to give him a light tap on the shoulder. "Heck, I've had so many crushes like that myself that I've lost COUNT. There was this one 'bot at the science academy... And then there was this other 'bot..." he trailed off as he became absorbed in ticking off a mental list on his fingers before blinking. "Actually, when WAS the last time I was in a proper relationship...?"
"..."
"A-hem, and like I tried saying earlier," the scientist coughed, "we're talking about Arcee here. Primus knows you're not the first 'bot to unwittingly fall head-over-stabilizing-servo for that femme."
Prowl blinked before turning to the other Autobot quizzically. "...You mean, you as well? Then... How did you manage to get over it? How long did it take?"
At this Wheeljack squirmed a little uncomfortably where he stood, placing a hand behind his neck in a nervous gesture. "Umm... Ha-hah. About that... I may not be the best 'bot to ask for advice on that particular subject..." he muttered, laughing awkwardly.
Prowl was about to press the fidgeting scientist further until a steel-door slid open a short distance away, allowing the Autobot femme in question to step into the same hallway.
"Oh, hey you two," she greeted them pleasantly as she spotted them. "What're you doing down here?"
"Arcee..." Prowl said, acting a bit unsurely before Wheeljack reached over his shoulder and pulled him to his side.
"Oh, nothing much. The kid and I was just talking about stuff," he answered the femme boisterously. "Y'know, having a little mech quality-time and all that."
"Really now?" she said, raising the ridge of her optic in an amused manner. "Well then, far be it from me to inquire any further."
"Rightly so," Wheeljack replied with a pompously satisfied snort while Prowl at his side placed a palm over his face in an exasperated manner. "Anyways, how's Ratchet doing?"
"It took some coaxing - and just a little bit of threatening," she added quietly, "but I finally made sure that he's lying down and recharging properly. For such a great doctor, he sure makes for a lousy patient," she huffed.
"Haha! That doesn't surprise me in the least."
"In the meanwhile, after sitting through all that I feel like moving around a little... So I thought I'd do some training down in the cargo bay," she told them as she rolled her shoulder before intertwining her fingers to stretch out and flex the mechanic joints in her hands. "What do you say, Prowl? Would you like to come along and spar with me?"
"I...!" he flinched slightly. "I'm... I'm sorry. I don't think I feel up for that right now," he replied softly while looking away.
"Oh," Arcee blinked. "Well... If you change you mind then you know where to find me," she told him, seemingly a little surprised and disappointed but deciding not to press the issue.
As she walked past them and onwards down the hallway, Prowl watched her leaving form with a subdued, solemn expression on his face until Wheeljack suddenly used the grip on his shoulder to whirl the cyber-ninja towards him. The scientist then proceeded to lean down so that they were face to face.
"Look. You wanted my advice, so here it is," he said quietly with a serious expression in his optics. "I know this bond you're forming might not be what you thought, or for a while even HOPED for... But in my experience you'll want to be careful before you risk throwing away what you DO have over something that only maybe COULD have been."
"..."
"Think about it. What's more important to you?" the scientist finished as he rose back to his full height, giving the cyber-ninja an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
As the cyber-ninja carefully digested his words, Bulkhead and Bumblebee came trotting into the hallway from the same direction Arcee had appeared.
"Hey, Prowl. Bee and I are going to take a drive into the city, and he-*oof*-WE were wondering if maybe you wanted to, y'know, come along?" Bulkhead offered, changing his phrasing after a not-so-subtle elbow-nudge from the annoyed-looking 'bot beside him who was currently doing his best trying to avoid meeting anyone's gaze.
"Hmm... No, not really," Prowl turned them down after a few seconds in his usual, disinterested manner.
"Aw..."
"See? I TOLD you he wouldn't-"
"But..." the cyber-ninja cut the pair off before they could either respond or protest further, facing them with an amicable smile on his face. "...Maybe next time, perhaps."
"..."
After sharing a silent look and nod with Wheeljack, Prowl then gave the pair a small wave over his shoulder as he promptly turned and left in the other direction.
Watching him go, the two other youngsters could only turn towards one another and shrug at the slightly unusual demeanor the cyber-ninja had displayed towards them. Wheeljack on the other hand simply followed Prowl's figure with his optics as he, with a brief jog, managed to catch up with Arcee near the very end of the hallway.
After a second or two of talking, the pair walked off together; chatting good-naturedly amongst themselves as they continued onwards towards the cargo bay. However, Wheeljack's gaze shifted to linger specifically at the amicably chatting Arcee with an unreadable expression on his face until the pair had left through another steel-door gateway, disappearing from his view.
"Soo..." Bumblebee's voice sounded, attracting the scientist's attention back to the two Autobots as they regarded him expectantly. "Do you wanna come along with us, Wheeljack?"
Staring silently back at them, Wheeljack eventually gave a light shrug as he returned to his usual, jovial demeanor.
"Sure, I'm game," he smiled broadly behind his mask. "Sounds fun."
END CHAPTER 21
Author's notes:
Thus concludes this two-turned-three-parter. Hopefully it was an enjoyable ride.
While this chapter refers heavily to the scene in the old car-factory in "Home is where the Spark is", the defensive measures that I described aboard the Orion are for the most part canon - including the giant manipulator arms upon the bridge that grabbed Bulkhead as we got to see them in the beginning of season 3 when Megatron boarded the ship once more. The similarities between the factory and the ship allowed me to make the switch in settings pretty painlessly, though I attempted to add a little extra to it to still keep it fresh.
For those reacting (both one way and another) to Prowl's feelings toward Arcee in the previous chapter, his crush was never really meant to be anything but short-lived and one-sided - though I hope it was at least wrapped up nicely here while serving to hint at some other few plot-threads that will stretch further out across this story.
As a special note, I'd like to give thanks to Mighty ANT whose review inspired me to add that little scene at the old car-factory at the beginning of this chapter. I personally felt it worked as a nice little intermission before returning to the main plot of the current storyline.
As for everyone else, I may be a little slow about it but I hope I managed to reply properly to all the reviews you sent to me as well. Here's looking forward to more. Thank you.
Next time:
After the Autobots accidentally thwart and humiliate a group of supervillains during their latest heist, the criminal trio accepts an offer from the biotechnology-scientist Prometheus Black that they might just come to regret.