Miko was in a daze as she watched Optimus talk with the queen. They were safe back in the Autobot headquarters with the queen and twenty of her surviving children. Bumblebee had taken Raf and Jack out for a drive for their safety.
So much had happened in the past few hours. The queen had agreed to come with the Autobots despite Bulkhead and Bumblebee protesting after seeing what was held in the opposite chamber. Miko wanted to see, but from the horrified look on Bulkhead's face when he walked out, she knew better than to look.
"You okay, Miko?" Bulkhead asked her again, looking nervous. He had been asking her that all afternoon.
"I'm fine, Bulk. I'll feel much better when those creatures are gone," Miko said, turning her attention back to Optimus.
"What do you wish to do now, your majesty?" Optimus asked. He had been showing her all the available video files of all the horrible things done by the Decepticons. The queen appeared distressed when she saw Starscream in those videos, but she had calmed down and accepted that she and her children had been manipulated.
"Find new home…This planet is dangerous...Not safe...For my children….," the queen replied.
"We'll find you somewhere soon, your majesty," Ratchet spoke up as he typed away at a computer.
The queen looked over at Miko as if curious, making her avert her gaze. Something didn't feel right, especially with the queen's children crawling all over the place. The queen had assured them that her children wouldn't do anything, but she still felt uneasy along with Ratchet who yelled at the creatures when they got all over his equipment. There was one thing she was still confused about.
"Hey, um, your majesty. I have a question. Why didn't you infect me?" She asked as she walked closer to the queen. A few of her children hissed at her in warning.
"Unnecessary…We were going…to be free…No need to infect…," the queen replied. Miko simply nodded despite her uneasiness.
Some time had passed before Ratchet finally found a planet for the creatures. The queen and her children stood before the bridge, waiting for it to be activated.
"This place will be good for you and your children, your majesty. It's full of organic life, water, and the necessities to survive," Ratchet explained.
"We wish the best for you and we hope you will be able to protect yourselves," Optimus said. The queen nodded, touching her neck where the translating device was located.
"We thank you…for your help…," she said, looking over at Miko as she removed the device with a grim smile. Miko felt a chill run down her spine at the action. The queen's children did the same and all hissed in unison. A terrible sound. Miko rubbed her arms and looked up at Bulkhead with a nervous smile.
"Well, they're finally getting a home," she said.
There was a soft cry from behind her and Miko looked to see a stray soldier running into the room and joining its family. It went up to the queen and hissed in a happy manner. The queen appeared overjoyed to see her subject.
"Are all your children accounted for?" Optimus asked. The queen nodded as the bridge came to life.
"Then walk in and walk until you finally reach your destination. It shouldn't take too long," he said, stepping back to let the creatures leave. A few ran ahead, crying out happily. The rest simply followed behind the queen as she walked in, slowly and unsure at first before becoming more confident and looking regal as she left. The bridge stayed open for a while before it was finally cut off.
"Thank goodness!" Miko exclaimed, breathing in a deep sigh of relief. They were finally gone!
"I'm glad we could find somewhere safe for them. They will live peacefully now," Optimus said, a faint smile showing on his faceplates.
"Good riddance. Those things left all sorts of disgusting gunk all over the place. We have lots of cleaning to do," Ratchet grumbled. Miko chuckled softly at that. She couldn't wait to break the news to Jack, Raf, and Bumblebee when they got back.
"Man, I can't wait to go home now. I'll start packing," Miko chimed as she went to the living quarters that were designed for her and her friends. She was glad all this chaos was finally over and she could go home and maybe even go back to school.
"You need any help, Miko?" Bulkhead asked.
"Nah, it's not much," Miko replied as she kept going. She got to her living quarters and noticed all the gross slime coating the walls. One of those creatures had been in here.
"Why though?" She muttered to herself as she made a mental note to tell Jack or Raf to clean the walls. She grabbed her backpack and noticed it was slimy as well.
"Gross!" She grumbled while trying to shake the slime off. It wouldn't come off. She groaned in disgust as she went to the makeshift bathroom to grab a towel. She froze when she saw what was waiting for her in there. A hatched egg. Miko looked around the bathroom in a panic, but saw nothing. This wasn't good. The queen had betrayed them, but why? The queen had told her before that killing her was unnecessary.
"Bulkhead!" She cried out as she turned to run out. She heard a screech as a spider-like creature jumped at her face and all became dark.
Megatron was beyond furious as he sat on his throne, fuming as Knockout told him about how the Autobots had taken away the queen and her remaining children. They were going to be the key to defeating the Autobots and now they went and managed to take them away. Not only did the the queen get away, but she had been planning on killing him after beating the information out of Starscream.
Knockout was calm, smiling smugly over at Starscream who knelt by Megatron's side. He was in for more punishment for not telling him about what the queen was plotting.
"I was going to tell you, Master. The…The Autobots attacked when I first heard the news and I was too focused on wanting to exterminate them," Starscream had told him. Megatron simply shook his head, too angry and tired to deal with him further.
"Knockout, that abomination latched itself to my face. I don't know if it put anything inside me, but I need an examination," Megatron said.
"Of course, my lord. Just come with me," Knockout replied as he led him out. Starscream followed close behind him.
"How long was the creature attached to you?" Knockout asked.
"Less than a minute, I believe," Megatron replied. He rubbed at his chest plate, his red eyes turning into slits as he imagined that awful feeling. It made him fall and be weak for less than a minute before he regained his strength. He couldn't allow that.
It wasn't long before they were in Knockout's operating chambers. There were some cages hanging overhead with human test subjects crying and begging to be released. They had been brought in for the queen, but there was now no more use for them besides being used for testing and experimenting. Megatron ignored them as he laid down on the operating table. He glared over at Starscream, who was watching from the doorway. He knew he was probably plotting something. He could just tell.
"Let's see what the damage is," Knockout said as he pulled up a device that was connected to a screen and held it over Megatron's chest. Knockout was silent for a moment as he tried to focus on the image that appeared on the screen. It was an x-ray of Megatron's chest cavity. Everything look normal at first before the screen flickered and something new appeared.
"Looks like you're infected, my lord," Knockout murmured as he pointed at the dark stain in the middle of his chest. It was tiny, but he could see the familiar form of a newborn curled up inside him. Megatron was about to rage before he thought for a moment. He looked at the image long and hard.
"Knockout, is it likely that this creature will inherit my features and traits if I allowed it to live?" He asked.
"I believe so, my lord. It will be much bigger and stronger than the average soldier. Do you wish to keep it?" Knockout asked.
"I think I will. It probably won't create more soldiers, but it will still be an efficient warrior on the battlefield," Megatron said, smiling a bit when he looked at the x-ray. He actually looked forward to this.
"Sounds like a plan, my lord. I believe it will take longer to gestate, so I will give it a week before it is time to remove it," Knockout said, smiling up at the caged humans.
"We have plenty of food for it when it gets here," he crowed as one began to cry.