AN:

Transformers on Earth

Autobots

· Optimus Prime

· Ratchet

· Ironhide

· Bumblebee

· Sideswipe

· Arcee

· Chromia

· Hawk

· Smokescreen

· Que/Wheeljack

· Jetfire

· Dino/Mirage

· Roadbuster

· Leadfoot

· Topspin

· Brains

· Wheelie

Major Decepticons

· Megatron

· Starscream

· Sideways

· Shockwave

· Soundwave

· Onslaught

· Breakdown

· Knockout

· Thundercracker

· Skywarp

· Swindle

· Laserbeak

· Crankcase

· Crowbar

· Hatchet

Two hours later, as Caden lay in his bedroom holding the woman he loved, his face nuzzling her neck and hair as they drifted off together, he thought of all the blessings he had. He had a world, a home that wasn't in danger of perishing. He had a woman, his woman, his soulmate. He had a brother, not in blood, but in bond. He had a family, his family, and from that moment on, Caden swore that he would die before letting it be torn apart. He knew they all felt the same.

…

30 minutes later

Unknown location

"So, this man, does he have a name?"

"It's not like he gave me a business card when he broke my arm and almost strangled me to death."

"Yes, he has a tendency to do that." A long pause came before the speaker continued. "You were a fool to take him on alone."

"I didn't know who he was, man. How could I have known that?"

"You couldn't. Which is why you've come to me. Wiser decision. So you say he's stolen your woman?"

"Sure looked that way. Bastard filled her head with lies and poisoned her against me."

"I see...yes, I should definitely be able to help you, Mr...what was your name again?"

"Dusk. Kevin Dusk."

…

3 weeks later

7:15 AM

Sudley, VA

1 year, 10 months after the death of the Fallen

"Caden, we've got contact!"

Drake ran from the living room into the garage, staring at Hawk's holoform as the Bot's expression gave him a good idea of the critical state of the situation. "What kind?"

"Not sure, but it's close and coming fast."

Caden nodded to him and ran back into the house, sprinting for the armory. "Kara," he called, "suit up!" He felt her sidle up next to him, slipping on a skintight one-piece nanofiber suit over her underwear, slightly distracting her partner as he gave her body a long glance before clipping on his fully loaded Daggertail.

"Hey," she said, patting his shoulder with the back of her hand. When he turned to her, she put a compact pistol into his left hand. "It's my own design."

His eyes perused the weapon, fingers sliding over its edges and sections, pulling back the slide and spying a familiar round in the chamber. "Trilithium high-explosive?"

She smiled. "Of course."

"So basically it's a demolition pistol."

Kara pouted slightly. "S'not all it can do. Hit the button next to the slide release."

He did so and watched as a miniature holoprojector emitted a series of pseudo-screens on the side of the weapon's barrel. "Is that a...reticle?"

She grinned. "Yep. Load this baby up with either the trilithium rounds or your standard AP, and it'll track your trajectory and approximate range." Kara frowned at the way he almost winced. "What?"

"It's nothing."

Her dark eyes stared at him hard. "Is it your shoulder?"

His head snapped to her. "What? No, no. No pain. It's just...really? Do you have that little faith in my skills?"

She rolled her eyes and strapped a small throwing knife to the inside of her right boot. "It's not about that. I know you can hit a target from half a mile away with a rusty .22 pistol. I just…" She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I just thought it was a cool addition."

Caden turned it over in his hand, turning the holo-targeting system on and off, and smiled. "Definitely." A clip on the right side of the pistol allowed him to fasten it to the left side of his belt. "Finally, I've got a weight balance."

"Gonna throw you off," Kara asked, getting to her feet.

He shrugged. "Nah, not by much. I'm adaptable, remember?"

"Better than anyone," she purred.

He gave out a chuckling sigh as he pushed past her to get downstairs. When they both mounted up into Hawk, it became apparent that the Autobot felt the same way he did.

"So, are you two gonna be able to keep your hands off each other long enough to lay hands on the enemy?"

"If there is one," she said, "sure. Afterward though..." Her voice trailed off as she gave Caden a near-lecherous look that almost made Hawk want to gag. Almost. If it were his femme…

The Bot shook himself out of that train of thought, though his energon settled as he came to the realization that he'd be making up for lost time in their position too...although in their position, he'd already have been sparkmated, or married, and interfacing by now. A million years of war were enough to teach him both the dangers and advantages of waiting. Waiting for the right time to face Starmind again had him waiting for a day that never came. They had their day now, had utterly minuscule lifespans compared to him, and yet they waited. Human logic, he thought, shaking his head internally. Or the lack thereof. They clearly loved each other, were quite happy together, and could most definitely spend the rest of their lives together, if the way they were so often joined at the hip was any indication.

He, for one, wished they would just get it over with and get married. He had even cornered Caden about it in one of those rare moments alone in recent memory.

"Why don't you just propose to that girl already," he'd asked.

Caden had given him a stern look, then turned away and kicked at the floor absently. "Too dangerous."

"Pardon the language, but, bullshit."

"No, Hawk, I mean it. It's too dangerous. If we...if we marry, and then...you know, do what goes with marriage...and she gets pregnant…"

His voice had trailed off, but he didn't need to finish the sentence for Hawk to get his meaning. "She'd be vulnerable."

Caden's dark eyes had intensely locked with his. "We both would, and even if nothing bad happened, I refuse to bring a child into a world with such conflict. It wouldn't be fair."

"To you two or the child?"

Caden stayed silent a long time. "Both."

That had been barely two weeks ago, and Hawk had no intention of continuing the discussion any time soon. He understood the boy—man's reasons, even if he didn't necessarily agree with them. Still have to get used to thinking of him as a man. Although, in Cybertronian years, he would never be much more than a sparkling, Caden was far more mature than many Bots a thousand times his age, and deserved to be treated as such.

"So where exactly is this 'contact'?"

The question snapped Hawk out of his thoughts. "Nokesville. Farm country."

…

15 minutes later

7:35 AM

Nokesville, VA

"Get cover!"

Caden eagerly obeyed, barely ducking under plasma fire coming from the burning barn. Their "contact," singular, had actually turned out to be "contacts," three of them, and by far, they were some of the meanest, nastiest-looking Decepticons he'd ever laid eyes on. Even Hawk was visibly shaken by their appearance, although the man reasoned that was probably because he recognized them. Drake had only gotten a good look at two of the three, and they looked unlike any Cybertronian he'd ever come across: more bestial than the Dreads, and definitely more bloodthirsty. They were each roughly 24 to 25 feet tall and a dull gray, one with dark gold "antennae" and reversed leg joints like a wolf, the other with several claw-like appendages sticking out of his chassis from his arms, shoulders, and back. The back ones almost looked like wings.

No matter their appearance, they all had significant amounts of firepower. The clawed one was firing some sort of electric cannon at the Autobots and NEST personnel that had engaged, its barrel emitting arcs of concentrated lightning that left charred and overloaded matter wherever they touched. Ironhide had been struck twice, and even his tough armor was glowing and sliced in some places. Thankfully, the humans had, by and large, kept their distance, and Caden was no exception this time. It was his first true combat op in two months-the fight with Knockout didn't count-and frankly, he was feeling out of sorts. Drake figured it was just a matter of time before he would get back into the swing of things and resume his "peak-human ass-kickery," as Liz had so aptly coined it when they were dating.

Right now, he was taking potshots at the clawed Decepticon, targeting his elbow joints with high-velocity rounds and throwing his aim off. Since his weapons seemed to rely on disruptions in ambient electrical charge, his range was limited, so unless his red optics could turn humans to stone, the murderous looks he was throwing Caden's way would stay just that.

"Put some protective fire on the west side!" the human yelled.

"On it!" Ironhide shouted back, rolling under a missile from the third Con to blanket the west section of the barn with high-explosive shots from his cannons. The choppy automatic fire of his guns sent dozens of plasma rounds and missiles toward the enemy, but the roar that answered his efforts was not one of pain, but of rage.

"Oh scrap," Hawk breathed out.

The sounds of transformation came from the barn, and all present watched in horror as a gigantic metal insect ascended from the ruined building, resembling something out of an entomophobe's worst nightmare. A large, flying beetle rose out of the smoke, its metal exoskeleton shifting to reveal over a half dozen very large weapon barrels. If beetles could look angry, this one was completely blacked-out. Literal fire and high-heat explosions followed the gaze of the massive Decepticon, along with the angle of those barrels. Two more transformation sounds, each a little different from the first, were heard from the barn, and another flyer ascended, this one about two-thirds the size of the first, with six legs, a massive abdomen, and gigantic pincers. Both of their wings hummed loudly and threateningly as they flew toward the enemy, their new airborne status giving them immediate advantage and forcing NEST and the Autobots to retreat.

The third Decepticon seemed to be ground-based, though that didn't make him any less frightening in his alternate form. This one resembled a very evil-looking cricket with the head of a bee, four short front legs, and two much longer rear ones. And he was charging. Bullets ricocheted off the Con's tough armor as he leapt over the first line of NEST vehicles, the claws on his back legs slashing their doors to shreds as he landed. He twisted in a spiral, knocking vehicles and soldiers across the semi-green field and hissing at the lot of them. When Hawk showed up with the Sword of Primus, the two appendages on his back hummed to life, and Caden realized darkly that they were wings. The three Decepticons all rose into the air, intermittent fire from all present following in their wake until they were out of range.

When the smoke started to settle and everyone started breathing again, Caden turned to his still-masked guardian and checked behind him to see Kara digging herself out of the rubble of an overturned NEST jeep. "What the hell was that," he asked the Autobot.

"Those," Ironhide answered, "were Insecticons."

Caden raised both eyebrows in tandem with the newly promoted Colonel Lennox, who spoke up to his friend. "Insecticons? Seriously?"

'Hide nodded. "Seriously. Very ugly, very nasty. Those three are the only ones who left Cybertron with the Decepticons."

"Why?"

"Because the rest of them are a bunch of Pit-bound slaggers," Hawk cut in. "Not intelligent or evolved enough to even transform, much less think beyond the next fight."

"But they're really good in a fight," Caden said, "so Megatron keeps them around?"

Hawk nodded with a roll of his optics, finally retracting his mask. "They're dumb muscle, plain and simple."

"Not those three though."

Hawk and Ironhide shared a look before the former responded. "Not as dumb, maybe, but...they're definitely a lot more of a threat than their less evolved brothers."

"So...them being here is...bad, right?"

"Very."

"Well, we've got two dead Cons, a psychotic teleporter, an assassin-slash-scientist, and three professional saboteurs trying to kill us." Caden shrugged, then broke into a grin and half-hysterical laughter. "What're a few beetle robots gonna do?"

Though he didn't much care, when he looked around, Caden noticed that he was the only one laughing.

…

1 hour later

8:42 AM

NEST headquarters, Washington, DC

Caden absently spun his knife on the table like a top, the tip digging slightly into the metal and anchoring it as it twirled in his hand. His eyes drifted to the table's other occupants, Lennox, Kara, and Mearing, occasionally glancing at his semi-brooding guardian off in the opposite corner of the room.

"Welp," he said flippantly after another minute of silence, "I'm bored."

"Sorry we're less than entertaining," Mearing mocked.

"I'm getting breakfast," he stated, snatching up his knife and returning it to its sheath.

Kara looked at him strangely. "You already had it."

"And now I'm having it again." Without another word, he strode out of the ops center, where the others were staying, waiting for news, and went to the mess hall. Within the last hour, several semi-encrypted communications were intercepted by Keystone analysts under the command of Acting Director Korde and forwarded to Kara. She had immediately shown them to Caden and Mearing, who both instantly recognized the references to the underground nuclear plant in DC. Since then, NEST had been on high alert, suspecting another Talon-Decepticon joint operation in the works, their analysts working overtime to verify the threat. If such a communique was broadcast with any less security than top-notch, then, as Mearing had learned, Carmine most likely wanted someone to find it.

Caden shoveled the last of his mashed potatoes into his mouth, wondering at his sudden appetite. It had been bugging him, no pun intended, since the Insecticons, who they had all now been briefed on, had shown themselves. He was suddenly so very hungry...and giddy. He was never giddy after a life-and-death situation. Well, rarely anyway.

"Hey," someone called from behind him.

He turned and cracked a half-smile. "Hey yourself." Caden dropped his tray off in the cleaning rack and leaned back against a nearby wall, crossing his arms.

"So," Lennox said, mirroring his posture, "you believe this? You really think they'll try again?"

"Well, since leveraging me didn't work, Carmine's gotta have some sort of comeback. He's a sore loser, and in his case, that's often a very, very bad thing for the winners."

"But the same plan as before? It's too obvious."

"I agree. It doesn't feel right. Doesn't feel like...him."

Lennox's eyes narrowed. "What if…nah."

Caden snapped to him. "What?"

"What if it's not him? What if it's...Megatron?"

An expression of genuine fear passed over his face briefly before his calm mask fell back into place. "Possible. He's definitely homicidal enough to do it, and if he backs Carmine fully…" His eyes widened in horror. "Oh damn, you might be right." Caden strode toward the ops center faster than the colonel could keep up, pushing past a few soldiers who didn't clear out fast enough and laying his hands on the metal table with a slight thump. "Energon detectors."

Mearing met his crazed gaze. "What?"

"Have there been any spikes on our energon detectors?"

"Not that I'm…" Her voice trailed off as her fingers danced over a tablet. "Crap."

"What?"

"There's an unknown energon signature near the Lincoln Memorial."

Caden's eyes widened. "They're already here?"

One look at Hawk was all the Bot needed. Hawk immediately fell into a battle transformation, forming his Lamborghini alt mode within 1.5 seconds. Caden leapt in, followed closely by Kara, as Lennox ran for Ironhide. Bumblebee, Arcee, Chromia, Ratchet, Dino, Sideswipe, and Optimus transformed into their vehicle modes, interspersing themselves among the NEST convoy that rolled out of the base less than two minutes later. Since Caden had been off rescuing the girls the first time the plant was discovered, he had no idea what to expect. Certainly not the quaint, suburban environment next to the Georgetown Reservoir.

"No. Way."

"Way," Arcee transmitted to Caden through Hawk.

"Where did all of them hide last time?"

"They didn't. Set up barriers and barricades in an all-out assault. A siege, if you will."

"Distraction, more like."

"Well it was one expensive-and destructive-distraction."

Caden, Hawk, and Kara wheeled onto the concrete walkway surrounding the reservoir, rolling to a stop as the others fell in behind, the NEST vehicles making a staggered line between the reservoir and the nearby forest on its west side, the firing line for the Decepticons in their previous engagement. The gaps in their ranks were filled with Autobots. When the couple dismounted from their ride, Hawk transformed and drew his fusion cannon casually, half-disassembling it and performing routine maintenance. Optimus and Lennox had set up a command-and-control center in a copse of trees, the trailer easily concealed next to Prime's own mobile armory. Caden gave Kara a nod and headed there to coordinate with the NEST commander.

"What's the sitch?"

Both Lennox and Prime, who was using his holoform, arched an eyebrow at his uncharacteristic use of slang. "The energon signature from before has vanished," Optimus said. "None of our sensors are responding, however, so it may be some sort of jamming field."

"They can do that?"

"It's not easy," Ratchet said from behind him, "but it's possible. Shockwave could figure out a way, but he would have to apply either a blanket field over a tightly clustered group of Cons or individual jammers, which would require use of a small strike force instead of an assault group."

"We're setting up mobile energon detectors around the perimeter," Lennox added. "Hopefully that'll give us enough of an early warning to counter them."

Caden nodded in agreement. "All we have to do now is wait."

And wait they did. By ten o'clock, the Autobots, who were hidden among the trees, were checking their paint for scratches and scuffs. By eleven, NEST personnel were getting restless, as was Smokescreen, who had been called in as well. By twelve, Ironhide's patience was wearing thin. By one, Caden's patience was wearing thin. By two, Optimus was starting to shuffle about. When three o'clock and the intense summer sun rolled around in full, Caden leapt out of Hawk and started pacing the perimeter. All this inaction was giving him an ulcer...and a nagging feeling that they were missing something. He found Lennox in a state not much better, keeping under the shade and checking his weapons for the umpteenth time.

"Hey," he called to the colonel. Lennox only answered him with a nod, a thin sheen of sweat on his face and exposed skin. "Gotta love this Southern weather." Will grunted in agreement. Caden's eyes swept over the green of the forest, looking for anything out of place, as he had for the last six hours, but with the same result: nothing. "Something's wrong," he said suddenly, that pit in his gut reaching a fever pitch. "Megatron isn't known for subtlety in his assaults, and we haven't had anyone come or go." Then it hit him. "Carmine." His eyes widened. "Oh hell."

"What," Lennox asked, his voice panicky, as time had taught him to be afraid whenever Caden said that.

"Send your men in a sweep of the forest. Four-man teams. Oh, idiot. How could I not have seen this coming?"

"Caden, what?"

"Carmine's men are infiltrating this place, if they haven't already. That's why we haven't gotten any hits on our energon scanners. They've probably spent the last six hours spying on us from the bush, reconning our lines, getting an estimate of our forces." Caden shook his head. "Scratch that, don't send your men out. Carmine will know that I'd figure out his play eventually, and if I know him, he'll have laid traps all over the forest."

"Then how do we smoke them out?"

Caden narrowed his eyes. "I've got an idea." He ran over to Ironhide, who was checking out his cannons yet again. "'Hide!"

The Bot turned to face him with a grunt.

"Your cannons, do they still have that electric wave thing?"

Ironhide arched an eyebrow. "It's called an electron displacement wave."

Cade shook his head rapidly. "Whatever. I need you to prime both of them for that and point them into the forest."

By now, the Autobots, and Optimus in particular, were starting to notice his rapid movements and wonder at his tactics.

"Lennox, get ready to send your teams out."

"But you told me—"

"I know what I said, just trust me." Caden watched as Ironhide and Lennox both followed his plan, assembling squads and firepower as one. "Okay, widest spread and farthest range possible." Ironhide complied. "Three, two, one, go."

Two waves of intense static electricity arced from the cannons' barrels into the trees, scattering loose leaves and slightly singeing foliage. The other result was far more...explosive. About a dozen or more mines went off almost at once as the wave prematurely triggered Talon's traps. The disoriented screams of the men who planted them followed. NEST soldiers moved in on Lennox's command, the colonel having caught on to Caden's plan as they were being assembled. Gunfire rang out fifteen seconds into the search, and frenzied comm. bursts were heard from engaging teams. To humans who took on giant robots, the mercs were almost laughable...at a glance. Carmine's company had certainly started bringing its A-game, if the sudden reports of injuries among the soldiers were any indication.

Caden's teeth clenched. He knew it was just a matter of time before Megatron realized that his human ally's trap had failed and sent in his own troops. Giving Kara an intense look, they nodded to each other and charged into the forest, safeties switching off on their weapons as they joined the fray.

…

10 minutes later

3:15 PM

It was guerilla warfare in the nation's capital. And nobody even knew it was happening except those involved. Mearing had quite wisely evacuated the surrounding area, citing a potential fuel leak that got everyone up and out of there. Fuel leak, Caden thought with a cynical smirk. Right. Radioactive fuel, maybe. Caden spun around and fired a three-shot burst into another merc, back-to-back with Kara as they swept their section of the forest. Things were starting to calm down considerably. He had to guess that Carmine was finally realizing his mistake and wisely pulling his men back. It wasn't over.

A burst of alien rounds cut down two NEST soldiers from the brush, causing both Kara and Caden to spin toward the source and scramble for cover as two Pretenders leapt from the foliage and started shooting in all directions. The NEST personnel adapted quickly, but not quickly enough for some. Another corporal was killed and two more injured before a concerted salvo of firepower put the two alien infiltrators down. And then there was that humming again. Caden's eyes widened.

"Fall back!" he yelled to those present, knowing what was coming.

A moment or two later, half the trees were on fire from an airborne salvo by Hardshell, the largest of the Insecticons. Thankfully, most of the soldiers accompanying Caden had already gotten well away from the drop zone and retreated behind a wall of living metal. Ironhide was opening up with his cannons, and Bumblebee was targeting the enemy with his shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. Though nowhere near as powerful as the Insecticon individually, the collective firepower of the Autobots forced Hardshell to retreat as his two brothers revealed themselves. Sharpshot, the clawed Decepticon, flew in close and managed to get a wide spread of electrical discharge off. Ironhide and Optimus dashed between him and the humans, taking the brunt of the blast before collectively returning fire. The Con was heavily damaged by the time he managed to get to a minimum safe distance, effectively bugging out.

Despite the seriousness of their situation, Caden smiled at that unintentional pun even as he joined the others in their anti-air fire. And then the ground shook. Four Decepticon protoforms stormed out of the woods, throwing down canisters that transformed into the barricades Arcee mentioned earlier and ducking behind them. Vehicons followed not far behind, automatic fire from their assault rifles slicing through the air and into heavy armor and dirt. Optimus pulled a shield from his armory, firing an ion blaster in its primary mode, suppressing the enemy as Ironhide and Bumblebee laid down blanketing fire on them. Caden found Hawk tangled in close quarters with two protoforms, one of them in a headlock as he back-kicked another in the face. The Con he was holding had his removed a few moments later when a Cybertanium blade severed his head.

Sideswipe and Arcee skated around the barricades, keeping their speed as high as possible to avoid gunfire as they laid into the Decepticons, Sides with his new explosive blaster, Arcee with an energon repeater. The Cons returned fire and shouted in rough Cybertronian, calling for reinforcements. Missiles struck the two fighters' paths, the shockwaves bowling them over and leaving them vulnerable. Hawk sped toward them in vehicle mode, transforming and throwing one of his blades into the chest of a nearby Vehicon as he drew the Sword of Primus in one hand, his fusion cannon coming out in the other. The two superweapons did an immense amount of damage, the Sword leaving red-hot slashes wherever it hit, the cannon leaving only spare parts in most cases.

It wasn't until more Seekers started dropping in that he and the other two had to pull back. Optimus withdrew from the front, heading back toward his armory as the retreating Autobots filled in the gap caused by his absence. Hawk looked around hurriedly, finding Caden under cover and returning fire with his Daggertail. He couldn't be sure, as he'd been too busy to really keep track, but Hawk could've sworn that his partner had claimed at least two Decepticon kills in this fight alone. Turning his attention back to the battle, he saw a familiar vehicle mode incoming, shifting to Stealth Force mode and firing its minigun rapidly, a high-powered shot from its other weapon causing a shockwave that knocked down half the human soldiers nearby and left a considerable crater.

Hawk rolled under a missile from above, charging toward the new Decepticon and snapping both blades out of subspace as it transformed into Sideways and tackled him. The two assassins grappled on the ground, each trying to find leverage over the other until Hawk got the upper hand and pinned him to the ground in an armbar. His victory was short-lived, as a concentrated arc of electricity smacked into him from behind. He yelled in pain as Sideways threw him off and buzz-sawed his shoulder, clipping off a sizeable amount of armor. Sharpshot transformed into his bipedal mode and landed not far away, coming toward the close-quarters specialist with murderous intent, his claws expanding and forming cruel-looking, jagged blades about 8 feet long each. Hawk's blades started rotating at a breakneck speed as their saw functions kicked in.

Two blue plasma rounds smacked Sideways as he was about to fire his Nucleon rifle, throwing him off-balance and allowing Hawk to jump-kick him onto his back. More plasma hit the Insecticon, eliciting sharp, bestial hisses in response. Smokescreen rushed toward the three of them, guns blazing, leaping over Sharpshot's first slash and kneeing him in the face. Hawk took on Sideways up close, his saw-blades much more powerful than the left hand's, causing his opponent to withdraw almost constantly to avoid his attacks. Hawk had the upper hand, but Smokescreen was hopelessly outmatched. Not only was his opponent older and stronger than him, but he had weapons that were designed for close quarters. The rookie Bot took a slash to the chest, followed by a shallow stab to his knee that sent him falling over. Hawk drop-kicked Sideways, rolling as he fell toward the ground and realigning himself with a straight run to Sharpshot.

A gauss round tore through the Con's armor, causing him to spin around and slash his blades at neck level, missing Hawk's head by a foot. Hawk fell into a crouch, spinning clockwise in a trip-kick and dumping Sharpshot on his back. The enraged Insecticon roared at him and rolled away, transforming into his insect mode and firing his electric cannons at the both of them. Recoiling in pain, Hawk and Smokescreen tried to withdraw to a safe distance only to have Sharpshot follow them. A Stinger missile smacked into the Con's frame, nearly knocking him out of the sky, and both Autobots looked for its source. Lennox was already dropping the empty tube and moving on. The roar of jet engines drew their attention upward, Hawk keeping one optic on a withdrawing Sideways as Seekers began to fill the sky.

Two missiles knocked a cluster of them about with sudden turbulence, and two new sets of engines were heard by the ground troops. The F-35 alt mode of Jetfire and the blazing form of a jetpacked Optimus Prime streaked across the blue sky, firing weapons madly and scattering the enemy's air support. Another twenty seconds of fighting proved that NEST was getting a little of its own. A squadron of F-22s was approaching fast from the direction of Andrews Air Force Base. Suddenly, a flurried burst over comms. got Hawk's attention.

"They're past us! Skywarp got a group of Pretenders and mercs to the entrance!"

Hawk's spark skipped a beat.

"Copy that," Caden responded, "I'm on it. I need a team of close quarters specialists to meet me at the entrance, now!"

"Roger," Lennox said, "on their way."

A quick glance on Hawk's part revealed Caden, Kara, and about six soldiers entering the underground plant. Either they would succeed, and all would be well, or they wouldn't, and this place was about to become a nuclear wasteland.

…

"On your left!"

Caden spun on the soldier's advice, cutting down another merc with his Daggertail. He was running out of ammo, down to his last two mags. Was just a matter of time until all he had was his pistol. Correction, he thought, pistols. Deciding that his rifle was needed to take down Cons instead of humans, he slung it and drew his Sig. The custom pistol, which he'd taken to calling the CP—short for Continuum Pistol, after the TV show—was drawn as well, though he didn't turn on its special function. Kara noticed even as they swept toward the plant's evacuated control center.

"Why aren't you using...you know?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Because, it's in my left hand. Not gonna help me much if the targeting system is on the left side."

"But it won't be. Try it."

He obliged her, flicking an identical activation button that he noticed on the right side of the gun and powering up the holographic reticle. He pressed his lips together in appreciation. "Nice."

"Thought you'd think so."

They swept through the halls, finding basically no resistance until the last few doors before the control center. Automatic rounds struck the vest of a NEST soldier in front, and Caden yanked him back around a corner as the rest of the team opened fire. After confirming that his body armor had done its job, he drew both pistols, smirking slightly as the holo-reticle came to life and spinning around the corner to unload. At least, he unloaded one weapon. The CP, as he'd remembered, was currently loaded with high-explosive rounds, so he aimed for the tightest cluster of enemies and tagged the center one. Three mercs went down in one shot, two others following either to his Sig or the team. Kara was crouched behind a desk, pushing it over to get a flatbed of cover. Hot lead streaked across the tight room from all directions, forcing everyone to blind-fire or risk getting shot.

Caden spotted a Pretender heading deeper into the base, its human-sized metal body strutting toward a set of hazard-marked doors. Doors marked with the radiation symbol.

"Stop that one!" he yelled to his team. "It's heading for the core!"

Despite their best efforts, it was another five minutes before they were able to subdue the enemy and get to the doors. The Pretender, not fearing radiation, had gone right into the contaminated section of the plant. A few moments after they realized this, alarms started blaring all along the underground complex, and a mechanized voice started giving out evacuation warnings.

"Oh shit," one of the soldiers said from the back of the group, "they're trying to cause a meltdown!"

Cade turned toward the source of the voice and spotted a soldier with strawberry blonde hair standing near the back of the group. He had noticed that this man had been in the middle of a semi-protective formation created by the other soldiers from the beginning of their incursion. "And you know that how?"

"I'm a nuclear engineer, sir. Colonel Lennox sent me with the team."

Caden smiled. "Of course he did. So now what?"

The man looked around the decontamination room they were in and sighed in relief when he found what he was looking for. "There's one suit that hasn't been damaged." He punctuated this statement by pulling out a white radiation suit used by HAZMAT personnel.

Caden noticed that the other ones in the room were either punctured or shredded by gunfire before he and the engineer shared a look. "Go. We'll hold here." He raised his Daggertail and snapped a round into the chamber. "Give you as much time as we can."

He nodded as the helmet of the suit went down over his head. "I won't let you down, sir." The others stepped back as he went through the door, even though there was another hard-sealed room between them and the irradiated section.

Caden turned to the rest of the team and nodded. "Let's do this. Barricade up and find cover." The shuffling sounds of incoming enemies were heard from around a corner, and everyone obeyed Caden's orders in response. "Here they come!"

…

5 minutes later

"I found the problem," the engineer, Corporal Holdan, said over comms. He was kneeling by a ruptured coolant valve, trying to figure out a fix when he spotted a supply room not 20 feet away. Holdan leapt to his feet and sprinted for it, opening the door and looking inside to find exactly what he needed: an expanding, hard-sealing foam in a pressurized container. He scrambled out the door, the uncomfortable suit inhibiting his movements somewhat as he reached the leak and dispensed the container's contents. The patchjob was halfway done when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. Spinning and reaching for his weapon, he got halfway there when a bullet shot through his right leg. Shrieking in pain, Holdan reached for his sidearm as the Pretender stood over him, grinning malevolently with its metal teeth and raising its weapon slowly.

A half dozen .45 caliber bullets took the Decepticon's head off as Holdan emptied half his clip into it, tossing the gun aside and crawling toward the leak, his bloody right hand grabbing the canister of foam and spraying it into the crack. "It—" he stuttered out, "—it's sealed. It's done."

As if in answer, the alarms stopped a few moments later, and he breathed out in relief.

"Roger that," Caden said triumphantly. "Come on back."

And with that, Corporal Holdan's smile vanished. His eyes looked down at his leg, blood seeping out of an open wound just above his right knee. "I...I can't, sir."

"What do you mean you can't?" Drake's voice was all business.

"The...Pretender, sir. He shot me in the leg."

…

"Dammit," Cade breathed out, realizing the situation. His suit was ruptured, and deadly amounts of radiation were leaking in. He would be dead in a matter of ten to twenty minutes, and there were no intact suits that anyone could use to get him out. He was a dead man walking. "Dammit." Caden leaned against a nearby wall, almost collapsing in despair. Holdan was a hero. He had just saved the entire DC-Metro area from nuclear fallout...and he was dead. "Just...hang on, soldier. Just…" His throat closed completely, and he shared a red-eyed look with Kara, who lay against a control panel, having been wounded in one of the attacks. And then the rage came. Screw this. He scowled and turned his gaze to the contaminated area. No more, Carmine. No more dead heroes.

"Caden, wait!"

That was all Kara was able to get out before Caden hit the release on the door to the intermediate room, sealing it behind him before going into the irradiated section of the plant, no suit, no protection. He sprinted through one underground corridor after the next, following the limited updates that Holdan had given them during his search to get to him. When he saw fallen pieces of metal, he knew he had the right spot. His eyes swept over to the streaks of blood on the floor and found Holdan a second later. The man was stunned speechless as Caden slung his arm over his shoulder and started acting as a human crutch as they raced back to the decontamination room. When he hit the close button on the airlock, the room vented of radiation, and a cleansing mist covered them for a few moments before dissipating.

The door to the control room opened, revealing a gaping team of NEST soldiers and Kara, who looked like she was about to pass out between blood loss and the shock of her boyfriend running into a radioactive deathtrap and coming out alive. He stared at them all for a moment, Holdan's arm slung around his shoulders.

"Medic?"

…

3 hours later

6:50 PM

I-66 West

It was a heated battle after Caden and the others went underground, leaving Sideswipe injured and Smokescreen damaged trying to get to him. Optimus and Jetfire, along with their F-22 backup, had given the Seekers and Insecticons hell. Death from above was a very real possibility for the Vehicons and Combaticons that day, as the Seekers had been repelled within minutes. The last two and a half hours had been spent with Caden getting yelled at alternatingly by Ratchet and Kara, the former of which threw copious amounts of wrenches when he tried to leave the medbay, the latter throwing harsh glares from her hospital bed. He and Holdan had been treated for radiation poisoning, Caden getting off more easily due both to the lesser amount of time he spent exposed as well as his enhanced physiology. His cells kept regenerating faster than the radiation could affect them. A small miracle, where Ratchet was concerned.

Cade was in the middle of driving home in Hawk, already almost home, when he got a call.

"Caden, you're not gonna believe this."

He pressed his lips together. "Try me, Liz." I don't like her tone.

"There are two cars in my driveway, an SUV and a very familiar green sedan."

A sharp feeling thrummed through him. "No."

"Yeah."

"You still have that Colt I gave you?"

"Yes."

Caden's teeth clenched as he scowled. "Then do what you have to and stay alive. I'm on my way."

"Got it."

The phone clicked off, and Caden tossed it onto the passenger seat, scowling hard.

"What was that all about?"

"Liz is in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

Drake almost growled out his words. "Kevin Dusk."

…

10 minutes later

7:01 PM

Manassas, VA

Liz fired another .45 caliber round from her chrome-plated M1911 at the SUV in her driveway, its occupants returning fire with semi-automatic weapons, shattering more glass in their attempts to suppress her and approach the house. She hadn't seen him, but the girl was sure that Kevin was with them. Suddenly, one of the mercs pulled out an automatic weapon and started spraying the house, causing her to crouch down as much as possible and snap a fresh magazine into her pistol. Two mercs were approaching the front door, weapons raised and ready as they prepared to kick in the front door. She headed for the back and darted out as they came in, running into the forest as the fading sunlight cast long shadows over the trees.

More gunshots rang out, scattering shattered leaves and branches as the enemy fired on her. She broke into a full sprint, rounding a bend in her personal forest trail and jumping behind a fallen tree to hide from them. She watched as two rushed past, a third staying behind to cover them and make sure she didn't double back. Liz grit her teeth. Can't shoot him without alerting the rest. Can't take him on up close without getting hurt. Vanishing seemed like the only viable option. That is, until a familiar hand grabbed her from behind, her mouth covered with his palm as he pulled her off her feet. She reacted instantly, screaming into the appendage as she drove an elbow back into his solar plexus. Kevin hit the deck almost instantly as all the wind rushed out of him and Liz started running, leaving her Colt behind in the struggle.

Two mercs came from her front, leveling weapons at her, and she froze, hands in the air, terrified. "Wait," she almost whimpered in fear, "just—"

Three gunshots rang out, two of them hitting the merc on her right and the third getting the attention of the one on her left. She immediately took advantage of this, closing the distance and grabbing his gun, pointing the barrel away from her and kicking him in the groin. More gunshots from behind. The automatic gunner sprayed bullets in Caden's direction, missing by fractions of an inch as he corkscrewed backward, presenting virtually a thin line of a target to the enemy. Dodging his salvo, Caden regained his footing and fired on the gunner, nicking his shoulder and forcing him behind cover. Liz picked up the gun of the man she'd just downed, pistol-whipping him with it and knocking him out before moving to flank the gunner. Caden sent two .45 caliber shots into the tree, and Liz did a double-take as the man behind it slumped to the ground.

She looked at him disbelievingly until she saw the smoke trail between him and the tree. Magnetic accelerator. Figures. They exchanged a look of mutual gratitude a split-second before he was shot.

"Caden!" she shrieked, running toward his falling body and stopping when several shots hit near her feet, causing her to drop her gun in fright and freeze. "You...bastard," she choked out, glaring tearfully at Kevin, who was grinning malevolently and striding toward her, holding her Colt on her one-handed.

"He took you away from me."

"No," she corrected sharply, "you did."

He shrugged. "What does it matter? If I can't have you—" he cocked the pistol, "—nobody will."

"You're insane," she breathed out, shaking slightly in fear.

"Maybe, but you won't live long enough to worry about that."

Before he could pull the trigger, the angry roar of a custom engine was heard from her house and coming closer as Caden's 20-foot guardian transformed and leapt into the clearing where they were, knocking over a tree as he deployed his blade widthwise, the wide edge of the Cybertanium between Liz and the incoming bullet. It ricocheted off as Hawk roared at him and slammed his fist right next to him, knocking him over and causing him to drop the gun.

"So you're the degenerate Kevin Dusk," Hawk snarled, glaring at him. "Liz, you okay?"

"Cade," she choked out, pointing to his limp form.

"You...dare…" Hawk scowled and gave Dusk a murderous look as he got to his feet and grinned insanely.

"Hawk," Liz said from his right, causing the Bot to face her, a similar look on her face. "Kill him."

Hawk turned back to Kevin and drew his gauss pistol, his spark thrumming with a perverse pleasure at the suddenly terrified expression on his face. "With pleasure."

A loud shot rang out in the forest, scaring off birds and any critters who hadn't been dispersed by the sounds of gunfire from before. A smoking trail went through Kevin Dusk's body, leaving a hole right through his heart. Hawk's pistol lowered, and he turned his optics left in tandem with Liz. The other end of the smoke trail stopped at Caden Drake's Sig Sauer, which was lowered to his side and holstered after the safety was activated, his left hand pressed to a bloody hole in his chest. He groaned as he went completely limp, falling into Hawk's outstretched hand as he holstered his gauss pistol and motioned to Liz. A long scan of Caden's body allowed Hawk to recycle his energon in peace.

"The bullet didn't hit anything critical, but we need to get him to a hospital."

"Right," Liz responded, nodding as Hawk transformed, laying him gently in his driver seat and letting her get into the passenger side.

Halfway to the nearest hospital, Caden spoke up. "You remember what I told you about not compromising your ideals?"

Hawk couldn't help but feel scolded, and responded defensively. "I remember. I don't remember letting murderers get away free being one of them."

Caden was silent.

…

2 hours later

9:10 PM

NEST headquarters, Washington, DC

Ratchet really hadn't wanted to see Caden in his medbay twice in one day, but after a nosy Virginia policeman attempted to question the boy post-operation, he was glad that Drake had been transferred to a classified space, if only to protect the cop from Hawk's wrath. The Autobot was currently waiting with Liz and Smokescreen in the next room, Caden being temporarily bedridden due to his wounds. A familiar feminine shape came toward him from the shadows, sitting on a nearby chair and staring at him.

Caden grinned at her idiotically. "At least we get to spend the night together."

Kara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not what I had in mind."

"Oh, I know," he purred seductively, further irritating his girlfriend.

"Cade, this isn't a joke. I almost lost you twice in one day."

He shrugged painfully and shook his head. "Nah. There really wasn't any danger with the radiation, and the bullet didn't hit anything important."

"Cade," she chided.

"I know," he laughed, the musical sound turning into a pained groan as his body rebelled. His dark eyes locked with hers as he mouthed, "Morphine."

Kara sighed and laughed, taking his outstretched hand gently and smiling at him sweetly. "Of course. You're always funnier when you're under the influence."

He pouted dramatically. "You mean I'm not always funny?"

"Come on, don't give me that face. It's looks weird on you."

He breathed in and out, becoming a little more serious. "I know. Trust me, I know."

She got his meaning. "Stay?"

Caden nodded and gripped her hand a little tighter. "Stay."

Kara smiled and pressed her lips to his gently, her free hand stroking his hair and neck, causing a small, contented sigh to leave his lips as she pulled away, his eyes drooping closed and head leaning to one side as he dropped off to sleep.

AN: Once again, sorry for the wait. You can probably assume that from now until around next June or so, I'll be updating about once a week. Even if I manage to get a chapter out faster than that, I'll probably hold back from releasing it until a week is up just to keep the rhythm.

Looks like Caden had to keep his promise after all. Wonder how Carmine's complete failure is going to go over with Megatron…

Regardless, as always, I hope you enjoyed this update and are looking forward to more. After next chapter, Dark of the Moon begins, and it's gonna be a lot. I'm sooo excited to see how you guys respond to the effects my characters are gonna have on the plot.

Please review and recommend.

Musical Inspirations:

Transformers: the Score - Bumblebee: Holdan's struggle and repairs, 2:44 - Caden's rescue

P.S.: Just so you know, when I mention Decepticons having assault rifles, think of the clawed guns that the protoforms have in Dark of the Moon