Chapter 8-Cold Destiny
Gina Harkins wasn't a girl who got jealous often. She didn't like being that green eyed monster always hovering over her friend's shoulder like a shadow wondering what was going on with them or thinking dark thoughts. She had no problem with Annie and Darren having their own circle of friends. Annie had found a kindred spirit in her newfound crush Brittany and Darren had found another friend in the quiet and introverted Justine. She had no issue with them.
What she did have an issue with was that floozy Brianna practically hanging off Darren's arm every time they ran into each other. Gina could see what she was doing, being so close to Darren while pressing her "assets" like a Nipponese schoolgirl from some ecchi anime. The damn floozy was making herself seem sweet and nice to Darren, but Gina knew exactly what she was doing, trying to make her jealous while making a move on her man.
'And it's working, god damn it!' Gina thought angrily. She heard a snap and her mind returned to the present as she noticed that she had broken the hydrogen bottle that she was using for her plasma rifle. "Son of a-"
"Hey, Gina? Your honey's home!" Darren practically hopped down the stairs to her workshop looking like he was on top of the world. He had a big smile on his face when he saw her, but then he noticed her at her work table cursing up a storm. "Um, did I come at a bad time?"
"No, Darren, you arrived just in time to save me from my solitude." Gina sighed and threw the shards of glass into the trash before standing up. She yelped when Darren pulled her in for a kiss but accepted it all the same. When they broke the kiss, she smiled at his enthusiasm. "Someone's excited. What's the occasion?"
"I'm going to be training Justine today! I'm really nervous, but I'm also really excited. I mean, she's another telekinetic like me, and what are the chances of running into another esper with the same power, right?" He said, smiling brightly.
"Just be sure to curb that excitement so you don't scare her off. She's a sensitive girl, you know." Gina reminded him. It was nice seeing him so full of life again after that slump he was stuck in for the past few months. It was like getting the old Darren back, the Darren that existed before all this stuff happened.
"So what are you working on?" Darren asked, looking at the worktable.
"A plasma rifle." She answered, as if she weren't working on a high tech weapon in her backyard.
"Seriously? Gina, we're barely out in the field anymore. I don't think we need any more weapons." He said.
"It's just to pass the time. I've got another hour before Jazz comes to take me and Bee down to Mu for the weekend."
"Oh yeah, you're going away. I forgot." Darren deflated a bit. "You're not taking Sureshock?"
"I figured she could use some time off to spend with the other Minicons at Omega One." Gina said. "As much as she loves watching over me, I want her to life some private time as well."
Somehow, Jazz had scored an audience with the Atlantian princess Astrea for Gina, who was extremely excited about being able to study Atlantian culture before any other human. Having gained the merfolks' trust had allowed the Autobots some leeway in who they brought along in their regular meetings with the dwellers of the sea. Things were still on shaky ground between humans and merfolk, but with Prime acting as the intermediary between the two worlds, things are going as smoothly as they can for the most part.
"Remind me to thank Jazz for scoring this opportunity for me. I'm really making some strides in my research on the Arians." Gina said, walking over to her table. "And I'll be sure to capture as many pictures as possible for you guys while I'm there."
"Thanks, Gina." Darren looked at the clock and whistled. "Well, it's almost time for me to go. I can't keep Justine and Brianna waiting."
Gina froze. "Wait, Brianna? What's she doing there?"
"Hmm? Oh, she's going to be Justine's emotional support, since they're apparently friends now. I'm going to need Justine to be calm while we practice, and Brianna being there helps with that." Darren said, looking at her curiously. "Is something wrong with that?"
Gina mentally counted up to ten to keep her anger at bay. "No, nothing's wrong. Just…surprised, that's all."
Darren knew that wasn't the case, but figured that Gina was just annoyed by something else. He shrugged and gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading up the stairs. "Well, I'm off now. Can't be late for my first day of teaching."
"Don't let me keep you." She said.
Darren paused up the stairs and cleared his throat. "Um, Gina, when you get back. Do you want to…go out?"
Gina calmly raised an eyebrow at him, though on the inside she was giddy like a girl on a sugar rush. "Go out? Where?"
"Any place you can think of. You usually come up with the best date spots." He said smiling. "Let's just have some fun together, you know?"
Gina gave a little smile at that. "Sure, we can have a date. But you're paying."
Darren chuckled. "I will. See you soon, Gina."
Gina waved him goodbye and sighed when she heard the door closed. "And here I thought that spending time away from the Autobots would be uneventful. Show's what I know."
She should be packing up for her trip. It'd be best that she not keep Jazz and Bumblebee waiting…and keep her mind from thinking about building a tiny drone to keep an eye on Darren around Brianna.
'The tap dancing floozy.' Gina thought with a scowl.
XXXXXX
Gina had heard about Atlantis, every kid interested in history did. A sunken city dragged beneath the waves in Terra's distant past. A lost continent destroyed by a natural disaster. A mythical city reported to be the most advanced nation of its time. She heard it all, and it never lessened her dreams of finding it one day and having her name remembered throughout the world as the girl who discovered Atlantis.
Of course, now she's holding the title as one of the first humans to make contact with an alien species and the title of the first human to step foot on an alien planet. A lot of crazy things had happened over the past year and a half, but Gina never would've thought that anything like Atlantis being real would pop up in this day and age.
Now here she was, waiting to meet with a princess of the merfolk, another species of Terrans living right beneath the world's oceans undetected for thousands of years! She was practically squirming in her seat with excitement!
"Gina, you're squirming again." Bumblebee pointed out.
"Sorry, Bee, I'm just really, really excited." Gina breathed, running a hand through her hair to make sure it was straight. "Does my hair look okay?"
"You're lookin' fine, girl. No need to sweat." Jazz said as he walked up to Bumblebee and Gina. "We're already going to be wading through enough water as it is."
Bumblebee looked at their meeting place. It was on an island near Southern Europa, uninhabited by humans and remote enough to escape any prying eyes from passing ships. The island rested within Atlantian territory, one of many that remained untouched by humanity as per law and were diverse ecosystems and secret outposts for the aquatic species that were used to monitor human activity. Astrea had granted the group special permission to land on the island to wait for her.
"Any reason why we couldn't just ground bridge into the hangar of the palace?" Bumblebee asked. "I thought that they were cool with having us down there."
"They are, but we'd rather not step on anybody's toes just popping up past their defenses with a ground bridge. Gotta show some courtesy, Bee. Those guys are fickle." Jazz said.
A few minutes later, the water near the beach they were waiting on began to bubble before a large shark-like ship rose from the water. It was a Hammerhead, an Atlantian transport ship that was used to transport large cargo or troops. The sleek vessel smoothly moved through the water without making a sound and slid onto the beach, its cargo bay doors sliding open to reveal a blue-skinned young woman clad in a tight fitting swim-suit that hugged her slender form yet also looked rather fashionable.
"There's the lovely lady." Jazz smiled and waved at the princess.
"Good morning, friends. I see you didn't waste any time getting here as soon as possible." Princess Astrea said pleasantly as she went to greet the group. "It's good to see you again, Autobots."
"It's always a pleasure, princess." Jazz nodded. "This is my good friend Bumblebee, and this adventurous little girl is Gina Harkins."
Astrea turned to Gina and Sureshock, who stiffened and gave matching awkward bows to her. "No need to bow, Ms. Gina, Sureshock. Right now we're just two people with similar interests, right?"
"R-Right," Gina nodded nervously. She never met royalty before and she was scared of somehow offending the princess. "You can just call me Gina, Princess."
"Then feel free to call me Astrea." Astrea said with a smile. "Any friend of the Autobots is a friend of mine."
"So, where do we go first?" Bumblebee asked once they got the pleasantries out of the way. "Are you taking us down to Atlantis?"
"No, we're getting this show on the road." Astrea said and motioned them to follow her. "It will take us some time to get to our destination, but I wanted it to be a surprise, hence why I asked you not to bridge into the city."
"How far is our destination?" Sureshock asked. Astrea smirked at her.
"Try the Arctic Circle." She answered and walked to the ship. "If its ancient history you're looking for, then look no other place than the coldest wasteland on the planet."
XXXXXX
Justine cautiously walked through the forest to the small clearing where Darren agreed to meet with her. She tried to keep herself calm, knowing that if she got too agitated, then her powers would go out of control.
'Another esper like me.' She thought excitedly. 'I…I thought I was the only one. If Darren's one, then are there others too?'
"Justine!"
Justine yelped as she was suddenly pulled into a one armed embrace by Brianna, who came out of nowhere and surprised her. The taller blonde grinned down at Justine.
"Glad you could make it, Justine. You excited for your first day of training?" Brianna asked.
"Um, maybe. A little." Justine mumbled. Brianna frowned and pulled at her cheek. "Ow!"
"Don't hold yourself back from being excited about things. You'll live longer letting yourself be happy." She said and led her over to where Darren was standing.
"Good morning, Justine. Ready to get started?" Darren grinned. Justine nodded as Brianna walked over to sit on a boulder on the sidelines. "Great! So…I'm not really good with this whole teaching thing. Is there anything you need help with?"
"Control." Justine answered softly. "How do I keep myself from crushing the stuff that I grab?"
"You have problems with that?"
Justine nodded and reached her hand out toward a nearby tree. She focused her mind on it and the trunk suddenly exploded as if a bomb went off inside. Brianna and Darren jumped at the loud bang and the tree slowly fell over with a crash. Justine bit her lip and turned around.
"W-Was that too much?" She asked.
"N-No, that's fine. That's why we're in the forest in the first place." Darren said after clearing his throat. Okay, so this girl was a walking powerhouse. That was good to know. "So, you mentioned that you had trouble controlling your powers?"
"Yes. I have full control of them most of the time but whenever I'm feeling…scared or angry, they start to flare up." Justine said. "It gets harder to contain them when I get that way, and something always breaks. Always."
"Then we'll just work on your control." Darren waved his hand and slowly lifted the boulder Brianna was sitting on, making her yelp. "I had to learn the ins and outs of my powers the hard way. I'm not sure how much it'll help, but I'll do my best to teach you what I know."
Brianna yelped again when he dropped the boulder back to the ground and she glared at him. Darren grinned at her before turning his attention back to Justine.
"You already know this, but emotions have a pretty strong effect on our powers. It's an instinctual move, sort of like a cat lashing out with its claws." Darren instructed. "When you're using telekinesis, try to image holding things with a giant invisible hand. Using your arms helps visualize the process and adds some control to how much force you apply to it."
Wheeljack had gone into the specifics of telekinesis with Darren based on his studies of Elita-1's outlier powers, which were the same as his. He said that the human brain doesn't generate nearly enough energy to manipulate physical objects, especially on the scale that Darren uses his powers. But channeling that psionic energy through his limbs, which amplified the brain's signals, allowed him to move things using the psionic energy his brain generated. It was why telekinetics used their hands and feet to move things even though they're not actively touching them.
Darren and Justine stood in front of two boulders that he brought over to them. Darren stood slightly behind Justine as he instructed her.
"Just imagine reaching out towards the rock and gently holding it with a longer hand. I know you can't feel anything through your telekinesis, but it should make moving things easier."
Justine nodded and held out her hand, focusing her mind on lifting the boulder. She felt her arm tingle and her mind grasp the boulder. She slowly clenched her fingers and lifted her hand up. Cracks started appearing on the boulder as it was slowly lifted off the ground, and Justine struggled to keep the rock from breaking. Eventually, Justine put too much force on the rock and it shattered into dust and pebbles. Justine flinched back and deflated, but Darren put a hand on her shoulder.
"You can't force it, or it'll just be more difficult. Just let your power flow, like your extending a part of your body forward." Darren said. "Take deep breaths and let it flow. Don't force it."
Brianna rested her chin on her hands as she watched the two of them work out the basics. She had her eye on Darren, admiring how the seemingly quiet boy took charge and directed Justine with her powers. Brianna could already tell that whatever Justine had been through at home was probably abuse, or close to it. She could see that Justine had taken a lot of mental scarring on account of her mother and it'd take a lot of time to heal that poor girl.
'Why do I care for her so much? Darren's the more interesting one.' Brianna thought and shook her head. 'No, Justine's a good girl too. So much raw power in such a frail body. It's a crime to treat someone like her in such a way.'
Brianna jumped a bit when Justine exploded the next boulder, but Darren's encouraging words allowed Justine to properly lift the smaller chunks of rock without a problem. They both saw Justine's face lighting up little by little and she waved her hands and made the stones dance through the air. For a moment, it made both Darren and Brianna forget about their worries and just focused on making this girl feel better.
XXXXXX
"This…is a bit tight." Gina grunted.
"If you're going to spend time with an Atlantian, Gina, you're going to have to wear proper clothing for aquatic adventures." Astrea said playfully.
In one of the Hammerhead's compartments, Astrea was helping Gina into her wetsuit, as they would be near a lot of water, and Gina's fancy clothes wasn't suited for the environment they were about to dive into. Astrea already had a wetsuit prepared for Gina ahead of time, but as the girl put it on, Astrea worried that it might be too tight for the tall girl.
'Are all human girls this big when they get this age?' Astrea thought. Jazz never mentioned Gina being so tall…or muscular. Astrea was no warrior, but even she could see the toned muscles in Gina's arms and legs. For a "nerd" she was certainly built like a fighter.
Gina grunted as she pulled the wetsuit up to her neck and had Astrea zip it up from behind. Looking at the mirror, Gina winced a bit when she noticed how tight it clung to her body. Her inhuman physiology didn't mesh very well with the slender forms of merfolk it seemed. She especially wasn't crazy about how it clung to her chest and lower body.
'Though I'm sure Darren would appreciate the sight.' Gina thought with a grin.
Once she was fully dressed, Astrea and Gina left the room to head over to the hangar bay where Jazz and Bumblebee were waiting. Bumblebee was looking out the window at the deep blue sea, watching the fish that sped past them. He waved Gina over to take a look.
"The place I'm taking you to is one of the few remaining sites left over from what you humans call the Age of Wonders. It's a city that was built as a science outpost by our ancestors to monitor the northern lights." Astrea said. "This was back when humans and merfolk used to trade freely with each other, all using the same Arian technology that we've based our modern technology on."
"So the gigas, the advanced ships, the energy weapons, they're all holdovers from the Age of Wonders?" Gina breathed. "Jinkies, that's outstanding! I'm basically seeing real Arian technology at work here!"
"I'd tell you about the rest of the stuff we have back at Mu, but then I'd have to kill you." Astrea joked.
It was a relatively peaceful flight to the outer regions of the Arctic Circle. The Autobots spent their time chatting with the princess, while Gina tried to record as much information about Atlantian history as possible before they reached their destination. Jazz and Bumblebee found themselves taking a backseat to the conversation as they watched Gina and Astrea slowly become friends, opening up to each other. Given all that's happened with almost getting into a war with Osea and losing her brother to treacherous members of her own court, it was surprising to see Astrea being so open with Gina.
'I guess having a friend to talk to can help even in the littlest of ways.' Jazz thought.
"Oh, look, we're almost there." Astrea pointed out.
Jazz and Bumblebee peeked outside the viewport, with sitting on Bumblebee's shoulders for a better look. The Hammerhead had broken through the surface and was now cruising at a slower speed. They could see a large glacier in the distance, and further inland was a surprisingly large group of towering ice spikes jutting from the ground like thorns.
"Jinkies…" Gina breathed.
"The waters here are full of icebergs and rough waters that make it hard for human ships to sail through. A little Atlantian trickery with our esper powers to ward humans away from this area also helps too." Astrea said. "What I'm about to show you is one of our older cities from the time before recorded human history. A time after the Cataclysm that nearly destroyed both our peoples."
The ship got closer to the glacier, and took to the air in such a smooth motion that the three cybertronians and one human didn't even notice the change from sea to air. The ship reached the top of the glacier and hovered in place as the passengers were given their first look at ancient Atlantian architecture.
Sitting at the heart of clearly artificially made ice pillars and spikes was a large city that had been nearly frozen over by the elements, clearly abandoned and sporting slight similarities to the modern architecture present in Mu.
"Welcome to Lemuria," Astrea said, waving a hand to the frozen city. "The former capitol of the Atlantian Empire."
XXXXXX
Once the ship landed, Astrea disembarked with her four guests and a small platoon of a dozen highly trained guards that were sent to protect her. These six men and women were all espers that were trained intensely in their water powers (and all twelve were the equivalent of Astrea's bodyguard, Kiani's skill). As it was, no one would dare try anything on the princess with her guard there, and that's not including two Autobots, a Minicon, and an inhuman as well.
Astrea led the group through the empty, frozen streets of Lemuria, which looked like the entire settlement had been built from the ice rather than on top of it. Ice structures that were finely crafted and reinforced with metal framework to last longer, towering statues of what could only be seen as Atlantian royals, and the remains of desolate advanced vehicles that had also been frozen over and preserved somewhat.
"This was one of the few cities that we had on the surface world before the Great Cataclysm. Lemuria was both a settlement and a military outpost. The conditions alone were too much for the average merfolk to live in, but apparently there were quite a few people who still wanted to live this far north, if nothing else than to feel some sense of independence from the rest of the kingdom and its king." Astrea said.
"Sounds like they weren't too happy with the current regime." Jazz said.
"Back then, there were a couple of kings and queens that had a polarizing effect on the people. The lemurians were merfolk who were mostly tired of the way the current king ran things or wanted to feel more independent. This was in a time where my ancestors weren't as popular with the people as they are now." Astrea held her arms out to the city around them. "Lemuria became rather separated from the rest of the kingdom both physically and socially. Had the Cataclysm not happened, then I'm sure they would've tried to break off from the kingdom and become independent."
"And the ice preserved the city for this long?" Gina asked.
"Yes, though some of it is in part due to the durability of Atlantian materials." Astrea said.
Assured that Gina was safe with the princess and her guards, Jazz and Bumblebee broke off from the group to do a little exploring and take some pictures to bring home. There wasn't really that much of a danger from any frozen ice structures breaking off and hurting anybody, and the two Autobots were aware enough of their surroundings to be careful of any structural damage the city might've suffered.
"When I came to this planet, I never would've expected to run into a race of amphibious humanoids." Bumblebee said. "I swear, this planet's full of surprises."
"That's an understatement." Jazz snorted. "But at least it gives us some stuff to do while hunting for Cons. Things have been pretty slow lately."
"Any luck on finding the Cons?" Bumblebee asked.
"No. Bucket-head's being more cautious now, and after that mess with the dolems, anything more than a typical energon raid has slowed to a crawl." Jazz said.
"Well, at least this means that we don't have to worry about the Cons causing people any trouble." Bumblebee smiled, but Jazz shook his head.
"Naw, Bee, that's bad, because it means that Megs might get creative with his plans. And a creative Megatron is a long week for us."
Jazz would've said more had he not suddenly got a strange feeling. He stopped walking and held Bumblebee back as he looked around.
"What is it?" Bumblebee whispered, immediately recognizing Jazz's alert mode. He was sensing something. "Are we being followed?"
"I think so." Jazz replied, looking around. He tapped his visor and scanned for energon signatures but found nothing. He switched to infrared, but he couldn't see much through the thick ice coating everything. "I don't see anything, but I can tell that we're being watched."
"Scrap. You think its Cons?"
"No, I'm not getting any biosignatures here. I think it's something else."
Suddenly the two Autobots felt the ground beneath them tremble and they quickly took out their weapons. The ground behind them exploded in a barrage of sharp ice shards that were shot at the pair, and they jumped away to avoid the ice bullets. Two large dark shapes leaped out of the hole and landed on the ground, moving faster than their size would suggest.
Their attackers were two large humanoid mechanoids with dark gray armor that was sleek and streamlined, clearly made for traveling through water at high speeds. At first glance, they didn't even look mechanical, as even their joints were protected by black protective coverings. Their heads were covered in sleek armor plates that left only their blue eyes uncovered. They carried no visible weapons on them, but the Autobots were still on guard.
"Are those Gigas?" Bumblebee asked.
"Looks like it, but they look different from the other ones." Jazz said and readied his vibro-blade. "Ready up, Bee!"
The two gigas charged at the Autobots, running in opposite directions to fight the pair separately. Jazz and Bumblebee got ready for individual fights, but instead the two gigas raised their arms and the icy ground suddenly broke apart, erupting in a massive wave of ice that was sent at the Autobots. Jazz and Bumblebee ran away to avoid the ice wave and jumped apart to dodge it, firing their weapons at the robots. One of the gigas raised an ice shield to block their laser blasts and made a motion with its hand.
The ice shield broke apart into a barrage of sharp ice bullets that were sent flying at the Autobots. Jazz and Bumblebee tried to avoid the ice bullets, but they still too some hits. Bumblebee got an ice spike to his shoulder while Jazz took two spikes to his left shoulder and leg. Jazz grunted and rolled unsteadily to his feet, firing his blaster. The two gigas took over behind two large ice pillars that were raised and repositioned themselves.
"Bee, any luck on getting some help over here?" Jazz called out over the sound of blaster fire.
"I'm trying, but I got nothing. I think we're being jammed!" Bumblebee said. "Scrap, head's up!"
Jazz ducked under a large chunk of ice that sailed over his head, thrown at him by one of the gigas. The gigas ran out of cover and slammed both hands into the ground, and the ice began to rumble and shake. It raised its arms and the ice shifted into water, which rose off the decimated buildings and streets to form a massive orb of water above its head.
"Now that's just cheating." Jazz groaned. "Bee, take cover!"
The gigas thrust its arms forward and sent the water descending upon the Autobots. Bumblebee helped Jazz move as fast as possible, but the wave was already on top of them. Fighting through the pain in his wounds, Jazz grabbed Bumblebee and pushed him into a nearby building just as the water crashed on top of them with enough force to shatter the ground.
The gigas clenched its fingers and the water froze on top of the building as if someone flipped a switch. Once they were sure that the Autobots were probably neutralized, the gigas regrouped and headed back to where the Autobots came from.
That was one threat down. Now it was time for their companions to finish the mission.
XXXXXX
In the main section of the city square, where Astrea and Gina were conversing, they took notice of the rumbling going on in the distance. Astrea's bodyguards stiffened and took formation around the princess as the girls looked to the marketplace of the city where Jazz and Bumblebee had wandered off to.
"What's that?" Astrea asked, suddenly worried. "Did something happen?"
Gina looked to where the rumbling came from and her keen eyes saw the smoke rising from the spot, on top of the explosions she was hearing in the distance. "I think we're under attack."
"Princess!" One of the guards called out and pointed down the street.
Gina and Astrea looked to one of the roads leading to the city square and saw what looked like a large snow cloud coming straight for them. Obviously they knew this snow cloud was definitely not natural and the soldiers got into an arrowhead formation with Astrea and Gina placed behind them.
"What is it?" Astrea asked.
"I don't know, but stay behind me." Gina said, tensing her muscles for a fight. If anything happened to the soldiers, then she was the last line of defense for the princess.
The snow cloud washed over them, covering everything in a fine layer of snow and obscuring their vision in a barrage of small but sharp ice crystals. The soldiers raised their weapons, but instead of an attack from above, like they anticipated, the assault came from below.
Astrea screamed as three large ice spikes shot up from the ground and impaled three soldiers through their chests from underneath them. The other four scattered and called upon their water powers, melting the surrounding ice into water and flush their attackers out from underground. Unfortunately, their enemies were no novices in the ways of combat. The ground was littered with icy spikes jutting up like thorns, and the soldiers were forced to scatter to avoid them.
'They're breaking their formation!' Gina thought, her eyes glowing. Seeing that the ice spikes were beginning to surround her and Astrea, Gina unleashed a wave of power that destroyed them in a single burst, surprising the princess.
"Gina?!" She exclaimed in shock.
But her questions were pushed aside when the two buildings on both sides of the group exploded and three humanoid figures emerged from each house. They were merfolk, clad in little more than thin but flexible bone-like armor and armed with gauntlets that fired thin beams of ice blue energy at the soldiers below. The princess's guards fought back with laser fire of their own, followed by water blasts to combat the rain of icicles that were thrown at them.
"Who are these guys?" Gina asked Astrea.
"I-I don't know. I've never seen merfolk like them before." Astrea stammered. She had never seen merfolk espers manipulate ice on a scale like these assailants before. Not to mention these merfolk looked completely different from the citizens of Atlantis-they had light blue skin and smaller fins along their arms and legs.
"Princess Astrea of Atlantis." A man's voice spoke.
The girls spun around and saw a large man walking towards them, his skin more pale than the other attackers that came with him. Gina knew from the way he spoke and the manner he walked that he was probably the one leading this attack on them. He was flanked by two more men that had more slender builds, probably one of those speed over power types kept in reserve for surprise attacks.
"Who are you?" Gina demanded.
"I am Birhanna, human. That's all you need to know, because you'll be dead in a few minutes." The man said, pointing his gauntlet at her.
"Stop this at once! Why are you attacking us? Assaulting a member of the royal family is a capital punishment!" Astrea said.
Birhanna smirked. "You're not my princess, and your mother is not my queen. Get the princess, kill the human."
He snapped his fingers and his two soldiers moved in to attack. Gina scowled and her eyes glowed white with power.
"You aren't getting anywhere near her!"
Gina unleashed an energy burst with her distortion halo that blew the three men back. Momentarily shocked by her power, they quickly recovered and sprinted forward, encasing their feet in ice and skating across the ground. They moved fast, and though Gina had them trumped in firepower, she had a tough time properly targeting them.
Astrea stepped back as Gina fought off the two soldiers, but as she spotted Birhanna through Gina's energy barrage and decided to end this battle before it got worse. She could already tell that her guards were starting to wear down thanks to the constant icy assault sent at them. Gathering water around her hands, she fired two water jets at Birhanna.
Birhanna raised his hands and clenched his fingers, freezing the water jets in the air and sending them right back at her in a larger wave of icicles that spread across the ground. Gina turned her head to destroy the ice wave, but this left her open to a large ice spike that burst from her left and caught her in the ribs. She was flung into the air, where the second soldier leapt up and slammed a large ice hammer into her that sent her crashing along the ground.
There were tears along her wetsuit but Gina was still unharmed. Whereas a normal person would've been seriously bleeding, or at least impaled by now, Gina's enhanced body was still going strong…for now. Unfortunately, the two soldiers knew enough that all they had to do was keep her off balance and not give her a chance to attack.
'Damn it, these guys aren't slouches.' Gina thought. She created a distortion effect that warped the ground to create a wall to block the barrage of ice bullets sent at her and she waved her arm. The distortion halo effect rippled throughout the ground, causing a shockwave that disrupted the men's powers and caused them to stumble.
"Got ya!"
Gina glared at the two men and unleashed a chain of energy balls that exploded around them. But just as she was about to take out one of them, a large ice beam slammed into her back and sent her crashing back into one of the buildings behind her.
"Gina!" Astrea glared at Birhanna and charged at him, riding on an ice platform she made.
Birhanna sent multiple ice tendrils at the princess, but to his surprise, she reacted quickly enough to either dodge the icy projectiles or smash right through them. Using her slender body, she weaved through his attacks, calling upon the combat training that Kiani had beaten into her. Raising an ice wall to deflect the ice blasts sent at her, she made a sharp left and created an ice slid to propel herself at Birhanna, sharpening a water blade over her right hand to run him through.
Astrea had gotten close to Birhanna, close enough to actually grab the front of his armor, but he was just a couple seconds faster. He smacked her hand away and slashed his hand, causing an ice spike to shoot out of the ground and slam into her. She smashed through her ice bridge and hit the ground, rolling to a stop. Birhanna ran forward and encased her in ice from the shoulders down, restricting her.
"You're a powerful fighter, princess, but you haven't been hardened by nature like I have." Birhanna said and turned to his men. "We have what we came here for. Call the transport and-"
The building exploded in a bright flash and Gina ran charging out like a mad bull, eyes crackling with energy and her wetsuit torn. She growled and charged straight at Birhanna, ignoring the ice constructs that were in her way. The two soldiers attempted to stop her, but Gina created two large energy blasts that completely vaporized them as she ran right past them, leaving a burning trail of smoke and fire behind her.
"Such power." Birhanna said in awe. Was she one of those human espers that were spoken of recently? Powers aside, he had a mission to accomplish, and he wasn't going to let this girl stop him. Reaching into a pouch on his waist, he took out a dark blue orb that looked to be made of crystal and held it up. "I didn't think I'd be using this on anyone else but the Autobots, but life's full of surprises."
As Gina barreled towards him, Birhanna threw the orb at her and jumped behind an ice pillar he raised. Gina almost paid it no mind…until the orb exploded. That was when the girl ran head first into an explosion of what felt like pure force smashing into her, blasting her back and sending her flying. Her entire world went white as she hit the ground, and fell unconscious.
XXXXXX
Darren had spent almost an hour training Justine in the finer workings of telekinesis. He was no expert like older espers of the same power, like the members of the Providence Foundation, but he knew how his powers worked to explain them to a novice like Justine. And he had to admit, she was getting the hang of things pretty quickly.
Justine had grasped how to lift and move objects without crushing them, and she even extended her grasp onto the water of the lake, making a thin stream of water move through the air like a snake with such fluidness that even Darren was impressed. He taught her how to freeze the water by visualizing the molecules in the liquid to slow down, or melt the ice by rapidly vibrating those same molecules. He even allowed her to try to lift him up with her powers, which was quite the experience.
Once it looked like Justine had completely grasped the movement of objects, they took a lunch break, which at that point Justine had retreated back into her shell somewhat. Seeking to keep up the momentum he had going on with her, Darren decided to show her a little trick.
"Justine, can I show you something?" He asked her.
Justine blinked at him and nodded slowly. "Y-Yes, you can. What is it?"
"It's a little trick that I've developed over the past year. A neat little self-defense telekinetic move that I made when I got a better grasp on my powers." He said and looked at Brianna. "Bri, can I use your knife for a bit?"
Brianna looked at him and shrugged before handing him her knife she used for her salad. She didn't know what he was about to do, but that grin on his face wasn't very reassuring. Darren beckoned Justine closer to him and held out his hand flat against the boulder he was sitting on.
"Now I want you to watch closely." He told her and waited for a moment before suddenly stabbing the knife down onto his hand. The girls screamed in shock as the steel knife actually bent into a twisted shape the moment it came in contact with his hand, which didn't even have a cut on it. Darren laughed at their reactions, but winced when Brianna punched his arm.
"What's wrong with you? Don't just stab yourself like that out of nowhere!" She scolded. Darren chuckled.
"Sorry, sorry, I had to do it. It was funny when I showed Gina and Annie this too." He said.
"H-How…" Justine stammered.
"Telekinetic force field." Darren said and held out his arm. "I place a layer of telekinetic energy over my body and it acts like a second skin for me. It's basically an invisible layer of armor that mostly protects me from blunt attacks or sharp objects like knives and stuff. All you have to do is imagine a sort of shield around your body and that's it."
"Whoa…how'd you invent that move?" Brianna asked.
"Trial and error. It helps keep the bruises my sister gives me down to a minimum when I make her angry." Darren held up the knife. "That's not to say I can't feel things like pain or heat, it just makes it harder for me to get hurt from stuff like a baseball flying at my head…or maybe getting hit by a car."
"And…and you have this field around you all the time?" Justine asked.
"Yeah, but it takes some practice until it becomes second nature." He explained. "But it'll only work on attacks that you can see coming. If something catches you by surprise, like a sniper's bullet or something along those lines, you're still vulnerable."
Justine gaped at him. A shield around her body…the thought was comforting to the young telekinetic girl. Brianna whistled at him and smirked.
"Wow, you're quite the fine specimen, Darren." She grinned at his reddening cheeks. "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Well…I can't part the seas…yet." He said.
Justine laughed at that little joke. As in actually laughed, which surprised her. It came so naturally to her that she didn't believe that she could even produce a regular laugh anymore. Seeing Darren and Brianna laugh along with her was felt good as well.
'It's nice to have someone laughing with me and not at me.' Justine thought with a smile. Maybe this little training session isn't so bad after all.
XXXXXX
"Jeez, how thick is this ice?" Bumblebee grumbled as he shot his stingers at full power to burn through the ice. The two weapons combined were able to burn through the ice quickly, but it took more power than he could give and Bumblebee had to take a break before he ended up using more energon than he was replenishing. "Did they bury us under a glacier?"
"With how much ice they were throwing at us, I think they did." Jazz said. He had switched the settings on his blaster to fire at full power, but he had to be careful, lest they cause the massive chunks of ice to bury them further.
"Jazz, those were definitely Atlantian gigas." Bumblebee said. "Where did they come from? I didn't see them back at the dropship."
"I don't think they came from the ship. They looked different from the gigas that we've seen." Jazz said. He rolled his shoulder a bit to get the pain out. Bumblebee had did some quick medical repairs on their wounds, just enough that they aren't bleeding energon anymore, but it still hurt. "I think we were just taken out to make their true objective easier."
"True objective…the princess?" Bumblebee looked back at Jazz, who nodded. "We got to get back to Gina and the others. They might be fighting by now!"
Bumblebee turned to continue digging through the ice with his stingers, but then he saw a bright glow shining through the ice on the other side. Common sense told him to move away from the ice, and he did just that, which was fortunate considering the spot he was standing near was vaporized in a powerful energy burst that nearly blinded the Autobots' optical sensors.
After a few seconds, the energy burst dissipated and Bumblebee and Jazz regained their vision they saw two figures standing in the hole where their icy prison once stood. First they saw Gina, who looked like she had been run over by a herd of bison, and the second was Kiani, who didn't look very happy with any of them.
"Guys, we have a problem." Gina said.
"The princess has been kidnapped," Kiani said, crossing her arms. "And you're going to help me find her."
Bumblebee and Jazz looked at each other before Jazz said, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's bogey!"
XXXXXX
After a long day of training, it was time for Darren, Brianna and Justine to head home. Something that Justine had been dreading since they began their little day out. Darren had offered to escort the girls home, but Brianna just waved him off.
"I may not look it, but I'm more than capable of keeping our little maiden safe." Brianna said, flexing her bicep.
"I don't doubt that." Darren said, admiring Brianna's rather impressive guns for a moment before smiling at Justine. "I think we've had a great first day, Justine. You did really well today. Same time tomorrow?"
"Yes, that will be fine." Justine nodded. She smiled shyly at him. "I had a great day, too. Thank you for teaching me."
"It's my pleasure. Goodnight, Justine, Brianna." Darren replied and waved the girls as they walked down the street.
Brianna and Justine walked down the quiet neighborhood in silence. The sun was steadily setting and lights were switching on inside the houses they passed by.
"You really were great back there, you know." Brianna said. Justine jumped a bit at her voice.
"H-Huh?" Justine looked at her disbelievingly.
"I'm serious. You were really doing great with your powers. I mean, I've only ever seen Darren do his telekinetic thing today, but I can tell that you're doing almost as good as him in the control department." Brianna smiled. She wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "I never expected a quiet girl like you to be an esper, but I must say, you're really powerful, Justine."
"…I'm not powerful." Justine muttered. "I'm weak. I'm…I'm constantly berated by my mother, and bullied by the girls at school. No one wants to be around me, and if they learn I'm an esper, it'll only get worse."
Justine held up her hand and levitated three ants that had been walking in front of them. "It felt good to use them like this. For so long my mother told me that they were a sign that I'm unclean. That my powers were a symbol of the devil. She…she made me hate what I am for so long." She muttered. Brianna looked at her with a sympathetic expression as Justine spoke. "But today, I've felt freer than I've ever felt in my entire life. It really…felt good."
"That's what being free is supposed to be like. You're not some demon, Justine, you're just a normal girl like me. You were just born with special powers that you didn't know how to control until now." Brianna said. She went silent for a moment, looking down at her hand. "Just because you're different, it doesn't make you a monster. If Darren can make it through with his powers, then you can too. You just need the right push."
Justine didn't reply, but she did reach up to grasp Brianna's hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to go home. I've had such a wonderful day, and I don't want to go back to mother's insults."
Brianna got in front of Justine and stopped her. "Justine, don't let what anyone says about you get you down. Those are just words and they're meant to bring you down. Remember this, no matter what they say, just know that you're stronger than them. They may not know it, but you have powers they could only dream of, and they can't touch you physically or emotionally. It doesn't hurt to feel better than them because of your powers. At the end of the day, they're weaker than you."
"Weaker…" Justine muttered, looking up into Brianna's bright crystal blue eyes, and realized just how close they were standing together. She swallowed hard and looked away, a blush on her cheeks. "I…I understand."
"Good." Brianna smiled and took Justine's hand to lead her down the street. "Come on. Let's get you home before its gets too late."
"Y-Yeah." Justine nodded, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart and the heat emanating from where their hands touched. She really hoped that her face wasn't as red as she thought it was.
XXXXXX
Astrea woke up to the brisk feeling of cold surrounding her body. She was already shivering, her body unused to being surrounded by such cold climates. Her eyes slid open and she looked around, seeing her arms and legs trapped within restraints filled with water, or what she believed to be water, that restricted her movements. She tried to call upon her powers, but she couldn't.
"Don't bother, girl," A smooth voice said. "You're just wasting your energy."
Astrea looked up to see w woman walking up to her. Astrea always thought of her mother being the most beautiful woman in her life, but this woman came to a close second to the Atlantian queen. She had a slender form, with pale skin and fins along her forearms and long black hair that turned spiky at the ends. Her blue lips smirked evilly at the trapped princess, while her orange red eyes gleamed viscously.
"Princess Astrea of Atlantis, how nice it is to finally see you face to face." The woman greeted.
"Who…who are you?" Astrea asked hesitantly.
"I'm Vana, queen of Lemuria, the kingdom of the frozen north."
"Lemuria? But, that city's been desolate for centuries." Astrea said.
"Yes, but only because we rebelled and were forced to hide deep beneath the cold waters of the Arctic. If you know your history, then you know that some of your ancestors were not as likeable as your mother is today." Vana raised her arms to the spectacular ice cavern around them. "We broke off from the Atlantian kingdom and formed our own nation here in the coldest parts of the world. We evolved, we grew, and we became stronger without the oppression of you high-handed plebeians."
"How…there's no way you could've operated like this without remaining undetected." Astrea said. To think that another community of merfolk had lived in harsh conditions such as these…it was almost unbelievable. But seeing Vana standing in the Arctic in little more than a shawl and a thin bikini, while she was slowly freezing to death, it hammered the truth home.
"You're right, we didn't remain hidden for long. Your mother had sent a scout team to the North Pole and came upon one of our colonies atop a glacier that served as our outpost. Your former military commander, Kilian, attempted to subjugate us in the queen's name. Bring us liberated merfolk to heel, as he once said. We made short work of him and his troops." Vana scowled at the memory. "So began a series of long skirmishes that never grew beyond that as humanity continued to create more deadly and powerful weapons. Our latest skirmish resulted in a massive undersea battle between our respective gigas, all led by myself and your mother."
Astrea couldn't remember ever hearing of another merfolk community living in the world. In a tightly knit society like Atlantis, word of such developments would've spread fast. Her mother must've kept this confidential from the wider public, so that only she and a few trusted government officials knew of Lemuria. As for Tyr being on that long "diplomatic trip" to one of the outer colonies…that must have been when this battle took place.
'And she managed to keep this all from me.' Astrea thought.
"I can see you're putting the pieces together. Your mother and I fought with such ferocity that could rival even a tsunami. If only you could've known just how ruthless your mother had been back then." Vana continued. "Of course, Lemuria wasn't as powerful as it was now, and many of our people died. Among them was my son, Taras…whom your mother killed."
Astrea shuddered as the air began to feel colder and ice crystals began to form along Vana's skin. "I've heard about your little schoolyard fight with the humans. Hearing that your brother died brought me great joy, knowing that your mother is suffering the same pain I felt when she took Taras from me. But it isn't enough…"
Vana roughly grabbed Astrea by the chin and held her face still to glare right into her eyes. "I will not rest until your people are wiped out and my nation's freedom assured. And I will not be satisfied until Queen Tyr has suffered as much as I have, and that means by seeing you die at my hands!"
"If you think your little revenge scheme will work-"
"It will. Tyr is a mother, just like me. She will come, and I intend to make her first visit to the lands of ice a visit she will never forget."
Vana released Astrea and walked away. "Enjoy your stay here, princess. It'll be the last thing you see before I rip out your heart."
Astrea growled and struggled in her restraints. She couldn't do anything herself, but she knew that Gina and the Autobots were still out there. If Gina was as smart as she was told, then she'll find help and rescue her before her mother gets dragged into this mess.
XXXXXX
As soon as she had regained consciousness, Gina had regrouped with the rest of Astrea's guard detail, or at least the ones that survived, and tried to all for backup. Her first instinct was to call Astrea's personal bodyguard, who was back in Atlantis undergoing a review of the city's security systems. It certainly didn't take long for the woman to get there with a fresh platoon of experienced Atlantian soldiers and a whole lot of attitude to make even the genetically enhanced Gina feel like running for the hills.
Once they sent the injured soldiers back to Atlantis, Gina went to find Bumblebee and Jazz, whom she believed to have been attacked first to lessen the threat against their mysterious attackers. It took some searching, but eventually she found the pair trapped under a giant ice spike and immediately set them free. After helping the Autobots out, Kiani wasted no time in herding the three into her Hammerhead dropship and taking flight deeper into the Arctic.
"Wait, how do you know where the princess is?" Bumblebee asked as they took off.
"The queen had both the prince and princess outfitted with tracking chips just under their skin in the form of tattoos that can be tracked by our computer systems." Kiani said. "It was a precautionary measure, in case either of them got lost in the darker depths of the ocean or they were kidnapped by someone, mainly humans."
"The people that attacked us, they were merfolk. But they looked different." Gina said. "They were stronger, and their esper powers were mainly used to control ice."
Kiani looked at Gina for a moment, then decided that the blonde human was worth entrusting this secret to. "Those merfolk are members of a separate nation that split off from Atlantis decades ago. They call themselves the Empire of Lemuria, after the city they abandoned after rebelling against the kingdom. My father and the queen have had numerous skirmishes with them, but we haven't had any recent battles for the last ten years."
"Until now." Jazz sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Damn, I guess walking right into their turf was a bad idea, huh?"
"That's an understatement, Autobot." Kiani said. "Right now, we know exactly where the princess is, but we don't know how much resistance we'll encounter once we reach her, aside from a literal army."
Gina tapped her chin. "Wait, do you have Astrea's coordinates, or at least the general location she's at?"
"I do, but it won't become clear until we can get closer to her position." Kiani replied, looking at Gina curiously. "What do you have in mind."
"Jazz, get those coordinates and send them to Teletran-1," Gina said. "I think I've found a way to get the princess back without fighting the entire Lemurian army, but you'll have to be ready to evacuate as soon as possible."
Bumblebee smiled. "This is going to be a fun ride."
XXXXXX
'I'm not letting that crazy witch use me to get back at mother.' Astrea thought angrily as she struggled in her restraints.
Astrea recognized these restraints as a variation of the ones that the Atlantian military uses to restrain espers. The individual's hands and feet are encased in water that conducts just enough electricity to numb the nerves and inhibit the prisoner from using their powers. Ordinarily, that would've worked on a regular merfolk esper, but Astrea was born from a line of kings and queens, all espers of tremendous power cultivated through careful breeding and training. Astrea still had a few tricks up her sleeve.
Astrea looked at one of the tubes pumping water to and from her restraints and focused on the liquid flowing through it. Trying to control water with only one's mind was a very difficult thing to do, even for members of the royal family, but Astrea had some practice in manipulating small amounts, which is what she was trying to do right now.
"Come on, come on…" Astrea visualized the water exploding outward, like a backed up pipe, and to her relief, the tube popped like a balloon, spraying water everywhere. This cut power to one of her bonds and Astrea was able to manipulate the water around her left hand. She blew apart the restraint and formed a water blade around her hand to free her other arm and her legs, setting herself free.
"Nice contraption, but it's not enough to hold a daughter of the sea." Astrea said. "Now to get out of here."
Astrea ran through the tunnel leading to the chamber. There were few guards, curiously, which probably meant that Vana was sure enough in her machines that the princess couldn't break free without outside help. First mistake.
It took her a while to navigate the maze of artificially made ice tunnels and caves that probably ran for miles. Astrea got glimpses of the city that was located a couple of miles away from the complex, buildings made from finely crafted ice and full of Lemurians who worshipped Vana as their queen and would like nothing more than to see the princess of Atlantis dead. Still, the ice city looked beautiful, that was for sure.
Astrea could feel her body temperature reaching dangerously low levels, but she hurried in her efforts to find a way out. She felt cold air blowing through one of the tunnels and followed that trail until she finally saw what looked like the northern lights. Running to the end of the tunnel, Astrea found her bare feet digging through soft snow, and she yelped at the brisk feeling. Looking around, she saw that she was standing on the side of a mountain with a river flowing through a canyon down below.
"I'm outside. Now I have to wait for Gina to come through with help…hopefully." Astrea breathed.
Astrea cautiously made her way down the mountainside, careful to keep an eye out for any sign of enemy guards or scout ships. In her condition, she was in no shape to properly fight before freezing to death. Unfortunately for her, her luck ran out when she escaped her prison, for just before she reached the river, a scout ship shaped like a manta ray emerged over a snowdrift, its spotlights pointed at her.
"Damn!" Astrea waved her arm and caused a water spear to smash into the craft's right wing, causing it to go out of control. The ship wavered in the air before falling and crashing into the iceberg down below.
The sound of the exploding ship certainly alerted the guards, and soon Astrea found herself under enemy fire as laser beams pelted the snow around her. She raised a water shield and froze it to protect herself, but she had to jump back as a rain of icicles rained down on her from the cave she just ran out of.
"Did you think you could escape me!" Vana's enraged voice echoed. A large chunk of the mountainside exploded into the air as the queen emerged from the cavern, her body hovering in the air on a waterspout as she shot at Astrea. "This land belongs to me, girl. You're not escaping justice this time!"
"This isn't justice, it's just vengeance." Astrea said, raising her arms and commanding the river to rise behind her.
As Vana brought a rain of sharp hailstones down upon her, Astrea countered with a massive wave of water that she sent at Vana, and the two attacks clashed in the air in an explosion of diamond dust and water droplets.
XXXXXX
"There, I found her!" Kiani said, catching the princess's signal on radar. She spun her seat around and looked at the two Autobots and their human companion. "Are you three ready?"
"We're rearing to go." Bumblebee said.
"Teletran, send the ground bridge." Jazz said.
The ground bridge appeared within the ship's launch bay. Gina hopped up into Bumblebee's arms as he and Jazz ran through the portal and out into the cold air of the Arctic, landing on a glacier just two miles from the princess's position. They wasted no time in heading to where the sound of fighting could be heard in the distance.
XXXXXX
Fighting Vana was like fighting the icy tundra of the glacier itself. The snow, the ice, even the water was at Vana's command, and Astrea was struggling to defend herself from the icy onslaught that was fueled by a mother's rage. Half of Vana's attacks she condense back into water and tried to overwhelm the queen, but Vana would just throw even more icy her way, and push her back towards the river down below.
Astrea used every ounce of her power to fight back, throwing massive water jets that smashed through ice and stone, and created icicles as large as a car. The two women clashed in a flurry of ice and snow, and it seemed that they were evenly matched, until Vana made the river behind Astrea shoot at her from behind.
Astrea cursed and spun around to deflect the ice spear that nearly got her, but then Vana threw a water bullet into the ground beside her, throwing the girl off her feet. Astrea landed hard on her back, and Vana dropped down so she landed on Astrea's chest. The queen pinned her to the ground and had the snow grip Astrea's body to trap her in place.
"Just because I need you alive long enough for your mother to come running doesn't mean I have to have you in one piece." Vana snarled. She grabbed Astrea's neck and began freezing the cells along her arms and legs. "I can freeze every cell, every ounce of water in her body from the inside out, and you're going to feel every last minute of it!"
"I'm getting sick of your villain monologues!" Astrea tore her arm free and stabbed an icicle into Vana's shoulder and kicked her off. She stumbled to her feet and backed away as Vana rose into the air on a waterspout.
Vana was about to attack when suddenly the two fighters hovering behind her were destroyed in bright bursts of energy. "What?!"
Laser blasts assaulted the three gigas standing watch as Jazz and Bumblebee charged into the canyon, firing their weapons. Gina as already sprinting toward Astrea, creating distortion halos to scatter the enemy soldiers and destroy their air support. Vana roared and threw massive ice bullets at Gina, which were destroyed before they could hit the girl. Another energy burst destroyed Vana's waterspout and sent her crashing to the ground.
"And stay down!" Gina yelled.
"Gina!" Astrea pounced on Gina via a waterspout and hugged her. "You came!"
"Of course I did. I wasn't going to leave you to freeze out here." Gina said smiling. "And now we're going to peace out of here. Guys, ground bridge!"
"On it!" Jazz called the ground bridge, which appear right behind the girls as he and Bumblebee ran to the portal. Reinforcements had arrived in the form of more Lemurian fighters that were trying to shoot down the Autobots. Combined with the additional gigas that were flooding out of their hangars, it was clearly time to go.
"NO!"
Vana lunged after Astrea and Gina as they ran for the ground bridge, the entire snowdrift rising up after her and freezing in a massive wave of ice that rumbled towards them like an avalanche. The Autobots made it through first, with Gina following. Astrea paused long enough to stick her tongue out at Vana before running into the bridge, which disappeared.
Vana slammed into the ground seconds after the portal vanished. Seeing her only chance at revenge disappear before her eyes was the last straw for the queen. She roared and punched the ground, causing a section of the mountainside to shake and crumble as tons of snow shot up into the air as a forest of icicles reaching miles into the sky.
This wasn't the last that the princess, nor those accursed Autobots heard of her.
XXXXXX
Kiani gave Astrea a firm scolding when they returned to the ship. Though the Atlantian bodyguard looked scary as hell, it was clear that she was relieved that the princess was safe and sound.
"Thank you, all for rescuing me." Astrea said to the Autobots and Gina. "I thought I was done for back there."
"Saving people is what we do, girl. Nothing to it." Jazz grinned.
"But maybe we should do extensive background checks on the locations we're visiting before we end up running into someone's turf. I'm not looking forward to starting another fight with some other royal we don't know about." Gina said.
"Amen to that." bumblebee said.
"You'll get no argument from me." Astrea looked at Gina's tattered clothes. "And while we head back to Mu, maybe you can explain how you're not only unharmed despite running half naked through the snow in a tattered wetsuit, but how you're able to do all of…that."
Gina shared a look with Jazz and Bumblebee. "It's…a long story."
"I have time." Astrea smiled. "I've shown you a little of my culture and now you're going to show me some of yours. Think of it as a cultural exchange."
Gina smiled back. "Okay, but for the record, it's a lot crazier than what we just went through tonight. And that's a fact."
Sorry for the long wait. I typed this entire chapter down from scratch, no pre-written material to go from, so it was a pain trying to complete. The next chap is a Minicon-centered story starring Sparkplug and friends as they get into a little trouble. We'll be visiting the Atlantians soon in future chapters. Be sure to check out the Transformers Titan website on Wordpress. Also, I've started my first original fantasy series on Fictionpress, Fantasia, under the account Saya3x3, so be sure to check it out. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.