Chapter 29-Providence
Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, the universe did its best to prove you wrong.
The Brotherhood's actions spread like wildfire across the country. Once everyone realized that they were tearing apart the Osean containment camps, it brought about a new wave of riots and protests, and numerous casualties were reported as imprisoned espers fought back furiously. Karaba's support had nearly tripled in the past few days alone, and many espers even began supporting the Decepticons, who were at the forefront of attacking the amps. The ERD's firepower was nothing against the Brotherhood's combined might, and any Autobot was immediately attacked by the very espers they were trying to save. Each victory emboldened Megatron and strengthened this dark alliance with Karaba. They were winning in ways off the battlefield.
"Mr. President, I warned you this would happen." Optimus said via video conference. It was just him, the president, Colonel Barnett and General Abernathy talking over a secure channel. "This is exactly what Megatron wants and you're playing right into his hands."
"Maybe instead of criticizing me, you should be focusing on dealing with the situation. We have riots in almost every major state because you didn't fire on Megatron." Flagg said.
"Megatron was hiding behind the esper prisoners he freed, knowing we wouldn't attack him without hurting innocent people. And don't say that it would be a necessary sacrifice." Optimus said. He wasn't holding back right now. He needed to make the President see sense. "That registration bill was a mistake, and all it did was widen the gap between humans and espers."
"He's right sir. Megatron is taking advantage of humanity's conflicts to increase and strengthen his position on Terra. Being a former revolutionary himself, he's giving Dreyas all kinds of pointers on where to hit and how hard to hit their enemies. He's damaging the people's faith in us and doing a damn good job of it." Barnett said.
"Who's side on you on, Barnett." Vice President Hauser growled.
"Our side, Hauser, humans and Autobots. The alliance's side in case you've forgotten." Barnett replied. "This isn't something we can shoot a gun at and blow up. Megatron and Dreyas have turned this into a battle of hearts and minds, and you can't fight that."
President Flagg shook his head. "What about the enemy? Do we have any idea on what their next move is?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. President, but we do not have a solid lead to go on. Prowl believes that the Brotherhood are consolidating their power, gathering more followers in preparation for a possible major strike."
"And what kind of strike are we talking about? Against us? Yuktobania? The anti-esper groups?" Hauser asked.
"We have no idea." Optimus sighed. "So far, it seems that Megatron is using this conflict to regain the ground he had lost after losing Decepticon Island. He sowing as much chaos as possible to break us apart while he gathers an army and another base of operations. For now, he's just following Dreyas's lead. As for Karaba, there are simply too many possible targets for them to have to really gauge their next course of action. At best, they'll focus on the containment camps in Osea for now."
President Flagg frowned and crossed his arms. "Suddenly it feels like taking Decepticon Island doesn't seem so significant anymore."
No one saw fit to refute his statement.
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"Dad, I think we're going to need a bigger base."
Jane spoke the truth as she stood with her family in the war room of their Karaba headquarters. Their Osean operation was going well so far, but now came the reality that no one wanted to address—they were running out of room.
"Considering these espers are basically fugitives that have nowhere else to go, not all of them are fighters. We've got whole families down there just looking for a home." Magda said.
"As much as I love this place, I wouldn't go as far as to say this is home." Jane said, crossing her arms under her ample chest. "It's a terrorist organization's headquarters. Let's just find some place to relocate them."
"You say that like that's easy." Debra said.
"I don't see you coming up with anything, princess." Jane growled.
"Girls, please, no fighting in the war room." Dreyas said, quieting them down. "I understand your concerns and rest assured, Megatron and I are working on a solution."
"So you have a plan in mind?" Sue asked. Dreyas nodded.
"It's something in the works. Once we finalize it, I will fill you in on the details. Just know that if it works, this mountain refuge of ours will be a distant memory."
"I'm excited already." Jane smirked.
After the meeting, Dreyas and Magda stayed behind to talk about more personal things.
"On a scale of one to ten, how outrageous is this plan of yours?" Magda asked.
"Twenty." Dreyas smirked. "We're giving both Osea and Autobots the run around, and we need to keep up the momentum. When we do set this plan in motion, we want the entire world to see."
"You look excited." Magda pointed out.
"I feel excited beyond belief, Magda. For the first time in over a decade Karaba is making a major move against humanity and we're winning. Espers all over the world now see our power and recognize us as the ones who will spearhead the future." He said. "We just need to recruit more people to Karaba before continuing with our plan."
"Well, Tirant is already in the process of upgrading our airships and talos. He's figured out how the Cons' technology works, but implementing the changes with our resources is difficult."
"Have him focus on working with Knockout to upgrade our machines and vehicles. Our weapons are already enough to handle anything the ERD can throw at us." Dreyas folded his hand and looked out the window at the rest of the compound below. "Anything else on the agenda?"
"Only another point of interest. There's another hot spot in New York that's currently under ERD scrutiny and might actually be raided by them." Magda said. "I'm sure you've heard of it. It's called Esper Town."
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"I don't like this, Redline."
"You don't like anything, Falcia."
"Piss off, Redline, I'm being serious!"
"Both of you shut up." Combusta hissed. "This is serious."
The Minicons stood atop a roof watching the barricade of police barriers and ERD talos at the very edge of what was considered to be Esper Town's territory. this had become a sad yet common sight for the espers who lived in a section of New York City called Esper Town.
Like the rest of the country, the ERD had attempted to search the area for any espers unwilling to register in accordance with the law and arrest them, but that was thrown out the window when the entire population of the area fought back. The police department was swiftly repelled, as were the SWAT teams thanks to the combined efforts of the Defenders and the resident Minicons. Now the ERD was involved and were on the verge of storming the place.
The only reason they hadn't yet was because of the Minicons. The ERD didn't want to cause a political nightmare if any of them were hurt in the altercation, as they were basically political refugees. It was a godsend for the people of Esper Town, for it gave them the chance to prepare, plan, and fortify their home against who they saw as invaders.
"They can't storm the joint, so those bastards decide to quarantine the place like we have a plague?" Falcia growled. "The nerve of those people. These espers are innocent, they haven't done anything!"
"Except openly rebel against the Registration Bill." Redline sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Basically they've declared every unregistered esper here as a criminal. The only reason the ERD isn't storming this place is because of us."
"Which I can't be thankful enough for." Gar said, eying the police barricade in agitation. "Thankfully, with the Decepticon attacks on the containment camps, the ERD has their hands full elsewhere in the country."
"Never thought we'd be thanking for purple bastards for something." Falcia grumbled.
"I get that you guys have diplomatic immunity and stuff, but what's stopping the Autobots from rolling in and snatching you up?" Shelia asked.
"Absolutely nothing." Redline said with a frustratingly high amount of ease. "We're just hoping it doesn't come to that—"
"Hey guys!" Twirl flew up onto the roof where they were standing. "Optimus Prime just showed up and he wanted to speak with you all."
Falcia turned her burning gaze to Redline, who closed his eyes and sighed. He just couldn't be asked anymore.
A couple minutes later, Redline, Combusta and Gar stood on the main road leading into Esper Town. Optimus stood at the front of the barricade, his tall present making some of the onlookers nervous. But as Gar and his team arrived, the espers cheered for them, their protectors.
"Optimus Prime." Redline greeted him cordially.
"Redline." Optimus nodded to him. Combusta looked around for someone.
"Where's Sparkplug? I thought he would've been here for something like this." When Optimus looked away, Combusta sighed. "He didn't want to take part in this, did he?"
Optimus didn't answer her, instead he focused on the matter at hand. "Redline, Combusta, I came here because the President and Commander of the ERD requested my help in maintaining the peace."
"Don't you mean ordered?" Falcia called out from the rooftop. "Did your new masters put you up to this?"
"Stop it, Falcia! Show some respect!" Combusta yelled.
"Optimus, the only reason you were sent here was to get us out of the way for the ERD to start rounding these innocent people. I'm sorry, but we can do that." redline said.
"Redline, this is not our fight. I promised the President that we would not interfered with human matters, and this is in strong violation of that agreement." Optimus said.
"Forgive me when I say that we don't care. We have dear friends in Esper Town, friends who are being threatened by their own government for wanting to keep their privacy." Combusta said.
"You heard them, Prime. The Minicons are staying here." Gar said. His sister and the rest of his team tensed up in case it turned into a fight. "We're not going to submit to the government so they can make a kill list of us!"
"I'm not here to fight anyone." Optimus said. "Please, Redline, Combusta, don't drag your friends into an already volatile situation."
"We've made our decision, Prime." Redline said. "Now leave."
Optimus looked at the other Minicons, who all shared Redline's sentiment. Gar and his friends looked ready to fight, and the last thing Optimus wanted was to start a fight right now. His shoulders slumped and he stood back.
"Very well. If that is your decision, then I will honor it." He said. "But Redline, I will not allow any cybertronian lives, especially Minicon lives, be thrown into danger in a human conflict."
"It's our fight too, Optimus." Combusta said coolly. "Megatron made sure of that."
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Annie, Brittany, Dana walked down the crowded streets of the Big Apple, ignoring the stares they were getting from people. Most of these stares were directed at Brittany, who remained in her werecheetah form even though she was slowly getting the hang of shifting back to human form. Annie also had her fair share of stares thanks to the bone spikes growing out of her head and arms.
"So where do you girls want to go first?" Dana asked excitedly.
"I don't know." Annie said unsure. This part of the city alone was so much bigger than the downtown area in Tranquility. "This is all a bit new for me. It's kinda overwhelming."
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Brittany said, taking Annie's hand. "Being in the big city is a bit disorienting at first but after a while it doesn't seem so big anymore."
"Thanks, Brit. I forgot you used to live in a big city like this before moving to Tranquility." Annie said. "You know any good places we can go to Dana?"
"We're already here." Dana said.
The girls came upon a small coffee shop on the corner of the street.
"The Coffee Bean?" Annie read the store sign.
"They have some seriously good coffee here. Like, the really good stuff." Dana said. "Let's grab a seat.
The girls entered the shop, thankfully without too much fanfare, and sat down at a booth near the shop's window. They quickly ordered off the menu, with Brittany ordering a large steak for herself (she would've ordered two, but that would've been too much to have in public).
"Hey, Brit, are you sure you're okay walking around like that?" Annie asked. "Some people are watching us and I'm not liking the way they're looking at you."
"It's okay. The three of us together can take on anyone that tries to start with us." Brittany smiled. "I feel more at home in my hybrid form than my own skin. Is that strange?"
"Of course not. You're just getting used to your powers." Dana said. "You have no idea how long it took for me to stop crying at my own reflection when my powers first manifested. My skin was completely silver and the only thing that had any color on my body was my hair. It took my longer than it should have to change my appearance back to normal."
"Sounds like you handled it better than me. I just woke up with bones sticking out of my body and the first thing I did was start shouting and cursing at everything in sight. Not as glamorous as telekinesis, but it has its uses." Annie glared at her wrist, which was already sprouting six tiny spikes again. "Sometimes."
"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." Dana assured her. "You're a smart girl."
"Thanks."
The moment was ruined however as an explosion ripped through the window, sending glass and debris into the shop. The girls were thrown out of their seats and hit the floor hard. Annie was the first to recover due to her healing factor.
Her ears were ringing from the explosion and patches of burnt or cut skin began to heal within seconds. Annie looked around and gagged at the dead and injured people who were caught in the worst of the blast.
"My god." Annie breathed. Suddenly the wall next to her was blasted apart and a group of men in black combat armor stormed in.
Scowling, Annie had three long bone claws emerge from her knuckles before charging at the intruders, intending take out at least two. But she was kicked into a chair by one of the larger men she overlooked. The girl was sent flying into a table, which smashed to pieces upon impact.
By now people were screaming and running in fear as more men with assault rifles flooded into the shop. One of the men took aim at an unconscious Brittany, but a silver tendril wrapped around his neck and threw him hard into a wall. Dana, whose skin had turned silver and fluid like mercury, changed her arms into a pair of blades.
"You have no idea how pissed off you've made me!" She growled angrily.
The four men didn't seem too concerned with facing one esper. One of them, a woman clad in an exoskeleton with long blue power lines along her arms, pointed her hands at Dana. Annie leapt into action, getting a surprised man in the stomach with her claws, followed by a hard kick to the head that dented his helmet and knocked him out.
Annie moved backwards towards Dana, standing protectively over Brittany.
"Who are these guys?" Dana asked.
"No idea, but I know they're gonna get torn up in two seconds!" Annie said, growing two large bone blades from her shoulders, which she pulled out to use as two handheld weapons. "Keep your eyes open and watch yourself. These guys are professionals."
"Y-Yes." Dana nodded, a bit taken off guard by the change in Annie's attitude.
Dana leapt forward with Annie as they began fighting the unknown assailants. Bullets bounced off Dana's liquid metal form as she brutally pummeled them with metal hammers and blades she formed from her own body. One of the men lifted his gun and shot an energy bolt that blasted Dana into a wall, but she was unharmed. She swept her leg and smacked one of the gunmen in the head.
"Who the hell are you people?" Dana growled.
"The future!" The armor-clad woman declared, raising her hand and shooting a taser cord into Dana's arm. Dana shrieked in pain as her metallic body was electrocuted and she collapsed to the ground.
"Dana!" Annie roared and rushed at the woman, claws raised to impale her. But before she could reach her, a purple energy blast slammed into her, blasting her out the window and into a car.
"Primary target acquired." One of the men said, picking up Dana's body and carrying her out of the desolated shop along with the woman.
"Eliminate any witnesses. Kill the other two espers but leave them intact enough to be salvageable." The green man said.
His red armored companion looked over at Annie, whose wounds were already healing. "Does this one have a healing factor?"
"It appears so. You know how to deal with her. Take off her head and carry the parts back." The green man said, pointing his rifle at Brittany. "I'll cover for you."
The red man nodded and unclipped the tomahawk from his back. Standing over Annie, he raised his axe and prepared to bring it down on her neck.
A pile of rubble exploded outward, throwing rocks and dust everywhere, and Grindor emerged from the dust, firing his wrist cannons into the chest of one of the gunmen. The green man spun around, but Grindor rushed forward and kicked him in the chest. A swift punch to the throat caved his windpipe in and Grindor threw him to the ground.
"You're not touching Annie!" Grindor snarled. Bullets pelted his back as the red man shot at him.
"Stay back, alien!" He yelled.
Grindor ran forward and ducked to the ground, throwing a punch at the man's knees and shattering them. He grabbed the rifle and broke it in half before throwing the man down to the ground.
"Okay, freak. Last chance. Tell me where you took the girl and I promise to leave you with a properly working bladder and a working lung." Grindor growled, raising his arm to deploy a vibro-blade to point it at the man's stomach.
"I'll tell you nothing, alien! The Ouroboros will triumph!" The red man bellowed. His slammed his fist against the device on his chest and it began to beep.
"Slag!" Grindor threw the man into the street before grabbing Annie and Brittany and dashing away from the area as fast as he could.
A few seconds passed before Grindor heard a loud explosion go off behind him. He stumbled a bit before looking back to see only a smoking crater filled with charred human remains.
"City folk," Grindor breathed, shaking his head. "I'll never understand them."
XXXXXX
Annie woke up in a white room, disorientated and sore. But then she remembered the events of earlier and she shot up with a cry.
"Dana"
Darren, High Wire and Grindor jumped as they heard her and ran over to her bedside.
"Annie, are you alright?" Darren asked her. "Grindor told me about the attack. Don't worry about Brittany, she's resting in the infirmary."
"But they took Dana!" Annie said.
"Who?" High Wire asked.
"I don't know. Those guys just detonated a bomb near the shop and started shooting up the place." Grindor said.
"We have to save her. Who knows what they'll do to her!" Annie said.
"How can we do that if we don't even know who they are or where they took her?" Darren questioned.
"I believe I can answer that."
The group turned to the door and saw Sumeragi and Barnaby standing there.
"How are you feeling, Annie?" Sumeragi asked.
"I'll feel better when we rescue Dana." Annie replied impatiently.
"Cool your jets, Annie. We're already working on locating her." Barnaby said.
"How?" Darren asked.
"Remember those ID cards that were given to you when you enrolled at the school? Those cards have tracking chips in them that act as locator beacons in case anything happened to the students." Sumeragi explained. "This isn't the first time we've had students of ours attacked or kidnapped. Those men who attacked you were from a group called Ouroboros. They're a fanatical group of people who capture espers and sell their organs on the black market in the belief that they'll help humanity evolve."
"Primus." High Wire gasped. Just when he thought humans couldn't get any eviler.
"And those assholes just run around the place without getting caught?" Annie growled.
"They've given both the FBI and ERD hell over the years. Many espers were hunted down and butchered like animals, and we've even lost some students to them." Her expression hardened when she thought back to some of the poor students who were gutted like animals for selfish profit and a misguided dream. "Rest assured, Annie that once we pinpoint Dana's position, we'll move out."
"Move out? Who, you?" Annie asked skeptically.
Sumeragi shared a look with Barnaby, and suddenly the twins and Minicons felt like they were about to learn something mind blowing. They weren't far off the mark.
"Children, Minicons, what I'm about to tell you must remain an absolute secret. You can't tell anyone, not even your Autobot friends about this." Sumeragi said in a serious tone. "I know you can keep a secret, but I need to hear it from you all that none of you will say a word. You entrusted your secrets to me, and now I'm entrusting my secrets to you."
"We understand, Ms. Sumeragi." Darren said, and his friends nodded.
"How bad is this secret?" Grindor thought to ask.
Sumeragi's lips tipped upwards in a smile as she dropped the bombshell. "Barnaby and I are the founders and co-leaders of the Neo Knights."
The twins and Minicons stared blankly at her before Darren shook her head. "Looks like it's going to be one of those secrets."
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The Neo Knights were the heroes of their time. They were a team of masked espers who openly fought crime and carried out justice on humans and espers who committed crimes against each other. Basically, they were vigilantes fighting for the greater good.
They were a shining beacon in a world where you couldn't trust your government to not try to snuff you out because one government official thinks all espers are walking nukes. Many espers and even a good number of humans idolized them as heroes. And of course they were branded by law enforcement and the ERD as vigilantes who should be arrested. As expected, they had no such luck in that regard.
Annie had read and watched every single report on the Neo Knights, idolized them as the heroes they were, fighting for humans and espers equally. She also saw them as heroes, as something that showed what espers could be instead of as violent people who needed to be controlled or destroyed. She dreamed of seeing the Neo Knights in person, or even fighting alongside them, long before she met with the Minicons and Autobots.
What were the chances that after everything that's happened, she would actually run into them herself?
Sumeragi and Barnaby escorted Darren and Annie through the school with their transformed Minicons. They were taken to a secluded corner of the school, where Sumeragi stopped in front of a wall and pressed a certain spot on it. The twins were surprised as the wall slid open to reveal a hidden elevator. Sumeragi smiled at their shock and beckoned them forward.
"Don't dilly dally, now. Time is of the essence."
High Wire and Grindor transformed and followed the humans into the elevator and the door slid shut behind them. As the elevator began to go down, Sumeragi began to explain about her group.
"I created the Neo Knights based on the belief that espers should police themselves. Allowing regular humans power over us will only lead to an imbalance that will cause racial tensions between them." She said. "The Neo Knights were formed to combat not only humans seeking to harm us, but also espers abusing their powers for personal gain or to cause harm."
'How the hell do we keep getting caught up in things like this?' Darren thought. 'Really, do we have a freaking target on our backs or something?'
"The members of the Neo Knights were recruited from among the Providence staff and student body. We have our own reasons for joining, but ultimately we all have a common goal-protecting espers from outside threats and themselves."
"Why are you telling us this?" Annie asked. "This seems like something you don't just tell anyone, even us."
"It isn't. We're bringing you along with us because we know a lot about you two, and what you've been through. All the things you've done for this world." Barnaby said. "Together with your Minicons, you and your friends have seen and done things most people could scarcely imagine, and it's for that reason that we're bringing you along."
Darren, Annie, High Wire and Grindor all shared a few looks before shrugging together.
"Sure."
"That makes sense."
"I'm game."
"Let's be heroes!"
The elevator stopped at an underground hallway and Sumeragi and Barnaby led the twins down the pristine white hall. No one said a thing, not out of necessity but because the place had a certain air to it that made it feel like speaking too loudly would ruin the atmosphere.
They stopped before a massive vault door, where Sumeragi bent down and placed her eye in front of the scanner on the side panel. The device scanned her retinal pattern and the door hissed and clicked open.
The twins and Minicons gaped at the sight beyond the vault door as Sumeragi smiled back at them.
"Kids, welcome to the true face of Providence."
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Dana struggled against the electric cables that restrained her. She screamed as she continued to thrash against the electrical binds. Each time she struggled, the current was increased, causing her to scream in pain and struggle more.
Her metallic body made her susceptible to electrical attacks, thus making her situation worse. This was what she awoke to after being captured by these people. She still had no idea who they were.
Dana had no idea when she blacked out, but when she awoke again, she found herself strapped to a table being fed electrical currents that restrained her body. She couldn't morph, and the electric surge from before had caused her body to default to its original liquid metal form.
People wearing masks and body armor walked in and about the room with several medical and surgical tools while walking past several people strapped down to tables. The entire room looked like a gigantic surgical lab, filled with multiple instruments, one of which was a large multi-armed surgical robot that hung over a man strapped to a table naked.
Jars and containers of organs and god knows what else dotted the room as several Ouroboros men carried them away either by hand or on moving carts. Dana could see several other men cleaning off surgical tools as another covered a body with a white sheet. The girl could see blood trickling down the side of the table, indicating her fears.
The current of electricity increased, making her scream again.
"Look towards the light." A muffled voice said. Dana could barely follow the order, but she managed to crane her neck to look at the doctor standing over her. "Good. Subject is responsive and seems to be in peak physical condition."
He ran his hand along a long surgical saw outfitted with what looked like a miniature engine attached to a thick cable. The man squeezed the handle, causing the blade to him like a tuning fork. "All instruments seem to be functioning. Operation will commence in T-minus thirty minutes. Until then, subject will remain restrained under electric field. Body composition seems to have a vulnerability to direct electrical currents."
The doctor set the saw down before turning to the mobile computer terminal. He type in several commands as three more Ouroboros members approached the table, setting up numerous stands of equipment.
"M-My friends…will come for me…" Dana growled, still in pain from the electric shocks.
The doctors ignored her, still setting up their equipment, but the head doctor documenting his progress leaned over her and said, "That's what they said."
He pointed to a dark corner on the other side of the room and Dana was horrified to see a large pile of black body bags.
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It was like setting foot onto another world. Deep beneath the school was a massive, underground hangar area that was full of high tech equipment. There was a large computer system in the room next to the entrance, a large training area and what looked like a mix between a stealth plane and a miniature airship just sitting on a launch pad in the center of the chamber.
"This is our base of operations." Sumeragi said. "It's here that we keep an eye on things, and we mobilize if we need to."
"It…is that a stealth fighter?" Darren asked.
"Yes, that's a stealth fighter, Darren." Barnaby said with a smirk.
"What…how…" The boy was struggling to comprehend it all. "What am I seeing?"
"A decade's worth of hard work and preparation. Did you think the Neo Knights were some ragtag group of do-gooders working out of a garage?" Sumeragi said. "No, this is all real, a collaboration between myself and various financial backers looking to make life easier for humans and espers. We're trying to preserve the fragile peace between both species…a peace being threatened by the Brotherhood."
"I've already notified Kotetsu and the others on the situation. He's going to keep an eye on things here while we go rescue Dana." Barnaby said.
"Good. We need to move quickly. Darren, Annie, High Wire, Grindor, I know you have a lot of questions, but can you hold them until after the mission?" Sumeragi requested. "Time is of the essence."
The twins and their guardians nodded. Questions could wait later, right now they had a girl to save.
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Darren and Annie were strapped in inside what Sumeragi called the Black Swan, a large black stealth aircraft rebuilt and upgraded from a defunct Osean stealth plane called the Blackbird. The twins weren't sure if they even wanted to know the story behind how Sumeragi got her hands on one.
The say in their seats secure alongside three other espers. The first was Nathan, a slightly effeminate black man who could convert soundwaves into light from his body. The second was one of Annie's classmates, Karina Doyle, a pale skinned girl with light blue hair who could create and manipulate ice. Their final member was Hua Pao, a petite green haired Xingese girl who could control electricity. Kotetsu was also a member of this team, but he remained behind with Sumeragi to manage the school and maintain their cover.
They wanted to bring the Minicons along, but Sumeragi thought it best that they stay behind. The last thing she wanted was Ouroboros thinking that the Autobots were involved, or make the Minicons targets. High Wire and Grindor weren't happy about that, but the twins assured them that they'll be fine.
Through means that the twins and Minicons were not yet privy to, the Neo Knights were able to somehow locate and pinpoint Dana's location and were able to mobilize at once. Darren and Annie were wearing their own Neo Knight uniforms for the operation; a full body dark blue body suit for Darren and a sleeveless black and pink bodysuit with thin but durable elbow gloves for Annie (she wasn't crazy about the color, but what can you do on such short notice?).
The Black Swan was launched from the underground hangar via runway and took to the air with such smoothness that they'd almost missed the fact that they were flying. The aircraft lived up to its reputation as
"So you guys are the rest of the Neo Knights." Annie said, trying to start a conversation. "That's cool."
"That's an understatement, sweetheart." Nathan laughed.
"We could say the same about you two being friends with the Autobots." Hua said. "That's pretty crazy too."
"I know this is all a bit overwhelming, but we'll explain everything once we get back to school." Karina said.
"Don't worry, the shock's starting to wear off now. Honestly, this is one of the more normal days for us." Annie said, nudging her brother.
"That explains why you two are taking this better than you should." Nathan commented.
"If you've been through half the stuff we've experienced, running into the Neo Knights is pretty tame." Darren said.
"Must have been an interesting life." Hua smirked. Darren frowned and looked out the window.
"Yeah, interesting," He said. "I guess you could see it that way."
"We're inbound in five!" Barnaby said.
"Where?" Nathan asked.
"The island about eight miles in front of us." He replied.
The group looked out the window to see a small island sitting in the ocean.
"Please tell me this island is on the map." Darren muttered.
"Masks on!"
The Neo Knights and their two additions immediately put on their masks. For Hua and Karina, they wore masks that covered their eyes and part of their hair. Nathan and Darren wore masks that completely covered their heads save for their mouths. Annie wore a black eye mask with white lens to cover her eyes.
Barnaby pushed forward on the controls and piloted the aircraft down to the island. The jet flew in closer until it hovered just above the island's beach.
"We're setting down. Be ready for a warm reception when we get off, because if they wanted Dana so badly, they aren't going to give her up easily." Barnaby said as he set the jet down.
"We could always ask nicely," Darren said as he stood up. "Though if they refuse…"
Annie flexed her arms and bone claws shot out of her hands. "We'll persuade them."
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The medical staff were just finishing cleaning and packing their tools from the operation as they got ready to move their base.
"Prep the subject for transfer and take the appendage to the lab. Begin infusing it into the unit's exoskeleton as soon as possible." One of the agents said as he put away a miniature chainsaw.
"Sir, we have multiple intruders landing on the beach." One of the scouts announced.
"Put it on screen."
The men gathered around the monitor, which flared to life and showed images of the Neo Knights disembarking from their aircraft and heading into the dense jungle.
"Have the talos squads handle them. Prep Emeth for transfer, we'll handle the finer details later.
"What about the previous subject?"
"Dispose of her."
They began packing up the remaining equipment as several technicians gathered around a cylindrical container carrying a ten foot tall metal exoskeleton it was made to emulate a human's dimensions, its technological systems a little gift from a mysterious benefactor who wanted it field tested in battle against espers. Adding a piece from the esper girl was just something they added to enhance the android's capabilities.
One of the scientists plugged in a container filled with liquid metal—a piece they amputated from Dana's body—and the substance slowly coated the android's body from top to bottom. The Ouroboros members watched in anticipation as the android's metal skeleton was completely encased in liquid metal. The commander waited until the machine was fully encased before giving the command prompt.
"Activation code: 1123057." He said.
Upon hearing the voice command, the android's eyes glowed bright red before its cybernetic brain sent out an electrical signal to its liquid metal armor. The substance rippled across its body for a minute before solidifying into a smooth yet durable armored suit that made the robot look twice as menacing. The commander smirked and nodded to the scientists to release the android's bonds and allow it to walk forward, its heavy metal steps making the floor shake.
"Emeth, your orders are to locate and target the intruders. Eliminate them with extreme prejudice." He ordered.
XXXXXX
Infiltrating the base turned out to be a bit more difficult than expected thanks to the numerous talos and armored carriers that were sent out to kill them. Annie and Darren recognized the talos as modified versions of the Savage talos units that were fielded by the Yuktobanian army. Whether or not that was just a coincidence was a thought for another day.
The fact that they were outnumbered was glossed over by the experienced Neo Knights, who charged ahead without hesitation. Nathan took the lead first, rushing forward and clapping his hands to release a bright light from his body that was bright enough to force anyone not looking through a filter to look away.
This momentary distraction allowed Karina and Hua to follow up with their own attacks; Karina rode forward on an ice bridge she formed under her feet while shooting large icicles at the talos in the front, destroying their joints or impaling their heads to completely disable them. Any talos that were capable of firing at them were swiftly taken out by her as she raised thick walls of ice that fired ice bullets with enough force to damage the Savages' weapons and froze them in place. Hua targeted the armored personnel carriers shooting at them, firing powerful bolts that slammed into the vehicles with enough force to flip them over or even pierce their thick armor.
Barnaby was the most impressive of the bunch. He waited for the girls to completely occupy the attention of the enemy forces before charging forward and slamming his hands into the ground. He unleashed a powerful telekinetic wave that rippled through the ground like a shockwave and slammed into the talos and APCs with tremendous force. Even Darren, who was strong in his own right, was impressed at how far he made the APCs fly with that single attack. The Savages were merely sent tumbling backward, but Barnaby quickly crushed their joints and camera heads, while also disabling their cockpits so that the pilots were trapped in their machines.
The twins were completely awestruck at how fluid the four espers fought. Everyone knew what to go for and trusted each other to watch their backs as they focused on their own individual duties. It was the kind of trust and comradery that the Autobots shared in battle, and it made watching them fight absolutely magical.
Once Barnaby was done taking out the talos, he turned to his team. "This way. I can hear more men coming from the base."
He led the rest of the team into the jungle that dominated most of the forest. They encountered several more strike teams that tried to surprise them, but they were taken care of thanks to Nathan and Karina. That wasn't to say it was easy, the soldiers were all equipped with not just assault rifles and rpgs, but also these strange energy weapons like the ones Annie and Dana went up against before.
"They're weapons reverse-engineered from the espers they've experimented on and killed." Barnaby said. "That's the kind of stuff they deal in aside from selling esper organs. Espers with offensive powers are given "special" treatment and are used to create new types of weapons."
"Thankfully they haven't really learned to mass-produce them," Karina said, before adding. "Yet."
Annie forced herself to calm down as she thought of what those psychos might be doing to Dana right now. She looked at Darren and noted that his expression had grown darker, colder. His eyes were like two pieces of hard cut emeralds and she felt a shiver run down her spine at how intense his glare was. Annie had never seen him with that expression before, and it scared her.
The group reached a large bunker door built into the mountain at the heart of the island. Barnaby called Darren over and together the two telekinetics easily tore open the massive door with ease as they combined their powers. Barnaby crumped the thick metal doors like they were paper and Darren released a telekinetic pulse wave that smashed the doors inward, sending them flying into the main corridor.
"Barnaby, can you sense Dana anywhere?" Karina asked. Barnaby reached out with his telepathic senses.
"I think so, but her thought patterns are jumbled," Barnaby said. "I do know where she is. Follow me."
Alarms blared as the espers made their way through several halls, easily dispatching any gunmen who crossed their path. After a few minutes, they reached what must have been the labs where they did their "business" with espers they've captured. As soon as they opened the doors, they were met with the gruesome sight of a dimly lit operation room with blood splattered all over the floor, hygiene clearly not on Ouroboros's list.
"Good lord." Nathan gasped. "What happened here?"
Karina screamed and held a hand to her mouth as she stumbled back into Annie. "Karina, what's wrong—" Karina pointed to a pile of body bags stacked at the far end of the room, several of them stained with blood that had leaked onto the floor.
"W-We need to keep moving." Darren said, pulling the girls away. "Barnaby, can you still track Dana?"
"Yes, she's close." He said. "We must hurry if we are to catch her."
"That won't be necessary."
The group turned to see a tall figure in dark blue body armor standing next to a large tank filled with silver liquid. He walked in front of it as arcs of electricity danced across its surface. "If you're looking for your friend, then look no further."
He gestured to the tank as the liquid inside began to shift and compress. A humanoid figure pulled itself out of the metallic sludge before slumping against the glass. The Neo Knights watched in horror as they saw Dana's body beginning to break down back into its liquid form, and the voltage on the tank increased, causing the girl to shriek in pain.
"Bastard!" Annie roared and charged forward with her bone claws outstretched. She went to impale him when something slammed into her from above and sent her crashing back into Nathan. They both hit the wall hard enough to dent the concrete walls.
"Annie!" Karina rushed forward to help her friend, but the robot cut her off, lashing out with a kick to the head that sent her crashing against the medical table and knocking her out on impact.
"Crap!" Darren yelled as a large silver robot fell down from the ceiling. It landed in front of them and raised its arms, its shiny silver armor morphing into a pair of long, sharp blades before charging at him and Barnaby.
"I got you, guys!" Hua's arms sparked with electricity but she was forced back by a powerful purple energy beam fired by the Ouroboros agent.
"I can't let you do that." He said, the power lines on his suit glowing. "Let the boys have their fun, yes?"
The android moved with a stiff yet fluid grace, easily changing targets from Barnaby to Darren and back again, slashing and stabbing with its metal blades and kept them on their toes. It focused on Barnaby especially, keeping him occupied so he couldn't use any of his more powerful psychic attacks while using blunt force to keep Darren off balance.
"Did they always have this thing?" Darren asked, grunting from a punch to his arms that pushed him back.
"No, this thing is new." Barnaby said, trying to take hold of its limbs with his powers but was forced to dodged a slash from its blades.
The android paused for a second before spinning in a circle, lengthening its blades to catch both espers in its attack. Darren got cut in his chest as he tried to dodge it, but Barnaby avoided the blades and tore off one of them, throwing it back at the android. To his surprise, the severed blade didn't as much as stab into the robot as it melted into its armor. The sight was enough to shock even him.
"Where did they find this thing?" He muttered. Ouroboros were smart people, but they couldn't possibly have the resources to have a fully automated combat android at their disposal.
"Rah!" A piercing war cry rang from the ruptured wall as Annie came charging out of the hole and at the android.
Darren jumped back as Annie slammed into the android and impaled it in several places with bones coming from her ribs and shoulders, effectively pinning it to her. But the android's armor rippled and sprouted several spikes of its own that pierced Annie's flesh and stabbed into her chest and stomach. "Annie!"
"I'm fine!" Annie coughed up a mouthful of blood, her voice raspy as she felt two spikes stab into her chest cavity and puncture her lung. She'd heal, but not until the spikes were out. Using what strength she had, she pushed the android back across the room, making sure to keep its arms away from her.
Darren saw what she was planning as she pushed the android towards the tank holding Dana and called out, "Hua, move!"
Hua, who had been trying to fight the agent shooting energy blasts at her, looked over her shoulder and saw the two barreling towards her. She dived out of the way just as Darren waved his arm and sent the bloodstained medical table slamming into the man from the side, moving him out of the way. Annie roared and slammed the android into the electrified container, electrocuting it and herself as she held it flush against the glass.
"No!" The man roared and tried to shoot her, but Barnaby blasted him into the wall.
The metallic armor on the android rippled and distorted as electrical currents surged through the robot. It only took a few seconds for its systems to short out and the entire unit went limp, its armor still convulsing from the voltage. Convulsing herself, Annie stumbled back away from the android and let it fall to the floor, her wounds healing slowly.
"Crap, that hurt." Annie grunted, coughing a bit as her lung repaired itself. Thank god for superhuman healing. She looked up at the tank and raised her arm, creating a spiraling drill from the bones in her forearm.
She slammed her bone drill into the tank, shattering the glass wall and releasing the distorted form of her friend. Dana's body began to reshape itself, leaving her still metallic form naked. Annie knelt down and held her up, noticing the girl was gripping her arm. "Dana, are you okay?"
Annie lifted Dana up and gasped when she saw that Dana's left arm was missing below the shoulder.
"My god…" Darren muttered as he and Barnaby ran over to them. Annie took a white sheet and draped it over Dana's nude form.
"Annie?" Dana opened her eyes, still a bit disoriented from her ordeal. "Oh, Annie."
"It's okay, Dana. I'm here." Annie whispered. "We're getting you out of here."
Dana gave her a weak smile, rubbing the stump where her arm used to be. "Hey…Annie…I think I've lost a few pounds." She joked with a forced smile. Annie smiled and hugged her friend.
Across the room, the lone Ouroboros agent got to his feet, clutching his ribs painfully as his armor glowed with purple energy.
"You espers…are unclean. You'll regret ever going against us!" He shouted.
"SHUT UP!" Hua fired a massive blast of lightning at him, sending his smoking body through the air. He smashed into the wall, sending rubble crashing down upon him. The man tried to fight back, but she sent another blast at him, this time completely shorting out his suit and violently shocking him. His screams of pain only spurred her on as she increased the voltage to fatal levels.
"Hua, Hua stop!" Barnaby yelled, Nathan on his shoulder and Karina just coming to. "You'll bring the whole place down on us!"
Hua continued the torture for a second more before stopping her assault, letting the man sag on the floor with smoke rising off his body. She spat at him before moving back over to the girls, who were helping Dana to her feet.
"That's gonna be hell to fix." Hua muttered, looking at Dana's missing limb.
"It's fine." Dana had Karina move her closer to the dead robot and she reached out to her missing limb. The robot's armor rippled before slowly oozing off the robot and back onto Dana's body. Slowly Dana's arm grew back to its original length before the shocked eyes of her friends. "Benefits of being made…of metal, huh guys?" Dana smiled weakly.
"That thing's armor was made from you?" Annie whispered in horror. She turned to the wounded man and glared at him. "You bastard! How could do that to an innocent girl?"
"That…thing is not girl." He rasped. "We were just…harvesting materials."
Annie's vision turned red and she rushed at the man, deployed two long, thick bone spears from her hands and stabbing them into his chest. The man howled in pain and struggled but she didn't let go.
"How does that feel, asshole? It's not so fun when you're the one in pain, huh?" Annie growled, shoving her bones deeper.
"Annie, stop! Reinforcements are on their way. We have to leave, now!" Barnaby said.
"Come on, Annie. Let's go." Karina said.
Annie gritted her teeth before snapping her bone spears off, leaving them impaled into the man as she stood up. "I should gut you now, but you aren't worth it." She growled.
"Go ahead…run. You freaks will never find a safe place to hide, because we humans will kill all of you." The agent coughed. "We'll keep coming after those little school of freaks you're protecting and harvest each and every one of them for the good of hu—"
Darren sent a metal spike right through his chest, destroying his heart and lungs and killing the man instantly. He looked at the shocked faces of the others and shrugged apathetically. "He was taking too long to die. I got impatient."
XXXXXX
With Barnaby carrying Nathan and Annie carrying Dana, it was up to Darren, Karina and Hua to protect the group. This was easier than earlier because Darren tore apart any opposition in their way—literally. Karina and Hua stayed out of his way with pale faces as he swiftly tore through the remaining Ouroboros members like they were clay dolls, throwing their bodies into walls, crushing bones, stabbing them with pieces of debris. And throughout it all, his expression wasn't the least bit stricken at the amount of people he was killing. Even Annie was a bit scared of him.
Despite his brutality, Darren's assault enabled the Neo Knights to return to the Swan, and they quickly boarded the plane just as enemy APCs and talos emerged out of the base. Everyone strapped themselves in as Barnaby took off and flew away from the base, projecting a telekinetic barrier around the jet to defend it from anti-aircraft fire.
The team didn't relax until the sounds of gunfire lessened and completely faded away. Barnaby kept the plane going at full speed, not lightening up in the slightest even as they left the combat zone.
"We're finally out of their range." Barnaby said, getting relieved sighs from the others. "Thank god they didn't have any missiles or our escape would've been rockier."
Dana sagged in relief and leaned against Annie, who held her close and rubbed her shoulders. "It's finally over." She whispered.
"Yes, Dana," Annie said, hugging her. "You're safe now."
While she comforted Dana, Annie glanced at Darren, who sat back against his seat with his eyes closed, resting from the harrowing battle. She saw another side to her brother that day, and she didn't like what she saw. Darren was ruthless and merciless, and he didn't seem to be the least bit concerned about what he did.
Darren had changed, and it scared her.
XXXXXX
Sumeragi sat back against her chair with a sigh and rubbed her forehead. Barnaby had just given her his report on the operation, which was a success. The Neo Knights return home with one of her students safe and sound, though Dana's recovery will take some time.
The girl had been scarred by her ordeal and Sumeragi had to lessen the blow of the girl's memories to ensure that the nightmares did not affect her daily life. She offered to erase them completely, but Dana refused. Her reasons for doing so were rather inspiring for Sumeragi.
"I want to remember how cruel the world can be towards espers." Dana said. "It'll give me a reason to fight more for espers who aren't as lucky as me. Besides, I want to remember the faces of the people who risked their lives saving me like that."
Dana had sworn to keep their identities a secret, and Sumeragi was thankful for that. The girl would take a few days off to safely recover from her nightmarish ordeal with her friends.
As for Darren and Annie, they had performed better than she thought. The twins were remarkably calm under pressure and fought better than she'd thought against Ouroboros. They truly war natural fighters, though you don't hang out with the Autobots for that long without learning a few things from them.
'A shame that Darren refused to join us, though I can understand his reasoning.' Sumeragi thought. 'After what he's been thought, some rest and normalcy is what he needs right now. And his actions on the mission were certainly…disturbing to say the least.'
She heard a knock on the door and said, "Come in."
The door creaked open and Annie poked her head inside. "Hey, Professor Sumeragi."
"Annie, what's wrong? It's a bit late to be walking around by yourself." Sumeragi said.
"I know, but I just wanted to see you before I went to bed. I would've come sooner, but Brit ambushed me as soon as I got back." Annie said, taking a seat.
"I can imagine she was quiet worried about you." Sumeragi smiled. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"
"It's about your offer from earlier. The one you gave us." Annie said slowly. Sumeragi tilted her head.
"But I thought you and Darren refused." She said. Annie sent her a glare.
"You know what I said and what I was thinking were two different things. I've been thinking it over, and I've made my decision." Annie took a deep breath and said, "I'll do it. I'll join the Neo Knights.
The Neo Knight were this little team of mutants in the Marvel TF comics created by Blackrock to fight evil cybertronians (sans Circuit Breaker, who wanted to kill all of them but nobody listened to her anymore). Here, I basically turned them into the TF version of the X-Men. Sorry for the lack of alien robot action, but this chapter is mainly to set up the stage for some of our characters for the oncoming story arc. Also, I landed a new job so updates on most of my stories will be a bit slow, and I'm going to be taking a break from this story to catch up on Mosiac, which has been collecting dust. Be sure to visit the official Transformers Titan website on WordPress. Thanks for reading, please leave a review, and Happy Halloween to you all!