DMK: Hmm…methinks I'm getting less and less
reviews… me no likey dat… :P
Hotshot: Oh, suck it up and get on with the
story.
DMK: ……fine. ____'' here's the next chapter… and
it'll hint at the pairing as well…if you catch it, ya can always tell me in a review…
umm… this took me quite a while, so enjoy, and please, please, please, please,
please, PLEASE review! OR NO MORE!
Wheeljack: YEAH!
DMK: …where did you come from?
Wheeljack: …uhh… Random plot hole?
DMK: ……………Works for me. Alright, NOW we can move on…
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Chapter 12
RedAlert snuck into Caitlin's quarters without a sound,
Longarm not too far behind. The femme in question was sound asleep, and deeply
at that.
"Perfect."
Moving closer, he touched the side of her helmet,
activating a hidden switch of some sort. With a hiss, her head armor parted,
exposing the mainframe within.
Longarm looked around nervously. W-what if someone
catches us??? She might wake up, you know… He said to his partner with
caution.
"It wouldn't be possible," He answered back calmly. "I've
designed her system to automatically switch into stasis lock if any of her
vital systems are ever exposed… A fail-safe, if you will…"
Oookay… But this is still a bit overboard.
"Nonsense. It will be quite a laugh come tomorrow
morning." RedAlert had removed something from within the femme's main nervous
center, and looked to Longarm, who transformed and let the medic load it onto
him. The Minicon waited as he then moved to her throat area, and took something
else as well, and also placed it on Longarm's small flatbed.
Fine, fine. Now can I PLEASE go?!
"Yes, now let's get going. Rollbar's more than likely on
his way here."
With that, he zipped out of the room, mindful of the CPU
and voice modulator he was carrying.
MEANWHILE…
Scavenger was in Jetfire's room, doing much the same thing
as RedAlert. Working carefully, he removed a similar device from Jetfire's
mainframe, and then took a small box from his throat.
Hehe, you guys are just plain evil, Rollbar
commented as the two things were placed on his passenger seats.
"No, we just enjoy sweet revenge…"
Same difference. But uhh… This WON'T get traced back
to me, will it?
"No, I don't think so. Now hurry up, we don't have much
time before his recharge cycle ends."
Yeesh, pu-shy. I was already on my way out… He
muttered, picking up speed in his dune buggy alt. Halfway through the base, he
passed Longarm, who was toting the same two things. Soon, they had reached
their destinations, and the prank was set. Come the morning, it was going to be
a 'Freaky Friday' at the Autobot Base…
The next morning…
When Caitlin woke up, she instantly felt strange. She sat
up quickly, and looked around… this WASN'T her room.
That's when she saw her feet…
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Seconds later, another scream joined hers. "AHHHHHHHH!"
From their own rooms, Scavenger and RedAlert heard this,
and promptly fell out of their recharge beds, laughing insanely. That was
exactly what they had wanted. Struggling for air, the two managed to stand up
and head for their victims.
Jetfire, mad as Hades, tore out of 'his' room, and ran
smack into Scavenger. "Why hello," He chuckled evilly. "…Caitlin."
"You!" Jetfire, who was in his friend's body, with his own
voice, pointed a finger accusingly. "You did this!"
Scavey grinned malevolently. "I DID get help from
RedAlert…"
"ARRRRRRGH!!! CHANGE ME BACK, NOW!"
"Why?" The mercenary retorted coolly. "This is just SO
entertaining…"
MEANWHILE…
Caitlin, madder than a hornet, stomped into the path of
the Autobot medic, Jetfire's body's huge frame adding to her furious
appearance.
"Yes?" Red began casually. "What can I do for you,
Jetfire, or should I really say, Caitlin?"
"You sir, are evil," She growled.
"And your point would be…?"
"DANGIT, CHANGE ME BACK! Who knows what Jetfire might do
in my body!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" The medic was still quite
calm.
She smacked her forehead in heated exasperation.
"Nevermind. I'm the only one around here who's mind is perpetually in the
gutter…"
He understood. "I highly doubt he'd take… 'advantage'… of
this situation, if that's what you mean," He answered, still placid and smug.
She stopped her plea. "…You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
He brought his face dangerously close to hers, optics
flashing with malice. "Every. Second of it. And I really don't plan on ending
my fun anytime soon…"
She reared back. "Jebus Cripes you're a VERY evil bot, you
know that?!"
He didn't so much as flinch from the outburst. "So I've
been told."
"Aw come on… PLEASE change us back! What if a Minicon
shows up? What if the Decepticons attack and we need Jet Convoy?!"
"…That…" He began. "…Is your problem."
"For the love of everything sane and normal, PLEASE?!"
"…I will… Eventually."
"Now this is just plain wrong! Come on-!!"
That moment, to Caitlin's stupor, Optimus' voice came over
the P.A: "All Autobots are to report to the Command Center for a mission
briefing, repeat, all Autobots must report to the Command Center."
Cait looked to RedAlert, as if asking, 'WHY ME?!?!', and
the medic responded with a simple, yet smug grin.
"Well you heard him. Move out." His voice practically
dripped with self-satisfaction.
"Ohhhh, you are a very very dead bot…" She threatened
darkly, turning and heading for the command center. Just as she was about to
enter the door, she came face-to-face with her own body, Jetfire inhabiting it.
The both of them exchanged looks that could kill even Unicron, if possible.
Then the two entered the room, falling in line with their teammates and waiting
for Optimus' briefing.
"Alright soldiers, there's been an active Minicon sighted
in the Grand Canyon, and obviously the Decepticons will have picked up on this
signal… Also…" He looked at all of his comrades with scrutiny. "I'm curious as
to what all that noise was this morning…"
Jetfire and Caitlin just about hit the floor. 'First I
die, then I get hit on by a freaking Decepticon, Cyclonus no less, THEN trained
by Mr. Personality, THEN THROWN INTO JETFIRE'S BODY! WHEN WILL MY TORMENT
END?!'
Scavenger answered, looking over at the two pranked-on 'Formers.
"I believe those two would know the answer to that…"
All optics shifted to the said Transformers, who didn't
exchange a word, and shrugged. But the damage had been done. Optimus picked up
on the uncomfortable silence, and turned serious. "Caitlin… Jetfire… What is
going on here?" He brought his optics to Cait, whom he believed was Jetfire,
but she had no idea whether to speak or stay silent. That's when the real space
shuttle Transformer stepped forward.
"Ehh… Scavenger and RedAlert decided to get even with us
again, sir…"
Hotshot stared, looking at the femme body, who now had the
poise and voice of the Vice Commander. "J-Jetfire?! Is that you?!"
He nodded with disdain, the expression on his face
betraying his incredibly sour mood. "CPU switching."
The reaction was instantaneous. Every single Transformer
present (other than the two swapped bots) –including Optimus- burst out into
peals of laughter, while Jetfire and Caitlin stood and took the ridicule.
Just when the poor human-turned-Transformer thought it
would never end, Optimus broke in above the loud laughter. "Alright, alright
men, that's enough," He managed between chuckles. "Let's get ready to move
out."
The rest of the team started to leave, most of them still
giggling and chortling under their breaths. As she walked out, Caitlin noticed
RedAlert, who's lips were curled into an almost sinister grin. At that moment,
she heavily resisted the urge to jump at his throat. Scowling, she warped to
the rocky canyon that the Minicon had been detected in.
Which, conveniently enough, was about seventy feet up. Too
high for anyone to climb, but not too high for a flyer. 'Oh. Joy.' Caitlin
thought to herself. 'I can see this coming…'
"Hmm," Scavenger began, the satisfaction in his voice loud
and clear. "Perhaps we need the assistance of Jet Convoy…" He suggested to
Optimus, winking a goldenrod optic at him.
Prime caught on quickly enough, and nodded. "I think
you're right… My apologies, Caitlin, but we need to powerlink…"
'I. Hate. My life.'
"I uhh… don't know how?" She protested weakly, shrugging
innocently.
Optimus was about to explain how, when a laser missile
passed only inches above their heads, and exploded on a nearby rock with a loud
'bang!'.
"Forget it and scramble! The 'Cons are here!" Hotshot
interrupted as he took cover behind another stone.
Looking up, Cait noticed that the Decepticons were lining
the left side of the canyon, with Starscream, Cyclonus, and Thrust circling
above like vultures.
"Okay, first time was a joke, but now we NEED Jet Convoy!"
Hotshot said to Caitlin over the din of the laser fire.
Swallowing her pride, she looked over to Optimus. "Tell me
what to do and I'm there!"
"Just focus on becoming Jet Convoy when you give the
command! Are you ready?"
She inhaled quickly. "As ready as I'll ever be!"
"Then let's go! TRANSFORM AND COMBINE!" Optimus exclaimed
as he leaped into the air, his foot-mounted thrusters lifting him high.
"TRANSFORM AND COMBINE!" She answered back, tossing her
shield onto Prime's back, followed by the plasma blaster, which rocketed him
further into the air. With one swift movement, Optimus became the upper torso,
while in another smooth motion, Caitlin felt herself transform into the lower
half of Jet Convoy. In a small shower of sparks, the two combined. If she could
have, she would have jumped by the sudden surge of power that followed. It was
like an explosion! Then she felt something else…
Like she wasn't alone.
Woah… this… is freaky… She thought in her mind.
Heh-heh, it takes a bit of getting used to, I
know. A voice told her. It was Optimus.
GAH! Optimus?! You read my mind!!
We're sharing a mind, of course I can, He
responded calmly.
Oh. Umm, then I guess I shouldn't think about anything
personal…
Yes… I learned that the hard way. Jetfire has quite a
bit of blackmail on me…
Yeesh…thanks for the info… She trailed off,
wondering about what kind of things Optimus thought about that were
blackmail-worthy.
Shall we get started then?
Caitlin had almost forgotten about the task at hand.
Yes, lets!
With a sudden slam of the vernier engines, Jet Convoy took
off towards the mouth of the canyon. As they advanced on their attackers, a
missile headed right at them. Caitlin feared that they would disagree on which
way to go, but they obviously agreed on diving down for a moment.
Wow… and here I was thinking we'd fight over which way
we fly…
Optimus told her. When we're like this, we think as
one.
Ohhhhh… Cool. Well let's toast Megs and get outta
here!
Well said!
"Decepticons! Shoot that annoying oversized bottle rocket
out of the sky!" Megatron boomed over the noise.
Just as they were about to attack the Decepticon leader,
Caitlin took note of Cyclonus, who was eyeing her real body with something
comparable to heavy desire.
In a fit of flustered anger, Caitlin's will suddenly
overpowered the shared mind, brushing Optimus' conscience aside long enough for
her to aim and shoot down the drooling helicopter. With a satisfying 'bang' and
several shouted obscenities, Cyclonus found himself eating dirt. But as quickly
as she had taken control, Caitlin was back in the shared state of mind, and she
could tell Optimus seemed a bit taken aback.
She apologized in her mind albeit sheepishly as they
worked on taking down Starscream.
Optimus took note of Cyclonus, who had hardly moved.
…Perhaps I should let you take over more often…
Naw, that was dumb luck. Let's just kick their metal
booties back to the moon.
Gladly!
With cover from their fellow Teammates (Jetfire had
started to get the hang of Caitlin's dragon form), the fused Transformers
picked off 'Con after 'Con, until one of the only ones left was Megatron, who
was busy cursing out his 'incompetent' soldiers.
"This Minicon will NOT be used for your evil purposes!"
Optimus' voice rang out. "So hit the road!" Caitlin couldn't help but add.
"HA! You're empty threats mean NOTHING to me, Prime! This
battle is FAR from over!" Megatron retorted, firing round after round from his
tank turret.
The fused bots dodged easily, barely taking damage as they
advanced on Meggy. But, they overlooked the sole Decepticon who managed to get
to his feet. Struggling, the shadowed form pulled something out of his subspace
pocket, and hurled it at the backside of Jet Convoy.
"AHH!" The two shouted in unison, losing altitude for a
moment, then quickly regaining it. Turning around, they saw Wheeljack, who had
a look of sadistic triumph on his face.
Note to self: Bash his head in when back in real
body, She muttered, almost forgetting her mental link with Prime.
Haha, I wouldn't mind helping you with that task,
Optimus responded, taking note of the dent that was now in their back.
Forgetting Megatron for a moment, they focused most of
their attacks on Wheeljack, who, despite his injuries, was dodging and avoiding
rather well. For a second, Caitlin saw something in the ex-Autobot. Gee,
shame he's a Decepticon… She then caught her mistake. Gah! You didn't
hear that!!
Hehe, hear what?
She smiled inwardly. Glad you don't like to
blackmail…
More like I don't prefer making enemies for
myself… he corrected after they dove down and knocked Wheeljack silly. Because
I shudder to think what sort of horrible pranks you have waiting for me if I do…
Yeesh, after this, I'm done. 'S far as I'm concerned,
Scavey and Red won… No more body switching for me…
He chuckled again. Glad you know when to quit…
Suddenly, their thought-conversation was interrupted by a
stray RPG, which hit its mark and knocked them to the ground. As Jet Convoy
pulled itself to its feet, still reeling, they noticed Megatron, who was about
to impale them both on the Starsaber.
He chuckled evilly. "I suppose this is where it ends,
Prime," He said just as maliciously, raising the sword above his head. "Now
PERISH!"
But the second before the sword would have pierced them, a
cascade of flames swallowed Megs and knocked him to the ground. "What the-?!"
Jetfire, still in his new body's dragon form, grinned,
satisfied with his work. The Decepticon leader looked about, all of his men
either in or on the verge of Stasis lock. "Argh. You may have one this one,
Optimus, but I WILL win sooner or later… RETREAT!" He bellowed, warping away
from the battlefield.
WHOO! YEAH! WE RULE! Caitlin exclaimed happily in
her mind.
You did rather well, despite the fact you weren't
really in your own body… And were much easier to work with, He added,
followed by, But Jetfire doesn't really need to know that little fact…
My lips are sealed… And that was kinda fun... I Just
have to watch my mouth if I end up this way again...
Jetfire ran up, now in robot mode, and he was grinning.
"Hehe, cool! You guys did great!" He then looked to Optimus, after they had
de-powerlinked. "Uhh… can you make RedAlert and Scavenger switch us back…?
Please…? Because I REALLY didn't like the way Blenderbutt was looking at me…"
Optimus smirked under his mask. "I suppose they will… IF
you end this little war…"
Jetfire looked to Caitlin, nodding vigorously.
"Finefinefine! I just need to get outta this body...."
"Here, here!" She agreed, nodding with just as much
energy.
After getting ahold of the Minicon, they warped back to
the base, and as they walked out of the warpgate, Caitlin caught RedAlert by
the shoulder.
"Yes?" He asked, smug once more.
"Okay, fine. You and Scavenger win. Just change us back,
alright?"
He turned to face her fully. "No more pranks?"
Jetfire had walked up behind them. "No more pranks…"
"As long as there are no more jokes, I'll agree to it. Now
come with me," RedAlert told them, heading to the medbay.
Little did he or Scavenger know, that both Jetfire and
Caitlin had their fingers crossed, the two already plotting their revenge…
TBC
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DMK: strange chapter, strange place to end it, but oh
heck, that's as far as I was about to get anyways. Now that most (note: MOST)
of the prank war arc is done, it'll serious up a bit… But there'll be humor
here and there… AND, the hint towards the pair was in there… if ya caught it,
and wanna guess, go ahead. :D now, I leave. Bye!
AND REVIEW!!