Disclaimer: Transformers and its characters owned by Hasbro. I only own my characters.
"Hey, dad. How are things going over there?"
Paige pressed the speaker button and set the phone on the counter. She had just gotten back from dropping Miko off at her house after school a few minutes ago so she was preparing to make herself a meal in the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and scanned the items with her eyes.
"Hi, sweetie. Things have been going well. We've nearly finished setting up the new base."
"Oh, yeah? That's great!" She reached up to grab a box and scrutinized the labeling. After a moment, she put it back and reached for another.
"Yes, it is. How is school?"
"Pretty good. I haven't gotten low marks on any of the assignments I was handed back so far. I can send you a digital copy if you'd like."
"There's no need. I have full confidence in your studies."
She smiled softly at his words as she pulled down a can to examine it. "Thanks, dad."
There was a moment of silence between them before he broke it. "How is your friend doing?"
"She's good. Oh! We went racing again last night!" A grin split her face as she remembered the events of the night before.
A sigh came through the phone. "Paige… What have I told you about that?"
"I know, dad. But I've been careful!"
"...Did you win?"
A laugh bubbled out of her throat as she finally decided on her meal. Leave it to her father to want to know the details. "No, unfortunately. Some new guy showed up last night, but we both dusted the other guys. Oh, but his Aston Martin was beautiful, dad!" She sighed wistfully as she closed her eyes, recalling what detail she actually saw of the vehicle in the dark. "It was so pretty and the engine sounded amazing."
A chuckle came through the phone. "You always did like cars… He didn't try anything, did he?"
She snorted. "Pfft! No. He was actually a pretty decent guy. He agreed to another race with me a few days from now." She poured the contents of the can into a pot on the stove and turned the heat on. "I gotta get that rematch."
"Of course. I expect nothing less from my daughter."
Paige was silent for a moment as she leaned against the counter, staring forlornly at her phone. "...When can I see you again, dad?"
Another sigh from the phone, this time sounding tired. "Soon. I don't know when. I don't feel that it's safe for you yet, but I'll let you know when I need you for a mission."
She sighed through her nose and closed her eyes. "Okay, dad… I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie. Talk to you soon."
"Sure." She listened to the call end before burying her face in her hands, trying to shove down the pang of loneliness that shot through her gut.
It had been three months since she had last seen her father and it was getting harder to ignore her feelings towards their separation, but she knew it was for her own safety. But that didn't mean she had to like it - because she didn't. She was growing more bitter and it was getting increasingly more difficult to distract herself from her thoughts growing darker. It was the main reason she had gotten into street racing. Not only was it a thrilling adrenaline rush to be driving down a road faster than the speed limit, it was a way to briefly forget about her thoughts and feelings about literally everything else. Miko was also a welcome distraction. That girl knew how to be a party animal and sniffed out adventure like a dog sniffs out a bone. It was another reason why she liked her company so much.
But Miko couldn't spend every waking moment with her and Paige knew that. So she had to find other ways to occupy herself outside of Miko and street racing.
"Maybe I'll take my bike around town…" She sat down at the table to eat her soup absentmindedly. She scrolled the internet on her phone, checking news posts for anything interesting that had happened recently. "I haven't been stargazing in a while either… Maybe I'll do that too," she muttered thoughtfully as her eyes scanned a news post about a mine explosion in Nebraska. Reporters suspect it was an accident involving some sort of explosive during a dig. "Do people even use dynamite nowadays?"
She shrugged and cleaned up her mess once she was done eating. She stuck her phone in her pocket and went to pack her shoulder bag for a late night out. She kept most of what she had packed the day before in it, but took out the lip gloss and nail polish. She didn't feel like making an effort to look pretty. She made sure her pistols were in peak condition before holstering them and securing the belt around her waist. She grabbed a light windbreaker jacket and tied it around her waist, making sure it covered her pistols before heading out the door with her keys. She grabbed her helmet from the workbench and secured it on her head. She then hopped on her bike, started the engine, and drove out and down the street while pressing the button to close her garage. She pressed a button as she headed for the highway, blasting a playlist she had put together consisting of music from Bad Omens and Bring Me The Horizon. She bobbed her head absentmindedly to the beat as she merged onto the freeway, being mindful of her surroundings since it was a lot easier to get hurt on a motorcycle.
She began humming the words of the song that was playing and briefly glanced in her mirror. She did a double take before gripping the handles as a blue motorcycle sped past her, followed by two purple muscle cars that shot past her within an inch of scraping her. Her heart leaped into her throat as she fought to keep herself steady and then glared at the vehicles that raced ahead of her. "Oh, you wanna race, do ya?" She revved her engine and then sped up, weaving between vehicles as they had slowed down or stopped to let the others pass. She followed them onto a road that led to a dead end and she frowned in confusion. "They must know of a spot to exit then…"
Sure enough, she saw the two purple cars disappear off the side of the road ahead of her. She wasn't even thinking as she drove to the spot they exited and braced herself as she felt the Earth shudder beneath her tires a few times. What was that? Did they crash?! She turned off her music. She drove off and down the hill, only to slide to a halt just before the lip of the aqueduct. She sat frozen, feeling the ground shake beneath her.
In the middle of the aqueduct were three massive robots fighting and shooting at each other. The blue one went down with a shout and then another engine revved from the freeway. A yellow-and-black muscle car drove off the edge and transformed midair to land on one of the purple robots, punching the other one. Her mind had stalled, unable to completely process what she was seeing.
What are they? Did I crash, get put in a coma, and now I'm dreaming? Are they real?
Her spiraling thoughts ground to a halt as she heard a boy shout, barely registering that the yellow robot had gotten beaten down. Her head whipped down to see- Her mouth fell open in horror. Is that Jack Darby and Rafael Esquivel?! Both boys were in at least one of her classes and they each had a different reputation going for them. Jack's just…wasn't so much of a 'good' one.
Oh- Oh shit! She saw the two purple robots look at each other before one started walking towards the boys - the other stayed behind to keep the yellow robot in check. The thundering footsteps of the purple robot shook the ground as it walked, following the boys as they ran for whatever cover they could find. Something in her snapped as she saw it crouch down a few feet from her spot, reaching its hand into the drainpipe where the boys had disappeared into. Expression hardening, she whipped out her pistols from their holsters at her hip in a flash and aimed at the robot's face. No way am I going to let innocent people get hurt!
"Hey, bucket-head!" The robot paused and turned its head towards her. Its red visor glowed ominously as it seemed to analyze her, and she glared right back at it. She aimed directly at the visor, hoping it was a weak spot. She flicked the safety off both pistols. "Eat lead!" She opened fire, pulling the trigger of both pistols one after the other in rapid succession. Sparks flew from the robot's face plating as each bullet only seemed to bounce off. She felt a swell of triumph when it reeled back at a few successful shots bouncing off its visor. She emptied both clips and felt herself grin when a crack splintered across its visor and shattered in a spray of glass and sparks.
The robot yelled in pain as it stumbled backwards, free hand flying to clutch at its damaged face. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she watched the yellow robot pick up where she left off and punch it to the side. The yellow robot turned to look at her and she froze, green eyes meeting a whirling cyan blue gaze. It beeped and warbled at her in a way she felt like she understood, but her brain was in too much disarray to focus on what it was actually saying. She did notice it making a shooing motion with its hand. It didn't take a genius to know that it was telling her to get the hell out of Dodge.
She holstered her empty pistols and gave a two-fingered salute with one hand. "Don't gotta tell me twice!" She then gripped the handles, spun the back tire around to face a different direction, and sped off along the hill. A green SUV and a car that suspiciously looked like her Corvette drove past in the aqueduct heading towards the robots and she wondered if those were more robots. She shook her head, not wanting to stop and find out. She drove up the hill, feeling glad she had chosen dual sport tires for her motorcycle to handle both on and off-road situations. She made a beeline for the nearest empty road away from the freeway that would lead into town, and then sped off back towards the safety of Jasper's population.
I don't know what just happened but I think I'll feel safer back home. Forget about the joyride and stargazing!
She entered town not long after, driving in silence to listen for any vehicles that might have tried to follow her. She was on edge. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched and she fought the urge to keep looking over her shoulder. As it was, she was side-eyeing every car that drove past and any behind her. But none of them followed her for too long, obviously having a different destination in mind. She sighed, mentally berating herself for her catiousness. Big bulky robots following her around? Absurd. She then gulped, remembering the yellow one having transformed from a vehicle form. On second thought, I think being on guard is the right call.
The sun was setting below the horizon when she saw a familiar face walking down the sidewalk and rubbing their neck. She pulled to the side of the curb and watched the teen stop to stare at her cautiously, on edge until he heard her voice. "Darby?"
Jack took a quick glance around the area before walking closer. "Y-yes? Who's asking?"
She kicked the kickstand down so she could sit comfortably on her bike and pulled her helmet off. She shook her hair out and sent him a friendly smile. "Paige Bishop. We have English class together."
"O-oh! Uh- right." He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, an obvious nervous habit. "Um… So, how- how's it going?"
She dropped her smile into a concerned frown. She set her helmet in her lap and leaned on her elbows on the handlebars of her green motorcycle. "Jack… Are you okay?"
He met her gaze, mouth open with the intent to spout a lie. But the genuine concern in her voice and on her face had him sighing instead. "That was you… wasn't it? Back- back there…" With the robots, was the silent ending to his sentence. He must have heard and recognized her voice.
She nodded. "Yeah. That was me."
He looked her up and down, as if trying to search for something. "You have a gun?"
"Two actually," she admitted with a small smile. She lifted the flaps of her jacket to reveal the holsters sitting against her hips. "Concealed carry."
He blinked in surprise. "Wow, I… never pegged you as the type to carry a weapon."
"My dad's a military man. He made sure I was set to defend myself in any situation." She shrugged nonchalantly at his shocked look, dropping the jacket back in place to conceal her pistols. "You could say he's either protective or paranoid. I'd say both. But it comes in clutch at times." She frowned at him again, staring him down. "And you didn't answer my question. Are you okay?" She then looked around, not seeing a certain younger boy. "Where's Esquivel?"
"He, uh… He went home already." Jack rubbed his neck and looked away. "I-I'm not hurt. I'm just…not entirely sure myself. I-I feel like I'm in a dream… But I'm worried that if I go to sleep tonight, I'll wake up and it wasn't a dream…"
Paige nodded to acknowledge his words. "I get that." She looked towards the sidewalk, her eyes distant as she thought back to what she had seen. "I saw those things drive past me on the freeway. I thought they were some punks trying to race, so I followed. And then I came down the hill and I saw them and just- ...froze. It wasn't until I saw the thing start to chase you that I was finally able to do something…" She shook her head slowly and then looked up, seeing his troubled expression. "That was a pretty scary situation, Darby… I don't blame you for being freaked out. To be honest, I might not even be able to sleep tonight after that." She shrugged slightly and then sat up straight. "But I know one thing. I won't let you handle it alone. If you need someone to talk to, you can come find me. And at the very least, let me give you a ride home. I wouldn't feel right letting you walk by yourself after seeing what those things are capable of."
Jack was silent for a moment, as if trying to figure her out. He blinked a few times, rubbing his neck as he thought about her offer. And she waited patiently, one hand on the handlebar and the other resting on her helmet. He took a deep breath and then let it out as a sigh. "Okay… I'll take you up on that. Thank you."
She simply smiled and held out her helmet to him. He took it and pulled it on his head. "Does it fit?" He nodded and she grabbed the handles, waiting for him to mount the bike and settle into the seat directly behind her. She heard him stutter and she glanced over her shoulder, only to laugh lightly at seeing his hands hovering hesitantly in the air in an obvious sign of not knowing where to put them. "You can hold my waist, you dork," she teased lightly and revved the engine a bit. She felt his arms hesitantly wrap around her midsection and she slowly pulled away from the curb after kicking up the stand. "Where to?"
The ride through town was mostly silent aside from Jack pointing out turns as they went. When she pulled up to the curb in front of his house, they exchanged phone numbers and simple goodbyes as he handed her helmet back to her, and she waited until he had opened his front door. She pulled away and sped off towards her own home, surprised that Jack's house was only two blocks away. She pulled into the garage, closed it with the button, and set her helmet atop the workbench after parking her motorcycle. She rubbed her face tiredly as she trudged up the stairs, taking them slowly this time. She was not in any hurry to get to bed. She closed the door and set her keys on its assigned hook near the door before going into the kitchen for a water bottle. She chugged half the bottle as she made her way to her room.
She tossed the jacket onto the bed along with her shoulder bag and water bottle before unbuckling her belt. She set it on the bed with more care and took the pistols out of their holsters. Setting one aside, she began the process of doing a routine check. She made sure nothing was jammed before sticking it back in its holster and starting on the second one. Nodding to herself once she was sure nothing was wrong with them, she set the holsters on her bedside table. She turned to her standing mirror against her bedroom door and frowned at what she saw. Her hair looked like she had gone through a wind storm and her face was a bit on the paler side. In all honesty, she looked like hell.
"I think a shower will do wonders right now," she muttered as she grabbed a fresh set of underwear and pajamas before heading to the bathroom. Ten minutes later she was out and feeling refreshed and far more relaxed than she had been. "Maybe I'll actually be able to sleep tonight…" She checked her phone for any new messages. Apart from seeing the old messages, there was nothing new. She plugged it up to the charger on the wall and then crawled under the covers. She curled up on her side and closed her eyes, hoping for sleep to sweep her away from reality quickly.
It took another ten minutes before her mind succumbed to the dark realms of sleep.
And there's the official first sighting/meeting of the Autobots!
What do you think? Please leave a review!
Also if you have any ideas for recon missions Paige and Swiftblade can go on together, let me know. Or if there's any Autobots you'd like to see in this story that wasn't in TFP, let me know as well! I'd love to see some ideas from you all to help incorporate it into my story~