Transformers doesn't belong to me.
When Mary-Anne wakes up, she doesn't move. Ever since the accident where her parents were killed, she had been terrified of the giant Cybertronians. The meeting that Optimus suggested fills her with panic, and she wants to put it off as long as possible.
She had been put into foster care almost right away. Every home she was placed in was terrible. The third one was the worst though. Aside from beatings and other abuse, Mary-Anne had been treated as an experiment, her powers tampered with to make them four times stronger than before, and to make her controllable.
Ratchet glances at her as the memory makes her grimace. "Mary-Anne, how are you feeling?"
She sighs and sits up slowly, giving up on playing possum. "Better. Still blind though, apparently." She blinks her eyes a couple times, actually glad that she cannot see the giant robot in front of her. It's hard enough staying calm as it is. "I heard a little of your conversation while I was dropping off to sleep. I didn't realize it would put Bumblebee in such a difficult situation if I asked him not to tell anyone my… history."
The medic tilts his head to the side. "And we should respect your wishes. Bumblebee acted much the same when Switchblade first came to us."
Optimus walks into the medical bay then. "Mary-Anne Parson, are you feeling up to a meeting?"
"I… I think so." The girl mentally yells at herself for sounding so weak. Even if the robots mean no harm, she doesn't want to appear fragile, something (even to giant robots that turn into cars) she most certainly is not.
The Prime gently lays his hand down on the medical bed. Hesitating just slightly, Mary-Anne climbs onto it, defenses ready. Ratchet notices her stiffness, and assumes she may be sore from lying on the metal bed. "If you are going to stay here, we will have to somehow get you a… what is it called? What humans sleep on?"
"A bed?" She laughs a little at his confusion. "I can probably get one from Thalia-" She freezes, wishing she hadn't dropped that last bit of information.
Ratchet and Optimus exchange glances. The medic voices his confusion as they start walking, "Thalia?"
Mary-Anne winces. "It's a place I go sometimes. I can get there with this necklace." She holds up a cat shaped pendant on a chain around her neck. "I can get stuff from there, but I can't go permanently until I'm at least 18, or I would have moved long ago." She clasps the pendant tightly. "It's where my parents were from. They moved here when they got married."
Ratchet goes to push the matter further, but Optimus stops him. The girl riding in his palm is tense and shivering slightly, and he doesn't want her to be more afraid then she already is. They arrive at the place where the other three 'bots are standing around a table talking. Optimus gently puts the girl down, and she smiles thankfully.
Unconsciously, she finds herself sitting down in front of Bumblebee. Optimus notices, and he wonders how she knew where he was. The scout isn't the most talkative of the three, and he wasn't making any sounds for her to follow.
Pushing the matter aside, the leader starts the meeting. "Mary-Anne Parson, do you want to tell us a little about yourself?"
She laughs to cover up her nervousness. "Well… first thing, you don't have to call me by my full name every time. Just Mary-Anne is fine." She smiles shyly in Optimus' direction. Bumblebee buzzes almost silently, just loud enough for her to hear, encouraging her. She continues, "I was born in Ontario Canada ten years ago to two wonderful parents, Maria and Andrew Parson. Three years later, we… were in an accident. I survived, saved by my car seat. My parents…" She blinks, holding back tears, "They weren't so lucky. After the funeral, I was placed into my first foster home. It wasn't too bad. Well, at least until later, but… that's another story. Throughout the next seven years, I've been in five foster homes, and not one of them has been good." She sighs, "My last foster parents were taking me on a picnic to celebrate their birthdays when they drugged me, blinded me, and left me to die under a bush. When I woke up, I ran into Bumblebee on the road after wandering for an hour. And… yeah. That's pretty much it."
Switchblade looks at the girl, a look of sympathy on her face. She can tell that being left to die in a park is the least of the things that have been done to this girl. "That's such a sad story, Mary-Anne."
Optimus meets Ratchet's gaze worriedly. The medic had mentioned old injuries not from the accident that had never fully healed when he scanned the child when she first arrived. At least now they knew what they were from. Ratchet nods, "Is this kind of story normal for human children?"
Mary-Anne laughs bitterly. "Some maybe. But no. Most children (In North America anyway) get to live with their parents until they're through childhood and considered adults. And the luckiest ones get good parents who don't like to hurt for entertainment."
Switchblade winces, the girl's words bringing back memories of her own sparkling years in the Decepticon ranks. "And the less lucky ones get bloodthirsty maniacs for parents?"
The girl nods, looking in the femme's direction. "Yes… I'm lucky my parents were such gentle T- people." She almost says Taygetans, but covers it up quickly. Though her instincts tell her the robots are trustworthy, her life of betrayal keeps her from revealing the secret she has managed to keep from most.
Bumblebee places a hand on Switch's shoulder. He alone knows a little of her story, and tries to keep her mind off the memories as much as possible. He buzzes, trying to get the meeting back on track.
Optimus answers calmly. "If Mary-Anne is to stay here, we must plan in the event that Agent Flynn will show up unannounced, and make her accommodations of some sort."
Ratchet groans, "And speaking of Agent Flynn, his scheduled video conference is for very soon." As he says this, a call comes in over the screens in the main area of the base.