So, just to recap. There is an alien species of living robots on Earth. They are from a planet called Cybertron. They are in the middle of a civil war. Two factions. The Autobots and The Decepticons.
Tally's dad is Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots.
Poor kid's also suffered through this shit too.
Is it bad? That I feel guilty? Like, I know it's not my fault she was kidnapped, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice. Jack went nuts, and I was worried too. Plus… the incident with the razor blades…
Jack stopped Talida from slitting her wrists in an alley. Poor girl had a serious bout of depression. Jack called Amy that day, asked him to run her to the hospital. When Talida realized they were gonna take her to the hospital, she flipped the hell out. Had a massive panic attack.
So instead, she brought Talida back to our place. Krystal was in bed for school the next morning, and I was watching TV when Amy suddenly threw the door open, screaming at me to come help her.
I squeezed Tally's arms tight enough to slow the blood flow. She wasn't able to completely slit them, but Tally had done some decent damage to her wrists before Jack stopped her. Jack had tried to stop the bleeding as best he could during the trip, but Amy knew he wouldn't be able to do much.
I'll never forget the fear that ran through me when I saw her in that condition. It's a wonder I didn't break her arms. To be quite frank, if she weren't so delirious from blood loss, she probably would've been screaming her head off from the pressure.
My grip was tight. I left bruises on her arms.
She and Jack spent the night at our place. Me and Amy folded the couch out and slepped on it together, while Jack and Talida slept in our bed.
Talida didn't wake up till next morning.
I wouldn't let her leave till Amy gave her the go ahead, and I made sure she knew how much she scared the hell out of his. I begged her not to pull another stunt like that again.
Talida's been through more than I ever could've imagined.
But now that I know exactly what happens in her life…
I'm gonna make sure the kid never gets hurt again.
"And since you know know of our existence, I fear that as of last night, the Decepticons now know of yours." Optimus announced to the new arrivals of Autobot Outpost Omega 1. His optics wondered towards Clark. "You in particular, Clark."
"Because of what I did that Con that tried to grab us?" Clark guessed, to which Optimus nodded.
"Yes. Humans having any sort of abilities is unheard of, at least to us." Optimus admitted. "So your actions against the Decepticon will be noted, because both Decepticons fled before they could be neutralized."
"Got it." Jack piped up. "If we spot any strange cars, call 911."
"If only it were that simple, Jack." Talida retorted.
Clark shrugged. "If the Cons are trying to stay under the radar, than it kind of iss that simple, kiddo." He said with a grin.
"Can we go now?" Jack asked.
"Are you insane?" Miko said, turning on Jack. "I'm living a dream here in Botsuana, and I'm not gonna allow you, or anyone else to shatter it!"
"Well, that's too bad, Miko." Amy spoke up as she picked up Krystal. "You four and Krystal have school tomorrow, and me and Clark have work since we missed out on today." She explained.
Optimus shook his head. "It would be best for you to remain here, Amy. At least until we can determine our enemy's intentions."
"Optimus," Ratchet spoke up, catching his old friends attention. "With all due respect, the humans are in as much danger here as anywhere, with the exception of the Kent man."
"Children?" Jack repeated, offended while Talida glared at Ratchet.
"They had no protective shell and Talida doesn't have the capabilities to defend herself." Ratchet reasoned, further digging himself in a hole.
"HEY!" Talida exclaimed in outrage.
"If they go underfoot, they will go… squish." Ratchet said, stomping his foot to enforce his point. "And you know it's true, Talida." The medic turned towards Talida as he spoke. "Why else do you think Optimus won't let you join us in the field?"
"Oh really? I thought he was overprotective." Talida remarked sarcastically, refusing to acknowledge Ratchet's very true point.
"Well, Ratchet, we must simply watch where we step." Optimus spoke. "As we've been doing since Talida has was born."
Suddenly, a loud alarm began blaring through the base as green lights began flashing through the command center.
"What the mech?!" Talida exclaimed as they checked the computers.
"What the hell is that?" Clark asked in concern.
"Proximity Sensor. Someone's landed on the roof." Bumblebee beeped out.
"Bumblebee says it's a proximity sensor." Krystal answered, earning looks of shock from the other humans.
"You can understand that?" Clark asked his daughter in surprise. "How?"
Krystal tilted her head in confusion as she looked up at her father. "Can't you?"
Clark looked at Amy, both of them staring wide eyed at each other.
Then Amy giggled. "Well, you learn something new everyday."
"I guess." Clark conceeded.
"It's Agent Fowler." Ratchet announced as he checked the security screens.
"Aw, great." Talida groaned out. "Whenever he's here, it means trouble."
"I thought we were the only humans that knew about you?" Jack questioned, recalling earlier conversations.
"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liason to the outside world." Optimus revealed.
Clark's eyes wide as he heard this. "Agent? As in, a government agent?!" He exclaimed, worried that the government might know of his existence.
"We have not informed Agent Fowler of your presence on Earth, Clark." Optimus assured. "And since Fowler tends to visit only when there are… issues, it might be best if don't meet him at this time." He warned. "Any of you."
Amy rested her hand on Clark's shoulder, catching her boyfriend's attention. "Calm down, Clark, we'll be fine." She assured with a smile as she led him towards the others, who had scrambled for a hiding spot.
Optimus scopped Talida up into his hand and settled her onto his shoulder. He liked having her up ther when Agent Fowler would visit. He supposed it was to make it clear that she was his daughter, not a regular civilian.
The door to the elevator opened, and an african american man in a blue suit walked out. Special Agent William Fowler looked directly at Optimus, and he looked none to pleased.
"Seven wrecks. Thirty-four fenderbenders. A three hour traffic jam. And a particular note: A speeding motorcycle of unknown make, and a black and yellow custom muscle car." Fowler listed off as he marched directly up to Optimus. "Anything you'd like to get off your tin chest, Prime?" He asked with a glare.
"We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler." Optimus reassured the agent.
"They're back, aren't they." It was more of a statement than a question as he looked at the Autobot leader.
"If you're referring to the Decepticons, we have doubts they ever left." Optimus admitted. "Earth is much too valuable."
"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon." Fowler proclaimed.
"Hear me, Agent Fowler. We are your best, and possibly your only, defence against the Decepticon threat." Optimus retorted calmly.
"Says you." Fowler shot back.
"Hey, fleshy!" Bulkhead spoke up, catching the agents attention. "Did anyone get splattered on that freeway? Team Prime knows when to use force, and how much of it to use." To emphasize his point, Bulkhead ripped one of Ratchet's inventions off of the cosole, and easily crushed it in his grip.
To the medic's dismay.
"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet exclaimed.
"Enough!" Optimus snapped, interupting the two, before turning back to Fowler. "Military involvement will only result in catastrophe." He proclaimed. "Perhaps you can condone widespread human casualties, Agent Fowler, but we, however, can not."
"Then do us both a favor and handle this, Prime. Under the radar." Fowler growled with a glare. "Or I will."
And with that, he turned and walked into the elevator.
"Pretty big bearings for a human." Bulkhead remarked as the humans came out from their hiding spot.
"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead." Optimus defended the agent. "As he should be." He added grimly.
"Oh, and for your info, Bulkhead," Clark suddenly spoke up, sounding none to pleased as he caught the bots attention. "Nobody was killed, but somebody damn near was." He growled.
It took Bulkhead a moment to remember what Talida had told him, and his optics widened as he realized what he'd said. "Oh… my bad."
"Clark, calm down." Amy said, letting Krystal down as she rested a hand on Clark's arm. "I'm fine. You're nerves are still a little frazzled from that close call."
Clark looked at Amy for a moment, before sighing. "I know…" He said, rubbing his neck. "But-"
"He didn't mean anything by it, Clark." Amy defended the large bot. "And the guy might be concerned, but he came in here sounding like a jackass. I don't blame him for getting annoyed."
Clark looked at Amy, before turning to Bulkhead. "Sorry for snapping at you, Bulk."
Bulkhead smiled. "It's fine. I… probably should've kept my mouth shut, anyway." He joked.
Clark smiled at the wrecker's words.
"Um, Optimus?"
Krystal's voice caught the attention of everyone there, and the Autobot leader turned towards the child as he let his daughter down. "Yes, little one?"
"Why was he so loud?" Krystal asked, pointing towards the elevator where Fowler had disappered.
"I believe that's just the way he is." Optimus responded. "He is concerned for his home, and he tends to only visit when trouble arises."
"So that's a regular thing?" Miko asked. "Him walking in, yelling like that?"
Talida nodded with a roll of her eyes. "Unfortunately."
"Sounds like an asshole." Clark remarked as they walked up the steps to the human area.
Talida nodded. "He is… but he's not all bad." She admitted.
"So, what do you do around here, Talida?" Jack asked curiously.
Talida shrugged. "Eh. Usually, I'll play some video games with Bumblebee, or maybe watch some TV with one of the others.
"Don't forget singing!" Bee piped up, to Talida's chagrin.
"No!" Talida shouted, turning towards the scout. "Keep your beeper shut!"
"You sing?" Krystal asked curiously. "What do you sing?"
Talida sighed in annoyance, knowing that she'd been pulled down the rabbit hole. "I might sing every once in a while, but I'm not a big fan of singing in front of people." She admitted, rubbing her arm. "I'm a little self concious."
Amy laughed as she gave Clark a knowing gaze.
It only took Clark a second to understand.
"No, shut up, don't you dare!" Clark demanded. A demand which Amy promptly ignored
"Clark here actually has quite the singing voice." She spoke up, catching everyone's attention. Clark groaned in embarassment.
"I will not forget this betrayal, woman."
"It's true!" Krystal spoke up, causing her father's gaze to snap towards her. "He used to sing me different songs when I'd go to sleep!"
"Really?" Raf asked in surprise. "You don't strike me as a singer."
Clark shrugged with a sigh. "I'm… not big on singing. I usually only do it for my loved ones."
"Still better than me." Talida admitted. "I'm too nervous to sing in front of anyone."
Clark chuckled. "Eh. I'm not really self concious, just not a big fan of it."
"That's an understatement." Amy said with a smirk.
Clark rolled his eyes. "Anyway, it definitely helps that I can alter my voice."
Their eyes widened. "You didn't mention that abilitiy earlier." Talida noted with a confused look.
Clark chuckled. "I have extreme control over ever muscle in my body. Kind of a requirement so that I don't crush everything I touch." He explained. "An added benefit is that I can control my vocal chords, allowing me to mimic any voice I choose."
"Prove it." Miko challenged. Clark smirked.
"Is this better?" Clark retorted… in a perfect imitation of Miko's voice.
"That's actually pretty cool." Raf complimented.
Clark grinned. "You'd be surprised how many people don't think anything of it when I mimic voices." He admitted in Raf's voice. "They think it's just a cool trick." He added in Jack's voice.
"Could you mimic one of our voices?" Bulkhead questioned, looking at the man curiously. "One of the Bots, I mean."
"Easily." Clark answered, using Bulkhead's voice, though the mechanical undertone was absent. "Though, I can't imitate the whirring sound your voices make, since you use a voice box of some sort, rather than vocal chords." He admitted in Optimus' voice.
"That is weird." Talida remarked. "Any voice? None are off limits?"
Clark smiled. "Any voice I want, I can mimic."
"You'd be surprised how often he's asked to imitate a celebrity at family gatherings." Amy chuckled. "They love having him say the funniest things in different voices."
Suddenly, a loud noise began eminating from the computer Ratchet was at. "Blasted Earth tech!" He exclaimed.
"Hey! Don't blame the tech!" Talida defended the technology.
"Cliffjumper's life signal just popped back online." Ratchet announced, to the Autobots shock.
"Who's Cliffjumper?" Miko asked curiously.
"An Autobot like us." Miko informed. "We… we lost him yesterday. He was out patrolling in New York when he found an Energon deposit. But by the time we got there… the Energon was destroyed and all we could find was one of his horns." She explained, a sad look crossing over you.
"Is that why you seemed so down at K.O. Burger yesterday?" Clark asked, looking at the teen with sympathy. Talida nodded.
"He was that family friend you told me about." Jack realized.
"Me and Arcee were close to him." Talida explained to her friend.
"How is that possible?" Optimus questioned.
"It isn't." Ratchet responded simply. "Another bug. System's chock full of them."
"DON'T BLAME THE TECH, YA FOOL!" Talida defended once more.
"If there's any chance Cliff's alive…" Arcee trailed off. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what she was going to say.
"Ratchet, prepare sickbay. We may need it." Optimus ordered, before turning to his daughter. "Talida, stay here and man the Groundbridge."
"Why do you always tell me to stay here when you know I'm gonna sneak along anyway?" Talida asked with a smirk.
Though she realized a second later just who was in the base with her.
"EXCUSE ME?!" Amy shouted, turning to look at the teenager. "YOU WHAT?!"
"You think I'm gonna let you sneak along, Talida?!" Clark exclaimed, looking at Talida sternly. "You ain't going anywhere while I'm here!"
"She's not going anywhere!" Jack proclaimed as he pulled Talida close, unintentionally cutting off her air supply.
"Choking! Not breathing!" Talida rasped out as she struggled against Jack's grip, causing the teen to sheepishly let his friend go.
"She does have a point, Optimus." Arcee spoke up, to everyone's surprise. "Maybe it's time she tags along."
"You can't be serious!" Amy shouted, looking at the femme in disbeleif.
"WHAT?!" Optimus boomed, completely against what he'd just heard. "You know how I feel about Talida coming onto potential battlefields, Arcee!"
"Talida and I were closer to Cliffjumper than any of you!" Arcee exclaimed. "Besides, she can stick with me, I'll keep her safe."
"Yeah, because a fucking battlefield of twenty foot robots is a good idea for a teenage girl!" Clark exclaimed. "Real smart move there, Einstein!"
"She's all I have left." Optimus retorted.
"I know, Optimus." Arcee answered softly. "But she needs to get out more than she does. She needs to live a life."
Optimus sighed frustration. He was at a crossroads, something he came across plenty of times during Talida's upbringing. He was completely against putting his daughter in danger, but there were times where he admittedly thought he was overprotective. But ever since losing her mother…
But Arcee had a point, she had a life to live.
Still, Arcee said she'd keep her safe, but Cliffjumper had said that too, two years ago. And look what had happened…
But this time, she'd be backed up by the others, not alone.
"If you let her go, you better expect me to come along."
Clark's declaration shocked him out his stupor, and surprised everyone.
"What?!" Amy shrieked. "You can't be fucking serious, Clark!"
"I don't have the final say over what Talida does, Amy!" Clark shouted back. "But it's not like Prime can keep me here in the first place."
Loathe as she was to admit it, Clark had a point. And she wanted to keep Talida safe as well, especially after what she'd just heard Talida had gone through.
She let out a frustrated sigh as she looked at her boyfriend. "Just be careful, okay?"
Clark looked at his girlfriend with a nod, before looking up at Optimus. "So, what's the final say?"
Optimus looked at Clark for a moment, before he sighed. "Talida can accompany us." He relented.
"Yes!" Talida exclaimed as she jumped up and down, hugging Jack tightly.
"Choking! Not breathing!" Jack exclaimed, mimicking her earlier words, causing Talida to quickly let go.
"Sorry."
"But you are not to engage in direct combat, and you are to remain close to Clark at all times." He added, causiing Talida to slump.
"Aw." She moaned out, before sighing. "Oh well, at least I actually get to go."
"And what can we do?" Miko asked curiously.
"Don't even think about it, Miko." Amy said sternly.
"Remain with Ratchet." Optimus responded.
"Aww…" Both Miko and Ratchet moaned in disappointment as Ratchet activated the Groundbridge.
"Clark." Amy spoke, grabbing her boyfriend's attention as he turned to look at her. "Please be careful." She said as she wrapped her arms around his chest, hugging him tightly.
Clark smiled softly his girlfriend as he leaned down, kissing her. "I will be." He reassured.
"Don't go, Daddy!" Krystal exclaimed, running up to her father and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I don't want you too!"
Clark gave a gentle smile as he pried his daughter's hands away from him. "Krystal, look at me." He said softly as he knelt down to her level. "I'll be fine. I've got to keep Tally safe."
Krystal's lip quivered as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Promise?"
Clark smiled, and kissed his daughters head. "Promise." He said with a smile.
Krystal nodded, before hugging her dad once more. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, Krys." Clark said as he returned the hug, before standing to his feet, and turning back to Amy for a moment.
Amy smiled at him, despite her worry. "Go smash some giant robots."
Clark chuckled as he hugged his girlfriend. "I will. I love you."
"I love you too." Amy responded softly as she kissed her boyfriend. When they seperated, Clark made his way down the steps.
"Autobots, Roll Out!" Optimus exclaimed as the Autobots transformed into their vehicle modes, Talida hopping on Arcee.
Clark smirked slightly at the site. And then he disappeared, a blue blur speeding into the Groundbridge portal faster than any of them could process.
"Was that Clark?" Arcee asked Talida in surprise. Talida nodded.
"It's like he's on Red Energon, isn't it." Talida remarked as the Autobots drove into the Groundbridge after Clark.
"What just happened?" Jack couldn't help but ask as the Groundbridge closed behind them.
"I transported them to the designated coordinates via the Groundbridge." Ratchet answered simply.
"What's a Groundbridge?" Krystal asked, turning to the grumpy bot.
"A scaled down verison of Space Bridge technology." He explained with a rather cocky attitude. Upon seeing Krystal's confused head tilt, he sighed. "You humans would call it a portal. Since we don't possess the means, nor the Energon required for intergalactic travel…"
"You're stuck here." Jack realized. "On Earth."
"With the likes of you, yes. But I-"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Amy asked with a raised eyebrow. "The likes of us?"
"It simply means that we're stuck here, with your inferior technology." Ratchet clarified, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Amy scoffed. "Yeah. I'm sure there's no other meaning to it." She said sarcastically.
Ratchet ignored her. "Anyway, I constructed the Groundbridge to enable travel from to anywhere on your planet." He explained.
"You mean we could just shoot on over to my parents in Tokyo?" Miko asked.
"Within moments. In fact, allow me to send you there immediately. All five of you." Ratchet offered, a little too hopefully.
"Watch it, Ratchet." Miko warned.
"Talida would kill you." Jack said with a smirk.
"Daddy would burn your arm off!" Krystal couldn't help but to pipe in as well.
"To the pits with Talida." Ratchet said, completely ignoring Krystal.
"Excuse me?!" Amy exclaimed, glaring at the medic. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"
"When we first arrived here, Optimus was more than eager to get back to Cybertron and forget about this planet!" Ratchet snapped. "And then he met that blasted woman, and had a daughter with her. He forgot about his plans so that he could give Talida a stable future here!"
"So you blame Talida for the fact that your stuck here?!" Jack asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. "And besides, it sounds to me like Optimus is just being a good father."
"What would Optimus think of you bad mouthing his daughter, and his former lover?" Amy asked with a glare.
"Please." Ratchet responded with a scoff. "He wasn't actually in love with the woman. His spark lies with another."
"I severely doubt he didn't love her." Amy responded with a growl.
Ratchet didn't respond.
Clark exited the Groundbridge long before anyone else as he examined his surroundings.
The Groundbridge took them to a cave, a mine, from the looks of it. There seemed to be a blue glow emanating from something behind a pair of large rocks ahead.
Curious, Clark moved up to the top of the rocks as the Autobots came through the Groundbridge, the portal closing behind them.
There were Deceticons, all of them looking the exact same, exactly like the two who he'd seen fighting Arcee the night before. They were on large mining drills, and they seemed to be mining a bunch of large crystals, which glowed a vibrant blue.
"Energon mine." Bulkhead observed.
"Is that what that blue stuff is?" Clark asked the big green bot. "Why are they mining it on Earth?"
"Over the course of the war, people started hiding Energon spoils offworld." Bulkhead explained. "There's thousands, maybe millions of other planets out there with Energon in them."
"Damn." Clark said with a whistle as he looked back towards the Decepticons. "I'm curious, why do they all look the same?"
"They're drones." Bulkhead answered. "Unlike actual Bots and Cons, Vehicon drones were artifically created for the sole purpose of having an Army." He explained.
"Judging by the scale of the mine, the Decepticons have been tunneling here for quite some time." Optimus observed. The group hid behind the large rocks for a moment, watching the Decepticons mine away, filling up more and more buckets of Energon, before Optimus stood up.
"Let's find Cliffjumper." Optimus proclaimed as he moved from behind the rocks, the other bots plus Clark following him.
"Stay close to me, Tally." Arcee instructed as Clark moved over next to them.
It didn't take the Decepticons long to notice to notice the Bots, and almost immediately, they turned their blasters towards the Autobots, triggering a shoot out… of sorts.
The Autobots charged forward, pushing against the Decepticons. One Vehicon trooper actually tried to run their drill at them.
Bulkhead caught the drill with ease, smashing it into dust. As he dealt with the drill, the other bots, plus Clark, charged at the enemy, guns blazing.
To make up for his lack of a weapon, Clark was instead using his heat vison, blasting Deceptions and drills into pieces as they charged forward.
"What is this, anyway?" Miko asked, pointing towards the piece of machinery that Bulkhead destroyed earlier.
"Broken. Don't touch." Ratchet responded rather rudely. "Don't touch that either!" He exclaimed when he saw Miko go to touch something else.
"Is there anything we can touch?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
Off to the side, Krystal had shanghaid her mother into a game of Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch she'd brought.
"I'm winning, Mommy!"
True to Krystal's words, she was in first place while Amy was falling behind her in second place.
"I'll catch up, Krystal!" Amy said with a smile, having fun on the game with her daughter.
Ratchet let out a sigh of annoyance as one of his computer systems popped up an error message.
"Why are you using human computers?" Raf questioned curiously as he watchd Ratchet try to fix the problem.
"It certainly isn't by choice." Ratchet muttered. "It was handed down from the previous tenants when we inherited this former missile silo. I make changes as I see fit."
As if fate just wanted to spite him, a large number of error messages popped up one after another.
"I think I can help with that." Raf said as he pulled out his computer, plugging it into the main console.
"Really?" Ratchet asked in disbelief. "You know this is complex technology, don't you? I mean, it isn't a child's toy." Raf seemed to ignore Ratchet, typing in some commands on his computer.
"Now try." Raf advised, turning to look at Ratchet.
Ratchet raised an a brow… or whatever counted as a brow for Cybertronians, but he decided to humor Raf, turning to the console and pressing a button.
He was admittedly blown away when all of the error messages on the computer completely disappeared, and he turned to look at Raf in surprise.
The battle continued.
Nothing seemed to slow the Autobots down, their determination to find their friend fueling their every move.
Arcee jumped into the air jumped into the air, Talida on her back, as they both fired rounds at the drones. Once she landed, she delivered a devastating haymaker to a nearby vehicon as Talida continued to fire rounds from her back. She immediately took off in a sprint, bringing down more Vehicons.
Another Vehicon started firing at Bumblebee, only for the scout to ramp off a piece of the cave floor. He transformed in mid-air, firing at a Vehicon below him before landing on the poor Con, crushing his innards with a strong punch. Looking up, he barely had time to process a drill coming directly for him. With wide optics, he rolled out of the way.
The drill instead hit a rather unfortunate target, as Optimus caught it and lifted it directly off the ground, firing a round into the bottom of it to disable it, before charging even further into the fray. His eyes widened as he spotted Clark, handling himself quite well.
Clark was a literal blur on the battlefield. Red beams of heat would lance across the field, easily avoiding the Autobots as it sliced Decepticons and drills alike. He stopped next to a drill and literally lifted it off the ground, throwing it with ease at a group of Vehicons charging towards them. He blured off immediately, running straight up a Vehicon tropper and ripping it's head off, taking out three more Vehicons with the head alone before the corpse even hit the ground.
Meanwhile, the Autobots were admittedly watching the display with wide eyes.
"Remind me to never, ever get Clark mad…" Talida remarked as she watched her secondary father figure wreak havoc upon the Decepticons.
Arcee nodded, her optics wide in surprise. "Noted."
"It seems our friend is much more powerful than we initially gave him credit for." Optimus remarked as they charged further into the fray.
"You know," Bulkhead's voice caught Clark's attention as he took out a Vehicon near the green bot. "You would've made a good wrecker."
Clark raised an eyebrow. He had no clue what a wrecker was, but he'd take it as a compliment. "Thanks."
"Autobots, Maximum Overdrive!" Optimus' voice rang out through the mine, and all of the Autobots transformed into their vehicle modes, Talida gripping Arcee's handles as they drove.
Clark easily kept up with them. Rather than run with his speed, he ran with his strength, pushing off the ground with earth-shattering force as his body barreled into the legs of any poor Vehicon in his way, completely shattering the metal and rendering the poor Cons legless.
It was a massacre. The Decepticons didn't stand a chance against the group of Autobots. Even atop Arcee, Talida was able to fire an Energon blaster with one hand as the other held onto Arcee's handle. Clark was completely melting Cons into scrap as he ran by. If they weren't getting run down by the Bots or Clark, they were getting blasted and melted by Talida or Clark.
In no time at all, they reached a massive Elevator shaft, with a massive warship hovering over top of it, and an abundance of Energon all over the place.
"Quite the operation." Bulkhead remarked.
Clark let out a whistle. "Sure would suck for all of this to go to waste on the Cons." He remarked, glancing towards Optimus.
"Indeed." The Autobot Leader agreed.
Suddenly, Energon blasts began raining from about, as Vehicons from all over the place began began fireing down at the Autobots.
Arcee narrowly avoided a stray Energon blast, before she and Talida spotted a familiar form.
"It's Cliff." Arcee spoke. "We have a visual."
"We'll cover you!" Optimus assured both Talida and Arcee as the other Autobots and Clark focused on taking down the Decepticons.
Talida glanced over towards Clark as she climbed onto Arcee, and she couldn't help the worry in her as the man took an Energon blast to the face, sending him skidding back.
"Clark!" Talida cried in worry.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" Clark shouted to her as he bisected a Vehicon with his heat vision. "GO!"
With a nod, Talida gripped Arcee's handlebars as the bike drove up, jumping from platform to platform.
When they finally made it to Cliff, they knew something was wrong. Only the upper half of Cliffjumper remained, with a disturbingly purple amount of Energon leaking around him.
Both Talida and Arcee gasped in horror at the site. Suddenly, Energon blasts began barreling in their direction, and Arcee hugged Talida close, shielding her from the blasts.
When they died down, they found the section of platform Cliff was on collapsing, to their horror.
"CLIFF!" Both Arcee and Talida cried out as Arcee dove to catch their friend, just barely catching his hand.
The femme tried to haul the her friend up with a grunt, looking down at Cliff.
"Let's get you home, partner." She declared.
Until Cliffjumper growled.
Cliffjumper's gaze snapped up to the two, his optics glowing a haunting purple color as he howled like an animal.
"Cliffjumper's not Cliffjumper anymore." Talida whispered, horrified.
As she said this, what used to be Cliffjumper managed to wiggle free of Arcee's grasp, falling to the mines below.
Clark watch in horror as the poor bot fell deep into the chasm. There target, their goal. He was gone.
Then an evil cackling filled the mine.
Clark's gaze snapped up, where he spotted a Decepticon, different from the others. This one actually seemed like a person, though not a good one. Piercing red eyes, the color of blood, seemed to gaze down at them, though any menace was effectively ruined by the feminine appearance… particularly the stilleto heeled feet.
Accompanying the Decepticon was a young teen with pitch black hair, her eyes as red as the Con's own, pail skin coated in an abundance of battle scars. She wore a red miniskirt that stopped just above her mid-thigh, and a dark red boots that stopped just below her knees, as well as a halter-neck bikini top that seemed to practically emphasize her breasts.
She didn't look friendly, and Clark had a pretty damn good idea as to who this was.
"Prime." The Con rasped.
"Malita." Talida growled at her long time nemesis, confirming Clark's suspicions.
"Talida." Malita sneered. "Long time, no see."
"I see you're still draping yourself over Starscream." Talida observed.
"What can I say? I have a thing for bad boys." Malita remarked.
Clark couldn't stop himself.
"Explains why you're dressed like a whore." He remarked with a smirk, catching the two Decepticons attention. "Bad boys only go for the ones who spread their legs."
A couple of the bots laughed at Clark's remark while Talida was outright cackling. Meanwhile, Starscream and Malita glared at Clark.
"How dare you! Do you know who you speak too?!" Starscream growled.
"I don't know… a prostitute?" Clark responded snarkily, putting salt on the wound.
"Who in the pits are you?" Malita demanded with a growl. "Another Techno-Organic?"
"Oh no…" Clark said, grinning darkly as his eyes began to glow red. "I'm something much worse."
With a roar of rage, Clark blasted his heat vision at the two, causing them both to jump back in shock as he melted the edge of the platform, causing the two to drop the inactive charges in the process.
Clark was quick to take action, ignoring the Bots crying his name, warning him against the action as he blurred up to the platform holding the two Decepticons.
Picking up the charges with ease, Clark made sure they wouldn't be used here, launching them towards the upper opening of the cave and high into the sky.
Turning to look towards the two Decepticons, Clark grunted as Malita blasted him square in the face with her Energon blaster.
"Do you know who I am?!" The techno-organic Decepticon screached. "I am Malita! The Daughter of Megatron!"
"Congratulations." Clark said insincerely as he turned his gaze back towards Malita, absolutely unharmed by the Energon blaster. "I'm Clark Kent. And you've pissed me off."
Malita had no time to react as Clark rushed her, closing the distance in a split second and grabbing her by the neck, cutting off her oxygen supply completely.
His grip was like concrete, completely unforgiving as Malita vainly tried to pry Clark's hand off her.
As if he didn't even feel her hand, Clark growled as he slammed her into the ground, knocking whatever oxygen left in her lungs clear out of them. He stood up, releasing her neck as he raised his leg, more than ready to stomp her lights out.
"Get away from her!" Starscream's voice shouted out. Clark looked up quickly, just in time to react, catching Starscream's hand as he made an attmept to grab the man.
With a growl, Clark spun on his heel, making use of his inhuman strength as whirled the Decepticon, throwing him back in the direction he came from.
Starscream crashed into the wall with a scream, falling to his bottom. He looked up, only to give a rather girlish scream as he dodged a blast of heat vision, just barely rolling out of the way.
Clark was stomping to the seeker, more than read to take his head off, when he felt something push against him with unforgiving force.
He grunted as he found himself getting launched off the platform, falling all the way back down to the bottom ground, creating a collumn of dust as he landed hard, cracking the earth beneath him.
Malita had her hand outstretched. She'd used her telekinesis to launch the man off the side. "Starscream!"
With a nod, Starscream scooped up Malita and jumped into the air, transforming into jet mode and putting Malita into his cockpit as he flew off.
Clark cracked his neck as he stood up, looking at the retreating duo with a disappointed gaze.
"What the hell was that?" Clark asked, turning to look at Optimus, who was approaching, concerned.
"Telekinesis." The Autobot leader answered. "Techno-organics develop different abilities as they grow older, in order to match Cybertronians." He explained.
"Like mine did." Clark remarked as he looked back towards where the duo had retreated, the Decepticon warship leaving.
"That was dangerous and reckless, Clark." Optimus admonished. "You could've gotten yourself killed."
"With all due respect, Optimus," Clark said as he turned to look at the Autobot leader. "I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I wouldn't have went after them like that if they had any chance of hurting me."
Optimus looked down at Clark, before sighing. "Just be careful next time."
Clark sighed, before nodding. "Alright, Optimus."
"All this Energon…" Bumblebee beeped as he and Bulkhead all looked at the entire deposit of Energon that the Decepticons had abandoned.
"We've needed this…" Bulkhead remarked as Arcee and Talida landed on ground level, the techno-organic running to her father and secondary father figure.
"Clark!" She exclaimed, running up and examining him, to his chagrin. "Are you okay?!"
"God dammit, I'm fine, Tally!" Clark said with a laugh, lightly pushing her arms away from him. "They didn't do any damage."
Talida looked at him for a moment, before throwing her arms around his neck. "Please don't ever do that again." She asked as she hugged him, relief flooding through her.
Clark chuckled. "I make no promises, Kiddo." He said as he returned the hug.
Optimus found himself gazing around the at the Energon mine.
Clark had been reckless. Extremely so.
But his actions had probably just gained them an untold amount of Energon.
"Ratchet." Optimus spoke over the intercom. "Open a Groundbridge, and prepare the Energon carts."
When the everyone walked back through the Groundbridge, Krystal was the first to react.
"Daddy!" Krystal shouted, immediately forgetting her and Amy's game as she immediately hopped to her feet, running down the steps towards her father, Amy right behind her.
"Hey, Krys!" Clark said with a smile as he caught his daughter in his arms, gladly scooping her up as he hugged her. "I told you I'd be back."
Amy closed her arms around her boyfriend and daughter, gladly hugging them both as she kissed her husband.
"Thank god your okay." She whispered. Clark chuckled.
"You should see the Cons." He joked.
"What of Cliffjumper?" Ratchet asked, noticing their target hadn't accompanied them back through.
None of the bots said anything, instead lowering their heads sadly.
"Hey, what happened?" Miko asked curiously. "Can I come next time?!" She asked excitedly.
"Look-" Arcee almost growled.
Clark interrupted. "Miko, that's enough." He said, grabbing the teen by her arm and leading her back towards the human area, Amy following as Krystal was still in his arm.
"But I want to know!" Miko whined, only to straighten up when Clark glared at her.
"Miko." The tone of Clark's voice bookered no room for argument as he dragged her up the steps.
"Sorry." Miko said quetly.
"Arcee, Talida, what did you see?" Optimus gently questioned his daughter and second-in-command.
"It wasn't Cliff." Talida recalled sadly. "Not anymore."
"He was mutated." Arcee explained. "Butchered like something from those Con experiments during the war."
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness seemed to wash over the two. Talida's face pailed slightly and Arcee's optics faded some as both nearly collapsed.
Bumblebee rushed to catch Arcee as Clark speed down from the human area, catching Talida in before she fell.
"You okay, kiddo?" Clark asked in worry. Talida nodded.
"I'm fine… just a little dizzy."
"Are you okay, Arcee?!" Bee beeped in worry as he picked supported Arcee.
"I'm just a little dizzy, Bee." Arcee reassured.
It seemed as if the words caused a realization among the three teens.
"Robots who get dizzy…" Miko started.
"Robots with emotions…" Raf added.
"Robots… who can die…" Jack piped up as it finally hit three that the robots in front of them were real, living creatures.
Clark was looking down at Talida in worry, looking at the a purple substance on Talida. "What is this shit?" Clark asked as he scraped some off of Talida's chest with his finger as he and Bumblebee sat the two down on a birth.
When something hit him. A wave of nausea.
It was a feeling completely foreign to him. He'd never been sick in his life, not even common cold. He'd never felt ill, and the worst pain he'd felt was the shotgun bruising him when he was younger.
"Clark!" Amy cried out in horror when Clark dropped to a knee with a groan, rushing down the stairs and to his side in an instant.
Clark's vision blurred slightly as he looked at the substance on his finger. That was the cause of this sudden bout of nausea. It was affecting him in a bad way.
Amy was at Clark's side in an instant, hoisting his large frame up as best she could, considering he was a full foot and a half taller than she was. "Clark, what's wrong?!" She asked in worry.
"This… this shit…" Clark said, looking at the purple substance. "I… I scooped some up off Tally… and now…" Clark trailed off slightly. Whatever the substance was, it was hitting him just like it was the other two.
"Daddy?!" Krystal cried out, going to move towards the steps.
"Krystal, stay up there!" Amy ordered, looking at her daughter.
Ratchet moved over to Arcee, scooping some of the substance up off of Arcee's hand. "What is this stuff?"
"Don't know…" Arcee slurred slightly. "Cliff was covered in it."
Ratchet studdied the substance on his scalpel. "Take a decontamination bath, now. All three of you."
"A… A what?" Clark asked, his hearing slightly distorted. The substance was impeding all of his abilitites, and since those included sensory abilities, a constant ringing in Clark's ears was making it hard to hear.
"Here, this way." Talida said, leading Clark towards the direction of the bath as Arcee went ahead, Amy supporting Clark as she lead him after the techno-organic.
"Optimus, I hate to bug, but… no bars." Jack spoke, waving his phone in front of Optimus' face.
"A security precaution." Optimus explained. "The silo walls isolate all radio waves."
"Well, if I don't call my mom, like now, I'm pretty sure the cops will come looking for me. Talida too, since we're supposed to have a movie sleepover at my place tonight." Jack told Optimus.
"Have you broken the law?" Optimus asked worriedly as he bent down, so that he was eye level with the teen.
"Curfew." Amy spoke, catching Optimus' attention from her position next to the decontamination chamber. "State law. No one under the age of eighteen can be out past 10pm." She explained as she glanced towards Optimus.
Optimus sighed. "So, technically, you have broken the law due to my actions." He remarked, chickling slightly. "I hadn't considered Earth customs."
Amy smiled slightly. "Isn't your daughter half human?" She asked, glancing up at the Autobot leader.
Optimus chuckled. "Yes, she is. It's sad, I know." He remarked with a smile, before his gaze turned serious. "But the issue of your safety remains. Bulkhead, accompany Miko home."
"Awesome!" Miko cried out with glee. "My host parents will freak!"
"And maintain covert surveilance in vehicle form." Optimus added at Miko's words.
"Curbside duty." Bulkhead acknowledged with a nod. "Got it."
"Aw…" Miko groaned in disappointment.
"Miko, robots in disguise goes out the window if Bulkhead just stands out on the street." Amy explained.
"I guess…" Miko acknowledged, though she was clearly still disappointed.
"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raf." Optimus instructed the scout, who beeped in acknowledgment.
"Ratchet?" Optimus turned to his old friend as Arcee, Talida, and Clark walked out of the decontamination chamber.
"Busy." Ratched waved off.
"Are you okay, Clark?" Amy asked, walking up to her boyfriend, cupping his cheek as she looked at him in worry. "You scared me to death."
Clark nodded, albeit a little slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"Daddy?" Krystal spoke up quetly, calling to her father as she walked down the steps.
Clark smiled tiredly at his daughter. "I'm fine, kiddo. Just a little tuckered out right now." He said, reaching an arm towards her and offering a hug, which Krystal gladly accepted.
"Arcee, if you're up to it, you'll accompany Jack." Optimus ordered Arcee.
"Still dizzy." Arcee said in a poor attempt to get out of it.
"You're fine, says your physician." Ratchet butted in, pretty much solidifying her place.
"I have a sleepover with Jack tonight." Talida informed. "So I'll be coming with!" She said in a sing-song voice.
Arcee immediately transformed. "Hop on."
As Arcee drove off with the two teens on her seat, Optimus turned to the Kents. "And I suppose that leaves you all to me." He surmised as he transformed into his vehicle mode, opening the door.
Clark had passed out in the passenger seat. Apparently his interaction with the unknown substance earlier had really taken a lot out of him. Krystal was tucked into his side, hugging him tightly, and Clark had unconciously pulled her closer to him in his sleep.
Amy sat in the driver side for once, though she seemed to be in deep thought.
"Optimus?" Amy spoke, catching the Autobot leader's attention. "Can… Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Amy." Optimus answered, the emblem on his steering wheel glowing slightly as he spoke.
"Did… did you love Talida's mother?" Amy asked, admittedly catching the Prime off guard.
"Excuse me?" Optimus asked. "I… can I ask why you're asking me this?"
"When you guys and Clark left for that Cliffjumper guy, we all had a disagreement with Ratchet over Talida." She explained. "I think he has misplaced blame towards Talida because he's stuck here, but that's not the point."
"Okay…" Optimus said, making a metal note to talk to Ratchet about this news.
"Anyway, I asked him what you would think of him bad mouthing your daughter and former lover. He said that you didn't actually love her." Amy finished, looking at Optimus' steering wheel. "I… I guess I don't see you as the kind of guy to just have casual sex… or something like that."
Optimus was silent for a moment, before he sighed. "I did love her. But I couldn't spark bond with her." He explained.
"Spark bond?" Amy questioned.
"Spark bond is similar to what you would call marriage." He explained. "Except that when Cybertronians spark bond, we create a link, of sorts. We can feel each other's pain. Our anger. Our joy. Our sadness."
Amy nodded. "And you couldn't do that with Talida's mom?"
"No." Optimus said, a sad undertone in his voice. "As much as I loved her, she didn't have a spark to bond with."
"Are you spark bonded with anyone?" Amy asked curiously.
"No." Optimus answered. "Not yet."
Amy nodded, and the two fell in another silence.
"I'm curious." Optimus spoke up, causing Amy to look at his steering wheel.
"About what?" She asked.
"Clark looks so much like a human… did you know he wasn't one when you had Krystal?" He asked curiously.
Amy smiled as she remembered that day. "The day Clark told me the truth was the day I found out I was pregnant." She admitted. "It was a scary day at first."
"Why didn't he tell you before?" Optimus asked curiously. "I… I showed Talida's mother before we…" He trailed off, but she knew what he meant.
"Clark assumed that since we were two completely different species, technically, he wouldn't be able to get me pregnant." She explained.
"But he did." Optimus said.
Amy looked over at Krystal, a smile on her face. "Yes. He did. And I wouldn't change it for world."
"Does Krystal ever show any powers?" Optimus asked curiously.
Amy shook her head. "Not at the moment, no. But… she's only five. Clark was always strong as a kid, but he told me that his powers started kicking in when he was six."
"So you have a year, at least, until you know for sure." Optimus guessed.
Amy smiled. "I guess so… Anyway, when Clark told me, I wasn't sure how to react, how to feel." She admitted.
"I imagine you weren't the most pleased." Optimus guessed. Amy nodded.
"I was so many different things. I was sad, angry, hurt… but I was also happy, giddy… I felt lucky." Amy recalled. "Yes, Clark lied to me… but he chose me. He was this godlike being, with more power than anything I'd ever known… and he chose me."
"Clark cares a great deal for you, Amy." Optimus said reassuringly.
Amy nodded. "He made that clear to me, that day." She said with a sad smile. "He had a panic attack. He thought I would leave him, that I would hate him forever." She looked fondly over at Clark, who was snoring quietly. "Clark actually dropped to his knees and hugged me. He buried his head into my stomach, and he begged me not to go, promised me that he'd always be there for me. He kept apologizing for not telling me, over and over…" Amy trailed off. "It was such a horrible site."
Amy looked at Clark's unconcious form for a few moments. "I love him." She proclaimed. "And I mean that. I want to spend my life with him. I want to marry him, some day."
"He is your sparkmate." Optimus surmised.
Amy smiled, and she nodded. "Yeah… he's my sparkmate." She agreed with the comparison.
Clark slept soundly in the passenger seat, Krystal tucked into his side, and Amy simply watched them, a fond and loving look in her eyes.
"I appreciate the talk." Amy said, smiling at Optimus. "Thank you, Optimus.
"Of course, Amy." Optimus said. "I'm always here to talk."