Hostile Territory
Written by: Okami
Chapter 19- Strange Situations
~
Hey mom, there's something in the backroom
I hope it's not the creatures from above
You used to read me stories
As if my dreams were boring
We all know conspiracies are dumb
Lyrics: Aliens Exist_Blink 182
~
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
******
Optimus Prime sighed for about the hundredth time as he waited for his brother's arrival. He had called everyone into headquarters to make the introductions go smoother, but he wondered if Magnus would ever arrive with the new Autobot. Prime watched everyone talk amongst themselves while they waited, each passing the time with senseless chatter. A few fragments of conversation fluttered his way, but they were of no importance or interest to him. Drumming his fingers against his crossed arms, he continued waiting.
The sound of heavy footsteps finally echoed in the Autobot leader's audio receptors. He silently thanked his brother but took it back once Magnus entered the room.
Ultra Magnus once again had Suzuki over one shoulder only this time she wasn't struggling. With fingers drumming on the rouge mech's back and one hand supporting her chin, the femme displayed an irritated expression as she waited for the Autobot to put her down.
"Ultra Magnus, what's going on?" Optimus Prime asked once his brother stopped before him.
"What?" Magnus questioned innocently. "She refused to come quietly. Would you rather me have come empty handed?"
Prime sighed, placing a hand over his face. "Just put her down Magnus."
Ultra Magnus shrugged and dumped Suzuki on her butt for the second time that day. He did not wait for any comment or response before turning on his heel and heading for the nearest exit.
Suzuki rubbed her rear and watched Ultra Magnus go with narrow optics. Instead of charging him like she wanted, the female robot was disciplined enough to merely shake her fist at his retreating form then turn her back to him. She forced a cheerful smile and looked at Optimus Prime, waiting for him to say something. The femme soon realized the uncomfortable silence filling the room and her smile weakened, but remained on her face. Everyone seemed to be staring at her and the attention was really nerve wracking.
"So," Suzuki started, clearing her throat before continuing. "What's this meeting all about?"
"Um, uh, yes," Optimus stuttered. "Everyone, this is our newest recruit, Suzuki," he began, motioning towards the femme. He then waved a hand over everyone else and continued with, "And these are your fellow Autobots." Optimus Prime continued by mentioning everyone by name.
"Nice to meet you," Suzuki greeted, her smile returning. When no one returned the greeting she crossed her arms across her chestplate. "What's the matter? Haven't you guys seen a female before?"
******
The next few months went by extremely slow, with every Autobot except Ultra Magnus uncomfortable around the new femme. It wasn't that she had cooties or anything, it was just…well…she was a girl and they were all males. Not being around females in a while made a guy feel weird and uncomfortable, especially when Suzuki was the outgoing type and would just walk up to someone and chat with them or give them a friendly punch on the arm.
Luckily for Suzuki, the Autobots warmed up to her fairly quickly once she began fighting by their side. They soon realized that she was just as boyish as the rest of them and could handle herself just fine in a tight spot. The fact alone that she could stand her ground against Scourge, leader of the Decepticons and fiercest fighter next to Gigatron, was enough to give her a good reputation around headquarters.
******
The day started out like all the others before it—the sun shining, clear blue sky, and the ever-present battle between Decepticons and Autobots over the Earth's energy. Only this time it was slightly different, the Autobots had one more warrior on their side.
Suzuki fought just as ruthlessly as the men did, perhaps worse. Using her quad-barrel laser rifle, she bore holes into the enemy's armor. The weapon was also able to split to form two double-barrel laser rifles for added firepower. If for some reason her guns failed to bring down the enemy, she would confront them with her bare hands.
Actually, her hands were considered lethal weapons to the Decepticons. When provoked, Suzuki would use her 'Claws of Steel' attack; her fingers became talons capable of tearing through nearly the toughest armor. The Decepticons would often retreat a safe distance before confronting her when she was using this attack. Luckily for them, she rarely used it since she preferred her laser rifles any day.
Anyway, this particular day the Decepticons decided to raid yet another power plant, trying to steal more energy for their master Gigatron. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by the Autobots so Prime dispatched himself and the Autobot brothers to the plant. He had not ordered Suzuki to accompany them but she was in the neighborhood and decided to lend her assistance.
"Hold it right there, Decepticons!" Prowl shouted after bursting from spacebridge. "Prowl transform!"
"Sideburn transform!"
"X-Brawn transform!"
A bright circle of light appeared on the ground behind the Autobot brothers and out flew Optimus Prime and Suzuki, both ready for a fight. The two quickly transformed and stood by their companions.
"I will not allow you to steal the Earth's energy," Prime declared.
"We'll see about that," Scourge replied gruffly. "Decepticons attack!"
That one command began the battle of the day between the two groups. Optimus Prime faced off against MegaOctane, while the Autobot Brothers fought RoTor, Movor, Rollbar, and Armorhide. Scourge, surprisingly, challenged Suzuki to a fight instead of his rival Optimus Prime.
"Prepare to eat laser, Decepticon," Suzuki growled, aiming her laser rifle at Scourge's chestplate. When her opponent made no move to defend himself against the attack, her finger hesitated on the trigger.
"Don't toy with me," she hissed.
"Can't you feel it? Can't you feel the Decepticon power flowing through your circuits?" Scourge asked suddenly. Catching a glimpse of her insignia, he added, "I can see it in your symbol. You are Autobot, yes, but you are also Decepticon. You are one of us."
Suzuki stared at the crazy transformer. "What are you talking about? I'm an Autobot. Period. I'm not a cold-hearted Decepticon like you. I'm nothing like you."
Scourge began saying something else, but his comments fell on deaf audio receptors. Suzuki gritted her teeth together as pain shot through her arm, almost causing her to drop her gun. Her right arm felt weird, to the point of uncomfortably painful. The metal around her Autobot symbol moved and wriggled, giving off the appearance of worms under the skin.
"See, even your programming wishes to return to its true side, the side of the Decepticons," Scourge said smoothly, slowly approaching the female.
"Stay back!" Suzuki cried, firing her rifle by his feet. It took much effort for her to pull the trigger, since something inside of her repelled her from firing the weapon. "I will never join you," she growled. An image of her recent dream flashed across her thoughts.
"NEVER!" Suzuki roared, bombarding her adversary with laser pellets.
Scourge was so surprised by the outburst he took a few steps back and nearly tripped over his own feet when a bullet exploded in front of him. His ruby optics flashed in anger as he drew his sword and prepared to fight. He watched cautiously as his enemy placed her weapons back in their sheaths, her own optics flashing mysteriously.
"I will never join you," she whispered, clenching her fists. When they relaxed, her fingers were now sharp talons hungry for transformer flesh.
Scourge charged with sword flashing and quickly gained the upper hand, his experience in battle serving him well. He got in a couple of good licks before something flickered in Suzuki's optics, then her entire fighting strategy changed. She became more ferocious and wild. The Decepticon commander noticed her senses seemed keener and could dodge his blows as well as manage to take advantage of his few mistakes.
"Don't you know it's rude to hit a lady?" an all-too familiar voice asked.
Scourge whirled around just in time to receive an array of bullets to his chestplate. He attempted to battle with both Suzuki and Magnus but failed miserably, as was Ruination against so many Autobot adversaries. The wise leader finally called for a retreat and fled the battle, muttering curses under his breath.
~~~
Ultra Magnus silently huffed at seeing the enemy retreat. It seemed he had only just arrived when the battle ended. Shrugging his shoulders slightly, he turned to leave the area when a disgruntled clearing of the throat caught his attention. Turning back around, he came face to face with…nothing? Lowering his gaze, however, he locked optics with an irritated femme.
"What the hell was that?" she asked loudly, standing on her tiptoes in attempts to be at his optic level. Unfortunately, she failed and only managed to stare at his neck instead of his chestplate.
Magnus seemed to blink a few times before realization finally hit him. A grin spread across his face upon understanding that Suzuki did not appreciate his assistance. He took a few moments to organize his thoughts before answering the femme's irritated question.
"I was battling the Decepticons. You got a problem with that?" he asked, making it sound more like a challenge then an actual inquiry.
"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do have a problem with that. Especially when it involves my battles," Suzuki countered quickly.
By this time, the Autobot brothers had gathered around them, confused expressions on their faceplates. They watched as Ultra Magnus continued to goat the femme even when she demanded that he drop it.
"So what exactly were you two talking about?" Magnus inquired, a humored smirk flickering across his face. "It must have been important if you didn't want any help."
"What I say and do is no business of yours," Suzuki growled. Turning on her heel, she stormed away from Ultra Magnus, her face dark with anger.
Ultra Magnus watched the female's retreating form with much thought. He silently compared the actions of her when he'd first met her between those of now; they were obviously different. The femme was more forceful, aggressive, snappy—more Decepticon like. Magnus did manage to catch a glimpse of her Autobot symbol before she disappeared through the Spacebridge, his optics widening as he did so. The insignia appeared distinctly more Decepticon with fewer traces of Autobot resemblance than before.
I'll have to keep my eye on her, he thought, following the others into the spacebridge. She may be on our side but there's definitely something strange going on.
