I'm back!
Gabby M (Guest) - I don't mind the ideas. It's just that when someone accidentally reads my mind that I freak out a little bit. ;) Yeah, the Cons don't really know what Maria can do just yet, and the Bots aren't going to like the thought of the Cons being on-base too much, but it's just something they're gonna have to deal with, y'know?
Anyway, onto the next chapter!
Chapter 37
When Arcee, Smokescreen, Optimus, Maria, and Gear walked through the Ground Bridge, Matthew's eyes widened when he saw Soundwave and Knock Out following after them...and the gigantic, glowing sword that was in Optimus' servos.
The red mech crossed his arms over his chest and made a huffing noise as he looked around at the base. "This is your base? Looks like a dump."
Ratchet made a spluttering noise and glared at the Con who had spoken. "Let's see you try to work with human technology for a change!"
Knock Out gave a thoughtful hum for a moment, then shook his head. "No thank you." His red optics moved over the monitor Ratchet was standing near...and he caught sight of Matthew standing nearby. "Another one?" He let out a groan. "Do you have an infestation of fleshies, Autobot?"
"I would appreciate it if you would not refer to my brother as an infestation, Narcissus," Maria commented pointedly from where she stood on the ground next to Gear. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and she looked somewhat annoyed.
"Narcissus?" Knock Out repeated, sounding hurt as he turned to look down at the Reploid.
Matthew blinked in confusion. Since when was his sister referring to the Cons by nicknames?
"Brother." Soundwave suddenly repeated Maria's annoyed word, causing Matthew to jump a little. He looked up and saw Soundwave's blank visor facing in his direction.
"Yes, I'm her brother," Matthew responded, wary.
At the back of his mind, Sparkseer stirred. *Activate your Aura Sight, son of Morgen. I would like to see how his Spark is reacting*
Matthew closed one eye. Sparkseer had been murmuring a few things about concentration with his ability - and it had been helping at least a little - but this was going to be the first time that he was going to try and use Aura Sight right in front of everyone. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with it or not.
"Impossible," Soundwave stated. "You're human.-She-isn't."
Matthew opened his eye out of surprise. "How'd you figure out that one?"
"Lord Megatron-mentioned-her existence on-the Nemesis. 'A human-sized creature that calls itself a Reploid seems to have attached itself to Orion. Monitor it.'"
Matthew blinked a couple times, but then he remembered what had taken place not too long ago. "Oh."
Below, Maria let out an annoyed growl as her face scrunched up into a disgruntled expression. The Reploid muttered something under her breath that Matthew wasn't able to catch.
"So, what now, Optimus?" Arcee asked, eyeing the Prime with a disgruntled expression. It was pretty obvious that she didn't like having two Cons in the base.
The Prime glanced away from the large, Cybertronian blade in his servos. "We wait for Brainiac to notice that he is missing two Cybertronians, and discuss our movements with the Justice League."
Knock Out made a scoffing noise at the statement. "What are you doing working with humans, anyway? It's not like they can do anything to help."
"Hey!" Gear suddenly barked. "We've been fighting Brainiac for longer than you have!" When Knock Out looked at the teenager, he took a slight step back, but stood his ground enough that he wasn't about to have his knees knocking together.
Maria, who was standing near Gear in a strangely relaxed state, nodded in agreement. "The Justice League isn't a group that should be taken lightly. Some of them aren't even human."
"Superman-Martian Manhunter," Soundwave stated.
Matthew gave a slight nod. "Yeah." He eyed the faceless Con warily when Soundwave turned to face him.
"So they only have two fleshies that aren't from the planet," Knock Out stated, waving a servo in a careless manner. "What does it matter to us?"
"They know what it's like to be exiled from their home planet and may be willing to assist you in restoring yours."
The statement that came from Maria was so flat and serious that it seemed to make the Decepticons and Smokescreen freeze. Even Ratchet looked somewhat surprised at the statement.
"Seriously?" Knock Out asked, looking at the Reploid down on the ground.
"The Green Lanterns of this world have offered their assistance in this matter," Optimus rumbled in confirmation. He started walking towards an adjoining corridor, the large blade seeming to glow a soft blue light as he went. "I would not be surprised if the Kryptonians and the Martians were willing to offer their assistance, as well."
It was at this point that Matthew finally managed to activate his Aura Sight ability.
Aura Sight was a recent ability that Matthew had discovered - and only because Sparkseer somehow managed to coax it our of him. How, the teenager wasn't about to ask, what with Brainiac causing havoc.
But what he saw...that raised all kinds of questions.
*That's better* Sparkseer hummed when Matthew's vision suddenly exploded in a variety of colors.
He caught sight of a deep royal blue disappearing from sight as Optimus disappeared with the large sword. Matthew decided that he'd have to ask his sister about the weapon later.
As for the remaining Autobots and Decepticons in the room, well...Matthew wasn't exactly sure what to make of them.
Soundwave's aura - or was it Spark signature? - looked like a dim purple, almost as though it was invisible. Knock Out's, on the other hand was a bright red - even brighter than his paint job, in fact.
*Knock Out is clearly into himself, if his aura is that bright* Sparkseer commented. *Soundwave...he seems subdued, somehow*
Matthew glanced over at Arcee and Smokescreen, and flinched back when he saw that Arcee's electric blue aura seemed to be spitting off sparks. Smokescreen's silver-gray, on the other hand, seemed to be just hovering around him like he was standing in the middle of a fire. As for Ratchet...well, his his red/white aura tinted with some hints of green was licking up him in a way that made Matthew a little nervous.
*Arcee is clearly angry about what has happened* Sparkseer commented. *Smokescreen seems to be a little confused yet. And Ratchet is annoyed, as always*
Matthew blinked a couple times, letting the colors fade.
Smokescreen glanced around for a moment. "Well, I'm not just going to stand around waiting for the others to get back." With that, he turned and started for the Cybertronian-sized elevator and stepped inside. Whether he was going to the training floor or the roof was anyone's guess.
"I'm going out," Arcee growled. She promptly transformed down to her alt mode and rolled out of the base with a squeal of tires.
Rachet made a huffing noise, then grumbled under his breath. "Great. Leave me with the two Decepticons and the humans, why don't you."
Knock Out huffed as well before crossing his arms across his chest. "Well, isn't this just great. Now we're stuck who-knows-where while a bunch of fleshies try to figure out how to take out that virus that has our illustrious leader under its control."
"First off, Brainiac is technically a he," Maria spoke up pointedly. "Secondly, they've had more experience with him than you have."
"I'd like to see you try to take him on without knowing about his mind-control abilities," Gear added.
Matthew moved along the platform and closer to the Ground Bridge end so that he could get a better look at Maria and Gear - neither of whom had moved from their positions on the floor during the Cons' arrival. Maria and Gear looked at least a little bit annoyed - or maybe their expressions hinted at a more guarded stance?
"Brainiac-controlled-Justice League," Soundwave stated, piecing some audio clips together.
"He has," Maria responded in a grim tone.
"Immunity?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Gear muttered, shuddering. "And I'm definitely not planning on testing that anytime soon."
"Wait. Are you saying that you were controlled at some point?" Knock Out leaned down and looked at Gear a little more closely. "Why would he want a fleshy like you?"
"I've got enough brain power to pick apart yours and put it back together so that you'd act like a dancing monkey if I wanted," Gear responded.
Knock Out retreated quickly. Matthew snorted in amusement while Maria smirked.
"Well, now that we've found a way to keep you from doing anything stupid," Maria commented.
Knock Out scowled at the Reploid, but when he saw Gear looking back at him, he said nothing that would have remotely resembled a snarky comment. Instead, he looked over at Ratchet.
"So, what now, Autobot?" the Con medic asked, frowning.
"Now?" Ratchet gave Knock Out an irritated glance. "We wait for the Justice League's signal, and you stay inside the base."
Knock Out snorted. "Like I'm going to sit around and wait! That...thing has our leader!"
"If you wish to be of assistance, Knock Out, you will have to be patient."
Optimus' statement caused Matthew to jump; he hadn't expected for the Prime to be re-entering the room right at that point.
"Have the others reported in yet?" Optimus inquired, glancing over at Ratchet.
The medic sent a scowling look in Knock Out's direction, then looked over at Optimus and shook his helm. "Not yet. And this one's starting to get to be a bit impatient." He jabbed a thumb in the Con medic's direction - a very human gesture that caused Matthew to smirk.
"Perhaps it might be more productive if you showed them where they might stay for the duration of our alliance," Optimus responded. "I will keep watch for the others."
Ratchet gained an expression that clearly said that he didn't necessarily like the idea, but he stepped away from the console anyway, muttering something under his breath that Matthew was sure wasn't nice. The medic glared at Knock Out and Soundwave before starting deeper into the base. The two Cons exchanged glances before following after him.
"I should probably be heading back," Gear commented. "Static's gonna be looking for me. Batman too, probably."
Matthew caught sight of a flash of humor that went across Maria's face. "I can imagine."
"Is there a specific location that you would like to be sent to?" Optimus inquired, reaching for the Ground Bridge controls.
Gear rattled off a string of coordinates easily. "Static's probably waiting for me there, and if he isn't, I can find him from there."
Optimus gave a slight nod in response, then activated the Ground Bridge. As it came on with its usual flurry of noise, Optimus stated, "Gear, I do not believe that I can thank you and your teammates enough for what they are attempting to do for us."
"Don't worry about it." Gear waved off the statement, grinning under his visor. "This is an everyday thing for the big leagues; I'm just glad to be along for the ride!" He looked over at Maria, then up at Matt, giving the human on the platform something that looked like a salute. "I'll probably be checking in with you guys later."
"See you later, then," Matthew responded.
"And keep working on that device," Maria added. "Right now, that thing and Static could be the few hopes we have of taking out Brainiac."
"Don't I know it!"
Gear dashed through the Ground Bridge and disappeared from sight; Optimus waited for a moment before shutting it down, closing up the portal.
Matthew gave a sigh as Optimus moved away from the controls. "What are we going to tell the others when they get back here? Something tells me they're not going to like this too much..."
"We'll think of something," Maria replied lightly, shrugging up at her brother. "There really isn't much else that we can do at this point, though. What I'm worried about are how the others are going to react - mostly Jack and the others, though, considering that we have two Cons on the base."
"Considering that they have yet to attempt an attack of any sort, I doubt that they will cause any harm to the other children," Optimus replied. "However, we are right to be cautious, as Decepticons do not see humans as those who are allies. It might be wise if we keep them away from the base for a time."
"What about me and Maria?" Matthew spoke up.
"Perhaps it might be prudent to see what exactly those two would do when left alone with humans," Ratchet commented, reappearing suddenly. "Besides, the two of you can defend yourselves, so I doubt that they'll be able to do too much damage."
"Maybe," Maria commented, frowning. "And since Matthew could probably use some practice with his abilities, it might not be too much of a problem to test it out, I guess."
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Matthew frowned. "I've only technically had run-ins with the Cons twice, and I've only used an Aura Sphere against them once."
"Yeah. Starscream." Maria nodded. "I remember you telling us about that."
"I doubt that you will have any trouble, considering what it is that you've been doing in the Safe," Ratchet commented. "We had better contact Arcee and inform her to not bring Jack in for a while. Bulkhead and Bumblebee can be told when they return with the relics."
"Sounds good." Maria started to move towards the elevator. "I think I'll head down to the Safe for a bit and run a few simulations. I want to be ready when we finally end up running against Brainiac."
"I'll go with you." Matthew moved over to the stairs and started down from the platform, joining his sister on the ground floor. "I want to try out a few new things so that I can figure out different ways to use Aura Sphere. There's a few bugs that I need to figure out, too."
"Fine by me." Maria shot her brother a grin. "Maybe we can help each other out with that."
Yeah, it's a short chapter...but we just keep getting closer to the end with every post I make! This story has 45 chapters altogether, so we've just got 8 more to go before this thing is done. And, considering that school's ending soon, I may end up putting up the last 4 or so chapters in a quick rush - we'll have to see.
Anyway, see you guys next week!