Oh, Shit. That phrase kept flying through his processors. Oh, shit. There was some strange form of comfort derived from that phrase. That phrase seemed to encompass the entire spectrum of his concerns. So simple, small, innocuous, and yet it engulfed all. When he was reactivated by the squishy, he'd thought that things couldn't get worse. Weapons were offline, purposely deactivated by someone who knew what they were doing. He was securely fastened down to a sturdy surface, with absolutely no possibility of escape. The squishy that had reactivated him had then, by some miracle of Primus, provided him with coffee! This was not the 7-11 coffee that Barricade had allowed him to sample on rare occasions. This was, HAD to be, a creation of the merciful Primus himself! Frenzy was certain that he'd been rejoined with the matrix. That was the only possible explanation. Then the squishy said something that almost overloaded all of Frenzy's processing hardware. "This ain't the best stuff available." Not the best? NOT the best? The squishy's processing must be seriously malfunctioning! This was sublime. This was proof, not only that Primus existed, but also that he was merciful and kind! This was INCREDIBLE! To Frenzy, this was the greatest discovery in Cybertronian history! What was more, it was created by FLESHLINGS! Any species that created such a wonderful concoction, which was in Frenzy's opinion even better than top-notch high-grade energon, had to be blessed by Primus himself. More, the squishy had obviously shared his own supply with Frenzy. The squishy had even implied a threat against Barricade for introducing him to substandard fare! He didn't care what any of the other Decepticons decreed, he would defect.
Oh, Shit! I CAN defect! I can defect from the Decepticon army, join the squishies! Oh, Shit! I tried to kill the squishies! The squishies will want vengeance. But the squishy gave me coffee!
THAT was the hydraulic wrench that kept trying to reset Frenzy's thought processes! Why did the squishy give me coffee, and not just any coffee, but something that is obviously fairly high grade? No matter how much he analyzed it, the answer refused to present itself, and this bothered Frenzy greatly. Why would this squishy be nice to him?
Still pondering this weighty question Frenzy turned his attention back to what was occurring around him. Oh, Shit! Frenzy thought as he saw the Autobot known to the Decepticons as "Hatchet" enter the room.
The human had a brief conversation with Hatchet, then to Frenzy's horror, the human was preparing to leave, after receiving a communication from another squishy! Frenzy was being turned over to Hatchet!
OH SHIT! Not even Megatron could be THIS cruel! To give a prisoner a taste of absolute paradise and then have them tortured? OH SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!
"OH! Hey Bones! One last thing before I go. I got the little guy up and running but he seems a little sputtery, so you might want to check him out before you let him loose." Daniel informed Ratchet.
"I have no intention of turning that pit fragging Decepticon loose, EVER!" Ratchet replied.
"HUH? That's a Decepticon? Hmm, OK well then do me a favor, just keep him fixed up with mocha Frappuccinos till I get back and I'll deal with him." Daniel said looking at the mech in question.
After some grumbling, Ratchet finally agreed to keep the Decepticon hacker supplied with the specified coffee. Daniel made a quick check on Chinook as he and Ironhide prepared to leave.
Unable to continue effecting repairs until the slain Decepticons were brought to the facility, Ratchet decided he could use the time to investigate more of these 'movies' that Daniel kept referring to for his nicknames.
Frenzy for his part couldn't believe his audio receptors. Not only had the squishy tried to get him released, but failing in that he gave instructions to provide MORE of that wonderful concoction! Starscream and most of the other Decepticons had indicated that the inhabitants of this world were primitive parasitical organisms with no redeeming qualities what so ever! Yet here was one of these squishy, fragile, fleshlings making sure that, while he was unable to move, access his weapons or the internet, (another fleshy invention that Frenzy loved!) he would at least be somewhat happy. WHY? Unable to come to any conclusions on his own without more information Frenzy knew that he would just have to wait for the answers.
Daniel and Ironhide were about to leave the main facility when they were called back by a slightly breathless Agent Bannacheck.
"Mr. Hurst! Hold up for a moment please." Agent Bannacheck shouted as he rushed to catch up with them.
Turning to see who it was, and realizing that this was one of two people that he had to take orders from Daniel stopped and waited for the man to reach them.
"What's up, Boss Man?" Daniel asked casually.
"I have some paper work and an ID badge for you, especially if you want to be able to get back in here without any hassles."
"Come on Boss, if my crow bar didn't convince 'em, Tackleberry's cannons would." Daniel said pointing his thumb at Ironhide, and hearing the big mech chuckle in response.
Without batting an eye, Bannacheck made his reply. "This will be much faster, even if less enjoyable. Besides, you will need these papers; they identify you as a governmental agent associated with the Office of the Secretary Of Defense, and Homeland security. These papers will get you out of any trouble you MIGHT find yourself in from local authorities. There are also insurance papers for each of the Autobots as well."
"Holy shit! Thanks!" Daniel said slightly dumbstruck. Then another thought crossed his mind.
"Hey listen I lost track of time while uh . . . stuff was going on, and my niece just got in to town. She is one hell of an electronics expert, and I think Ratchet and I can really use her help. She's a good kid and knows how to keep her mouth shut." Daniel said earnestly.
"Would that be Maigan Brewer?" Agent Bannacheck asked.
With a REALLY stupid look on his face, Daniel asked, "How the hell did you know that?"
"We ARE the Government you know. Sure, I've checked out those nearest to you, and she can be trusted. Her mother however does not tend to keep secrets from people for any reason, and should therefore NOT be informed. I'll ready the paperwork for her when she arrives." Agent Bannacheck said seriously.
"Cool." Daniel said taking the Badge and papers.
Once outside the main structure, Ironhide transformed into the ever impressive and REALLY big GMC Topkick 6500. Looking at the truck that was barely under the limits of being classed as a commercial freight vehicle Daniel was once again impressed with it.
Climbing into the cab with a black leather interior, XM satellite radio system and plenty of other creature comforts, Daniel couldn't help but remark "DAMN! Now THIS is a hell of a truck! I'm telling you man, you picked one hell of a kick ass ride for a disguise!
Ironhide could NOT believe his audios! This human hadn't even given his highly advanced and incredibly powerful cannons a second glance, but was instead highly impressed with his alt form? NOW Ironhide knew for certain that the human's processors were cracked!
With out giving Ironhide a chance to even think of driving himself, Daniel grabbed the steering wheel and then putting the powerhouse truck in gear, popped the clutch and laid rubber for the airport. As the massive thirty-four inch off road tires broke loose, a loud roar could be heard from the massive intercooled supercharged diesel engine under the hood, not to mention the torturous wail of the tires, as Daniel laughing like a kid turned loose in a candy factory floored the accelerator. The tires had only been spinning for a second and a half when Daniel could hear pebbles hitting the undercarriage of the truck. Letting off the gas Daniel let the big truck roll forward slowly, giving the truly massive cloud of burnt rubber time to clear out in the breeze. What he saw in the side view mirror caused his jaw to drop. Instead of leaving skid marks on the pavement, Ironhide's tires had actually eaten their way into the asphalt leaving a pair of matching ruts in the road!
"HOLY FUGGIN SHIT!" Daniel yelled looking at the damage to the road, his native Texan accent showing just how amazed he was. "DAMN! Talk about burning up the road! HOLY SHIT! DUDE! You are one awesome TRUCK! I mean DAMN! That is friggin NUTS!" Daniel exclaimed as he tore off down the road at a SLIGHTLY more reasonable speed.
At this point Ironhide knew, just KNEW that it was not going to be a good day. Daniel made good time getting to the outskirts of town, but then who would have thought that a truck as big as Ironhide could hit 210 miles per hour! As he approached Mission City limits Daniel dropped to just a hair under the speed limit.
"Man! Talk about a wild ride, that was AWESOME! Dude, YOU ROCK!" Daniel exclaimed still feeling a massive adrenaline rush from the sheer speed that Ironhide was capable of.
Confused, Ironhide asked, "Are not your own vehicles of this design able to achieve such speeds?"
"What? HELL no! Not without some kind o' rocket engine strapped to the bed." Daniel said laughing. "I'll say it again Buddy; you are ONE hell of a ride." Forgetting all of his animosity towards the alien mech in his excitement.
Pulling in to the airport, Daniel had a bit of a hard time trying to find a parking spot big enough for the massive Topkick. He finally found one, at the far end of the parking lot of course.
"Hey wait for me here will ya? I'm just gonna go get Maigan and we'll be back in a few minutes ok?" Daniel asked, patting the hood in a friendly manner.
Without waiting for a response, Daniel took off at a fast-paced walk toward the terminal entrance. He found his niece standing just outside having a smoke.
"Oh god, Maigan. I am so sorry. It's been crazy for the last few days. I promise I'll explain everything, but you're just gonna have to trust me for now, because you will NOT believe what's been happening." Daniel said apologetically while gathering up her luggage.
"I was kind of worried that mom wouldn't let me come, what with the terrorist attack and all. She almost didn't." Maigan said with some relief.
"Well I'm glad you're here Kiddo, I've got some new friends that you just HAVE to meet! They are totally awesome. You're gonna love 'em, I promise." Daniel said with a grin.
"Uh huh." Maigan said skeptically.
Upon reaching Ironhide's parking spot Daniel immediately started putting Maigan's luggage in the back seat. Maigan was staring at the massive Topkick with bugged eyes and an open mouth.
"Oh my GOD! Uncle Daniel please! You gotta let me drive it, come on, PLEASE! I mean this is one way cool truck! I just have to drive it, just once please. I'll never bug you about it again, but please, you have to let me drive it one time." Maigan said pleadingly.
Daniel started laughing as he replied, "I'd be happy to let you drive, but it's not mine. I will however point out the one you gotta talk to for permission. Besides, coming here is the first time I've driven it myself."
"Well then are you going to buy one of these?" Maigan asked hopefully.
"I really wish I could Kiddo, but this here truck is a one of a kind. And that's the honest to God truth." Daniel told her earnestly.
Daniel finished loading Maigan's luggage in the back seat, and then he noticed what she was wearing, and frowned.
"OK You might not like me for this, you can even hate me for this, but you are NOT flashing God and everybody else while you try to climb up into this thing!" He said seriously.
Maigan looked down at her dark colored Abercrombie top, denim mini skirt and heeled sandals and blushed as she realized that that is exactly what would happen if she tried to climb up into the cab on her own.
"I guess I should have worn jeans." She said a little nervously.
"Oh you think so huh?" Daniel said with a slight hint of sarcasm.
Opening the front passenger side door, he told her to turn around and face the cab. Then putting his hands on her waist he lifted her up so she could step in to the cab, all with out flashing anyone. Going around to the driver side and climbing in himself, Daniel couldn't help but grin.
"By the way, I have an incredible job lined up for you." Daniel said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Awww come ON! This was supposed to be my vacation before going to college, that's why I came out here. To get away from the house and everything else and just have a little fun ya know? Some relaxation, maybe a little shopping, DEFINATELY some beach bumming. And now I find out I have to go to work? What kind of job is it anyway?" Maigan asked more than a little bummed.
"Well, to start off with. What you will be working with is classified in the HIGHEST extreme. OK, all bullshit aside, you'll be doing maintenance and repairs while working with the most advanced technology on this planet. I'm not supposed to give you any real details until you accept the job, but I promise you'll love it." Daniel said with an almost evil grin. Daniel knew that Maigan loved working with computer tech, and had even modified a few components in her own computers.
"Oh yeah? Just how advanced is it?" Maigan asked, her voice dripping with doubt.
"Let me put it this way, Download speeds of thirty gigs or more per second." Daniel said.
"BULLSHIT! First of all, there's not a motherboard on the planet with even half the RAM needed to handle that kind of transfer rate! Secondly, even a direct uplink can't provide that type of data feed! Don't you dare try to con me into taking some crap job just because you think it's kinda cool!" Maigan said heatedly.
"OK, ok. Last hint. I said it's the most advanced technology on this planet, but I did NOT say that it FROM this planet. Now did I?" Daniel asked her.
"That's not even funny. April Fools Day was last month! Have you been stuffing something in your stogies? Are you doing dope?" Maigan huffed while giving her uncle a dirty look.
Daniel's response was to speak to the truck of all things. "Hey, Ironhide. Take us back to the base, will ya buddy?"
Seeing that Daniel intended for him to reveal himself as a sentient being, Ironhide replied to his request. "No problem. But do NOT expect me to drive the way you did coming over here." Ironhide lectured.
"I ii iii ii" Maigan sputtered as she stared at the dashboard in astonishment.
"Ok you're trying to say "IT" I THINK." Daniel said getting a kick out of this.
Maigan snapped her attention away from the dashboard and looked her uncle in the eye, and yelled. "IT TALKED!"
"I TOLD you it one of a kind." Daniel said with some condescension in his voice.
Daniel folded his arms across his chest as Ironhide started his engine and backed out of the parking space.
Maigan's mouth was working in overdrive as she started trying to wrap her mind around what was going on. The only reason she didn't go completely ballistic and start freaking out entirely was because she knew her uncle would never put her in jeopardy.
This is impossible! We don't have anywhere NEAR the technology or knowledge to do something like this for real, and he wouldn't pull a joke like this on me, so it has to be the real thing! An honest to God AI! This isn't some reject from a Hollywood movie set, and Daniel's jokes don't even come close to something like this, and it doesn't act like some Knight Rider wannabe. Besides those robot cars the military is developing can only travel preplanned routes and have a TON of extra gear on them, and this thing doesn't have that stuff. So it must be the real thing. IT'S REAL!
"Ok, I want the whole story, starting with this truck that came straight out of Knight Rider and how you wound up with it!" Maigan said emphatically.
"You gonna take the job?" Daniel asked with a snicker.
"If I get to talk with the truck then sure, you got it!" Maigan said with out hesitation.
"The truck has a name, which is Ironhide; I on the other hand prefer to call him Tackleberry." Daniel told her.
"Why would you call him Tackleberry?" Maigan asked in disbelief.
"Maybe because I think he's a gun crazed trigger happy maniac?" Daniel replied.
"OH As if you have ANY room to talk, Mr. I'm just looking for an EXCUSE to go upside your head with a crow bar! Or a baseball bat, or Tire iron, or golf club or anything else that I can get my hands on" Maigan shot back.
"Ok, I'll admit that you've got a point, but at least a crow bar keeps collateral damage down to a bare minimum." Daniel said grumpily.
Then Daniel noticed the fuel gauge. "Hey buddy, pull in to the next filling station and we'll get you filled up ok?" He said to Ironhide trying to change the subject. "Besides we need some stuff for us as well."
"No kidding! I would LOVE a Monster." Maigan piped in, her eyes lighting up.
Ironhide had remained silent through most of the conversation between the two humans, preferring to observe the character of two people that he would now apparently be dealing with often. Much to his horror, it seemed that the young female was much like her uncle in many respects, with caffeine addiction being only one of them!
I am going to have a few choice words with Hatchet on this one. This Human has SEVERAL cracked, chipped or shattered processors!
Ironhide found a Shell station and turned in, pulling straight up to the diesel pumps.
Daniel started to get out to fill the tanks, and then stopped.
"Hey, can you even use diesel? Don't you need some kind of space age rocket fuel or something?" Daniel asked half in disbelief, half in curiosity.
"While I do not actually use your diesel fuel itself, I do have a refining unit in my fuel system that can convert it into energon for use by my other systems. I can also use a number of other fuel types as well. So diesel will be acceptable." Ironhide informed him, somewhat surprised that Daniel would even care enough to ask.
"OK. Diesel it is, then." Daniel replied. Then to Maigan, "I'll come around and help you down."
"Wouldn't it be better if I went and changed?" Maigan asked.
"Do you REALLY want to change clothes in a truck stop bathroom?" Daniel asked dubiously.
"No. . ." Maigan admitted.
"Then don't." Daniel quipped.
"Hey Maigan, do me a favor and fill this bad boy up while I go grab us some goodies, and YES I will get you a monster." Daniel answered before she could ask.
Daniel jumped out of Ironhide's cab with his knees protesting loudly as he hit the ground. Maigan winced as she heard the grinding noise they made, but didn't comment on it. She turned to face him as he came around to her side of the truck and put her hands on his shoulders for balance as he helped her down from the cab. Daniel then headed straight inside, and told the clerk that he was filling up the "The Chopped Down Semi" at the diesel pumps. Then he went and grabbing a pair of ice chests, started to clean out the cooler. First he started by grabbing EVERY Java Monster, and regular Monster that they had. Next, he moved on to the Full Throttles, and cleaned out that rack, before moving on to the Frappuccinos, cleaning those out as well. Seeing that his haul wouldn't fit in two coolers he went and grabbed four more. Then filled them up while making a count of exactly what he had and wrote it down on a note pad. He didn't realize that the manager was looking over his shoulder as he did this, but wouldn't have cared if he had. The manager, for his part was surprised that Daniel had actually made an honest count of everything he had gotten, knowing that this was going to be one EXPENSIVE bill. Daniel now went to where the dog food was kept and saw that the prices were outrageous as usual for convenience stores, but he needed to get it anyway, so he did. All of this had taken a good twenty minutes, and when he got to the counter to pay for everything, Maigan was done filling Ironhide's tanks. Daniel ordered two cartons of Marlboro 100's for Maigan and another carton of Marlboro Reds for himself. He also picked up a pack of Backwoods Smokes. Daniel wasn't the least bit surprised when the bill totaled to 743.90, after all, he had stripped the cooler of a lot of drinks and the smokes and fuel weren't cheap at all either. Fortunately, for him Maigan walked in and seeing what he'd gotten grabbed a pair of coolers without being asked. Daniel grabbed the others two in each hand and headed for the truck. Loading all but two of the coolers in the bed, Daniel placed the last two in the cab where they could get to them, and then turning to Maigan, he helped her into the truck once more.
As Daniel got into the cab and closed the door Maigan asked him "What did you do buy every Monster on the shelf?"
"Yup!" Daniel replied with an almost maniacal grin.
Maigan's only response to that was a look of wide-eyed, open-mouthed disbelief as Daniel cranked Ironhide up and headed back to Hoover Dam.
"So Ironhide, back to this fuel conversion unit of yours. Do all of you have one?" Daniel asked.
"Wait there's MORE like him?" Maigan interrupted.
"Once there were as many of us on Cybertron as there are Humans on Earth, but the war has reduced our numbers drastically, and now with the All Spark destroyed, I am not sure if there are enough Femmes left to replenish our race. The Femmes were rare to begin with and highly cherished by those fortunate enough to claim one as a Spark Mate. I was one of the lucky few to have one Femme as a Spark Sibling and another as a Spark Mate. That was before Megatron started trying to wipe out all the Femmes in his attempt to gain possession of the All Spark." Ironhide informed her.
Contrary to what many thought of him, Ironhide was not the cannon happy dunce that many believed him to be. True, he was proud of his cannons, which were remnants of the first Cybertronian war, but he was a soldier. That meant he was skilled in strategy, tactics, weapons, interrogations, and diversions. He wasn't sure just how far he was willing to trust Daniel yet, since his own people didn't seem to trust him to use traditional weaponry. There foreIronhide was going to see to it that he stayed in the dark as much as possible until he found a reason to act otherwise. Thus the quick and not so subtle change of subject.
"So, you have a wife and sister back home? What are they like? Wait a minute; are they able to have children? How does that work?" Maigan asked excitedly.
"UNH UNH! NOPE, NO WAY! We are NOT teaching her about how alien robots have sex! It is NOT gonna happen. Do you hear me Ironhide?" Daniel demanded angrily.
Upon hearing the nearly psychotic rage brewing in Daniel's vocal patterns, Ironhide thought it best to agree, besides this was not a subject he was comfortable discussing.
"That would be something you might ask Ratchet when you meet him, Maigan. I can tell you about my sister as you would call her though." Ironhide said.
"OK, let's hear it. I want to know all about her. Is she a truck like you or some thing else entirely?" Maigan asked with interest.
"My sister, Starglide, I think that is how her name would translate, believe it or not is an Arial. This means that her alternate form is an aircraft." Ironhide began.
"You mean like the one that pounded the crap out of Barricade?" Daniel interrupted.
"Similar but nearly as large as Megatron. Starglide is smaller, faster, and far more maneuverable than most other Arial types. It makes her invaluable in her position of scouting and reconnaissance. She has one of the sweetest personalities and dispositions of any Femme you could ever meet." Here Ironhide let out a small chuckle. "She is even better with her weapons than I am, well more accurate at any rate. She is considered to be the best sniper in Cybertronian history."
"Well just how far back does your history go?" Daniel asked.
"Approximately thirteen million seven hundred thousand of your years. I personally can only tell you about the quarter of a million years that I have seen for myself." Ironhide explained.
At this nonchalant statement concerning Ironhide's, age both Maigan and Daniel look at each other with the same stupid look of stunned astonishment.
"How long can you live?" Maigan asked quietly.
"To my knowledge, no one has ever reached a point of Spark failure due to age; this doesn't mean that it's not possible. I just don't know that it has ever happened. Although I am among the older mechs still functioning, I do know of others who have lived much longer lives than I have. For example (Untranslated Cybertronian) is more than three times my age, and still wreaks havoc among the Decepticon forces when he faces them in battle."
"Wow. So tell me more about your sister. Where is she now? Does she have a family of her own? Are there some tiny versions of you running around out there?" Maigan asked.
"Back on Cybertron my sister did indeed have a family. She was mated to one whose name would translate as Powerslide. He was a ground type like me. There was a sparkling, child in your terms, which was the light of her existence. Both her Spark Mate and her sparkling were killed when Megatron began the purge, to wipe out all of the Femmes." Ironhide explained.
"Why the hell would Megatron wipe out the females, if he wanted this All Spark thing? That's what I don't understand." Daniel interjected.
"If Megatron could wipe out all of the Femmes, and then gain possession of the All Spark, he could then guarantee that all newly created Cybertronians would be loyal only to him." Ironhide said.
"Well Bow Down to His Assholiness, Lord of all Assholes!" Daniel said sarcastically as Maigan laughed.
"Asshole? I am not aware of the meaning of that one." Ironhide said.
"Look up rectum on the Internet." Daniel told Ironhide.
Ironhide was silent for half a second before he started swerving all over the road laughing his tires off. Daniel and Maigan both grabbing the armrests to brace themselves as Ironhide fought to control both his laughter and his direction. It was very fortunate indeed that there was no traffic at that time of the morning or they might have been in trouble, luckily, Ironhide got himself under control before having a wreck.
"That has got to be the BEST description I have ever heard in reference to Megatron!" Ironhide said still laughing.
"How did they die?" Maigan asked softly.
"Megatron sent two of his most enthusiastic butchers to the residential sector where they lived. Shockwave and Thundercracker, as they might be called in your language. Any way I had been on my way to visit them after having been sent off world for several of your decades. As I approached their residence, I heard weapons being discharged, and several devastating explosions. When I finally arrived to put up a fight, most of the homes had been destroyed, but Shockwave and Thundercracker were still there blasting away at anything that moved. I'd like to say that I scared them off, but I believe they only left because they thought they had finished off all the femmes in the area. After wards, I searched the wreckage of Starglide's home, and found both her and Powerslide just barely hanging on. I gathered them both up and hurried back to base faster than I have ever moved before, or since. Then I went back to look for any other survivors. When I got back, others were already searching through the wreckage, so I joined in the rescue efforts, but never did find my sisters sparkling. Ratchet was able to save Starglide, but it was too late for her Spark Mate. He died beside her on the repair table. I swore then that one day I would avenge their deaths, but so far I haven't been lucky enough to meet either one in battle." Ironhide explained sadly.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry to hear that." Maigan sympathized.
"What was your nephew's name?" Daniel asked Ironhide.
Here Ironhide gave a sad chuckle. "That would have been Cavalcade. One of the few Cybertronian names that would translate directly into your language." Ironhide said.
"You mean Ironhide could be translated differently?" Maigan asked.
"Hmm, Well a literal translation of my name might be 'One with a Hide of Iron' or something very similar." Ironhide elaborated.
"Does that mean we can call you 'Armor Ass'?" Daniel asked casually
Maigan made a noise of disgust as she backhanded her uncle across his shoulder, just as Ironhide spoke up.
"NO! It does NOT mean you can call me anything but my name, which is Ironhide!" Ironhide said a little irritated.
"Damn, take it easy. I was just joking. Jeez." Daniel said.
"Look, I am NOT going to let you start a war with your smart assed attitude! Do you HEAR me? It's not gonna happen! So you can stop trying to piss off the alien robots! Got it?" Maigan was using that tone of voice that is only given to females, and is never argued with by a man who has even half a brain.
"You do realize that it's too late on the war part?" Daniel asked her just a little smugly.
"What?! What do you mean too late? What did you do?" Maigan asked knowing it had to be her uncle's fault.
"What happened in Mission City a few days ago was these guys slugging it out, and a few of us helped." Daniel informed her with a smug grin.
"Us. You mean humans. Right? Oh GOD! Who did you take a crow bar to? TELL ME IT WAS ONE OF THE BAD GUYS!" Maigan demanded knowing her uncle.
"Actually I was out cold for most of the fight, and the only one I took a crow bar to was Ironhide here, and that was afterward. Besides HE started it by trying to shoot Chinook!" Daniel said in an attempt to justify himself, knowing he was about to receive an ass chewing from hell.
"NOT TRUE! It was when I was about to offline Barricade that you damaged me with your weapon!" Ironhide put in.
"OHHHH YEAH!!" Daniel said remembering. "That's right you were gonna KILL someone who was so fucked up that he couldn't even ask you NOT to kill him! And this was AFTER you were gonna shoot my wolf in MY damned shop!" Daniel said accusingly.
"HOOOOOOLD IT!" Maigan bellowed at the top of her lungs. "Both of you! Shut up and listen" Maigan said, again using that uniquely female tone.
"You!" Maigan demanded still using that don't you DARE argue tone of voice. "Did you threaten Chinook? And did you try to kill someone who, as I understand it, was helpless to fight back?" Maigan further demanded.
"The canine sprayed his bodily fluids my leg." Ironhide stated sullenly. He didn't like getting dressed down by anyone, but this human female had a tone of voice that even Ironhide's cannons were no match for.
"Before or after you threatened him?" Maigan asked continuing with that frightening tone.
"Afterwards." Ironhide admitted.
"Then you didn't deserve to be claimed as part of his territory." Maigan told him bluntly, "You better be glad that's all he did. Because they DO have other and far more disgusting methods of claiming something as theirs!"
"Now about the SECOND question that you don't seem to want to answer." Maigan started again. "Did you threaten someone who was completely helpless?" Maigan demanded turning up the intensity of that distinct tone.
"Look it was a reflex. He's a Decepticon. I've been fighting those creeps for tens of thousands of your years!" Ironhide said defensively trying to avoid more trouble.
"Oh, so you're telling me that you're hard wired to shoot first and ask questions later? Is that it?" Maigan demanded turning up the heat of the interrogation.
"Well no." Ironhide was forced to admit that such was not the case, even as he was also forced to revise his previous assessment of the human female, she was even WORSE than her uncle, and her processing matter was INTACT!
"Given those two set of circumstances, you need to be very thankful that my uncle didn't kill you! He is psychotically protective of his animals, and almost that protective of those who can't defend themselves! And you don't even want to THINK about what he'd do to someone that threatened me." Maigan lectured. Now she turned to her uncle, who visibly flinched knowing what was coming.
"NOW, you are going to tell me EXACTLY what you did to Ironhide here, and why!" Maigan said again using that tone that only females are capable of.
"OK, first, he threatened to kill Chinook. I told him in no uncertain terms, that if he touched one hair on Chinook's body that I was going to bust his ass into spare parts. Then he was going to shoot Barricade. Flat out cold-blooded murder, right there on the floor of my shop. I took a crow bar to his knee dropped him to the ground and was going for his head when one of the others grabbed me. Another one grabbed him. We BOTH got our buts chewed out by Big Rig." Daniel explained.
"Good! You BOTH deserved it!" Maigan exclaimed. "And who is this 'Big Rig'?" She then asked.
"That would be what he calls Optimus Prime, who happens to be the leader of the Autobots. Actually he is the lawful leader of Cybertron." Ironhide told her.
"And just why do you call the leader of a highly advanced STARFARING civilization of robots 'Big Rig'?" Maigan asked looking at her uncle in exasperation.
"OK, Ironhide here is a big ass truck. When he's a robot he's about twenty or twenty-five feet tall. Optimus, when HE'S a truck, he's an '88 Peterbuilt complete with a sleeper cab, and when he's a robot he's too damn big to even kneel properly in my shop, and it's got a thirty foot roof." Daniel said as he explained his position.
Maigan was stunned. "The Iron Giant turns into a semi?" She asked in complete disbelief. "Does he sound like the Iron Giant when he talks?" She asked half jokingly.
"You know, he kinda does at that." Daniel replied after thinking for a moment.
"Back to the issue at hand." Maigan stated severely.
"OH SHIT!" was the thought that went through the minds of both victims on the receiving end of her temper.
"I better not catch either one of you starting any trouble with the other. Daniel, EVERY time you've gotten into an argument with a truck you've LOST! And I'm SURE you don't want to tangle with one that can also shoot at you!" She said lecturing her uncle. "You got lucky the last time you two got into it because Ironhide most likely either underestimated you, or dismissed you as a threat entirely!" She continued.
"And YOU!" Maigan said, turning her attention to Ironhide. "I don't want you starting any trouble with him, because I'll just bet that the reason he was given a job working with you is for repair purposes, am I right?" Maigan asked rhetorically. Not giving Ironhide a chance to respond to that question she continued. "That means it is NOT a good idea to tick him off because he knows WAY too many methods to drive you nuts, WITHOUT causing any damage!"
"Like what?" Ironhide asked.
"Like a bunch of marbles in your gas tanks." Daniel interjected snickering.
"What would that do?" Ironhide queried.
"Ohhh, they would roll around making rattling noise and bounce off of one another and since you guys can feel the same way we can, I am SURE that you would go NUTZ trying to keep track of all of 'em." Daniel told him.
Ironhide considered the information Daniel had given him for a moment before he started laughing.
"Hey, can I use that one against the twins if they ever show up?" Ironhide asked Daniel.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! What did I just say about starting trouble?" Maigan demanded. "Who are these twins, and why would you want to do something like that to them?"
"The twins are a pair of truly obnoxious mechs that make your uncle seem VERY pleasant by comparison. Besides, I've owed them a nasty prank for several thousand of your years." Ironhide explained.
"And just what did they do to you first?" Maigan asked.
"Back on Cybertron they once stuffed the equivalent of fireworks in my plasma cannons, so the next time I went into battle, my opening salvo consisted of an pit damned light show instead of a pair of shots that would have crippled or killed my enemy. I was lucky I wasn't off lined right there and then. Although I'll have to admit that the display was quite amazing and did provide an excellent distraction." Ironhide elaborated.
"OK so you want to drive 'em nuts instead of taking a chance on getting 'em killed. No problem. I got PLENTY more ideas where that one came from." Daniel said with a malevolent grin.
"Partners?" Ironhide asked with a chuckle.
"Sure, but I'm STILL gonna call you Tackleberry." Daniel answered.
"That is perfectly agreeable, Crunchy." Ironhide countered.
"OH Lord, give me strength." Maigan muttered in exasperation.
By this time, Ironhide was turning into the service entrance of Hoover dam, and rolled to a stop at the gate. As the gate security officer walked toward the truck Daniel fished out the papers and ID that Agent Bannacheck had provided. Rolling down the window Daniel stuck the ID out for inspection
"I don't need to see that ID Badge! I remember THIS truck!" The security guard said looking like he'd prefer to arrest the trucks occupants. "And you better not do THAT again!" the guard said indicating the deep tire ruts in the asphalt.
"Admit it, if you had a vehicle that could rip up the road, you'd be doin' it too." Daniel said with a slight grin.
Maigan was staring bug eyed at the ruts in the asphalt. "Ironhide did THAT!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah." Daniel said simply while staring at the ruts himself.
After the security guard lifted the gate, Ironhide proceeded straight to the makeshift med bay.
Once there, Daniel grabbed the two coolers and jumped out, intending to go around and help his niece. Ironhide had other ideas. Letting some of the air out of his tires, the Top Kick settled onto the rims. Then Ironhide sank down on his suspension far enough that Maigan was able to jump down without assistance.
After Maigan jumped out of the truck, she and Daniel were both looking at Ironhide with some concern.
"What did you do, destroy his suspension?" Maigan demanded.
"He was driving just fine on the way in here, and I only peeled out when we left." Daniel said defensively.
"He did not do anything damaging to my systems. I decided to provide some assistance to let you exit by lowering the height of my alternate form. Was that not acceptable?" Ironhide asked a little confused while rising back to his normal height.
"OH WOW!" Maigan exclaimed softly." That pathetic Trans Am must be shredding his plug wires with envy."
Daniel resumed unloading Ironhide by grabbing the rest of Maigan's luggage and then grabbed the other four coolers from the back of the bed. Maigan was taking the opportunity to look around at the massive room.
Once unloaded Ironhide began to transform. Upon hearing some really strange noises, originating from the truck behind her Maigan turned around. Having someone tell you something unbelievable, and seeing it with your own eyes, are two drastically different things. The taller Ironhide got as he stood up the wider Maigan's eyes and mouth got as she stared at the former truck in total shock
"DAMN! Now THAT'S what I call a giant puzzle box. You're a living puzzle box, Man!" Daniel stated in amazement.
"Yeah, what he said." Maigan muttered while still staring at the large mech.
Daniel looked around the med bay and noticed that Ratchet was nowhere to be seen; he also noticed that Frenzy was contentedly chugging away on a small barrel of what appeared to be some more coffee from the Starbucks. To his credit Frenzy was far too busy trying to drain the coffee and savor it at the same time, to pay any attention to anything else. Daniel was about to question the little mech when he could hear the rhythmic thumping of some very large footsteps.
Maigan was looking around trying to figure out what was making that thumping noise, when Optimus Prime entered accompanied by Agent Bannacheck. The two were discussing the possibilities of relocating to a more secure location.
"Look, I'm not disagreeing with you at all. I am simply saying that some of your people need time to recover, plus we will need to equip any location that you move to with supplies of some kind, plus some security personnel of our own. in case more Decepticons show up." Agent Bannacheck was saying. "We are looking in to it. I promise, that abandoned missile silo that Daniel suggested just might work. I have Agents looking at it now, and I will let you know something as soon as I receive word on it."
"Very well."Optimus answered.
"Wow" Maigan muttered partly under her breath, while staring at the gigantic Optimus Prime, "You are like BEYOND huge!"
"THAT is precisely why I call him 'Big Rig'!" Daniel exclaimed with a smile.
Optimus looked down at the young woman before kneeling down to better approach her level, "My name is Optimus Prime. May I ask what your name is?" Optimus spoke with a deep baritone voice that was full of warmth and friendliness.
"My name is Maigan." She said introducing herself. "Oh wow." as she spotted those large optics glowing like a pair of giant sapphires lit from behind by searchlights.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Maigan." Optimus said offering his hand.
Maigan looked at the hand that was being offered to her. It was big enough for her to curl up and go to sleep in, and she couldn't help but wonder just how this was going to work as she extended her own hand in response.
Optimus gently took her hand between his thumb and index finger and shook it.
"Nice to meet you too." Maigan said with a disbelieving smile, as the giant mech shook her hand.
"He DOES sound like the 'Iron Giant'." Maigan said turning to look at her uncle.
Optimus quickly accessed the web and referencing all available material on the Iron Giant surmised that the stories must have been written by someone who had seen, and possibly worked on Megatron during the early days of sector 7. He also couldn't help but be somewhat pleased by being compared to a heroic figure from earth's literature. Thus, it came as no surprise to him that he took an instant liking to Maigan. Optimus then stood up to his full imposing height and placed his hands on his hips, and looked at Maigan.
"You think I resemble a hero from your children's stories?" he asked with mock severity.
"Yeah, cuz some how I just don't think there's a vicious bo . . . err BOLT in your body." She said looking up at him.
"Humph, try telling that to Bonecrusher." Ironhide said with a snicker.
"Who's Bonecrusher?" Maigan asked.
"Bonecrusher was a Decepticon that was wantonly and needlessly endangering many human lives in his attempt to wage war against us." Optimus told Maigan. "And I had no choice except to remove that threat to human life." He continued.
"So you had no choice then, when you killed him." Maigan asked quietly.
"None and I don't think Bonecrusher ever had a chance to figure out what hit him, before he died." Ironhide explained with a large amount of pride in his leader's actions, and combat prowess.
"Hey speaking of dead robots. When are the spare parts gonna get here?" Daniel asked looking at Agent Bannacheck.
"They should be here in about two hours." Bannacheck replied.
"Wonderful." Daniel replied. "Now, I don't suppose this place has some sort of quarters that my niece could make use of, does it?" Daniel asked doubtfully.
"Actually, it does, and I have assigned a set of rooms for the two of you to use until we can find some better accommodations for our new friends." Agent Bannacheck said.
"Great, now is there a female around here that can show Maigan to those rooms so she can get changed?" Daniel asked him.
"Is there some reason that you don't trust Hopkins or Shultz?" Agent Bannacheck asked concerned.
"I don't even fully trust ME around her, so how the hell am I 'sposed to trust someone else?" Daniel asked in all seriousness.
Taking a hard look at the second-generation cheerleader in question, Agent Bannacheck was forced to agree with her uncle's concern. "I'll get someone on it." He said as he left the med bay.
Ten minutes later, Daniel had loaded Maigan's luggage onto a roller cart and both were finishing their cigarettes when a red headed woman entered the med bay.
"Hi, I'm Melissa, and Agent Bannacheck asked me to show a young lady to her room?" She asked not sure if she had been told correctly.
"Yup, she needs to change clothes." Daniel said indicating his niece, as he grabbed the cart stacked with luggage.
"Ok, if you'll just follow me, I'll show you where it is." She said fully understanding Maigan's discomposure.
Melissa led them down the hall and made a couple of turns until they got to the rooms they were set aside for them. She then gave the two a couple of printed maps of the facility that indicated not only where their rooms were, but also the Starbucks, and the cafeteria. She then told Maigan to have her paged if she needed anything before she left.
Daniel unloaded the luggage and surveyed the rooms. It was set up similar to one of the nicer hotels in that there was a main room with a small sofa that pulled out into a bed, that room also contained an entertainment center with a decent sized T.V. and DVD player. The actual bedroom had two double beds, a nightstand, dresser with a second smaller T.V. on top of it, a small fridge with a microwave on top, and a coffee maker. Then there was the bathroom, which contained the usual toilet, tub and shower combo, and towel racks.
"Change into something you can grunge in. NO skirts! You'll be going up and down a lot of stairs and maybe even some ladders. From what I understand there aren't that many females working here. PLUS you'll be dealing with some kind of glowing junk that I'm not sure you want to get on you." Daniel lectured.
"All you had to say was that I might be going up ladders, and then warn me about that glowing stuff." Maigan said peeved. "I might dress to impress, but I DON'T tolerate leers from a bunch of 'No-Conscience-Hard-Dick-Mother-Fuckers' as grandma calls 'em! They try anything and they'll have my spike heels planted in a spot they will whole heartedly wish I didn't know about!" She told her uncle in a tone that couldn't be argued with.
"OK, ok. Just making sure." Daniel said raising his hands in surrender.
"Just what is this glowing stuff that I need to be careful of?" Maigan asked.
"They call it 'energon', and near as I can figure it's what they use for blood. It carries power to their systems, so it might also have some electrocution risk as well." Daniel said after thinking about it for a second.
"Oh." Maigan said simply, as she started to unpack her things. "Oh I forgot to tell you. I brought you some stuff from home." Maigan said with some excitement.
"Oh yeah, like what?" Daniel asked interested.
"Ohhh, just some Wolf brand chili, and some Shockers." She said smugly, knowing her uncle would go ballistic over the chocolate covered espresso beans known in Texas as Shockers. That and the chili, which had to be specially ordered outside of Texas, would definitely improve her uncle's attitude.
"Girl, you are a God send!" Daniel said happily. "I'll tear into those later. Right now, we have three dead robots on the way to use as spare parts to fix one that was shot to hell and back a few times. Another one that apparently they don't think can be revived because he was torn in half. I'm hoping they're wrong, because I saw the caliber of one of those bad guys, and if the rest of the Decepticons are even HALF as mean as he was, then we are in for a world of trouble." Daniel informed her.
"So, you get changed and I'll meet you back in the med bay." Daniel said as he was leaving.
"Ok." Maigan said.
Ratchet was in the med bay staring disgustedly at Frenzy when Daniel got there.
"What the pit are you jabbering about now, you little Fragger?" Ratchet was fed up with the antics of the little mech, and it showed.
"Beanbeanbeanbeanbean JIUCE!" Frenzy sputtered, happily hopped up on massive amounts of caffeine.
Daniel couldn't help but laugh as he heard this. "He wants some more coffee." He told Ratchet.
"Primus! That's just all I need! Wait, you mean to tell me that you can understand that little glitch?" Ratchet asked both disgusted by Frenzy, and stunned by Daniel's comprehension of Frenzy's spastic speech patterns.
"Sure, I can understand him just fine. Why?" Daniel asked a little surprised that Ratchet wouldn't be able to understand one of his own race.
"That little fragging glitch has been rambling constantly about some kind of dominating bean. He's driving me into overload!" Ratchet complained.
Daniel just snickered as he walked over to where he had put his coolers and got out a pair of Java Monsters. He grabbed an Irish Blend for himself and a Mean Bean for Frenzy.
"Now THIS is one of the better types of Coffee." Daniel told Frenzy as he cracked it open and placed the hose into it. "I suggest you go slow on this and savor it because I don't have enough of these as it is, because there's you, me, and my niece that are going to be sharing these things." Daniel informed the immobilized mech.
All four of Frenzy's optics were fastened on the canned concoction that the human was preparing for him. Then as the human placed the hose into Frenzy's mouth and walked away, Frenzy got his first taste of absolute heaven. The little mech's optics had shut down in order to allow him to fully savor the coffee based beverage.
Primus! I thought the other stuff was sublime. How can I assist in the destruction of the squishies, when they create things like this? Cybertron had NOTHING like this! I can NOT allow the Decepticons to destroy those who are able to create such things! I have to join them. The question is how can I do that? The Autobots will try to stop me or have me offlined. They would never trust my intentions. I have to protect the squishies; it's the only way to protect the existence of coffee! Autobots will never believe me, no matter what I tell them. So how do I do it? What if. . .
Here a truly novel idea occurred to Frenzy, and it was one that might never have occurred to any other Decepticon in Frenzy's position.
What if I join the SQUISHIES! I have skills that they will need if they are going to oppose the Decepticons. So I can offer to join them, instead of the Autobots! I will have to ask the squishy that gives me coffee when the Autobots aren't around.
His course of action decided Frenzy was left free to enjoy the delectable flavor of the Java Monster.
Daniel lit a smoke and wandered over to look at the mech that had been torn in two. Taking a closer look at the damaged areas and joints, he could see that tremendous force had been applied. He could also see that the energon lines had stretched like taffy before they had snapped. He was looking at the damaged wiring when his attention was pulled back to the energon lines. Something was nagging at him and he couldn't figure it out. Then he realized what it was. There was no energon leakage! Leaning over to closely examine the severed lines Daniel realized that they had been pulled flat, thereby pinching off the flow of energon before they snapped. If this was truly the case, there just might be a chance to revive the fallen mech.
Daniel was opening the armor to have a look at the spark chamber when Ratchet came over to see what he was doing.
"This was Jazz, our first lieutenant. He was a good friend, even if he was a bit obnoxious at times. I will truly miss him, and to be honest, I don't think there is an Autobot that won't miss him greatly." Ratchet said mournfully.
Daniel was now looking at the spark of the fallen mech and he noticed a very faint glow around it.
"I don't think he's done for yet Bones." Daniel said quietly.
"Humph. What do you mean? His spark has ceased to function; there is no spark pulse to be found. With out that there is no way that he can be revived." Ratchet explained angrily.
"Well there is still a faint glow in that spark thingy." Daniel said.
"Yes as long as there is viable energon in the spark chamber then there will be a faint glow. But without a pulse, Jazz is dead." Ratchet explained with a little more patience this time.
"So if I reach out and touch that thing?" Daniel asked.
"You might still get shocked." Ratchet finished.
"Then he ain't dead yet!" Daniel exclaimed.
"WHAT! Why would you think so?" Ratchet couldn't believe his audio receptors.
Ordinarily Ratchet would have dismissed such talk as dreaming on that person's part, but he was beginning to see that humans had learned to do things in radically different methods from those used on Cybertron.
"Look up 'defibrillator' and 'jump start' on the Internet." Daniel told him quietly.
Somewhat reluctantly, Ratchet began to search the web. What he found in his search stunned him into stasis lock when he considered the implications.
Daniel had gone back to examining Jazz's body when he heard and FELT a horrific crash. Turning around he saw Ratchet stretched out on the floor! Now he heard a rapid series of crashes that sounded like a stampede of dinosaurs, most likely those huge brontosaurus types! Just then, Optimus and Ironhide came dashing into the room ready for anything including total war!
"What the pit did you do to him?" Ironhide demanded when he saw Ratchet out cold.
"Nothing! Does it look like I have a crow bar handy?" Daniel shot back.
"Easy Ironhide. Tell us what happened." Optimus said.
"We were looking at Jazz and I noticed a few things and we started discussing the possibility of bringing him back. Next thing I know, there's a KFB, and he's on the floor." Daniel told them.
"What the pit is a 'KFB'?" Ironhide demanded.
"You know, Ker Fucking Boom!" Daniel replied.
That was when Ratchet's lights came back on, well the ones in his optics at any rate. Ratchet sat up, looked around, spotted Daniel, and instantly demanded, "Is that even possible? Do you really think it might work?"
"Don't see any reason why it shouldn't." Daniel said giving the medic a strange look.
"We are going to need more energon. Especially with two mechs needing transfusions. I don't think we can wait until the four of us can generate that much ourselves. So it may come down to a choice of only saving one of them, and with no guarantee on reviving Jazz. . ." Here Ratchet trailed off, he just could not bring himself to say it.
"Hey! That reminds me. Ironhide mentioned a fuel conversion unit in his systems. Do all of you have one?" Daniel asked.
"Of course, It's a standardized unit. All Cybertronians have then once they receive their adult form." Ratchet answered."So why don't we strip those units out of our organ donors and see if we can power 'em up?" Daniel asked.
"They'd have to be powered by a spark in order to work." Ratchet pointed out.
"OK, so as long as they ain't been shot to hell, we can hook one up to Big Rig and one to Tackleberry here right? Use their sparks to temporarily power some energon production." Daniel suggested.
"Ratchet, COULD that work?" Optimus asked.
"That would actually be a safer method of getting the energon we need, instead of using ourselves as donors." Ratchet exclaimed.
"In that case, we can certainly use the one from Bonecrusher then, since Optimus got him in the head." Ironhide broke in.
"OK, so when they get here, the first thing we need to do is get some energon started. We strip this Bonecrusher of his refining unit, and hook it up to one of these two. My thought would be Big Rig here, since he would appear to have the stronger power system because of his larger size." Daniel suggested. "Hey is there any way that we can shut down anythingnon-vital so that we can divert some extra power to that thing and get this stuff into production a little faster?" He continued.
"I could go into recharge even though I just recently emerged from it. That would make more power available for energon production." Optimus added trying to help.
At this point both Optimus and Ironhide finally realized just what the two were discussing. Both started demanding information.
"Can you two really revive Jazz?" Optimus asked of Ratchet.
"Are you really going to bring him back?" Ironhide asked Daniel at the same time.
Daniel look at the still seated medic even as Ratchet had turned to look at him, and both started snickering at the same time.
"We're gonna give it one hell of a shot, but we may need you two as blood donors for some spare energon in addition to what we can make from the dead rust buckets." Daniel said answering the questions of both mechs.
That was when Maigan entered the med bay followed by Agents Shultz, and Hopkins. Maigan took one look at the scene in front of her and immediately demanded to know what was going on.
"Not much. I think I deep fried his brain for a minute though." Daniel said indicating the still sitting Ratchet.
"He made a truly amazing suggestion that would never have occurred to a Cybertronian medic. It surprised me so much that I had to reboot my processors." Ratchet said with some amusement.
"Oh." Maigan replied.
Ratchet began to get off the floor when he suddenly frowned and looked over at the two agents following Maigan into the room. He was about to say something to them when Daniel spoke up.
"Yo, Shultz, Hopkins. I am gonna need a vacuum pump, about half a dozen fifty gallon barrels, no, make it an even dozen, NEW ones! I am also gonna need a 10,000 watt generator. And five fifty gallon barrels of gas. I need you to get on this pronto, cuz we got to have this stuff before those spare parts get here." Daniel said a little sternly. He had noticed where their eyes were focused and he was not happy.
Ratchet looked at what Maigan was wearing. She had changed into an older pair of Guess jeans, and an older Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt. She was still wearing those heeled sandals, and had pulled her black shoulder length hair into a hair band to keep it out of her way while she worked. She was not as developed up top as Mikeala; but she was definitely more than attractive by human standards. She had the lithe build and tone that went with being a cheerleader, and while she didn't flaunt her physique, she also didn't have to. She was not wearing much makeup, except for a little eye shadow, and some lipstick, but then she didn't need more than that. Her deep brown eyes and medium complexion combining to form a natural beauty that most females, and even some models would kill to have. Ratchet had instantly detected the pheromones produced by the two agent's and he was wondering how Daniel had also detected the increased pheromone levels of the agents. Ratchet made a mental note to ask him about that later.
Maigan was not oblivious to the stares of the two men that had locked on to a certain part of her anatomy. She simply had to ignore it. Had she turned and confronted them about it, they would have denied everything, lied through their teeth, and proclaimed total innocence. So although she couldn't really do anything about it without acting like the queen of all bitches, she didn't have to like it either. She was quietly fuming while trying to think of some way to direct their unwanted, and unwelcome attention else where, when her uncle had given them an assignment to carry out.
As the two agents left the room Maigan couldn't help notice that several eyes were watching them leave, and almost all of them were filled with a fair level of hostility. It seemed that her uncle wasn't the only one that noticed the rude behavior. Ratchet was frowning at their backs, Optimus was looking somewhat sternly at them, and Ironhide looked ready to blow a gasket!
The tension in the med bay was broken when Bumblebee entered carrying Sam and Mikeala on his shoulders.
"Hey, look who I brought to visit!" He said excitedly.
"Wonderful, I think we can use some extra hands in a short while." Ratchet proclaimed.
"You did not bring Mojo did you?" Ironhide asked Sam, giving him a sharp look.
"Nah, I left him at home." Sam replied
Bumblebee set the two teens on the floor so they could better introduce themselves. Mikeala spotted Maigan and sized her up, even as Maigan did the same. Without realizing what was transpiring between the two girls, Sam broke the possibility of tension between them by taking Mikeala's hand. Sam's intention behind that action had absolutely nothing to do with Maigan directly, it was meant as a subtle clue to the burly looking dude who was appraising him.
Seeing that the two teens were a couple, and that the kid was smart enough to appreciate woman he had. Daniel walked over and introduced himself.
"Howdy, name's Daniel. The young lady over there with Ratchet is my niece Maigan, and we've been recruited to help keep these over grown walking Buicks in top form." He said with a slight grin while extending his hand to Sam.
"Samuel James Witwickey, but you can call me Sam." He said while shaking Daniel's hand.
Daniel shook his head and snickered. "Somewhere down the line one of your ancestors must have hated their kids to stick 'em with a last name like that." Daniel told Sam jokingly.
"Yeah." Sam agreed thinking of all the teasing he had received about it over the years.
Maigan made a noise of disgust and shook her head at her uncle's warped sense of humor, before walking over to introduce herself to Mikeala.
"Hi, I'm Maigan." She said as she extended her hand smiling.
Mikeala retrieved her hand from Sam and took Maigan's.
"I'm Mikeala, and this is Sam." She told Maigan with a nod in Sam's direction to indicate him.
"Hi, Sam." Maigan said smiling and nodding her head, but making no move to shake hands with him.
"Hi." Sam said returning the greeting.
Unknown to the Autobots, subtle clues, and messages had been passed around among the humans. The signals said that Sam was happily taken by Mikeala, Maigan had no interest in trying to take Sam away from Mikeala, and Daniel had no reason to have a crow bar talk with Sam.
"So what's going on? You said that you might be needing an extra pair of hands?" Mikeala asked Ratchet.
"The remains of the Decepticons that we fought are being brought back here so that we can use them as spare parts to repair Barricade, and hopefully revive Jazz." Ratchet told him succinctly.
"WHAT!? Wait a minute. You mean that cop that tried to kill us? Why are you going to fix him?" Sam demanded a little worried.
"I thought you said that there was nothing you could do for Jazz." Mikeala said at the same time.
"Hey wait, that cop car wasn't even in the fight, so how did he get so that he needs repairs?" Sam pointed out.
"He would be needing repairs because he stood there and told that jackass Megatron, that he wasn't going to wage war on innocent civilians. Megatron wasn't too happy with that idea and pounded the crap out of him with a BFG." Daniel answered.
"He did that? Yeah right! He did a pretty good job of taking on a couple of civilians when he tried to kill us!" Sam shot back heatedly.
"Sam, Daniel is telling the truth, I saw the recording myself. It also explains why you weren't seriously injured when Barricade caught up with you." Bumblebee interjected.
"What about at the refinery?" Sam retorted.
"That had me scared out of my processors! Back on Cybertron Barricade is well known as a consummate killer, preferring to kill his victims in up close personal combat. He is well known as the best melee fighter on Cybertron. I couldn't figure out how or why I beat him, but I wasn't about to question my luck. I just wanted to get the two of you out of there as fast as possible." Bumblebee explained
"Are you telling me he's a wet work specialist?" Daniel asked the yellow mech.
Bumblebee paused for a split second before answering. "Yes! That is EXACTLY what he is!" Bumblebee exclaimed.
"He is so much of a wet work specialist, as you call it, that he doesn't even possess any ranged weapons at all. Most of us prefer to use ranged weapons and only have melee weapons for emergencies, but Barricade has gone to an extreme that was previously unknown on Cybertron. The worst part is, he has been known to kill mechs far larger, stronger and tougher than himself. And he ALWAYS attacks them from the front!" Ratchet informed them.
"So you're saying that he could have killed me and Mikeala any time he wanted to?" Sam asked them.
"He shouldn't have had any problems killing all three of us Sam." Bumblebee told him quietly.
"Unfortunately, we can not have any of our questions answered until Barricade is repaired. He currently has no memories of anything prior to coming online after the battle." Ratchet informed Sam.
"Sam, you know that we will not allow him to harm either of you." Optimus told him.
Unnoticed by anyone except his niece; Daniel had lit a smoke and walked over to his tools during the latter part of the conversation. He now returned wielding a four-foot long Gorilla bar.
"Hey if anything gets out of hand I can always use this." Daniel said with a grin holding up the over sized crowbar.
Sam and Mikeala could only stare in shock as the four gigantic robots instantly jumped back away from the crowbar wielding psychopath.
"Hey! You were ordered not to use that against us ever again! Remember? Besides we agreed to be partners RIGHT?" Ironhide said with trepidation, because he knew that the human was unbalanced to begin with.
Sam and Mikeala were looking around at the Autobots trying to figure out why they appeared to be leery of someone a fraction of their size who only had a crowbar. Maigan was glaring at her uncle trying to let him know that he was pushing his luck.
"Actually I just thought I'd show these two something funny." Daniel said laughing at the discomposure of the giant mechs. "See, this is kinda like an NFL linebacker being scared of a Chihuahua. But still, I can keep Barricade in line with this."
Upon hearing this statement the four Autobots visibly relaxed a little, but they still kept a watchful eye on the unpredictable salvage operator.
"Are you NUTS! Didn't you hear what they said about him? He'll rip you a new one! You won't stand a chance!" Sam stated in near total shock.
"If you had seen how fast he took Ironhide down using that thing, you would be more worried about Barricade's safety than his." Bumblebee said with a chuckle as he pictured the confrontation in question.
"Wait, he challenged IRONHIDE with a CROWBAR!" Mikeala demanded.
"No, he ATTACKED Ironhide with a crowbar, and was going to kill him, when Ratchet finally managed to grab that thing before Daniel could attack him again. You may not believe it Sam, but he can move even faster than you did when you were running from Megatron. Plus he knew EXACTLY where to hit Ironhide to cripple him." Bumblebee answered.
"As much as it pains me to admit, he had me right were he wanted me." Ironhide broke in.
"I'll make you a deal. When push comes to shove I'll get up close and personal, while you guys stand back and blow the bad guys to hell. How does that sound?" Daniel proposed to Ironhide with a grin.
"That might actually turn out to be a formidable battle formation." Ironhide said with small chuckle.
It was at this point that SOD Keller came in moving rather quickly, followed by the usual assistants.
"Well, folks it seems that we've hit a stroke of good luck. Those Decepticons are being unloaded right now. So I'd like to know just how soon we can start getting some information from the two that we have in custody on the whereabouts of that last one we have running loose." SOD Keller announced.
"Well Barricade, ain't quite as bad as we thought but he still needs circuitry repairs. Frenzy should be able to be questioned right now, if you want." Daniel said putting down his crowbar.
"Well then we should get started. We need to know just what kind of threat that last Decepticon poses. Which one is this Frenzy anyway?" SOD Keller asked.
"Frenzy is the one that you fought against while we were dealing with the others in Mission city." Bumblebee told Keller.
"Humph! In that case, getting the info I need may not be all that easy." SOD Keller stated.
"HAH! Try hooking him up with a bunch of Java Monsters. He loves those things about as much as I do!" Daniel piped up.
"WHAT!? You telling me that thing drinks coffee!?" SOD Keller demanded in shock.
"Yup. By the gallon!" Daniel said with a grin. "Now I hooked him up with a Mean Bean, but you might try either the Russian, Irish Blend, or Big Black! He'll go absolutely ape shit over those." Daniel continued.
"Hmm, Daniel's suggestion might prove beneficial, since we have nothing like those beverages on Cybertron." Optimus said thoughtfully.
"So you actually think that might work?" SOD Keller asked.
"Can't hurt to try." Daniel said.
"Fine, we'll try it your way." SOD Keller said.
SOD Keller and his aids began wheeling Frenzy out of the improvised med bay to begin interrogating him, while Daniel started gathering the tools that he might need to work on Jazz. Daniel had gathered quite a lot of tools and materials together when Ratchet approached with some questions.
"How do you propose to proceed? Do you plan to repair him first?" Ratchet asked wondering if the human had learned anything about the first rule of triage, which meant that you treated the worst injuries first.
"Actually, putting our game plan together would be a pretty good idea." Daniel responded turning around.
Daniel looked around the room at his niece and the other two teens, along with the rest of the Autobots, and thought while running his right hand along a couple days growth of beard.
"Hmmm, I think you and Maigan should work on Barricade while I tackle Jazz. Scrap heap over there is going to need precision detail work, and Maigan is a much neater hand at soldering, and welding than I am, besides she's also better at electronic circuitry than I am." Daniel said thoughtfully.
"Wait, what about Mikeala? She's got some serious skills too you know." Sam piped in.
"Yeah? What kind of skills?" Daniel asked dubiously.
"Her dad taught her almost everything there is to know about fixing cars." Sam said with a large amount of pride in his girlfriend, while Mikeala was looking somewhat embarrassed, hoping that her now erased criminal record wouldn't be brought up.
"Really? Another beauty with brains huh? GOOD! You can help Maigan and Bones put Barricade back together, while I work on Jazz." Daniel told the young woman. "Now what about you sport? What skills you got? Since you were so eager to volunteer her, you can help out as well." Daniel said turning to Sam.
Sam now looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "Who me? No, no, I don't have any skills like that, I'm just good at running away from stuff that trying to kill me." Sam said trying to weasel his way out of something he just knew he'd screw up.
"Fine, since you're so good at running you can run for parts, drinks and anything else we may need. How's that sound?" Daniel asked him.
Sam glanced around trying to figure a way out, before he realized there wasn't one. Then he swallowed hard and nodded. "OK." He said.
Daniel now turned to the three remaining Autobots.
"I don't suppose you guys know how to dismantle those dead wreaks without tearing 'em up worse than they already are do you?" Daniel asked Optimus.
"Since they are dead, we will not have to worry about preserving their sparks, so yes, we can disassemble them for you." Optimus replied.
"OK, good," Daniel said as the first truck came in pulling one of the deceased Decepticons.
I most sincerely apologize for not having this out sooner, but my life has been really hectic lately. Between the IRS! My job and a few family issues I have not been able to work on this nearly enough to satisfy those blasted plot demons. I promise that it won't take anywhere near as long to do chapter 5. But then I did plan to have this posted around the fourth of April. Again my apologies.
