CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTIONS
Ben woke up from his deep slumber just as the sun was rising.
How long had he been asleep? Had he even told the trucker where he was headed? His eyes traveled to the drivers seat as he got another look at the trucker. His eyes narrowed for the first time as he examined the stern face of his temporary ride. Without his sleep deprivation, he finally made a realization.
"I know you," Ben managed. The man turned to face him with surprise. "... A few months ago, you showed up at my house to talk to my dad. Didn't you? About some old artifacts or something?"
The stranger was silent, steely gaze firmly focused on the road ahead. Ben was silent for a moment himself, as he waited quietly for the man to answer. When he didn't, it was all that he needed to know he was right. "How long have you been following me?" He observed. At this, the man now turned to look at him. "... Did you...?"
"Please take a deep breath," The man said sternly. "I did not kill your parents. Nor am I here to harm you. I am here to protect you."
Protect him? From what exactly? Ben felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Had his stepdad been involved in something? He knew they had struggled to make ends meet... That they were poor and even worse off than most families, but it couldn't... He wouldn't. "I think it's time you started talking then," Ben replied. "Because I'm getting really weirded out."
The man tensed, and rubbed his steering wheel quietly. He clearly had much to think over in his head, but Ben couldn't tell what. Not until he finally spoke. "My name is Optimus Prime. And I am very sorry, Benjamin, but I am very likely the reason they are dead," A pregnant silence fell over the cab as he spoke. "I come from a planet that is not your own. And the artifacts that your stepfather held were possibly of great importance to my people."
Ben snorted. "You're an alien? Yeah right."
That's when "Optimus" pulled over to the side of the empty highway. Far enough that they wouldn't be seen, or at least that was what Ben thought. What he wasn't expecting, however, was that the man beside him would flicker away. Nor that the door would open by itself. "It is best we have this talk face-to-face," Optimus spoke calmly, as if Ben hadn't wanted to shit his pants on the spot. "If you'll please exit, this should not take long."
Ben scrambled like a bat out of hell from the cab. What the actual hell!? Was this a joke? Had he been driving with a ghost? His heart pounded in his chest as his answer came in what seemed like seconds. Metal moved, forms shifted, and within moments there wasn't a truck at all. What stood before him was a towering, iron giant. One that somewhat resembled the truck, but, well - the truck hadn't been a robot. Or it had. What the hell?
He sweated bullets as Optimus leered down at him, blue optics softening. "I am sorry it had to be this way. But it is imperative you understand the gravity of this situation," Ben was surprised to find his soft baritone... Comforting all things considered. "Your step..."
"Father," Ben managed. "He may as well have been."
Optimus paused. "Very well, your father, had much the same reaction. But he was a good man, he helped me by looking for the item I require," Optimus explained, using a singular optic to show a small pair of glasses Ben had never seen. "Unfortunately, it was not in his possession. But..."
"You weren't the only one looking for it," Ben managed. Optimus seemed impressed that he'd know it, but despite it all he shrugged. "What, there has to be more of you, right?"
Optimus nodded in agreement, optics again softening. It was clear he wasn't sure how to deliver the rest of the news, even if Ben had already gathered enough. "Those whom also seek them, the Decepticons... Are a far more brutal kind of "alien" as you astutely put it," Optimus replied glumly. "I was not present, but I can only assume from what I told him of their kind. He refused to give them any information on the glasses, or my whereabouts."
Ben felt his heart sink, but he believed it. His dad had always been a good man, one who believed in doing the right thing. If these "Decepticons" had been dangerous, he would never have said a word. Optimus was right about that. "Why... Why are a pair of old glasses so important?" He finally asked as Optimus flickered off the hologram. "And what does this have to do with me?"
Optimus frowned. "The Decepticons do not like loose ends," He mused. Causing a lump to form in Ben's throat. "When you "ran away", I found at least three Decepticon scouts looking for you the same way I was."
"Why?"
"You saw me," Optimus replied, something that Ben hadn't thought about. "And the only thing they wish for more than those glasses... Is my helm."
Ben felt sick, knowing what that meant. He was scared, weak at the knees even. But this... Alien, wasn't about to let him go anywhere and he could already tell. "I guess this isn't something I can just run away from, huh?" He asked.
"I'm afraid not," Optimus replied. "But fear not. It was my fault you lost your parents. And as such I have take it upon myself to see to your survival."
"So you're my new intergalactic body guard?"
"... I suppose in a sense," Optimus nodded as he once again transformed back into the semi truck. "Now, we need to continue moving. There's a town several miles ahead. We'll refuel and get you cleaned up... We have a long journey ahead of us yet."
Ben struggled with whether or not he was getting back in the truck. His mind screaming that it was a weird, hunger-enduced dream. But in the end, one hand gripped the door handle as he carefully climbed inside.
If he was losing his mind, at least he'd get an adventure out of it. "You never answered my other question," he mentioned. "Why a pair of glasses?"
As Optimus pulled out to the road again, he only answered: "It's a long story." Before he began to tell it.
Optimus was starting to feel the enormity of his guilt.
It had taken a few hours to catch Ben up to speed on just what was happening. The Allspark, the Witwicky's, everything... And while he was sure the boy grasped it all, he knew he felt cheated. His chances of a normal life were reduced to cinders in the blink of an eye and none of it had been his fault. The leader's spark only retched further when they'd finished, and the cab had gone quiet for some time.
Ben didn't think he'd noticed it, he was sure. But he could see the boy crying, whether over pure grief for his parents, sympathy, or both. But it was a good hour before Ben spoke again, having stared out the cab's window for a good five minutes. "I'm sorry abut your planet," Optimus shuddered a little at the notion. "Being this far from home has got to suck. Let alone losing your planet... And here I am feeling sorry for myself because I lost my parents..."
Optimus was silent. "Your grief is every bit as valid as mine, Benjamin. You're barely an adolescent. Fourteen last week, yes?" Ben nodded his head in confirmation. "No one should have to bury their creators that early in their lifecycle."
Although, Optimus could hardly relate to that himself. He'd been an orphan upon creation - and even all these centuries later he was no closer to understanding his origins. The most he'd learned was that when he was older in their terms than Ben was now, Sentinel Prime had found him, and his half-brother, Megatron and claimed to be an uncle of some sort. He had gone from a naive, but tough street waif named Orion Pax to Optimus Prime in an instant.
He too, had to say goodbye to Sentinel, the only "father" he had ever known long ago. But it had been far later in his life, when he had already claimed leadership of the Autobot faction. Now he was in the human equivalent of his early forties, and even that seemed a distant memory. For Ben, he'd grow up knowing he'd lost his parents, that their lives had been snuffed out. And it really seemed unfair to the leader.
"You can't blame yourself," Ben suddenly broke him from his trance. "My dad wouldn't blame you... He died because he did the right thing. And if what you said means anything... He knew he was dead either way."
Optimus was surprised at the boy's understanding. But also knew that deep down, he was in pain. Sighing deeply, his holo matter avatar looked at him. Wishing he could rest a hand on the boy's knee in comfort, but knowing he couldn't with their current technology. "His death will not be in vain, Benjamin. Neither of theirs will be," He told him softly. "Until then, I am simply thankful I can honor them by keeping you safe. Just as they sought to keep me safe."
The boy shifted again, eyeing him skeptically. "So what happens when this is over anyway?" He asked. "When the Decepticons are toast and you get that Allspark? You think they'll leave me alone then?"
That... Was also a good question. Optimus of course couldn't protect the boy forever. But he also had chosen not to think ahead, as no doubt by then a solution to his present situation would present itself. "Let us get to my rendezvous in Tranquility before we think that far ahead," Optimus replied firmly. "Until then, our first concern is getting you bathed, clothed, and fed."
"Too many questions if I show up looking like this, huh?"
"Precisely." Optimus agreed.
The boy leaned back with another skeptical look. "I mean, I don't exactly have the money for that, y'know," Ben replied. "If I did I wouldn't look like..."
The glove compartment slid open to reveal a small credit card in Optimus' name. Optimus could hardly contain the smirk at the boy's look of astonishment. He watched Ben reach forward and carefully examine the card before he turned to look at Optimus. "Uh... Optimus? How did you get a credit card?" He asked questioningly.
"Same way I learned your language. The internet," Optimus replied calmly. He decided not to go into formal details, as it was complicated at best. "We have considerable hacking ability over your "world wide web". Creating a false account was not too difficult."
"Not too difficult?" Ben joked.
"Please do not take this the wrong way, but human technology is, at best, primitive."
Ben shrugged, seemingly taking the answer for what it was at this point. Optimus wasn't proud of tricking the banks in order to get the money necessary. Nor using other human allies whom they'd made over the last few months to retrieve the card. But it had turned out having it there in case of emergencies did indeed come in handy. "Well, I guess that makes sense," Ben replied. "And I'm not complaining. I haven't had a shower in weeks... Or food in a few days."
Optimus nodded. "Well then..."
As he pulled into a nearby motel, the mech simply nodded his holomatter avatar at him. "Go get showered, and perhaps a more substantial sleep," After all, it was nearing dark and Prime himself was exhausted. "In the morning, we will procure clothing and make our way to the California border."
"You got it," Ben nodded as he popped the door open and hopped down. "Stay safe out here, OK?"
As the boy left to get a room, Optimus settled in for the first relaxing moment he'd had that day. With any luck, it would be a smooth night.
A/N: One more chapter down! So that everyone knows, as the first movie will start soon-ish. This story won't feature the film verbadem, or any events thereafter exactly as they happened. I'm not trying to do a simple movie-insert and will be following a similar, but altered chain of events - to clarify.
