"Okay, Al Simmons...1,117 results. That's not gonna work."
It was early in the morning and, at most, an hour before Jack would usually get up for school. He had been up since 3, unable to sleep. Nightmares didn't rob him of it this time, but rather, questions. He had a lot of them and they kept gnawing at his brain, demanding that he find the answers. So, here he was at his computer, looking for them.
"Al Simmons, State of New York...666 results. Really? Really?"
Googling the name he had heard in the alleys had always been an option. But at the time, Jack wanted the answers he knew he wouldn't find on the internet, such as what Spawn was supposed to be. But with his second encounter with Spawn bringing more questions and no answers, he decided to give in to an extremely long shot. All he had was the name and a few minor details he had heard Jess Chapel mention.
"Wait a minute...Jess Chapel. Joliet, Illinois State Prison."
0 Results.
"Okay, think. That's probably not even his name, but..."
Jack thought back to that night, reluctantly. He tried to remember even the smallest detail that might give him a clue as to who Al Simmons was. He remembered Chapel talking about orders and everything about him screamed military or ex-military. Marines? Army Ranger like Fowler? Al was killed by his partner under orders from a superior. That sounded an awful lot like black ops government business.
"Al Simmons, United States Government."
And sure enough, there was something that caught Jack's attention.
"Hero Laid To Rest...Albert Francis Simmons." Jack read to himself.
Jack researched further into the article and was drawn into the things he was finding out. This man, Albert Simmons, was apparently a Marine, highly decorated. He was so talented that he became a member of the Presidents secret service where he thwarted an assassination attempt, getting shot in the process. This led him to being recruited by the CIA and from there...
"Blank...That's where your story ends. What were you involved with?"
Jack looked further into Al's death and saw that the official story was questioned by various new outlets. He opened a link to one of those outlets which led him to an old mpeg video of a particularly opinionated anchor giving from a now off air news show called "My View On 2".
"LT. Colonel Simmons, who disappeared from public view shorty after the Hinckley incident, was believed to be involved with numerous covert government task forces. Informed sources say that his presence at the same time as Youngblood private security agents was no coincidence. Frankly, this stinks of a government cover up. So, what else is new? Though, I'm sure Lt. Col. Simmons was a man of courage and integrity, it's the Government Boy's Club Attitude that appalls me. Information is given out at their discretion in an almost Hollywood-type fashion, and we all know how movie makers never stretch the truth."
Jack himself felt something very off about the apparent circumstances of Al Simmons death. And indeed, it all read like a generic action movie script. Jack was ready to lay all the information out and try to piece it all together, but his alarm had gone off.
"Oh, Scrap."
Jack hit his alarm button and forced himself away from what he was doing. This was going to have to go on the back burner for now. However, he knew that his entire day at school, work, even at the base, was going to unfocused as his thoughts would stay with what he was stumbling on to. Until he got back, this would be on his mind.
Jack entered the garage and his partner was waiting for him.
"Hey, Jack."
Jack stopped and looked her at for a moment. There was something off about her. He could hear it in her voice, all two words of it.
"What's up, Arcee?"
"You ready?"
"Yeah...Let's head out."
Jack mounted Arcee's alt and they left for his school. Just as they had been for the last few mornings, the ride was uncomfortably quiet. Only this time, Arcee was as unwilling to speak and Jack didn't know why. Not once did she move her mirrors up to look at him. This concerned Jack, but he had been keeping to himself for days now and he felt that she deserved the same space with whatever was on her mind.
They came to the school and Jack got off, ready to start his day. He looked back at Arcee, who still seemed a million miles away, even in her alt form.
"I'll see you after school?" Jack asked.
"Yeah...See ya."
Jack smiled, slightly. He turned to leave, but Arcee called to him.
"Jack."
He turned around.
"Hey...Be careful, yeah? I mean...Just, watch your back."
Jack knew exactly why Arcee had become so much more protective and he couldn't blame her at all.
"Always, Arcee. You be careful out there yourself."
"I will. Later, Partner."
"Later."
Arcee rode off and Jack knew he heard the unwillingness in her voice to leave. As it had before, it seemed to come from her usual protective tendencies. But Jack couldn't help but feel Arcee was unwilling to part ways with him for her own comfort as well as his safety. Maybe he would at least ask her if anything was wrong when she picked him up. They were partners, after all.
Jack went into the school, ignoring the same stares and whispers he had dealt with the day prior. No doubt, his classmates were wondering why he skipped. He was so focused on ignoring what was going on, he didn't notice the black helicopter pass over his school.
"That's him, isn't it?"
Airachnid glanced down at Jack from the air. Despite her memory still being in fragments, she recognized him instantly. But she wasn't sure of what it was she felt in her spark at the sight him.
"There he is." Her clown passenger noted. "The little alter boy himself, Jackson Motherfuckin' Darby."
"He's young...I remember feeling a way about that." Airachnid said.
"Yeah, I'll bet you're feelin' alotta things when you look at that little sweet boy. You want to gut'em like a trout and wear his insides for a necklace."
The thought excited Airachnid to the point of almost arousal.
"You can't tell if you want to watch'em bleed or pop his cherry."
"Pop his...cherry?"
"You want the boy, in more ways than one."
"I do...I really do."
Airachnid couldn't contain herself. She was ready to land and chase Jack Darby down right there.
"Hold your horses, sister. Darby boy ain't goin' nowhere. Besides, we don't wanna draw attention to ourselves. And I bet that when you play with sweet ass down there, you want to make it last, right? You want to make it intimate."
"Hm, that sounds...thrilling."
"Well, ain't no point in goin' in there and havin' to rush things. We'll wait until we can get the kid by himself so you can take your sweet time with it. We'll just stay close until he's on the move. Think you can handle that?"
"If I must."
"Good girl."
But Airachnid was itching to get to her prey. This all felt very familiar to her, the thrill of the hunt. But hunting Jackson Darby, this felt special to her. He felt special. Whoever he was, whatever he'd done, he had left his mark on her. He had done something to her that begged for her affections, unpleasant for him as they may be.
'Wait for me, little one. We'll play soon enough. I look forward to it. I'll make sure you enjoy it.'
Jack was a little bit more prepared for the unwanted attention he had been getting yesterday, that didn't mean it wasn't hard to ignore. Everywhere he turned, someone was pointing at him, whispering something to someone else, all curious and full of questions. Jack didn't want to answer a single one. This was the problem with living in a small town, everyone was in everybody's business. Times like this, he missed New York.
Jack was exchanging a few books out of his locker when Sierra walked up beside him.
"Hey, Jack."
Again, he really hated that being kidnapped was the reason Sierra was talking to him.
"Hey."
He didn't want to be rude, but he had a feeling of what the topic of the day was going to be.
"So...What happened to you yesterday?"
Jack sighed and let his head fall.
"I...I wasn't feeling well."
"I mean, we had just talked and then, you're a no show in chemistry. One of my friends said she saw you leaving after first period. That's not like you, Jack. You barely miss class at all. I mean, you might sleep through it, but..."
"I just needed to be...anywhere but here."
"Because of the rumors?"
Jack stopped what he was doing, not really wanting to know, but...
"What rumors?"
Jack looked at Sierra who appeared to have been caught off guard. She must've expected him to know what she was talking about.
"Uh...Um..."
Sierra was like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to say. Jack figured that whatever was being said about him, she didn't want to be the one to tell him.
"You know, it's really not important." She said. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay...Are you?"
"I'll be better when everyone forgets I exist again." He muttered bitterly.
Realizing that Sierra had heard him, he backpedaled a little.
"I'm sorry, that wasn't at you. I'm just...processing. This is all news to everyone but me. I've been through all this already. It wasn't great then either."
"I wouldn't think so."
"I'm just waiting for this whole thing to blow over and become yesterday's news."
"You don't have to apologize, Jack. This has got to be annoying to you. I'm still here if you wanna talk."
"Thanks, Sierra."
First bell rung and the two parted ways. Sierra was being nice and Jack appreciated the kindness. But until this whole business was forgotten, school was going to be more of a hassle than it already was. To make matters worse, the halls were where he dealt with the stares and the murmuring. Class was where he dealt with everything that'd happened recently. He hadn't forgotten what he had learned this morning and his mind was still filled with questions.
"Jackson...Jackson Darby...The school's on fire, Jack. Run, now."
SLAM!
Jack was brought back to the present at the sound of a thick textbook hitting his desk hard. When he looked up, he saw his art history teacher standing impatiently over him.
"You do know where you are right now, don't you Mr. Darby?"
"Ms. Villar...Yes, Ma'am."
"Could that place be school?"
"Yes."
"Specifically, my classroom?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Are you done daydreaming?"
"Ma'am."
"Can I expect your undivided attention?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Well, thank you very much. Focus, Mr. Darby. You're on the verge of failing my class as is."
"Yes, Ms. Villar."
"Now, as I was saying. Basquiat's artwork was very reflective of his environment and his upbringing. He had spent some of his young adult life homeless, which had also contributed to the nature of his art. Before his death in 1988, Jean-Michel Basquiat was considered to be an artist of the streets."
Jack tried his best to remain focused, but his brain kept bouncing back and forth between all that he had learned about Al Simmons and what happened in the alleys two days ago. He still had no idea what became of Jess Chapel and in truth, he was too scared to find out.
When class finally ended, Jack left the classroom with a distracted mind. He didn't even notice one student watching leave with intent to bother him.
As he walked the halls, the student met up with a few friends and he turned his attention back to Jack.
"Are you still with us, Mr. Darby?" He mockingly said.
Jack ignored him and kept walking, but the student followed him. This was Curtis Baker, another full time student tormentor, but of a different breed than Vince. Curtis was about less physical bullying and more verbal and emotional abuse. Curtis liked to shout things from across the hall in front of crowds, embarrassing kids and doing anything he could to push their buttons. He liked to show out in front of other people, especially his friends. He enjoyed it, picking at people, hoping to make them break. He wasn't above low blows either and he'd often target kids who were too shy or timid to say or do anything back. He knew better than to run his mouth at someone who would punch him in the face, like Vince.
"Hey Darby, lemme ask you somethin'." The bushy haired teen shouted from the other side of the hall. "Did that ice cream guy do anything inappropriate to you?"
That's exactly what Curtis was known for, the low blows. Nothing of the sort happened, but it was well within the realm of possibility. If it had, it would most certainly be an extremely sensitive topic to Jack. Curtis knew that and didn't care. In fact, he wanted it to be true because it would get the reaction he was looking for.
"C'mon, you can tell us. Did he touch you in a way you didn't want to be touched? Did he make you do things to him? Can you show us on the doll where the ice cream man touched you, Jack?"
He was having the time of his life and while Jack didn't care what he was saying, the fact that he was deliberately trying to trigger him was really making him mad, almost enough to want to confront him. Jack was tempted to. In fact, he was about to. But someone beat him to it.
"What the hell the is wrong with you, Baker?"
Jack knew that voice and turned around to make sure he wasn't hearing things. Shocking as it was, Vince had Curtis with his back against the wall.
"Vince, I was just..."
"You were being a total douchebag is what you were doing. You think that's funny, screwing with someone over something like that?"
Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing. Vince, his bully, was standing up for him?
"What, you think you're impressing anybody with that shit? No one here thinks you're even remotely funny. We all just think you're real pathetic."
Jack looked around and most of the company of other students were looking at Curtis with absolute disgust. Others, however were looking to Jack with sympathy. That's when he realized the rumors Sierra had mentioned. He mentally groaned, knowing that everyone thought he had been abused that way.
Like with Sierra, Jack appreciated being stood up for, but it was putting him back in the spotlight. As ungrateful as it seemed, he just wanted to be out of it. While everyone else was focused on Vince and Curtis, Jack used this chance to slip away into a nearby restroom.
Jack locked himself inside the first stall and sat down to clear his head, seriously considering ditching school again. He heard the door opened and seconds later, heard a knock on his stall.
"Occupied." He said without even raising his head.
"Jack, it's me."
Jack looked up in surprise.
"Sierra?"
He opened the door and saw the worried red head looking at him. He himself was dumbfounded.
"What are you doing? This is the men's room."
"Uuuhhhh, no. This is actually the lady's room you just walked into."
In absolute horror, Jack stepped out of the stall and looked around to see a much cleaner restroom, with no urinals...and a couch against the far wall?
"You guys have a couch? Why do you have a couch?"
"Sometimes, we just need to sit down."
Jack thanked his lucky stars that the bathroom was empty.
"We should probably go, Jack. I don't think the school's goodwill goes this far."
"Agreed."
The two stepped out, hoping no one would notice them leaving together, getting ideas. He had enough rumors surrounding him already.
Sierra walked Jack to his next class. He didn't say much of anything as they walked together. The both of them were too distracted by everyone glancing at the two of them. Jack hoped that Sierra wouldn't get roped into any rumors that were already spreading about him. They stood outside of his classroom, Jack not really wanting to go in just yet.
"So, rumors, huh?" Jack said.
Sierra looked remorsefully at Jack.
"I wish I could say I didn't think they might be true...Did he really..."
"No...Billy Kincaid just wanted to kill me and Cyan. We spent most of the time in the back of his truck while he was being chased by cops. Nothing like that happened."
Of course, Jack wouldn't tell her about Spawn saving him.
"Cyan?" Sierra asked curiously.
"The little girl that was with me."
"Oh...Wow, forgot that there were two survivors. She must go through this every year too, huh?"
"She moved, just like I did. Her school's not small enough that everyone would know who she is."
"Wait...You still talk to her?"
"Online, yeah."
Sierra seemed guarded all of a sudden and Jack was confused as to why.
"Hm...You guys must have a lot to talk about, going through the same stuff and all."
"We try to avoid that topic if we can. She mostly just talks about how boring Peekskill is."
"Still, you two must be close."
"As close as two pen pals can be, at least. Anyway, thanks for walking me to class, Sierra."
"Hey, don't worry about it. I like helping friends out."
Jack was surprised to know that Sierra saw him as a friend. He didn't mind that at all, actually.
"Look, don't let the rumors and all this extra attention get to you, Jack. People have short attention spans anyway. A week, maybe two, some meme or a story gone viral is gonna knock you being kidnapped right off of the front pages. You'll go back to just being..."
"A loser?" Jack joked.
"I was gonna say the guy who beat Vince in a street race and who has a sweet motorcycle...And a hot biker girlfriend."
"That's not-She's not my girlfriend."
"You guy's broke up?" Sierra asked with what sounded like it might have been hope.
"We we're never...nevermind."
"The point is, it'll pass. This'll blow over soon."
"I hope so...I just wish it stayed in the past where it belonged."
"Well, maybe this is the time for you to confront it."
Jack thought of how he tried that and it didn't work, but he understood what Sierra was doing. She was pushing him to move forward. He was beginning to enjoy the attention he was getting from her.
"Anyways, first bell's about to ring. I gotta go."
Sierra gave Jack a smile and touched his arm before departing.
"Thanks again, Sierra."
Sierra looked back, seemingly happy to have been able to help.
"Anytime, Jack."
The first bell rang and Jack worked up the nerve to try and make it through another class, only the second of the day. It was going to be a long one, but Sierra was surprisingly helpful. But he still had too many unanswered questions...and far too many images of Spawn, Chapel, and Amos. Maybe he could ask the 'Bots for help. Maybe Optimus could help him get over this. They already knew about what happened and he knew they were all worried about him. Optimus would help him at the drop of a hat. But then again, there was only so much they could relate to something he'd gone through as a child and he wasn't ready to talk about the previous night in the alley again.
Arcee wailed against the metallic punching bag in the training room with fierceness and quiet aggression. She was determined to keep herself busy until it was time to get Jack. Staying idle gave her time to think and she wasn't comfortable in her own head at the moment.
Arcee stopped to regain her energy and within a second, she was back in the alley. Airachnid was dead, good riddance to that. Arcee didn't even feel sympathy for how she died, horrific as it was. But she wished she hadn't seen it up close. It was hard to forget the sight of Airachnid's frame disintegrating into dust like that. It was also hard to not remember the heat of that demonic green flame that Spawn had engulfed her with. And it was impossible to forget about Spawn himself.
How could Jack possibly have such a fond memory of this...being? The way he was towards him six years later, towards her and Airachnid. Arcee just couldn't picture a guy like that wanting to protect two children. Then again, he had become so ruthless after he learned that Airachnid wanted to hurt Jack. Maybe his apathy towards the outside world was just an act.
But even still, when she thought about how he withstood being impaled and his wound closing up, the sickly green substance that bled out of him, it made her sick. And his face...Primus was that burned into her processors forever. Was Spawn actually a walking dead man? Who could he have been before his death. Arcee thought of the name Jack had mentioned to her, Al Simmons. Was that who he really was?
Arcee's strength had returned and went back at it against the metal bag. She needed to be in top form. Spawn would've wiped the floor with her if they had gone at it for longer than a few seconds. She had to wonder if he was the only one of his kind, if other creatures from this "hell" place she had heard of roamed this planet as he did. She couldn't help but fear that she couldn't protect herself from them. That meant she couldn't protect Jack. She couldn't have that. Protecting Jack was something she took seriously, ever since accepting him as his partner. She'd lost a planet and two partners before him. She couldn't lose him and would stop at nothing to keep that from happening.
Jack was sitting alone during his lunch break. He didn't even bother to take his his boxed tofu that his mother had left him. Disgusting as it was, he just didn't have an appetite. He looked up from the table he didn't realizing he was staring at and saw Rafael and Miko sitting next to him.
"Jeez, you look miserable, Jack." Miko said.
"I'm just a little tired." Jack replied.
Miko and Raf got out their lunches, which like always, looked infinitely more appetizing than what he had. Miko had her own bento box that she had made herself and Raf was enjoying empanadas that must've been leftover from his dinner the night before. Jack made a mental note to have dinner at his house one of these days.
"Jack?" Raf called.
"Yeah, Raf?"
"Those rumors aren't true, are they?"
Of course, they would've heard them. And of course, they would be worried.
"No, Raf, they're not true. Everything that happened was said on the news, nothing more than that."
"So, you weren't molested by that sicko?" Miko asked blatantly.
"Miko." Raf scolded her.
Miko realized her mistake.
"Sorry." She sheepishly followed.
"No, that didn't happen, Miko."
"Oh...okay, good." She said.
"We're really glad to hear that."
They three sat in uncomfortable silence, but Jack preferred it to an uncomfortable conversation. But, Miko didn't feel the same way.
"How come you never told us, Jack?"
Raf looked to Miko with an expression that begged her not to say anything else.
"Come on, Miko. Jack doesn't want to talk about it."
Miko sighed, but she didn't let up.
"Look...I know I'm not the the best person to wanna open up to. And I know I'm bad at reading signals and don't really respect people's privacy or give them space or whatever. But we're your friends, Jack. I mean, when something's eating you up, you go to your friends for help, right? That's what they're there for. If you were dealing with this, we would've done everything we could to help you because we know you'd do the same for us."
Jack did feel bad about keeping them in the dark about it all, but he had his reasons.
"I know that, Miko. You guys are my friends...and it means a lot that you care about me like this. But, I just didn't want to talk about it. I was ten when it happened and I went through the fallout all through middle school, until we moved to Jasper. I got over it. There was really no reason to go back."
"So, why did you?" Miko followed. "You went back to the alleys. It must've not been as behind you as you thought. Why didn't you ask us to come with you?"
Jack's face became serious.
"No, there was no way I would've let you go there."
"Why, not? Whatever happened, we could've had your back. We're a team, Jack. We can do anything together."
"Not this." Jack very nearly shouted.
He stopped and made sure he hadn't caught the cafeteria's attention. He took a deep breath and explained.
"Miko...There was nothing there you or anyone else could've helped me with. Nothing good would've come out of it. Not even the Autobots could've helped me. I shouldn't have gone back there in the first place."
Now, Jack was back in the alley with the shooting, the explosions, the screaming, and Chapel begging for his help. He didn't realize how disturbed he looked as he thought about it.
"Jack, what happened?" Miko asked with very audible worry.
"...It doesn't matter. I just want to forget that night happened."
"But, Jack..."
"Miko." Raf interrupted. "Leave it alone."
Miko didn't huff or act like a child. She just looked at Jack with strong concern. She wanted to help him, she really did. She felt like a bad friend by not being able to. Jack sat back in his chair, deep in his thoughts, having seemingly forgotten about his two friends. Rafael didn't know what happened in those alley's either. But he did know about the alleys history, so he had a bit of an idea of what Jack might've seen. There was really nothing either of them can do except wait and keep an eye on him. If things got worse, they would have to go to Optimus. If anyone could help Jack, it was him.
The day was over and Arcee was more than ready to spend some time with her partner, short as it would be. It had been a long day for the both of them. The human Autobot trio walked out of the school together, but Arcee could see that Jack was distant from the other two. He walked up to her, seemingly on auto-pilot.
"Hey, Partner. How was your day?"
"Long."
"Yeah...Same here. K.O.?"
"No...Let's just go to base."
Jack answered without even thinking about it.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Jack. You're gonna end up getting fired."
"I...I don't care."
That shocked Arcee. Jack not caring about his responsibilities, helping his mother? He was worse than she thought.
"Jack, what's wrong? What happened today?"
Jack was about to say something, but Vince came up behind him and got his attention. Arcee was in no mood to watch this glitch spawn bully Jack, especially with all they were both dealing with. But to her surprise, he didn't seem to bear any ill-will towards him.
"Hey, man. If Curtis gives you any more shit, come find me. I've got your back."
Jack seemed appreciative, but not very happy.
"Thanks, Vince."
Vince nodded and left Jack alone.
"What was that about?" Arcee asked.
"That was actually one of the better things that happened today."
"And who's Curtis?"
"An ass."
Arcee didn't press further, knowing Jack didn't want to talk about his day. They all headed off to base, but the ride was super quiet on both ends. Neither Jack nor Arcee seemed willing to talk. When they got to Omega One, Jack dismounted Arcee and they stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
"So...what do you wanna do today, Jack?" Arcee asked.
"I don't know...What do you wanna do?"
"We could take another ride since you're not working today."
Jack didn't seem up for it.
"Actually, I think I'm just gonna walk around the base for a little while."
"Oh...okay. Well, I'll be here if you need me."
"Yeah...thanks."
Jack left Arcee alone as she watched him leave into the corridor. Bumblebee saw their exchange and walked up to her.
"Everything good with you two?"
Arcee turned her attention to Bumblebee.
"Yeah, just...stuff. I'm gonna hit the training room if anyone needs me."
Arcee left the main hall with the same walled off demeanor as Jack. Both Optimus and Ratchet noticed it right away. Optimus was about to follow Arcee to get to the bottom of it, but Ratchet stopped him.
"Let me, Optimus. I think I know what this is about."
Ratchet followed Arcee's path, knowing that it was about her encounter yesterday with Airachnid and "The Sad Man".
Ratchet walked into the training room, where Arcee was once again burning energy on the unlucky punching bag set up for the team.
"You've been in here all day."
Arcee stopped and looked back at Ratchet.
"You're either working out some aggression or you're trying to get your mind off something." He continued.
"I'm just...staying on top of my form."
"Because of last night?"
Arcee was about to continue her training, but lost the energy at the mention of the night before.
"You were pretty shaken up. Don't suppose you wish to talk about it."
Arcee didn't answer. She sat down against the wall, sipping from a small cube of energon. Ratchet walked up beside her.
"Jack doesn't seem to be doing great either. This 'Spawn' character has you both on edge."
"Yes...he does. But I hope, for Jack's sake, he didn't see what I saw yesterday. He told me what happened...I'm just hoping he didn't leave some of it out to not worry me."
"Jack doesn't deal in half truths. He either tells you everything or nothing."
"I guess you're right."
"What's going on, Arcee? What's eating you up like this?"
Arcee sighed and stood up.
"I'm Jack's guardian, meaning I'm supposed to protect him. If he's going through something bad, I'm the one who's supposed to help him through it. I'm supposed to the set the example. He went back to those alleys when he shouldn't have and now, he's all messed up for it. What did I do? I went to those alleys the very next night and now, I'm all turned around too. I can't help him anymore than I can help myself and the worst part, I have nothing to show for doing something that stupid. I'm supposed to help him learn from his mistakes, not repeat them."
"Arcee, you did what you thought was necessary to help him. I allowed you to go because I thought you would find something that would ease his worry."
"It doesn't matter, Ratchet. I'm back to square one. Not even that, I'm at negative square one. I just...I don't know what to do."
"What exactly happened, Arcee? What did you see when you went to those alleys?"
Arcee's face became cold as she remembered what she saw.
"I saw the Hellspawn...and I saw what he could do."
Ratchet watched her closely, taking in her dark and disturbed expression.
"But he offlined Airachnid...I would think you'd be happy about that."
"Yeah, I would. But, the way it happened..."
"Arcee?"
"Ratchet...Spawn isn't like anything we've ever seen. His strength, his power...his very existence, it defies logic."
Arcee didn't want to elaborate. She had no real desire to revisit the events of last night.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know, Ratchet...All I know is that what I saw is gonna stay with me until the day my spark goes out. I'll never be able to forget it...no matter how much I want to."
Ratchet understood that Arcee wasn't ready to tell him the details of her mission. For the moment, he let her be.
"Arcee, you're one of the strongest individuals I know. If what happened last night has you this shaken up, I can only imagine how bad it was. I won't push you into talking about it just yet. I wish I could help you and Jack, but I'll leave it in your servos for now."
"Thanks, Ratchet."
"However, I can only do that until I see it affecting your behavior out there in the battlefield. If that happens, you know you'll be a danger to yourself, the team, and of course, Jackson. If it comes to that, I'm sorry, but I'll have to step in...and that means bringing Optimus into this."
"I...I know that, Ratchet. I can keep my head out there, I promise. I just need a little time to come to grips with things. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out another way to help Jack. He's my priority."
"I understand. Just remember what I said."
Arcee nodded and stood back up, going back to her routine with the metal bag. Ratchet watched her for a few seconds and left her to it. Arcee struck at the bag with focused punches. Jack was her first priority. Her own problems would have to come later. But in truth, Jack's troubles was her way of distracting her from her own. Despite being a veteran, even with all that she'd seen, last night was never going to leave her. She was haunted by what Spawn could do to a femme like Airachnid. And of all his supernatural abilities, the green fire stuck with her the most. She could still see the sinister glow of the green flame and Airachnid's frame disintegrating inside of it. The only thing that topped that was watching Tailgate be decapitated and even that was just barely in first place.
"What the frag are you Spawn?" She asked.
Jack had just come back from the deeper parts of the silo, some of which he wasn't sure even the Autobots had found yet. He had just gotten off the phone with his boss who threatened him with termination if he was a no-show again. Jack responded appropriately, but he truly didn't care about that. Work was the last thing on his mind. Even his crappy day at school was forgotten. The walk through the corridors did nothing but give Jack more time to think up more questions.
The teen was sorely tempted to ask Rafael to hack into government files to find out what he could about Al Simmons. But even though Raf had claimed to have hacked them before, he didn't want to put the kid at risk by having him hack CIA files, which he was sure by this point Al Simmons was connected to. He also didn't want to worry him more than he was already.
Jack needed to get somewhere on this hunt of his before he went crazy or drove someone else crazy. He began making his way back to the main hall, hoping no one would wonder where he had been. When he reached the end of the hallway, he heard the voice of none other than Agent Fowler...and that gave him an idea.
"All I'm saying, Prime, is that the 'Cons have been quiet lately and frankly, my superiors are getting nervous."
"I understand your concern, Agent Fowler and I share your suspicions. But the Nemesis is beyond our reach. We can only be prepared for when they make their next move, whatever that may be."
"I don't like it one bit, Optimus, but I trust you. But I need you to keep your eyes open. That bit of business with Buckethead and his 'zombie army' still keeps me up at night."
"Rest assured, we will not allow such a crisis to befall this planet."
"That's all I need to know, Prime."
Fowler was about to leave but was surprised to see Jack standing near-by.
"Whoa...Where'd you come from, son?"
"Sorry, Agent Fowler, but do you have a minute? I need your help with something."
Fowler was a bit confused, as none of the children had ever asked him for help on anything. If anything, they had helped him far more times.
"Sure, Jack. What can I do for you?"
Jack motioned Fowler back to the couch. Miko wasn't anywhere nearby and Raf was on his laptop at the top of the stairs.
"So, I'm doing a book report on American heroes and legends for my history class. Everyone's going for the easy stuff, Washington, Lincoln, Dr. King, Stonewall. I wanted to do one on a more recent hero."
"Alright, I'm with you so far. Have anyone in mind?"
"Well, I read about this guy who took a bullet for the President and figured he'd be as good a hero as the legends were, but I can't really find much information about him outside of saving the president. His name was Al Simmons."
Fowler looked at Jack in surprise and perhaps a little caution. Jack caught on to it.
"Al Simmons, huh? Yeah, that one definitely counts as a hero alright."
"So, you know him? I figured you might, being in the government for a long time."
Fowler pondered for a moment.
"I know of him, but I can't say I know the man personally."
Jack deflated a bit.
"Simmons was a legend during his time, tends to happen when you jump in front of a bullet for the country's leader. Me and him met in passing a few times, but I never spoke with him in any real length. I mostly knew of him through reputation."
"And what did you hear?"
"Well, before his time in the secret service, Al Simmons was one hell of a soldier. Said to be one the best the Corps had ever seen. Guy moved up the ranks pretty fast, making it all the way to LT. Colonel."
All things Jack had already knew.
"I used to joke that he was the black Captain America, others called him the black Rambo."
Nothing of any real use there.
"Yeah, he had a reputation, alright. We all respected him, especially after saving the President's life. But after that, he got recruited by the CIA right away. Once that happened, we stopped hearing the stories."
"The CIA?"
"Yeah, those guys, the black marker company. Sharpies and paper shredders are as essential to their operations as guns and bullets. Whatever Simmons did for them, it was all top secret. And you know some of the dirty business the CIA gets involved with."
Jack could see the suspicion in Fowler's face.
"Truth be told, I don't like think about it. Simmons earned his hero status and once he died, that became his legacy. I'd rather not know what he might've done for the CIA and tarnish the man's memory."
While Fowler may not have provided much info, he did make Jack realize why his information was so scarce on the internet and why it just stopped after a certain point.
"Sorry, kid. Wish I could be of more help."
"That's fine, Agent Fowler. You've given enough."
"Well, I hope this gets you a good grade. See around, Jack."
"Thanks, Fowler."
Fowler left through the elevator and Jack had a moment to think. Now, he knew what Al Simmons did before he died and he was certain that the CIA had something to do with his murder. He thought about what Chapel had said to Spawn. He mentioned the name Wynn.
"Wynn." Jack said.
But that was just a name and Jack didn't even know if it was a first name or last. Nonetheless, he believed that this Wynn too worked for the CIA and that they ordered the assassination on Al Simmons.
"And they sent his own partner after him." Jack said himself.
That was part of the mystery solved, at least, but still far more to go. The biggest question Jack had most of all was how he came back. If he really is Al Simmons, who died a long time ago, how did he return as Hellspawn?
Fowler left the base in his VTOL aircraft, unaware of the two intruders hiding in the shadows. Airachnid and Clown stepped out into the sunlight. Clown shielded his eyes from the Nevada sun.
"This is why I work in the city. I fuckin' hate the sun."
Airachnid paid him no mind, staring at the ground beneath her, knowing her prey was waiting below.
"He's there."
Clown smiled, pleased with the new Hellspawn's blood lust.
"Yeah, he is, darlin'. And he's waiting for ya."
"He's not alone. There are other humans...and others like me."
"Ain't none of them like you, spider-girl, and ain't none of them can stop ya'. When you get down there, you slaughter every one of them that gets between you and the kid."
Airachnid continued to stare at the ground.
"When you get to him, don't finish it right off the bat. I want you to play with him."
Airachnid looked at Clown, wanting to know what he meant.
"Do it slow, take ya' time. Hurt'em, torture'em, violate him. I want you to defile his very soul. You take'em out quick, he goes straight to heaven and those feathery bastards get what they want. But if you get under the boys skin, make'em hate ya', you taint his soul forever. I want you to break his spirit."
Airachnid was smiling now, eager to get started.
"In fact, kill his friends first. Make'em watch. Show him what true despair means. Once that's done, that light that's been pissing me off about him goes out and he's just another soul for Heaven's fodder. Hell, if you corrupt'em hard enough, he could be one of ours."
Airachnid flexed her claws.
"I'll make him bleed, clown man. I'll make sure he never forgets me."
"Attagirl, and most importantly, have fun."
"I will." She said in breathless voice.
"Well don't keep lover boy waitin', sister. Go show'em some love."
Airachnid forced the elevator doors open and looked down into the dark shaft. She licked her lips in lustful excitement.
"Here I come, my Jack." She said lowly.
Airachnid descended into the shaft, seemingly becoming one with the darkness. Clown followed behind her, though not nearly as gracefully.
Arcee walked up to the platform and met up with Jackson, who was alone on the couch. He was still distancing himself from Rafael and Miko. Arcee walked up behind him, looking at his back with affection. If any good came out of this whole ordeal is that she remembered just how much she cared about Jackson. Learning what she had these past few days, including a close encounter with death and almost never having met him, she really appreciated his presence. She still felt she owed a lot to him for being her anchor through the hard times, beginning with Cliffjumper's death.
She reach out with her digit and affectionately ran it behind his ear. Of course, Jack jumped forward and looked behind him with a bit of panic. Arcee wasn't expecting that reaction, but with what she encountered last night, she understood more than anyone else at base.
"Arcee." Jack said in surprise with a little embarrassed.
Arcee looked back at him with a small smile.
"Hey, Partner."
"Hey...what's up?"
Arcee motioned his to follow her and they walked over to the far wall. Arcee sat down and left space for Jack to sit against he chassis. Clearly being unsure of Arcee's sudden affectionate behavior, Jack slowly did what Arcee wanted and sat against her. When she held him close, she could feel him tense up. This was probably the closest he had even been with another female, besides his mother.
"Arcee, what's gotten into you?" He asked.
"Nothing, Jack...I'm just glad I have you, that's all."
Jack's tension disappeared and he lifted his head to look up at Arcee.
"I'm glad too, but...What's going on?"
Arcee decided that she should at least be straight with her partner about everything. After all, he did fess up to what happened when he went back to Rat City.
"I heard you and Fowler talking earlier. You were asking him about Al Simmons."
"Oh...yeah. I just thought he might have some answers."
"You...you really need those answers, don't you?"
Jack sighed in what was clear exhaustion. He was dealing with a lot these days, ever since the night he went back.
"If I had just stayed away, maybe I wouldn't. I don't know if I'll ever get past this."
Arcee knew the feeling. But she couldn't let Jack lose hope that he would stay this way forever.
"Jack, listen. There's something I need to tell you."
Jack looked up again, seeing the reluctance in Arcee's optics.
"Last night, me and Ratchet..."
Arcee was interrupted by the proximity alarm. Every looked up at the elevator entrance expecting the see Fowler.
"Did Fowler forget something?"
June's Crown Victoria pulled into the tunnel entrance and she stepped out.
"Mom?" Jack said as he came down the steps with Arcee following through the Autobot ramp.
"Hey, sweety." June called.
"Hey...What are you doing here?"
June's face became a little less happy.
"I...I got a call from your school and your job."
Jack looked nervous all of a sudden as he knew what this meant.
"Mom, I can explain."
Arcee was about to intervene and defend her partner, but June held her hand up to stop the both of them.
"It's alright, Jack. I think I know what this is about."
"You do?"
June sighed, looking a bit stressed herself.
"Yeah, people have been asking about you at work, asking if my son is alright. I guess everyone knows the truth now."
Jack was a bit annoyed that this whole thing even got to his mother, but he was relieved that understood.
"You've been acting strange since that day of the anniversary. I'm guessing things have been pretty rough for you in school."
Jack shouldn't have been surprised. No one knew him better than his mother and she was the master at picking up when something was wrong. Who else would he have gotten it from?
"When we get home, I think we..." June turned to Arcee. "As in the three of us, should talk about it. Don't worry, Jack. I'm not angry."
Jack sighed in relief and didn't fight when his mother walked up and hugged him. She held him tightly and released him after a few seconds.
"But no more skipping school, okay?"
"Right, Mom."
Jack was, however, nervous about talking to his mother later, because that meant he was either going to have to tell her the truth about going back to Rat City, or lie to her. Neither seemed like a good idea.
The proximity alarm went off again and everyone turned to Ratchet.
"What the...What's wrong with this thing?" He asked himself.
"Is it Fowler this time?" Miko asked.
"I don't know. I don't see his aircraft."
The sounds of metal doors being pryed opened was heard throughout the main hall and every looked to see what was going on.
"What's that?" Rafael asked in alarm.
"Something's trying to get in." Ratchet answered as he stepped back.
Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee armed their weapons, melee for Bulkhead and Arcee, and stood in front of the humans for their protection. Whatever was coming through those doors was going to have to get through them first.
The doors finally opened and Arcee heard some familiar tapping sounds. She pushed the thought away as quickly as it came. It couldn't have been her, that'd be impossible.
"Jaaaacccckkkk, where are you?" a disturbingly soft voice called.
Those who knew it, recognized it. But for Ratchet and Arcee, it didn't sink in until she appeared at the rails in her spider form.
"Is my Jack home? I'd really like for him to come play with me?"
While June and Jack looked up in fear, both Ratchet and Arcee were utterly horrified.
"What...how?" Arcee asked in a low voice.
Airachnid stood where she was, scanning the area. She looked different, drastically different. Her frame was dull, faded. It looked like she didn't have a spark of energon flowing through her. Her voice was different. She didn't sound as vicious, or even the slightest bit confident. But what was most off about her was her optics. No longer were they bright violet, but a sickly and dim green. She looked like an offlined frame if Arcee had to compare her to something.
"Where are you, Jack? Please, don't hide from me."
Why was she talking like that, almost like a sparkling? She hopped down from the platform and landed in front of the console. Arcee looked to Bulkhead who gave the human's enough cover to run behind the wall by the corridor unnoticed.
Airachnid stepped forward, but Arcee blocked her path. Airachnid didn't look at her with a shred of hostility or sadism. She looked more curious than anything.
"I know you." She said
Arcee didn't know how to respond to that. This was beyond confusing.
"How are you still alive?" Arcee demanded to know.
Airachnid tilted her helm in puzzlement.
"I saw you die. I saw you get ripped apart by..."
Arcee stopped herself. Jack and June were listening and now was not the time to reveal secrets.
"We're not friends, are we?" Airachnid asked.
Again, she was acting completely different from how she normally did. Her face suddenly became angrier.
"You're hiding my Jack from me. I don't think I like you."
Suddenly, her optics started to glow and Arcee felt a familiar fear in her.
"I think I remember you, now. Yes, I remember...I remember that I hate you!"
Moving faster than she ever could, Airachnid jumped and spun around, whacking Arcee to the ground with her legs. Airachnid hissed at her and was ready to pounce, but was forced back by several blasts from Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen. She was backed into the console, where they held their fire, not wanting to damage the ground bridge controls.
Airachnid hissed at the three of them and leapt forward into the one in the center, Bulkhead. Any other time, Bulkhead would've been able to withstand the weight of Airachnid's smaller frame. But he felt that she was stronger and she knocked him down and pinned him to the ground. Airachnid bare her fangs, a strong desire to bleed the Autobot's lines stirring inside of her.
Bumblebee came up behind her and attempted to pull her off of Bulkhead, but she resisted and was too strong for him. Smokescreen ran up to help him and the two of them managed to pull her off, but they could not control her as she flailed her limbs, nearly throwing them off as she did. Bulkhead got clear of the unusually strong and uncharacteristically aggressive femme while Arcee moved around to where she would be in front of her. When she got a clear shot at her, Arcee ran up and jumped kicked Airachnid right out of her two teammate's grasps and back into the console.
Arcee didn't let up, either. She ran up and began throwing punches and kicks as hard as she could into the intruder, while Airachnid could only continue to be caught off guard by Arcee's assault. Clown had slipped up into the upper platforms and watched the battle unfold beneath him. He was less than impressed with the new Hellspawn.
"C'mon, you damned rookie. You're a fffuckin' Hellspawn, for cryin' out loud. End that blue bitch."
Clown turned his sights to Jack Darby, who watched behind the wall with the others.
"And kill that annoyin' little good boy already."
Arcee kicked Airachnid in the helm and knocked her into the wall next to the console. Airachnid did not fall to the floor, but she was forced to support herself against the wall. She picked herself up and looked at Arcee, who stood there in her fighting stance.
Arcee armed her blades and was confident she could end it all, right there. But when Airachnid stood up, she saw that her frame didn't have a single scratch or dent, not even a bit of energon from her lips. Airachnid didn't even look hurt or weakened. It was as if Arcee hadn't even touched her. Arcee, meanwhile, was a bit winded from the assault and knew she didn't have too many more like it in her. Something wasn't right here. Airachnid was stronger, faster, and more durable. Between all that and her changed appearance, something had happened to her.
"I think I was mistaken." Airachnid said.
Arcee looked confused. She began to wonder why Airachnid was behaving the way she did, acting as if she didn't remember anyone.
"I'm not sure that I ever actually hated you. I certainly didn't like you...but I believed I enjoyed you."
Arcee felt uncomfortable by the implication.
"Yes...I used to play with you often."
Airachnid smiled, almost perversely.
"You amused me. I enjoyed...hurting you, tormenting you...killing those close to you."
As if she remembered something, Airachnid smirked joyously for no real reason.
"Tailgate...why does that name make me happy?"
Arcee bared her denta and attacked Airachnid head on with her blade. But the femme caught it with her bare servo. She smugly smiled and smacked Arcee off to the side with her one of her leg. Arcee fell in front on the humans, who had gone into the hallway, and knew she couldn't let Airachnid see them.
Airachnid pounced at her, but Arcee reacted quick enough was able to counter her to her side, opposite of the kids. Arcee moved quickly, not giving Airachnid the chance to recover and see the kids, and went to punch Airachnid back out of view. But without even looking, Airachnid blocked her punch, twisted her arm, and from under the elbow, painfully forced it upwards. Arcee felt some of her wires tear.
A clawed servo went around her neck and Arcee thought that it was over, but Airachnid stopped suddenly. Arcee saw her face and was shocked to see her...shocked. Airachnid suddenly threw Arcee back to the side and focused on the humans, singling Jack out among them.
"Jack." She said with a very happy, excited even, expression.
"Run!" June cried she pushed the children into hallway, before following behind them.
"Wait!" Airachnid cried as they fled.
Airachnid shot a line of web at the top of the hallway entrance and pulled herself into it. She ran along the ceiling and landed in front of the group, stopping them dead.
"Where are you going?" Airachnid asked.
The terrified group of humans didn't register the way Airachnid was behaving. She looked at them, or rather Jack, with genuine happiness.
"Jack, I've found you."
Instinctively, June stood in front of her son, visibly terrified. But Airachnid seemed happy to see her as well. She even gasped when she noticed her.
"June, you're here too."
June realized how strange Airachnid was acting right away, but didn't let her guard down.
"And you've brought friends."
Miko and Raf got behind June and Jack, knowing full well how sadistic Airachnid was.
"I've been looking for you, Jack. I've come a long way to find you...Now, we can have fun together."
But Airachnid's borderline affectionate expression changed to the one Jack was familiar with, one of sadism.
"Now, we can finish our hunt."
An energon blast shot Airachnid in the face and they turned to see Optimus standing by the entrance. He moved aside and turned his optics to the humans.
"Go, now." He ordered.
The humans wasted no time. Airachnid recovered and saw them fleeing.
"No!" She cried out, as if she actually cared about them.
"Airachnid, you do not belong here." Optimus stated.
Airachnid focused on Optimus and her expression became angrier.
"I know I hate you...Optimus Prime."
Airachnid fired her webbing at Optimus, encasing him instantly, and them rushed him with enough force to knock him over. She saw Bumblebee's alt attempting to leave with the humans, but quickly shot her webs at the entrance.
In another unusual display, her webbing was thick enough to block the entrance and stop bring Bumblebee to stop, as he became stuck within it.
Airachnid took her bipedal form and walked over Optimus.
"Don't run away from me, Jack!" She said in anger.
Again, this isn't how she acted when her prey fled. What was going on with her? She stepped forward, towards Bumblebee and the children, who had exited his alt. Arcee, Bulkhead, Smokescreen, and Ratchet stood in front of them protectively and Airachnid stopped and looked annoyed.
"I'm going to rip all of you to pieces for standing between me and my Jack."
Before any of them could say anything, Optimus came up behind her and ran his wrist blade right through her.
"You will not harm them, Airachnid." He said coldly.
No one threatened the humans, especially June, not when Optimus was around. But then, Optimus noticed something very wrong with what was happening, as did everyone else.
Airachnid's energon, her lifeblood, it wasn't blue. It was green, illuminated, and much thicker than energon. Everyone mentally stepped back by what they were seeing, except for Jack and Arcee. Neither of them could believe it. They knew what her blood looked like and wouldn't let themselves believe it was what they thought it was.
Airachnid turned her head to look at Optimus. Angry, but not in any pain.
"That was rude, Optimus." She said.
Airachnid spun around, ripping her frame though Optimus sword, and drove two of her legs into his shoulders and forced him to the ground. She loomed over him with an annoyed expression. The Autobots moved to help their leader, but they saw the wound inflicted by Optimus, made worse by Airachnid herself. And then, it started to heal.
Before their optics, what should have been a damaging injury began closing up and disappearing altogether. The green substance was absorbed back inside of her and the wound vanished. None of the Autobots could fathom what they just saw. Jack and Arcee were speechless.
"It can't be." Jack said in shock.
Arcee couldn't even manage a sentence. Airachnid looked back at the others, focusing on Jack behind them.
"Watch closely, Jack. I don't want you to miss a thing."
She raised her legs and was ready to impale Optimus. Bumblebee acted first, blasting at her with both weapons. Airachnid moved quicker than he, though. She pulled Optimus up with her legs legs she struck him with and moved him in front of her, making him her shield.
Bumblebee ceased fire immediately, allowing Airachnid to kick the Prime into the others, far stronger than she had been before. Bulkhead caught him, leaving Smokescreen and Bumblebee to fire at her again. Arcee was too in shock to take action.
They raised their blasters, but Airachnid was already waiting with her palms open. When she fired her blasts into Smokescreen and Bumblebee, they were as green as her blood, looking more like balls of fire than blasts of energon. And when they hit the scout and new Autobot, the damage they inflicted was that of a pair of smaller fusion cannons. Four blast bombarded Smokescreen and Bumblebee, leaving them smoking and locked in stasis.
"Bee!" Raf cried.
Airachnid stopped and looked at her palm blasters in surprise. She clearly did not expect such a powerful output. She smiled at her new found strength and approached the others, but Bulkhead ran forward and managed to tackle Airachnid, going around her and putting her into a full nelson.
"Yeah, get her, Bulk!" Miko shouted.
"That's enough, Airachnid! Leave'em alone!" Bulkhead shouted.
Airachnid didn't struggle. She merely stretched out her spider limbs, and in a shocking display, contorted them backwards, as if she were double jointed. Airachnid continued to shock everyone, as this seemed like it should've hurt her. She merely smirked as she positioned her legs behind Bulkhead and dug all eight of them into his back. Bulkhead growled in intense pain and was forced to let Airachnid go. Once free, she removed her legs and turned around and kicked him back with her heeled servo.
Bulkhead did not hit the ground and, despite his injuries, went to rush back at Airachnid. He was stopped dead in his tracks with another green blast from her palm to his chassis. He dropped to the floor in stasis lock.
"Bulkhead!" Miko cried out.
Airachnid turned to face Arcee, but was met with Optimus' sword to her face, slicing her from above her optic to her chin. Optimus did not stop there. He continued to slash at her frame rapidly, cutting her with each swipe. Airachnid didn't seem to care to dodge. Optimus saw his opening and drove his blade directly into her spark chamber, which should've killed her.
Airachnid looked down at Optimus' blade, then back up at him, with little more than an annoyed look.
"Honestly." She said.
With only a shove, she pushed Optimus back, pulling his blade from her chassis. Wasting no time, two of Airachnid's legs come from beneath Optimus and pierced his sides. The Prime grunted painfully, knowing that when Airachnid pulled her legs, he would bleed energon heavily. She stepped closer to him until this was very close. He watched as all of her wounds healed on their own. With a complete lack of interest, Airachnid lifted Optimus up and held him above her with her legs. Energon dripped on her face as he Prime stared down at her with a hostile, but pained glare. Energon was coming out the side of his mouth.
"Airachnid!"
Airachnid looked forward and saw Arcee raising her blaster.
"Put him down!"
Airachnid tossed Optimus aside as if he was weightless and he landed roughly by the console. Ratchet ran to his side, hoping to stop his energon flow. Airachnid stood across from Arcee, who held her ground. But she hid the fear she felt very well. She had already figured out what was going on, as did Jack.
"How?" Arcee asked.
"How what?" Airachnid asked back.
"How have you come back?"
"Come back?"
Arcee had to struggle to keep her arm from shaking, she was so scared. Spawn scared her. Airachnid having the same kind of power scared her even more.
"I saw him rip you apart."
"Who?" Airachnid asked with genuine intrigue.
Arcee knew that Jack was listening, but they both needed answers and there was no point in hiding the truth.
"Spawn."
Jack's eyes widened when Arcee said the name. June, Miko, and Rafael noticed this.
"What?" He asked himself, but loudly.
"Jack?" June called to him.
But Jack was too focused on Arcee and Airachnid.
"Spawn...I don't know that name...My mind is...scrambled." Airachnid said.
Arcee remembered the details of that night, of how Airachnid was disintegrated into nothing.
"He wore a red cloak...and a mask."
With those two characteristics, Jack took an uneasy step back.
"What's going on, Jack?" Miko asked him.
"He bore chains and spikes and his eyes were as green as yours. You saw him without his mask. You saw his face." Arcee continued.
Airachnid stopped to think herself and it soon came back to her. For a split second, Arcee saw fear in her optics. But it quickly turned to anger.
"I remember...That human...He...He tore me limb from limb."
Airachnid clenched her servos and she remembered the pain of that night and then looked back to Arcee.
"You were there. You watched it happen."
"I did...I watched you die."
And with that, Jack got the answer he was looking for. Airachnid, who had the same powers as Spawn, she had died according to Arcee. Ignoring the question of when this happened, Jack thought about Spawn, of Al Simmons. Al was killed in the line of duty and Spawn claimed to be him back from the dead.
"He really is dead." Jack said.
"What are you talkin' about, Jack?" Miko asked.
June walked up to her son.
"Who's dead?"
Jack was still trying to process this information.
"The Sad Man."
Miko and Rafael didn't understand what Jack meant, but June did. But what did he have to do with any of this?
"Spawn scorched your remains until their was nothing left. How have you come back? How did you come back like him?"
But Airachnid didn't have the answers either. The Clown man didn't tell her anything other than who she was meant to kill. Said Clown was growing impatient above the rails.
"C'mon, C'mon. Just kill the bitch and finish the job. This is supposed to be a massacre, not a goddamn recap."
"Why are you here, Airachnid?" Arcee asked.
Airachnid looked confused and lost in her own head for a few moments, but eventually she collected herself.
"I'm here because...I made a deal. I came back..."
Airachnid looked behind Arcee and saw who she was there for.
"For Jack."
She suddenly took her spider form and rushed forward, shrugging off blasts from Arcee. Arcee tried to step back as she fired, but was run down by Airachnid and pounced on. Airachnid grabbed her by the throat with both hands, lifted her up, and slammed her into the ground behind her. She jumped on top of her and began clawing a Arcee's face, cutting her up badly.
"Stop!"
Airachnid did just that when she heard Jack's voice. She turned to face him and removed herself from Arcee.
"Jack, no!" June cried as she and the others ran over to stop Jack.
Instinctively, Airachnid shot webs at them, pinning them all to the wall. Arcee tried to get up, but she too was encased in webbing and left immobile on the floor. With them out of the way, Airachnid became bipedal and approached Jack. But unlike their last two encounters, she seemed different. She didn't look like she wanted to kill him but rather, she had longed to see him.
"Jack."
"Airachnid."
She was smiling at him...affectionately? Clown was not amused by this.
"Oh, fuck. This is bad. Aw, damn puppy love runs deeper than we thought, boss. Ah, this is gonna be a problem."
"I came back...I came back for you."
"I don't understand."
"I...I think I died...But I made deal. I don't remember, but I wanted to come back."
Airachnid knelt in front of Jack and reached out to touch him. Jack flinched when she did, but he didn't run away. He was afraid, but Airachnid wasn't acting threatening towards him and he needed to keep her that way.
"I needed to see you again."
Jack drew shaky breathe and swallowed nervously when she stroked his face. He had no idea what was happening.
"You don't wanna hurt me?" He asked.
Airachnid didn't seem to know the answer to that herself.
"Let them go. Let my Mom and my friends go and we can figure out where to go from there."
Airachnid thought for a few seconds, but then her face changed and Jack recognized it right away.
"I do want to hurt you."
Before Jack could do anything, she trapped him in a web cocoon and let him fall to the ground. She loomed over him in her spider form.
"I want to kill you, Jack...Very, very, slowly."
She ran her claw down his face and looked at him with what appeared to be pure lust.
"But first, I have to break you...That means, I have to kill everyone you love."
Jack became horrified as Airachnid lifted him up and brought him with her to the console. Optimus attempted to stand up with his injuries, but he and Ratchet were both caught by her web lines and subdued.
She climbed up on to of the console and stuck Jack to the side of the upper platform.
"Watch closely, Jack, and don't look away. I like knowing you're watching me."
"Airachnid, please." Jack pleaded.
Airachnid brought herself uncomfortably close to Jack's face.
"I love it when you beg, Jack. Do it again, for me, please?"
"I'll do whatever you want, just let them go."
"Mm...No, I won't. Before I kill you, I have to kill them. Sorry, Jack, orders."
"Who's orders?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is you sit back and enjoy what happens next."
Airachnid actually kissed Jack on the cheek and stroked his hair before she turned away. The teen watched in horror as she prepared to kill his whole family.
"Now, who to slaughter first...Oh, I know."
Airachnid turned to Arcee and Jack began to panic.
"Arcee, get up!" He cried.
"For some reason." Airachnid began. "I feel as if this has been a long time coming."
Now, Clown was at the edge of his seat. It was finally getting to the good part.
"Kill them. Kill them. Hehe, Kill them." He said, savagely.
Airachnid began walking towards Arcee, readying her claws and licking her lips. Arcee helplessly watched as she remained powerless to break free of Airachnid's webs. She feared what was to come. If she was the same as Spawn, that meant she had his powers. The thought of what she could do to the others filled Arcee with dread.
But then, a faint sound was heard in the distance. Everyone stopped to listen, even Clown. It was hard to determine what it was, until it became louder. It sounded like an angelic choir holding a single note. As it grew even louder, it began to sound as if a thousand voices were singing together.
Clown knew what the sound was.
"Oh, no. It fuckin' can't be." He nervously said.
Without warning, a pillar of fire erupted from the top of the messa and slammed into the ground, right on top of the Autobot sigil in the center of the base. The thousand voiced became millions and was so loud, it actually caused pain to everyone at the base. Both Clown and Airachnid were especially affected. Only Jack seemed immune to the sound.
He couldn't take his eyes off of the flaming beam of light, as flares violent whipped and snaked around it. The fire was golden and was almost too bright to look at for very long. As quickly as it appeared, the fire snuffed out, taking the sound with it. Kneeling in the center of a circle of angelic runes and symbols, now burning into the ground, was another mysterious being.
It stood tall to show his appearance and Clown was downright panicked to see who it was.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, you can't be fuckin' serious."
At first, Jack and Arcee thought it was another Hellspawn. That's what he looked like when he stood up. But his appearance, while extremely similar, was different in many ways. Like the Hellspawn, he too bore a mask and cloak with a suit that seemed almost a part of his body. Only his suit was a dark shade of gray, rather than black and bore a large, white cross rather than two arches. His cloak was not as massive and was purple instead of blood red. Crosses pinned his cape to to his shoulders as opposed to skull pendants. He also wore gold chains from his belt that bore a cross of the crusades. Even his mask bore a gold cross and didn't have any eyes, glowing or otherwise, to see from. If Spawn was from Hell, he must've been Heaven's counterpart.
"A fuckin' Redeemer?!" Clowns questioned. "This ain't good."
The Redeemer put his attention on Airachnid, the Cybertronian Hellspawn, and pointed at her with clear hostility.
"Hellspawn!" He called, with a loud voice of a legion "You Are No Child Of God, Yet Malebolgia Has Chosen One Such As You To Serve Him."
Airachnid didn't understand the name or the statement and truthfully, didn't care to.
"I don't know who you think you are..."
"Silence, Demon!"
His voice was enough to shut Airachnid up.
"You Have Come Here To Spill The Blood of The Innocent As Well As An Instrument of God's Will. Your Sins Can Not Be Ignored, Nor Can They Be Forgiven."
The Redeemer began to float into the air, to the shock of all who was present, even Clown, who had encountered Redeemers before.
"By The Will of God, I Sentence You To Death, Hellspawn!"
Airachnid responded to such a threat by charging at Redeemer, striking at him with one of her spider legs. The Redeemer stopped it with one hand. With his other, he conjured a flame within his palm, as bright and gold as the pillar that brought him. He took hold of Airachnid's leg with it and scorched right through it, causing Airachnid intense pain. She cried out and pulled back, but when she looked at the half that was left of her leg, she found herself unable to regenerate. She looked back at Redeemer, who incinerated the other half into nothing.
"What have you done?!" She cried.
"I Am The Sword of Heaven, Forged To Slay Those Who Serve Malebolgia. No Hellspawn Can Stand Against A Redeemer, For We Are The Anti-Spawn."
He held his palms upward and conjured two more flames.
"Begone!"
Redeemer threw his palms forward and released two streams of gold fire at Airachnid. Just like before, the fire consumed her, giving both her and Arcee horrific flashbacks of the alley battle against Spawn. Airachnid fell to her knees as the fire engulfed her completely.
The Redeemer ceased his attack and allowed his fire to burn Airachnid. But she would not allow herself to die once again. She ran out of the fire, her frame burning as she did, and swiped her claw at her attacker.
In blinding speed, the Redeemer extended his right hand and from his forearm, past his hand, he formed a blade of pure light. Like the fire, it too was blinding to look at. Airachnid's claw did not come into contact with him when he moved with incredible speed and sliced her arm off.
Airachnid fell to one of her knees in pain, but Redeemer would not let her regain herself. He brought his sword over his head and slash it downwards at Airachnid, then swiped cross-ways with enough force that he extinguished the fire behind Airachnid.
Both slashed forced her back into the console, just under Jack. When she looked down at her chassis, she saw her burning wounds in the shape of a cross. She looked at Redeemer in horror, knowing she was going to die again. Suddenly, the memory of hell had come back to her, as well as Malebolgia. She was too terrified to move.
Unexpectedly, she looked up. Jack looked down and the two of them made eye contact. He saw such fear in her optics and for some reason, he saw such regret in them. She had never looked at him like that before, such sadness and sorrow.
She was going to die, but she wanted to see her Jack one more time before being sent back to hell. But Redeemer took this as intent to harm Jack and attacked first. Airachnid didn't even register him coming towards her. She only felt his sword through her spark chamber, which didn't close up this time. He pulled his sword and ascended to meet her at optic level. She looked at him fearfully, while his featureless mask hid whatever emotions he might've had, if any. He spun around and quickly cut through her neck.
Everyone was left in shock as her head hit the ground and her decapitated frame fell. Redeemer turned his attention elsewhere and flew to the upper levels where he saw the elevator doors forced open. Something had made a run for it and he had a feeling who it was.
As he was above the others, Airachnid's frame and helm suddenly burst into more golden flame. As that happened, the webbing she had used also began to burn, though the fire did not hurt those trapped in it. Jack's web burned away and he began to fall to the floor, which would've killed him. Thankfully, a patched up Optimus was there to catch him.
"Are you alright, Jackson." The worried Prime asked.
Jack took a deep breath and looked up to Optimus gratefully.
"I'm okay, Optimus."
"I am glad to hear that."
Optimus set Jack down and everyone began to gather by the console. Jack saw June running straight towards him.
"Jackson." She called out.
"Mom." Jack replied.
He caught her in a hug that she happily returned. They all came too close to death for any of their comfort. Arcee watched them both, happy that they were okay.
"I was so scared she would hurt you." June said.
"It's okay, Mom. It's okay. It's over."
Everyone was relieved that Airachnid had been killed. But there was still the matter of their mysterious savior, who had descended back to the area where he had appeared.
"Jackson Darby." The Redeemer called.
He stood at the center of his entrance, waiting for Jack to come forward. Arcee stood in front of him protectively. Redeemer merely held his hand out and motioned Jackson to him.
"Come forth, child."
Jackson looked on and reluctantly stepped forward. June tried to stop him, but Jack held his hand out to ease her. He wasn't sure what to make of this being, but he was certain he wasn't there to hurt anyone else. Jack stood before the Redeemer, more than intimidated by his presence. He wasn't the same as Optimus or Spawn. He seemed like a good guy, but Jack felt something about him that didn't feel so heroic.
"Jackson Darby, you are a mortal being among giants from another world. Yet you have been bestowed upon the title of greatness held by only those with the purest of hearts among their kind."
Optimus stepped forward. Both he and Jack knew that Redeemer was referring to Jack being given the Key to Vector Sigma and being named an honorary Prime.
"There is a light within you, child, a pure soul that shines brightly and casts its warmth over those consumed by darkness. It has already freed one lost soul from the depths of despair and guided her out of the darkness"
Arcee looked on, knowing he was talking about her.
"Even the tainted demon that has followed you was allowed to feel love in her last hours. Though, it was not enough to save her."
Jack had to process that. Was he talking about Airachnid?
"Jackson, there are very few mortals in human history that possess a soul such as yours."
Redeemer held out his hand and Jack reluctantly reached out and took it.
"In the wake of the coming darkness and the wars to come..."
Suddenly, Redeemer grasped Jackson's hand tightly.
"You Are God's Greatest Weapon Against Malebolgia And You Will Answer His Call."
Jack didn't realize what was happening, but the fiery pillar from before returned from above and consumed the both of them.
June, Arcee, And Optimus ran forward.
"Jackson!" June called, but Optimus stopped her.
Arcee ran forward to get to Jack, but before she could reach him, the fire disappeared once again and Jackson was gone. The symbol was still scorched into the ground. Arcee looked down at the glowing angelic runes, then looked up that ceiling, where there was nothing.
"Jack?" She uttered in shock.
Not knowing what was happening, consumed by fear, and being away from her partner, Arcee panicked.
"JACK!" She cried loud enough to echo through the base.
Clown was standing atop another messa and watched as the fiery portal to Heaven opened and shut, knowing who was traveling with the Redeemer. He looked on with absolute dread, for this mission was the worst kind of failure.
"The boss is gonna fuckin' kill me."
So...Maybe I should explain what's going on with Airachnid. She's a Hellspawn now, you all know that. But this back and forth between affection and sadism is something I decided to add to her character. So, in the show, Airachnid might've had a little fondness for Jack, just enough to want to hurt him particularly badly. In here, I decided to go a little further. She's in love with him. But the thing is, her love comes from a very twisted place, which we'll go deeper into later. (Spoiler alert, Airachnid's not dead for good. She's a Hellspawn.) However she fell in love with Jack, she expressed it through sadism which also acted as a mask to hide her feelings while she was alive. As a Hellspawn, her memories and emotions are all mixed up. When she was stalking him, she remembered the thrill of hunting him, coupled with the love she hid beneath it, which she mistook for lust. When she saw him up close, those feelings came to forefront and she didn't know how to react to them. She just knew she felt something strong for Jack. But her old tendencies came back and she acted on those instead, until she was about to die and she looked to the one person who made her feel anything, which was Jack. When she returns, she's going to be even more confused about her feelings.
Anyway, Redeemer shows up in this chapter. Those familiar with the comics know who he is. But as it was said in the story, he is Heaven's version of Spawn, designed to defeat Spawn at their own game. I wanted to have him speak in the Old English way, but I was a bit out of my element and left it alone. As you saw, Redeemers are notoriously effective at dispatching Hellspawns with ease. In the comics, he was always one of Spawn's most dangerous enemies.
Jack is still dealing with some things, as is Arcee. But the both of them got a few answers of the nature of Spawn, especially Jack. Jack wasn't sure he believed that Spawn was a resurrected human, but learning that Airachnid had died and seeing her come back was proof enough that such a thing was possible.
And now, Jack has been taken to Heaven for what sounds like recruitment. Doesn't seem like they gave him much choice, did they? And of course, Clown is in it deep as this was exactly what he didn't want to happen.
I also mentioned the Youngbloods in this chapter, which were also a part of the Image Universe. But I changed them to a private military instead of a team of heroes. I don't intend to have them or any other Image characters show up. Though, I am open to a Witchblade/TFP crossover in the future. The comic, not the anime. Also, that bathroom couch joke was from Boy Meets World. Really hope I got it right. Next chapter, everyone scrambles to make sense of this and figure out how to bring Jackson back home.
So, I went a bit George RR Martin with the waiting again and I really just kept going back and changing things, unhappy with the finished product. Anyway, I'm sorry. Well, it's time to get back to my favorite story, Old Nightmare. I know some of you really want to see where that unlikely team-up is gonna go. Until then, Peace Among Worlds and I don't mean that in the Rick and Morty way.
('Burp' Yeah, well screw you too, Korova, you gender ambiguous hack writer.)