A/N: Dedicated to shadownmoon_panther and Robyn8564 for commenting on Prologue.
Hoover Dam - Year Unknown
The buzz of the locked door woke her. Silver eyes opening as the light shone through the cracks and two sets of military-style black boots came into view. Chains rattled as she curled further into a ball, claws sharpening and fists clenching, drawing blood that dripped on the floor.
The jingle of the keys had her silver eyes flickering up. The only thing visible through the curtain of her white hair as one guard kneeled to unlock the shackles and the other pointed the rifle he carried at her head. The click of the barrel causing her senses to sharpen and her blurry vision to focus. She heard a click as the guard stood up backing up enough to mutter something to his colleague. There was a sound of confirmation before the second guard was walking behind her. She closed her eyes as they both leaned down to grab her arms.
~
Bright fluorescent lights shone down from the ceiling. A viewing area above stretched from one corner of the room to the other, made for seating multiple people at a time. Metal walls stretched as wide as a football field with machines lining every inch and cables stretching from them to the large machine above. Connected to the machine was an operating table in the middle of the room. On that table lay the silver-eyed creature from the cell, limbs stretched wide and strapped down with a matching choker around her neck that beeped every eight seconds along with a blue light.
Empty silver eyes stared at the bright lights above, a million and one thoughts running through them. Elven pointed ears twitched as a door shut and a lock clicked. She turned her head enhanced sight easily making out the figures standing behind the dark glass of the room above. Her hands clenched, black nails scraping against the metal table sending up fine particles of iron dust. Once upon a time she'd been able to break her bonds now, however, there was a different energy coursing through her veins, one that was not her own. She turned her head once more, colorless locks spilling over the table to cover the surrounding floor and resumed staring at the lights. Before she would've let her thoughts devour her mind but there was no point. No amount of self-pity would fix her situation. Instead, there was only blank indifference.
"Begin the energy transfer."
The overhead voice above was one she would remember for eternity. The long cables of the machine had been attached to every inch of her body, inserted with small thin needles and secured with a lock. She breathed deeply and silently as the cables hummed. There was a crackle of energy as the humming got louder and the machine lowered above her. It began glowing and suddenly it fired.
"Forgive me."
Domine screamed.
~
Hoover Dam - 2007
Sirens wailed, along with them lights flashed and yells pierced the air. A shadow moved from her spot in the corner. Silver eyes glittered ominously and Domine rose from her seated position, knee-length dress swaying with every step her bare feet took until she reached the glass window. Her new cell sat perched in the highest corner giving her the perfect view of the enormous ancient cube below.
The Allspark.
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass, long locks cut and now flowing at her elbows. Her once dirtied plain cotton dress had been replaced with a silk one, black in color with a wavy trim that stopped above her knees and draped with a small train in the back. Blank pupilless eyes darted around looking for the source of the disturbance. A group of people caught her eye. She smiled.
"Domine."
A voice echoed in her mind. The smile was wiped from her face, eyes closing as a picture flashed before them of a yellow and black bot struggling on a cold metal table, like she had once been, the surrounding humans freezing him.
"A favor, sister." Hate replaced whatever good mood she had felt and her words were filled with ice as she spoke.
"I am not your sister."
~
Earlier
Banachek led the group towards a different high-arched hallway, away from N.B.E One or as they now knew Megatron. His voice echoed throughout the small office where portraits of 'The First Seven' hung on the wall and windows showed the ancient cube below.
"Carbon dating puts the Cube here around 10,000 B.C. The first Seven didn't find it until 1913. They knew it was alien because of the matching hieroglyphics on the Cube as well as NBE One. President Hoover had the dam built around it. Four football fields thick of concrete. A perfect way to hide its energy from being detected by anyone or any alien species on the outside."
"Wait," Maggie spoke up. "You said the dam hides the Cube's energy. What kind exactly?"
"Good question."
They were led to a different room, extremely secure and out of the way. It was smaller than the office, with no furniture to be seen. Just machines all aligned with cardboard boxes where wires, cables, and cords tumbled down from the ceiling. In the center was a clear box with metal lining the top, sides, and corners. Inside the box was lit with a blue light. The group filed inside.
"Please step inside," Banachek urged those who fell behind. "they have to lock us in."
Claw marks lined the walls in sets of three sending shivers down the spines of those who were now locked in. A foreboding silence took hold, only interrupted by the comments of Freddy Krueger and Wolverine. The joking voices of Glenn and Sgt. Epps was cut short as Simmons chimed in.
"That's very funny." He deadpanned and let his tone sink in before glancing around. "Anybody have any mechanical devices? Blackberry? Key Alarms? Cellphones?"
"I got a Nokia." Glenn offered and tossed it to the agent. Without another word, Simmons stepped around the box and opened up a panel on the back to place the cell phone in the center, right underneath the laser poking out from the ceiling. They took the goggles provided.
"Ooh, Nokia's are real nasty. You gotta respect the Japanese. They know the way of the Samurai."
A frown found its way onto Maggie's face. "Nokia's from Finland." She remarked. The Secretary of Defense agreed before he shushed her.
"Yes, but he's, you know, a little strange," Keller replied. "He's a little strange."
The room quieted as the laser lowered from the ceiling, the tip touching down on the phone's keypad.
"We're able to take the Cube radiation and funnel it into that box," Simmons spoke. He moved away to where switches lined a part of the wall and activated the laser. Not a moment later a blue-like lighting-bolt came through the laser and fired onto the phone. The box began flashing brightly. Two more flashes occurred before the laser retraced and the phone moved. It vibrated rapidly and then, emitting a noise, it transformed. A crab-like being stood in place, brought to life by the Cube's energy, before ramming into the glass panes of the box. Shock and awe permeated the air.
"Mean little sucker, huh?" Simmons purred as he stalked around.
"That thing is freaky!" Maggie cried out.
"Kinda like the itty-bitty Energizer bunny from hell, huh?"
A grunt came from the creature before transforming one its shoulders into a miniature bazooka and its abdomen into a machine gun. The bullets made imprints into the glass as the bazooka only cracked it, much to the relief of those in the room.
"He's breaking the box." Simmons tsked but didn't press down onto the trigger in his hand. Banachek hummed, agreeing but not willing to interfere with what was coming next. When it seemed that the creature was going to escape a black light flashed. The glass repaired itself and the creature calmed.
"Just give her a minute." He spoke much to the other's confusion.
"Her?" The word was echoed by most of the occupants but everyone silenced when a dark glow shone from the box. The creature whirred softly as black coated its body, traveling from the tips of its claws to overtake it completely. Once the creature was covered entirely it turned to dust. Sam asked what everyone was thinking.
"What ju-" He was cut off as the ceiling shook and the lights flickered. Fear covered many faces as the threat of what was down the hallway came to mind.
"Gentlemen, I think they know the cube is here," The Secretary spoke.
Banachek pushed a button on a nearby radio, "Banachek. What's going on?"
"Well, the N.B.E One hangar has lost power and the backup generator is just not gonna cut it!" The worker on the opposite line replied, his voice shaking.
"What?!" Banachek shouted.
"Do you have an arms room?" Captain Lennox asked. Banachek nodded. They rushed out of the room, running through the halls back to the lower floors. following the agent as he shouted orders for everyone to report to N.B.E One's chamber. Workers reacted, dropping what they were working on and taking off back the way they had come. The agent led their group elsewhere charging into a room outfitted with weapons. Vehicles lined the room with soldiers already clad in armor, along with cargo boxes with weapons already laid out. The group of soldiers rushed over at once, arming themselves as quickly as possible. As they did so, the walls shook and the lights flickered again pausing the actions of everyone.
Sam rushed over to Simmons. "You've gotta take me to my car. You have to take us to my car. He's gonna know what to do with the Cube."
"Your car? It's confiscated." His snide tone showing as he shook his head rapidly.
"Then unconfiscate it." The young man replied.
"We do not know what will happen if we let it near this thing!"
"You don't know!"
"Maybe you do, but I don't know!"
"You just wanna sit here and wait and see what happens?"
"I have people's lives at stake here, young man." Simmons raised a finger and jabbed it into the boy's face only to be ripped back and rammed into the bumper of the vehicle behind him by Captain Lennox. At once, guns were out, aimed at him. His own pistol aimed at the nearest S7 soldier. His team took aim as well, pointing their weapons at the other soldiers threatening their comrade. It came to blows as two soldiers elbowed and sacked some of the other soldiers effectively taking command.
"Take him to his car!" The Captain ordered, pistol aimed at the soldier closest to him. "Drop it."
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Banachek called out, raising his arms but no one put down their guns.
"Drop your weapon, soldier," Simmons ordered raising his voice. "There's an alien war going on and you're gonna shoot me?"
"You know, we didn't ask to be here." The Captain responded eyes darting to the agent before returning to the soldier.
Simmons glared. "I'm ordering you under S-Seven executive jurisdiction."
"S-Seven don't exist." Sgt. Epps shot back, his own gun trained on the soldier in front of him.
His comrade nodded. "Right. And we don't take orders from people that don't exist.
"I'm gonna count to five-"
"Well, I'm gonna count to three," Lennox interrupted, pointing his gun at Simmons' chest. They kept eye contact, neither backing down even with the threat of Megatron hanging over their heads. Secretary Keller finally ended the standoff.
"Simmons?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I'd do what he says. Losing's really not an option for these guys."
The agent glanced between the Secretary and the Captain. "All right. Okay. Hey, you want to lay the fate of the world on the kid's Camaro? That's cool."
The followed him out the room and down multiple hallways taking left and right turns before finally bursting through a pair of double doors. Lights flashed amongst the room but it remained silent. Simmons held up the others as he trained his gun on the being now sitting up. Bumblebee's cries that had once filled the room were now only curious whirs, cradling something in his large servos as a giggle rang throughout the room. Bodies of workers and soldiers littered the floor like mere toys, they were of no concern to the two alien beings who were holding a conversation.
"Wait, kid. You've gotta wait. We can't scare her." Simmons ordered holding back everyone as the doors closed behind them.
"Her? Whose her?" Sam replied, eyes darting to the man in front of him and back to his friend whose wings fluttered at the sound of his voice. He called out to the alien who sat hunched over whatever he held. Simmons and Banachek's warnings fell on deaf ears.
"Bumblebee?"
Bumblebee whirred. A name sounding from his radio.
"Sam."
"Yeah. Yeah, it's me." Brown eyes darted from blue to the being shielded from surrounding eyes. He only caught a flash of grey before large digits blocked his sight again. "We have to go 'Bee, Megatron is down the hall and he's after the Allspark but we can get there first." He reasoned.
Bumblebee nodded then he stiffened, mask sliding down as he rose off the experiment table free of his restraints. His left servo caged around the figure seated in his palm. Weapons raised as he stood up, towering over everyone in the room. A series of 'woahs' rose up as everyone took a step back.
"Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, right? Listen to me. The Cube is here and the Decepticons are coming." Sam urged with an arm held out to the others but protested as the 'bot activated his arm cannon. "No, no, don't worry about them. They're okay. Right? They're not gonna hurt you. Just back up a little bit. He's friendly. He's fine. Okay, come on. Put the guns down. They're not gonna hurt you. Here, come with me. I'm gonna take you to the All Spark."
The Autobot whirred in response and moved towards his charge as he sheathed his weapons, never once letting go of the being cradled in his palm. They all fled the room and ran towards the Allspark chamber. Sam Immediately seized the opportunity to question the agents.
"Who is that? Why didn't you tell us that there was someone else here? What does she want with 'Bee?"
"Slow down with the questions kid. There's a lot of things going on that you don't understand." Simmons countered. This put a wrench in his plans. She put a wrench in his plans. He should've known though. Whenever the Cube was concerned Domine was sure to be involved.
"Could've given a warning though." He thought frustratedly. He refused to acknowledge the giggle that echoed in his mind at the thought.
Wisely sensing his comrade's frustration Banachek gave a brief summary of the alien female.
"Her name is Domine. She's been here even longer than the Cube and N.B.E One. No one knows who she is or what she's capable of. All information concerning where she came from is classified, even above our clearance. All we know is that she's alien and has a connection to N.B.E One and the Cube." Banachek nodded as they all turned down a corner, passing the office instead to go down the hallway where a hanger entrance sat at the end, revealing the Allspark chamber.
"Another alien?" Sgt. Epps asked a knowing look in his eyes as he turned to Lennox. The Captain only shook his head minutely.
Whatever further questions they had were postponed at the sight of the massive Cube. Shock and awe-filled their group once again. It rose as Bumblebee stepped towards the artifact one servo raised towards it, the scout's optics wide in reverie. It sparked and flashed at his touch, sending a blue wave through it that outlined the Cube in numerous square shapes. Bumblebee whirred in wonder, he shifted the servo that held Domine to his shoulder, gently depositing her there where she placed a hand on the edge of his faceplates. He whirred in question at her position and she patted his cheek in reassurance. The 'bot placed his servos on the nearest corner of the Cube.
Right before their eyes, the Cube began to shrink. Bumblebee passed the now shrunken Cube to Domine.
"Message from Starfleet, Captain. Let's get to it." His radio chimed.
"He's right," Lennox spoke, stepping down from his spot. "We stay here, we're screwed with Megatron in the other hangar. Mission City is twenty-two miles away. We're gonna sneak that Cube out of here and we're gonna hide it somewhere in the city."
"Good! Right!" Keller agreed.
"But we cannot make a stand without the Air Force."
"I will hold off Megatronus." A sudden voice spoke from 'Bee's shoulder. The name was unfamiliar to some but they the all knew who she spoke about. Blank silver eyes blinked slowly as a servo came up to her. She stepped on the offered servo regally where 'Bee proceeded to set her onto the ground despite his whir in protest. However, protest came from a different source.
"Domine." Lennox's disagreement could be heard in his tone but only got a raised eyebrow in response.
"William." That got a narrowed stare in return. Domine proceded forward, her bare gray feet soft on the metal floors. She came to a stop in front of Sam who studdered at her appearance in front of him. She lifted the Cube towards him never once touching his raised hands in response.
"Guard it with your life." She spoke to him standing nearly a head and a half taller than the boy. His brown eyes were wide in comparison to her silver ones. He nodded taking the Cube from her long dainty fingers, mindful of touching them. Her hands stayed suspended in the air long after he took the artifact before swinging down to rest at her sides. She turned back to the others.
"Get to the city."
She left the hanger following the sounds of screeching metal and human screams as well as the roar of 'I am Megatron!'.
"So what? We all just gonna ignore the fact that she's going to face Megatron by herself?" Epps broke the silence.
Lennox was the only on to reply. He motioned for everyone else to get moving. "You know as well as I do that Domine can hold her own Epps. We have to get to the city like she said. No time for explanations." No matter how bad he wanted them. He turned to where the Secretary stood.
"Sir, you got to figure out some way to get word out to them. Let's move!"
Keller nodded taking off with Simmons and the others. Lennox turned to the remaining alien in the room and the teenagers who stood by him. Bumblebee proceeded to transform into his alt-mode.
"All right, Sam, get it in the car! Mr. Secretary! Get our birds in the air. When we get to the city, we're gonna find a radio, and I'll have Epps vector them in, okay?"
"Affirmative!"
~
"Megatronus."
The voice caught his audios. It was one he had spent the vorns of his imprisonment pondering over, and as he turned to the voice a soft mischievous smile greeted him. He didn't stop the fanged grin that stretched across his scarred face.
"Domine." He was rewarded with a smile at the sound of her name on the warlord's glossa. The gravelly rasp of his Kaonic accent causing her elven-pointed ears to twitch. The sound of her amusement was a mockery to the screams of the humans around them. As if their suffering caused her pleasure.
And it did. Immensely.
A/N: I'd like to thank all my readers new and old for not giving up on me despite slow updates. My health has been in recent decline and I've haven't been able to find the motivation or inspiration to write this story. By no means am I canceling or discarding this story I'd just like to warn any present and future readers that there will be the chance of slow updates. It's been a long year and my direction of this story has changed and altered many times but I want everyone to know that I haven't given up on this story and I'm glad you guys haven't either.
Thanks for reading.
-KDBloomfield
