We're back! It took awhile, but we finished with another chapter! Now, let's get to it, shall we? More info will be at the bottom of the chapter after reading!
Warning: Words and language might be offensive for authors, reviewers and readers under 16-18.
Disclaimer: Transformers Prime doesn't belong to me nor B-128. The only stuff that belongs to us is our OCS and this AU story.
Transformers Blue - The Jasper Chronicles
Chapter 14: Speed Metal
Co-written by B-128
Tonight
Driving along a lone road that stretched into a forest, mountainous terrain, away from the city, was a nice, custom sports-car with a red paint job and silver flames on the sides. It was the Decepticon Medic Knockout. He usually does this with either Slashmark or by himself when he's not busy fixing things, or rather, breaking things.
"As metropolitan PD continues to crack down on illegal street racing, citing the danger to both drivers and pedestrians-." The radio reported.
Knockout turned the radio off and continued driving. As he arrived at some street race, he stopped next to a black car with a tattooed driver, who looked at him.
"Not from around here, European design?" The driver asked.
Knock Out didn't answer. He only wanted to focus on the race, and most importantly, on winning it.
"Sure is pretty, too pretty." The driver said as he used his ring to scratch Knockout's door.
He looked at the damage and the driver who closed his window.
"Big mistake." He said as he prepared to race, but now he had another intention.
The referee held the flashlight in his hand and switched it on, signaling the racers to go. The four racers took off and began to make their way to the finish line. The driver in the black car was in the lead while Knockout was last. The driver smirked and pressed the pedal to go faster. smoke and fire came from the engines as the RPM went up to 7000. He looked back to see if there were any drivers behind him. Just then, Knockout caught him up very fast. And next, he rammed into the driver's car.
"Hey!" The driver yelled.
But when they turned a corner on the tracks, Knockout rammed into the car one more time, making it to swerve a little and went over the edge of the cliff. Instead of tumbling down the wall, the car landed on the bottom upside down.
"Uh…dude." The driver moaned.
Knockout looked over at the driver. "You scratch my paint… I scratch yours" He sneered before driving off to the finish line.
The next day
Jack was getting off of school as he put his helmet on and hopped on Arcee and moved backwards.
"Hey, cherry-moped," Vince said with a smug smile, mocking the motorcycle.
"Uh, this moped has dual carbs and can go to 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds." Jack said proudly before taking off. If he turned around, he could've seen Vince's scowl look on his face.
Soon, they reached a red light and stopped. "Um, Jack? A lady's vital stats are her own business." Arcee told him. While she appreciated him for defending her, he really didn't need to say that.
"Hey. Nick, right?" A voice called.
Jack turned around and saw Sierra and her friend, Alice.
"Actually, it's Jack." He corrected her.
"Jack, sorry. I'm Sierra." She introduced herself.
"I know."
"You once offered to take me for a ride."
"O-Of course. A-Anytime."
"Um, Jack, I'm your guardian, not your wingman." The two-wheeler reminded him quietly.
"So, how about if you can take me now?" Sierra began.
"Uh…" Jack thought for a moment, but was stopped short when Vince pulled up next to him.
"Hey, hey! Small world!" Vince began.
"I'm having a conversation." Jack said.
"Cheer captain and her friend here might enjoy watching you take on four wheels of a muscle car." Vince smirked as he gestured to Sierra and Alice, who was whispering something in her ear.
"Are you challenging me? To a race?"
"You catch on quick, ponce. What do you say?"
"Uh…" Jack stuttered nervously.
He saw Sierra encouraging him, but before he could answer, the light turned green and Arcee drove off with Jack, who was yelling in surprise.
"You didn't let me answer!" Jack yelled in frustration.
"Nope." Arcee answered.
"Arcee, we can smoke him."
"Yep."
"You just don't get it."
"I don't make the rules, Jack. Optimus does. And rule number one, in case you missed it: never abuse power for personal gain and that includes horsepower." The two-wheeler explained as they stopped at the next light.
Jack sighed as Vince drove up next to him. "Vince, maybe racing isn't such a good idea."
But he was cut off as the bully began to laugh at him.
"Figured! You drive around like your bike is something special. But it's just a chunky, clunky, trike! And ugly!" Vince finished.
The lights turned green and Vince made a u-turn and drove off. However, he unknowingly made a certain two-wheeler very, very upset.
"That's it! The yahoo's going down!" Arcee growled as she made a u-turn herself and drove off after him.
"Whoa, whoa! What happen to rule #1? The black-haired teenager asked, due to the two-wheeler's changed behavior.
"Gets bent… Just this once."
The two girls were calmly walking down the sidewalk as the school bully drove up next to them.
"Yo girls! Your pal Darby, he's-." Vince began.
"Ready when you are, Vinny!" Jack announced as he drove up next to him.
Vince was a little shocked, but he smirked a little. "Dirt road by trucker's ranch, one hour."
...
An hour later in the desert - The Dirt Road
Jack and Vince were at the starting line, readying themselves while Sierra Alice watched.
"This is going to be good!" Alice said in excitement.
"From here to the next mile marker," Vince said, before starting his car's engine "Ready, go!"
Vince accelerated with Jack and Arcee following behind, "That was fair," Jack said as they drove past Sierra and Alice.
"Uh, Arcee?"
"Winning isn't enough, Jack… You wanna make him cry." Arcee stated.
She began to drive at full speed, Vince saw that Jack wasn't behind him and then looked on his left and saw Jack, who performed a wheelie and sped in front of him.
"What…" Vince gasped with disbelief as Jack and Arcee reached the mile marker first and Arcee honked her horn.
"Whoo! Outstanding!" Jack said happily. "Um, hey, now might be a good time to offer Sierra a quick once round the block?"
"Don't push it," she said and he sighs as they head to base.
Later that night on the nemesis
At the med-bay, Breakdown was giving Megatron a buffing, preparing the warlord for a triumphant wake-up, if he did wake up again, that is.
"Ah, Breakdown" Starscream walked in, coming to check on his and the doctor's progress "Has there been any change in Megatron's condition?"
"* grunt * Only cosmetic"
"Well, I am sure that you and the good doctor have been doing everything in your power" that's when he realized that the aforementioned good doctor wasn't with them in the room "Where is Knockout?"
Suddenly, right on cue, the doors slid open to reveal the narcissistic Decepticon strolling in with grace. "Can you believe what some skin job did to me?!" Knockout complained, pointing to a scratch on the door of his right forearm. "Ugh..."
Starscream was certainly not pleased, assuming that he, once again, decided to go out for a drive "You have been street racing among humans again, haven't you?"
The doctor simply replied "I'm not only an automobile, I'm an automobile enthusiast"
Even though he hated those disgusting fleshings, he had to admit, they had a good eye when it came to vehicular design. Not to mention that street racing is awesome.
The silver seeker narrowed his red optics in contempt. "I do seek to run a tight shift, Knockout. I would strongly suggest you notify me first before you leave the ship on one your... jaunts".
"No worries, hergé commandant"
"It is lord to you"
"Only if Megatron takes a nosedive"
"Ugh..." Starscream approached the doctor and leaned downward to get in his face. "The day our master emerges from stasis, I will graciously relieve the title. But I believe that outcome is unlikely; something to do with the quality of medical care around here"
After a moment of staring into each other's optics, Starscream turned around and proceeded towards the door. "So, continue buffing. We will want our master to look his best for the memorial".
After Starscream left the room, Breakdown proceeded to do as he said, Knockout on the other hand, decided to flip him off, saying "Buff this"
A few seconds later, in came Slashmark, who noticed that Starscream was not very enthusiastic at the moment "Hey doc, think you can check my oil tank? I think I punctured it on the way back. And why's Zemrick pissed off this time?"
Knockout rolled his eyes before he walked towards Slash. "One of those disgusting humans put a scratch on me during a street race." He said while checking her oil tank.
She changed to vehicle mode to allow the doctor easier access to the moded in part, which she put in for extra realism "What!? You went racing without me!?" As a native from the colony of Velocitron, she had a natural desire for speed, especially racing.
"I was trying to call you to see if you wanted to go racing with me. However, you were taking a long time to get here, so I said "You know what, screw it". He stated, "Also, where were you? It took awhile for you to come back."
"Just did some stunt driving, went stargazing, got a muffin, got called back here, and here I am"
"Hmmm..." The doctor didn't know if she was telling the truth or not. However, he does know that she has a holo-avatar so that counts, "I guess that makes sense." Before he could say anything else, he and the beast heard the cheers of the vehicons welcoming the new decepticon.
"Is that who I think it is?" Slash was smiling under the hood, if she could use her headlights like Herbie the love bug, she'd have them, in the shape of downward pointing crescent moons.
It was none other than one of Slashmark's best friends. She was walking through a pathway while the Vehicons cheered her on! "Queen Roadkill! Queen Roadkill! Queen Roadkill!"
"What's crackin', bitches? The queen is BACK!" She was quite the flasher, with a bit of an odd look to her, a boxy appearance, dual door "wings" with the bottom part being the wheels, cartoon eyes, and flexible one piece "boots"
Slashmark just sped forward and jumped at her while changing shape, opening up for a hug "Roadkill, you sexy hot rod, how's it been?"
"Been doing good, Slashmark, you amazing beast!" Roadkill smiled, happy to see her best friend.
"Well, well, look what the dog dragged in." Knockout said with a smirk.
Breakdown simply stared at them, and looked back at what he was doing "And they say i'm the sentimental one"
The doctor chuckled at what his partner just said and went back to work.
The same night in the Autobot Base
As Arcee and Jack came to a stop in the command center, the teen dismounted her vehicle form, allowing her to transform to her bipedal form. She looked down at him with her cerulean optics.
"Not a word to anyone". She said,
"Our little secret," He winked with a knowing smirk.
Satisfied with the answer, Arcee strolled off to a different part of the command center. Jack was just about to head to the human area until Miko came up from behind him.
"Dude! Vroom, vroom, vroom!" Miko acted as if she were holding onto handlebars as she made engine noises. "And the winner is...?"
Jack's eyes widened from the realization. "Miko, who told you?!"
"You're kidding? she asked, "It's all over school!"
His face clearly said "uh oh, busted", that's when he heard Raf behind him "You beat the pants off that blowhard bully Vince"
Raf and Miko weren't the only ones that were impressed. Leo thought it was awesome too.
"You got some moves, Jack," Leo said, "While I don't agree with what you did, I do have to give you some points for standing up to Vince."
Jack then pulled in Leo and Miko, to talk lower "...You guys have to keep this on the DL, especially from Optimus…"
They didn't argue, instead they nodded their heads in understanding.
Outside of School (The Next Day... Again)
Jack was walking out of the building as School was over and walked down the stairs when Sierra called him from the door.
"Hey, I've been looking for you," she said as he turned around. "The race, how great was that? I was like, 'Yeah! Go, Jack!'"
"It was no big deal," Jack said, stuttering.
Vince then passed next to him, pushing him in his place with his shoulder "You got that right!" He got in front of him and turned around "If you think you can run with the big boys. The circuit. Tonight. 11 PM"
Jack looked at Sierra, conflicted on what to do, should he decline or agree, but he inevitably agreed.
While on the way to base, Jack explained what had transpired between him and Vince. Imagine her anger when the black-haired teen had told her what he agreed to do tonight.
"You agreed to what?!" Arcee yelled.
"It was some sort of, secret racing club, I-I don't know, I had no choice, Sierra was standing right there"
"There's always a choice. And what part of "just this once" do you not understand?"
"I know, I'm sorry, but, we're on, right?
"No! We're not on." Arcee then continued driving towards the base.
Meanwhile... On the other side of the Road
Knockout and Slashmark were driving around, waiting for excitement.
The truck was snaking between the highway and the dirt, having a whale of a time "Man, I love running like this, the smoothness of the pavement, the tickling bumps of dirt, the wind in my face"
"Oh, oh, oh, trust me, kid, you'll love more of this once we get to the street race"
"You're just waiting to see if someone's headed towards one to sneak in, right?"
"Yep! Just waiting for the right time to make the-" He was interrupted when Breakdown and Roadkill contacted them through their com-links.
"(Ringaling, speed demons)" While Roadkill was ready to get talking, Breakdown was worried for his friend, as he left without informing, again.
"(Knockout, Starscream's been looking for you again, where'd ya go?)"
"Out for a little drive," responded Knockout, "Slash and I are just strolling from town to town"
Suddenly, before the Decepticon medic could continue, a honking horn caught his and Slashmark's attention. It was a purple muscle car that passed them up and sped down the road in front of them. Knockout inwardly sneered.
"Waiting for the next opportunity to present itself" He finished.
Knockout shifted gear and speed behind the car, Slashmark following, and passed a sign on the left side of the road, reading "Jasper - City limits"
"That's where we'll find the place... Get ready, Slash. Let's show those humans the real meaning of speed!"
"I did overhear something about "the circuit", and I just hope it's ready for me, 'cause I'm gonna tear up the road"
The two then continued to speed up, intending to get to the circuit quickly.
During the time in the Autobot Base
Miko, Leo and Raf were on the couch, engaged in a heated, racing game. Three of their cars were neck-and-neck, closely approaching the finish line. But before they could, Jack walked up to them.
"Uh...Raf,"
The preteen got distracted when the black-haired teen called him, and gotten a game over, resulting Miko to be 1st place and Leo to be 2nd place in the game.
"Yes, Jack?" Raf looked at him, annoyed and groaned a bit.
"Uh...is there any chance I could borrow 'bee?" Jack asked, nudging his thumb to the yellow scout, who was listening in on their conversation along with Bulkhead and Blue Jacket.
"Why do you need to borrow my brother, Jack?" BJ asked in confusion, "Isn't Arcee your ride?" However, he was interrupted when Bee bleeped out one sentence.
"Count me in, let's burn rubber"
"Wait, you're going racing?"
"Um, yeah, since Arcee won't let me race, I need some muscle." Jack explained. That was when he saw BJ smile.
"If my brother is racing, then so am I!"
Raf, meanwhile, got worried "Jack, you know racing is against the rules, what if Optimus found out?"
"Raf has a point, Jack... As much as Vince deserves to be taught a lesson, none of us want Optimus involved in this." Leo said.
"Aw, man..." While 'Bee complained briefly, Jack simply sighed
"Aw, come on, guys! Live a little!" Miko said, getting their attention, "Jack needs to beat the bully... And get the girl~. Not to mention, Bee and BJ need some bro-time together!"
"Well..." Raf was thinking it over
"Hmmm..." Leo started thinking as well
"Come on, guys... Just this once?"
After Jack finished, Blue proceeded to give them a sad puppy stare
Both Raf and Leo started to feel bad once they saw Blue's puppy eyes. They then looked at each other before giving in. "Okay, fine, but this is one time, and one time only!" Leo insisted before giving them a warning, "Also, if you come back here while clinging to your life, that's on you."
"Thanks guys, and don't worry, I'll be back in one piece" BJ said.
After hearing this, Bumblebee simply stared at him all like "Bruh, really?"
"Hey, compared to what happened to me last time, racing is a piece of cake. Besides, Cliffjumper and I used to race each other." Blue Jacket assured his twin brother.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just go" Bee pointed behind him as he was finishing his "sentence"
The Circuit
The night sky was partially cloudy, showing a few stars and the full moon. Underneath the moonlight, in a concrete canal used for water drainage was the Circuit, an illegal, underground street racing club. Dozens of teenage spectators have gathered, either race or watch. At least six cars had lined up for the race, one up front being Vince's.
" * whistle * Wow, just like in Fast and Furious" BJ was impressed by the whole thing, mostly because it was his first street race
Jack and Bee were driving next to him, "Yeah, pretty cool, huh?" The black-haired teenager smiled. That was when he saw Vince's car. "See ya later, Blue. Bee and I got some business to settle."
"Okie Dokie"
Vince was being himself when he finally saw Jack. He first figured that he brought his motorcycle, or at least, a cheap car with him. However, that changed when he saw his rival's car.
"Bike's in the shop"
He had to admit, it was pretty cool... for an amateur. Either way, there was no way he'd lose to him. It was bad enough that he lost to a girl, he won't take another loss again.
In came the announcer through the speakers "[Circuit drivers, are you ready?]"
Just then Sierra walked up in front of the drivers and starts waving at Jack flirtingly. This made Jack smile, but made Vince even angrier when he glared at him.
"[Make it mean, but keep it clean]"
Jack and Vince glared at each other before focusing on the race. BJ was also looking forward to his first race. Thanks to Cliffjumper (before his demise), he'll definitely ace this race. Anyway, all the drivers prepared for the race as Sierra put her hands in the air, just when without notice, Knockout and Slashmark joined in the last second.
"What the-? Sally?"
"[GO!]"
Sierra threw her hands to the ground and crouched low as the cars drove off.
The race was on, engines revving, tires spinning, and concrete getting covered in tire marks.
Jack and Vince didn't care about the others racers and went to the first place. BJ was in second place. However, Knockout and Slashmark was behind them.
"AWOOOOOO! Now this is what I call "racing"!"
Knockout chuckled, happy to see that Slashmark was having a great time. That was when he noticed the two stinger bros. "The Autobots they call Blue Jacket and Bumblebee"
"What!?" She looked in front to see the twins running in the top three, her mood souring "Oh. This race just turned into a demolition derby! I'll get that blue runt"
"Then that means the yellow scout is all mine. This night just keeps getting better"
Knockout accelerated forward and rammed into Vince's car, causing the teen to swerve. Vince shouted as he tried to regain control of his car. With the arrogant bully taken out of the way, Knockout kicked up into a higher gear to catch up to them, with Slashmark following him.
That was when Blue Jacket saw what was happening and contacted Bumblebee through his com-link. "Bro, we have a problem."
Bumblebee beeped, "What is it?"
"It's Knockout."
"Scrap..."
Jack tried to assimilate the situation at hand, since he couldn't understand what Bumblebee was beeping "What was that, 'Bee?"
"We got a bogey, coming in fast"
He then looked behind him and saw Knockout tailing them "Wait a minute, I know that car"
However, that was when he saw another familiar car tailing them as well. "I-Is that Sally?"
But before he could get a chance to look at the driver, Bumblebee sped up to try and leave the decepticon medic behind, which didn't work out as expected, as he chased them down the canal.
Meanwhile, Blue was getting mixed signals from the truck approaching him "Wait, is that Sally or Slashmark!?" As soon as he got rammed, he got it cleared out "Slashmark, definitely Slashmark!"
The blue scout then accelerated his speed, trying to get away from the she-beast as fast as possible! Of course, that wasn't working because the velocitron beast was catching up to him.
"Looks like it's your lucky day, because you just won a free ticket to the scrapyard!" She drove to the border of the canal and rammed him by the side, sending them both off the road.
While BJ was driving away from Slash, Bee was still dealing with KO and drove out off the road as well. However, Vince noticed them and decided to follow them.
Jack still couldn't understand what Bee was saying. "I hope you and your twin brother can handle this, Bumblebee, because I really don't want to call back-up."
Meanwhile on the other side of the canal, BJ was running for his life "Help. Help! Help! Don't wanna die. I don't want to die today! Heeeeeelp!"
...
Back in the Autobot Base, Miko and Raf were playing the racing game with Bulkhead and Leo watching from behind. When Raf finally won, Leo congratulated him, while Bulkhead gave Miko a reassured look, knowing that she'll beat him next time.
That was when Arcee came back and walked up to them "Have any of you seen Jack?"
Everyone got quiet, with an "uh oh, busted" expression, and it was Miko who broke the ice
"Not since... we last saw him"
"They're racing, aren't they?" The two-wheeler quickly guessed correctly.
"Just this once." Raf tried to assure her.
She then turned to Bulkhead, with a stern tone in her voice "Did you know about this?"
"No... maybe?... a little..."
That was when she noticed something else... Or rather, someone else was missing. She then turned to Leo. "Leo, if you're here, where's Blue Jacket?"
"Um..." before the boy could answer, the comm system came online, Bumblebee in a fritz
"(We got Knockout hot on our heels over here!)"
"You're being chased by Knockout?" Raf asked.
"That sounds like a Decepticon." Miko commented.
"Bee, do not engage" Arcee responded "Your first priority is to keep Jack safe" she then turned and began walking towards the gate "until i get my hands on him"
Everyone gulped, wondering what Arcee would do once she gets a hold on him. That was when Blue Jacket called. "(Backup! I need backup right freaking now! Slashmark is going to tear me apart!)"
But before anyone could say anything else, he just let out a scream as the signal broke. With it, Bulk' just put his hand to his forehead "I swear, if that's another prank call..."
Leo then looked up at him and said "Better safe than sorry, big guy"
...
Back at The Road
Bumblebee (With Jack) continued dodging Knockout's shot attacks; however, they knew that they couldn't keep this up forever. Also, Bee was also worried about his brother, who was being chased by Slashmark.
He then dropped an oil streak on the road behind him to get Knockout to spin out and stop him for a while, to which Jack said "Slick"
Knockout, after the little side track problem, drove on top of the bridge. The yellow autobot sensed this and turned off his lights and engines, while Jack froze and tried to control his breathing. At the end, the decepticon medic thought that no one was there, so he continued driving away.
"I think we lost him, Bumblebee," Jack whispered.
And as soon as he finished, Vince showed up in front of them, stopped the car, and got out
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me"
"Darby!"
Knockout immediately stopped as he heard Vince's voice. He looked from his side-view mirror to see the lights and went back.
"Vince, you have to get out of here, okay?! You win, congratulations! Now go!" Jack tried to warn him, with no success.
Vince then slammed his hands on 'bee's hood "No, no, start 'er back up, loser, we're finishing this race! Don't wanna take it to the finish line? Fine. Then we got something to settle, right here, right now!" But as soon as he finished, Knockout picked him up from the back, pulled him up, tossed him into the air, transformed all the way except for his hardtop, letting Vince land on the copilot seat, closed the roof, and tied him up with the seatbelt.
"What's going on?" Vince demanded in fear.
An energon zapper came before Vince and zapped him in the eyes, causing him to black out. The decepticon medic then drove off while Jack tried to catch him, but he was too late.
As Knockout zoomed down the road, he activated his com-link. "Breakdown, Roadkill, you two will never guess what I'm packing... Bumblebee's human friend."
"(Haha, sweet, we got the nerd, from what I've heard, I can't wait to get him to spit things out)" Roadkill stated sadistically.
"And when the autobot attempts to stage a rescue..."
Breakdown then finished the sentence "(...He has a, breakdown)" and he then proceeded to chuckle at his own pun.
"Bee, he's getting away!" Jack said, getting worried for Vince's life. The yellow autobot tried to tell him that things were going to be okay, but the teenager didn't understand. "I-I can't understand you! Look, I'm not Raf! Can't you just honk once for bad news and honk twice for good news?"
" * Meep meep, meep * " Translation, "Backup's here, we got some back-up"
The teenager could sense that there was both good news and bad news. That was when he saw Bulkhead and Arcee driving towards when he heard a honk from the green wrecker. The two transformed and the two-wheeler glared at him "Jack, we need to talk"
"Later, Arcee, Vince got snatched by that, slick sports car 'con"
"What would Knockout want with a random human?"
"He probably mistook Vince for Bumblebee's human friend. I-I'm not even Bumblebee's human friend. I-I don't know, it doesn't matter why he took him, Vince is in trouble"
Bee was a bit offended when Jack said he's not his human friend. However, before he could even beep anything out, Bulkhead beat him to it, "Oh well... Tough break for Vince" He shrugged.
"Bulkhead!"
"What? I hear the guy's a jerk"
"No argument there, but the guy is also innocent, Vince doesn't deserve to get crushed by 'cons"
Arcee sighed, but she was really proud of Jack's decision of recusing his rival rather than leaving him to die by the decepticons' wrath, so she changed to her motorcycle form. "Hop on."
Bulkhead then looked around, remembering that Blue Jacket also called for help "Hey, where's BJ?"
They then looked over at a nearby rock formation, seeing him and Slash in pursuit.
BJ then transformed and climbed high up the rock, while she stopped in front of it "Try and get me now, bone breath"
"Oh yeah?" She then tried to jump onto him, only to get shot in the face and fall to the ground "OW, Son of a bitch!"
He then jumped off the rock, shot her again, and drove off "See ya later!"
...
Meanwhile, Leo, Raf and Miko were still at the base, waiting for the others to come back.
"They should have called by now" Raf said "You think Bumblebee and Blue are okay?"
"Don't worry, Raf. Bulkhead won't let anything happen to Jack, Blue, and Bee" Miko reassured him.
"He better, because Blue already had a near-death experience and I don't want it to happen again" Leo replied.
A moment later, Optimus was walking in.
"Uh oh... Here comes Big O" Leo gulped.
"...we should just tell Optimus the truth..." it was clear that this was not going to end very well, as far as keeping the secret was concerned.
Before Leo could even agree with Raf, Miko refused and spoke first, "Absolutely not! We made a deal! Just act completely normal!"
"Raf, Miko, Leo, do any of you know where the others have gone?" Optimus asked them, worried for everyone's safety.
"Why no, sir. We do not know," Miko lied...unconvincingly.
"Miko is correct. We do not know" Raf said in the same tone.
"Why would we know?"
Optimus raised his eyebrow, either thinking that they're either lying, or acting silly. He then looked at Fowler's son. "Leo, I know you can tell me the truth... For the sake of our friends and family."
He just stood there awkwardly, he knew they were busted "Well..."
...
Meanwhile, the three Autobots were going through the streets of Jasper. When they heard a car approaching, they stopped at the intersection and let the car pass, but they recognized that it was Knockout, so they followed him.
"Bumblebee brought company." The decepticon medic observed as he went faster.
"On your guard, boys. It could be a trap." Arcee informed.
"Remember, no shooting." Jack reminded them.
As Bulk' and 'Bee went further along the road, Arcee parked by the sidewalk "Speaking of safety, here's where you get off" she then sped off behind them.
Blue Jacket finally caught up and saw Jack, "You okay, dude?"
"I think I should be asking you that question, you were running away from that giant dog"
"I-I don't want to talk about it... But I'm just happy that I slowed her down! Anyway, stay safe!" He then drove further along the road so he could catch up to his Autobot allies. Meanwhile, speaking of that giant dog... Slashmark didn't give up so easily.
"Ugh, that cobalt bastard, next time I see him I'm gonna melt off his tires and make him swallow them"
She transformed into her vehicle mode and drove down the road, intending to finish off that coward once and for all. "Now... where are you?"
The Autobots arrived at a place with a hole in the wired fence. Arcee climbed onto a water tower and watched from above to see the others, who wandered around the area with their weapons ready.
Blue Jacket finally caught up to them and transformed into his robot mode. "Sorry I'm late guys." BJ said.
Then, out of nowhere, a red car at the end of the parking lot turned on it's headlights.
BJ took notice and knew those belonged to Knockout. However, before he could even warn them, an explosion from behind took them by surprise. They then turned around and saw Breakdown, Roadkill and a squadron of six Vehicons charged out of a warehouse building.
"Okay, i didn't expect this kind of company"
"You know the drill, boys... Take. Them. DOWN!" Roadkill ordered, and the vehicons carried out her order.
Meanwhile, Breakdown and Bulkhead were throwing it down, exchanging punches like rock 'em sock 'em robots
Bumblebee and Blue Jacket were fighting against the Vehicons, taking them down, one by one.
While the fights were happening, Roadkill and Knockout were searching for a certain Autobot
"Hmm, where's the two-wheeler?"
"I don't see her... Yet."
That was when Arcee jumped onto the decepticon medic's hood and punched it.
"HEY! WATCH THE PAINT!"
Knockout then started driving around, trying to get the two-wheeler off of him.
Meanwhile, Breakdown grabbed a knocked down Bumblebee by the arm and lifted him up, just for 'bee to change to his heavy weapon and shoot him in the gut, and throw in a 3 hit combo, after which he got smacked by Bulkhead
Knockout finally succeeded in getting Arcee off of top. Luckily, the two-wheeler rolled onto the ground, transformed into her vehicle mode and chased after him.
"That's my girl!" Jack quietly said with a smile.
"We're doing good, Bee!" BJ said, kicking the vehicon's face in the process. That was when he saw a very familiar truck coming their way. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me"
Slashmark drove freaking fast towards them, transformed into her robot mode and pounced onto Blue Jacket. Bee saw this and tried to aid him, but Roadkill got in his way.
"Sorry, bug boy, but our ocean colored pals have some, shall we say, unfinished business to attend to"
"If she kills my brother, I'm going to wreck you, and your BFF!" Bee bleeped out in anger and punched Roadkill's face.
"ACK! Why you little!" She turned her hand into a buzzsaw and tried to slice him up.
The yellow scout was able to dodge her attacks so he doesn't get slice n' dice. Meanwhile, Slash tried to tear Blue apart... Again.
Bj got pinned to the ground, and gulped "Heh, still got a bone to pick?"
"And a spark to rip" she snarled at him.
BJ had a scared look on his face and immediately started shooting at her face, getting her off of him in the process.
He made a run for it, high tailing it for the desert, he didn't know where to go or hide, and he was too worried for his own life to even think about it.
"Come back here, you coward!" she yelled, chasing after him.
BJ ran as fast as he could, trying to get away from the she-beast. He didn't care where he was going, as long as he was far away from Slash.
Suddenly, he ran into a wall, too smooth to climb, with his decepticon pursuer right behind him
"Oh no! Not now..." He then heard some footsteps behind him and gulped, knowing that it was the she-beast herself.
"Trapped between rocks, just like you did to me" she was getting closer, ready to tear him up. No blades, no blasters, just her bare hands "I thought you autobots could do better than just shoot a gun, but you're all just the same"
'T-Trapped between rocks? Just like I did to her? What is she talking abou-! Uh oh...' he thought to himself, didn't know what she was talking about until realization hit his head.
She was getting ready to smash his head in, until…
"WAIT!" he shouted, went on his knees and started begging for his life. "P-Please have mercy! I'm sorry about what happened on Cybertron! I wasn't trying to seal you in that cave, I swear!"
She stopped right before her firsts slammed into his head "...What?..."
"T-That cave-in... I wasn't trying to seal you there. Honest! I tried to get you out of there but I couldn't! I even cried in my sleep, thinking that I killed my only decepticon friend and crush!" He then covered his mouth when he said the "C" word.
"Wait, you're serious?" She found herself, confused? Dumbfounded? Broken? Hard to tell, all she knew was that all the anger was slowly fading away, like a bad dream
He gulped again before trying to find the right words, "Y-Yeah. I think during our fight at the cave back on Cybertron, one of us must've shot something that caused the cave-in and got you sealed up... I then tried to find a way to get you out of there, but I couldn't..." He then looked down in shame.
Now more relaxed, she lowered her arms to her sides "I-I... I don't know what to say, I thought you just wanted me... gone"
He held his head up once she said that, "What? No! I never wanted you gone! I mean, sure, I don't like the Decepticons, but you're different from them. You're not a backstabbing scrapheap like them. N-Not to mention, I-I do think you're cute." he blushed at the end.
"...Backstabbing scrapheap...?" Suddenly, while she had lost all intent to snuff him out, those words got her so fired up you could fry an egg on her flat surfaces "Do you have any Idea what we went through before this war exploded!?"
BJ got scared again, "Woah, woah, I-I didn't mean it like that. I meant to say that you're not like Starscream! Also, I'm sorry about what happened back then before the war started!"
"Sorry? I was in the fucking streets, everyone making fun of the "beast" with too strange an alt mode to have a proper function, workers on the factories and mines getting treated like mindless drones, people sneaking in, DAY AND NIGHT, into the pits to see them tear each other apart, for fun!" She was full of built up spite, and the bottle just got open "You got lucky, you at least got your brother to be with, I LOST MY PLANET, FOR PRIMUS' SAKE!" tears formed from her optics as she screamed that last sentence.
He saw how he indirectly caused her to be like this. Now, he felt like shit. He then started crying as well. She was right about a few things, he kinda did deserve to die, and everyone back in the day treated her like crap because she was a "beast". Even though he wasn't there, he truly felt bad for her.
"Y-You're right... I do deserve to have my spark ripped out of me... I know I wasn't there, and I know you don't want to hear it from me...B-But I'm sorry all of that happened to you..."
She just changed from and backed into the wall "Just let me be, and get out of here" she too was feeling like crap, from the memory of life during the age of rust, to the misdirected, six century old rage.
"O-Okay..." He said, transforming into his vehicle mode and drove away, giving her space.
...
Breakdown, Roadkill and the Vehicons were still fighting Bulkhead and Bumblebee. That was when Knockout contacted his two teammates. "Breakdown, Roadkill, in case you're wondering I decided to hit the road. One scratch is enough for today"
Then, Bulkhead grabbed a lamppost, and smacked Breakdown with it, sending him into the wall
"Breakdown!" Roadkill was shocked that her wrecking brute buddy was beaten, but before she could even act, Bumblebee knocked her out with one punch.
"Uaugh... Mommy? I think that was enough boxing practice for today..."
"What is wrong with her?" Bee beeped in confusion before remembering about Knockout. He and Bulkhead then transformed and drove down the road.
On the road, Arcee tried catching up to the decepticon medic, but he was too fast for her. "Eat my dust!"
Just as he thought he left any and all autobots behind, Optimus appeared driving from behind some rocks, entered the road, and rammed him by the side, sending Knockout spinning off the road
The Prime then grabbed him and picked him up. That was when Arcee contacted him, "Optimus, Knockout has a hostage."
"Understood" he grabbed a hold of the 'con's door, yanked it off, threw it to the side, and got Vince out of the car.
"ACK!" Knockout yipped in pain when Prime pulled the door off of him. Optimus then let him go, allowing the decepticon medic to transform. "Do you know how hard that is to replace?!"
That's when he saw almost the entire team headed in his direction, and decided to retreat and not risk another part going missing.
Still holding the unconscious Vince, Optimus turned around to see Bee, Bulk, Blue, and Arcee shift into their robot forms with Jack in front of them. Jack, who outwardly showed his guilt, stepped forward.
"Optimus... This is all my fault." Jack said.
Optimus simply addressed the situation (quite literally) at hand "We must get this boy to safety immediately, explanations can come later, from all of you" everyone else started feeling a bit down, somehow, him not raising his voice felt worse than if he just yelled at them.
...
Soon, Vince woke up on the passenger seat of Bumblebee and saw Jack with confusion on his face, wondering how he got in the car, "How did... What happened?"
"* psh * Some guys jumped you under the bridge, they tossed you into their trunk..." Jack answered, not wanting to spill the beans, and even if he did, Vince would just think he was crazy "...some kind of initiation"
"Really?" Vince asked with a disbelief look on his face.
"Yeah, I found you knocked out by the ditch of the road," Jack added as they reached the bridge and Vince got out of the vehicle "Look, I-I got to be honest. After what I saw tonight, I'm thinking racing just isn't my thing."
Vince then rested his elbow on 'Bee's door "I hear you, Darby" just when they assumed he was gonna talk about how dangerous the street racing scene is or something, he just throws an insult "Hard to win a race when driving a pedal car!"
Then, out of anger, the back tires of the car screeched as Bumblebee rolled out, leaving Vince in a wake of dust and smoke.
Inside the Decepticon Warship in Outer Space
"Knockout! Was I not clear!?" Starscream was in full discontent at the fact that Knockout sneaked off to go racing... again "You have defied my orders yet again!"
"My mistake, Commander Starscream, but I have learned my lesson... And paid the price" Knockout said, while holding his arm to show the missing door.
"It, is, lord, and you have paid when I say you have paid"
The silver seeker then sharped one of his claws and lifted one close to Knockout, whose optics widened in fear and dread of what was going to happen next.
"Do not worry, your punishment will only be... Cosmetic." Starscream smirked.
"No, not the finish, anything but the finish!" Starscream started scratching his paint, to which Breakdown looked away with his eyes closed, as he did not enjoy seeing his work coming undone "Nooooooooooo!"
Roadkill also closed her eyes, not wanting to see what Starscream did to the decepticon medic. That was when she saw Slash, who was feeling blue after she came back.
"Hey, Slashie, you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, just... my head hurts at the moment, that's all"
"Hmmm, okay, sis. Remember, if you need anything, I'm right here for ya!"
"Thanks" she was just standing there, wondering how things ended up like this.
She couldn't believe what happen tonight. First, her rival confessed the truth about the cave-in, then he said something stupid about the Decepticons, while saying that she was cute.
She was getting so many mixed signals, she didn't know what to think, but there was one coherent thought that passed through her head "Are we the bad guys?" After that, it went back to noise.
Slash then decided to rest for now... She really wanted to get passed these mixed feelings.
Meanwhile, in the Autobot Base
Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Agent Fowler were giving angry looks towards the four Autobots and the four kids.
"Not only you did lie and race behind our back but you put yourself and others in danger, have u lose your mind?!" Fowler yelled at Jack.
"Look I'm sorry really, it was my fault" Jack admitted before Arcee interrupted him.
"No, no it's my fault. I started this, that jerk insulted me and I took it personally"
The Prime looks at the two-wheeler, "Well regardless, you shouldn't let it bother you, and" he starts talking before turning to Jack, "you have informed them instead and got the others involved, and even if Decepticons weren't involved, what u did still is an illegal race"
"That's right, a lot of people were jailed for that, not to mention hospitals due to accidents! You're lucky that the police are not involved in this" Fowler added.
There was silence until Arcee broke the ice, "We're sorry, Optimus..."
"Yeah, we promise it won't happen again." Jack assured them.
Optimus smiled, while Ratchet nodded his head. Fowler then calmed down as well, "Good and till you learn to be more responsible, you guys are grounded and that means no games, no music, and Definitely no movies. You will be cleaning this base from top to bottom for one whole month. Ratchet will be in charge of watching your punishment. You do the crime, you do the time"
Others winces, but accepted their punishments but Jack protested, "Woah, woah, hold it guys! I accept my punishment, but you can't punish them, I was the one who told them, not you."
"Jack, while I am glad you accepted your responsibility, they still went along with it and Fowler has the right to do it"
Fowler then sighed while placing his hand on his forehead. "Look, it's been a long bad night for all of us..."
"Agreed, Autobots make sure to take children to their home safe. Tomorrow we will discuss chores for you to start"
"Leo, we will have this discussion at home so don't even think about sneaking off" Fowler looked at his son sternly
The other autobots and the kids agreed. 'Bee, Blue, Bulk and 'Cee transformed into their vehicle modes, allowed the children in and drove out of the base, intending to take the kids home.
"I never thought that Jack would do something this foolish..." Optimus stated.
"Well, Leo told me that he was doing this to impress a girl he had a crush on, boys couldn't resist the temptation just to look cool in front of them," He chuckles a bit, remembering his High School days before turning his attention to Prime, "Have you ever dealt with a girl bot before?"
Optimus was a bit quiet when he heard what Fowler said... He then left quietly, leaving Fowler confused.
"What?"
The Autobot Medic took a notice of Optimus' sad look on his face, and he understood why. Elita-One meant everything to Optimus back on Cybertron. However, when the war brook loose, she disappeared, losing his chances to be with her forever.
...
While Blue Jacket (and Blake Jones) were taking Leo home, he continued thinking about what Slashmark said to him during the fight.
Flashback
"I was in the fucking streets, everyone making fun of the "beast" with too strange an alt mode to have a proper function, workers on the factories and mines getting treated like mindless drones, people sneaking in, DAY AND NIGHT, into the pits to see them tear each other apart, for fun!" She was full of built up spite, and the bottle just got open "You got lucky, you at least got your brother to be with, I LOST MY PLANET, FOR PRIMUS' SAKE!" tears formed from her optics as she screamed that last sentence."
End of Flashback
"A-Are we the real villains? I never thought that something so right, could feel so wrong..." The thoughts went through his head... He was starting to think that maybe the Autobots were the villains after all... Even if they're the heroes on the outside, and maybe on the inside, most of the them are the reasons why most cybertronians and neutrals lost their homes, gotten bullied, and turned "evil" because of those reasons. He then had a tear coming from his holo-eye, and Leo took notice.
"B-Blake? Are you okay?"
'Blake' then looked at him with a sad look on his face, "N-Not really..."
"Look man, I'm sorry that I told Optimus, bu-"
"I-It's not that, bro... I-It's something else... I-I just don't want to talk about it... That's all..."
"O-Okay, man. I won't force ya."
"Thanks for understanding..."
He then sadly continued to drive towards the house.
The next day... Again
Jack was approaching Arcee, "So, Jack…" he heard Sierra call him. "Do you have time for that ride?"
"Uh…" he said, wanting to tell her that he can't but politely, "Look, I-I'm sorry, Sierra. I-I can't right now."
"No problem," she said, waving back, walking away, "I guess I'll see you around."
He sighs as Arcee approached him, "Hop on."
"Woah. Really?" He asked her with disbelief.
"Just this once," she explained, and soon Jack and Sierra are zooming through town.
And here's Chapter 14! I must say, I really like the episode of where Jack stands up to Vince, despite the odds against him. Later, this chapter gets intense in every direction! Also, thanks for writing this with me, B-128! And thanks for the dialogue idea, Girl Anime Club. Check them out on Deviantart and here on Fanfiction!
Anyway, meet the new decepticon party animal gal, Queen Roadkill! Okay, just Roadkill, but y'all get the drill! She's another one of Slashmark's best friends, partner/sidekick, and a goofy, but hot gal to hang out with. She's also another OC of B-128.
Check out any references in this story while reading. I'm not talking about any transformer references, I'm talking about any kind of references from any show.
While the chapter was amazing to write, it was also very emotional that we stopped for a few minutes. Slash had it bad... I mean, everyone has it bad in their lives (whether real life/canon or fiction/non-canon), but Slashmark really had it very hard in her life. Even Blue starts thinking maybe the Autobots are the real villains after all, while Slash thinks that the Decepticons are the bad guys.
Now, the next chapter might be longer, but will become very intense at the same time! I won't spoil it due to reasons, but I will say, it'll come from the Aligned continuity family video games and some characters will come from the Movie continuity. Then, after the special chapter, Predatory will be next (with two parts). For those asking why, you guys will find out in the next chapter.
Read, review, comment and God Bless y'all!