Megatron.
For the first time, I came face to face with that bastard.
Turns out, he wasn't going on another extended trip, right when it looked like he was gonna be gone for a while…
Bastard shows back up. Not even an hour after the shit with M.E.C.H.
Obviously, hiding away five mangled bodies isn't as easy as a crater in Nebraska, but Fowler didn't get to focus on an excuse for that…
If he was even going to, I don't think I wanted him to. Not if it meant the Bots would get in trouble for it.
Fowler showed up with Optimus and the others.
Of all people, Prime was the first one to step to my defense.
Obviously, seeing the aftermath of what happened on the train was more than a little jarring for Fowler. Because as traumatizing as it is for Cybertronians to see others ripped apart, it's the loss of life that hits us.
Because to our naked eye, Cybertronians are bolts and wires.
We didn't really get a chance to come up with an excuse when Ratchet informed us that there was activity near the Space Bridge.
It was all downhill from there. Even Skyquake's return didn't help much.
In spite of his protests, no one would leave Clark alone after the train incident as they waited for the others to arrive at the location.
No one was really sure if Fowler would agree to, or even be able to, come up with an excuse for this.
There were five corpses in the train car… well, what's left of them, anyway.
Not exactly easy to hide. Or cover up.
Especially when the cause wants to stay hidden.
"There's Dad." Talida warned the others, swallowing a lump in her throat as she watched her father approach in his vehicle form, followed closely by the other bots. They could somewhat make out Fowler in the driver seat.
Clark sat on the ground next to the train, his back facing the train car as he glanced up towards them.
"This is gonna be hell to explain." Clark remarked under his breath.
"How so?" Miko asked with a raised eyebrow. "Someone tried to shoot Kryssie, and you went nutso on them all for it."
Clark raised an eyebrow towards Miko, but didn't say anything as the other Autobots pulled up
This time, Optimus waited until Fowler had left his cab before transforming, having learned his lesson with Talida and Fowler earlier.
"I take it the D.N.G.S is safe?" Fowler guessed as he approached the group, Jack standing next to Talida as a show of support.
"Yeah." Talida nodded. "It's fine, but…"
"But what what?" Fowler asked with a raised eyebrow, but any further questions were interrupted by one of Optimus' own.
"Clark… why do you have human blood on you?" The Autobot leader asked in a concerned tone.
At his words, everyone turned their gazes towards the man, whose head fell in shame.
After a few seconds of silence, Clark turned his gaze towards Fowler.
"Check the train car, Fowler."
Fowler was admittedly a little unnerved by those words, especially mixed with the grizzly site that Clark was at the moment.
The agent ran his eyes over the others who were already present, in the hopes of getting a guess of what site awaited him in the train.
But they all refused to look at him.
Something told him that the site with the train car wasn't pretty.
Slowly, he turned his attention towards the train car, and he hesitated, before he finally moved towards it.
What awaited him behind the train car, he had no idea.
With a grunt of effort, he threw pulled the door to the train car open.
The stench of blood hit him like a hammer.
"What in the sam-hill…" Fowler cursed as he jerked his head away from the stench that permeated through his nose, attempting to wave the smell away before he looked inside.
And he froze.
The D.N.G.S was fine.
The M.E.C.H agents who'd tried to seize it…
The entire interior of the train was a bloodbath. There were five corpses, and each one was mangled and brutalized in a completely inhuman way.
The first thing Fowler spotted was the body on the other side of the train car, the wall dented by a corpse that laid against it, a splatter of blood in the middle of the dent.
Another body was laid out on the ground, completely bloodless, though the head was split in half and flopping on opposite sides, cauterized completely on the wound.
Another body sat, but Fowler was unable to tell what had killed him.
Another corpse sat against the wall, headless. The neck made it look as if the head was taken off by brute force, and the immense bloodstain on the wall only reinforced that belief.
The last body was sitting in a large pile of blood, with a massive hole in the chest.
Blood was all over the train car, and Fowler had to bring his hand to his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from puking.
"Oh my god." Fowler muttered as he averted his gaze, closing the train car door as he stepped away from it.
He had a pretty good idea what had happened.
"What the hell happened in there?" Fowler asked, turning to look at Clark, completely ignoring everyone else.
Admittedly, the language had everyone shocked. It wasn't even an actual swear, but Fowler regularly went out of his way to avoid using any sort of language like that. He always said heck instad of hell.
It was the first time even Talida had heard him say such words.
Clark glanced up at Fowler, silent for a moment, before he averted his gaze as he spoke. "One of them fired at Krystal. I lost it." He summarized in a rather short explanation.
Fowler raised an eyebrow. "You lost it? Five men were slaughtered… because you lost it?" He asked in an irritated tone.
"Hey, cool it, Fowler." Talida piped in. "If he hadn't done that, we'd all be dead."
Fowler immediately turned to glare at Talida. "There's limits to what kind of strings I can pull, Talida!" He snapped at her. "I've covered up many things, actually, just about everything, that would've exposed you, but I can't just cover this up! I report to superiors!"
"Talida." Optimus spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "What happened?" He asked sternly.
Talida looked up at her father, before she let out a sigh. "Krystal snuck along with us cause she thought we were just warning people. Actually, she didn't even really sneak, we just didn't notice her." She explained to her father with a shake of her head.
"Five M.E.C.H. guys managed to get into the train, pulled guns on all of us." Jack spoke up for Talida. "One of them tried to shoot Krystal, but Clark caught the bullet, and he… he killed them."
"That's an understatement." Fowler remarked. "Holes punched in them, crushed skulls and bisected heads. I'd say he turned into science experiments." He remarked with a shake of his head.
"He protected us, Fowler." Amy said sternly, glaring at the government agent. "How would you have reacted if it was your child?"
"Amy has a point." Arcee admitted, glancing up towards Optimus. "I know you can keep control of your emotions, but I think we all know you'd lose control if it were me or Talida in the same position."
Optimus nodded. "I must agree, Agent Fowler. We cannot condemn Clark for actions that most of us would take in his place." He said, glancing down at the government agent.
Fowler sighed in frustration. "It's not that, I'm just-"
"He has to report this."
To everyone's surprise, it was Clark who had spoken.
Everyone turned to look at the man, who was now standing on his feet, looking at Fowler.
"You have to do a report of the events that occurred during the transport of the D.N.G.S, right?" He asked Fowler.
Fowler let out a heavy sigh, and he nodded. "Exactly, and I don't exactly have a way of hiding, or really explaining, five dead terrorists without mentioning you, Clark." He explained, looking sympathetically at the man.
Clark looked at Fowler for a moment, before he let out a sigh. "Look, I get that you have to reveal my existence, but can you at least leave my name out of it?" He requested.
Fowler let out a sigh. "What am I supposed to tell my superiors, Clark?"
Clark let out his own sigh of frustration. "I don't know! Tell them that there is an extremely powerful alien helping the bots. Tell them I got pissed when the Soldier I was guarding the D.N.G.S with was killed."
It was half baked, off the top of his head, and it didn't sound like it would reach any sort of conclusion.
But honestly, what choice did any of them have?
"Optimus!"
The sound of Ratchet's voice coming through a communicator had everyone's attention, as Optimus brought his hand up to his ear.
"What is it, Ratchet?"
"I'm detecting activity near the Decepticon Space Bridge!" Ratchet informed, to everyone's dismay. "I'm unable to distinguish whether it's Decepticon or Autobot in origin, but based on the high levels of unknown Energon I'm detecting, it would be best to assume that-"
"Megatron has returned." Optimus said with a nod. "Which means that he may have found a way to repair his navigation system."
"Oh come on!" Bumblebee beeped in dismay.
"It's just one thing after another." Bulkhead groaned with a shake of his head.
Fowler looked between the train car and Optimus for a moment, before he let out a sigh and turned to Clark. "Look, I'll do my best, but I can't make any promises." He said with a sympathetic gaze. "But right now, I need to get this thing to its destination, and it sounds like you're needed elsewhere."
Clark looked at Fowler, apprehensive about his answer, but he knew he had no choice but to accept Fowler's efforts. "I appreciate all that you do for us, Fowler." He said sincerely. "I really really do."
"Maybe we can repay it, a little." Amy said, catching the government agent's attention. "Silas… he recognized Clark's voice. And he let it slip about who he is."
At that, Fowler's eyes widened. "Who?" He asked immediately, ready to know the real name of the person responsible for events of the past few hours.
"Leland Luthor." Clark revealed, to Fowler's shock.
"Of Luthorcorp?" He asked in disbelief. "Lexi Luthor's brother?"
"The very one." Clark nodded. "Me and her have a… history. Not important. But Lee's Ex-Special Forces, and he's always been one for weapons development."
"That explains a lot, actually." Fowler said with a nod. "Alright, thanks for the info. I'll do what I can with my superiors, but in the mean time, it sounds like you all have a zombie bot invasion to stop."
7 Minutes Earlier
Malita was enraged. No, that was an understatement.
She was livid! Not only had the Vehicons they'd sent out failed to scrap any Autobots, but Kent wasn't even present!
That was the only reason she'd actually gone along with Starscream's plan!
Then again… she knew better than most. Even if Kent had been there, the vehicons likely would've failed anyway.
Kent was an abnormality. An unstoppable beast.
He was immensely powerful. It would take planning, patience, to bring him down.
Trying to out muscle him was folly.
She should've learned that lesson the first time.
Still, she couldn't help but fume over the failure anyway.
She couldn't hurt Kent. She carried scars on her person from her last encounter with the man, payback for what she'd done to Prime's brat, and she couldn't do a single thing to hurt him back.
Nothing physical, anyway.
Maybe she could try and snag Prime's brat again? Hurt him through her. And besides, Malita wouldn't hate to hear Talida's screams again. They were oh so listen to. Especially when Malita had broken the brat's leg with a hammer.
But… not only would that be more difficult in the long run, not only because of Kent's probable own surveillance, but because she had definitely gained some skill in the last two years, but assuming she succeeded, Kent would almost definitely kill her on sight afterwards.
But now that she thought about it… maybe there was another way to get to him.
When Kent had ambushed her during what she now knew was the rescue of the Autobot Wheeljack, his first and foremost concern was knowing how much the Decepticons knew about him.
That meant there was something he didn't want them to know. Something he wanted to keep hidden.
Or maybe… someone….
She'd been thinking about it ever since he'd interrogated her. He was desperate with his question, she could hear it in his voice when he'd demanded an answer.
It made her think.
If she was correct, Kent was raised on Earth. And if what she'd heard of Kryptonians were anything to go by, he was the only one, which meant that his loved ones were all human…
Talida was in high school… at the human town of Jasper, if she recalled correctly.
And she knew Kent. He had a soft spot for her, clearly.
Maybe Kent lived in Jasper… or somewhere nearby.
If that were the case…
Malita smirked, a scheme hatching on.
However, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Nemesis picking up a life signal.
She turned towards the computer, as did Soundwave and Starscream, and she was surprised to find who the life signal belonged to.
Her father.
Megatron had returned.
It didn't take long before they heard the familiar voice echo through the comlink.
"Soundwave." The voice echoed through the communications room of the Decepticon Warship, causing everyone present, both Vehicons and high ranking members. "I require a GroundBridge."
At his master's words, Soundwave instantly obeyed. No one, not even his own daughter, had more loyalty to Megatron. Soundwave was his most prized soldier, and for very good reason.
The swirling portal of a GroundBridge opening up in front of the three soldiers, Starscream silently sulking about how quickly Megatron had returned from his travels.
Meanwhile… Malita was ecstatic.
Maybe she could tell her father what she'd discovered.
"Lord Megatron, you have retu-"
"Spare me the theatrics, Starsceam." Megatron interrupted her boyfriend's attempt to suck up, which, in all honesty, was beginning to grate Malita's nerves just as much as it was Megatron's. "Set course for the Space Bridge."
"So soon?" Malita couldn't help but question, catching her father's gaze. "Apologies, father. I was just curious, as our nav systems are still not repaired yet."
"I'm aware, Malita." Megatron said with a nod. "However, I have discovered another way of summoning my army from Cybertron."
"May I ask how, my lord?" Starscream interjected as Soundwave moved to follow Megatron's command.
Megatron gave an evil smirk. "It's quite simple, Starscream. There are more powerful satellites created by this planet, than just the ones sitting on it."
WIth those words, he turned away and walked off to join Soundwave, leaving Malita and Starscream to look at each other, confused.
20 Minutes Later
The sound of splashing water entered Clark's ears as he brought some to his face and neck to clean of the blood that still remained on his person.
He'd already washed off the blood on his arms, and a quick change of clothes was all it took to erase the evidence of his monstrous actions on the train.
After a few seconds of wiping his face, Clark looked up, and into the mirror.
The face that stared back looked haunted, completely devoid of any sort of comfort.
Clark wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
"Clark?" Amy's muffled voice could be heard through the bathroom door. "Are you okay?"
"Not by a long shot." Clark admitted with a sigh as he turned towards the door, opening it.
Amy was looking at him with concern in her eyes, and she had her arms crossed in worry as Clark looked down at her.
"Clark…"
"What?" Clark asked with a raised eyebrow.
Amy was silent for a moment, before she cracked a small smile. "You look like shit."
Clark looked at Amy for a few seconds, before he let out a chuckle. "Ouch."
Amy laughed. "I have to tell it like it is." She said as she wrapped her arms around Clark's chest, to which Clark gladly returned, resting his chin on Amy's head.
Amy's smile disappeared as Clark's grip grew tighter, bringing his hand up and running it through her strawberry blonde hair. "Clark…"
"I promised myself, Amy." Clark muttered quietly, hugging her tighter. "Never again."
"Clark, what happened that night-"
"Don't." Clark interrupted his fiance. "I love you, Amy, I do. But please, god, don't fucking try and say it's not my fault."
"It wasn't, Clark." Amy reinforced her belief, hugging Clark tightly.
Clark pulled away with a frustrated sigh. "Amy, there are a hundred different ways I could've-"
"Arthur had a shotgun!" Amy interrupted, looking up at Clark with fierce eyes. "He would've shot John and Martha, and we both know it!" She snapped at her fiance.
"Amy, I could've put him on his ass without a struggle!" Clark fired back with harsh eyes. "I could've knocked him out, slammed him into a wall! There are a million things I could've done that didn't involve killing him!"
"You reacted like any other person would!"
"I'm not just any other person, Amy!"
"That doesn't mean anything!"
"What the- of course it does!" Clark remarked in disbelief. "I can snap an iron door in half, how many people do you know that can do that?!"
"That's not the fucking point, Clark!" Amy retorted, growing more and more agitated with her lover's stubbornness. "I would've done the same thing in your position! So would your dad, and your mom! Pete, Chloe, Lana- for fuck's sake, didn't you hear Optimus?!" She said, gesturing around wildly in irritation.
"ANYONE ELSE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PUT A FIST THROUGH A MAN'S CHEST!" Clark finally snapped, his eyes glowing red in anger.
Unlike most, Amy was completely unintimidated.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE YELL AT ME LIKE THAT!" She screamed at him, completely taken over by her own rage. "I'M JUST TRYING TO HELP!"
"HOW, AMY?" Clark shouted at the top of his lungs. "HOW DOES TELLING ME BULLSHIT HELP?"
Amy's eyes widened at Clark's words. "Excuse me?"
Clark was panting with rage as he looked at Amy, but he clarified is words. "Telling me bullshit… how is that helping, Amy?"
"Bullshi- I'm telling you the truth, Clark!" Amy snapped, and she couldn't help the tears in her eyes as she yelled at him, the hurt. "Do you really think I'd lie to you?"
Clark was panting hard, but his rage was simmering as he spotted the tears in her eyes. His lips tightened, his face scrunching as he fought to find the words to say, before he let out a sigh. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "I didn't-"
"You didn't mean it?" Amy asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's the thing Clark. Your strength and actions are one thing, but what you say… that's a whole separate ball game." She said as she tried to wipe up her tears.
As much as Clark would love to dispute her words… every word she spoke was true.
"I…" Clark's anger was completely gone by now as he watched his fiance try to wipe her tears away, the site aching at his heart. Now, he was just at a loss for words. "I know." He said, looking down in shame. "You, Pete, Lana, Chloe… you all have changed since we've left high school… but even after you had Krystal, I'm still the same stupid idiot I was in school."
"Clark-"
"Amy, if you would never lie to me, then can you look me in the eye and tell me I'm not that same kid?" He asked with a steely gaze at his lover. "That same kid who'd start fights at first glance? Who's temper would always get the best of him? Who'd always say the meanest thing he could simply because he could say it?"
Amy looked at Clark for a few moments, as if contemplating her answer, before she nodded, never breaking eye contact with him. "You aren't that same kid, Clark." She said, wiping away the last of her tears as she closed the distance between them once more. "Or, maybe you weren't ever a kid at all." She commented.
Now, Clark was just confused. "Huh?"
Amy let out a small giggle at Clark's confusion. "I just…" She let out a sigh as she rested her hand on Clark's shoulder. "You've definitely matured, especially since I got pregnant… but even before that, I don't think you were ever really a kid like we were."
"Amy-"
"Shh." Amy interrupted Clark before he could really speak with a finger to his lips. "Pete, Chloe, and Lana have all noticed too, but we never thought we should tell you." She admitted.
Clark raised an eyebrow as Amy removed her finger from his lips, remaining silent as he let her continue.
"Sure, you acted like a teenager, but you were a teenager. But even still… you had a more adult oriented mind than we ever could've." She admitted. with a small smile, planting the top of her head firmly against his chest. "If Pete or Arch or any of them were to do something stupid and run into a light pole, the worst they'd get is a mild concussion or a cracked skull. You had to be able to act like you'd hurt yourself to fit in. But if you would actually run into a steel pole, we both know it'd crumple to the ground."
Amy let out a sigh as she spoke, and Clark waited patiently for her to finish.
"It's not fair that you didn't get a proper childhood, because of powers you never asked for." Amy stated simply. "But regardless of whether your biology states it, you shouldn't see yourself as different because of it. You're human just as well as the rest of us."
"Amy-"
"No." Amy interrupted, her gaze snapping up to look fiercely into Clark's eyes. "I love you, Clark, and I know you. What happened on that train is going to haunt you just like Whitney's death does." Her hands found themselves resting on Clark's chest. "These powers… they make you different, but they don't make you inhuman." She proclaimed, honest in her beliefs. "When I say that anyone else would've done the same in your position… in both instances… I'm not feeding you a line of bullshit, and I'm not exaggerating."
Clark didn't say anything for a moment, simply breathing as he gazed at his lover.
Before he smiled, and lowered his head down to hers.
Amy's eyes widened in surprise as Clark caught her lips on his own, initiating a tender kiss, before he separated as he looked down at her.
"Thank you, Amy. You believe in me, even when I don't believe in myself." He said sincerely.
Amy smiled, before pulling Clark into a hug. "It's my job." She said, bringing her hand up to Clark's cheek. On instinct, Clark's hand slowly rose to take hers into his own, smiling the whole time.
"I love you." Clark told her, touching his head to hers.
"I love you too." Amy replied with a smile, before she looked up at him once more. "Now, let's get back to the others. We need to find out what's going on."
"Ten minutes ago, I detected an unknown energy source traveling towards the Space Bridge." Ratchet informed the others, as everyone stood around the computer, looking towards the screen. "The Decepticons are the only ones who have any reason to be there, and the signal's sat there ever since, with no activity."
"Megatron would not have rendezvoused with the space bridge if he didn't have a plan. I believe he may have found a way to activate it." Optimus proclaimed gravely, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the screen.
"The Texas Array is still down, to my knowledge." Clark commented, glancing up towards the Autobot Leader. "What else could there be for him to use?"
Raf, who had been searching on his computer for anything Megatron could've used since they had returned, found his eyes widening, unconsciously gulping in fear, as he found something almost by coincidence.
"Um… I think I know what he might be using." He said, nervousness swarming the tone of his voice as everyone turned to look at him.
"That doesn't sound good." Amy couldn't help but remark. "What did you find?" She asked as she approached the pre-teen prodigy.
"Have any of you ever heard of the Omega Satellite?" Raf asked as he turned back to his computer, typing away as he explained. "It's an experimental satellite that was launched three weeks ago. The aim behind it is to provide a satellite that can detect signals deep in space."
"So what's the big deal?" Jack asked. "Satellites with that goal are launched all the time."
"Never really works, but, hey." Talida commented with a shrug.
"Except it was launched by Sumdac Systems." Raf revealed.
"Sumdac Systems?" Clark asked with a raised eyebrow. "The hell is that?"
"Sumdac Systems is a tech company based in Detroit, Michigan. They are extremely active in the satellite industry, and almost all of their satellites have broken records of some sort." Raf explained.
"Which means this thing is probably the real deal." Finished Clark as he now understood why Raf was so uncomfortable. "Fuck."
"If Megatron has not yet opened the Space Bridge, it would stand to reason that he hasn't yet taken access to it." Optimus announced. "We must keep it that way."
"Is there any point?" Miko asked, catching everyone's attention, all of them looking at her in disbelief.
"Are you serious?" Clark asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I know we have to stop the big bad, but what's the point of keeping him using this satellite, when he'll just find another way?" Miko clarified her point. "I'm not just saying that we leave it alone."
"Miko has a point." Arcee agreed, looking up at her sparkmate. "Destroying this satellite, or whatever else we do, is just a delay to Megatron, especially until he repairs his nav systems."
"I am aware of that fact, Arcee." Optimus admitted. "But unfortunately, we do not possess ready means to destroy the Space Bridge at the moment."
"What about me?" Clark proposed. "Couldn't I level the thing?"
"While that's very possible, Clark, I do not know enough about Kryptonian biology to distinguish whether you could survive without oxygen." Optimus shot down the idea. "While I would very much like your help, I will not put your life at risk unless I know for certain you can survive."
"Well, there's gotta be something we can do." Talida said, looking up at her father. "We need to put a stop to this completely, and that means destroying the Space Bridge."
"Perhaps there is something we can do." Ratchet suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention as he turned towards the main computer. "I still have those schematics for the Space Bridge on file, and I've been studying it ever since we first stopped Megatron's plan. I may have found a way to destroy the Space Bridge by turning it's Energon flow against it."
At this, everyone's attention was on Ratchet.
"Why didn't you say something before now?" Bumblebee asked the medic in confusion.
"Because I wasn't certain if it was the time for it, considering recent events." Ratchet responded. "What with Skyquake joining us, and then the Scraplets, Makeshift, and now M.E.C.H, it always felt like poor timing." The medic admitted. "But now, I think there's no better time."
"We're listening, old friend."
"Father, may I request something?" Malita asked her father, catching his attention.
"What is it, my daughter?" Megatron asked, glancing down at his techno-organic daughter with a raised eyebrow.
"I believe I know where the Kent man takes residence." She informed her father. "As I can blend in with the pitiful population of this planet, I would ask permission to investigate."
"You know better than most what the Kryptonian is capable of, Malita." Megatron commented, turning to look at his daughter with a raised eyebrow. "I'm curious as to why you'd wish to provoke him further."
Malita scowled. "You taught me that accepting defeat is weakness. But revenge…"
"Is true strength." Megatron finished, grinning at his daughter's recollection of that lesson. "So tell me, daughter, how do you plan to get back at the Kryptonian?"
"Perhaps there is nothing I can do to face the Kryptonian directly." Malita admitted, before she looked up at her father with an evil grin. "But he staged a rescue for the Autobot known as Wheeljack some time ago, while I was recovering. His main concern was whether we had any more knowledge of him."
"Oh?" Megatron was intrigued at this news. "Interesting…"
"I believe he may want to hide his loved ones." Malita said, a malicious smirk on her face. "Should we find them…"
"Then we shall have leverage over the Autobots' most powerful asset." Megatron finished for his daughter. "Which shall keep him from interfering in the arrival of my army."
"And allow me revenge." Malita added. "My request is for permission to investigate the town of Jasper, and see if I might find him."
"Jasper?" Megatron questioned. "Is that not where my dear niece goes to school?"
"It is… and that brat is also the Kent man's motivation for what he did to me." Malita revealed, to Megatron's shock. "He has a soft spot for Talida. Which means he most likely has known her for years."
"Interesting…" Megatron said, bringing a finger to his chin in thought, before looking down at his daughter. "Very well. You may investigate Jasper, Nevada. But be warned that should your discovery become imminent, you are to report back at once." He said sternly. "We cannot risk the Autobots learning anymore than they already have."
Malita had never liked wearing casual clothes. At least, not the ones she usually had to.
But among humans, battle scars would stand out, especially on someone her age.
So, she settled on a brown jacket over her red shirt and pair of black pantiehose under her red skirt and boots.
Her scars were hidden, completely unseen by anyone unless she were to show them.
Sometimes, she would rather show her scars though. She wore them proudly. They were a sign of her strength. The failures of her enemies.
But for now, they were best remaining hidden.
Her gaze wandered around, examining the little town she was now searching for Kent in.
Soundwave had GroundBridged her a few miles outside of the town, and she had used her powers to close the distance quickly.
One advantage to her TK ability was the fact that she could use it on herself, allowing her to essentially fly.
Now, she was within the town, though she clearly wasn't in the area she had hoped to be in.
Instead of homes or residential buildings, she was looking at different restaurants, shopping centers, little convenience stores…
She was almost positive that she was looking at the commercial district of Jasper.
Did small towns like this have districts? Maybe there was another term, but she didn't care.
All she knew was that she definitely wasn't in the right part of town.
She needed to find someone who knew Talida. Or Kent. And she needed to do it without looking suspicious. Perhaps if she were to focus on people who may know Talida… that could lead to someone who may know Kent. Maybe she might even find someone who knew both of them.
Then, with a little bit of deception… and skillful leading in the conversation… she could find out exactly what Kent is hiding.
What he didn't want them to know.
But she would have to search around first. Maybe the high school that Talida went to?
"Hello, gorgeous."
Although, that may have to wait.
Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Malita turned to look at the source of the person who dared to speak to her in such a way.
It was a teenage boy, about Talida's age, with bright orange hair, freckles covering his face. His green eyes contrasted heavily with his hair color. He wore a green jacket over a white shirt, and he had a pair of work boots with the tongue sat over his blue jeans.
And the expression on his face was quite the cocky one.
Malita would've loved to smack it right off his face.
But, this was as good a place to start as any.
"Hi!" Malita said in a voice that was so full of fake cheer that she could've been one of those human supermodels. What were they called? Miss America? "Can I help you?"
"Oh, you sure can, beautiful." The boy replied in that same overconfident tone. "I'm Vince. What do you say me and you take a walk to my car?"
Malita had to resist the urge to roll her eyes once more at the boy's overconfident attitude. But this wasn't completely unwanted. She could work with this.
"Oh really?" She giggled, putting on the act of the nice girl. Overly, laughably nice, but these ones always fell for it when they found someone with good looks. "We have to get to know each other first! I'm Malita."
Vince raised an eyebrow. "Really? You haven't heard of me?"
"Well, you see, I'm new to Jasper!" Malita said, telling one of the few truths she'd probably end up telling in her life. "I'm here to see my little cousin!"
"Oh?" Vince said with a smirk, cocking an eyebrow. "Who's your cousin, hot stuff? Maybe I know them."
"Why, it's Talida Prime!" Malita said with fake excitement. "I haven't seen her for so long! I was so excited when my dad let me come to visit her!"
Her father had taught her to sprinkle the truth into a deception when necessary, as it always made the deception more believable.
Vince's eyes widened in surprise, as if not expecting that answer, before they narrowed. "You know Prime?"
Bingo.
"Yep! Why? Do you?"
"Uh… yeah!" Vince said with a nod. "She's always hanging out with this loser, Darby, and I think they're in bed together now." He informed her.
Even Malita knew her wretched cousin well enough to know that she would never do something like that so quickly, and she knew her little cousin wasn't with a sparkmate yet.
Was she?
Anyway, Malita let out a gasp, keeping up with the act of the joyful cousin. "Really?! Oh my gosh, that's great news!"
When she was young, her mother had attempted to teach her some human values for the time she was alive. Unlike Talida's mother, her own had managed to fight and live through the sickness that came with her birth.
Unfortunately, she was never released from the captivity that her father had bound her too, and when she was five, her mother was viciously ripped from her life by her father.
She wished to make her father proud, truly she did. He had taught her much as she grew, made her stronger.
By making her suffer.
She had taken many lessons to heart, including revenge being true strength.
In time, she would gain control of her powers, and she would make her father pay for everything he'd put her through.
Don't get her wrong, she wanted to rule this world. She wanted to make the humans serve the Decepticons, her true family. She enjoyed torturing traitors and enemies, such as she did with Talida.
She wanted to make her father proud… only to snuff his spark, and watch the light fade from his eyes as he realized it was his daughter who'd done him in.
Her mother… she missed her dearly, and she was one of the few good things she'd ever had in her life. And she had instilled some good things in Malita, such as a sense of guilt.
She was glad her mother wasn't around long enough to see the monster she'd become. She knows she'd be disgusted.
But, being around her mother for the first five years, the memories she did have allowed her to remember, and later better learn, human lingo.
So she could effortlessly mingle with humans when need be without raising suspicion.
Vince looked surprised at her outburst. "Uh… yeah. But she could've done way better than Darby. She could've had me!"
Somehow, Malita doubted that anyone with a brain would go for the numbskull in front of her.
"I bet she's happy with this Darby person!" Malita said, knowing full well she had bruised Vince's ego. But, she took that moment to take a turn. "But…" She stepped forward, laying a hand on Vince's chest as her eyes lidded. "I will gladly take the better man."
Vince looked at Malita hungrily, a look she was used to receiving from many male and a few female humans during the rare times she'd mingle with humans.
"Oh, you won't regret it, baby."
Doubtful.
"But first, tell me about someone else, would you?"
"Oh yeah? Who do you want to know about?" Vince asked immediately. He was this close to seeing what was under that skirt!
"Tell me about… Clark Kent."
"At the moment, we believe Megatron does not yet have access to the Omega Satellite." Optimus announce, briefing his team over the events learned in regards to the Space Bridge. "However, merely disabling that will only postpone the inevitable. We must destroy the Space Bridge once and for all. We will do this by reversing the Energon flow in the Flow Regulator, and allow the Space Bridge to destroy itself."
"You must do this quickly." Ratchet informed. "If Megatron figures out what you are planning, he will no doubt attempt to stop you at all cost. And once the flow is reversed, you will have a small amount of time to return before the Space Bridge explosion consumes you."
All of the Autobots nodded, understanding the stakes of what was at risk.
"You better come back." Talida said to her father, using the stern face to hide her fear. No matter how much she hid it, whenever her father went on a mission, she was always worried.
"I will, sweetspark." Optimus assured, leaning down so that his daughter could hug him by his neck.
"Be seeing you?" Jack asked Arcee as he looked at her in concern as well.
Arcee nodded, a smile on her face. "Of course."
"Miko-"
"I know, I know." Miko said, a small smile on her face. "I'm not stupid enough to follow you into space."
Bulkhead returned the smile. "You're not stupid, just bullheaded. Like a true wrecker."
Miko's smile got even wider.
"Be careful, Bee!" Raf said, looking through the guard rails at his guardian.
"Got it, Raf!" Bumblebee said, giving his charge a thumbs up.
As the Autobots moved towards the GroundBridge, however, they were stopped by a beep coming from the computer.
Ratchet turned towards the computer, and his eyes widened. "It's an incoming communication signal!"
"From who?" Talida asked curiously.
"Let's find out." Ratchet said, before patching the signal through. "If there is anyone on this communication source, please respond."
A few seconds later, a familiar voice echoed through the base.
"Ratchet, I have returned from my travels."
Everyone's eyes widened at the sound of the unexpected voice, before cheers broke out between everyone, sans Optimus and Arcee.
"Skyquake!" Krystal cheered, jumping up from her position on the couch when she heard the familiar voice of her friend.
"Woohoo!" Bumblebee cheered.
"Thank the Allspark, it is good to hear your voice, Skyquake!" Ratchet said with a smile.
"Did I miss something?" Skyquake asked, definitely not expecting the response he'd gotten from a simple GroundBridge request.
"Skyquake, it is best you return, so that you may be updated on current events." Optimus spoke up, addressing the returning aerial bot.
There was a few moments of silence, before Skyquake replied.
"I am within range, and require a GroundBridge."
"Soundwave…" Megatron spoke, looking at the Decepticon Communications Officer. "Have you managed to gain access to the Omega Satellite?"
Soundwave turned towards his master, and nodded.
And Megatron gave a dark grin.
"Perfect." The Decepticon Leader proclaimed, looking through the windows of his ship and towards the Space Bridge. "Lock on. To Cybertron."
TO BE CONTINUED IN BRIDGES FALLING: PART 2