Disclaimer: And the alternate take of the movie continues.
I don't own Transformers.
"Speaking"
Thinking
"So... tell me about yourself." The interior of the sleek silver car shook a little at the casual question, and Jazz's chuckles echoed through the speakers. "Hey, it's not that funny."
"Yeah, I know. Just a little surprised at how casual you phrased it." I was paying little attention to the clock on the dashboard as we followed behind Ratchet through Nevada's back roads. We didn't take any major highway, in order to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Bumblebee was at the front, with Ironhide behind him, Ratchet, us, and finally Optimus. "Where should I start?"
"Well..." I wasn't sure. I wanted to know about Cybertron, the war; heck, anything! Anything to try and understand the world I ended up in. This was an opportunity, and I was going to take advantage of every minute. "How about what you did before the war?"
Jazz was silent for a moment. Was that too personal a question, bringing up bad memories? Not that they might be bad, but... how long exactly were they fighting the Decepticons? "I used to work with the Security Force," he finally said. "Under a Bot named Prowl. He was one of Optimus' lieutenants. It wasn't that big of a job at the start, just sentry duties."
"I take it you earned your rank as things turned for the worse?" I asked, sensing the lull in the story.
"Yeah. Honestly, I could go on for cycles about the past. Lot of the Cybertronians I worked with are either in hiding across the galaxy, or in a trash heap rusting." I winced at the choice of words. "Don't even know if Prowl made it this far or not. We all evacuated around the same time, right as Iacon began to be overtaken."
"Iacon... is that the Autobot capital?" Names were one thing, but locations were a struggle. I hoped I had that right.
"Sure is. Opposite of that, on the far side of the planet, you get Kaon. That's the Decepticon capital." So two major cities, one for each faction, on opposite sides of their home planet. There was another pause, either due to him not wanting to drop everything at once, or to let me digest the information. "Want me to continue?"
"I don't if it makes you uncomfortable," I replied. The side of my head was against the glass of the window, with one hand on the wheel to maintain the illusion of someone driving. I was tired, sore, and I hoped the cuts from the Con fight earlier weren't still bleeding. "Perhaps when this is all over, you can tell me more. I'd like to hear more about Iacon."
"Heh. Sure thing, short stuff." That was nice to hear-wait, what? Short stuff?
"Um, Jazz? I'm not that short-I mean, compared to Sam, maybe, but I'm taller than Mikaela." The blinker light came on, and we turned behind Ratchet. Tuning back into the drive, I identified several houses from around the edges of the neighborhood. It took less time than I thought, but then again, we had to stop to watch the landing and escape the Con.
"Not in my optics though," he replied. I couldn't see his face, but just through the speakers, I knew he was smirking. He thought this was hilarious. "We close?"
"Yeah. It looks like Bee is pulling over." He was. Dimming his lights, Bumblebee pulled into a small side street between two taller houses. Once he was as far ahead as possible, without leaving the alley, all lights and engine went out. Following his example, Jazz and the other Autobots vanished into the dark. It was a close fit, having all five in hiding, but nobody seemed to notice. At least, I don't think anyone's looking out their window.
Sam and Mikaela scrambled out of the Camaro, running towards my direction. Jazz rolled down the window before I could press the button, and Sam slid to a stop in front of the door. "I need you to come with me, okay? Mikaela's going to say here and watch them."
"You sure she can do that?" I threw a look over his shoulder, seeing Mikaela join us. "Really, I think this is more than a one-person job."
"Yes, but you're in the same boat as me, remember? I already called home, so we should be fine about the late thing." So he did call on the way back. "Now get out and let's go."
"Better hurry." Sam barely had time to move before the door swung open, taking the teen out with it. Undoing my buckle, I hoped out, moving to the side as Jazz closed it himself. Sam grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the alley past Optimus and around the corner.
"She's not going to keep them there," I informed Sam, doing an odd jump-skip to keep up with him.
"Mikaela'll have to stall for a few minutes, not half an hour. Do you remember where they are?" He asked, pace slowing down as the driveway came into view.
I... don't. It was almost like the robot from earlier. My head was drawing a blank on what should have been a simple fact. "All I can recall is they're in a bag. Where the bag is... maybe your room?" I think...? Ron stood at the patio door as we came in through the backyard, having ignored the front door. I dragged Sam onto the path when he began to drift off onto the grass, almost making him fall in front of me.
"Thank you, Blake," he called out, giving a small pleased smile, before dropping it. "You know, I buy half your car, then I bail you out of jail and then I just decided to do all your chores." Sam winced at the reminders, letting go of my hand and placing it on the side of the screen door.
"I-I know, and I'm sorry. Mom told you about the call, right? We just got hung up again with Mikaela, and we were doing some cleaning on some of hers."
"Yeah," I quickly jumped in. "The girl from the lake? She was really interested in what I knew, and we discussed different techniques and what we specialized in. Leather work, fixing engines; stuff like that." I was lying through my teeth, but it was the closest to some form of truth I could think of. Mikaela knew cars, I knew cars, and we were dealing with aliens who turned into cars. "Why else would we look like this?"
"Yeah, you both are a mess, but give more warning next time." A low mechanical noise echoed through the cool air, and from the corner of my eye, I could see one of the Autobots begin to stand up. Which one, I couldn't quite tell. You'd think that since they had disguises for a reason, they'd be smarter than that. Are they just unaware of how bad an idea it is transforming!? Mikaela, what are you doing!? "Freshen up and get ready for bed, okay?"
"Y-yeah, you got it, dad!" Ron retreated back into the house, and Sam's shoulders dropped with a deep sigh.
"Holding your breath there, huh?" He spun around, looking up at the arriving Autobots. Mikaela ran through the driveway, managing to keep up with them due to their patience at waiting for Ron to leave. "Sam, you handle this, I'll start looking."
I would've been much more composed if I didn't know what was about to happen. Sector Seven would be on their way soon, and if it was possible, finding the glasses would put us one step ahead of them. By being one step ahead, it would also keep me away far, far away. "Go to my room and start there, okay?"
"Okay." I began to move to through the door, before stopping to see Mojo scurry across the floor, his nails clicking against the smooth wood. What was it about the dog... oh, right. Scooping the dog up in one arm, I closed the door behind me and continued through the house. I can forget things, but of course I'd end up remembering this moment. It would be wise to not annoy Ironhide, with how stressed he probably was at the moment.
Stopping in the living room, I placed the squirmy chihuahua down on the footrest by Judy. "Sam will be in in a moment. He's just saying goodbye to Mikaela." Man, am I lying a lot today. Retreating upstairs, I flung open Sam's door. It still smelled, it was still a mess, and it was going to be a pain looking for his bag. "You better hurry, Sam." Choosing a random pile of papers and clothes thrown beside his desk, I got down on the floor and began rooting through it. Test, test, assignment, sock, shirt, the other sock.
"Find it yet?" Sam burst through the door, closing it behind him.
"Nope. Check your bookshelves and bedding." Nodding, Sam shuffled around the floor and ripped the sheets and blanket off the mattress. Shaking them out, he threw them down with a groan.
"No, no, no, no. Uh, where are they?" Running over to my side, he tore into the pile, not bothering to carefully comb through it like I was. "
"Sam, you better hope they're still in the case." Else you're gonna break them on accident. "There's nothing in he-"
"Time is short." Heads snapped upwards at the baritone voice, we hurried to the open window overlooking the backyard. Mikaela peered in, awkwardly balancing on Optimus' hand.
"They really want those glasses." Opening the shutters, Sam held out his hands and helped her into the room, not letting go until she was completely inside.
"Please hurry." As the two teens got out of the way, I poked my head out of the window. The yard had... seen better days. The path was broken, the fountain was crushed, and the flowerbeds were flattened. Ironhide and Ratchet were closer to the back of the yard, keeping watch, while Bee and Jazz kept alternating between peering around the side of the house and how we were handling things. Better than trying to make a mess of things.
"Any luck?" Jazz crept up to the side of the house Sam's room was in, keeping his voice low.
"We're trying." Glancing back, I caught Sam ripping a box out of Mikaela's hands, running to the other side of the room and awkwardly shoving it under his mattress. "It could be going better." Turning around, I gestured at the yard. "Listen, we're moving as fast as we can, but you guys can't be out in the open like this. I'm sure Bee gets it, since he's been here longer, but humans will flip if they see you. Just... I don't know, go back to the alley and hide out there."
Bumblebee returned from the side of the house, nodding in agreement. "If that doesn't work, you can park out in the main street. Just give us a little more time, please." Optimus returned to the window, hearing our conversation. "Five, ten minutes, max."
"Will you have the glasses by then?" Well, I really hope so. Giving a helpless shrug, he turned to the two closest mechs. "Autobots, fall back."
Ratchet and Ironhide turned to face us, hearing the command. "Optimus," the medic began, beginning to walk around the wreckage of the yard. "We do not have time for-" Ratchet's concern was cut short, as when he neared the fence, the wires of a nearby poll collided with his face. Reaching up to swat them away, the conductors snapped at the tension, crackling and triggering the ambulance alarms of his alt-mode.
The five of us watched at the sparking mess the medic had accidentally created, and Sam and Mikaela hurried over to join me. The light in the room cut out, plunging us and the rest of the block into darkness. "What was that?"
"I, uh... an alien... not entirely used to being around a setting too compact for one his height?" Bee gave a small laugh at my answer, while Ironhide grumbling went over to assist in helping Ratchet free himself. "Power's out."
"Yes, I can see that," Sam replied. "This won't end well."
"No, it won't." The door was closed, and Mikaela scrambled over the mess to lock it. "They're going to come check on us."
"Then cover for us. Run to your room and sta-?"
"Sam, Blake? Are you two in there?" The knob shook, and Mikaela backed away from the door. "How come the door's locked. You know the rules. No doors locked in my house!"
"That's a bad rule," I whispered to myself. Sam turned to me, and shoved me towards the window.
"You need to get to your room now. Think of something to cover for us." I went to protest, going to ask why I had to do something to distract his parents when he was their child, when he immediately continued. "You're handling this situation a lot better than I am, now hurry before he starts counting." Great. As if this wasn't going bad enough already.
"Hey, Bee? Little help?" The yellow Bot moved to directly in front of the window and brought his hand up. Stepping over the lower part of the frame, I shakily put a foot down on his palm before gracefully falling onto it. "Nailed it."
As fast as he could, Bee moved to the side of the house, just as we heard Ron and Judy enter the bedroom. The others hurried to get out of the window's view, and I was more-or-less dumped into the room, not having the time to step off before Bee ducked out of view. "Still nailing it."
So I had to make a distraction. Something that would make sense... what? "The parents are very irritating. Can I take them out?" Yeah, how about, no, Hide? Getting to my feet, I went to my own door and opened it. Ron, Judy, and Sam were all arguing in the room, with Ron holding two large lights and Judy wielding a baseball bat. "There you are, Blake," Judy said. "Why didn't you come out when we came up?"
"Sorry, I was a little more focused on the damage outside. That blown transformer made a mess." Let's hope this idea works. I was good at thinking on the spot, and while not all of my ideas turned out for the best, they at least delayed something from happening. Though, it doesn't explain the yard damage. "Sam, is Mikaela alright?"
"Mikaela?" Sam repeated, baffled at where I was steering the conversation.
Ron looked between the two of us suspiciously. "I thought you said she dropped you two?"
"Sh-she did," Sam jumped in. "But when Blake went back into the house, I went back to say goodnight. And when we saw how late it was, I... asked if she wanted to spend the night."
"Sam, if you wanted to have a girl over, you didn't have to have Blake cover for you." Judy, what? "Where is she?" Mikaela, having ducked down behind several boxes in the corner, slowly stood up.
"Hi. I'm Mikaela. I'm a-a friend of Sam's." Judy laughed, lowering the bat.
"Gosh, you're gorgeous. Isn't that the prettiest girl?" She whispered the second part to Ron, who grinned at Sam's confused face.
"Y-yeah, um, we weren't-that's not-" I shuffled into the room, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder.
"Sam, stop speaking before this gets even more weird. Judy, do you know where Sam's bag is?" Why didn't we just ask her before? We could have avoided this entire mess altogether!
"Sam's bag? Oh, it's in the kitchen." She gestured to the stairs with the bat, and I sighed in relief.
"Thank you. Thank you." The lights flickered back on overhead, and Sam rushed past us to the main floor.
"Better follow. Let's go, Mikaela." Giving Judy a thanks for the compliment, the brunette joined me in chasing after Sam.
"What about the Autobots?" I looked back to her, entering the room as Sam pulled the glasses case out of the bag with a sigh of relief.
"The Autobots probably aren't around the house anymore," I explained. "With the outage, people are probably checking out the wires, and it'd be hard for them to hide."
"So what then? How are we going to give them the glasses?" Mikaela looked ready to speak, only for a sudden ringing to cut her off. "The doorbell?"
"Oh no." I'd like to think, with everything so far, I kept us on the right track. Nothing horrible, besides the Decepticon attack, had happened. Then... they arrived. Sector Seven. "Sam, put those glasses in a pocket, and don't let them fall out."
"You know who it is?" He seemed surprised by my sudden seriousness, but did what I said anyway.
"In all cases, be it books or movies, the moment aliens make an appearance the government isn't that far behind. Whatever happens, play it cool." Mikaela tensed up at the mention of the government, but didn't say a word. Together, with Sam in front, we exited the kitchen, finding several agents checking out the house and his parents being interrogated.
"What is this?" The agent next to Judy, took the bat out of her hands, tossing it over to someone else as he met our nervous faces.
"How you doing, son? Is your name Sam?" Amazing. Just two sentences in and I already don't like him.
"Yeah." Lights bounced around the room, with other agents examining the yard outside. Please, let the Bots be far away from here. No matter how you looked at it, the destruction of the yard couldn't equal the damage caused by the power outage. Neither added up, and they knew that.
"Well, I need you to come with us," the man continued, not bothered by Sam's nervousness.
"Whoa, way out of line." Ron and Judy moved to where we stood, blocking the agents from getting anywhere near us. Mojo, bless the little dog, scampered over to us, growling.
"Sir," the agent said, "I am asking politely. Back off." What part of that was polite, exactly?
Ron didn't budge. If anything, he was more angry. "You're not taking my son."
"Really?" He gave a small laugh. "You gonna try to get rough with us?"
"No, but I'm gonna call the cops because there's something fishy going on around here," Ron argued, pointing at the agents moving in and out of the house.
"Yeah." Keeping the same greater-than-you look plastered on his face, the agent motioned to all of us in return. "There's something a little fishy about you, your son, your little Taco Bell dog and this whole operation you got going on here."
Ron was taken by surprise, looking at all of us before returning to the agent. "What operation?"
"That is what we are gonna find out." A soft nudge to my back distracted me from the new agent moving over to our interrogator, and I stepped back closer to the teens.
"Blake?" Sam whispered my name, loud enough for only me and Mikaela to pick up. "Play it cool?"
"Play it cool," I whispered back, repeating the same phrase.
"Son?" The agent stepped forward, a strange black box now in his hands. "Step forward, please."
Seeing he was unable to back out of the order, Sam shuffled to the front, standing in between his parents. "Just stand...?" Looking at the reader, he brought the handle towards Sam's chest. For a few seconds, nothing. I would've liked it to have been that; nothing. It would've made things much easier, for us, and the Autobots.
Of course, that was all wishful thinking.
The beeping began, picking up and increasing in volume before he declared the reading, grinning. "Fourteen rads. Bingo! Tag them and bag them!" With that, he stepped away, and all five of us were swarmed by Sector Seven. I felt cuffs snap onto my wrists as my arms were pulled behind me, and was roughly shoved out of the door and towards one of the many black vans. It was hectic, with Ron yelling over the noise for Sam not to say a word, and neighbors looking through their windows to see what was happening.
"Ow! Watch it!" A hand was placed on the back of my head, pushing me into the back of one of the vehicles. Mikaela was already inside, and Sam was thrown in behind her. The agent from before got into the passenger seat as a new one got into the driver's side.
With my arms still behind my back, it was difficult to sit. Three people handcuffed in a car that was not meant for that many people in the backseat was not enjoyable. I couldn't tell where we were going, only that we were out of the residential area, and that Agent Unknown wasn't going to breathe a word until he deemed it was the right time.
"... so, uh... LadiesMan two-seventeen." Guess it's the right time. He turned around, holding up a phone he pulled from a plastic bag. From my angle, I couldn't tell what was on it, but it was enough for Sam's face to pale a little."That is your eBay username, right?"
Mikaela gave an unimpressed look at the username, and Sam scrambled for an explanation. "Yeah, but, you know, it was a typo and I ran with it."
"Well, what do you make of this?" He pressed a button, and the sound of Sam's voice filled the cabin. "Is that you?" That was from the previous night, with Bumblebee. H-how prepared were these people to come get Sam?
"Yeah, that sounds like LadiesMan," Mikaela dryly noted.
"Last night at the station, you told the officer your car transformed." He slid the phone into a pocket, not taking his eyes of Sam. "Enlighten me."
"Well, here's what I said, okay? 'cause this is a total misunderstanding that my car had been stolen-from me, from my home, but it's fine now because it's back! It came back!" I did a double take at the second part.
"Not by itself, of course," I jumped in, hoping to correct his mistake.
"Because cars don't do that because that would be crazy," Mikaela added, giving a small laugh that Sam and the agent joined in. Forced, awkward. All the while, I sat there watching the uncomfortable moment, wondering when... when it would be my turn.
It would come up, no doubt about it. Why wait until we found the AllSpark? If Mikaela's secret got dropped in the car, my would be too. "So what do you kids know about aliens, huh?" He sobered up immediately, and Sam gave a quick look at me as the smile vanished off his face. Play. It. Cool.
"Oh, you mean, like a Martian?" He quickly replied. "Like what, E.T? Pffft, no."
"It's an urban legend," Mikaela added, her own face neutral.
"You see this?" The agent reached into his jacket, pulling out a golden badge. Agent Simmons. How could I have forgotten his name? He showed up often enough in the movies, so why did that slip my head? "This is my I-can-do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it badge."
"Right," Sam mumbled.
"I'm gonna lock you up forever," he added, giving the badge a shake.
"Oh, god. You know what? Don't listen to him, Sam. He's just ticked 'cause he's got to get back to guarding the mall." I had to admit, I admired Mikaela's wit. Sam, out of the three of us, seemed the most scared. I was terrified, because I had no idea what came next. When it happened, then I would freak out. Just like when I learned of my location. That was the only time so far I managed to truly panic, and I gave poor Sam his own fright when I passed out in front of him.
The agent's gaze snapped to her. "You, in the training bra, do not test me. Especially with your daddy's parole coming up." The word managed to drain all warmth from the car, and Mikaela's entire body stiffened.
"What? Parole?" Sam repeated.
Mikaela barely looked at him, putting all of her attention on Simmons. "It's nothing," she replied swiftly.
Simmons didn't bat an eye at her avoidance. If anything, he wanted her to admit it herself. "Oh, grand theft auto, that ain't nothing?"
"You know those cars my dad used to teach me to fix? Well, they-they weren't always his..." her voice trailed off at the end, and Mikaela looked down at her lap, avoiding Sam's shocked expression.
"You stole cars?" His voice was weak at the question, a mix of hurt and betrayal. If I wasn't me, I'd find it hard to believe to. Mikaela showed no sign while hanging out with us that she had a rough background. For Sam, who had a crush on her, knew her for years, and had no idea... neither of them should be put through this. Mikaela and her family's history, and Sam being separated from his parents over his ancestor's discovery and what later became of it.
"Well, we couldn't always afford a babysitter," she mumbled, "so sometimes he had to take me along."
"She's got her own juvie record to prove it!" Simmons continued, running our friend further into the ground. "She's a criminal. Criminals are hot!" Okay, enough silence.
"I swear, one more thing that comes out of your mouth that ticks me off, I will take that badge and make you eat it." Childish, perhaps, but I meant every word of it. If he kept that up, threatening them and bringing up bad memories, I didn't think I could keep myself still for much longer.
Simmons and Sam looked at me, and Mikaela gave a tiny smile in appreciation. "Really? And what makes you think you're able to do that?" I narrowed my eyes at Simmons, not giving him another word. "Nothing? Not even when you know the danger you're currently in?" He was trying to coax the answer out of me, trying to make me admit that I wasn't from this world. Sam struggled to sit forward to get a better look at my face, which struggled to remain as impassive as possible.
"Blake, what's he talking about?" The same confusion and faint disappointment, from when he learned Mikaela's truth, bled into the words.
"... nothing for you to be concerned about, Sam. You're not getting an answer from me, Agent Simmons." It didn't come out as a snarl, but venom dripped at the name. "Whatever you might know, it's completely wrong."
"Wrong, is it? Tell me then, Blake, why you don't appear in any files? No matches with your name and appearance?" He leaned closer, sneering. "Why, if I didn't no any better, I'd say we had an alien with us right now." Did Ron and Judy... did they try and look me up? Is that how Simmons knows I don't exist?
"Blake...?" Not now, Sam. Not now. I didn't need his fear on top of mine.
"It'd be a real shame if her dad had to rot in jail the rest of his natural life. As for your friend there, well, who knows what we can learn from her, huh?" What, so I'm in the same group as the Autobots no-? The radiation machine sitting in between the two seats began beeping viciously, and Sam wisely shuffled back into his seat. "It is time to talk!"
There wasn't much time to reply to that, as the front of the van collided with something that most certainly was not in the road before. Sparks flew out around us as we spun out, screeching to a halt as we then hit something from behind. "Big! It's big!" The driver shouted. Echoing booming came from outside, and I caught a glimpse of red and blue move closer just before two giant hands crashed through the front windows. Ducking down to avoid the glass showering us, the vehicle was hoisted into the air, sending us screaming.
"Shift your weight towards the front!" Sam yelled over the agents. How that would do us any good, I didn't know, but we ended up rocking the van back and forth like he suggested. The glass from the windows scratched at my skin through my clothes, not helping the somewhat fresh cuts from the Decepticon fight earlier. Holding back a grimace, I kept rocking the vehicle and soon enough, the entire top of the van broke off.
We dropped several feet, and the van bounced on its now broken axes, sagging in the front. Bright white light blindingly greeted us far, far above our heads, and I couldn't help the terrified nervous laugh that welled up in my throat.
"Heh... heheh..." the top was tossed to the side, landing on the road with a loud clang, and the beams on Optimus' chest turned off. "W-well now... you were saying about it being time to talk?"
I'm still lost as to how I'm going to end this, but I have some ideas. I don't want to discontinue it, but I doubt I can write all of the films. If I can make it through this, and make it out with a good ending, I'd call it a win.
Until next time!
Angel