Chapter 13: Dash Away Part 1
(Alternative Title: The Ice Finally Breaks)
"Wow, thanks dad." Carlo said awed as he examined the shiny new cell phone his father had just handed him. The older man waited until they were done breakfast to spring the surprise gift.
"Well, it was going to be your birthday present, but with how things are your mom and I felt it was better to be safe than sorry." His father explained as he ruffled Carlos' hair.
The boy grinned even as he batted the hand away. "So does this mean you're both not mad that I blew my allowance helping Alexis buy a moped after all?"
As a cover story for Sureshock, as she couldn't be simply passed off as a replacement that had been 'won' like Carlos claimed Grindor was; Alexis spun a lie that Rad and Carlos had pitched in to help Alexis 'buy' Sureshock.
His father sighed. "We were never mad that you did it, just that we wish you'd come to us instead. We'd have helped you, you know." He smiled a bit sadly. "I guess you're just getting to that age where kids decide they want to be more independent, huh?"
Carlos rubbed his neck nervously. "Don't worry, dad; next time, I'll totally come to you with a big decision."
His father shook his head with a soft smile. "Better get going, don't wanna be late for school."
Carlos huffed as he put his plate and utensils in the sink, the soft sound of the radio playing in the background. His mother's radio segment wouldn't start for another fifteen minutes, but trying to tell his dad he wanted to listen to his mom's program hadn't worked even the first time he'd tried it.
"Later." He called back as he pulled Grindor with him out the door and put his new cell phone into his backpack. "Sorry about you doing nothing all day, buddy. Must be pretty boring to just sit around all the time."
"It's okay; it never hurts to get some extra recharge." Grindor replied sagely.
Carlos cracked another grin as they made their way down the sidewalk. "Crank up the speed, bud! I can barely feel the wind in my hair." He laughed.
Grindor chuckled softly. "If you insist."
Carlos whooped as they sped up, but over the sound of his laughter, he heard a high-pitched keening that had him furrowing his brow. "Wait; hold up, I thought I heard something."
Grindor slowed to a halt. "I believe you're right, I heard it too."
Carlos shushed him as they walked over to the wooded area across the street; Grindor's wheels not making a sound. The boy stepped off the skateboard as he crept onto the grass and looked around. He heard the sound of a clunk and another keen was followed by harsh laughter.
"Look at the thing, Sid! It's so pathetic!"
Carlos' eyes widened. He recognized the voice as Seth's, a kid who hung out with Sid. He knew that they bullied and harassed other kids in the school, but were they actually hurting some poor animal? He debated with himself about getting involved, though when he heard a pained yip sound out, he made his decision. "Stay here, buddy, I don't want you getting hurt." He whispered before marching further into the woods.
He found the two bullies after passing one of the trees, where Seth was cheering Sid on as he shot rocks at a downed animal with his slingshot. It looked alike a small fox with the strangest blue fur Carlos had ever seen, and it's ears were long like a rabbit's while it's tail wasn't bushy but long and slender. On its forehead there was a dark patch that was covered with gravel while rocks lay at its head. One of its legs was bent at an angle and it let out additional plaintive keen when Sid picked up another rock from the pouch at his belt.
"Come on, Sid, I think it's almost dead!" Seth goaded.
Carlos squared his shoulders as he clenched his fists. "Hey!" his shout startled Sid enough that his shot went wide and hit the bark of a tree instead of the fox. "What'd that fox ever do to you?"
Sid glared at him. "Look at it; it's some kind of freak of nature!"
"That's right." Seth nodded firmly.
Carlos couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's no reason to just start shooting rocks at it!" As he had the bullies' attention on him, the little fox limped into the brush, its form disappearing into a shrub. Unfortunately, Carlos realized he had their attention.
Sid narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll just start shooting them at you since you want to be so nosy!" he reached into his pouch and Carlos took the time to run.
Carlos winced as a rock nicked him on the shoulder and he jumped onto Grindor once he was clear of the woods. "Go, go, go!" he chanted and the mini-con wasted no time in hastily getting them out of dodge.
The pre-teen looked back and saw both Sid and Seth had just cleared the woods as well. "We'll get you, you can count on it!"
Carlos nervously turned his attention back to the street; he really wasn't looking forward to finding out how true that was gonna be.
Hot Shot couldn't believe this; he'd been left behind! His lips pursed as he narrowed his optics at the warp gate's locational co-ordinates. It was one thing for him to receive a late notice, but he couldn't see it taken any other way than being ditched when he found that Red Alert, Smokescreen and Optimus had both left. He glanced down at Jolt, who peered back up at him. "Can you believe this?"
Jolt nodded solemnly. "I can, Red Alert would not want you to aggravate your injuries."
Hot Shot huffed as he crossed his arms indignantly. "I'm all healed up though, even the pulled joint is better! Red Alert's just being petty now." he grumbled. He'd been so wrapped up in trying to find out more about what might have happened that day by the lake he must have been oblivious to the alarm. 'No wonder they left me behind. Step it up, Hot Shot-you can't get distracted like that anymore.'
It wasn't a total waste though. His gloom was replaced with a rising excitement as he glanced down at the datapad he'd copied his research onto. Now that there was an explanation he could give, they'd finally have to believe him.
Hot Shot looked up when the warp gate lit, and his missing teammates appeared back in the base. He took in whether they had any injuries before puffing himself up. "It's so nice to be called in, only to find out that you were already gone."
Red Alert let out a scoff. "The mini-con couldn't wait, and I didn't clear you for duty yet."
Hot Shot scowled at him. "Then why bother calling me at all?"
"I didn't." Red Alert retorted tersely, and the yellow mech flinched. "Smokescreen convinced Optimus that you should be on stand-by in case you were needed."
Hot Shot glanced at the orange mech, who shrugged. The yellow bot sighed in frustration. "It would have been nice if you'd convinced him to let me come along in the first place."
"Sorry, Hot Shot, couldn't make him budge on that." Smokescreen replied.
Optimus knelt down to set a small yellow mini-con on the floor. "Hot Shot, Jolt, this is Sparkplug. He was my old partner back on Cybertron. Luckily I managed to reach him when Megatron showed up."
"See, sir, I could have been back-up, or helped you find the mini-con faster." Hot Shot pleaded. "Just something other than being forced to sit around and wait again!"
Optimus didn't reply right away as Sparkplug looked up at him. "Jolt will show you around, won't you, Jolt?" The little 'copter mini-con nodded and they both made their way out of the room, making beepy conversation with each other. Only then did the Prime address Hot Shot. "Very well. You can accompany us on our next mission."
"Optimus-" Red Alert started, but the red and blue mech cut him off.
"While I always appreciated how seriously you took your duties...Hot Shot is correct. We can't afford to leave out any resource we have." Optimus explained. "We were lucky this time that one of Decepticons was asleep at the wheel and caught the signal too late, but that may not be the case next time. The lull in the Decepticons will not last, and we must be ready for it-all of us."
Red Alert looked about to protest, but instead looked away tensely. "Of course, Optimus." He sent Hot Shot a sharp glare. "You though will report to the medical bay so I check your injuries. Knowing you I will need to take stock of which wounds are likely to re-open."
Hot Shot scowled at him again. "That's not fair! It's not like I jump into danger on purpose."
"Just like it's not your fault when you run your mouth off." Red Alert shot back.
Hot Shot started forward, but Optimus blocked his way. The yellow bot recoiled, his expression contrite. "I know, no more in-fighting." He grumbled and in the heat of the moment couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten about the datapad.
"While you were gone though, I did some research on what I could have seen that day," Hot Shot glared at Red Alert, daring him to say anything, but the medic only gave him a skeptical stare, "and yes, I did research." He shook his helm. "Anyway, I found this website on mythical creatures." he said and pulled up the hand drawn image of a shadowy tailed creature with glowing purple eyes. "This might be that dragon I saw, or at least a form it took."
Red Alert vented deeply. "I can't believe you're so obsessed with this." He muttered.
Hot Shot bristled, but knew it wasn't Red Alert he had to convince. "Optimus sir, just listen to this!" he held the page up to his own optics and read a passage he'd highlighted. "'The Wisp. It is an ancient creature, believed to have come to Earth on a falling star...'" he trailed off and gave the other Autobots a meaningful stare. They couldn't have missed how their own arrival might be taken a similar way.
"It could have been a space bridge opening or a spaceship coming into orbit." Red Alert reluctantly agreed. It looked like it physically hurt to admit that. "It doesn't explain though how no one else could see it."
"I'm getting there!" Hot Shot huffed and turned back to the datapad. "'The Wisp enjoys teasing or tricking other beings when bored. She makes it a way of life to prevent going mad from the boredom in an endless life. Often times unexplained incidents, or spotting unbelievable creatures were simply the Wisp.'"
"She?" Smokescreen asked.
Optimus shushed him, and seemed to take it in thoughtfully. "Go on, Hot Shot."
"'The Wisp is capable of taking on any form she desires and has the ability to transform others into different forms as well, while in the blink of an eye she can change them back. She possesses telekinetic powers and can turn invisible at will.'" Hot Shot lowered the datapad with an excited look on his faceplate. "That's where that card came from, Optimus! This...Wisp! She must've changed this card..." he slipped the pink card from his shoulder compartment and held it up to the others, though Smokescreen took more interest as he hadn't seen it yet, "into a dragon, and made it so no one else could see it. And then changed it back!"
Silence reigned for a moment, and Red Alert shook his helm. "That's your big explanation? You really expect us to believe that a made up creature is the cause for-" he cut himself off when Optimus put a servo on his shoulder. He looked up at the red and blue mech with a dimmed optic band. "Sir?"
Optimus was silent as he gazed at Hot Shot, his yellow optics impassive as he appeared to be contemplating his words. "Okay, Hot Shot, let's assume that this 'Wisp' is real and a part of another alien race, but in the long run-does it truly matter?"
"What? But…but..." Hot Shot couldn't believe this. He felt his spark ache. "Sir!"
"Believe me, I know it's not pleasant to be deceived or thought a liar, or even...not be of sound processor." Optimus explained gently. "But so far, there haven't been any more incidents like this, and I assume this Wisp only wanted to trick you once and went on her way."
"Yeah, but..." Hot Shot stumbled with his words. He thought he was so close to finally proving he was stable.
"You just wanted to make us believe it happened and your mind was sound...okay, I believe you." Optimus stated firmly.
"You do?" Red Alert's cool tone faltered into genuine confusion.
"Yes." Optimus tilted his helm at Red Alert in rebuking manner. "You know as well as I do Red Alert that there are more races out there than we know of, and it's quite possible what Hot Shot saw might have been one of them."
"But Optimus..." Red Alert had that look about him of gearing up for an argument.
"I'll admit, it's not hard evidence, but it does sound surprisingly close to our method of travel...too close to be coincidence." Optimus interrupted him. "And until we have evidence proving otherwise, then that's what happened." He gazed at Hot Shot meaningfully. "I for one will believe you Hotshot, and now hopefully we can put this business behind us," his tone went back to being all business, "and focus more on the mini-cons."
It wasn't completely approving, but Hot Shot hoped he could convince Smokescreen and Red Alert in the long run too.
Carlos let out a whoop of excitement as he busted through the doors, the sound of the bell's echoing ring music to his ears. Sure, it was only recess, but it was twenty less minutes he was stuck in class. He hopped down the steps and quickly scooped up a soccer ball from the rack of outdoor equipment the teachers put out for them. He waved over Rad and Alexis when he spotted them coming out of the school and hurried over to the shade of one of the trees overlooking the playground.
"Summer try-outs are gonna start soon, thought we could practice kicking the ball around." Carlos said as he dropped the soccer ball and rolled it between his feet.
Rad beamed and gave a thumbs-up. "I'm so in, pass it over here." The other boy kicked the ball towards him and shuffled it back over.
Alexis crossed her arms as she rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd be more interested in sports than school."
Rad paused. "So you're not gonna play?"
Alexis stiffened. "Didn't say that."
Carlos snickered. "We'll make a kid out of you yet, Alexis." He grinned when Alexis glowered at him and kicked the ball roughly at him. "No, you gotta get the ball into the air like this." He chastised her as he slipped the tip of his shoe under the soccer ball and jostled it into the air. He bounced the ball on his forehead over to Rad, who jumped back to let it fall onto the ground before kicking it over to Alexis. He felt a sharp sting in his shoulder and winced, grabbing the back of his shirt instinctively. 'I thought it would have stopped stinging by now; don't tell me I got a bruise or somethin'.'
"Carlos, is something wrong?" Rad asked cautiously.
The brunet straightened up as he waved it off. "Don't worry about me, it's nothin' much. Just fell asleep on my shoulder is all."
Even Alexis looked a bit worried. "If it still hurts, maybe you should go to the nurse. I'm sure you could get an icepack or something to help stop the pain."
"I said I'm fine!" Carlos snapped, but winced guiltily. "I…I mean it, I'll be fine." Neither Rad nor Alexis looked like they believed him, but he was grateful that they didn't ask any more questions.
A sharp shout of distress caught his attention and Carlos looked over his shoulder to see both Billy and Fred cowering by the fence, with Seth and Sid menacing them.
"Hand over the ball." Sid growled.
Billy shook as he clutched the football tightly in his grasp. "No way," he puffed himself up, though there was still a terrified look in his eyes, "this was a birthday present. Go find your own."
"Rotten teachers won't let us use the equipment." Seth said darkly. "Now hand it over or we're gonna make you sorry."
"Billy," Fred cried, "maybe you should hand it over."
The taller boy didn't budge. "Not a chance, this ball is mine."
"You asked for it then." Sid retorted. He cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.
Carlos heard Alexis make a disgusted sound. "Don't they know they're gonna get expelled?"
The brunet's face though set into a determined expression. He squared his shoulders and marched over to them, ignoring his friends calling out to him. It did get the attention of the two bullies, and Seth turned around to sneer at him.
"Look who it is, the little goody-good. Just come back from rescuing a cat from a tree?"
Carlos narrowed his eyes. "Lay off, you two psychos. Billy's done nothing to you; no one's done anything to you."
This time Sid turned around, and both Billy and Fred took the time to get away. Sid's expression twisted up aggressively. "You sure picked a bad day to get on my nerves you little rat." He growled. His lips then twisted up into a nasty smile. "But thanks for volunteering to be my next punching bag."
Carlos hunched in on himself, his expression starting to crack as he tried not to shake. "I'm no one's punching bag." He reminded himself that compared to being cornered by Decepticons and having his very life threatened by a cabin fever-stricken Smokescreen, these two were nothing. He jerked his chin up defiantly and turned away.
He shouted in surprise when he felt something tackle him to the ground. He groaned as a weight settled onto his back and found himself being sat on. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as Sid stepped in front of him while Seth pulled his hair.
'Okay, now I should start being afraid.' Carlos thought worriedly. He couldn't believe that these two were only a year older than him and his friends.
Sid sneered at him. "I said you were gonna pay." He hissed, but his eyes bulged out as his head jerked forward when a soccer ball knocked into the back of his skull. He slumped to one knee while glaring over his shoulder at Rad, who was glaring back just as fiercely.
"I'm not gonna let you do anything to my friend." He stated firmly.
Carlos felt immensely relieved despite how still very afraid he should be. "I knew you'd have my back, man."
Seth got up, but still kept one foot on Carlo's back. "Oh yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?"
Rad smiled slowly. "Nothing." He answered simply.
Seth reeled back, and stepped away from Carlos, who was staring incredulously at Rad. "What did you just say?"
Rad's smile never wavered. "I don't have to do anything more." He pointed over to the school doors, and Carlos almost laughed when he saw Alexis had grabbed a teacher's attention.
Sid's expression was almost fearful as he backed away. "Let's get out of here, Seth." He said, but not before glaring down at Carlos. "Now both you and your friends are gonna get it!" he snapped before both he and Seth took off.
Rad walked over to Carlos and helped him up. "How are you feeling?"
"Not too bad, just a bit battered up."
"That's good, I guess." Rad said, but bit his lip. "Not that I don't admire it or anything, but why did you stick up for Billy of all people?"
"He needed help." Carlos answered. "I know he's not exactly your best bud or anything, but even he didn't deserve to be targeted by Sid and Seth."
Rad remained quiet, but his expression was thoughtful as Alexis and the schoolyard chaperone hurried up to them.
"I want you two to make sure he gets to the nurse's office." The teacher instructed. "I have to go deal with two bullies right now."
Carlos waved off their offers to support his weight. He wasn't hurt like Rachel had been after all. "I got this." He assured them.
Alexis crossed her arms huffily as they walked back to the school. "I can't believe you just walked up to them and didn't think to get a teacher. What a boneheaded move!" she yelled, but her features simmered down to concern. "Still, I'm glad to see you're okay."
Carlos grinned teasingly at her. "Aw, I knew you cared." He wheedled, but Alexis only looked away crossly. He paused when he saw Billy and Fred next to the steps. "Hey man, you okay?"
Billy stiffened, but Fred nudged him in the side. "Look, I just wanted to say thanks." He said grudgingly. "I-I mean I could have handled it myself, but-but thanks." He stammered, and tensely walked away.
Fred lingered for a moment longer. "Hope you're okay, Carlos." He added before following after Billy.
Carlos blinked. He was a bit surprised to get a thanks at all, but smiled as he walked back into the school.
For a short while, Hot Shot was at a loss of just what do after he'd been dismissed from the medbay; it had been distinctly awkward given Red Alert was colder than usual. Was it because he'd managed to get Optimus to believe his 'wild' theories like he'd done with Rad and Carlos?
When his thoughts began creeping back to the strange card he had, he immediately sought out Smokescreen, Jolt and the other two mini-cons. That card was the reason Red Alert and Optimus thought he was still feeling guilty about Wheeljack and funneling his 'displaced' feelings into this 'fantasy.'
"Hey little buddy," he said upon noticing Jolt wandering around with the other two mini-cons in tow, having already found the orangey-pink bot, "how would you and your pals like to play a game? It's getting awfully boring around here, isn't it?"
Jolt put his servos on his lips. "It's only been a few hours."
Hot Shot pouted. "You hurt me right here." He placed a servo over his spark. "What do you say?"
Sparkplug warbled something to Jolt, who slumped forward and reluctantly nodded. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Jolt straightened up. "Okay, what did you wanna play?"
Hot Shot grinned. "Thanks Sparkplug; I don't know what you said but I'm glad you said it." He replied before suggesting tag again. Jolt's stare was downright disapproving. "Come on, even Red thinks I'm fit now-physically. So who wants to go first?"
Jolt crossed his arms, but then abruptly pointed at him. "You're it!" he shouted as he and the other two mini-cons took off down the hall.
Hot Shot stared after them in surprise, and Smokescreen laughed at his expression. "What'd they say?"
"Oh, just, you know," Hot Shot slyly inched closer to Smokescreen, "that I'm-it!" he lunged, but smacked against the wall as Smokescreen jumped back.
The orange mech laughed again as he chased after the mini-cons. "Nice try!"
Hot Shot shook his helm, and glowered at the fleeing group. "Don't think a couple of trick's are gonna help you!"
He chased the three mini-cons down the hall after Smokescreen managed to give him the slip, and almost lost sight of them when they turned a corner. Hot Shot looked around the walls for any cracks they could have hid in, but caught sight of a tiny helm peering around the angle, only to pull back immediately.
The yellow bot smirked. "I'm gonna get you guys!" he shouted and gave chase once more. He skidded to a stop once he saw the mini-cons go running into the engine room, and grinned as he followed them in. He paid no mind to Red Alert as he was hunched over one of the consoles and working on it, the nozzle which had been installed in place of a left servo showering sparks as he tended to the wiring.
Hot Shot turned at one of consoles just as the mini-cons evaded him once more. He felt his energy start to wane and he leaned against the wall. "Who would've thought you little guys would be so fast."
Red Alert paused in his work to gaze up at the yellow mech. "Perhaps if you realized that energy conservation is key, you would know better than to just waste it all in one go."
Hot Shot scowled as he pushed himself from the wall, his fists clenching as he glared at the other mech. "What's your problem with me anyway? Ever since Optimus chose me to be on this team you've done nothing but pick on me!"
"You shouldn't be here." Red Alert said bluntly. Hot Shot's optics widened. "Optimus put you on this mission too early. Not only is your mental health still suffering, but you've gotten the children and even Optimus going along with your delusions, and you constantly keep back talking me."
"That's because you haven't gotten enough of a personality to appreciate my brand of coping." Hot Shot retorted heatedly. "Between you and Optimus it's like I'll go nuts if I can't crack a joke! Sure, it's been better since Smokescreen's been around, but he's still just one mech since the kids are still too scared of him to come back."
"Optimus has no time to indulge with such childish behavior, and Smokescreen must deal with his own issues as well."
"Then what's your excuse?" Hot Shot questioned sharply. "It's like you're more of a machine than this broken ship!"
For one moment, everything went silent. Hot Shot's optics widened once more as he realized what he had just said, while the mini-cons were watching tentative and fearful from the side. Red Alert stared at him mutely for a long time, and he quietly closed the console panel before getting to his pedes.
"Longarm, come with me." he said tightly. "There's work to be done elsewhere."
Hot Shot watched the little blue mini-con follow after the taller Autobot, and he glanced down at Jolt who stared disapprovingly back up at him. The yellow mech shrank into himself. "I…I just seriously goofed up, didn't I?"
