Chapter Ten: A Date with a Decepticon-Part One

As Jack walked out of the portal, he became keenly aware that Fowler could be forced to take not only him but Raf and Miko too if so ordered as well as his mother. Jack realized his worried rippled through his and Arcee's fresh Bond when the femme looked at Jack and frowned with determination in her optics and a hard line etched in her faceplate.

"If they do try anything, we'll protect all of you."

Optimus walked up to them. His optics held a bit of worry, but the look on his faceplate told Jack the big bot agreed with Arcee's promise. "The meeting did not go as hoped, Jack?"

Jack shook off the moment of surprise he felt because Optimus didn't use his full name like usual and nodded. "The Humans became angry when I told them Arcee and I were now Bound, and I would never allow them to use me to make weapons to fight you guys."

Miko blinked and leaned forward on the side of the couch to get closer to the bots. "Jack, 'the Humans'? You're starting to sound like Ratchet."

Jack sighed. "I'm not completely organic, Miko." He told her. "It wasn't even intentional. I just don't care for what they wanted out of Arcee and particularly me."

Optimus nodded and seemed to have a contemplative look on his face. "When did the meeting…'go off the rails' as Humans say?"

Jack shook his head. "The President didn't like it when I called you 'sire'."

Optimus felt his Spark warm to know Jack saw him in that way. He wanted to ask why they would be upset over the simple word, but a quick search of the word's meaning in English brought understanding to the Prime's processor. "I see."

Jack growled, his eyes blazing with hurt when he looked at the Prime again. Then, Jack's fists balled in anger when he spoke again. "When I told them about myself and Arcee, the entire room erupted in talk of me being a traitor!"

"They are scared, Jackson." Optimus said as the mech tried to soothe the boy's pain away. "You can't trust them to think rationally in such a situation."

"What can I do, Optimus?"

June put a hand on her son's shoulder, bringing him about to face her. "First, calm down. I heard there's a school dance in a few days. Take Arcee."

When Optimus gave June an unimpressed and skeptical look at the thought of a temporary loss of his Second-in-Command, June and the Prime seemed to have a brief wordless debate.

I can't afford to be down even one, Elita!

Elita looked at him. I could easily fill in for a few days.

You are Human now! The fear in Optimus rolled over Elita in that moment. If Megatron kills you… Optimus visibly shivered. I cannot take that chance, not again.

June looked into Optimus' optics as her own began to blaze with determination. This body is dying, Optimus.

Suddenly, Optimus reeled as if hit by Megatron's fusion cannon. W-What?

Unicron and Primus are eternal enemies. June said calmly. This Spark exists in a body indirectly fashioned by Unicron, and the Spark cannot be sustained in such a body. June winced, and the connection faltered for a moment. Being around you keeps my Spark strong, but it also slowly destroys my body.

Optimus had a moment of realization. Jackson! Now that he has grown a Spark, he will suffer similarly!

June felt fear and sadness take her in that moment as she thought of her son. If we keep him close to Arcee and allow him free access to Energon, the progression will quicken, but his Spark will have a fighting chance.

"June, what's wrong?" Arcee asked when she saw the woman start crying as she and Optimus continued to discuss the disturbing subject over their Bond.

Optimus suddenly looked away from June and stopped the blue femme with a stern expression before he wiped June's tears away with the gentle sweep of a digit. "Listen to my Sparkmate, Arcee." Optimus admonished. "This isn't just an outing for you and Jack." The Prime hated deceit, but he also saw no point in sheltering Jack as if he were going to offline any moment.

June nodded and continued, having quickly composed herself with the help of the Prime's comfort. "It would be safe to say the government will be watching both of you very closely, so if you can show them Arcee is not a threat and can easily interact and befriend people outside our…family, they will begin to trust both of you again."

"It's not just a school dance, Mom." Jack said calmly. "It's Junior Prom."

Arcee raised an optic ridge. "What's a 'prom'?"

Jack smiled at her. "It's basically a school-sponsored party. There's two of them: one for Juniors, students in the eleventh grade bracket, and one for Seniors, students in the final grade bracket before they go to college or start their lives as working adults."

Arcee nodded. Then, she looked at June. "You want me to go to a party with Jack instead of looking for 'cons?"

Jack sighed and looked up at Arcee. "You were at that meeting as long as I was," Jack told her softly. "You saw how they reacted. If there's a chance to reinstate trust between Humans and Autobots, I want to take it." Jack smirked. "…or are you just scared you'll actually have fun?"

Arcee's mouth twitched. "Jack, you better hope this is worth it." The femme said with an irritated expression. "I don't like wasting time."

Jack's smile only widened. "It won't be a waste of time; it'll be fun."

Knock Out walked around his lab in boredom about two days later. Megaton had been in a holding pattern of sorts for a few solar cycles, and the Decepticon CMO found himself curious as to what Lord Megaton had in his processor. In fact, the only "grounder" besides Breakdown among the Decepticons was so caught in his thoughts, Knock Out almost dropped his tools and jumped in surprise when he heard Soundwave walk up to him.

"Lord Megatron…needs us…on the bridge."

Knock Out looked at Soundwave's visor and vented, "What does he need me for?"

Instead of answering, Soundwave turned and started walking to the bridge. The Faceless Con apparently didn't know which was astonishing.

As they walked together, the red sports car medic lost himself in thought. It's obvious something the Big M doesn't want on public data networks, so this must be of some importance. A twisted thought occurred to him. Maybe, Megatron has another bio-weapon ready to use against the Autobots? The Mad Doctor grinned. Perhaps, he's refined a form of Tox-En only effective against Autobots? Knock Out quite literally stumbled out of his thoughts when he almost ran into Soundwave. "Yes, Lord Megatron?"

"Knock Out, I've had vision of one I thought long offline recently." Megatron began as the silver mech clasped his servos together behind his back. "However, Soundwave has recently uncovered her unique Spark Signature here, on this world."

Knock Out looked at Megatron in confusion. "What does a single femme do to earn your attention, my lord?"

Megatron turned to the Decepticon Surveillance Chief. "Enlighten the doctor, Soundwave."

Soundwave produced pictures of the twilight Golden Age. Then, a femme popped up on the visor with a similar, if slightly bulkier look to the Autobot called Arcee with red plating. Finally, the screen split to show a Spark Signature over a map of a territory on Earth called Nevada on the left hand side and a picture of Optimus and the femme on the right.

Knock Out saw the plan coming together. "I'm to convince her to come with me if possible and kidnap if necessary. Then, Megatron will have bargaining power enough to force a ceasefire."

Soundwave only nodded as a groundbridge flared to life in front of Knock Out. In Megatron's voice, albeit destorted with an electric warble, Soundwave spoke again, "Do not fail me…Knock Out!"

With a disturbing grin as he walked through the portal, the conceited and vain doctor boasted. "Don't worry, my liege. I have a way with femmes."

Back on Earth at the Darby residence, Jack reluctantly let his mother fuss over a tux that in the past two days had been shined up to near perfect condition. "Mom, why did you and Optimus agree to this?" The question had been bugging him for two days, and June still hadn't given him a straight answer.

"I told you, Jack. Arcee needs to connect with Humans and get an idea of why she's fighting to protect a planet that's not hers and technically not ours."

Jack sighed and nodded. "I know." He then laughed. "It's still weird knowing that we are more like Cybertronians and just playing Human." His face fell for a moment at the thought.

"Don't be like that." The woman kissed her son's forehead. "Jack, this is normal for a child your age. Enjoy it." Then, June blushed slightly. "Don't have too much fun though." June said with a wink because she knew it would mortify her only son. "I want this war to end before I become a grandmother and see Sparklings."

"MOM!"

June just smiled softly at her son and shook her head with a giggle. "Go on," June said encouragingly. "I'm sure Sadie is excited to show you what she's wearing." June thought back to when she and Sadie went "shopping" for a prom dress, and Arcee scanned many different dresses for her Sadie avatar. Sis, you really do act just like a Human femmling sometimes.

Jack smiled and tried to control blood as it flooded his face. "Hey, Arcee," Jack said, suddenly nervous, though he really didn't understand why. "You ready?"

Arcee reeved her engine. "I'd rather battle a battalion of troopers instead of doing this." The femme vented as she generated her avatar wearing a bright blue simple but still beautiful dress. "Being with you makes it easier."

Jack nodded and gradually relaxed as they rode toward the school. "Isn't that the truth?" He said with a bit of a laugh before they pulled up to the gym. "You ready?"

With a nod, Sadie slowly dismounted with her hand in Jack's for support. When Sadie's heels clacked against the pavement, she looked up to see Jack staring. "Is something wrong, Jack?"

Jack shook himself back to reality. "No, I was just surprised." Jack scratched the back of his head, a sure sign of nerves. "Sadie, you look beautiful." He finally managed after a moment. Then, Jack leaned in and whispered, "The bad aft two-wheeler I love will always be better, though."

Sadie blushed and smiled softly at her Human Sparkmate. Then, the teens ran into the gym as if they were approaching battle. The students around them only stared as a soft tune began to play. Then, the Sparkmates relaxed and settled into the rhythm of the song. This is nice… Arcee thought as she felt thousands of battles fade from her mind and focused of Jack. It reminds me of before the The War.

Something instantly pinged Jack's sense of danger once they stopped dancing, but Jack pushed the thought down. This isn't a battlefield. It's a dance. Jack reminded himself Ashe shook his head.

The rattle of metal above them made Jack silently curse. Carrie… Jack thought before he pushed Sadie away right before a bucket of fry grease landed right where they would have been. Jack looked over and saw Sadie crouched in a ready battle stance. With a deliberately slow movement to give himself and Arcee time to calm down before they did something both would regret.

Vince walked up with a smirk. "Hello, Dorkby!" He looked like he'd just got done beating someone as a red substance coated the jock's championship ring as well as the knuckles of his fist. "I hate you missed the surprise." Vince smiled. "I emptied the grease trap just for you. I know how you like to have your hair stay down." He looked at Hack like he was about to kill him.

As he raised a punch, June and a tall man in blue jeans and a flannel red shirt got between the two before it could escalate further.

The man glared at Vince. "Come with me!" When Vince attempted to break free, the man glared hard at him. "That was not a request."

Jack could only stare in shock as Vince was escorted out of the gym. "Was that…?"

June only nodded. "It was. I didn't want anything to ruin tonight for either of you."

"Thank you, Mom."

Before she could answer, the party was again interrupted.

"My paint!" Someone suddenly screamed. "What the Pit did you do to me?!" Then, a man that seemed obsessed with red and slightly unhinged walked into the room.

Knockout?! Jack thought in confusion.

The man opened his mouth to speak again but seemed to freeze and grin when the holoform's eyes settled on June. "You're coming with me…Elita." He seemed to look sorrowful for a moment. "Lord Megatron requests your presence."

"Jack, don't do it!" Sierra yelled. "Let him go."

"Sierra, you don't know slag. Shut up before you get killed!" Jack's optics blazed. Then, they turned to doc's holoform. "Knock Out, touch my mother and see what happens."

"Jack," Sadie said calmly. She then winked at Jack and walked out. "Why would you want her, Knock Out?"

The doc shivered. "It isn't I who wants her, mademoiselle."

Sadie nodded. "I know that, but why does he want her?"

"Pit if I should know…" Knockout turned just as June almost made it to the door. "Ah, ah…" The con reprimanded as if he was taking to a child as his alt mode blocked the exit. "Get in, and I'll keep your son out of the conversation with Megatron when I see him."

Before June could answer, Jack's blades engaged faster than a Human could see. "You're not getting her!" Jack promised before he sliced the door clean off.

Knock Out yelled out in pain as the door fell to the pavement before his avatar vanished, and his Aston Martin peeled out of the parking lot. "Megatron's love life isn't worth this slag!"

Jack turned to his Mom and disengaged his blades as gasps echoed through the room but smiled and let her be when he saw Optimus' holoform kneel and help June to her feet.

"Not bad, Partner." Sadie said as she put her hand on his shoulder as he looked around in worry. "It'll be alright, Jack. Damage control will be a glitch, but the important this is: June is safe."

"Somehow, I don't think Megatron will give up so easily." Jack muttered as he looked at Sadie. "He may have sent the wrong con for the job, but I have a feeling this was a test for me…and the medic."

Later, aboard the Nemesis, Megatron chuckled as he watched Laserbeak's feed from a monitor near Soundwave. "The vile Techno-Organic seems braver and stronger than I expected." His shark-like denta mashed into a gnarled smile. "I look forward to the challenge, Optimus Prime and Jackson Darby."

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