Reconsideration
Thanks for the reviews, guys. Let's move on.
...
Thumbs ravaged gaming controls. A used couch suffered stamping feet and hands from hooting teenagers. Speakers thudded and buzzed, about to burst at their maximum volume. The old TV sustained the booming sound. Tekken warriors piledrived, threw one another at railings, submerged heads underwater. Many a game were littered beside the gaming box. One after the other were played, dominated, and passed on for the next.
Jack and Rafael battled to the death. Miko eagerly awaited her turn. Rafael jumped up and down, growing overly excited when victory was spitting distance away. Miko cheered at the top of her lungs. She pumped a fist, springing her legs like a jack rabbit. Jack pounded the X button with his index finger, fighting through a throbbing sprain.
On the ground level, Fowler moseyed dazedly. Hands in his pockets, head hung to the ground. The laughter of the children filled his ears. He looked up to see them at that game like marines double timing to a rendezvous sight. For the first time since they joined, Fowler smiled admiringly. Three innocent, young, and lack of common sense kids just enjoying another Friday afternoon. Hard to imagine they considered a damaged alien one o their best friends.
'They are joined at the hip to you!' Fowler's own words rang. Somehow Selena cast a spell, infatuating those kids. A shame that infatuation was losing its charm. 'Then sever it!' Selena touched a curled hand to his mouth. He squeezed his eyes closed. After four days, the sincerity emanating from Selena was still engraved fresh in his mind. 'Use any means necessary! Convince them of the monster I am!' She adored those kids. It made Fowler sick to his stomach to admit it, but Selena was never untoward with those three. She...saved them a couple times. Now she wants them to stay away. To keep them safe? Or because her inner murderer is grossing tired of them. 'Make them cut the ties! Because if you don't, I'll be forced to. And you've seen how depraved I can be.'
"Maybe you're not as depraved as you pretend." He murmured under his breath.
"Agent Fowler?" Optimus and his team walked up on the distracted agent. "Is all well?"
Fowler felt a sense of relief. After Skyquake crashed and burned, Fowler sort of kept to himself. Selena's request weighed heavily on his conscience. Subconsciously he avoided the base. Seeing the bots after four days helped him muster some courage.
"No. Um..." Fowler shot a glance at the kids. They were engrossed with the game but were still in earshot. "Can I speak with you somewhere privately?" He whispered. "There's something I need to run by you."
...
A crisp afternoon breeze wafted over Selena. The whistling wind tickled her ear. She tucked Rock formations the size of mountains offered a spectacular view of both the desert, and Jasper just 39 miles west of her. Lying on a boulder like a lounge chair, hands folded behind her head, Selena watched the clouds coast by. No problems. No cares. No worries. The breeze just moves them along across the world. Nothing to disturb them. How she envied those clouds. So what if Selena can fly. She was so dragged down she felt grounded. She'd love to feel free in the skies again.
"Damn..." Selena clamped a hand over her eyes, "This is a bad week."
Flashback
Scorched, dead metal flaked off. Each artificially induced breath shook decimated armor free. Joints practically eviscerated, legs till present but lumps of lead. Spike, shoulder armor dulled. A pile of junk - magically in pristine condition after a catastrophic explosion - lied on a medical slab like a decorative centerpiece.
Selena growled, biting her lower lip so hard blood trickled. She dug her nails into her arm. A half dead Megatron had life fed to him by a Cybertronian version of a ventilator. Brain waves, spark chamber rate -
"How is it an entire peace of people are reduced to ash," She whirled to Starscream, daggers of her glare skewering the jet to ribbons, "But this MONSTER survives a blast powerful enough to blow a hole in Uranus!" Starscream opened his mouth, erecting a curious finger, "THE PLANET!" Starscream retracted the finger and closed his mouth shamefully.
"Armor plays a significant roll." Starscream explained. A sad fact. Armor protects better than flesh. Selena wanted to smack him. If he didn't speak sense. "Nevertheless, it was premature of me to assume Megatron could be defeated by an inferno." Selena rolled her eyes. Starscream bobbed his head, understanding her sarcasm. "Optimus Prime, the medic, and the entire Autobot team survived explosions of devastating proportion. I should have anticipated this outcome."
"You're not the only one."
Flashback end
"Ugh..." She placed her hat on her face, "Not that I have a right to complain. I didn't exactly leave."
Megatron roped Selena along under duress. She fought him off, he used a uranium chunk to manage her, now she's sitting on Starscream's shoulder as his lieutenant.
"Ha-ha!" She giggled exuberantly. "Ironic."
The plot for Megatron's untimely demise began Selena and Starscream's partnership. It should have ended with him. Two and a half months later they are still partnered. A mutual agreement. Besides, anytime one drifted the other lured them back. Temporary or permanent - the two guarded one another's back. Now with Megatron back, Selena and Starscream's partnership term elongated. Not that she was complaining, entirely. She wouldn't be dreading Megatron's return if she would have just left.
"How many times could I have left? Why did I stay?" She cursed herself. Was it to achieve her revenge? "I never needed help finding Autobots in the past. I don't need it now." Then there was only one reason left. One she would drown herself in tar for just admitting mentally. She pressed the hat firmly. "I've grown attached." An image of Starscream flooded her mind. Her heart fluttered. She punched her nose through the hat. The image blanked. "To the Cons. Not to him. He's just..." For some reason she though about the laugh they shared after learning she was engaged. That was the happiest she had been in years. "Idiot..."
"A little harsh, don't you think?" Selena tensed. The Beret lifted from her face. The afternoon sun blinded her briefly. Selena leaned up, blocking the rays. Gradually allowing the brightness to set, the shadowed figure shaped into a smirking Knockout. "You were having an off day, remember?"
"Oh. Right!" Selena panted, holding her beating heart. For second she thought he overheard her conversation.
Knockout pulled up a seat beside her. He marveled at the view. He saw why Selena took a little siesta on the mountain. "You've been distant. Defeat at the hands of a human shame you?" He teased.
"I wasn't defeated." She curled her knees to her chest.
"True!" He leaned on a hand to the other side of her, scooting close. His high thigh touched her. Selena pretended to pay it no mind. The heat shading her cheeks said otherwise. "Had I not given you such an encouraging speech, you would have went down in flames just like our late protégé, Skyquake."
"Aren't you full of yourself!" Selena laughed. Knockout shrugged. Primus gift to Decepticons. Selena had grown used to his narcissism. "Thank you, all the same."
Knockout bowed his head, "My pleasure."
"By the way, how did you...um..." She scratched her cheek bashfully.
"I figured it out when you were abducted." A man named Silas took advantage of Selena's blindness. Sent his men to abduct and kidnap her. "I was asked to survey you by Starscream."
Selena gaped in awe. "Starscream sent you after me?" She gasped.
"Yes." Knockout cleared his throat, blushing, "He and I were worried...wanted to ensure you didn't get in further trouble." Selena buried half her face in her knees. Her blush reddened. They were worried. Half an embarrassed smile was thankfully hidden. Starscream was worried. "Anyway..." Knockout regained attention, "You repeatedly tapped a foot, a hand. I was debriefed on your Magnetic Dousing, as well as your ability to maneuver with the use of muscle memory and magnetism." Selena raised a brow. "You rely on metal. On Madagascar, in the desert - you were virtually defenseless." Selena shied guiltily, shifting to a neighboring rock. "I'm surprised Starscream hadn't noticed."
"He did, actually." It was Knockout's turn to be confused. "Don't you remember what he said?"
"I require your 'unrefined' talents for a small matter."
Knockout's face slacked in utter shock. He looked at Selena. There truly was a loop. "Starscream figured it out after I killed Vida. He's been training with me, and over overseeing my training, ever since then." She scoffed derisively, "My powers are immature, after all."
"Immature? Nuh-uh! Wet behind the ears? A little." He slipped a finger to her arm, stroking lovingly, "As a medic I learned, a dull blade can be fined to a scalpel with care." Once again confusion takes hold. "Meaning you'll fine your semi-dull skills with time. Just keep at them."
"You think so?" Selena blushed.
Knockout placed her hat to her head. "I know so."
Selena got twinkle in her eye. She flew up and planted a kiss on his cheek. Knockout's circuits whistled out of control. "Thanks, Knockout."
Knockout sputtered dumbly. He fiddled with his fingers. He coughed, tripping over his own words, trying to shrug the kiss off. Words of gratitude mixed with humility all slurred by gibberish. The rev of an engine broke the flustered spell. Knockout peered to the ground. Selena drove off for the city, leaving Knockout in what felt like a dream. The medic touched two fingers to where Selena kissed him. The mark was so fresh it felt like her lips were still there.
"AHEM!" Knockout composed himself, dusting off the experience as if of were nothing. He fixed an imaginary collar like the debonair that he felt like. "Starscream, you are going to be green!" He chuckled victoriously.
...
"She said that?!" Bulkhead shouted. A good thing they were outside on the cliff. Fowler wanted to spare Jack, Miko, and Rafael the bad news.
"I can't believe it!" Ratchet uttered awestruck. "Selena doesn't want the kids around anymore."
"Why are we sweating this?" Arcee scolded her comrades. "We've wanted this for weeks now." Bumblebee bleeped in hearty agreement. The kids will be safer by staying away from her.
"I'm just saying it's a little strange." Bulkhead replied calmly. He wasn't complaining, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't concerned. "Selena had a great weekend with Raf, she saved Miko, had lunch with them. Now she wants to ditch 'em?" The scenarios weren't adding up.
Ratchet tapped his chin pensively. It certainly made no sense. "It's no secret the Decepticons do not value human life. Selena is more liberal."
"^Meaning what exactly?^" Bumblebee droned sardonically.
"Perhaps her sudden change in tolerance is due to coercion."
"What?" Bulkhead guffawed incredulously. "The Coins threatened her to stop talking to the kids?"
"What other explanation is there?" Ratchet shrugged resignedly. It was difficult to say whether or not he was disappointed or relieved by Selena's decision.
"There is another likelihood." Optimus rumbled. He grunted uneasily, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Though I am afraid my prodding caused this outcome."
"What do you mean?" Fowler worried.
"Selena cares a great deal for the children. More than she'll ever admit. However, her desire for revenge and current affiliation with the Decepticons..."
"Selena wigged out when she learned Jack, Miko, and Raf were dragged into our mess." Arcee recalled. "If they are drawn into hers..." The day Fowler was kidnapped, the children were drawn into the crossfire where they learned the horrifying truth about Selena. "Hmph." Arcee shook her head with a smirk. "She's killed and shown little remorse. She even went all out in front of them, and they still liked her." Arcee was charmed by the loyalty. There was an underlying note of dismay.
Fowler furrowed his brow. "Selena holds no regard for life." He reiterated for the record. "Get in her way, and she'll move you. Attack her, and she'll kill you." He gazed at the ground, still able to see the kids playing their videogames. "I don't want the same to happen to these three. The time for using them as leverage is over." Bulkhead coughed bashfully. Bumblebee bounced his fingers together like a guilt ridden child. Selena has shown restraint around the children in the past. With her newfound resolve, the bots cannot risk Jack, Miko, and Rafael's safety. They've witnessed the drastic measures she's taken to make her message known. "I won't ask you to sever ties with the kids. By if they stick around, they've GOT to be kept as far away from Cons as possible. From Selena."
"Agreed." Ratchet uttered regretfully. "Selena is unstable. Unpredictable. Unmanageable. I shudder to imagine what she is up to at this very moment."
...
"Large mango pineapple and blueberry pomegranate smoothie, bacon mcdouble, grilled classic, large fry, 40 pieces of nuggets with barbecue and spicy buffalo, and wrap it all up with six chocolate chip cookies and a milk to go."
"Would you like a drink carrier?"
"Please and thank you." Selena handed over her chase card and charged the order. A receipt printed, marking her as customer 300.
Fridays in Jasper are like Fridays in every other town. Everyone and their mom's out of work and school and lounging about at their favorite fast food eatery. The place was so packed you couldn't lean against the wall without bumping into someone.
There were at least ten orders ahead of Selena. So she, miraculously, found a place to sit and waited patiently. 'Grroowwl...' She hugged her famished tummy. Curse this metabolism! She grabbed her phone, hoping to distract herself. A photo of her with Jack, Miko, and Raf took her by surprise. She forgot she made that her wall paper. "Geez. You'd think I was abandoning them." She laughed at herself. In a sense she was.
You care about those kids, One Con shouts in her mind. Why do you fraternize with those pests? Another scolds. I know you care for them, An aggravating bot interjects. "Grr..." Selena touched her wrinkled forehead. She can't recall the last time she had this powerful a migraine. "I don't want them to go...but...the Coins..."
"Hey. It's you." Selena's head shot up. "Melina? Right?" Selena eyed the woman curiously. A brunette woman in a nurses garb beamed elatedly.
"Uh! Selena!" She corrected, shaking out of the daze. "And you...you're Jack's mom. Right?"
"June Darby." Selena gestured to a seat. June sat across from her. "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"
"Can't complain. You?"
"Starving. But good." June glanced nervously at the crowd. "Good thing I get an hour as a break."
"Yeah! You're a nurse. How is that going?"
"Not glamorous, messy, often heartbreaking." Hope illuminated her face, "However, knowing I can help save some lives is a true dream." Selena pushed back, slumping under the guilt knotting her stomach. "There were these three girls two months ago who came in with bloodied necks. They were strangled with wore or something." Horror cracked over Selena like a rock. She remembers those three girls. She was the reason they ended up in the hospital. The two must be smaller than Selena thought if they found their way to June. "I know those three girls. They are the brats of the city. But they didn't deserve what happened to them."
A malicious, woeful hue shadowed Selena. As a nurse, June is trained to value life. 50% of the human populace treasures it. Selena lost all regard for life 30 years ago. "I heard it was because they finally pushed someone who doesn't budge."
"Whatever the reason, murder - attempted or otherwise - doesn't solve anything." June retorted, offended by Selena's apathy.
"Yet it happens." Selena hissed. "For no reason, or with a pathetic reason, murder happens." June was taken aback by her sternness. There was an emotional shake.
"Selena-"
"300! Your food is ready!" Selena checked her receipt. It was hers. The food couldn't arrive at a better time.
Selena pushed to her feet. "Selena wait!" June pleaded. Her words were cast to deaf ears. Selena gabbed her bags of food and stormed out. June ran after her just as she stuffed the food in a bag. "Selena! Please! If I offended you, I'm sorry!"
Selena sighed somberly, leaning on her bike. Her head hung. "I'm not easily offended, Mrs. Darby. But I'm not remorseful either." She rasped ominously. June shook her head. She didn't understand. I'm sorry, Raf. She looked June dead in the eye and said, "I strangled those girls two months ago."
June went stiff as a board. Her face sank, weighed by heart stopping fright. "W-what?" She trembled. She heard that wrong. She must have. "Selena-"
"PLEASE!" Selena's voice cracked, stopping June's denial with a flat palm. She wasn't a close friend, but hearing June waver hurt Selena. "June, you heard me! I warned those girls countless times to leave me alone! They didn't listen!" June started to step back, going for the restaurant. Meanwhile her minded screamed LIES. The friend of her son couldn't be mixed up in something like this. "At my lowest emotional point they pushed me again! So for the first time in four years I pushed back! And I've committed a Hell of a lot worse crimes than harming three brats."
"You tried to kill them." June uttered emotionlessly. "You almost killed them. A weight lifted from her shoulders. She wanted it to be a lie. She was too smart' and rational, to delude herself further. "The stitches, the blood..."
Selena got on her bike. She held the drinks on the center. "Feel free to tell the cops. I've killed them before too."
June broke of her daze and hissed, "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY SON! DO YOU HEAR ME?"
"I do." Selena's bike roared on, frightening June, "Just make sure you relay the same message to Jack!" Her tire screeched as the bike was sharply whipped around. June choked on the burned rubber fumes. Selena rode the hind wheel to the main street, disappearing.
June paced furiously holding her head. To think she met such a person by chance. And her son was friends with her! No longer! June got on her phone and called Jack. It went straight to voicemail. "Jack! It's mom! That girl Selena! I don't want you talking, hanging out with, or even thinking about her!"
...
Knockout strolled to the bridge. Humming, chortling, strutting like player with a lucky lady on his arm. The little jump in his step reared Starscream's attention from the monitor. Knockout pulled a little spin, clicked his tongue, and boastfully pointed.
"What, pray tell, has you in such a cheerful mood?"
"The score is now tied, Herr Commandant!" He touched a spot on his cheek, "Little Miss Leena placed a little protocol on my smooth cheek plate."
"She what?" Starscream grumbled confusedly. Knockout blew a kiss to the air. A jolt shocked Starscream's processor and he slumped in dismay. "SHE WHAT?!"
"YEP!" Knockout wrapped an arm around Starscream's shoulders, rubbing it in, "The little missy gave me the softest kiss of gratitude. No doubt for my valorous speech and spirit lifting words."
Starscream's talons curled tightly, growling in what sounded like humiliation. "Gratitude! Nothing more! Do not inflate your ego like those overglorified compilations of rubber!"
"Ooh!" Knockout wrapped an arm to Starscream's shoulder, boastfully rubbing in the sting. The height difference only allowed him one shoulder. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Starscream sputtered flustered, wriggling from Knockout. "By the Alspark! YOU ARE!"
"I am not! The simple notion curdles my energon!"
"Then why are you blushing?"
Starscream turned his back to the audacious vehicle Con. "I am not blushing, nor jealous! I just..." He scratched the patch of red on his cheek plate, "Don't want the wrong idea given! Remember! The girl is flesh!"
Knockout scoffed, fanning a hand, "Like I give a hoot about that. The girl has moxy, spunk, and is a Con with flesh! Plus she has the most ADORABLE laugh."
"Urgh...what merit does any of this babble hold?"
"It means, Screamie, that if the girl means nothing to you," He tapped his shoulder, "I want her riding my shoulder from now on."
Starscream hadn't noticed, but his expression slowly slipped to melancholy. His upright shoulders slumped. Crimson orbs always so serious and filled determination blanked.
"Surely it sounds ludicrous." Knockout announced to show he understood what he requested. "And I'm sure you've gotten used to having the most powerful being on this ship to yourself." Knockout leaned forward and furrowed his brow, making Starscream retreat back, "But if the girl is nothing more than a tool for you, there should be no objections."
"And there aren't." Knockout was caught off guard. Starscream swallowed, then folded his hands behind his back. As commander in chief he must hold himself strong and proud. "Selena may do as she pleases. She has done so since day one. Our partnership is commonplace du to how comfortable we've become." A little too comfortable. "She has partnered with Breakdown and other Decepticons in the past. There is no reason she cannot do so again."
Knockout was skeptical of the sudden resolve. Studying the commander further, Starscream never wavered in his proclamation. Selena did not solely belong to him. "Hmm. Alright. Thank you, Lord Starscream." Knockout bowed sarcastically, then took his leave.
Starscream cleared his throat. There was a tension in his spark chamber. "What is this ridiculous feeling?" He scolded himself. "I must consult the aides when my business if concluded. I could have a spark murmur." Reviewing the logs on the bridge monitor, he came across an energon mine recently secured by a team Selena led. It suddenly got him thinking, "I wonder what she is up to right now."
...
Selena found a quiet spot in a park to eat her food. She dug into the French fries first. Just as she put a fry into her mouth her phone rang. Flipping it open, her heart skipped seeing that it was Starscream. Why am I happy? "H-hey, Scream! What's up?" She face-palmed. WHY AM I ACTING NERVOUS?
"I am ensuring all is well. You have been absent for a lengthy duration without word."
Selena touched her chest. Was he worried? "Sorry." She sipped her apprehension down with mango. "I've had a lot on my mind. Hope I didn't worry you."
Starscream laughed on the other end. "I'd be more concerned if you actually called me instead of vice versa."
Selena giggled heartily. A man with a hamburger and hotdog sat on the adjoining bench behind her. "As if I'd ever call you. Remember, this is the third time - or fourth - that you've called me."
"Moving on." Starscream concluded before the situation turned dramatic. "Knockout addressed an interesting situation. You and I have been pairing far too often on assignments."
"We have?" Selena thought about it for a second. "I guess we have. Did something go awry because of it?"
"Not now. But it could. Because of our previous arrangement, we've created a loop. This has created an air of mistrust amongst the ranks."
"I hear you. We have our own signals and are able to read each other. Meanwhile everyone else is left to question."
"Precisely. So until morale is increased, let's you and I minimize our time together."
A sharp prick stabbed Selena's heart. "Sure thing, Starscream. I'll see you all tomorrow, okay."
"Good. Until then." The call ended.
Selena sighed dismally, putting her phone into her pocket. She chewed on a fry blankly. "Minimize. Why does that sound like breaking up?"
The man behind her sipped a vanilla shake. He lapped up the little bit, savoring the taste. Selena moved her smoothie to her lips, "Love is a very whimsical thing, is it not?" Selena stopped the straw centimeters before it touched. Fear widened her trembling eyes. That voice... "Treasure it while it lasts, Ms. Smith." The way her name rolled of his tongue like a sweet delicacy made her skin crawl.
Selena picked a badge from her hat. It would be simple enough to stake the man with the bars supporting the bench. Then again a lot of people knew her name. Teachers, cops, government agents, teenagers. 90% of that populace despised and hated her. But it didn't mean it called for death. Not yet. This voice though. It made her WHOLE body prickle. A static cling. Selena wanted to meet the voice head on.
The man behind her wore a wide brim hat, concealing the white shaven locks poking just below. Her fingers held on tight to the badges. Slowly she skulked. No sense alarming the figure. The man pretended to not take notice as he enjoyed his hot dog. Amazingly enough his black tench coat drew no attention. Not that Selena was one to balk at someone's appearance.
Selena came full circle. The brim of the hat obscured the face. The man took one more sip of his shake, then laughed, "There is no call for weapons, Ms. Smith." The man raised his head. A nasty scar greeted her. Selena's skin shed right off her bones. Ice consumed her blood. "I simply wish to talk."
"SILAS!"
To be continued.