Hostile Territory

Written by: Okami

Chapter 17- Suzuki's Heartfelt Welcome

~

I know my name 'cause I say it proud

Everything I want I always do

Lookin' for the right track

Always on the wrong track

But are you catchin' all these tracks

That I'm laying down for you

Lyrics: Missundaztood_Pink

~

Authors Note: I do not own Robots in Disguise. I do however own Alana and Suzuki, therefore they can not be used anywhere other than this fanfic without my permission.

Helpful Hints: ****** - Means a change in scenery, or from Autobots to Decepticons

~~~ - Means a change in point of view but the same scenery

* * - Indicates a comlink conversation

~~~

Ultra Magnus showed a lopsided smile as he joined in the fun with his Stun Cluster then proceeded to mow down Rollbar with his trusty machine gun BlueBolts. There had been too much talking and not enough action for his tastes.

He made sure, however, to keep an optic on the female transformer since she had yet to choose a side. Something odd on her arm caught his attention, drawing him slightly from the battle. On Suzuki's right arm hid the Autobot symbol, but something was different about it. The symbol was usually curved and smooth, but this one seemed sharp and jagged…almost like the Decepticon insignia.

It was then that Ultra Magnus realized that even though the female appeared to have the Autobot symbol, some of her circuits and programming had been altered by Gigatron's spark energy. The blue Autobot grunted as he felt his back take a hit. He muffled a curse at himself for allowing his thoughts to be distracted by the female and turned to fire on the Decepticon that had dared to fire upon him.

Ultra Magnus was so involved in his battle that he instantly noticed RoTor and Movor leave the fight. Following their movements closely, he noticed them switch to their vehicle modes and take to the air. He thought they were simply going to produce an air attack until Scourge called out an order.

"Take the female back to base, immediately!" Scourge's harsh voice hollered at his two Decepticon teammates.

"Yes sir!" the two replied as one. They flew above the female transformer managed to entangle her in an energon net then haul her into the air.

"Ultra Magnus!" Optimus cried out desperately. "You're the only one who can fly. Stop them!"

The blue Autobot shook his head, a frown on his face. "How many times do I have to tell you, Prime?! I don't take orders from you!" he snapped, firing more bullets into MegaOctane's tough metal frame.

"Please! Ultra Magnus, please!" Optimus pleaded.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Magnus relented, taking flight after the helicopter and space shuttle. In no time at all he managed to catch the retreating Decepticons and their cargo. He watched as the female transformer thrashed around in the net, her legs protruding from the energon web.

"That's it! I've had it with this!" he heard the female cry. "Claws of Steel!" Slender fingers became talons in mere astroseconds, able to cut the toughest metal. Using her clawed hands, the female managed to cut herself loose from the net, but then plunged towards the ground. She tried to slow her speed by spreading out her arms and legs, but could not possibly stop entirely.

Ultra Magnus immediately stopped his pursuit of the two Decepticons and dived for the female. Energon coursed into his thrusters, adding extra speed to his descent. Small explosions sounded all around him as RoTor and Movor fired upon the blue Autobot, attempting to delay his rescue agenda.

"Hang on!" he cried, pushing more power into his thrusters. The heat from his circuits began to feel uncomfortable against his back, but he ignored it, instead concentrating on the ever approaching ground and the transformer before him.

Even though he was gaining speed and decreasing the distance between them, there was no way he could catch Suzuki before she became a pile of scrap embedded in the Earth at the speed he was going now. Sending one more surge of energy through his rocket thrusters, Ultra Magnus shot forward like a bullet and eliminated the remaining space between him and Suzuki. Placing one arm under her knees and the other around her back, the blue Autobot clutched the female close to his chest as he did a 180 and shot up towards the sky.

Ultra Magnus gritted his teeth against the pain his circuits were now registering but he pushed it to the back of his mind, increasing his grip on the transformer in his arms. A yelp from Suzuki reminded him about his passenger and the fact that he had literally been crushing the transformer against him.

"Sorry," he muttered, zooming past the two airborne Decepticons. " He shot by the two Decepticons so fast they spun in mid air, both donning the swirled eyes once they stopped whirl around in place.

"Hang on tight."

Suzuki took him seriously and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging with all her might to her savior. She was amazed at the speed at which Ultra Magnus could fly, but steadily noticed a faint burning smell in the air.

~~~

"Come back here you coward!" Movor shouted at Magnus. He fired another round of laser blasts before he managed to strike one of the rocket packs on the Autobot's back. A smile grazed his lips as smoke poured from the thruster and energon leaked from a small opening.

Aiming for the small hole, the two Decepticons forced the metal around the thruster open and they managed to scorch some wires before Ultra Magnus landed.

~~~

Ultra Magnus lowered himself onto the ground swiftly, not wasting anytime with being careful. He released Suzuki and ordered sharply for her to stay out of the way as he turned to face the descending Decepticons.

Firing away with his trusty machine gun, he managed to drive away the enemy. Empty bullet casings littered the ground by his feet and steam escaped the barrels of Blue Bolts.

"Who's the coward now!" he snorted after the retreating forms. Smoke streamed from Movor's wings and RoTor had serious trouble flying with three propellers instead of four.

Magnus turned back to face the female transformer and found her standing away from him, her hands clasping two double barrel laser rifles.

"What do you want?" she growled, her voice like ice.

"What do I want?" Ultra Magnus repeated blankly, staring at the female. "I just saved your spark and you ask me what I want?" He shook his head. "No gratitude."

*Ultra Magnus, is everything all right?* a voice erupted from Magnus' comlink. The blue Autobot sighed irritably but replied that everything was fine. He said that he had defeated the two Decepticons and that Suzuki was right next to him.

*Excellent. Meet us back at base ASAP.* Prime remarked, subconsciously making another order towards his slightly younger brother.

"Ah, ah, ah," Ultra Magnus tisked. "I don't take orders from you, remember," he replied.

*Do this as a favor for me.* Optimus corrected.

"That's better. All right, we'll be there shortly," Magnus responded into his comlink before switching it off.

"You have got to be kidding," Suzuki remarked, placing a hand on her hip and shifting her weight to the other foot. "I'm sorry, but if you think I'm going anywhere with anyone right now you've some bolts loose, wires crossed or somethin'."

I really don't need this right now, Ultra Magnus grumbled to himself. As he steadily approached the female, a glowing circle appeared behind him on the grassy ground. In one fluid motion, Suzuki was lifted off the ground and over Magnus' sturdy shoulder. Prime owes me big time for this, he thought grimly as he jumped down into the Global SpaceBridge entrance with a flustered female pounding on his back.

******

Prowl sighed once more and leaned back against the wall. He had been assigned the duty of meeting Magnus and Suzuki once they reached base. Not that he minded the task, but what was taking them so long! They should have been here at least a half-hour ago. He took a longing glance at the door that led to the recharge chambers, desperately wishing for a rest. Of course he would never admit that to anyone, since he was the one who was always pushing others to stay out on patrol longer than their shifts called for.

"I said put me down! Don't make me hurt you!" a feminine voice echoed through the SpaceBridge acceleration tunnel.

"Oh pipe down, we're almost there," Magnus' voice responded gruffly, clearly not quite caring for his job at the moment.

Prowl had to choke down his laughter at seeing the all-prideful Ultra Magnus shouldering a squirming female transformer. He watched with amusement as Magnus strided down the long corridor, one hand over Suzuki's back to keep her in place and the other held her legs down to keep them from smacking him in the face or a certain sensitive area.

"There, you deal with her," Magnus growled, literally dropped the female on her rear and stalking off towards his chamber. It had only been a few months since the Autobot had consented to staying at Headquarters, and the only Autobot happy about it was, and still is, his own brother Optimus. He stormed down the corridor and disappeared into his room, locking the door behind him.

"Jerk," Suzuki muttered, wiping imaginary dust from her rear as she glared at the locked door of Magnus' room. She stuck her metallic tongue out before turning to the other robot in the room. "Who are you?" she asked, eyeing Prowl wearily.

"I'm Prowl. It is an honor to welcome you to Autobot Headquarters," he greeted, outstretching a hand.

"Aww, a true gentle man," the female cooed, gently grasping Prowl's hand. "Suzuki's the name."

"A pleasure to meet you Suzuki. Please allow me to escort you to your quarters," Prowl offered. It took much effort to keep his composure when Suzuki linked her arm with his as they walked down the halls of Autobot Headquarters.

"So…where is everybody?" the female questioned aloud, looking down the many empty corridors.

"They are out patrolling the city, keeping it safe from the Predacons and the Decepticons," Prowl responded, a bit of wistfulness in his tone.

After a moment's silence, Suzuki asked softly, "And why aren't you out there with them?"

Prowl glanced beside him then returned his attention back to where he was going. "I was given the duty of welcoming you to base and getting you settled."

Suzuki choked on her own laughter. "I'm sorry," she chuckled. "Is there anyone else still here who can show me around so that you can go on patrol? Besides that jerk who brought me here?"

"Uh, well," Prowl stuttered, surprised by the transformer's kind gesture.

"I can help," a high pitched voice offered. A young girl suddenly appeared before the two robots, hovering a few feet off the floor. "Nice to meet you. I'm Tai."

"Wow, you guys are really polite," Suzuki remarked, giving her name as well.

"It's all right Tai. I think I can-" Prowl began but stopped when Suzuki began tugging at his arm, leading him back the way they come. "What the…what are you doing?"

"You want to go patrol the city more than anyone, and now that Tai's offered to help-" Suzuki said, casting a smile at the hovering female. "-You can go do it." Finding it hard to pull the stubborn Autobot, she dropped his arm and began pushing on his back.

"But…my orders were to-"

"Oh, stop being so stubborn and go!" she said, emphasizing the last part by shoving Prowl's back a bit more forcefully. After some more 'persuasion', Suzuki watched Prowl reluctantly speed away down the SpaceBridge tunnel.

"Now that that's done," she said, dusting off her hands. She reluctantly allowed a yawn to escape her as she turned to face the female hologram. Trying her best to look alert, she asked, "Could you please show me where my room is? I'm exhausted."

"Sure thing," Tai agreed. The hologram floated in the air the entire way, stopping every so often to make sure Suzuki was still following. A few times the female transformer was found gawking at something in the hall or peering down another corridor, but quickly resumed accompanying Tai.

"Hold on a sec," Suzuki finally said, throwing her hands up. "I'm sorry, but there is something I have to ask."

"All right?" Tai replied hesitantly, not exactly sure what the question would be.

Suzuki leaned forward and placed a hand close to her mouth, as if afraid she might be overheard. Whispering so softly that Tai had to lean closer to hear, she asked, "Do any other females stay here?"

Tai blinked a few times, a sweat drop sliding down the side of her head.

"Why do you want to know that?" she asked, curious as to where the female was taking the conversation.

"This place is a pigsty. It's filthy!" Suzuki complained, rising to her full height.

Tai blinked again before looking around her; what she saw took her breath away. Various metal parts lay strewn about the halls, dirt coated the floors, and dust covered all surfaces. She turned back to the female robot and saw a sly grin had spread across Suzuki's face.