So yup, it's a Genderbend AU! This is an AU that's been in the works for a few years, and is no where near done, but I decided that this is gonna be my main side project when the muse for AllSpark disappears, and I really wanted to share what I have so far (plus it's a crappy day, so impulse decisions fit!). A lot of this will just be going over the episodes of TFP, but I am hoping to develop some more character driven subplots and scenes with the help of the Third Person Limited POVs I'm using.
The femme characters (and mech!Arcee) have been given different names to help differentiate them from their canon counterparts. It should be obvious who is who, but just in case, I'm putting a cast list in this chapter's end notes in order of appearance, so feel free to reference it as needed.
Cliffstar rumbled down a quiet country road, speeding over a rise after deftly avoiding yet another pothole. "The county commission needs to get some people out here," the red Challenger muttered to herself. "Now, where was I?"
"You reached the top of the cliff," her partner Arc said on the other end of the comm line.
"Right! Okay, so there I was on the lookout, scanning, checking out the view, when out of nowhere, these high beams light up my rearview. I have no idea what's going on, then it hits me. I'm illegally parked."
"Another parking ticket?" The question was flat and dry, like he had expected it.
"Better. The boot."
"Big metal tire clamp, impossible to remove."
Cliffstar internally grinned. "Bingo! So the local police do their thing, and I let them get a block away. That's when I kick off my new shiny shoe and… Ba-bam!"
"New York's finest soil themselves."
"You know me Arc. You mess with the Cliffstar-"
"And you get the horns," Arc finished for her, as Cliffstar laughed.
"That's right."
"Not sure how that complies with Autobot rule number one; keep a low profile."
"What can I say Arc?" the Challenger defended, tilting her mirrors slightly to look at the meadows and fields around her. "Searching for energon on this dust ball is more boring than one of Ultra Magna's speeches. Almost makes me miss the Decepticons."
"Like Jasper, Nevada's a party?" Arc asked. "We're alone wherever we go on this rock, Cliff."
"Yeah." Cliffstar sounded a little dejected, then was distracted by the beeping of her sensors. "I'm getting a signal."
"Need back up?"
"Do I ever need back up?" She made a sharp turn off the road, riding over a series of rolling hills until she reached the edge of a large circular canyon. Inside were many blue crystals, some almost as tall as a house, if not taller. "Oh Wrencha's gonna be happy, I just found a whole lot of energon."
Suddenly, the area grew dark as something moved over the sun. The shadow was the wrong shape for a cloud, and Cliffstar transformed into her bipedal mode and looked up, seeing a large ship flying above her.
"Decepticons!"
A turret on the underside of the ship turned and fired laser bolts down on her. Cliffstar jumped to avoid the main blast, but the shockwave of the explosion sent her flying down into the canyon. She landed with a loud grunt right along side some of the energon crystals, and pushed herself up and onto her back just in time to see a set of doors on the underside of the ship open and several purple and black mecha landed with loud groundshaking thuds, approaching the edge of the canyon to look down on Cliffstar with red visored optics.
She pushed herself to her pedes. "Hey Arc," she said over her radio. "About that back up..."
"On it, Cliff!" Arc said, before cutting the connection.
Cliffstar glared up at the mecha before her. Ten on one. Not the best odds, but she should be able to handle it. After all, they were only vehicons. "Fair warning, girls," she said, "I'll put some scratches in your pretty little paint jobs." With that, she transformed and charged up the cliff side, flying into the air and transforming to deliver a punch as she landed.
Arc hastily switched his comm channel from his and Cliffjumper's private one to the team's general channel. "Arc to Optima, the 'Cons are back. Cliff might be neck deep in scrap."
"Understood, Arc," Optima said. "Wrencha, can you track Cliffstar's coordinates?"
"I've locked onto her signal," Wrencha said. "But the team is scattered across time zones. We have to move fast."
Arc drew up a map of their current patrols on his HUD, and cursed that Wrencha was right. Optima was in Iowa, Wrencha in Alaska, Bulka in Montana, and Enerbee in Arizona. Cliff was in New York State.
"Arc, Bulka, Enerbee," Optima ordered, "rendezvous back at base and prepare to bridge to Cliffstar."
Arc pulled an illegal U-turn, partly glad but mostly not caring that no cops were around to see the move, or see him speed from five to sixty-five miles per hour in seconds. We're coming, partner, he thought as he quickly left Jasper behind. Just hold on.
Cliffstar delivered a kick that sent a vehicon flying down into the canyon, then turned and backhanded one who was crouching to try and get under her guard. She whirled back and took a swing at another who was coming for her front, only to overextend and miss when she dropped back. A fourth vehicon snuck up behind her and delivered an elbow blow to the back of her neck, making Cliffstar cry out before being shoved into the foot of yet another opponent. She was kicked away and another - or was it one of the earlier ones, it was hard to keep track - slashed at her with sharpened talons that sent sparks flying as it scored a gouge across her chestplate and actually sliced through her right horn. The blow, and the kick that followed, was enough to send her flying back into the canyon, landing on top of one of the vehicons she had already disabled.
She pushed herself to her pedes, and spotted the point of her horn sticking in the ground ahead of her. She lifted a servo to her helm and felt the stump, then growled at the vehicons, now climbing down the canyon wall to join her in the Pit.
"Oh, you want the horns, do yah?" Her triple-barreled ion cannons transformed out. "You got 'em."
She started firing at the 'Cons, her first blasts catching them unprepared and one got blown up for it, her body crumpling against the rocks. The others transformed their own single barrel blasters and fired. With a speed contradictory to her bulky frame, Cliffstar danced around the blasts, only realizing too late that they instead were hitting the energon crystals behind her. It only took three volleys for the blasts to ignite the centermost crystals, and an eruption of blue flame burst from them. Cliffstar was engulfed, and felt herself lifted and pushed off the ground by the force of the explosion.
Her helm was spinning, her optics temporarily glitched out as her system diagnostics screamed warnings on her HUD. Burns on her plating, line ruptures, equilibrium sensors knocked out of alignment, audials and optics needing reset. Her chrono seemed to blink in and out, skipping ahead several seconds at a time. When that finally reset itself, she felt two pairs of servos grab her arms and start dragging her against first stone, then grass. Her optics and audials finally reset just in time to see the metal floor of a lift and hear it whirl to life, raising them up.
Slag.
On the bridge of the Nemesis, the Decepticon's flagship, Shatterglass stood at the end of the catwalk that extended to the floor to ceiling window screens of the vessel. They and the console before her showed the same image: the smoke cloud billowing and flashes of blue from the fires below. The flames themselves were quickly dying, but the smoke would linger unless dissipated somehow.
She scowled as she watched. The scans had said this deposit would be very profitable, likely several weeks worth of energon. Open to the air, so operations would have needed to be completed quickly before any humans came snooping around, but easily doable. And now it was all gone, partly because of incompetent troops, but mainly because of a certain Autobot.
"What a waste," she said, waving her servo and the window screens darkened again. The urgency lift from the cargo hold to the bridge opened, and two of the four surviving vehicons stepped onto the bridge, dragging a much worse-off Cliffstar between them.
"Are you happy, Cliffstar?" she asked. "You prevented me from claiming the deposit. But in the process, you denied your teammates the chance to claim it themselves."
Cliffstar lifted her helm up, a cocky smile just barely covering the scowl she'd had before. "Small talk, Shatterglass? I thought we knew each other better." She coughed, smiling more when the energon she spit out landed on Shatterglass's pede. "So, where's your master?"
Shatterglass ignored the spittle, simply crossing her arms behind her back. "You should be less worried about her…" She stalked around the group, stopping just behind one of the vehicons. A smirk crossed her lips. "And worry more about me."
In a flash, she lunged, one servo shoving Cliffstar's helm forward, while the other dove into the newly exposed cabling at the base of her helm. Her talon found a cable and with a flex, sliced through it. Cliffstar gave an aborted cry of pain before slumping even more in the vehicons' hold, having fallen into stasis.
Shatterglass extracted her servo, taking a moment to smirk in satisfaction before crossing her arms again and issuing orders. "You two, take her to the brig, and settle her in for a long stay. With her transponder broken, the Autobots won't be looking for her any time soon. Helmsmech, set a course for the next coordinates." She let the vehicons pass, then walked to the end of the catwalk again, a wave of her servo activating the window screens again.
After he got to base, Arc had wanted to just bridge to Cliff's coordinates immediately, but logic had him first bridge Optima back. He would have left them, but Optima convinced him to wait for the others, and they would all go together. But the second the bridge was stable, he was the first through the bridge. Wrencha had set it to open in the air, so he transformed once outside and landed with his blaster drawn. The others landed along side him, but it quickly became obvious that they were the only ones there.
Optima deactivated her blaster, walking over to the edge of the crater, and the team followed suit. "An untapped energon deposit."
"What's left of it," Bulka said, the green giant crossing her arms.
"The first Decepticon activity in three years," Wrencha said.
"That we know of," Optima said. "If the Decepticons are actively seeking energon, they are likely preparing for her return."
Arc felt a shudder run over his frame, but did not linger on it, his worry for Cliffstar overcoming any fears. He moved to the front of their group, jumping down into the crater. Inside, vehicon corpses were charred and melted, obviously caught in the explosion. He paid them no mind, looking for red, not purple and black.
Finally, he spotted something - Cliffstar's horn, sliced off. "No!" He picked it up and showed it to Wrencha.
Wrencha frowned, then turned when Optimia asked, "Wrencha, can you lock onto her position?"
Wrencha raised her arm, a panel opening to reveal her scanner's screen. She invented harshly. "No." She looked up. "Cliffstar's life signal just went offline."
Arc froze. No. No. Cliff wasn't dead. She couldn't be. He couldn't lose her. Not like- His grip tightened on Cliffstar's horn as he ended that train of thought. Cliff would never leave a horn behind. The only reason that would happen if she was captured and killed. She was gone.
Arc barely registered the return to base, and kept hold of the horn, just barely listening as Optima and Wrencha discussed a memorial. Only when they all stood at the top of the silo, Optima before the spot they would place the carn, did he come fully out of his head.
"We must not allow our anger at the loss of Cliffstar to impair our judgment," she counseled. "As of today, only we five Autobots remain on this Earth. We owe it to ourselves, to the memory of Cybertron, to any Autobots in the galaxy seeking safe harbor, to humankind and we owe it to our fallen comrade, to survive."
Arc stepped forth and set Cliffstar's horn on the ground. Then he started walking for the elevator.
"Arc-" Optima said, but Arc didn't let her finish whatever platitude she had ready.
"If Cliff is gone, standing around here sulking is not going to bring her back. So unless anyone minds," he turned around as he stepped into the elevator, "I think I'll get back to protecting humankind." The doors closed before anyone could respond to that.
Shatterglass was preparing for the shift change, making sure all was well on the bridge when Audial stepped onto the bridge. Instead of heading directly to her station, as was her wont when she took over, she went to Shatterglass, making the seeker turn from her conversation.
"Audial, what is it? Has there been an issue in interrogating our guest?"
Audial shook her helm and her visor flickered to show a frequency line. "You think Jasper, Nevada's a party? We're alone wherever we go on this rock, Cliff," sounded between them.
Shatterglass smiled, flexing the digits of her left servo. "Ah, the one called Arc. Why neutralize just one Autobot, when we still hold the element of surprise. Send a team to apprehend him. I'll keep his partner company until he arrives. You have the bridge."
Audial nodded and went to her station, while Shatterglass left for the brig, feeling a bit giddy at the opportunity to get some long awaited petty revenge.
Jasper, Nevada, the Entertainment Capital of the World, Mikoto Nakadai thought to herself as she stood at the drive-thru window of KO Burger, doodling on a napkin. The only burger joint in the town, and not even a very good one, just the last of a franchise that never really gained traction. It only survived cause the closest McDonalds was almost forty minutes away, and while people would drive that far for shopping at the mall, they wouldn't for a greasy burger and salty fries.
She looked up at a chime that said someone was at the drive-thru, and pushed the doodle of Godzilla destroying the KO sign out of the way. "Welcome to KO Burger, where every patty's a knock out, may I take your order?"
"Yeah, two super combos, extra fries, with cokes" the customer said, and Mikoto barely held a sigh when she recognized it was Vince.
"Two super combos, extra fries, with cokes" she repeated as she typed it into the computer. Carlos, the drive-thru cook was standing close enough to hear, and started putting them together. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, how about you as a date to the party tonight, Nakadai?"
Mikoto closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she filled the sodas. Here we go. "Unfortunately, that is not on the menu, and is not available to special order. That will be five fifty-nine sir, at the window."
She knew this probably pissed him off, so she only set the drinks on the window counter when he pulled up. And sure enough, as he was passing her the cash, not only did he drop the change so it fell on the floor and a nickel out the window, but deliberately knocked one of the drinks over, and it splashed all over Mikoto's front and the floor. "Sorry," he said flatly.
Mikoto closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's alright, sir. I'll make you a new one real quick." She took the money and put it in the till, then passed him the combos and filled up a new cup. He peeled out of the drive-thru much too fast.
"What a jerk," Carlos said, as Mikoto started to wipe up as much of the spill as she could.
"It's Vince," she said, looking sadly at her doodle, which had been sacrificed.
Carlos put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, your shift is almost over. I'll take care of this while you clean yourself up."
Mikoto smiled. "Thanks, Carlos." She went to the staff lockers and grabbed her bag, heading into the bathroom to change. Off went the KO Burger red and yellow polo and white hat. On went her pink t-shirt with long black sleeves. Her dark skinny jeans and black shoes had avoided most of the mess, so she then focused on fixing her hair, pulling it down from her work bun and restyling it into a half-bun, which let her show off the hot pink tips of her hair, while keeping her face framed by a pink streak on her left side. She placed some chopsticks into her hair and grabbed her bag when her phone went off. She checked the caller ID; it was Uncle Bill.
She flipped it open as she walked out of the bathroom and to the clock. "Hi, Uncle Bill."
"Hey, Mikoto, you off yet?" her host parent asked.
"Just clocked out." She punched in her employee number and walked for the door when it dinged. "You working late tonight?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to check on you. I overheard a couple kids talking about a party tonight. You going?"
Mikoto shook her head. "No, I'm not going. I wanted to get started on my science project, it's due next Monday."
"Alright then. Be safe heading home."
Mikoto snorted as she walked out the door. "Don't worry, Uncle Bill, this is Jasper. Nothing ever happens here." A glint of something reflecting caught her eye, and she turned, and saw the most gorgeous motorcycle sitting there. "Daisuki desu."
"What?"
"Nothing. I'll see you when you get home, Uncle Bill." She hung up and tucked her phone away as she walked over to the bike. It was a dark slate blue, with some silver and red highlights here and there, and almost exactly how she pictured her dream bike, minus the rear fender decal of Mothra. "Hello gorgeous. Where have you been all my life?" She glanced around, but didn't spot anyone around, so she ran her hands over the seat and fender. "Naisu." She couldn't help herself and swung a leg over to sit on the bike, taking hold of the handle bars and getting a feel for it. "It might take some saving up, but someday I will own a bike like you."
"Are you talking to your motorcycle?"
Mikoto looked up and saw Sierra and Jenny standing next to her and the bike. The two girls started giggling as Mikoto flushed and started stuttering out, "Sierra! I- no, I wasn't- I mean-" She started to babble in Japanese, then stopped herself with a face palm.
"It's okay, Mikoto, I'm just teasing," Sierra said. "So, you coming to the party tonight?"
"Sierra, this is Mikoto Nakadai you're talking to," Jenny said. "She never goes anywhere that's not school or work."
"Jenny!" Sierra lightly shoved her friend's arm, but Mikoto shook her head.
"No, she's right. Sorry, Sierra, I was planning to work on my science project tonight."
Sierra sighed. "Alright, but you can't be all work and no play, Mikoto. You need some excitement in your life."
Suddenly, bright lights illuminated the three girls, and they covered their eyes as they tried to see what it was. Two purple cars had their high beams on, pointed right at them. Then they gunned their engines and charged right at them!
Sierra and Jenny screamed and ran off, around the side of the KO building. Mikoto tried to jump off and follow, but the motorcycle suddenly revved to life, popping a wheelie, and it was all Mikoto could to to hang on as it turned and charged right at the cars. She screamed as they just barely squeezed between the cars on one wheel, sparks flying from the friction.
"Do not let go!" a man's voice called out as the motorcycle raced down the street.
"Dare ga itta!" Mikoto shouted, reverting to her birth language in fear.
The cars caught up and tried to squish the motorcycle and Mikoto between them, but they dropped back so suddenly, the cars bounced off each other, and they sped between them and turned down an alley, where the motorcycle finally stopped and Mikoto jumped off.
"Anata wa nanimonodesu ka?" she asked, backing away. "What are you?"
"I don't exist," the motorcycle said, the same man's voice quite angry. "Tell anyone about me, and I will hunt you down."
Mikoto retreated one, two steps, then turned and bolted down a side alley from the one they'd been in. She didn't get far before she heard an engine and when she looked, one of the purple cars was catching up. "I don't even know him! Leave me alone!"
The motorcycle jumped over the car, and pulled up alongside her.
"Get on!" he shouted, and Mikoto didn't need telling twice, jumping and holding on for dear life as they took off out of the alley and down the street. She couldn't hear anything but the wind in her ears, but she felt a sudden heat pass over her head, and looked up to see red lasers, like some sci-fi movie, shooting over her. She pressed herself lower across the motorcycle as they sped onto the highway, ducking and weaving between cars.
"Why are those guys shooting at us?!"
"There's no 'us', kid," the motorcycle said. "And those aren't guys."
"But why are they shooting!?"
"Why do you think!?"
Mikoto risked a look back, and saw a yellow and black sports car roaring up the highway and slammed into one of the purple cars, causing it to hit the other and they briefly spun out, while the yellow car sped up to get between them and Mikoto and the motorcycle.
"Friend of yours?" Mikoto asked?
"Family," the motorcycle replied.
The yellow car did its best to block off the purple cars, but one managed to speed up next to it and slam it into the guardrail, causing it to skid to a stop while they closed the distance.
"Um, they're gaining on us!" Mikoto said.
"I see them." The motorcycle sped up faster, and then made a right between orange barrels set up to block an exit to a half-finished bridge.
"Nanishiteruno!?" Mikoto shouted when Arc showed no signs of slowing down. "You're gonna get us killed!"
"Just hang on, kid!" The motorcycle pulled a sharp right and leapt over the guardrail, skidding and sliding down the embankment of the drainage canal the bridge went over. Mikoto pressed herself against the bike's frame as she screamed, hoping beyond hope that the crash wouldn't be bad as she felt them leave the ground.
But, to her surprise, the landing was fairly smooth, not much worse than the landing of her plane when she came to America. The bike skidded in a half circle to a stop, and Mikoto opened her eyes. Confirming she was, indeed, still intact, she looked up and saw a black haired boy in a grey sweater vest standing in front of her, a dropped RC controller at his feet.
"Whoa!" he said.
Mikoto couldn't help but smile. "You have no idea." With shaky legs, she got off the bike, and the boy ran up to her to help. She rested an arm on his shoulders and quickly introduced herself. "I'm Mikoto."
"Jackson," the boy said, and he was about to say something more when they heard engines. Looking up, Mikoto saw the purple cars riding down the embankment. But when they launched off the edge of the canal, they started to change shape, like a Lion from Voltron or something. What landed in the canal were two enormous purple, silver and black robots with red visors staring down at them
Mikoto instinctively gripped Jackson's shoulder and took a step backwards, only to hear a similar sound behind her. She whipped her head around, saw the motorcycle was changing as well, and ran for the side of the canal, dragging Jackson with her. Behind her, she heard the motorcycle say, "This ends here, 'Cons!" Then, loud footsteps running.
When they reached the canal wall, Mikoto and Jackson turned around and watched the motorcycle charge the cars while dodging laser blasts. He jumped into the air and kicked one to the ground with a high kick, before dodging a shot from the second and getting a few more kicks out on it.
"W-What are they?" Jackson asked, inching just a little closer to Mikoto's side. She squeezed his shoulder.
"Talking cars that turn into robots? Or the other way around?" Mikoto almost wanted to shake her head, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the fight.
The motorcycle exchanged more blows with the one car, getting in close to deliver reaching punches to its face.
"This. Is. For. Cliff!" he shouted, punctuating each word with a hit and ending on one that cracked the car's head back. It turned back to him and started shooting, along with the other one, while the motorcycle dodged back with a series of flips. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and one shot hit his chest and sent him flying down the canal.
"Oh no," Mikoto said, looking for a way to escape before the cars discovered them, when the sound of a new engine was heard and the yellow and black car from before sped off the end of the bridge above them, transforming mid air until another robot landed on one of the purple cars in the face before punching the other one.
Now that things had paused a moment, Mikoto could get a proper look. While the motorcycle had been thin and small compared to the purple cars, who were sharp and angular, this new one was more rounded and about the same size as the cars. It took a step back off the car it landed on, and there was a loud crunch. It froze, looked down and lifted its foot, revealing the crushed remains of an RC car. The yellow robot turned to her and Jackson and made a whirring sound, which Mikoto roughly could interpret as "Sorry."
"No problem, really," Jackson said, just before a shot from the purple cars knocked them off their feet. They turned and landed on their face, and one of the purple cars came up and stepped on their head to keep them down. The yellow car bucked and managed to roll over, as the purple cars aimed their blasters at their head.
"Leave her alone!" Jackson suddenly shouted, and all three robots turned to face him and Mikoto. The boy flinched under their stare. "Please?"
"Bad call," Mikoto said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along the canal. She could hear heavy footsteps behind her, meaning one of them was giving chase, and she pushed herself faster. There was a storm drain just ahead, large enough for a person to stand it, and she picked up Jackson to get him in before she followed. "Run!" She turned her head and saw one of the purple cars (of course it was the purple one) kneeling down and lifting a hand to grab her. She avoided the fingers and bolted after Jackson, making sure to keep him in front of her. "Ikuikuiku!" She was certain she could feel the fingers about to grab her, before a loud crash and screech sounded behind her.
She and Jackson turned around and saw the arm being pulled out of the drain, then the sound of crashing echoed around them. She jumped when the light at the end was blocked again, but this time it was the yellow robot, who beeped and buzzed at them.
"Thank you," Jackson said, and the robot buzzed again, before walking away.
Mikoto waited a second, then she grabbed Jackson's shoulder and pushed him further down the dark pipe. "Don't look back. We've got to get out of here."
"What did we just see?" Jackson asked.
"No idea, and I don't think either of us want to find out." Mikoto frowned into the darkness, but noticed Jackson's backpack. "Got a light?"
Jackson nodded and pulled a flashlight out of his bag. "Mom insists I be prepared for anything."
Mikoto took it and turned it on, happy to see it was very bright. "Will she be made if you're late getting home?"
"No, she's working late tonight, I'll be home before her."
Mikoto nodded and they set off down the tunnel, looking for an access ladder or similar to get out. She did her best to ignore how her body was still singing from the adrenaline rush of the chase and fight.
Optima listened carefully as Arc and Enerbee explained what happened on Arc's patrol, after Wrencha had cleared their medical check.
"...And those 'Cons would have been scrap metal if I hadn't been distracted by the human," Arc finished.
"Human?" Optima raised a brow.
"Two kids," Enerbee nodded and held up two digits.
"I guess the second one caught us in action, I don't know. I was a little busy at the time," Arc said, shrugging.
"If the Decepticons are targeting us, anyone perceived as our ally will be at grave risk." Optima looked to the mezzanine, a part of the base left over from when the base was a missile testing silo. It was currently just some extra storage for medbay parts, but if they opened up one of the back rooms for that…. In her chest, the Matrix pulsed, and Optima committed to her thought.
"What do you propose we do, Optima?" Wrencha asked.
"We will bring the children here, and keep them under our protection." She turned back to her team. "Enerbee, Arc, you will collect the children tomorrow and we will explain the situation to them."
The team exchanged looks, but none of them questioned her order. Not that Optima thought they fully agreed to it, but it was good enough for now. The Matrix wanted this to happen, so she would listen.
Mikoto had managed to get home not too-too late, after she'd escorted Jackson to his house, but she was unable to concentrate on anything, homework or fun. She just kept running the events through her head, over and over again, until she fell into a fitful sleep, with dreams she couldn't remember. At school, she was a bit surprised to see Jackson in her first period class, Trigonometry. He was a few rows behind her, and closest to the door while she was by the window, so she just never noticed him in the first few weeks of school. He had tried to ask her about the night before, but she shushed him, as she very clearly remembered the motorcycle's words when he - it - tried to drop her off the first time.
Tell anyone about me, and I will hunt you down.
It was a terrifying prospect, and one she was still musing when she walked out of the high school with her bag. She was one of the last out, as she had been talking with her English teacher about the homework, so she easily spotted Jackson standing under a tree when he waved at her.
"Jackson, hey, I'm sorry about earlier," she said as she went over.
"It's okay," Jackson said. "But can we talk about it now? I've been super excited just thinking about it."
"I… don't think that's a really good idea," Mikoto couldn't help glancing around, as if the motorcycle would pop up at any moment. "How about we just keep last night to ourselves and forget it ever happened?"
Jackson looked like he was about to say something, but a car horn interrupted him. They looked for the source, and Jackson pulled on Mikoto's sleeve with a smile. "Mikoto!"
"No, no, not again!" Mikoto took a step back as the yellow and black car pulled up to the curb next to them and opened their - its - door. It buzzed again, like the night before. "It wants us to get in?"
"No, just me," Jackson said.
"How do you know that?"
"She said so."
"What?" Mikoto looked at him with surprise. He can understand it?
"Yours is over there." Jackson pointed behind her and Mikoto's heart jumped when she saw the motorcycle, sitting right in front of the school steps.
"I-I don't really think…" she trailed off as she saw Jackson start climbing into the yellow car.
"How's it going?" the boy asked as the door closed.
"Jackson!" Mikoto jumped for the door, but the car took off down the street. "Wait! Stop!" She took a few steps after it, but realized there was no way she'd catch up. She watched then leave, then looked back to the motorcycle. Could she…
No!
She squared her shoulders and walked down the street, heading for the alley behind the high school that would take her to a cross street that would get her home much faster than walking around the building. Uncle Bill had shown it to her just before school started, having used it himself plenty of times.
She didn't get far before the motorcycle whipped around and stopped in front of her in the alley. She jumped back, but it spoke. "Relax, I just want to talk to you."
Mikoto looked at the woman sitting on the bike. "Don't you mean you and your girlfriend?"
"Kid, there's a lot you don't understand." The woman flickered, then disappeared, revealing itself as a hologram.
Mikoto started backing away. "No, no I understand. The first rule of robot fight club, don't talk about robot fight club." She turned around and started walking out the alley. "What you need to understand is I have enough going on that I don't need a bunch of crazy talking vehicles around trying to get me and other people killed!"
"Look!" And there was enough force in the tone Mikoto did, and found herself face to face with the motorcycle's robot form. "Mikoto, is it? Your personal safety is exactly why Optima Prime has requested your presence."
"Optima who?" Mikoto asked, taking a step back as the robot leaned closer to her.
"You may be in danger because you are one of the few, one of the only, who has ever seen us."
"Dude, what are you waiting for?" a voice behind them said, and Mikoto turned to see a boy, probably a year younger than her, standing at the end of the alley, skateboard in hand, wearing an orange hoodie, jeans and with his hair spiked up high. "Go with him!"
"Slag," the motorcycle said.
"Who are you?" Mikoto asked.
"Rafael Esquivel," the boy said, walking into the alley. "I saw the bike and wanted a picture of it." He lifted his phone and snapped a picture of the robot and Mikoto. "This is even cooler." He came closer as Mikoto turned back to the robot.
"You were saying."
"This does not happen all the time, trust me," he said, and transformed back into his motorcycle form. "Hop on, both of you."
"Awesome!" Rafael slung his skateboard onto his back and jumped on the motorcycle. "What's your name?"
"Arc." The motorcycle tilted its wheel at Mikoto. "Well?"
Mikoto hesitated a minute, then sighed and walked over. "Back up, I'm the one with a license here."
"And how do you know I don't have one?" But he was backing up anyway, so Mikoto just got on. Once she was settled, Arc took off, and they soon caught up with the yellow car and Jackson. They drove out of town, along a long highway leading across the desert. Rafael pumped a fist into the air, shouting "Whoo!" almost directly into Mikoto's ear.
"Why did he have to come along?" Mikoto asked Arc.
"Rules," was the just as irritated reply.
Not long after this, they came to a T-intersection, where the road ran in front of a giant mesa. But instead of slowing down for the turn, the yellow car just kept going straight, Arc right behind them.
"Nani!" Mikoto tried to hit the brake, but Arc just kept going, and then the rock wall in front of them moved aside, revealing a lit tunnel. The small convoy entered it, following a short curve before coming out into a large room, almost bigger than any other Mikoto had been in.
The room seemed to curve around a mezzanine of concrete, which was on the right of the entrance. An alcove was cut into it, and a giant terminal was set there, looking like something from sci fi. In front of it, another robot stood. They were wider than Arc and the yellow robot, and mostly white with orange accent colors. A fourth robot, this one very round almost entirely olive green, was further in the room, but came closer as Arc and the yellow robot came to a stop. Beyond them was a doorway that presumably led further into the mesa. Mikoto and Rafael got off of Arc while Jackson climbed out of the yellow robot. Once they did, the vehicles changed to their robot forms.
The white robot looked them over with a critical eye. "I thought there were two?" A woman's voice came from them.
"Haven't you heard, Wrencha?" Arc asked, hand on his hip. "Humans multiply." He and the yellow robot walked to the side of the room, while Mikoto and the boys looked around.
"I'm Jackson Darby," Jackson said, holding a hand out to Rafael, who smiled and shook it.
"Rafael Esquivel." He looked to Mikoto. "And I know you, Mikoto Nakadai. My sister's in your class."
Mikoto nodded. "That's me."
She might as well have not bothered though, as Rafael immediately turned his attention away and started walking towards the green robot. "What's your name?"
"Bulka," they said, with a woman's voice as well.
"That suits you," Rafael said. "What do you turn into, an SUV?"
"Yeah, good guess."
Rafael smiled. "I bet you use a wrecking ball for a punching bag."
Bulka's eyebrows - robots had eyebrows! - raised slightly. "You know, that's not that bad an idea."
"Awesome."
Jackson had remained by Mikoto's side, but spoke up now so he could be heard. "So, if you're robots, who built you?"
Wrencha scoffed. "Puh-lease!"
Heavy footsteps came up behind Mikoto and Jackson, and the pair turned to see a tunnel they hadn't noticed before, and easily the largest of robots walking out of it. They were tricolored, blue on the feet and lower legs, silver on the thighs, blue hips, silver stomach, red chest and arms, and a blue head with a silver face. Mikoto prepared to step back, but for some reason, that response was not instinctive. She vaguely noticed Rafael had rejoined her and Jackson when the robot spoke.
"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, also known as Autobots. I am Optima Prime, the leader of the Autobots here on Earth."
Mikoto, almost against reason, stepped forward, subconsciously keeping her right arm slightly extended as if to block access to Jackson. "Dooshite-" she paused and cleared her throat. "Why are you here?"
"We are acting as your planet's protectors from the Deceptions," Optima said.
"Those glitches who tried to bump is off last night," Arc offered from where he stood to the side.
"Okay," Mikoto looked back to Optima, "why are they here?"
Optima knelt down. "A fair question, Mikoto. In part, they are here because our planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war."
"Centuries?" Rafael asked, coming to stand next to Mikoto with Jackson.
"Why were you fighting a war?" Jackson asked.
"It was one of many factors, Jackson," Optima said. She tapped the side of her helm, and a hologram projected itself in front of the teens, showing a planet that seemed to be made of bright silver and gold with a blue glow showing from geometric canyons across its surface. "At the start, it was a war of a political sort, volatile, but peaceful. During it, I worked alongside one I considered a sister to correct the inequality of a flawed system. But as events escalated and tensions rose, so too did Megtrona's resentment until I could barely recognize her. Eventually, we had a parting of ways and soon after, Megtrona declared war against all who opposed her, even those once deemed friends." The image changed, the planet scorched and darkened, then it changed to a battlefield, showing a fight between two different groups of robots, some wearing a symbol of a squared off face or mask, others the symbol of a pointed one. Slowly it shifted, to show a new robot standing on a rise, directing others to attack. They were silver in color, and very large, in size and presence. Broad shoulders were spiked, a narrow waist emphasising it, sharp curves and angles made up the rest of the body, and a sword extended from the back of a wrist. Most striking to Mikoto though were the eyes. Ruby red under heavy brows, and held a look of both malice and thrill, the enjoyment of the fight. She shuddered, even though it was just a picture.
"The combat was fierce, and waged for centuries. As time went on, our planet's supply of energon, the lifeblood of all cybertronians, was depleting. Both sides gathered as much as they could and sent much of it offworld, to planets like this one. But this only made the problem worse, and we eventually had to leave to survive. Our hunt for these energon stores has led us here, to Earth." The planet again, darker than before, with no more glow, and ships leaving in droves. One was then shown, floating above the Earth.
The spell was broken when Rafael faked a yawn. "Is there gonna be a quiz?"
Mikoto gave him a short glare, then turned back to Optima as she turned off the hologram. "But, what does Megtrona, or any of this, have to do with us? We're just kids."
"After last night's attack, it is likely the Decepticons believe you to be our allies. And while Megtrona had not been seen or heard from in some time, I fear her return is imminent. If I am correct, it could be catastrophic.
Picturing Megtrona's eyes in her mind, Mikoto couldn't help but agree with Optima. I really hope she's wrong.
Shatterglass flexed her digits as she stood on the bridge, thinking over her interrogation. Cliffstar was as stubborn and irreverent a prisoner as she remembered, though she of course paid the price for every quip and insult. If only she could use the threat of Arc against her, and vice versa, but her troops had failed in that task, as well as eliminating the human who had accompanied him. It would not do for their existence on this world to be revealed to the public; but perhaps they would be so scared they wouldn't say anything. And without proof, who'd believe them.
She was jarred from her musings when she heard Audial's approach. Not from her pedesteps though, but from a transmission pinging from her visor. The signature of them was one Shatter knew very well, the second signal from them in a long time. She was a leader though, preparing for a major offensive. It would stand reason to double check.
"Those transmissions are emanating from deep space, Audial," she said, turning to face the officer. "I would hate to waste the energon, unless you were absolutely certain."
Audial gave a deep nod.
Shatterglass couldn't hide the smile that crossed her face, though she kept it as small as possible as she turned to the vehicon on bridge duty that day. "Then lock on transmission coordinates, and activate the spacebridge."
The vehicon tapped on her console, and the terminal's screen lit up with filling bars and spinning disks as, far above them, the spacebridge that had taken much effort to complete spiraled open. Shatterglass turned back to the windows, waving them open as a voice was heard through every comm on the ship, personal and external.
"Decepticons! I have returned!"
Welcome home, master.
AN: So here you go. Not sure how often this will update, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Japanese Translations:
Daisuki desu. - I love you.
Naisu. - Nice.
Dare ga itta!? - Who said that!?
Anata wa nanimonodesu ka? - What are you?
Nanishiteruno!? - What are you doing!?
Ikuikuiku! - Go, go, go!
Nani! - What the-!
Genderbend Cast List:
Cliffstar - Cliffjumper
Arc - Arcee
Optima Prime - Optimus Prime
Wrencha - Ratchet
Bulka - Bulkhead
Enerbee - Bumblebee
Shatterglass - Starscream
Audial - Soundwave
Megtrona - Megatrona
Tremair - Skyquake
Wheela - Wheeljack
Changling - Makeshift
Knock Out (KO) - Knockout
Breakin - Breakdown
Turretulas - Airachnid
Direwind - Dreadwing
Smokeveil - Smokescreen
Shockrider - Shockwave
Ultra Magna - Ultra Magnus
Prediqueen - Predaking
Some of these characters will not be seen for a while, but I figure the whole cast would be easier to post than trying to remember who I've already introduced.