Chapter : Hard Time
Lazily Jack rubbed his eyes. The sun was just now beginning to set, its half-hidden image like that of a drooping eyelid which's life dwindled and shrank from the land that it'd watched over that day. The boy watched as the shadows of the trees and houses outside of his elongated the further away the sun got, their element starting to overtake the land. Starting to make it their own for the evening atmosphere. A yawn soon escaped his lips. It was that kind of scene that he wished he could share with Miko, assuming the girl would ever calm down long enough to actually appreciate the harmonic visage.
But they did need their breaks here and there as any normal human did...which in this case did apply to Miko. Despite her shortcomings and overbearings the girl surprisingly still needed a breather from time to time. But that wasn't all of it. For a while now they'd not been as intimate as they used to be. For Jack he just saw it as a more normal relationship for a while...but things had been getting a bit...slow here and there, especially considering Miko was his mate. It was as if they'd begun to drift back towards normality. It was like whenever they'd used to have fights but had folded back to their default interactions a few days afterwards, only now it was from the other side of the spectrum. And that worried Jack.
For as annoying as Miko was, he did love her. At worst they'd just go back to how things were before the relationship if they broke up. It'd definitely be a lot more relaxing to not have the hyperactive girl constantly at his side. Still...he enjoyed it. Her company. Her jests being more playful and thoughtful, their spats more like juveniles batting eyelashes at each other when their peers weren't watching. That was what he was concerned about losing. Their bond they now had. But then there were times when he just couldn't stand the girl. It truly was a love-hate relationship.
The main trouble he could never get off of his mind though was Circuit Breaker. Once he'd found out that it was just Miko in disguise he'd been kicking himself. It was so obvious! There was no reason he had to actually see her to figure it out! The revelation did nothing to calm him however. Yes Miko was having fun, as she always did, and yes she was helping out more...but as a super hero. Someone that even regular thugs would have no hesitation over kicking the crap out of. The kind of danger that Miko was constantly putting herself in with that persona made Jack's stomach flop about. He couldn't bear the thought of having his mom tell him that Miko had ended up in the hospital someday. He needed to make sure that she was safe, as he always did. Not just because he was older than her or because he was her...partner. He needed to protect for his own sake, for his conscience, to make sure that she didn't do anything stupid like she normally did. Not with THAT kind of lifestyle.
Pinching the space between his eyes Jack sighed. He really did think too much thinking sometimes. With his position unfortunately that seemed mandatory. If he didn't Raf and Miko certainly wouldn't...well Raf might but not with Jack's initiative and determination. The sun was now only a mere sliver on the horizon. Figuring it best to sleep on the conflictions rattling his mind, the boy turned around to go to his room when the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who that is," his mom yawned from the living room, "Jack, could you-"
"I got it mom," he told her. A loose smile hung on his lips. It wasn't hard to fathom who would be disturbing the family that late at night. Miko did have a tendency to pop up when least convenient. Upon opening the door however he was met with a bit of discomfort. Standing in front of his was a police officer. His heart leaped into his throat. What had Miko done? How bad had she gotten hurt? Should he tell Bulkhead what kind of guitar she was leaving him? That was only some of the questions that flooded into his head in the brief second it took for the officer to glance down at him and speak.
"Jackson Darby," he said, "You are under arrest." Yeah...tonight it looked like it wasn't going to be the loving part of the relationship.
"Don't worry oh mighty one, we now have enough Energon to rectify most of the Dark Energon infection," Knockout declared. His grin reached from cheek to cheek as the vial of Red Energon clinked around in his hand. It'd been quite some time since he went through such trouble on his own to get something, but with the right amount of skill and luck anything was possible.
"I don't worry," Megatron replied sternly. Any dismissiveness in the gray leader's voice went unnoticed by the happy medic. He would just be happy to finally be free of the contagious chains. To be able to lead his army in efficient condition again...he didn't know what he'd be willing to give for that. He needed to be there to see things through. To make sure they reached their goals. If he wasn't around all that they'd have worked towards would be put in jeopardy, especially considering what had happened when he was away last. "May we start already?" he muttered. He couldn't wait to be rid of the corruption.
"Uh-of course!" Knockout chuckled nervously. Delicately he pulled out his equipment tray carefully selecting each utensil. His hands worked like a expert craftsman's interlocking and pulling apart pieces to form new instruments. After only a few seconds he had what he needed. A light clunking sound was made as the vial of Red Energon was locked into place in the feeding end of the tube-like structure. "Now this may sting a bit..." Knockout warned only to receive a glower from his leader, "...right...the ever-powerful Megatron doesn't feel pain does he? Pardon my moment of unintelligence."
"Very well," the taller Decepticon uttered clearly irritated by the monologuing. Deciding it best not to go any further with the conversation, Knockout brought the device down towards the titan and hooked it into his Spark Chamber. Slowly Megatron's eyes dimmed.
"Good..." Knockout murmured to himself as he checked the readings on his monitor, "powerdown proceeding as normal...now Energon flow...mhm...mhmmm...good good...wait what?" The medics eyes darted towards the tube that was filtering the Red Energon into the Decepticon leader. Everything seemed alright, but the screen had suddenly started acting odd. Hesitantly he glanced at the screen again. He almost jumped back in fright. The Dark Energon infection was spreading out of control! "What the scrap!?" he cried. As quickly as possible he began typing commands into the console, each one turning out useless. "I checked the thing for Dark Energon contamination!" he yelled slamming his fist down on the keyboard, "There wasn't any there at...wait...what if...oh no..."
In fear he gazed over at the large Cybertronian. Though dimmed his optics were clearly shifting from their usual red coloring to a more purple hue. Viciously Knockout typed a few final lines into the computer console. With a hiss the heated equipment shutdown and popped off of the gray metal, but Megatron did now power back up. Knockout wiped his brow in relief.
"That Stasis Lock should hold you until we get you into a Cryogenic Sleeping Chamber," he figured, "...Primus...how are we going to get out of this..." Knowing it'd be useless to hide the news from the most dedicated of the Emperor of Destruction's followers, Knockout turned to his console once more and turned on the intercom. "Soundwave...calling Soundwave...your aide is requested in the medical bay, stat."
Jack's eyelids lowered as he heard the barred doors close behind him. The musty and stale odor of the plain cell snaked through his nostrils. The sights of the location only gave way to an even drearier demeanor than his thoughts had. The room was blank aside from the bed and bars that lined it. With how shadowy it was outside the lighting was on in the hallway, but dimmed the closer it got to his new dwelling painting the cubicle with shades of gray. There was a fraction of lighter atmosphere visually though, however small it was. On the bed sat a familiar teenage Asian girl, her arms folded.
"Enjoy your stay," the officer told him before walking out of sight. Jack's brows furrowed as he took a few steps towards the bed. From what he'd seen most of the other cells had had bunk beds or two separate ones, but this had a single, likely due to Miko's meddling. The girl meanwhile sat there smiling up at him sheepishly.
"So...I get dragged down here because apparently I'm a partner of yours in some crime we committed," Jack informed placing his hands on his hips, "Care to explain?" Miko's nervous smile widened at each passing word.
"Uh...hehe...well I MIGHT have pulled a prank on a police officer with my clone the other day...and he MIGHT have seen you with me that day...so he MIGHT have assumed-"
"You pulled a prank on officer that pissed him off and landed us both in here," Jack summarized. Miko's cheeks pinkened.
"...maayybeee..." she said through her clenched teeth. Jack just rolled his eyes and sighed sitting down next to her. Trying to make him feel better, Miko scooted closer to him and rubbed her cheek against his. It wasn't a surprise that Jack all but acknowledged the affection considering the situation.
"Well you're obviously not Mecha-Miko," he murmured.
"Mecha Miko?" she smiled, "I'll have to remember that one. So far I got Cyber-Babe, Metal Nakadai, Electro-Boobies-"
"And me locked up in jail," he reminded shrinking the girl back shamefully. Miko traced the rim of his eye with her's for a good while not wanting to look directly into it. His lids were laced with annoyance and disrupt, more so than he usually had with her.
"...well, how do you know it isn't Android Number Nakadai?" she eventually wondered aloud to break the tension, "I mean I could be her lightening up to a relationship with ya..." Jack gave a small snort through his nose.
"Easy, you'd have tried to break outta here by now," he chuckled, "...course you would probably try that normally too, but with less success." Miko folded her arms back over her chest and frowned at the claim. Sure she wasn't really mad, but she needed to react negatively somehow. It was expected. And seeing Jack's face it looked like it'd worked, at least partly. Sure he was still annoyed with her (when was he not?), but his face now held a lot more playfulness then when he'd entered.
"Alright then Houndini, you got any ideas?" she grumbled. Jack glanced around the cell a few times before yawning and slouching back onto the mattress.
"Yeah, I'm getting some shuteye," he replied sleepily. Dumbfounded, Miko's eyes jumped as she spun around to face the resting male. She may have deserved it, but Miko sure didn't like the letdown he was giving her in return.
"So you're just fine with rotting in here?" she asked sternly laying down next to him. Cracking open an eye, Jack yawned again.
"Nope," he told her, "I just know that since I got nothin' to do with this I'm probably gonna be let out tomorrow once things get sorted out." Inside Miko's mouth her teeth started to grind a bit.
"So you're just fine with letting me stay here?" she grumbled. Her brows lifted as he snickered.
"You? Sure. You could probably use some shaping up," he smiled, "not like you're gonna die." Miko puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"Some boyfriend you are," she muttered. Jack's snickering had now returned to it's low chuckling.
"So then we have decided that we are for a fact boyfriend and girlfriend and that you'll be loyal to only me no matter what happens forever and ever?" he mused. Miko's scrunched up face reddened from the words.
"...shut up," she spat turning around so that she didn't have to look at him.
"Love you too honey," Jack told her. Somehow her cheeks darkened even more as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a slumbering embrace.
The low sound making up the background of the world was barely noticeable at first. But as time went on it got louder and more prominent. By the time he'd gotten on Arcee to ride around town it was blaring, filling his head with dizziness and confusion. All that the noise allowed him to remember was that he was on a mission. Miko was driving around with Bulkhead and the clones were underground. Whether they planned to meet up or anything Jack had no idea. It was hell to try and focus through the noise. That distant banging and cutting sound. It blocked out all else.
In spite of the mind-numbing clattering though there were things that Jack could still make out. Arcee seemed worried as did the voices that would occasionally blurt through her radio. Something bad was definitely going on. Jack tried to listen to the voices better to ignore the noise but to no avail. Something else was beginning to tear his mind away from it though. Beneath them the street had begun to glow an infectious shade of purple. The houses lining the sidewalks started to as well, the velvet hue slithering across their frames little-by-little. Looking down Jack was startled to find that even he and Arcee had started glowing, heat being brought with the color. A burning, dying heat. Agonizingly Jack clenched his eyes shut as the purple scenery became blinding and a final clanging noise sounded.
"YAH!" he cried. Jack thought he had opened his eyes but all that he could see was blackness. Shifting them in their sockets he could clearly tell that his lids were indeed open. It took Jack a few seconds to get his brain back in order. When he finally did snap to his senses he pulled his head up and shook it around. He'd been planted firmly in the bed's sheets that were now on the hard floor with him. Seeing the moon still in the sky beyond the barred windows he glanced back up onto the bed. Where Miko should've been was merely an imprint of a body. Just then he heard a loud clanging noise. The sound that'd been invading his dreams. Immediately he jerked around to see the final cut off bar of the cell door drop to the ground inciting a little victory dance from the girl that was next to them.
"Miko one, Bars none!" she exclaimed. Jack felt like slapping his forehead. She was using her powers to break out of jail?! The real dilenma however was the fact that he still hadn't quite decided if he should tell her that he knew about her abilities or not.
"And here I thought that I'd be hugging you til morning," he grumbled causing the girl to jump. She obviously had not realized that he was awake. Nervously she whirled around and smiled down at him. "Miko...what the hell're ya doing? You honestly wanna get in even more trouble?" The girl just rolled her eyes.
"If I don't get out some punk in here is gonna get me!" she claimed. Jack's brows halved. "I'm a girl and there are bad guys in here!"
"...right...and why would they target you and not any other less annoying girls?" Jack questioned. Letting out a scoff Miko put her hands on her hips.
"Well if you must know I sorta...distracted one of the guys and got them locked up here after Circuit Breaker had taken down their gang the other week...so he wants to get me..." Miko told him.
"...and how would this supposed criminal get out of his cell...and how did you?" Jack persisted the interrogation. Miko's eyes narrowed as they looked at the bars she'd disposed of. Quickly she put her hands behind her back and a snapping sound was heard before they reappeared with a saw-like object in them.
"He was using this and I found it once he'd gotten out...he was gonna try and find a way out first before coming back to get me," Miko told Jack uneasily. This time he really did put a hand to his forehead. Not letting her know that he knew her secret just made conversations so awkward sometimes. The saw was obviously too advanced for a common person to have access to, yet she had to try and convince him to keep up her facade.
"Alright fine Ms. Axe Crazy, I'm coming too, if only to keep you out trouble," Jack sighed.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," she told him with a wink. After dusting himself off from the crash landing he'd had, Jack walked over to the broken cell door and joined Miko in peering out. The hallway was as dull as he'd remembered it, just slightly more lively than their dwelling had been, only now ceiling lights illuminated the pathway leading down the jailcell-lined corridor due to the darkness that the night brought. As expected Miko was the first to dart out. Thankfully the other cells were either vacant or had their inhabitants asleep within them.
"I am so gonna get in trouble for this..." Jack murmured to himself. Receiving a wave from Miko he gulped and cautiously made his way over to where she was.
"Loosen up a bit Jackie," she giggled, "Just think of it as avoiding Decepticons."
"Yeah, like that'll make things better," he cringed. Miko clenched her teeth to lessen her laughter to a snickering. Jack did ease a bit though. For the next minute they inched along the walls, Jack being sure to remind Miko to check if people were sleeping or not at each cell they came to before continuing. When they'd made it halfway down the hall however Miko's eyes widened. She saw a human figure at the end of it approaching. Her teeth clenched so much that they hurt as she desperately looked around for any way to hide themselves. After a few seconds her eyes came to rest on a ventilation shaft morphing her mouth into a grin. Jack was surprised to say the least when the girl hopped up and pulled the lid clean off the vent.
"Hold this," she said handing the lid to him. His mind was simply on autopilot by this point and did as asked allowing the girl to hop up into the shaft. Jack let out a small yelp as she reached back down and yanked him in afterwards pulling him so fast that the lid of the vent slammed back into place leaving no trace that they'd ever been in the hall at all.
Rapidly Knockout's fingers danced across the keyboard. They were moving so fast all that could be seen were blurs of gray and red where his lower arms should have been. All the while the silent one stood over his shoulder, forever watching, forever observing. Too much had gone wrong in such an amount of time. Not since Starscream's meddling or Unicron's interruption in the war had things seemed so dire. He had never seen the intake of the dark one's blood as a good thing, but he would not lift a finger to his master lest he order it himself.
Megatron had reasons for his actions and Soundwave knew that in the end, no matter the turmoil, there was always a goal to be reached through the chaos that ensued. For that kind of finish to be reached there had to be unbreakable unity. That's what he offered. He might have been able to kill Megatron in a fight if he tried, but he was loyal. That gladiator that he'd met so long ago had been one of a kind, and one that knew what he was doing. It was that kind of drive that Soundwave stood behind and broke his back to keep running. But now more than ever the natural order was in danger. Even with Knockout doing his best times looked grim. Soundwave did not act often, but when he did he made an impact. He had to with the kinds of duties he was placed with. It was him that got things done when all else failed.
"I still can't believe it. I checked the scrappin' thing over at least ten times before I gave it to him!" Knockout somehow managed to complain through his endless typing, "It had no Dark Energon...but it must've been tampered with. Triggered something that reactivated the growth of the infection, multiplied it!" As his talking ceased so did the tango of his fingers. Knockout's face contorted into a scowl at the message that the monitor gave him. He'd manually locked down all the valves and circulation in the cryogenically sleeping Decepticon leader and still the infection was nearing completion!
"SCRAP!" Knockout yelled slamming his fist on the keyboard, "If I'd just had some more time back at Starscream's little hideout I could've probably found something more about this stuff...probably entire states away from it by now. And who knows what forest it was..."
"I'll find it."
"Ha! Right, good luck with that buddy. Meanwhile I'm gonna do something that's actual-" Knockout's voice trailed off as realization dawned on him causing his jaw to drop uselessly. After a few blinks the fact finally registered in his head. By the time he looked around however, his audience was nowhere to be seen.
"Primus...so that's what he sounds like..."
Jack's face was red. Ever since they had started crawling it'd been the color of a tomato. He was surprised that their hue alone didn't light up the reflective metal of their surroundings. With each inch they advanced he winced. It wasn't due to pain or stings of any sort. It was just the natural reaction to what filled his vision. Each wobble lifting his cheeks towards the bottom of his eyes as he fought back the urges and nature churning within him from the spark that the sight ignited. Every second was a constant battle. The hips in front of him meanwhile continued to swing oblivious to his yearnings and resistance. Jack was the mature one. He couldn't allow himself to succumb to petty little temptation.
"Jack?" Miko repeated. Getting no response again the girl stopped crawling to turn around and see if he was okay, but she never got the chance to. The instant her limbs stopped moving her cheeks joined the shade of Jack's. Any worry or question she might have had vanished from the pressure that planted against her bottom. Her tenseness was nothing compared to Jack's however. Nervously he slowly lifted his head off of her underside, his whole body face was so bright now that it looked like magma must've been beneath his skin. The uneasy spell of silence felt like it lasted for hours in the moments that passed.
"Save it for the bedroom Jack-Jack," Miko finally snickered to break the heavy atmosphere, "Or at least until we get to a less echoey place." Relieved to just have the embarrassing scene done with, the boy wiped his sweat-laced brow. Of course Miko had to have been the one to force them into such a situation. Things could never be simple and peaceful with her. They always had to be showoffy and dramatic to any audience that might be there, even if they were make believe. If Jack had a dollar for every time she'd embarrassed or shamed him through her ego he would've been one rich bastard.
"Hm...maybe that's not a bad idea..." Jack rubbed his chin at the though of the money he might make off of such a deal.
"What's not?" Miko asked. Jack clenched his teeth and smiled innocently at her. She'd managed to squirm around so that she was now facing him. "You got an idea now? Cause I really don't know my way around here," she sighed.
"Well why don't you just turn into-uh-um!-we could pop open the next vent we come to and peak out..." Jack covered up what he'd almost let slip. The juttered statement just earned a perplexed stare from Miko until she went over the second part of the sentence in her head. A smile lightened up her face removing a hefty weight from the boy's shoulders.
"And that's why I have you around. You're the sensible one," she laughed pinching Jack's cheek sending a scowl at her, "I woulda probably been crawling around in here for a good few hours unless I cheated before I figured to do that." Once Miko started turning back around to continue the crawl Jack rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what "cheating" would consist of in this kind of situation. "Oh but first," she exclaimed drawing Jack's attention back to her rear, "BUTT!"
The calmer atmosphere that he'd been enjoying dissipated as the girl wiggled her ass in his face again now complete with giggles. Jack's eye twitched afterwhich Miko let out an alarmed "EEP!" from the smack that echoed through the ventilation system. Her cheeks flooded more with crimson once his head appeared out of the corner of her eye while his arms wrapped around her torso from behind. She could feel quite a bit of pressure against her lower pelvis. "Mmm..." a pleased moan passed through her lips, "you're being a bit assertive tonight aren't ya?..."
"Only with you," he whispered into her ear, "Cause you won't stay on task. Now think you can get a move on before they think to check up here?" Unbeknownst to Jack, Miko's eyes had been rollings towards the top of her head to accompany her lustful grin. She was nearly a mile away from understanding Jack with how her body was feeling. Nearly. If she saw a way to make things feel even better she'd take it.
"Maybe I will...if I can get a bit of...persuasion..." she drooled. Jack's eyes widened from the feeling of her hips digging deeper into his pelvis. Her blissful giggling had deepened to a more throaty seductive tone the longer she'd rubbed against him. "Maybe if you move your hands up a bit. Tummy's not the number one place for you to grab you know..." She cooed. Had she been paying attention to Jack she'd probably have gotten even more excited from the grin he responded with.
"Alright alright," he chuckled. Miko's eager tooth-filled smile hung for a few seconds before fading more to a confused face once Jack had pulled away from her. "You want some incentive? No "happy fun time" until we get things done here," he proposed.
"WHAT!?" Miko screeched. If she could've she'd have spun around and pounced on him, but as things stood all she'd really accomplished was scrunching her body up a bit in the confined space she'd tried to turn in. Jack put a hand over his mouth to keep the laughter to a minimum. Unable to do much else she struggled a few more times before shooting a deathly glare in his direction.
"You fuckin' tease," she spat.
"Like you aren't?" Jack rolled his eyes. Miko's cheeks blinked from the next slap he gave her rear. Heavily unamused Miko wriggled around to get her body pointing back in the direction they'd been going. She was supposed to be the one that got away with that crap, not him!
"Next time we're stuck in a vent your ass is so the one that's getting stared at," Miko scoffed. Jack smiled pleasantly as the bouncing of her hips started up again with him following close behind. Maybe it wasn't that bad acting like Miko sometimes.
"As long as I get this view right now," he smiled to himself under his breath.
A dulling clang snapped through the vacant room, the ventilation cover puffing up a nearly invisible pillow of dust around the site of its impact on the floor. All was silent for a spell following the object's drop until a head popped out of the opening in the ceiling a few seconds later and started looking around. All that the girl's eyes could see was a cramped little room with shelves lining the walls. None of the lights were on. Couldn't be any more unpleasant than what they'd been crawling through though. After a final spin of her head, Miko pulled herself out and fell face-first into the room below. Jack followed much more gracefully landing on his feet. He smacked his forehead once he saw the state that Miko was in.
"Well...that was fun..." Miko drolled shaking her head around, "At least we're out of that vent though. I think my body fell asleep..."
"I didn't mind too much," Jack commented with a stretch. Miko peered at him upon getting back to her feet.
"Yeah, cause you had this to look at," she grumbled squeezing her butt. Jack shot her a happy smile and nodded. "...now that we're in a more comfortable place though...how's about "happy fun time" now?..." Miko wondered hopefully, "Real quick one?..." She breathed an irritated sigh through her nose seeing Jack shake his head.
"We get out of here first," he insisted. Muttering something to herself, Miko folded her arms over her chest and walked over to the door of the storage room.
"Well alright Mr. Serious Business, let's see what we got to get past..." she grumbled. Miko's eyes traced the rim of the window-frame on the door for a few moments before she spun around and smiled. "Kickass. Looks like this is right near the entrance. Just gotta take a hall down and bam! We're outta here," she announced waving her arms around. Jack flashed her a rare sense of shared happiness. Sure she'd be going right back to jail probably but it would feel like such an accomplishment to finally reach their goal. "But...you gotta promise me something," Miko ordered quietly pressing her face up against his. Jack gulped. "Happy time once we get out."
"Uh..."
"Promise or we're just going to stay right here with the exit staring at us," Miko told him wiggling her eyebrows.
"...fine," Jack sighed. Joyfully Miko danced around allowing Jack himself to make his way to the door. Seeing that no one was in the hall beyond he cracked it open. The instant he did he felt a lump rise in his throat. An alarm was blaring outside.. "...damnit..." he muttered.
"Oh come on, it's not so bad. Just some alarms, maybe a camera or two we have to maneuver past. Piece of cake," Miko laughed walking as carefree as ever into the corridor despite Jack's attempt to grab her. For Miko's sake if nothing else he followed closely after. They hadn't even gotten a few feet beyond the door when a sharp noise sounded causing Miko to stop. A bullet had struck right between her feet. She was completely frozen where she stood as was Jack who was dumbfounded that any cop would dare try shooting anyone in a police station. Poking his head out from behind her however, Jack could see that the man in front of them was certainly not part of the police. No, he looked more like a punk with a rather drastic widows peak and numerous tattoos covering his arms.
"H-hey...Willy..." Miko stuttered as innocently as possible while putting her hands up in front of her, "What be the haps?..." The muscular man grinned as he began to walk towards them.
"The "haps" be that I went back to your cell just like I said but you weren't there. So I was just on my way to get outta this place and what are the odds? I run right into you," he grinned firing off another shot between her legs. Jack could feel her shoulders trembling, "So I figure I'll just give you a little present for lockin' me up here and I'll be on my way." Jack's jaw dropped.
"You weren't lying about the guy that broke out?" he gaped.
"Uh, no," Miko answered with a glare, "I wouldn't lie THAT good just to get out of here." With Jack still going over the revelation in his brain Miko turned back to face the illegal street racer. "How's about a better idea? You don't give me a "present" and just head on your merry way. You go home, I go home, everyone's happy!" Miko laughed nervously. She backed up into Jack more as Willy took another step towards them.
"Or I make sure you never get to slow me down again and I go home happy," he chuckled.
"Miko...I know how you like to show off and everything...but now we NEED to do SOMETHING," Jack hissed into her ear. Hesitantly Miko looked down at herself. Sure she could take the easy way out, but that would risk both Jack and her adversary finding out about her secret! "Like...NOW!" Wincing at the ever-contracting pressure against the gun's trigger, Miko did the only other thing she could think of and tackled Jack into a branching hallway just as the firearm shot. Jack grimaced once he realized what'd happened. Was she seriously going to risk not transforming just because he was around to see?
"Stop movin' kid. Don't have infinite ammo you know," the prisoner growled rounding the corner and taking aim once more. The teenagers desperately looked around for a way to escape, but it was a dead end. "Night night bitch," he smirked. Jack looked down at Miko who curled up against him. His eyes darted between the gun and her a few times before his brows furrowed.
"Miko, cut this crap out! I know your secret, it's fine! Do something!" Miko clenched eyes slid open slightly and then popped wide as dinner plates.
"What do you mean by that!?" she exclaimed.
"You, suit, transforming tech. Now do something!" Jack pleaded. Miko's eye twitched. Emotions of all flavors were filtering through her. Shock. Surprise. Disbelief. So much to take in.
"You know?!" she screeched causing Jack to cover his ears.
"Uh, hey, I sorta have a gun here. So if you could please pay attention to-"
"You be quiet, we'll be with you in a sec," Miko scoffed at the criminal, "Now what is this about you knowing a secret?" Jack didn't remember ever being so unnerved by any look she'd ever given him.
"That day I chased you when you were running across the rooftops...I saw you when you got to the ground," he replied cautiously. Miko squinted at him the next few moments.
"...and you're fine with it?"
"I didn't-"
"HEY! I have a damn gun I'm gonna shoot you with!" Willy yelled thrusting the object at them to get their attention.
"I guess we should be taking that as a confession then," another voice said. Jack and Miko jumped as Fowler stepped out from the corner they'd rounded pointing his own weapon at the street racer's head. "You'll be going back to your cell now Willy," he told him as two cops appeared from around the same corner. His teeth gritting, Fast Willy dropped his gun allowing the officers to cuff him and drag him off. Jack and Miko gave a unanimous sigh of relief.
"Wait a second...we're not going back?" Miko wondered.
"You mean you," Jack corrected. The Asian girl stuck her tongue out at him.
"I just explained that the whole mess was an "accident" in a training mission for two of our junior government agents," Fowler winked, "might wanna get home. I'm sure June's worried."
Had there been the dripping of normal cave systems' moist atmosphere within it, the halls of the unending corridors would've been echoing with the ambient tunes of nature. But the silence somehow made it even more eerie. Save for the dull pulsing that could be heard and felt by any unholy inhabitant, there was no noise. No life. Just emptiness. Evilness. Enough to drive even the most stern veteran insane. Unless they were already insane that is. That's certainly what one of the only beings there seemed to be. Any tinkering of its multiple limbs along the ceiling were drowned out by the constant flow of evil running through the winding passageways. Once it'd reached its destination the large spider-like figure lowered to the ground via some webbing and morphed into a more humanoid form, its body still slightly scarred from a previous accident.
"Ugh, what the slag is it?..." Tarantulas hissed to himself while his hands rode across the panel that he'd dropped down in front of, "another acid tank acting up or something? Oh well, can't really complain. At least I'm not still working for that arrogant Tyrannosaurus oaf anymore. "But beware the dragon's wrath! Vengeance will be mine!" Slaggin' retarded..." The arachnids mutterings disolved into little more than murmurs the further into his work he got. Despite his personality he really was good at what he did. At heart he was a scientist. Finding out how the universe worked. It fascinated him. Once he understood that then he could take it apart better. "Hello..." he said in surprise as the screen lit up, "What do we have here?...so they're back..."
A dark chuckle rippled past his mandibles as he cracked his knuckles. More rapidly now his fingers clicked and clacked on the control panel. He had not expected to ever see them again after they'd rebelled on their one and only mission, but it'd certainly brightened up his day. And it'd save costs on how to make more of them now that he knew they were back on Earth. This also meant that he could test out his new little toy on them. All it'd take is crossing some frequencies and wireless routers.
"Playtime's coming kiddies," Tarantulas cackled, the screen flashing various different colors with how fast he was operating, "I'll teach you to disobey me..."
The silence of the cavern now held new sounds.
"So...you're fine with me being Circuit Breaker?" the shorter human questioned finally rid of her previous encagement. The moon was high in the sky and the wind cool, but she'd never been more happy to be given leave from a punishment. A jail cell was not something she wanted to end up in again, and now that Jack knew her secret was probably something she'd never be staying in again no matter what. Compared to that, the freedom of the night world was heaven even if she was wrought with shivers. Noticing the chilled air himself, Jack looked down at his body and then at Miko. Her arms were all she had to really warm herself.
"Never said that...just in that situation I didn't really have much option but to allow it," he replied causing Miko to stop as he started yanking off his upper clothing. Before she could ask what he was doing he handed her his white undershirt and put his gray one back on, "But it's not like I could stop you. Might not like the kind of danger you'll be putting yourself in but it is your choice no matter the problems I might have with it. Don't be surprised if I get annoyed at your or anything with that "superhero" life you're doing." When he finally managed to find the hole that his head went through in his shirt and popped it back out he wasn't all that shocked to see the Asian probably blissfully unaware of whatever he was babbling on about as she snuggled into her newfound clothing.
"Thanks," she told him quietly.
"Don't mention it," he smirked back. Jack jumped slightly as Miko wrapped her arms around his and nuzzled her cheek onto his shoulder, her nose crinkling with each circle her head gave it. A warmness swam across Jack's face.
"And...sorry about the whole getting us locked in prison thing..." he heard her murmur in almost a silent breath. The boy raised his eyebrow.
"What was that?..." he asked with a grin.
"You heard me, I don't repeat apologies," she smiled back, "Got a reputation to maintain." Jack just rolled his eyes. She may have been annoying, but that kind of immaturity of her's had a certain appeal to it. The yin to his yang he might say. The duo continued walking for about half a mile in silence with nothing but the rustling of leaves to provide any sort of conversation. No place in town was too far away to traverse to on foot, but the humans wouldn't be trudging the rest of the way. As they got within site of their school the flickering of some lights caught their eyes. A blue motorcycle was parked and revving in a nearby alley.
"Well let's get you back to your place," Jack sighed with relief. Before he could take another step he felt the girl tug him back. Curiously he shot her a glance.
"Uh uh, you made a promise. We're headed back to your place," she cooed in rememberance. Jack slapped his forehead. "Even if it's just cuddling...besides, for all my host parents know I'm still locked up. They can find out I've been let out in the morning," Miko told him with a wink.
-end of chapter-
Alright, finally I update again. And yes, I apologize for anyone expecting a really long chapter after that absence. Fact is I'm surprised anyone reads this (though I'm always happy to amuse people) and it is just a side project of mine so I don't work on it nearly as much as my other stuff. It's also probably gonna be coming to an end before too long. Sorry.
Ahem, as for the chapter itself, five points to whomever knows about the crappy game that this chapter's title is referencing. And yes, at the end there that is Fast Willy from the episode Speed Metal in Transformers Prime. He's the guy that Knockout runs off the road at the beginning of the episode. Jack's finally told Miko that he knows about Circuit Breaker, and more sexual tension has been felt between them. Will it ever end?...well I just said it was gonna in the previous paragraph, but gotta make this sound neat.
Either way, stay tuned for the next chapter!...assuming the world doesn't end...if it does then hope you've enjoyed checking out this piece. Try to look me up in the afterlife if that's the case!
Now for the art! warahi dev ian tart com(slash)art(slash)We-re-in-the-Jailhouse-Now-343450203
And also some art for if the world happens to end: warahi dev ian tart com(slash)art(slash)Going-Out-With-a-Bang-262920631