Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! I was a little busy. I apologize for the annoyance. And thanx to all my readers for promising to keep following this story! Also, I apologize if this chapter is shorter than the others. My idea tank is running low, but I'm doing my best!

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Burning Skies

Chapter 9: Return

For weeks after the escape of Ultra Rodimus, Jennifer Murdoch had been refining her newest plan to bring down the Autobot leader. Her plans were about to be finalized.

"The best time to strike is when he is alone," her advisor told her.

She glared at him. "I will not wait any longer. Besides, the Autobots don't leave him alone. They even post guards outside his chambers at night. There is no use in waiting."

"Our stun rifles will bring him down. They did so successfully the first time he was captured," the man pointed out.

"You are more of a fool than I thought," she snarled at him. "The rifles will not work. They are wise to that trick, and now he wears an armored visor over his eyes everytime he leaves the city. His eyes were his one weakness. This time he is ready. We will strike from a different angle this time." Her eyes fixed on the monitor.

The man followed her gaze. "What do the Witwickys have to do with this?"

Her smile was chilling. "He cares for them a great deal. We will use them to force him to do what we want him to do."

Everyone in the room with her shuddered and exchanged horrified glances. They all thought she was insane. Her first plan had been barbaric enough, but now she was planning to drag innocent humans into the crossfire.

"They are not innocent!" she screamed in rage, her eyes blazing with fury and hate. "They are collaborators! They work with the filthy machines!"

"That doesn't justify dragging them into your insane scheme!" one of the scientists yelled.

She lunged at one of her bodyguards and grabbed the gun from his belt. Without any hesitation, she brought the weapon up, clicked off the safety, and fired. The back of the scientist's head exploded, spraying blood, bits of skull, and brain matter everywhere. The body collapsed in a head, blood spurting from the massive hole in its head.

Jennifer's eyes were those of a reptile, cold and merciless. "Does anyone else have anything to say?" she demanded coldly, looking at each one in turn. They immediately returned to whatever they had been doing.

She blew smoke from the barrel of the gun and handed it back to her bodyguard. "Clean up that mess," she ordered, and several others scrambled to obey. She ignored them, turning back to the screen.

"The targets are in position," one of her operatives reported.

"Proceed," she commanded.

"Yes, my lady."

Her cold smile widened, and she began to laugh. It was not a nice sound. It gaze everyone who heard it the willies.

Soon, you will pay for what your filthy kind have done to me.

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Sparkplug Witwicky was walking his daughter-in-law and his grandson out of the city, toward the parking lot where she'd parked her car. The Autobots were more than willing to drive her anywhere she needed or wanted to go, but she insisted that every one of them was needed in the search for the human who had tortured and nearly killed their leader. So she'd bought her own car and drove it to and from the city.

"I'll take Danny to the babysitter, then go and pick up the groceries," Carly was saying. "After that I'll-- who is that?"

Startled and alarmed, Sparkplug looked up. Standing right in front of them was a man dressed in strangely-colored camouflage clothing. His face was hidden behind a mask, and dark glassed hid his eyes. He carried a strange weapon, and was pointing it right at them.

"Let's just back up slowly until we're back inside the city," Sparkplug whispered.

Carly nodded. She held her baby close, her face pale with fear. They began backing away slowly. For a moment, Sparkplug actually believed they would make it.

He was wrong.

Suddenly, they were grabbed from behind. Carly screamed and struggled. Her purse went flying, and her jacket was torn off. But it didn't help. The brute behind her pulled out a rag that reeked of chloroform and pressed it over her nose and mouth. She was forced to breathe the stuff. Her eyes rolled back. Then she passed out. The crying baby was ripped from her arms.

Sparkplug let out a bellow of fury. He was getting old, but he wasn't helpless, and years of hanging around the Autobots had taught him more than a few things about self-defense. He lashed out with hands and feet, striking at whoever he could reach. One of the men let out a loud "oof" as the wind was driven out of him. Another went sprawling face-first of the metal, bleeding from a split lip. Sparkplug was about to move on the next man when something cold and sharp was pressed against his neck. He instantly recognized it as a knife, and went completely still. The chloroform-soaked rag was pressed over his face until he too passed out.

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"We have them, my lady."

Jennifer's eyes glittered with triumph. "Good. Bring our guests here."

"At once, my lady."

Soon. It won't be much longer. Then you will fall!

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Ultra Rodimus was in the middle of a discussion with several Autobots and the chiefs of several different police forces. The topic of discussion was, of course, Jennifer Murdoch. They were well into the discussion when the door opened and Spike, winded and very pale, ran in. Ultra Rodimus immediately turned to him.

"What's wrong?" the young Prime demanded.

"My father, Carly, and Danny have been kidnapped!"

To be continued...

How's that for a cliffhanger, huh? Wanna read more? Then you know what to do! Keep sending me reviews! And now, the reviewer responses:

LoneGenesis: Yes, he's alive. If you wanna know what happens, keep on reading. This chapter sets up the future chapters, but I'm sure you can guess what's starting.

Rose: Don't drop dead on me, please. I'm updating as fast as humanly possible. The trick is getting my sister to relinquish the computer for any real length of time. And the suspense in this chapter only gets worse. Aren't I evil?

Gromia: Sweet Primus, you're reviewing nearly as fast as I'm updating. How on Earth do you manage that? Are you watching this fic for updates 24-7? Or do you have something set up that tells you when I've updated? How do you do it? Yes, Ultra Roddy can shapeshift, but only from Transformer to human and back. Keep reading and find out how this story ends!

Until next time!