Transformers: Fractal Web (section: 9)
By Waspinatrix (waspinatrix@hotmail.com)
Legalese: Transformers, Autobots, Decepticons, Cybertron, Energon, Vector Sigma, the Matrix, Primus, Metroplex, Springer, Rodimus Prime, Arcee, Galvatron, Cyclonus, Unicron (or Unicrom), Perceptor, Sweeps, StarScream, ThunderCracker, Charr, Prowl, the Arialbots, Spike Witwicky are all property of HasKen and are used without permission for the express purpose of entertainment without profit.
Buster Witwicky, Mutants (Homo Sapient Superior), and the Mutant Registration Act are properties of Marvel Comics and are used without permission for the express purpose of entertainment without profit.
Mara Benedict, Sarai Benedict, Anthony Benedict, Marcus Benedict, Charles "Charlie" Reagan, Lourdes Maria Maza, FlameDancer, WhirlBlade and NightShade are copyrighted to me 1992-2000. This story is not to be redistributed in whole or part without my permission. Nor are my characters to be used without my permission. Reviews, questions and critiques are always welcome. Happy bidding, er.. reading. :D
(Part 27)
ThunderCracker shielded his optics to look at the shuttle they were about to board. "I don't see why we have to play this game," he growled to Mara. She didn't bother to respond.
"Patience," the human female said, "decorum is the name of the game. Let them bind their own hands with bureaucracy." ThunderCracker glared at the human. This pathetic thing, so below his notice dared to speak to him? Oh, the temptation to step on this insect...
Mara's optics flashed with warning. The thin leash of ThunderCracker's loyalty held him in check. Humans did prove useful in the capacity they were here for, but why did Mara treat them so equitably?
Mara turned back to the shuttle. Pity, that so many Decepticons had the straightforward stupidity of a school yard bully. They had dominated this way for more millennia than she could count on her hands, but they had started out with a power base.
Autobots had survived by being frugal with their energon supplies, and by building bridges with other races instead of burning them. That was what had allowed them to come out on top, picking off Decepticons like scavengers. No more.
The Decepticons would thrive again. Mara would lay the groundwork for a new Dynasty, with her remains if need be. If the Decepticons could develop a fortitude of spirit to match their physical strength, they could reclaim their birthright.
*
Maza felt ill. She got air sick, and space travel didn't help. The seat restraints offered little comfort. "Mother Mary preserve me," she whispered. Mara glanced at her small, Hispanic companion.
"You don't have the balls for this?" Mara asked Lourdes through the com-link.
"Your mother!" Maza quipped back, managing a wane smile.
"And yours," Mara returned in good humor. "It looks like it'll be less than an hour before our feet touch solid ground." Studying ThunderCracker's navigational readouts.
"Thank the Lord," Maza whispered, straining to keep the nausea to a minimum.
Mara focused on ThunderCracker. His brooding silence was unnerving and his anxiety contagious. The Sweep had his reservations and Mara could empathize. They were walking into a lions' den. Hopefully, luck would be on their side.
***
(Part 28)
The Decepticon shuttle landed just outside of Metroplex. Springer and WhirlBlade waited warily. As the ship's thrusters disengaged, an eerie quiet settled over the field. Metroplex was on yellow alert, ready for a worse case scenario.
The shuttle door hissed, the magnetic seals releasing, as it opened to form a rampart. A Sweep stepped into the light of day, his blue hide shining with a high gloss. He was tense, as he surveyed the area for potential threats. The next one to emerge left the two Autobots gapping.
WhirlBlade saw an image of Sarai, as she might have been as a Transformer. The Dark Angel would leave a path of change in her wake. Their optics met momentarily. He knew who she was. His chest hurt with the vivid memory. What monster had he unwittingly unleashed on the world? He shuttered to think.
The third member of the party, the Charrnese diplomat came between the Decepticons, like a bird between two mountains. The Latin woman addressed Springer. Her voice holding sway over the group. She seemed larger than life, as her mutant ability of projection made her the center of reality.
"Thank you for coming, Madam Maza," Springer said, formally, "as the representative of Cybertron, I welcome you.. This is WhirlBlade," he indicated the black whipcord of an Autobot beside him, "he will show you to your quarters where you can rest and refresh yourself before our first meeting."
Maza nodded her thanks to Springer as she left with WhirlBlade. The two Decepticons were following, when Springer touched Mara's arm, drawing her attention. ThunderCracker whirled around to defend Mara, but backed off under her gaze and a silent reassurance on her part. Mara was left alone with Springer.
One question begged to be asked, the one that had haunted him since they first met. "When we fought, you could have killed me. Why didn't you?" Springer asked, trusting his instinct that she would tell him the truth.
She looked at him, as if weighing the worthiness of his soul. Her hand, once the claw that had rent his metal hide, now rested gently on his chest. ~How could I strike down myself?~ she asked in reply. His hand lifted to cover her's. It was a moment that should have lasted for a lifetime.
***
(Part 29)
Sarai wept. This Decepticon, her daughter? She stared through Charlie with tear-burned eyes. Her daughter just another murdering beast? One of the bastards that killed her foster father, her beloved, even herself? Her life was turning into a black comedy.
When Sarai had seen Mara emerge from the ship, it was like looking at a mirror image of herself. The sight of the Decepticon insignia on her breast was like a knife goring her heart. Charlie's soothing words were blurred and distant at the moment.
Charlie, at a loss, not knowing rather to comfort her or let her be, instinctively picked up a hand held computer.
*
"Again, thank you for coming," Springer said.
"It is my pleasure," Lourdes replied, then dropped the ball in mid-stride, curious to see what the Autobot would do with it.
"We need proof of --"
"Slavery?" Lourdes asked. "I assure you, there is none. We Charrnese only want to live free of persecution."
"What do you mean?" Springer was off-centered by that comment.
"We Charrnese, Homo Sapient Superiors, or mutants if you prefer, have chosen to peacefully withdraw from earth, to build our own world rather than struggle pointlessly with humans over what is theirs." The words echoed Mara's earlier assertion.
"But with Decepticons?" Springer asked, incredulously, "they'll kill you or keep you in bondage."
"You see no collar about my neck," Lourdes replied coolly, "we come and go freely, as we please. As for safety, we are safer on Charr than we ever where on Earth.
"Come now," Lourdes prompted, "let us speak of important matters..."
*
Mara was eavesdropping on the conversation through Lourdes' com-link. Leaning against a wall, when she was interrupted by a voice from her distant past.
"Mara?" Sarai asked, hardly able to speak to this nightmare her daughter had become. Mara looked down to see her mother, Charlie at her side. He was holding a hand unit, obviously prepared for a confrontation.
"Mara, what happened? Why did you join these butchers?" Sarai demanded, venting her frustration.
The female Decepticon felt like she was two years old again, afraid of her mother's rejection. She turned away, unable to face them. Access to the hand-unit was easy, it was choosing her words that was the hard part.
The computer screen typed in small print, "I didn't want it to be like this." The cursor paused... "You never came home. I went to the only place I could."
Sarai was stunned into silence, weighed with guilt.
"Come back to us," Charlie said, "you can--"
Mara's cold glare struck him with the accusing unasked question, 'why didn't you tell this to my mother?' Her look softened to remorse.
"I finally found a reason to live. I have a family. Don't take that away from me," the screen pleaded. Sarai stared at Mara. Decepticons a family? She couldn't conceive that band of cutthroats as anything, but the demons that had desolated her life. She had lost everything to these monsters.
Mara refused to meet Sarai's gaze. It was too much, knowing that she had disappointed her mother. Charlie wrapped a protective arm around Sarai, as he said, "the door will always be open to you, Mara. We still love you."
She avoided watching them walk away. If only she could seek out the safety they offered. Life just wasn't simple, it wasn't free. She was a slave. Somewhere, beyond hearing, she could feel the echo of Unicrom's laughter, mingled with her mother's tears.
*
Lourdes lounged on the couch in their quarters, giddy with her success. The grown-up disguise was hung up for the day. She wasn't yet nineteen and already she had achieved something her father never would.
"It went well?" Mara's synthesized voice came though the com-link, as she looked at the mutant. They were almost at eye level with Mara sitting on the floor.
"Of course! Weren't you listening?"
Mara smiled bitterly, saying "other things distracted me."
Lourdes was too elated to notice Mara's mood, as she said, "tomorrow they're giving me a tour of Metroplex before official negotiations begin. Rodimus will meet with me himself."
Things were on track, more so that Mara had secretly expected. Turning to ThunderCracker, she felt a twinge of sympathy for him. The Sweep was ham-stringed with angst. They were in the heart of the enemies' encampment, and he was unable to act out of ingrained habit.
~ThunderCracker,~ Mara asked gently, ~would you like to go back to Charr?~
He shook his head. He'd sooner die than leave Mara alone in the hands of the enemy. She graced him with a smile of gratitude.
***
(Part 30)
Late at night. Lourdes was asleep, and ThunderCracker was off-line. Mara sneaked out, too restless to be confined any longer.
"Going somewhere?" Springer asked, surprising her.
~For a walk,~ Mara answered, shrugging, ~want to join me?~
"Yes." Springer was glad he didn't have to come up with an excuse to keep an optic on her. "I know where there's a good view of the sunrise. And we'll time it just right if we leave now," he offered gallantly, extending an open hand. She accepted it.
*
~So this is look out point?~ she seemed to whisper, as she took in the vista, ~the stars are beautiful.~
"Alright, dawn won't come for another hour. Can you ever forgive me?" he asked light heartedly.
~Of course,~ she replied with equal jest, enjoying herself for the first time in a long while.
"Why do I feel so intoxicated, yet clear-headed now?" he asked, taking her hand in his. Mara shrugged.
~Attraction does that to you.~
"You're closing me out. I take that you don't feel the same way for me?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't risking again for nothing. An image of FlameDancer wavered in front of his optics. He had suffered this strange ambivalence before, and it soured him.
~On the contrary, Springer. I've -- loved you since we first met.~ Mara wasn't sure if it really was love, never experiencing it before. There was something between them, which comforted her, and terrified her.
"Will you come back to me?" he asked, feeling her inner turmoil. How she pulled away, trying to sort out the conflict.
Mara saw a glimpse into her future. Her path of slavery or death rose before her, like a blood moon from Revelations. The circle of fate could only be completed, be broken by her. This path was for her alone to walk. She kissed Springer, a passionate merging of on Self to another.
~We may meet again, one day,~ she whispered softly to his soul, and was gone. The taste of her lips, saline and honey lingered on his. He had lost her again, perhaps forever. He wasn't sure. Perhaps it was better not to wonder.
***
By Waspinatrix (waspinatrix@hotmail.com)
Legalese: Transformers, Autobots, Decepticons, Cybertron, Energon, Vector Sigma, the Matrix, Primus, Metroplex, Springer, Rodimus Prime, Arcee, Galvatron, Cyclonus, Unicron (or Unicrom), Perceptor, Sweeps, StarScream, ThunderCracker, Charr, Prowl, the Arialbots, Spike Witwicky are all property of HasKen and are used without permission for the express purpose of entertainment without profit.
Buster Witwicky, Mutants (Homo Sapient Superior), and the Mutant Registration Act are properties of Marvel Comics and are used without permission for the express purpose of entertainment without profit.
Mara Benedict, Sarai Benedict, Anthony Benedict, Marcus Benedict, Charles "Charlie" Reagan, Lourdes Maria Maza, FlameDancer, WhirlBlade and NightShade are copyrighted to me 1992-2000. This story is not to be redistributed in whole or part without my permission. Nor are my characters to be used without my permission. Reviews, questions and critiques are always welcome. Happy bidding, er.. reading. :D
(Part 27)
ThunderCracker shielded his optics to look at the shuttle they were about to board. "I don't see why we have to play this game," he growled to Mara. She didn't bother to respond.
"Patience," the human female said, "decorum is the name of the game. Let them bind their own hands with bureaucracy." ThunderCracker glared at the human. This pathetic thing, so below his notice dared to speak to him? Oh, the temptation to step on this insect...
Mara's optics flashed with warning. The thin leash of ThunderCracker's loyalty held him in check. Humans did prove useful in the capacity they were here for, but why did Mara treat them so equitably?
Mara turned back to the shuttle. Pity, that so many Decepticons had the straightforward stupidity of a school yard bully. They had dominated this way for more millennia than she could count on her hands, but they had started out with a power base.
Autobots had survived by being frugal with their energon supplies, and by building bridges with other races instead of burning them. That was what had allowed them to come out on top, picking off Decepticons like scavengers. No more.
The Decepticons would thrive again. Mara would lay the groundwork for a new Dynasty, with her remains if need be. If the Decepticons could develop a fortitude of spirit to match their physical strength, they could reclaim their birthright.
*
Maza felt ill. She got air sick, and space travel didn't help. The seat restraints offered little comfort. "Mother Mary preserve me," she whispered. Mara glanced at her small, Hispanic companion.
"You don't have the balls for this?" Mara asked Lourdes through the com-link.
"Your mother!" Maza quipped back, managing a wane smile.
"And yours," Mara returned in good humor. "It looks like it'll be less than an hour before our feet touch solid ground." Studying ThunderCracker's navigational readouts.
"Thank the Lord," Maza whispered, straining to keep the nausea to a minimum.
Mara focused on ThunderCracker. His brooding silence was unnerving and his anxiety contagious. The Sweep had his reservations and Mara could empathize. They were walking into a lions' den. Hopefully, luck would be on their side.
***
(Part 28)
The Decepticon shuttle landed just outside of Metroplex. Springer and WhirlBlade waited warily. As the ship's thrusters disengaged, an eerie quiet settled over the field. Metroplex was on yellow alert, ready for a worse case scenario.
The shuttle door hissed, the magnetic seals releasing, as it opened to form a rampart. A Sweep stepped into the light of day, his blue hide shining with a high gloss. He was tense, as he surveyed the area for potential threats. The next one to emerge left the two Autobots gapping.
WhirlBlade saw an image of Sarai, as she might have been as a Transformer. The Dark Angel would leave a path of change in her wake. Their optics met momentarily. He knew who she was. His chest hurt with the vivid memory. What monster had he unwittingly unleashed on the world? He shuttered to think.
The third member of the party, the Charrnese diplomat came between the Decepticons, like a bird between two mountains. The Latin woman addressed Springer. Her voice holding sway over the group. She seemed larger than life, as her mutant ability of projection made her the center of reality.
"Thank you for coming, Madam Maza," Springer said, formally, "as the representative of Cybertron, I welcome you.. This is WhirlBlade," he indicated the black whipcord of an Autobot beside him, "he will show you to your quarters where you can rest and refresh yourself before our first meeting."
Maza nodded her thanks to Springer as she left with WhirlBlade. The two Decepticons were following, when Springer touched Mara's arm, drawing her attention. ThunderCracker whirled around to defend Mara, but backed off under her gaze and a silent reassurance on her part. Mara was left alone with Springer.
One question begged to be asked, the one that had haunted him since they first met. "When we fought, you could have killed me. Why didn't you?" Springer asked, trusting his instinct that she would tell him the truth.
She looked at him, as if weighing the worthiness of his soul. Her hand, once the claw that had rent his metal hide, now rested gently on his chest. ~How could I strike down myself?~ she asked in reply. His hand lifted to cover her's. It was a moment that should have lasted for a lifetime.
***
(Part 29)
Sarai wept. This Decepticon, her daughter? She stared through Charlie with tear-burned eyes. Her daughter just another murdering beast? One of the bastards that killed her foster father, her beloved, even herself? Her life was turning into a black comedy.
When Sarai had seen Mara emerge from the ship, it was like looking at a mirror image of herself. The sight of the Decepticon insignia on her breast was like a knife goring her heart. Charlie's soothing words were blurred and distant at the moment.
Charlie, at a loss, not knowing rather to comfort her or let her be, instinctively picked up a hand held computer.
*
"Again, thank you for coming," Springer said.
"It is my pleasure," Lourdes replied, then dropped the ball in mid-stride, curious to see what the Autobot would do with it.
"We need proof of --"
"Slavery?" Lourdes asked. "I assure you, there is none. We Charrnese only want to live free of persecution."
"What do you mean?" Springer was off-centered by that comment.
"We Charrnese, Homo Sapient Superiors, or mutants if you prefer, have chosen to peacefully withdraw from earth, to build our own world rather than struggle pointlessly with humans over what is theirs." The words echoed Mara's earlier assertion.
"But with Decepticons?" Springer asked, incredulously, "they'll kill you or keep you in bondage."
"You see no collar about my neck," Lourdes replied coolly, "we come and go freely, as we please. As for safety, we are safer on Charr than we ever where on Earth.
"Come now," Lourdes prompted, "let us speak of important matters..."
*
Mara was eavesdropping on the conversation through Lourdes' com-link. Leaning against a wall, when she was interrupted by a voice from her distant past.
"Mara?" Sarai asked, hardly able to speak to this nightmare her daughter had become. Mara looked down to see her mother, Charlie at her side. He was holding a hand unit, obviously prepared for a confrontation.
"Mara, what happened? Why did you join these butchers?" Sarai demanded, venting her frustration.
The female Decepticon felt like she was two years old again, afraid of her mother's rejection. She turned away, unable to face them. Access to the hand-unit was easy, it was choosing her words that was the hard part.
The computer screen typed in small print, "I didn't want it to be like this." The cursor paused... "You never came home. I went to the only place I could."
Sarai was stunned into silence, weighed with guilt.
"Come back to us," Charlie said, "you can--"
Mara's cold glare struck him with the accusing unasked question, 'why didn't you tell this to my mother?' Her look softened to remorse.
"I finally found a reason to live. I have a family. Don't take that away from me," the screen pleaded. Sarai stared at Mara. Decepticons a family? She couldn't conceive that band of cutthroats as anything, but the demons that had desolated her life. She had lost everything to these monsters.
Mara refused to meet Sarai's gaze. It was too much, knowing that she had disappointed her mother. Charlie wrapped a protective arm around Sarai, as he said, "the door will always be open to you, Mara. We still love you."
She avoided watching them walk away. If only she could seek out the safety they offered. Life just wasn't simple, it wasn't free. She was a slave. Somewhere, beyond hearing, she could feel the echo of Unicrom's laughter, mingled with her mother's tears.
*
Lourdes lounged on the couch in their quarters, giddy with her success. The grown-up disguise was hung up for the day. She wasn't yet nineteen and already she had achieved something her father never would.
"It went well?" Mara's synthesized voice came though the com-link, as she looked at the mutant. They were almost at eye level with Mara sitting on the floor.
"Of course! Weren't you listening?"
Mara smiled bitterly, saying "other things distracted me."
Lourdes was too elated to notice Mara's mood, as she said, "tomorrow they're giving me a tour of Metroplex before official negotiations begin. Rodimus will meet with me himself."
Things were on track, more so that Mara had secretly expected. Turning to ThunderCracker, she felt a twinge of sympathy for him. The Sweep was ham-stringed with angst. They were in the heart of the enemies' encampment, and he was unable to act out of ingrained habit.
~ThunderCracker,~ Mara asked gently, ~would you like to go back to Charr?~
He shook his head. He'd sooner die than leave Mara alone in the hands of the enemy. She graced him with a smile of gratitude.
***
(Part 30)
Late at night. Lourdes was asleep, and ThunderCracker was off-line. Mara sneaked out, too restless to be confined any longer.
"Going somewhere?" Springer asked, surprising her.
~For a walk,~ Mara answered, shrugging, ~want to join me?~
"Yes." Springer was glad he didn't have to come up with an excuse to keep an optic on her. "I know where there's a good view of the sunrise. And we'll time it just right if we leave now," he offered gallantly, extending an open hand. She accepted it.
*
~So this is look out point?~ she seemed to whisper, as she took in the vista, ~the stars are beautiful.~
"Alright, dawn won't come for another hour. Can you ever forgive me?" he asked light heartedly.
~Of course,~ she replied with equal jest, enjoying herself for the first time in a long while.
"Why do I feel so intoxicated, yet clear-headed now?" he asked, taking her hand in his. Mara shrugged.
~Attraction does that to you.~
"You're closing me out. I take that you don't feel the same way for me?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't risking again for nothing. An image of FlameDancer wavered in front of his optics. He had suffered this strange ambivalence before, and it soured him.
~On the contrary, Springer. I've -- loved you since we first met.~ Mara wasn't sure if it really was love, never experiencing it before. There was something between them, which comforted her, and terrified her.
"Will you come back to me?" he asked, feeling her inner turmoil. How she pulled away, trying to sort out the conflict.
Mara saw a glimpse into her future. Her path of slavery or death rose before her, like a blood moon from Revelations. The circle of fate could only be completed, be broken by her. This path was for her alone to walk. She kissed Springer, a passionate merging of on Self to another.
~We may meet again, one day,~ she whispered softly to his soul, and was gone. The taste of her lips, saline and honey lingered on his. He had lost her again, perhaps forever. He wasn't sure. Perhaps it was better not to wonder.
***