Chapter 26: Goodbyes
Autobot HQ…
Jack walked down the halls towards the main living area, his mind finally in some semblance of ease. His talk with Arcee had helped him to calm down, and while he still felt terrible for what he'd done, he wasn't going to let it run his life. He had to move on from the past, to look to the future.
The portal would be finished today and Jack could finally return home, back to the old base and his old house. He may not have liked every aspect of his life, but that didn't mean he didn't miss it, the school his friends. The only thing he didn't miss was the K.O burger and he was pretty sure that place was destroyed, much to his happiness.
Jack smiled at the thought of that hellish establishment being destroyed and turned a corner, when he suddenly heard sparking and a loud clank of metal hitting concrete. He turned in the direction of the noise before realizing where the noise had come from. When he made the connection he felt his pulse speed up.
That was the same direction as Arcee and Dusk! Jack took off running down the halls as concern ran through his mind. He wondered if maybe Arcee had insulted Dusk or done something to get the Halfling angry. Minus their prank on Ratchet the two never really got along all that well, in part due to Dusk's prank.
Jack just hoped that wasn't the case and slid around a corner to an odd sight. Dusk stood in shock over the limp form of Arcee who lay on the floor, sparks shooting from her helm. It was then that Jack realized that Dusk must have said something to make the Femme glitch.
Jack calmed down and approached the two more calmly, walking instead of running. Dusk looked up at him with fear on her face. This puzzled Jack until he realized the girl likely thought he would lose his temper if he saw Arcee like that.
Jack hid his smile as he kneeled down next to Arcee and cradled her gently to himself, and decided to pull a small prank of his own on Dusk. He calmed himself and bowed his head keeping his face away from Dusks sight.
"What… Happened?" he demanded, making his voice serious and dark.
"Kal I…" she started, her voice quivering with fear.
Jack had to try hard not to laugh at how timid Dusk was acting "What, happened!?" he asked making his voice angrier while laughing manically on the inside. Arcee stirred slightly but Dusk didn't notice.
"Kal I swear it was an accident, I didn't mean to cause her to glitch like this!" she yelled, her voice becoming hysteric
Jack had to keep all his effort from collapsing into fits of laughter, those his frame trembled slightly from holding it in. Dusk apparently took this the wrong way and thought he was losing it.
"Kal please don't be mad, please, please, please, don't be mad!" she pleaded backing away from him.
At this point Jack couldn't hold back his laugh anymore and collapsed into laughter, setting Arcee on the floor so he could laugh without dropping her. Dusk looked at Jack confused at first by his reaction, as if she didn't expect him to start busting out laughing.
"W-what?" she asked, clearly confused.
Jack held his sides as he continued to laugh "O-oh m-my god, my sides," he said trying to catch his breath "You should have seen the look on your face!" he collapsed into another fit of laughter while Dusk glared at him.
"Oh. My. Primus. YOU JERK!" Dusk screamed, causing Jack's laughter to die down "YOU HAD ME BELIEVING YOU WERE TOTALLY TICKED OFF AT ME YOU LITTLE FRAGGER!" she yelled.
Jack grinned at her "Consider it payback for all the times you and the others have walked in on Arcee and I," he said with a smile. He picked Arcee up off the floor and turned to place her in their quarters.
As he took a step forward a thought occurred to him "Exactly what did you tell Arcee?" Jack asked turning to the Halfling. Dusks anger seemed to evaporate quickly enough at that question.
Dusk became very withdrawn scuffing her shoe against the floor, similar to Kara. When she did that Jack couldn't help but compare the two, they were so a like in so many ways. Dusk was just more… Fiery, in how she acted. Most of the time.
"I may have…" Dusk paused and seemed to wander if she should tell Jack what had caused his girlfriend to faint "I may have told Arcee that in my universe she's… My mother," she said.
There was a loud clank as Jack dropped Arcee on the floor, his mouth hanging open in shock. Sure it was shocking to find out she was his counterparts aunt, but to find out that a counterpart of Arcee was Dusks mom… That was just too much.
Then Jack remembered how when Dusk and the others… Stumbled upon the two in their embrace, Dusk looked like she was going to faint. Now it made sense, she was seeing the equivalent of her mother making out with her brother. Jack's face turned as red as his suits cape and he felt unconsciousness take him as he fell on his back spread eagle.
Later…
Jack slowly woke from his unconsciousness to find himself lying on a berth in the med bay. He rubbed his head as he tried to remember how he'd passed out when Dusks startling revelation came back into his mind. His face burned red as he realized how awkward he'd made things for her and everyone else.
Though to be fair, no one ever hinted at their relation before, so how was he supposed to know that? Still, he decided that he and Arcee would have to tone down their affection towards each other, at least until they left.
He heard a small moan and turned to see Arcee awakening from her own bout of unconsciousness. The femme sat up, supporting herself with a servo, and placed her other servo on her head.
"I feel like someone just dropped me on the floor and drug me across the ground," she complained, servo still on her head.
Jack smiled and stood placing a hand on her shoulder causing the femme to turn to him before smiling. Then she remembered what Dusk had told her and her faceplate turned bright blue, causing Jack to chuckle.
"I take it that Dusk told you?" she said.
Jack nodded "I reacted about the same as you, that is I passed out from shock," he said.
"Well, I can't say I was expecting that and I guess it explains why she was so uncomfortable about our intimacy," Arcee admitted.
Jack smiled "But I thought you liked our alone time," he said wrapping an arm around her.
"I don't think we've gotten any alone time since we got her Jack," she deadpanned.
Jack shuddered "Yeah, I think you've got a point," he said. He ran a finger across the seams of her winglets before standing back up.
"We should probably head to the main all, let everyone know were fine," he said.
The femme nodded and Jack helped her off the berth "Well aren't you the gentleman," she teased. Jack rolled his eyes and the two made their way into the main area were everyone was currently hanging out.
Amber was the first to notice the couple and pointed them out "Hey! Look!" she shouted "Sleeping beauty and Prince Charming are awake!"
Everyone's eyes and optics snapped to the two as they walked in and Jack felt self conscious as usual. He did not like it when he was made the center of attention, it made him nervous.
"Seems like you two are okay," Ultimus said. The two looked at each other, and then to Dusk who hid her face. She looked a little embarrassed, though truthfully Arcee and Jack were just as embarrassed .
"We've… been worse," Jack admitted, remembering his near death experience with the terrorcon.
Yeah…it's a shocker when you find out," Ultimus shrugged, "Everyone had their own reaction..."
"Like how when we found out what you were?" Miko piped up. Jack perked up, how had the others reacted to finding out he wasn't human in this verse? Apparently, Ultimus wasn't keen on repeating the story.
"But I'd have to say, yours'…was the funniest one I've seen," he finished, ignoring her, "I don't think we've had anyone faint before,"
"Oh, you forget Fowler," Amber chuckled, "How many times did he look between the two?"
"Seven," Ben said, "And then he crashed," he finished with a laugh.
"So the Fowler in this universe doesn't handle shock very well either huh?" Jack asked.
Everyone looked at him curiously, and he explained "When the rest of the team found out, I came back to base with them, and Fowler… took it well," he said.
"If by took it well, fell flat on his back unconscious, then yes he took it well," Arcee said with a laugh.
"I guess that Fowler is the universal comic relief then," Amber said.
"Comic relief?" Kara asked, currently floating above everyone's head. She had a habit of flying at every possible moment, something Jack had a little more control over, but the practice was good for her. Her Earth terms were growing more varied, but there was still the occasional term that baffled her.
"Comic relief," Dusk explained, the girl having filled the role of Earth explanations for his sister "Basically a person who's only purpose is to make people laugh," she said.
Kara nodded "That describes the loud mouth well," she said with a smile. Jack chuckled at his sister's nickname of Fowler, a very fitting name if he'd ever heard one.
After that little laugh, a loud sparking noise emanated from the ground bridge, and Jack's Wheeljack cursed "Pit stained piece of scrap," he growled.
"Everything going okay over there Jackie?" Sean asked.
"It's fine kid, just crossed a few wires I shouldn't have crossed," he replied "Still, should have the portal up and running by late tonight or tomorrow," he said confidently. The mood in the base dried into a somber atmosphere at this revelation.
"Then I guess… this will be good bye," Jack said, looking at the humans and bots assembled. He knew that they would be going home soon, that they would have to leave but still. Jack had made friendships here formed bonds, and he was reluctant to leave. The others it looked like, shared his sentiment, they all had saddened looks on their faces.
Amber had a sad look on her face, when the girl suddenly perked up "Wait a minute, just because you're going home, doesn't mean we can't come for a visit!" she exclaimed.
Everyone looked at her curiously "Amber, what do you mean?" Dusk asked "The portal is one way, remember? Even if we did come for a visit, how would we get back?"
"Hellooo!" she said knocking on Dusks head "they have a portal too, remember, we can travel back and forth all we want!" she said excitedly, and realization dawned on Jack and the others.
"Wow… I can't believe I'm saying this… but that's a really good point Amber," Ben said.
Amber beamed proudly, before frowning "Hey wait a minute!" she said indignantly, causing everyone to laugh at her expense.
"Well, now that we have that settled, there's just one thing left to do," Miko said.
"And that is?" Jack asked, slightly terrified of what the answer would be. When it came to Miko, her ideas could be just as terrifying, if not more so, then Ambers. Lord help them all if she and Dusk came up with ideas together. Jack was pretty sure the base would implode if all three of them worked together.
"The party!" she exclaimed.
June looked at her confused "What party?" she asked.
"A victory slash good bye party of course! You know, to say good bye to you guys and celebrate the not the end of the world," She said excitedly.
"She's got a point there," Ben nodded, "It'd get us a little way to say goodbye to you guys,"
"And a little way to say thanks for putting up with us," Sean added, "Well, Ben and Jack,"
"Hey!" both of said mentionees shouted in unison. Truth be told, Ben had been relatively tolerant of Jack since he'd arrived and apologized to Dusk. Ultimus was the real pain in the aft, though his grudge thankfully died. Jack was not eager to start up another feud with his counterpart.
"It's not going to be another repeat of the pool party…is it?" Dusk asked, "Because if I remember right…I ended up getting…"
"No, it's not like that," Amber snickered, "Although it was funny when Jack and Smokey…"
"Ah!" Ultimus interrupted as Dusk gave him an evil glare, "Let's not go into details,"
Jack raised a questioning eyebrow. What exactly did Ultimus do to his sister that made her so angry. He looked at Ultimus who just sighed.
"Don't ask," he said, "Let's just put it this way…never get her wet…it hurts when she gets dry and finds out who did it…"
"Good to know," Jack replied.
"If it's a party they want," Elita said, "Then we'll have to get supplies,"
"Oh, you mean like ice cream and pop?" Sean asked.
Jack noticed that Ultra Magnus shudder at the mention of pop. This made him raise a brow, the commander appeared pretty collected, so this begged the question. What did Dusk do to him that involved soda?
"At least the pool is closed?" Ben laughed nervously.
"As long as the Halfling keeps her 'pop' away from me," Ultra Magnus growled, "I think we will be fine,"
Dusk stuck out her tongue at the Commander. The two never really got along, Magnus was too by the book, and personally Jack found him irritating as well. Luckily he didn't involve himself with social events too often it seemed, so the two had rarely interacted on his little visit.
"Let's get going then," Elita said, "Femmes and ladies, let's go get the food supplies…mechs and men…you will stay at Base and work on the decorations,"
"B-but Mom!" Ultimus started.
She shot him a glare and Jack chuckled quietly, "Yes Mom," Ultimus squeaked.
"Not to mention, you guys have no clue when it comes to shopping," Amber snickered.
"There's just one problem," Jack said, "How are the femmes going to…"
"That's easy," Arcee II smiled, walking up to Ultimus.
The Prime touched her servo and her form shimmered and began to shrink and morph until a human woman stood by Ultimus. She was slightly shorter than the Prime with blue eyes, laced with violet. Her hair was short and choppy and when the light hit it, appeared almost blue. Her bangs were colored pink and she had pale white skin. She wore a blue shirt and black pants with black boots.
Jack bit his lip, trying not to stare at the human Arcee, and could feel the warning waves rolling off his Arcee. So he made sure not to stare and focused his look on his counterpart instead.
"It's ok," Ultimus said, "It's easy to forget at times,"
He turned to Arcee, "You want to join the girls or do you want to stay here?" he asked. Jack felt his pulse elevate at him offering this and had a feeling he was going to pass out.
"Ep, ep, ep!" Ratchet growled, "She is still grounded,"
"Aw, c'mon, Ratch," Dusk said, "Let her come…she'll have Mom and our 'Cee supervising her,"
He glared at her and then at Arcee, who was starting to give Ratchet the Sparkling Eyes. Jack knew that when she wanted, his girlfriend could pull them off on anyone. He was thankful she hadn't tried it on him, he wasn't sure what would happen.
"Fine," he growled.
"I think this is going to be interesting," Arcee said, coming over to Ultimus.
He touched her on the shoulder and her form shifted under his touch as she gained a more human form. Her hair was more noticeably blue than my aunt's, with pink streaks that mirrored the pink armor she wore on her helm. Her eyes were sapphire blue, like Dusk's, but laced with hints of violet.
She had creamy white skin, was slightly taller than Kal, and had an hourglass figure. She was dressed in a white tank top with a blue jacket and black jeans that hugged her body as well as a pair of blue boots. All in all, if Arcee II was attractive, Arcee was downright stunning.
Jack's jaw worked, but nothing was coming out. Ultimus smiled as Arcee II turned to her boyfriend and placed her hands on her hips. Jack felt his throat close and his mind going blank.
"What do you think?" she asked.
He felt something roll under his nose and realized he had a nosebleed. His eyes then promptly rolled into the back of his skull and the boy fell flat on his back.
"I'm not that hideous, am I?" Arcee asked, turning to Ultimus.
"Oh no," Dusk said, "You're anything but. He's just stunned…"
"He'll wake up in a bit," Ultimus shrugged.
"As for us, let's all get going," Dusk said, turning to the rest of the girls, "We want to hit the stores before they close,"
"Ratchet, can you activate the ground bridge?" Elita asked.
The Medic nodded and started up the Bridge, letting the women go through. As the bridge closed, Jack began to wake up from fainting. He felt a rubbed the back of his head to ease the pain at the back of his skull
"Owwww," Jack moaned, "What happened?"
"Dude, you fainted again…just by seeing your girlfriend," Sean snorted.
Jack rubbed his head and remembered Arcee's human appearance. If it was difficult at times for him to talk with the femme before… It was going to be downright impossible now. He looked around for a sign of the woman, and realized she was gone.
"Where'd she go?" he asked
"Arcee?" Ultimus responded, "She went with the other femmes to get supplies for the party,"
"Speaking of the party," Ben started, "I think we should get a move on with the decorations…Or else Amber will have our helms and heads,"
Jack shuddered at the thought of what the rocker would do to him and the others if they didn't get decorating. The group of males and mechs quickly got to work decorating the hangar area for the party. Sean had grabbed a bag of streamers and gave them to Jack.
"Can you put those up in the rafters?" he asked "You're the only one who can reach them,"
Jack shrugged and took off to the beams in the ceilings. He grabbed the streamers and tied them to one end of the rafter and flew to the other end of the hangar. He weaved in between the beams, creating a nice wavy pattern of red and white streamers.
Once that was finished, he made his way to the next beam and repeated the process. In no time at all he was finished and stopped to admire his handiwork. The streamers were elegantly hung in the rafters weaving between each beam, creating a double helix shape on each individual rafter.
He heard a low whistle and turned in mid air to see Ben admiring the handiwork "Nice work Kal, we have some helium canisters in the storage room, can you pick them up real quick?" he asked.
"No problem," he said and took off, creating a slight stir as he flew to the room. Several seconds later he was back casually holding four helium canisters on his shoulders. He touched down next to him and set the canisters next to the man.
"Thanks Kal," Ben said. Jack nodded and looked to see Ratchet was cleaning up some of his equipment.
"Hey Ratchet!" Jack called and chuckled as the medic jumped.
He groaned and looked at Jack "What!? I'm quite busy right now, so unless it's something important, leave me alone!" he yelled.
Jack ignored the medics temper "I was just going to ask if you needed any help cleaning up your equipment so it wouldn't get damaged in the party," he said eyeing Sean.
"What?" Sean asked indignantly.
Jack just laughed at his reaction before Ratchet got his attention "Actually, I would greatly appreciate that Kal-El," he said and pointed to a stack of boxes no human could lift.
"Can you take those to storage?" he asked.
"Of course," Jack said and flew to the crates lifting them easily.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"That is all for now," the medic said turning away, before he froze "Actually… there is one thing," he said.
Jack raised a brow "Thank you," Ratchet said quietly and walked off with his equipment. Jack almost dropped the crates he was holding before he regained his composure.
Ultimus walked up to him in mech form a confused look on his faceplates "Did hatchet just say thank you?" he asked.
"I-I'm not sure," Jack said.
"You must have really grown on him, I almost never seem him use common courtesy," Ultimus said.
Jack shrugged "I have great powers, I just can't stand by and let people struggle when I know I could help them," he admitted.
Ultimus nodded "Guess that is one thing we have in common, we have to defend others, even if we get hurt in the process," he said.
"You have no idea," Jack said, feeling the scars on his back.
"Anyway, I got to take these to storage, I'll be right back," Jack said. Ultimus nodded and Jack shot off taking the crates back to storage. He quickly and carefully set them down, before taking off and heading back to the main area.
As he entered it, he saw Bulkhead and both Wheeljack's carrying in Energon cubes. They were different than the ones he was used to seeing. The cubes themselves were covered in their standard bluish grey color, with the light of the energy signing through. Their edges flared out at each corner. But there was one key difference. The blue highlights, the signs of Energon, were a brighter white color than the Energon he was used to.
"What kind of Energon is that?" he asked, standing on the railing with ease.
"High-Grade Energon, consider it the equivalent of human alcohol," Bulkhead explained "We only break it out on rare party occasions. This seemed like the perfect time," he said.
"Didn't know you guys had the equivalent of alcohol," Jack admitted "Of course, we never really had a reason to pull it out," he said, thinking to the many bitter sweet victories they'd gone through.
It was at that moment though, that Miko's voice sounded over the terminal "Ratchet, we're ready to go!" she said excitedly.
Ratchet opened the bridge and the females all walked through the portal with a variety of bags holding all forms of food. Jack spotted his Arcee in the group and felt his throat go dry at the site of her.
"We're baaaack" Dusk announced as the group of females entered the base "Ah… whoa, that's new," she said. The group followed her gaze and their eyes fell on the high grade Energon.
Jack noticed his counterpart was looking at the high grade curiously. Unfortunately, so did his mother " JACKSON WILLIAM DARBY! GET AWAY FROM THOSE CUBES IF YOU VALUE YOUR SPARK!" She yelled.
Jack collapsed into fits of laughter as Ultimus practically jumped through the roof of the base "I didn't touch it!" he shouted "What did I do!?" he demanded. Jack tried regaining his composure but fell into another fit of laughter at look on his face.
Elita glared at the mechs,"Who. Brought. High. Grade?" she growled. Jack felt himself shiver at her tone of voice. It was a terrifying tone, and he'd heard his own mother use it before.
Ultimus sidled up to Dusk, "What's high grade?" he asked.
"How would I know?"she shrugged, "I've never heard of it until today,"
"High grade…" Dr. Williams hummed, "Oh! I remember, June said something about it being the Cybertronian equivalent of alcohol,"
Ultimus grimaced, "Anything else Mom said?" Dusk asked.
"Well…something about not letting Jack or Optimus near it," Williams shrugged, "Apparently Optimus can't hold it very well,"
Jack had to hold back another burst of laughter at this. Optimus couldn't hold his liquor very well, who knew? He let out another laugh as the mental image of a drunken Optimus Prime entered his minds.
Elita's icy gaze pierced through the room, finally landing on both Wheeljacks and Bulkhead.
"You two," she growled darkly, "Of all the mechs here…you two seem the most likely culprits for having a stash of high grade," she said.
"It just seemed like a good idea, we haven't had any of the stuff in years," Wheeljack II said. Elita glared at him, and he and Bulkhead shrank down.
The other Wheeljack, having almost no interaction time with Elita… Did not…
"Look, Elita, I don't see what the big deal is, it's just a little High Grade, keep it away from the younglings and it'll be fine," he said. Ultimus let out and indignant grunt.
"Youngling? Really?" he asked.
Jack laughed as he walked up behind him and Dusk "Well, you are still underage," he pointed out.
"So are you," he countered "In fact I'm pretty sure you're younger than me,"
"True," Jack admitted, and smirked as Ultimus's chest swelled "But then again, I'm not the one who got scolded. Plus, I can still throw you through a wall," he pointed out. Ultimus deflated like a popped balloon, and Dusk laughed at her brothers damaged ego.
"NOT A BIG DEAL!" Elita yelled and they all turned to see she was in femme form glaring at Wheeljack. This… was going to be painful to watch.
"Ten seconds," Amber said.
"Nah, five," Dusk disagreed.
"What are we counting for?" Jack asked confused. Neither girls answered him, and he returned his gaze to the dispute.
"I will not have that vial drink around my children!" she declared. Wheeljack and Elita glared at each other, neither one backing down. Jack had to admit, it was impressive to actually see someone stand up to his moms counterpart.
"I don't take orders from you ma'am," he growled. The defiance was impressive, to say the least… Until Elita grabbed Wheeljack by the audio receptor and dragged him off to a corner.
"You and I are going to have a long talk mister," she growled and dragged the unfortunate wrecker with her.
"3.5 seconds, new record," Dusk said.
Kara looked at her confused "New record for what?" she asked.
"How long anyone's lasted against mom," Dusk explained. Kara's eyes widened and she looked nervously to June.
"Behave yourself and we'll never have a problem," she said sweetly. Kara nodded hurriedly, and looked away from June.
Several minutes later, Elita and Wheeljack reentered the main hall. Elita had a look of satisfaction on her faceplate, and Wheeljack… His faceplate looked pale, if that was even possible, and he was shaking slightly.
"R-remind me to never argue with Elita again," he said as he grabbed the high-grade Energon and walked out of the room. Everyone laughed at how the wrecker was acting, before they focused back on the party.
"Alright!" Amber said, clapping her hands once, "If all arguments are said and done…let the party begin!"
The whole base fell silent "What?" she asked, confused.
Jack rubbed the back of his head "Exactly… how do we start a party?" he asked.
Amber and Miko's jaws hit the floor "You're kidding!?" they said in unison.
"This is the alien teen who made friends with a twelve year old prodigy and a 15 year old rocker when he was 16," Jack said "My experience at social events is… lacking," he admitted.
"Well, it's simple," Miko said, "If we had some music people could dance play games eat or stuff," she glared at Jack, "But someone stole our instruments,"
Ultimus looked at Jack "You did that? No wonder I've been able to get a good night's sleep lately," he said with a smile.
Jack sighed "Since we're leaving today anyway, I'll give you back your instruments," he said. There were several groans and complaints and Jack turned to them.
"It's that or we all stand here awkwardly," Jack said. There was a silence before, reluctantly, all the bots and humans nodded in agreement. Jack took off and grabbed the materials they needed.
He landed in front of the two, chord and drumsticks in hand, and saw their eyes light up. They reached for them, but Jack held them out of reach "You only get these back on two conditions," he said.
The two dropped their hands and Jack explained "First, no more heavy metal at 7 in the morning," he said. The two immediately began their protests.
"What!" Amber said.
"Dude, not cool!" Miko yelled in agreement.
"Ep!" he interrupted "Do you want this stuff back or not?" he asked. The two shut their mouths.
"That's what I thought," he said, and continued "And the music for the party must be whatever anyone wants, not just what you want," he said.
The two glared at him silently "Deal?" he asked.
Amber and Miko mumbled something and Jack smirked. He cupped a hand to his ear "What was that? I couldn't quiet hear you,"
"Deal…" they growled.
Jack smiled and tossed them their equipment "Enjoy," he said.
The two eagerly grabbed hold of their instruments and got into their positions and were about to start playing "Hold it!" Sean said.
Amber groaned "What Sean?" she asked.
The boy smiled mischievously "You get to play something I want for once," he said.
The two glared at Jack then Sean, before sighing "Fine, what do you want us to play?" they asked irritated.
Sean walked up to the two and whispered the song into their ears. They seemed to perk up slightly and began playing a form of rock song Jack had never heard before.
As Sean walked away from the two, Jack decided to ask him about it "Exactly what song is that?" he asked.
"Just a little song called Hero" he said. Jack raised a brow but nodded and the boy walked off.
A song now going, the party started off, relatively slow. The inhabitants of the base mostly broke into smaller groups interacting or talking with each other. The humans were with other humans, the wreckers were exchanging war stories, and several of the other bots were either talking with their charges or amongst themselves.
All except three, Jack realized. He looked around realized that there was no sign of Kara, Dusk, or Elita. They'd just vanished, and Jack shivered. No telling what his sister and Dusk were up to, and he figured it was best to go searching for them.
As he was about to go looking for them though "Jack," a female voice said from behind him. The boy froze and slowly turned, fearing the worst. His hear jumped in his throat as he saw his Arcee standing before him.
Arcee placed a hand on her hip "Figured you and I could spend some time together," she said smiling. Jack felt himself go weak in the knees, unable to form a sentence.
'Damn it Jack! She's your girlfriend, talk to her!' he thought angrily. He tried to say something, but the words refused to come out.
Arcee tilted her head to the side "Jack, is something wrong?" she asked, worried. Ever since she'd been made human, her boyfriend had been acting strange.
"I…ugh…"he started and saw Kara, Dusk, and Elita walking out of a hall with plates of food "I… have to go," he said quickly, and rushed off before Arcee could say anything.
Jack quickly approached the girls and the trays of food as they set them down. Jack caught whiff of fresh brownies wafting through the air, and felt his mouth water slightly. Sugary snacks for him were far and in between, June had a very strict policy when it came to sweets.
The three noticed Jack, and Jack noticed dried batter in Kara and Dusks hair "What happened to you two?" he asked as he approached, his eyes occasionally drifting to the brownies. They smelled delicious, but he'd have to be careful, if his mom caught him, he'd regret it.
"Well you see," Dusk started.
"We tried making brownies by ourselves," Kara blurted.
"Kara!" Dusk exclaimed as Jack chuckled "You don't just say that!" she said.
"Well its true," she countered.
Dusk pinched her nose "Yes, but you don't just flat out say that!" she explained.
Kara opened her mouth to counter, when Jack interrupted them "That's all said and good, but… are the brownies for everyone?" he asked.
Elita shrugged "Go ahead," she said. Jack turned to the brownies and carefully grabbed one. It was still a little hot, and he was afraid his mom was going to catch him.
He was about to take a bite, when a hand snatched it from his grip. Jack turned to the offender and froze when he saw his mom standing there, a disappointed look on her face.
"Jackson Darby," she said "What is my number one rule?" she asked.
"Don't use cars for target practice?" he asked, inciting a few chuckles from the others.
June sighed "No, my other number one rule concerning food," she said.
Jacks head fell "No sweets," he said sadly.
His head shot back up "But, mom, just this once, pleeeease?" he begged.
"Why isn't he allowed to have sweets anyway?" Dusk asked.
"Ever had to deal with a super powered kid on a sugar rush?" She asked.
"No," Dusk answered seriously.
"Well there's your answer," she replied, and turned back to Jack.
"Mom, I got over that years ago, and come on, it's a party," he pointed out, but his mother stood firm.
"Rules are rules Jack," she said.
"Please, just this once?" he pleaded, ignoring the laughs from Dusk.
June didn't budge, and Jack broke out a secret weapon he'd been preparing for a special occasion. Humans referred to them as puppy dog eyes, but Dusk called them sparkling eyes. She claimed no one could resist them, and Jack had memorized in detail how to pull them off perfectly.
"Pleeeease," he begged again, this time pulling off his own sparkling eyes.
"That won't work on me mister," she said defiantly. Jack continued to give her a pleading look, and he saw her falter.
"Jackson, stop," she said, but Jack continued to beg.
June let out a groan "Okay fine, you can have one," she said, and handed him the brownie. Jacks eyes lit up.
"But," June said, and Jack froze "Just, one. Got it?" she asked.
Jack nodded, and proceeded to wolf down the entire brownie in two bites. He let out a pleased moan as he swallowed it.
"Oh my god that was good," he said as he finished the last of the brownie.
Dusk gave him a curious look "Never had a brownie before?" she joked.
"Only a few, mom is strict with her rules, how do you think I stayed hidden all those years?' he replied.
"Makes sense," Dusk said with a nod.
"Now weather she'll stay as strict since my secret is out, and that we have Kara now, is anybody's guess," Jack said.
Kara looked at her brother in surprised "You mean you'll actually let me… stay with you?" she asked.
Jack looked at her "Of course Kara, why wouldn't we?" he asked, her reaction was a tad confusing.
"'I've just felt like a burden and didn't want to impose," she admitted tilting her head down.
Jack was in shock over this, he didn't realize that Kara felt like this. He had kept her safe to make sure she wouldn't get hurt, but he never felt she was a burden.
"Kara," he started "What would make you think you were a burden?" he asked.
"I…I just seemed to get in the way and cause trouble," Kara said sadly.
The three looked at her sadly and Jack draped a comforting arm around her "Kara, you have never gotten in the way," he said "You're just learning, you've only been here for a few days, you're bound to make mistakes," he said.
He smiled as he continued "But you were never a burden, not to me or anyone else," he said. Kara looked up at the others around her and they nodded in agreement with her brother.
"Besides, you're family, and remember what I told you," he said.
"Family always stick together," she repeated with a smile.
"Exactly," he said and took a step back.
"You always know what to say Jack," a voice said from behind him, and whirred to see Arcee standing there, and once again his throat seized up.
"I…ugh…" he mumbled unable to form a statement. His mind though, was racing, and he was furious with himself for not speaking.
'For god's sake man, she's your girlfriend stop acting like this!' his brain said. His emotions however, were in full control of him right now.
Arcee raised a brow and waved her hand in front of the stunned Jack "Jack? Is something wrong?" she asked.
"I think you broke him," Dusk commented with a laugh.
Arcee snapped her fingers in front of Jacks face "JACK!" she repeated and the boy blinked and stumbled back, falling on his rear.
Dusk collapsed into laughter and Kara giggled at her brothers awkwardness and Jack just rubbed his head turning bright red. This was absolutely humiliating, he was always so collected, why was he acting like this?
'Because you have no idea how to talk to a beautiful women,' his mind sighed and Jack agreed with is mind.
Arcee coughed to get his attention and he looked up at her. Bad move, every angle of her, in Jacks mind anyway, was stunning and only made it worse.
The femme placed her hands on her hips "Jack, what's going on, why are you acting like this?" she demanded.
Jack managed to mumble out something, though Arcee couldn't hear him "What was that?" she asked.
Before Jack could respond, Kara relayed the message "He said you're too….beautiful?" she said confused. Dusk broke into more laughter and Elita rolled her eyes before walking off.
"This true?" Arcee asked. Jack nodded nervously, not quite sure how Arcee would react.
Arcee narrowed her eyes, before she grabbed his arm and pulled him up "You're coming with me," she said and dragged the boy with her to somewhere private. Jack shot a pleading look to the others as his girlfriend dragged him off, but Dusk just saluted him, while Kara waved goodbye.
'Looks like I'll have to face this alone' he thought as Arcee dragged him into a hallway.
"Ok," she said as she faced him, hands on her hips "Why are you really acting like this Jack?" she asked.
"I…w-what a-are you talking about?" he asked relieved he at least found his voice now.
"Don't give me that scrap Jack, remember what happened last time," she growled. Jack shuddered as he remembered.
"I-I wasn't l-lying," he said.
"Why are you acting so strange because I'm human now? I mean when I became human sized you didn't act this way. Are you saying my real form isn't up to your standards," she growled.
"WHAT!?" Jack yelped "No, no, Arcee, that's not it at all," he said.
The femme arched an eyebrow "Care to explain why you were avoiding me?" she asked.
"I…you were… I don't know okay!" he exclaimed "Same reason I acted like an idiot around Sierra! I'm not used to talking to human girls," he said "At least, not the ones I find…attractive," he finished his face heating up.
Arcee's gaze softened "So… you weren't lying, you really do think I'm… beautiful?" she asked.
The way she said it suggested she was unsure of it herself and Jack looked at her slightly shocked before trying to comfort her "Of course, I always have Arcee, even when you were Cybertronian. It was just a different kind of beauty," he said, his under confidence fading as he talked.
Arcee blushed slightly at his compliment, her cheeks turning rosy red "You really are a smooth operator, you know that?" she asked taking a subtle step towards him.
"So I've been told," he responded, and without warning, Arcee had her lips planted on his. His eyes widened in shock at this, before he returned it. The two went at this for several seconds embracing each other. But it seems that the universe had no love for their privacy, and someone coughed to get his attention.
The two broke apart and turned to see June standing there, arms crossed "Mom," Jack said nervously, his face turning bright red, Arcee's doing the same "c-can I help you with something?" he asked.
"Just was trying to check on you," she said "I don't suppose the three of us need to have another safety talk, do we?" she asked.
"NO!" was Jack and Arcee's simultaneous response. June smiled at this and turned to walk away.
"Stay in the main area for the rest of our stay, got it?" she ordered. Jack mumbled at her and she laughed as she walked off.
The two turned to each other "Guess we have to go back out there, huh?" he asked.
Arcee pulled him in for a light kiss before breaking off "Guess we do," she responded, before walking off. Jack stood in place watching her leave, and felt his eyes travel down before he shook himself.
"Focus Jack, focus," he angrily told himself before following. The two noticed a loud crowd of bots and humans forming and decided to investigate.
"What's going on?" Jack asked as they approached.
"Nothing," Dusk said quickly, shoving her hands into her pockets.
"Nothing, huh?" Jack asked, the Halfling was clearly hiding something.
"Yep," she replied innocently, making the two immediately suspicious.
"Nothing means mischief in my book," Arcee said.
"You've been reading the wrong book then," Dusk shrugged.
"And mischief means pranks," Arcee continued.
"No it doesn't," Dusk replied defensively.
Jack narrowed his eyes activating his X-Ray vision "And pranks means…oh my god, you shrunk Ultra Magnus," Jack said, and he burst into laughter.
"How…" she started, before realization dawned on her face.
"YOU X-RAYED ME!" she shouted.
"You were hiding something!" Jack retorted.
"Wait, you shrank… the commander?" Arcee asked interrupting their shouting match.
Dusk nodded and pulled the commander out of her pocket. He was roughly the length of her middle finger and about as wide as her middle, ring, and index finger. He cursed at Dusk in a high pitched chipmunk-ess, but only Jack could hear the cursing and thought it best not to relay what he was saying.
Arcee let out a howl of laughter at seeing the commander "How did you manage to… the mass-shifter?" she asked.
"Mass-Shifter," Dusk replied.
"I didn't even know it could make someone this small," Jack said looking at the tiny Ultra Magnus. The commander had his arms crossed as Dusk held him by a small piece of armor on his back.
"Just about any size would work, and it should work on humans too," Dusk said.
"That so?" Arcee asked in wonder. Jack flicked his eyes to her nervously wondering what she had set her mind on. When Arcee set her mind to something… the results were interesting to say the least.
"So you just going to leave him shrunk or are you going to make him play pretty princess tea party with a bunch of dolls?" Jack asked.
Ultra Magnus let out another round of high pitched squeaking, directing most of his fury towards Jack instead of Dusk. Jack had to resist the urge to laugh at the fact that Magnus believed himself… intimidating at his current stature.
"Eh," Dusk shrugged, "As tempting as that is…we need him on the battlefield. Kara, can you get the Mass Shifter over here please?"
The Kryptonian girl nodded and brought the relic over. Dusk set it to restore the Commander's original size and put Magnus on the ground so he wouldn't crush her hand when he returned to his original size. When he finally got back to normal size…he glared down at Dusk.
"I ought to confine you to the Brig, Halfling," he growled.
"Eh, been there, done that…doesn't do anything but make me a little bored," she replied, waving dismissively, "And you can't squish me either…no harming humans."
"You're only half human," Magnus pointed out.
"So?" she demanded, "Still counts!"
He growled to himself and stormed off. Dusk crossed her arms, obviously very pleased with herself.
"Ok, my pranking need is satisfied…let's go have fun!" she announced.
"Weren't you having fun pranking?" Kara asked.
"Oh, that is just part of my job," Dusk replied, "All work and no play makes Dusk a very dull Halfling,"
Jack shivered. If Dusk only considered pranking a job… He was terrified to wonder what she thought was fun…
The Next Day…
Jack woke with a splitting head ache the next day, the events of the party a blur. No one had broken open the high grade last night, but given the events of last night, everyone was going to be in the equivalent of a hang ver.
Jack himself had pretty much gone into a sugar fed frenzy later into the party when June wasn't looking for it and now he was paying for it. Apparently if one goes most of their life without sugar and suddenly devours several pounds of candy the results are less than pleasant.
Jack felt a weight on his chest and looked to see that Arcee was sleeping on him still in human form. They were both sleeping on the couch, and her jacket and boots lay on the ground beside them. Jack was suddenly very thankful his mother was more than likely asleep.
Jack nudged Arcee gently and the femme groaned "Arcee," he whispered. Nothing.
He nudged her again and she weakly slapped his hand away. Jack inwardly sighed, Arcee was not going to wake up easily, when suddenly an idea occurred to him. He put both hands on her ribs, and began tickling her.
Arcee's eyes shot open in surprise "J-jack!" she half-yelled, half-giggled.
"Going to wake up now?" he asked as he continued to tickle the squirming femme.
"Y-yes, j-just stop!" she pleaded while laughing.
Jack stopped and her laughs died quickly. Arcee rolled off her boyfriend and lay on the floor panting slightly "What was that," she asked.
"It's called tickling," Jack explained rolling over to look at her over the edge of the couch "it's something humans do from time to time as a sign of affection," he said with a smile.
"Humans…have strange ways of showing affection," she said as she regained her breath.
"You have no idea," Jack said as he got off the couch and examined the chaos of the base. A good chunk of the streamers were torn down and scattered everywhere, making the base look like a piñata massacre had taken place. Scattered balloons and trash littered the floor and Jack saw several bots and humans asleep through the main area.
He looked up to see that Dusk was hanging on a beam overhead asleep on her stomach, her wings drooping to either side. Kara was sleeping in mid-air similar to Jack when his flight powers first came into being, and somehow Ultimus was in mach form sleeping upside down against a wall.
He wasn't exactly sure how that happened, but it would be an interesting story for everyone to hear that was for sure. He heard a snore and turned to see an odd sight. Ultra Magnus and one of the Wheeljack's had fallen asleep together and were embraced in what was going to be one weird position when the two woke up.
"Arcee, check this out," he said helping her to her feet.
Arcee shivered as her bare feet touched the cold concrete "Are humans always this sensitive?" she asked.
"Why do you think we were clothes," was his reply.
"I can think of a few reasons," she said with a coy smile.
Jack let out a nervous cough "A-anyway," he stuttered trying to keep his hormones in check "look at the commander and Wheeljack," he said pointing to the two.
Arcee let out a laugh at the site of the two "If only we had Miko's camera phone," she said.
Jack nodded his agreement when he felt Arcee brush a finger on his shoulder "You know, we could always find somewhere a little more… private," she said as she got closer.
"I…ugh," Jack said his brain shutting down again. Arcee was about to press her lips to his, when Kara let out a yelp and fell to the floor with a thud.
The mood dead, Jack made his way to Kara, and Arcee put her boots and jacket back on. There was no telling what her Cybertronian form would look like if she was returned to normal without them.
"You alright?" Jack asked as he helped Kara to her feet.
"Yeah," she said, "Just wasn't expecting to… wake up thirty feet up," she admitted.
"I had a similar experience, don't worry you'll figure it out," he said confidently.
"Yes but first you are going to help me clean up this mess," Elita said as she walked in.
Jack let out a sigh. It was going to be a long day…
Later…
Jack, Arcee, Kara, June, and Wheeljack stood in front of the portal that blazed to life. Their time in this dimension was over. There had been ups, there had been downs, but now it was time for them to go home. With that came the hardest part of leaving, saying goodbye.
"Well, it's been fun folks, but this Wrecker's got to head on home," Wheeljack said and walked through the portal.
"Well that was blunt," Kara commented.
"It's Wheeljack, bluntness is in his programming," Arcee responded, now back to her original size and form. Jack would be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed, but he was glad to have the old Arcee back.
Junes goodbye was short and sweet, simply thanking everyone for their help, and looking forward to seeing them again. She walked through the portal next, leaving Jack, Kara and Arcee.
They all said their goodbyes in turn until they came to the last two, Dusk and Ultimus. Kara quickly said good bye to Ultimus before directing her attention to Dusk.
Kara suddenly embraced the Halfling in a hug "Thank you," she said quietly "For everything," she said.
"No….problem," Dusk squeaked "Kara….you're…crushing…me," she said.
Kara immediately let go "Oh, sorry I forget sometimes," she said rubbing the back of her head, a habit she had picked up from Jack.
"It's fine," Dusk said "Just be careful out there, got it?" she said.
Kara nodded and stepped back allowing Jack to say his goodbyes. He made his way to Dusk first.
"So…this really is goodbye," he said, Dusk nodding, "Can't tell what I'll miss more, the base, or your pranks," Jack said with a half smile.
"Oh don't worry about that Kal, I've been teaching Kara in the art of pranking, you're not getting rid of me that easy," she replied.
"Great," Jack muttered before continuing "You know we never did get around to that second sparring match," he said.
Dusk shrugged "Next time we meet," she promised.
"And maybe next time you won't trick me," Jack said.
Dusk smiled "Don't count on it Superboy," she said.
Jack rolled his eyes and made his way to the last person, Ultimus "So… how long until you celebrate the fact that I'm gone?" Jack asked.
Ultimus raised a brow "Really?"
"Well, you haven't been the friendliest person here, even after we saved Dusk," he pointed out.
Ultimus seemed to narrow his gaze slightly, before Jack stuck his hand out "But I hope that when the time comes you and I can work together again as allies… and as friends," he said.
Ultimus looked at his hand for several seconds before shaking it "Count on it," he said.
Jack smiled and turned walking to the portal stopping at the edge. He turned around "You guys ever need any help, just give me a call, I'm just a dimension over," he said.
He turned back around, and walked through the portal with Arcee and Kara. Over the course of the past week, he'd fought off seekers attacked crazed cycloptic scientist, discovered his long lost sister, saved the Earth from Zod, and confirmed his relationship with Arcee. Now a week later, Jack could finally say…that he, was home…
A/N: And so, it comes to a close. This crossover, heck this story has been a ton of fun to write everyone. None of it would have been possible without the help of my fans and suggestions as well. As for the story itself, this is the end of my story Another Type of Alien. No more chapters for this one, it's over now… But it's not completely over. I will be writing a sequel story as well, under the name, Another Type of Alien Book Two: Assuming the Mantle, and it shall be longer and more diverse than this one. Until I start it though, I will be focusing my skills on Son of Primus and Techno-Organic Synthesis as well as a new story focusing on my first OC. Remember, review with critique, and Pm me and Elhini for plot ideas. This crossover might be over, but it won't be the last one either…