Welp, this chapter and the next chapter were going to be one big thing, but I had a lot going on this week and wanted to post something, so I stopped it here. Now that I'm only taking one class and it's online and is in math I should have more free time for writing so hopefully I can speed up the writing process. Hopefully. Let's pray that I don't get any more writer's block, huh?

I think it's safe to say that in the next chapter we will get a big, major smackdown because, at this point, there's really no other way to go with it. SO next chapter we will get a big raging battle. Promise. Hybrid's honor.

Hunter: You're not a Hybrid.

Me: Your point is?
Hunter: You can't swear on Hybrid's honor.

Me: I created Hybrid's honor. I can swear on it all I want.

Hunter: Take it and shove it.

Me: You take it an shove it!

Hunter: No, you!

Me: No you!

*continue to argue*

Optimus: *comes in* Let us continue on with responding to reviews shall we?

WolfAssassin369—Yup. We're gonna have a rager! And once again, points to you for getting their names right!

Shadescribe—Max and Levi's Hybrid names: "Maximus" and "Leviathan".

Alice Gone Madd—I love Star. She's so cute and sweet!

AllSpark Princess—That bad feeling is only going to get worse.

I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.

Steve Jablonsky; Forest Battle

8

Ω A Pugna Volo est a Pugna DonatusΩ

(A Battle Wanted is a Battle Given)

Inching her way along through the lunch line, tray in hand, Hunter loaded her plate up with food. One good thing about OHS was that their lunches were always spectacular; they never seemed to be over- or undercooked like the lunches in every other school she'd attended had been. Once she had everything she wanted, the sixteen-year-old left the buffet, licking her lips as she hungrily eyed her pile of food. It had been a long time since breakfast! Making her way into the common's area, Hunter looked around at the many tables, trying to find Star. She'd met up with the younger girl in the hall just before lunch period and Star had said she'd find them a table. Hunter would have walked with her to lunch and through the line, but she'd had to make a quick stop by the history room at Dr. Bartholomew's request to quickly discuss the concept of her training sessions. What they'd officially decided on, Hunter couldn't remember; she was too hungry at the moment to think about it. After a moment or two of surveillance, the redhead spotted her friend. Star was seated at a table in the back corner of the room—one that hardly ever seemed occupied—and another, older girl was seated with her. She was waving to get Hunter's attention.

Smiling Hunter waved back, letting the girl known she'd seen her, then she began to make tracks in that direction. That was until a few other girls blocked her way. Hunter internally growled in annoyance, instinctively going on the defensive. She hated when people blocked her way intentionally like this; it was never good. Still, the Fuser tried to play nice, putting on a friendly smile. "Hey, girls," she greeted the small group. "What's up?"

"You're Hunter James, right?" a Latina girl who seemed to be the leader of the group questioned with a smile. "The Fuser?"

Hunter sighed and shrugged. "Yup, that's me," she replied. "Savior of Cybertron, fixer-upper of the bond between the Hybrid and Purebred. And you're Princess Andromeda, right? Daughter of King Stormcharger and Queen Starlight—heir to the Hybrid throne?" she asked.

The girl smiled and flipped her hair in an expert way. "Not to mention Queen of Olympus High," she laughed a bit too haughtily.

"Uh… wow," Hunter chuckled awkwardly, "okay. Is that, like, your official title or something?"

"May as well be," the Princess sighed. "But please," she went on, "call me 'Andrea'—all of my friends do."

"Well, okay then, Andrea," Hunter said, "what can I help you with?"

"Actually," Andrea said with a smile, "I'm here to help you."

Hunter blinked in silence for a few moments, trying to process this. The Princess was here to help her? She needed help? "Um… come again?"

"The girls and I couldn't help but notice how you usually sit by yourself during lunch. Now what with you only coming to school two days out of the week and sitting by yourself during this social time, it's very unlikely that you will be able to make any sort of friendships or develop any sort of social status this way. Well… other than the social status of "loner"."

"It's really tragic," one of Andrea's friends pointed out, putting a hand over her spark as though it would break.

Hunter just stood there in silence for a moment, staring. Where the pit was this going? Also, should she be offended by the insinuation that she was incapable of making friends? "Uh… oh-kaaay…."

"So, anyway, the girls and I decided we'd help you out," Andrea chirped happily.

"How?"

"Well, for one thing, where you sit at lunchtime and who you sit with are crucial details," another of the girls broke into the conversation.

"Usually this has to be done within the first couple days," Andrea went on, "but considering you're only here a couple days out of the week and because you're the Fuser we should be able to right any damage that has been done to your status."

Once again, Hunter was befuddled to silence, still not understanding a single ounce of what was being said or where it was wall leading. "Um… okay… I'm really confused."

The girls all rolled their eyes and laughed. "Silly!" Andrea exclaimed. "Isn't it obvious? We're inviting you to come sit with us at our table!"

Okay. That's where this was going—the opportunity to sit with the in-group. The seriously in-group; I mean the Hybrid Princess was the leader of it—how much more 'in-group' could you possible get? As nice as the offer was, Hunter had never been one of those girls who gravitated towards the in-groups. Plus there was just something about this clique that made them seem to high and mighty. Most unappealing. Still, even if she did get uncomfortable vibes from the girls, there was no reason why Hunter couldn't still be pleasant and friendly about this whole situation. So she didn't want to sit with them, big deal. The couldn't possibly demonize her for that could they? After all, she'd already made plans to sit with Star and she could always sit with these girls some other time in the future. The distant, distant, distant future…. "Gee," Hunter replied with a smile, "that's really nice of you guys… but the thing is… I kinda already promised to sit with someone else today, so I'm gonna have to decline."

The girls, particularly Andrea, all seemed to be abruptly taken aback. "What?" Andrea questioned, a disbelieving tone in her voice.

"I can't sit with you today," Hunter said more plainly with a shrug. "Maybe some other time."

Andrea stood in sheer shock for a long time before blinking and giving Hunter a look. "Wait, are… are you saying… 'no' to me?" she all but demanded, jabbing a finger at Hunter.

The redhead smiled sheepishly, wanting this all to be over. "Uh… yes?"

"Nobody ever says 'no' to me," Andrea hissed through her teeth, voice dripping his hostility.

"I don't know what to tell you, Andrea," Hunter shrugged. "I made other plans. Sorry."

"Don't call me 'Andrea'," the brown-haired girl seethed, getting up in Hunter's face. "Only my friends call me that, and I am most certainly not friends with an ungrateful little prude like you!" With that the Princess turned away, flipping her hair decisively as she went and sauntered back over to the table she and her friends had previously been sitting at. The rest of the girls did the same thing, all shooting death glares Hunter's way as they went.

Hunter stared after them in shock for a moment, almost not able to believe what had just taken place. She'd gave them a simple polite 'no' as well as gave them a legitimate reason why she couldn't sit with them and they were angry at her because of it? Jeepers creepers! Some people really couldn't take 'no' for an answer! Shaking off her disbelief, the sixteen-year-old continued to weave her way back to the table where Star and the other girl were sitting. Setting her tray down the table, she took a seat next to Star. "That was more than a little huffy," she remarked, half to herself and half to Star and the other girl, who seemed to have been watching the whole thing.

"What happened?" Star asked.

"The Princess and her clique invited me to sit with them," Hunter explained. "I told them no and explained why. Apparently it didn't go over very well."

"I'd be careful of Princess Andromeda if I were you," the older, Asian girl sitting across from them replied with a shake of her head, a slight Korean sounding accent in her voice. "She may seem completely innocent, but she can make your social life a living hell."

Hunter smirked and made a small, amused snort. "It's a good thing I have a virtually non-existent social life then." The girls all laughed.

"Hunter," Star spoke up after a minute, "I'd like you to meet Sunlight Khim. She's a really close friend of my brother and me."

With a friendly smile, Sunny reached across the table. "Call me 'Sunny'," she said.

Smiling back, Hunter reached out and took her hand, shaking it. "Hunter. It's a pleasure to meet you." The redhead looked the girl over for a minute before adding, "I like your hair."

Sunny reached up and ran a hand through her rainbow colored hair with a grin and replied, "Thanks. I do it myself. I just love colors!"

Hunter laughed. "I would have to say so! It looks great—way to be yourself." With that the sixteen-year-old turned to Star with a smile and said, "So, about that interview…."

Star reached down into her backpack that was sitting beside her, rummaged around for a moment, and pulled out a spiral, three-subject, college-ruled notebook that was very well worn. She slapped it down on the table in front of Hunter. "Everything I want to ask you is in here."

With a laugh, Hunter picked up the notebook and opened it, beginning to flip through the pages… only to see page after page after page after page of questions scribbled down in several different colors of ink. There wasn't a single blank page in the entire notebook. Eyes widening in shock Hunter gulped, admitted feeling a little intimidated. "Oh, wow…."

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

With a heavy sigh, Fowler got out of his helicopter and strode across the top of the mesa over to the waiting elevator, briefcase full of important documents in hand. Entering the elevator, the government agent pressed the down button and waited. "This thing really needs elevator music," he mumbled to himself. Seriously, the silence in this elevator was just eerie and uncomfortable—a little muzak could clear that right up. Finally the lift stopped and the doors opened, letting Fowler out into the confines of the Autobot base where Optimus was already waiting for him with an actual smile on his faceplates for once. "Yeah, you better be smilin', Big 'bot," Fowler remarked a bit tersely. "You got any idea just how many favors I've had to promise and strings I've had to pull to make this possible for you?"

Optimus merely chuckled, in much too good a mood to absorb the agent's sour vibes. "You have everything?" he questioned.

Fowler held up the briefcase and patted it. "It's all here—the paperwork, the documents, everything. Shall we go through it?" Optimus nodded in answer. With that Fowler sighed and walked down the catwalk steps to the main floor before walking off in the direction of the briefing room where he and Optimus usually had their meetings.

The Prime watched after him and then turned to see Ratchet coming out of his lab. "Ratchet," he said to the medic, "Fowler and I will be in a meeting. We're not to be disturb unless there is a dire emergency."

"Of course, Optimus," Ratchet nodded, a small smile on his face as well. He knew exactly why this meeting was so important. In fact, he was the only one who knew these meetings were taking place at all. The Prime had sworn him to secrecy.

Optimus nodded back to him and then followed after Fowler.

"So, have you talked to her yet?" Fowler asked.

"No," Optimus replied with a shake of his head. "I do not wish to bring her hopes up when there is still a sizable amount of uncertainty. I do not believe she could take another heartbreak if this were to not workout, and, to be perfectly honest, I am not sure I would be able to stand it myself. I won't tell her until everything is secured. I will keep it a secret from as many as I can until then—I wish to keep this a surprise."

"You're gonna tell the Lennoxes at least, right?" Fowler questioned. "I mean, technically speaking, she's still under their watch according to the state laws."

"I plan on contacting them as soon as you and I are finished here."

"And what about that policeman friend of yours you were tellin' me about? Have you talked to him yet?"

"I have him on standby. Once I am aware of all the legal action that must be taken I will contact him for advice."

Fowler whistled and shook his head. "Sure is a lot of rig-a-ma-roll goin' into this, Prime," he remarked with a chuckle. He looked up at the tall robot with a smirk and questioned in jest, "You sure she's worth all this?"

Optimus turned his gaze down to the man and returned the smirk. "Absolutely, Agent Fowler," he answered.

"You positive?"

"More than positive."

"All right then, let's get all this done and official so I can stop making favors to so many people!"

Optimus chuckled.

Greece—Above OHS;

"Nox," someone called his name.

The man turned in acknowledgement. "We're there?"

The masked woman standing behind him nodded. "Yes, sir," she replied. "We're coming up on it now."

"Get Crescent working," Nox replied. "We need him to hack into that dome now and lower it so that we can get inside. We don't get inside we don't get the girl."

"Yes, sir," the woman responded.

Sighing, Hunter pulled her sneakers on and laced them up before reaching back and pulling her long, flaming red ponytail tight. She stood up from the bench and walked among the other girls in the locker only stopping quickly to look herself over in the mirror. When compared to the regular uniforms, OHS's gym uniforms weren't terrible. As form-fitting as they were, the uniforms were surprisingly movable, breathable, and didn't consist of some sort of skirt (that was a huge bonus). Plus they weren't totally hideous. With that, the redhead continued on her way out of the locker room and into the gym, joining the group of students that were already stretching in preparation for the class. Taking a deep breath, the girl braced her hands on her hips and twisted her upper body one way and then the other a few times before slipping down into an effortless split. Hearing a wolf-whistle she looked up to see almost all of the guys' eyes trained on her and wide in amazement and desire, grin's on all their faces. The teen rolled her sapphire blues in annoyance. Boys. She moved out of the split and up into push-ups.

"Hey."

Hunter paused at the top of a push up and raised her head, craning her neck back so that she could look all the way up to the face of the tall, dark-skinned boy before her. "Hey," she greeted back.

"Hunter, right?"

With a grunt, Hunter moved out of the pushups and sat back, smiling up at him. "That's me," she replied. "And you?"

The boy extended his hand down to her. "My name is Hawk Washington, I'm Star's brother."

"Nice to meet you Hawk," Hunter said, shaking his hand before allowing him to help her to her feet. "Listen if you're gonna say thank you for what I did for Star don't worry about it," she assured him. "It was no big deal. I hate jerks like Max and Levi, and somethin' tells me if they hadn't gotten it today they would have gotten it later."

"Well, thanks anyway," Hawk insisted on being grateful. "Star is… well, we're all each other has. My parents made me promise to take care of her and protect and what with school and work and all I can't always be there to look out for her. It eases my mind to know that someone can when I can't."

Hunter gave him a small smile. "My pleasure," she declared softly. "She's a good kid."

Hawk snorted. "Preaching to the choir."

Hunter's smile dropped and she gave the boy a sympathetic look. "She told me about your parents," she stated softly. "I'm really sorry. I know what it's like to lose the ones you love."

Hawk smiled sadly and shrugged. "It's okay."

Silence fell over the two for a moment before Hunter finally asked, "How long has it been?"

The boy sighed heavily and crossed his arms over chest. "Eight years," he murmured. "I was ten, Star was only five."
"What happened?"

Hawk shrugged. "Dad got real sick—still don't really know what it was; he was gone before we could even take him to a doctor. Mom died of a broken spark just a few months later. They'd known each other all their lives, since they were kids; it was a real love story. After that we moved in with our grandparents. She died about four years ago, that's when Star came to live here in the dorms with me."

Hunter could have sworn her spark broke. Hawk and Star had everyone they'd ever cared about—everyone who'd ever loved them. Evidently she wasn't the only one to have been cursed in love. The sixteen-year-old was about to open her mouth and say something else when Coach Hendricks came into the gym and blew his whistle. All attention turned to him.

"All right, people, listen up!" Hendricks shouted in his distinctive drill sergeant tone. "I hope your all limbered up and ready to go 'cuz we're all gonna have ourselves a competition today—winners-take-all!" That said, the large man pulled a volleyball out from behind his back. "Now upon seeing this volleyball," he announced, starting to march around the room in front of them all, "I can only guess you are all under the impression that our competition is gonna take the form of a volleyball game. Well, you're only partly right! But instead of volleyball we're gonna play a little game I like to call…" his voice dropped off as he looked around at his students.

"He really has to pause for dramatic effect?" Hunter whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Hawk.

"Well, he is one of the drama coaches as well," Hawk whispered back.

Hunter's head whipped around and she stared at the eighteen-year-old in disbelief. "Seriously?"

Hawk simply nodded with a smile.

"Wow," Hunter remarked. "Remind me to not go out for drama."

Hawk chuckled.

"… Bodyball!" Hendricks finally announced the name. "What is Bodyball, you ask? Essentially it is very much the same as volleyball, except for one major difference: you are not limited to only using your hands and arms! You can use hands, arms, heads, hips, legs, feet, shoulders, anything you want!"

"Hence the name 'Bodyball'," Hawk whispered.

Hunter nodded.

"You'll all split up into teams of two!" the coach went on. "You can pick your partners! I will decide what team plays against what team! First team to fifteen wins! And no—I repeat—no powers! I see any powers being used, I'll make you and your teammate run the track the rest of the period. Now pick your teammate and give me ten laps around the gym! Now!" Putting the whistle in his mouth he blew it shrilly again, causing all of the students to cringe.

Hunter and Hawk turned to each other. "Team?" the girl questioned him with a lopsided smile.

Hawk laughed and smiled. "Why not?" he questioned by way of answer.

Partnered up, they began their laps.

With the laps finished the teams all lined up and waited as Coach Hendricks went down the line picking out who would go up against whom. Finally he came to Hunter and Hawk. "Washington, James," he announced, looking them both up and down and then looking on down the line, "you two up against Packard and Russo." Reaching into the gym bag slung over his shoulder, he pulled out two pairs of kneepads and shoved them at them. "Here." The man then went on down the line, pairing up everyone else.

Hunter and Hawk looked to where Coach had motioned to see the team they were up against. Hunter's stomach dropped. "We're up against the Princess?" she practically groaned. "Ugh, fantastic."

"Yeah," Hawk chuckled with a nod. "Star told me about what happened at your lunch time today."

"Sunny warned me that Andromeda would make my life hell," Hunter commented. She looked at Hawk and jabbed a thumb towards the other girl, a hand on her hip. "Somethin' tells me she's gonna start here."

The eighteen-year-old nodded in agreement. "Most likely. Watch yourself. She might be a princess but she's one of the star athletes at Olympus High and not just because of her title either. She's gifted." With that said the two shut up because they could see their opponents coming in their direction, the Princess bearing a nasty, mean-spirited sneer on her face.

Coming up to them with a genuinely friendly grin, the boy, Thunder Packard clasped first Hawk's hand then Hunter's in his firmly. "Good luck, guys," he told them. With smiles of their own, Hawk and Hunter wished him good luck in turn.

Then Andromeda came up. Just like her partner she shook their hands, but when she took Hunter's she squeezed it a bit more firmly, as though she desired to crush it in her grip, and held on to it a bit longer even pulling the redhead in a bit closer. She sneered up into younger Hybrid's face. "May the best team win," she said, cockiness in her voice as well as a challenge.

Hunter's eyes narrowed and she scowled. "May the best team win," she snarled back.

Andromeda stood at the back of her court just outside the line, bouncing and spinning the ball as she prepared to serve it up. Packard was in the ready position near the back of their court. On the other side across the net from them Hunter and Hawk were in ready positions as well, Hunter up near the net and Hawk near the back, waiting. Finally, Andromeda stopped bouncing the volleyball and held it up, sandwiching it between her hands. After a second or two she tossed the ball into the air and ran, jumping up, and slamming the top of her foot against it. The ball soared across the court and over the net with blistering speed.

Not able to dive down and get his arms under it fast enough, Hawk stuck his leg out and swiped his foot under the ball bouncing it up off his ankle. "Hunter!" he called.

Hunter moved towards the ball and got under it before setting it up as best she could. It wasn't very good. Instead of sending it out in front of her so that Hawk could spike it, the ball went flying off her fingertips behind her. Hawk just barely managed to dive and bump the ball back up and over the net before it hit the floor. Rolling back to his feet he gave Hunter a disbelieving look. Hunter cringed. "Sorry!"

Shaking his head, Hawk quickly turned his attention back to the game onto to once again dive for the ball. He hit the floor chest-first with a solid boom! just barely getting the ball knocked up with a single fist. Hunter got under it again and set the ball again. This time it went forward like it was supposed to… but instead of going forward in front of the net on their side, it went forward and over the new to the other side, only to be quickly blocked by Andromeda.

That time Hawk couldn't get under it. Point for the PR team! Getting back up on his feet, Hawk shook his head and looked over at Hunter. "Hunter, you need to set the ball to me," he stated, patiently though he looked a bit annoyed.

The redhead stomped her foot and glared at him. "Hey, what do you want from me?" she demanded defensively. "I've never been a good setter!"

The ball was served once again. Hawk got under and bumped it up back over the net to the other side. Thunder charged the ball and kicked a leg up, putting it back up off his knee. Andromeda then quickly jumped into the air, raised a leg, and slammed her heel against the ball, sending it back down on the other side of the net. The ball fell so fast that neither Hawk nor Hunter had a chance of diving for it before it hit the floor. It hit the floor so hard that the wood vibrated so violently that Hunter and Hawk nearly lost their footing. The reverberations seemed to affect the other teams on the other courts as well.

Finding her balance again, Hunter snarled and glared in Andromeda's direction. "No way," she growled. "There is no fraggin' way she didn't use her superstrength on that last hit!"

"Ya think?" Hawk questioned by way of agreement, he too glaring at the Princess who was picking up the ball and walking back to serve again.

"So why isn't Hendricks going after her for it?" Hunter inquired, looking over at the large man who was standing stoically by, watching on. "There's no way he didn't feel that!"

"She's the Princess," her teammate replied. "You really thinking he's going to call her out on something like that?"

"So what? I'm the Fuser and he'd call me out on it!"

"Yeah, but your dad doesn't fund to the school."

Hunter growled in exasperation, her ire rising higher by the second. "There's no way King Stormcharger would be so petty as to pull his funding from OHS," she snapped. She'd meet Stormcharger several times now and had come to know him a bit more personally. The teen liked him. He didn't seem like that type of guy at all.

"Yeah, well, nobody is willing to risk it just in case."

"So what do we do then?" she demanded.

"Play clean," Hawk replied, "and try as hard as we can."

They all waited for Andrea to serve the ball up again and when she did and it came flying over, Hawk and Hunter did their best as volleying and putting up a fight. They did good, but not good enough. They'd only sent it over the net a couple times in the set when Thunder and Andromeda sent it back, the ball slamming into the floor once again by an elbow hit from the Princess. This time the ball hit the ground so hard it created a small crater right in the middle of Hunter and Hawk's court. The two lost their footing that time and landed in a heap.

Hawk looked up and over in Coach Hendricks' direction, holding a hand out and looking at the man in disbelief. "Coach!" he exclaimed. Andromeda had just broken the gym floor—the Coach's gym floor—and he wasn't even going to call her out on that?!

"What are you doing?!" Thunder demanded, turning to his teammate with a look of incredulity. "You're gonna get us both in trouble with that crap!"

Growling, Hunter pushed herself up into a kneeling position and glowered in the Princess' direction again. That was it! "I've had it!" she declared. "No more Ms. Nice Girl! Princess, get ready to say 'hello' my competitive side!" The redhead pushed herself up to her feet and helped Hawk up while asking, "Switch me places?"

"Sure," Hawk grunted. Once he was on his feet he smirked and went on, "I can't possibly be a worse setter than you." He moved up near the net and Hunter moved towards the back of the court, making numerous mental notes to steer clear of the crater.

Once again the ball went up and was served over with just as much powers as it had been served the last few times. Hunter got under it and bumped it up. "Hawk!" Hawk quickly got the ball back up in a perfect set. Hunter charged forward and jumped, drawing a fist back and punching the ball down right in front of the net on the other side. Point for the Double H team! Whooping and laughing, Hunter and Hawk high-fived each other before looking across the way to see Andromeda glaring hotly at them, grinding her teeth together. Hunter waved and smiled cutely. Picking up the ball she turned to Hawk and offered it to him. "You serve?"

The eighteen-year-old shook his head. "You earned us that point," he stated. "You serve."

The girl nodded and retreated toward the back of the court. Bouncing the ball a couple times she sent it up in the air and jump-served it, sailing it across the net to be volleyed before running back to her place. When it came back over she jumped up and slammed her hip into it. Back over the net the ball went. Thunder bumped it up, Andrea set it, and Thunder once again came into contact with it, trying to spike it over, but Hawk jumped up and successfully blocked it, forcing Thunder to scramble to set it up again. They didn't make it. Another point for Double H! Picking up the ball again, Hunter ran back and served it over again.

The fight went on, the odds shifting in Hunter and Hawk's favor as time dragged out. Andromeda kept using her powers every now and again, but each time Hunter and Hawk managed to counter it, now that they were expecting it. Eventually the game came down to the wire. It would be close; Hunter and Hawk needed just one more point to win—Andrea and Thunder would need three. It was PR team's serve. Thunder served it up and sent it over; Hunter charged up and knocked the ball up to Hawk with her ankle; Hawk set it up higher than the ball had been set before then he quickly knelt down and linked his hands together near the floor. Eyes on the ball, Hunter ran forward, planted a foot in her teammate's hands and let him launch her up into the air. Moving into a spin, the sixteen-year-old slammed her foot into the ball and sent it blistering down to the court. It hit the floor Point—Double H was the winner!

Cheering, whooping, laughing, Hunter and Hawk celebrated, high-fiving each other, hugging and hefting each other off the floor. "Oh, yeah! That's how to do it! Whoo! Yeah-ha!"

Laughing, Thunder came up to the net. "Good game, guys," he congratulated them, shaking their hands under the net. "Nice moves."

"Thanks," Hunter said.

"You too," Hawk replied at the same time.

Hunter turned towards Andromeda, who was standing near the back of the court, arms crossed over her chest, stewing and pouting. The redhead smirked. Oh, this was just to perfect! She could just go right back there right now and rub it in the Princess' face and…. "Now, Hunter," the gracious, reasonable side of her interrupted and tamed her down, "just because you won and the girl was a brat to you doesn't mean you have to be so rude. What would your father think?" So, with a labored sigh, Hunter stooped under the net and made her way back towards the older girl. "Uh…" the teen chuckled and scratched the back of her neck before extending her hand, "… good game, Princess."

Andromeda scowled up at her, a growl rumbling up from her throat before she harshly smacked the younger girl's hand away. "Good game, huh?" she hissed. "Yeah, sure it was a good game for you considering you cheated!"

Hunter stumbled back aghast. "I cheated?!" she gasped incredulously. "I didn't use any powers and neither did Hawk or even Thunder! You were the one who used your powers, Andromeda! You cheated!"
Andrea gasped offended, a hand on her chest. "Moi?! How dare you accuse me of cheating! A lady never cheats!"

"Well then, boy, do I have some news for you, Princess! You're not a lady, you're a rat! I'm not the one who made a hole in the floor when I knocked the ball down!"

"Are you calling me a liar?!"

"If the boot fits!"

"Say that again," Andromeda growled lowly.

Putting her hands on her hips, Hunter bent down and stuck her face right in the Princess' face. "If. The boot. Fits," she enunciated slowly.

Andrea's scowl deepened and she looked as though she was about ready to start throwing punches (it would be a stupid move on her part) when suddenly there was a loud zap and then a shattering sound. Glass shards came raining down from the large glass skylight above them that adorned the top of the mountain as well as bits and pieces of the framework. Everyone screamed and ran their arms up over their heads.

Nerves tingling, Hunter quickly looked up to see a large part of the metal framework coming down almost directly atop her and Andromeda. Without a second thought the redhead slammed her palms against the Princess' shoulders, shoving her out of the way before reaching up and catching the beam. Lightly grunting, she carefully set it down on the floor and looked up towards the broken dome at the sound of whipping and reeling. Above the dome outsider there were three aircraft vehicles, all painted black, and all resembling the Blackbird from Hunter's beloved X-Men out of these aircraft armored and masked men and women where sliding down through the shattered skylight on cables. Before long a dozen of them stood at the center of the gym. They all faced Hunter.

A woman and man, who were most likely the captains of this team, stepped forward. "Hunter James?" the female questioned from behind her mask.

Putting a hand on her hip, Hunter tossed her hair. "Who wants to know?" she demanded.

"Please come with us," the man said, stepping forward and holding his hand out.

Hunter remained silent with a skeptical look on her face. Her eyes went from their masks, consisting of cowls and goggles, to their weapon hilts she could see peeking over their shoulders their armor and black and red attire. Usually the sixteen-year-old tried to keep an open mind and not judged based on looks, but her gut was screaming at her to not trust these guys. And, quite frankly, so was her ESP. Evil just had a certain feel to it—a certain vibe—and these people, whoever the heck they were, definitely had it. Examination complete, Hunter sucked her teeth and shook her head. "Uh, I'm gonna have to go with 'no'," she declared. Wow! She was saying that a lot today! Hopefully these guys took it better than Andromeda and her friends had.

The sound of unsheathing weapons rang in the air. Evidently they weren't going to take it any better than Andrea and her friends had. In fact, they seemed to be taking it worse. A lot worse.

"You don't understand," the man growled, coming forward with a red-bladed sword drawn, "it's not a question of 'yes' or 'no'. You are coming with us."

"Is that a fact?" Hunter challenged, gaze narrowing and crossing her arms over her chest.

The man came closer. "Come with us," he repeated firmly.

"Didn't you hear me?" Hunter snapped. "I said no. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Snarling the woman stomped towards Hunter and pointed jaggedly at her. "You're making a grave mistake, little girl," she told the teenager. "One you'll regret once we finally get a hold of you. And believe me; we will get a hold of you."

Hunter glared the woman down, not the least bit phased. "I'll take my chances," she declared. "Don't let the door hit'cha on the way out." With that Hunter turned away only to quickly be stopped as a weighted chain wound itself tightly around her wrist and jerked back around to face them all again. "Whoa!" Another whip caught up her other wrist and was pulled tight, dragging her a bit closer to her aggressors. She glared at the man and woman again. "The hell is your problem?!"

"You're not walking away," the man rumbled, pulling his whip tighter. "Easy way or hard way, you're coming with us, Ms. James."

Hunter glowered, ducking her head so that she was glaring up at him from under her furrowed brows, and bared her teeth. These people had a prayer if they thought she was going anywhere with them. "I'd like to see you try," she hissed.

The woman jerked her chain, causing to painfully bite into Hunter's flesh. "Show some respect!" she growled.

Hunter glared up at her. "Don't wrap chains around my wrists," she spit venomously back, "then we'll talk." With that, Hunter sent electrical jolts down the metal whips, successfully electrocuting her captors.

"Ahhhhhh!" The man and woman let go of their whips and collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The other soldiers looked down at them in shock and then back up at the sound if whipping air and clinking.

Chains still wrapped around her wrists, Hunter had a hold of the whips, spinning them around. "Who wants to bring it?!" she bellowed. "Huh?! Come on!" After a moment of hesitation, two of the soldiers ran forward weapons at the ready. Hunter reacted. Whipping one of the chains forward she caught one of the soldier in the head with the handle, knocking him out. Then she threw out the other whip. It wound itself around the other soldier's neck and Hunter jerked her fist back, pulling the woman towards her. She smashed her fist against her face, breaking her goggles. The redhead then dropped the whips and shook them loose before charging the main group who in turn began charging her. They were almost on top of each other when Hunter suddenly launched herself into the blink of an eye. The soldiers all stopped and looked around, searching for the girl; they didn't know where she'd suddenly disappeared to, she'd moved so quickly. Finally they looked up. There above them, a smirk on her face and a fist drawn back Hunter briefly soared and then came crashing back down, landing in a crouch and slamming her fist into the gym floor with such force that it caused the floor to ripple. "Hoo-ah!" Her opponents were thrown against the walls.

When it was all over, Hunter stood and looked around at them all, seeing some of them start to get back on their feet and get their bearings back. Some of them were already starting to advance on her again. The teen cursed. Taking on a dozen Decepticons was one thing. Taking on a dozen other Hybrids that she knew absolutely nothing about that probably had training even more advanced than her own was another. She'd had enough trouble standing up to Bombardier as it was! Granted at that time she hadn't undergone half the intensive training she had now and he had absorbed her gifts and matched her power for power, but still. She needed some cover. Igniting her fists, Hunter punched them together creating a sort of flash-bang that temporarily blinded everyone. With a cry, all of the soldiers hid their eyes from the brightness despite the tint of their goggles. Hunter took that as her chance.

Kicking it into hyperspeed, the teen zipped forward and quickly took out the closest two soldiers to her, leaving them unconscious, then she headed to the next one. By then the effects of the flash had worn off considerably and she had to exchange a few blows with the woman before disabling her. Hunter quickly pivoted around, extracting her razors as she did so, and got them up just in the nick of time as one of the men, who had come up behind her, brought his blade down. She blocked it. "Huh!" The two quickly went into a round of crossing blades, Hunter just narrowly managing to block him each time. These guys were good and fast! She definitely had a challenge here and, to be perfectly honest, she wasn't all that sure she liked it; especially when considering the fact that, if she lost, she was going to be taken. The sixteen-year-old finally managed to relieve the man of his weapon. She cut his whole forearm off in the process, but at this current juncture that was pretty much irrelevant.

"Ahhh!" The man screamed in pain and clutched at his bleeding arm, sinking to his knees. He wasn't in pain for long however because Hunter quickly planted the toe of her sneakers between his eyes.

Hunter's nerves tingled once again and she whipped around to cross blades with another of the soldiers. The two of them went parrying across the gym floor. The redhead managed to catch the blade between her razors and jerk it up and away from the woman. The sword went flying out of her razors and lodged itself in the ceiling.

The woman stared up at it before looking back and Hunter. Without any warning, she reached back over her shoulder again, pulled out another, smaller blade, and, quick as lightning, stabbed it forward into Hunter's lower abdomen. Squilsh!

"Ahh!" Hunter stumbled back, grabbing at the wound. For a moment she sank to her knees, quivering and biting back the pain, then she wrapped a quivering and around the hilt of the dagger. Gritting her teeth, the young Hybrid yanked it out. "Ahh-ah!" The girl held the blade up in front of her, staring at the blade, covered and dripping with her energon, hand still pressed to her wound. She lifted her gaze to the woman's. "Really?" she gasped. "Stabbing me?" The lesion healing, Hunter slowly rose to full height, glaring down at the woman who was at least a foot shorter than she was. An angry fire blazed in her sapphire blue eyes. "Do you have any idea how stupid an idea that was?" She dropped the dagger and kicked it away.

Gulping the woman took a step back, only to have Hunter follow her. She frantically began fumbling around on her belt before finally pulling out her whip. She thrashed it at Hunter, only to have the chain be caught in an unyielding grip and yanked right out of her hands. Panicking, the woman clenched a fist and threw it forward. Her fist was caught and quickly crushed. "Ahhh!"

Leaning down, Hunter glared into the woman's goggles and bared her teeth as she hissed, "Big mistake." That said, the teen threw a rock-hard fist up, catching the woman under her chin, and rocketed her skyward up straight through the ceiling and into one of the aircraft above, causing it to explode.

"Hrah!"
Hunter spun around to see another one of the women running towards her. Growling she charged, extracting her razors once more and preparing to slash through the woman. "Hhhaaaahhh!" The teen raised her left arm and swung it down… only to have the solider disappear in a cloud of smoke just before she could make contact. Of course Hunter was thrown for a loop. Stuttering to a stop, Hunter looked around with wide eyes, trying to find the woman again. That's when her ponytail and a boot heel was placed in the small of her back. "Wha…?" Half-kicked, half-thrown, Hunter was sent flying across the gym and almost into a wall when she was suddenly snagged by the ankle, another hand grabbing her just below the inside of her knee. She was thrown down into the floor. Hard. So hard in fact that she went skidding through it to the other side of the gym, gouging out a path of broken floorboards in her wake. "Whoa-oh-oh!" The sixteen-year-old slammed right into the bleachers, sending the whole wall of them tumbling down upon and burying her.

Confession #26:

When I use the term "bleeding" for Hybrids and Purebreds, I do mean in fact "leaking" as in "leaking energon". But the phrase "leaking energon" doesn't always work for the context of the sentence. And a simple "leaking" makes it sound like someone has a bladder issue that they need to get checked. Besides if you can "bleed love" you can "bleed energon". Am I right, people? Of course I am.

Confession #27:

What are Optimus and Fowler up to? Anyone wanna guess? ALICE, WOLFIE, ZIP IT!

Confession #28:

"Bodyball" is actually based on the scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender where Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai play beach volleyball on Ember Island. If you guys haven't seen that you should look it up on youtube. It's pretty intense and awesome!

Confession #29:

If I could and I had the skills, yes, I would totally play Bodyball and try to turn it into an actual sport.

REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!