Thirty-Six
…
It was hard to be still when there was so much conquering to be done, but revenge was a dish served sweet, patience as a mouth-watering appetizer. He'd grown accustomed to such silence; immobilized by these humans, stuck in a paralytic coma that served more as a prison than it did a medical condition. He was a mech of action, usually; or perhaps was would be a better adjective—stillness was for the weak, he had always said. Action accomplished task. They went hand in and hand.
Until he'd realized that sometimes power was best served still. Predators often waited before killing their prey—stalking, analyzing, plotting. This was a skill perfected all these years after the Chicago War with Sentinel, who had betrayed him just as he'd betrayed Optimus. He was particularly overjoyed when Prime had blown the head off the old glitch. If only the roles had been reversed—oh would he relish in the agonizing screams for mercy! Optimus had always been soft; he was weak when it came to pain.
But oh was pain a glorious teacher. He'd learned much these years from pain, sitting as his circuitry ached with searing, molten amounts of pain which would've driven a lesser mech to his knees long ago. Death and offlining had seemed only but a dream; he'd tried to go there multiple times but fate would only keep pulling him back awakening him to fulfil his destiny: that destiny to destroy the last living Prime, to take Cybertron and lead her into the silver age of rule and powerful empires. To end that pathetic human femme would who dare call herself an Autobot loyalist. How he hated the thought of her almost as much as the sight.
This primitive species would be enslaved. He'd enslave them all the build his army, he'd command billions of souls and bodies. Power and power only would be his! He would rule this planet and then his home—he'd make this Earth one of Cybertron's moons if he didn't destroy it sooner. Shockwave had initiated a atmospheric shift for Cybertron, one that would sustain organic life—or so he'd said. What a perfect test subject that human femme would be to test such a magnificent theory. Yes, he'd take over this planet and integrate it into his own beautiful Cybertron.
The mechanic beneath him poked and prodded as others began to prepare a shipment berth. How he hated being manipulated by these humans; he hated himself more for allowing them to control him. But, inside he knew they could not control him, because he was the only master of his destiny. The time was not yet right to be reborn—no, that time would come when Optimus Prime least expected it; him and his femme. He'd kill them both at the right moment and take the Shield and the Matrix of Leadership. That was, if he could find Lockdown and kill that mech too.
For he was Galvatron, and he was reborn.
…
"Hound! Update!" Optimus rounded the corner with a skidding stop, almost crashing into a weapon's panel before pivoting and bolting for the cockpit. Drift closed the cabin doors with a resounding bang, not before sending the last drone into a sparking array of wreckage across the walkway. They'd finished off the rest of the intruders as to not send messengers back to Lockdown, who had already removed the anchors and was preparing for launch.
"We're almost ready to separate, we're almost there!" Hound sounded frantic as he rapidly pushed buttons and flipped switches. Optimus forgot to slow down, instead sliding into the control room as if he were sliding into home base. Hound gave him a stare.
"Hurry up then, he's launching!" he barked, giving Hound a commanding stare before looking out the front observation window of the pod. His spark was ablaze with multiple concerns: where was Mira and the others? What had KSI done with the Galvatron model? Did Lockdown really have no idea they were loose? Concern had all but taken him captive, seizing his emotions and sending him almost into a panicked fury. He burned with fear for Mira—if he lost her, again…
"I'm all over it, boss!"
Optimus barked again, " Lockdown will be in deep space before he knows Mira and I are gone if we move now!" Hound threw the thrusters into overdrive and grabbed the throttle sticks, pushing them forward as if he were punching out a Decepticon drone. Drift appeared to Hound's right, and Optimus reached up to a hand-hold to stabilize himself as the ship began to drop off.
"I'm a sucky pilot, but let's her 'er a whirl!" Hound gave a deep, roaring belly-laugh as he stabilized the ship. He got serious with his next question, his "cigar" bobbing loosely in his mouth, "Any word from Mira yet?" Drift shared his concern with a soft look to Optimus. He had to think a moment before replying. He regretted his next statement, but he knew Mira would agree with him: they'd draw fire if they stayed in the city; probably from an air strike, or from ground forces if not Lockdown's drones.
"None, no. But our concern is to get out of the city, and then we find the others."
…
These drones had no idea how to fly!
Crosshairs had been struggling to stay aboard the one flight-ship he hadn't managed to blow to slag. It was a difficult task, seeing as there weren't many hand-holds for him to grip as he battled the thrashing of the ship as it maneuvered—with much treachery—through the city buildings and skyscrapers. He cursed these drones for the stupidity, but then damned them to pit when the flight-ship dipped into one of the expressway tunnels, hot on Bumblebee's rear.
Frag them all, he thought. Now he was barely missing the top of the tunnel, until the flight-ship dropped a few more inches and he was clear. Then, mumbling to himself, he began is covert crawl to the cockpit, where he'd jump the drone and take the controls. Only when he heard return fire did he stop, noticing that Cade and Bryce had taken to the idea of the gunners, which was good and all, but at this exact moment?
Then, the ship ahead of them began to rise slowly, as if Bumblebee was getting the idea to bust through the now parking ramp half of the tunnel and break into open skies again. A fine idea, until he spotted the small silver suit make its way towards the cockpit of the ship. His spark dropped to his feet when he recognized it as Mira making the same exact crawl he was—but the impact would surely fracture her skull if Bumblebee decided to take her up—
-and Bumblebee had decided to.
Crosshairs had no time to send a comm—he made the decision to throw himself into the cockpit, point of his guns at the drone and scowl at him. "Get up to it!" When the drone gave him a look, Crosshairs pressed the gun barrel straight into the circuits that wired the drone's head to his body and snarled demonically, "Do it, now!" The drone hammered the thrusters and they rocketed forward….
….right as Crosshairs swore he heard a scream.
He watched, in horror, as Mira's body released the ship. She went soaring through the air, downward, as Bumblebee crashed through the parking ramp with an explosion. The ship sparked and smoke began to billow from the engines above him, but Crosshairs didn't care. He literally buried the barrel of his weapon into the drone's neck and thrust the boosters into overdrive, dipping the control stick forward powerfully and sending the nose of the ship towards the ground. Mira's body, now like a ragdoll, collided with the cock-pit, racking her body as if she'd collided with the earth from jumping off a building. She laid motionless between the drone's feet. Crosshairs panicked, shot the drone and pulled him from the command seat, tossing his body out the side of the ship and forcibly flailed into the seat. Grabbing the control, he whipped the ship about, rocketed through the opening Bumblebee had created, and then released.
He lunged for Mira's motionless body, picked her up as if she were nothing, and pressed her close to his chest. Leaping from the ship, he hit the ground and slid across Michigan Avenue in a standing position as if he were Tom Cruise in Risky Business. The shuttle crashed into a skyscraper in a million bursting flames, and Crosshairs scanned the area for Bumblebee. Chaotic pedestrians and civilians screamed and ran from him in every direction, and Crosshairs rounded the corner. He saw Bumblebee staggering from his now crash-landed ship, as did the humans.
Crosshairs systems were telling him Mira was still alive, but she was still out.
"Bumblebee!" He bolted for Bumblebee, who whipped around to greet him. Cade was in a screaming match with a civilian, whose now crinkled Cadillac was halfway beneath one of the thrusters of the ship. Red-faced and overreacting, Cade's voice traveled across the avenue and sent the man running.
"Yeah, you'd better run—it's a freakin' space-ship, you sonnuva-!"
Crosshairs crashed his next statement, "Stop it, you glitchoff! Mira's out!"
"What do you mean Mira's out? She was right—wait, Mira!" Bryce had looked at the ship to see it Mira-less, and Crosshairs knelt and laid Mira on the street. Merrick screamed and lunged for her body, only intercepted by Tessa, who was crying and shaking. Cade and Bryce dropped on either side of Mira's body and Cade pressed two fingers to her wrist. "She's alive!" Bryce declared, one ear to her chest-armor. He rested a hand over the Autobot crest and the suit began to transform down. Both men lifted their hands from her body as it began to fold and disappear in on itself. It took a few moments, but soon it was a diamond shaped pendant with the Autobot insignia engraved inside on a clear glass-type matter, the diamond constructed of Cybertronian metals and microscopic circuits.
"Miriam!" Bryce exclaimed, frantic, "Wake up! Mira! C'mon!" He looked across her to Cade, his eyes blurry. Crosshairs watched the exchange, emotion plaguing him as well and shot Bumblebee a look, who was wearing a mixture of horror and fear on his face.
"Prime is gonna kill me!" He sent a private comm to Crosshairs, who showed a bit of compassion with a look of sympathy, which was soon replaced with a look of correction.
"Prime is understanding, if not rational. He'll—"
"-ooooohhh…" They all were quiet now as Mira's hand came up to rest against her temple. She lifted her left leg so her foot was flat against the street, and she moaned again. Crosshairs and Bumblebee hovered over her body as now all of the humans were on their knees beside her. She blinked her eyes rapidly a few sets of times and then looked over to Cade.
"What—happened?" she stressed the word, "Merrick!" she exclaimed. The boy was instantly at her side and she lifted herself up with an elbow, using the other hand to cup his face. She then used the same hand to pull him into her, kissing the top of his head repeatedly as tears flowed down her face—whether from relief, pain, or fear Crosshairs had no idea. She then looked up at him and Bryce and Cade helped her stand—wobbly at first, as if she were just learning how.
"Thank you, you fragger," she chuckled now, trying hard not to laugh, "You saved my life." He had taken a knee now, and she touched his hand by resting her palm against his own, "You're not so bad after all."
"Autobots don't leave family behind," he shrugged, muttering, "Besides. Prime'd have my aft if he knew I had a chance to save ya and I didn't." She rolled her eyes. "My sparkling personality only goes so far, princess."
"I noticed," she chuckled. Turning from them, she touched the communication link still in her ear and tried for Optimus. "Nothing," she sighed, "I suggest we go catch up with them, find out what's going on."
"We'd better find out where Joyce is taking that Galvatron drone," Cade interjected, swinging his blade-gun around to his back, "Cause—"
"—that wasn't a drone," Merrick finished before he could, "He was alive. Wasn't he, Tess?" He looked up at the blond, who was holding his hand and nodding, one arm wrapped around her middle securely. She looked exhausted, as did Merrick, and Mira released they both were probably starving, tired, and in need of a shower. They all needed sleep, as well as some food—but that wasn't top priority. Finding Optimus and the others was first on their list of to-do's.
"He seemed like he was alive," Tessa declared, "I mean, he was literally trying to kill Optimus. If KSI was controlling him, and they made a deal with that Lockdown creep—why would they try and kill him?" The question resonated and made the air thick with thought. Bumblebee radioed into the conversation,
"The little girl….a point…."
Crosshairs nodded, "Yeah, she does got herself a point," he winked at her, "A point that Optimus'll wanna hear. I say we blow this city and get ourselves back with the other three and see what we got on our hands. Besides, we're drawing attention," He and Bumblebee looked around the avenue to see people now creeping out from buildings and alleys and overturned cars for a better look, "And attention isn't something we need now."
Without warning all three of them received a comm. They paused to listen, as it was Optimus radioing in from an undisclosed location, until he disclosed it with a GPS reading. "Autobots, get out of the city and meet us here. It should take about thirty minutes to make it to this location," He sounded out of breath, frantic, and panicked—all things Mira hated to see in her friend "But first, roll call—everyone had better be all right." He was talking so fast Mira had to calm him down.
"Calm down, Optimus," she said calmly, "Everyone is okay. We had a bit of an accident, but everyone is present and accounted for—and alive." She gave a soft smile as if he were there to see it, and he seemed to calm a bit over the comm as his breathing subsided, "We'll be to you in thirty minutes. We're leaving now." As she looked up at Bumblebee, he and Crosshairs began their transformation, moments later the awaiting muscle cars they all knew so well. Bumblebee opened his doors to Bryce, Tessa, and Merrick, and Crosshairs accepted Mira and Cade. Crosshairs slammed the door, latched their seatbelts, and tore out of avenue, kicking up small pieces of glass, metal, asphalt, and other debris as he did so.
"Good. We have much to discuss upon your return," The link went private now, just her and Optimus, "And I am grateful you are alive, Miriam. I was…."
"Let's not worry about it," she eyed Cade from the corner of her eye, a feeling pitting itself in her stomach. Her heart hammered wildly now, her mind reeling with the idea that she was so glad he was alive, and how extremely gorgeous he looked all disheveled and worked up. Then, an image of Will shot through her mind, in Egypt, and she closed her eyes, tossing up a prayer to God about the entire situation. This wasn't normal; it had only been a year….
"Please, try and be safe," Optimus commed, "I will see you shortly."
She disconnected the comm and focused her eyes on the steering wheel. Her emotions ran like wildfire through her veins: she'd almost died. So quick did her life flash before her eyes—a life where Merrick was alone, without parents; that orphaned boy she'd vowed never to leave behind. Then she saw Will's grave, and thought of the biblical account of Ruth; who after losing her husband was quickly remarried by a wealthy relative of her husband's. All of this was just too much—she felt a growing attraction to Cade, and it scared the daylights out of her. She couldn't be so disloyal to Will, not so soon….
That was quickly interrupted when she found herself lost in a kiss by Cade Yeager.
