CHAPTER 35

If Benjamin even began to use the 'I fell' excuse this time, Ironhide was going to scream. It had worked when Ben had shown up with a minor bruise here and there, even a cut or two. But unless he fell off of his roof, there was no way Ben had fallen this time. He had taken to picking the boy up and dropping him off at home as a regular thing as the days went by, even enjoyed the chats they'd have. But that day, there would be no enjoying himself, he could already feel rage building in him. Ben stepped out of the school looking like a mangled mess, his left eye was a nasty shade of purple, a clear black eye, his lower lip was split open, and his cheek was gashed, dried blood around it.

Ironhide tried to contain his temper, noting that Ben's scars were not new, they seemed to be at least a day old. Someone had done this to him the night before, that he was certain of. As Ben opened the door and climbed inside, doing his normal routine, Ironhide locked all four doors. "WHO HURT YOU?" The words were spoken with such rage that surprised Ironhide himself "What little punk do I need to introduce to my weapons collection?" He added, having guessed it to be some muggers even a school bully he had run into the night before perhaps.

"No one Ian, I fell."

"Fell? FELL? From where, the third story of your HOME?" Ironhide bellowed, he gently moved his hand along his young friends face "Kid, whoever did this needs to be punished. You look like you've just been through a dang war." He attempted his best not to use any form of Cybertronian dialect "I'll only ask you one more time Benjamin, or I swear I'll take you to the hospital and they can get it out of you." He noted, he would have more then likely dragged him to Ratchet who could find DNA samples off of him from whoever hurt him.

As Ironhide moved his hand yet again, Ben cringed back, only then did Ironhide realize something. He had only moved to touch him comfortingly, yet he had been afraid of him. Ben was sobbing, backing up a bit. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I swear I don't-!"

"Easy Ben, easy, I'm not going to hurt you." Ironhide knew exactly what was going on now, he had seen this before, on Cybertron no less "You're abused." Ben turned his head away from Ironhide as if to avoid looking him in the eyes "Ben why didn't you ever tell me? I know many families who I could have taken you to for PROTECTION if you had." He commented, still a bit stunned by all of this, mentally he knew he had to get him to Will and his family for the moment "Do you need anything? Because as soon as I get you out of here, I'm going to have a few words with your Father." His voice was a low growl by this point.

"Ian, you CAN'T."

"I can and I will, and I am." Ironhide began making his way down the road, he turned his head to Ben slowly "If you're fearing for my safety, Ben, you have no reason to. I have an advantage over him you have yet to see. If he even TRIES a thing, he's going to loose the ability to reproduce." He snarled a bit, and turned to Ben again.

Even if he didn't know Ben that well, and he didn't he wouldn't leave him there. Though he never spoke of it to anyone, his Father had not initially left. The scar that had forever damaged his left optic had been given to him by his Father creator in a fit of rage. He could never truly see perfectly in that eye, and it was all his fault. It was the one reason he could never stand abusers, he had been through the fury of one as a child, and he would not watch Ben go through the same. "There's a picture, on my nightstand, of my Mom and I..." Ironhide turned his head towards Ben, who clearly knew there was no changing his mind "Please, at least promise me you'll get that for me. It's all I have left of her." He admitted.

"I promise you Ben, I'll grab that and your clothes." Ironhide could see Ben was crying, obviously, he was terrified "It's alright, you have no reason to be scared if anything. Your Father should be scared that I'm coming." He took a deep breath inward "I know this great family Ben, very close friends of mine. They'll be able to take care of you until I get back." He smiled a bit, and looked at him "You can be certain that you will be in the safest hands possible. The Father is an Army Major, even if he does by some miracle, for him, find them. He will without a doubt tear him apart." He told him flatly.

Ben could barely comprehend that no more then five minutes later, their surroundings had completely changed. They were on what appeared to be a Military Base, the housing area. Ironhide was thankful Will had a day off that day, as he knew Ben would be in safe, capable hands. He stopped in front of Will's home, he motioned for Ben to get out, and they both did so. He gently put an arm around him, and they made their way to the front door, Ironhide knocked, and Will stepped out calmly. "Holy-." Will had clearly seen Ben right away "Ironhide what happened?" He questioned.

"Abuse victim, you know that Ben boy I told you about?" Will's eyes widened at Ironhide's comment, Ironhide gently put his hands on Ben's shoulders "Relax Ben, Will's a good man, he will not hurt you." He looked at Will "I'm going to get his things from his home. Can you keep an eye on him?" He questioned.

"Of course." Will stated calmly, motioning in "Come on Ben, let's get... You checked out."

The moment Ben slowly followed Will inside, Ironhide disappeared and tore down the street toward the Space Bridge. He was ready to have a nice little talk with Ben's Father, and by talk, he did indeed mean, break as many bones as possible.

...

Ryan did not know what the man was doing at his door, but it didn't matter much. Ironhide wasn't even slow to the point, he threw a hard, fast, punch against his nose, knocking the man back onto a table. Ryan's nose was covered in blood, clearly broken, Ironhide gripped him by the collar of his shirt, and took several deep breaths. "What the hell man! What, do I owe you money!" He shouted.

"No, but you did screw with my fragging friend you scumbag." Ironhide growled lowly, he pulled him up and threw Ryan against the wall, violently "You like making children suffer, do you? Tell me, Mr. Turner, how does it feel to be on the receiving end of it!" He punched Ryan hard in the gut, allowing him to collapse, he stared down coldly at him "Where did you keep your son, Mr. Turner? He won't be coming back home, so I suggest you tell me now or I'll do worse to you." He commented, fully ready to transform and get it out of him that way.

Ryan knew exactly what was happening, no one human had that kind of strength. Having worked with Decepticons for so long, he knew all too well that this had to be one of their enemies, an Autobot. But considering he had none of the Decepticons around, there was nothing he could do. He had to do what he asked of him. Slowly, he stood to his feet, groaning a bit. "U-Upstairs, third room on your left." He took a few deep breaths "No matter where you have him though, I'll find him, you have no idea who you're dealing with." He commented.

"If you dare go anywhere NEAR him again, I can promise you this. It will be the last mistake you EVER make." Ironhide growled, trying to contain his anger at this point, he took several deep breaths "He is somewhere I can promise you, you will never find. Not without meting the end of gunfire." He got so close to Ryan that he could feel his heart practically beating out of his chest "Do you UNDERSTAND me?" He questioned, Ryan nodded, trembling all over his body.

Ironhide threw him against the wall, this time, knocking him out cold. Making his way up the stairs, he entered the room he had been told to go in calmly. He found a box nearby, and grabbed as many changes of clothing as he could. Quickly, he grabbed the picture Ben had begged him to grab, and looked around. He quickly found a few other things he would probably need. He grabbed his laptop and its charger, his cell phone charger, and his cell phone. Just enough to be sure that Ben would be comfortable in the Lennox home until they could get Ryan, hopefully, arrested and then of course, get the rest of his things.

He made his way down the stairs, and stared at Ryan, who was trembling in shock. Ironhide smirked, glad the man was scared out of his mind, he lunged with a growl at him briefly, causing Ryan to go bolting down the hallway. He didn't care if he called the cops, they would be certain that the cops knew immediately what he had done to his son for Primus knew how long. "Have a good day Mr. Turner, I hope you enjoy the rest of your MISERABLE, pathetic little life." He noted.

Ironhide contemplated what he would do with Ben, perhaps the Lennox's would take a liking to him, and adopt him themselves. But he didn't know, they had Annabelle to worry about, and adding a teenage boy into the mix may be difficult. With any luck however, they would take the chance and take the boy in, he could think of no better group of people to help the boy recover from the hell he had gone through. He didn't even notice as, not far away, Ryan removed a cell phone from his pocket, and typed a number, calling it, and holding it to his ear. "Megatron? We may have a little bit of a problem." He growled.

The last thing Ryan needed was Megatron killing him if Ben went and spilled the beans about him working with the Decepticons. The second they found out he knew he was likely dead, or in serious trouble, he couldn't be sure which yet. He took a deep breath, and listened to what Megatron had to say, and could only hope he knew exactly what to do.