I don't think I like this chapter. At all. But maybe a re-read or two will make me warm up to it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it more than me! :D
Chapter Five: Speed Demon
"I think it's about time you two got out and saw the city," Optimus declared a few weeks after Wasp's attack. "You've both been stuck in here for almost two months now and have yet to see any of Detroit."
"Brilliant!" Flash Bang cried out, clapping her servos together excitedly. "I've been itching to get outside and stretch my support servos for ages." Blurr grinned happily at the news and shook out his own legs.
"Me too," he said. "Are we getting a guided tour?" he chuckled.
Blurr's confidence was growing more and more as he gained memories, but he still seemed a little shaken from remembering being crushed. Flash Bang seemed to have eased off the zealous demand to be the one to restore Blurr's memory, but, then again, he had most of it back.
Well, except everything between arriving to Earth and meeting Bumblebee before being sucked through the space bridge and then from that to being crushed in the compacting walls.
"Bumblebee and Bulkhead will show you around," Optimus explained. "Stay with them and don't worry about the humans – they know about us and are happy for us to wander around the city, provided we don't damage anything."
Bumblebee and Bulkhead entered then, bickering noisily about something. Flash Bang and Blurr looked over at them as they entered and laughed when they realised they were arguing about Bulkhead's intelligence.
"So what if I'm the best in the galaxy at space bridge technology?" Bulkhead said. "Didn't I ever tell you it was my lifelong passion when we were in boot camp?"
"No," Bumblebee retorted. "You just said you lived on an Energon farm!"
"Alright, you two," Optimus said, stopping the argument. "You guys are taking Blurr and Flash Bang into the city today, okay?"
"We know," Bumblebee replied. "Hey, Zippy, wanna go back to Master Disaster's old race track?"
"That may not be such a bad idea, Bee," Blurr replied. "Maybe it'll jog some more memories?"
"We won't know until we try," Flash Bang said, trying to reinstate her unofficial position as "Blurr's Memory Collector".
"Let's get going, then," Bulkhead said, transforming to vehicle mode. "But first, we've got to pick up Sari from Sumdac Tower, she's coming, too."
The four Autobots set out across the city, Blurr having been re-taught how to transform by Flash Bang. Flash Bang and Blurr drove side by side behind Bulkhead and Bumblebee, taking in the sites and asking questions about the humans. Their curiosity seemed relentless, but Bumblebee could talk anyone into a stupor and had no problems with the questions.
"Organics are fine," Bumblebee told them. "They're pretty cool, really, just kinda small and easy to get under support servo."
"And anything you've been told about them by Sentinel is complete slag," Bulkhead added.
"Sentinel Prime was always one for exaggerating, as I remember," Blurr said. Flash Bang chuckled.
"He's obsessed with his own ego," she said. "I've never heard of him being modest."
Flash Bang had scanned a Smart Car Coupé before setting out. It had been parked by the plant and it had actually been on Blurr's suggestion that she scanned it. She liked the car, it was small and sleek, just like her, and driving as a human-made car made her feel more comfortable driving around on the human-owned planet.
"It suits you," Blurr said during a moment of silence as Sumdac Tower came into view.
"Huh?" Flash Bang said, not realising what he meant.
"The new vehicle mode," Blurr clarified. "It suits you."
Flash Bang's faceplate heated up. "Thank you, Blurr," she replied; glad she was in her vehicle mode so Blurr wouldn't see her faceplates darken by a few shades of red.
Sumdac Tower was a wondrous sight in the midmorning sunlight. The windows glittered like sparkling diamonds and the metal shone dazzlingly. Flash Bang was reminded of the towering spires back on Cybertron and for a moment was filed with homesickness. She slowed down slightly as the three mechs drove on at their current speed. Only Blurr noticed the femme had fallen back.
"Flash, are you okay?" Blurr asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, Blurr, I'm fine," she lied. Blurr would have pursued the matter, but the four had arrived at Sumdac Tower and were pulling into the car park before he could.
Sari was sat on a wall surrounding a small flowerbed as she waited for them to arrive, dressed in her usually orange and cream outfit. The autumn air had prompted her to don a scarf in addition to her standard garb. As soon as she saw the bright yellow of Bumblebee and the dark green of Bulkhead, a huge smile spread across her face. She stood up and came bounding over towards her Autobot friends, both of whom transformed. Flash Bang and Blurr followed suit, and for the first time the humans of Detroit saw the two new Autobots.
"Look, Mommy, a lady one!" a little girl squealed to her mother. Flash Bang looked down at the pavement by the Tower and saw a little blond-haired girl clinging to her mother's hand and pointing excitedly at Flash Bang. The femme was a little unsure of how to react to the child, but the mother smiled and said, "Wow, look at that," before dragging her little girl down the road. The child continued to look over her shoulder at Flash Bang, however, which resulted in her tripping over her mother's feet and falling to her knees. As Flash Bang watched the mother's reaction – half worried, half irritated – she couldn't help but remember when she'd been just a little sparkling in similar situations with Mercury. Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Sari all laughed at the scene.
"You'll get that a lot," Bulkhead chuckled.
After greeting Sari, the four transformed back to vehicle mode and began their "tour" of Detroit. Blurr felt excited as he saw places he recognised, including Sumdac Tower. They drove for hours and hours, telling their new buddies about their past adventures, and even Blurr told a tale or two about his time on Earth. After seeing the city, Bumblebee led the way to Master Disaster's old racetrack.
"This is it," Bumblebee said. Blurr was the first to revert to robot mode, after which he began to scan the area. It seemed so clear to him now, and he felt peculiar knowing there was a time (however brief) when he couldn't remember it. Or anything for that matter. But no matter how hard he looked at the track, it wasn't going to bring back the rest of his missing memories, especially not the important ones like who tried to kill him.
"I still don't get why Shockwave wants me dead," Blurr complained to Flash Bang. "He only taunted me over the fact that I don't remember."
"He's a big jerk," Bulkhead told Blurr. "He tricked Bumblebee into thinking Wasp was the spy, which is why he ended up in the stockade."
Blurr didn't say anymore, he just stood and mused. Nothing really happened for a time, the Autobots just stood together and thought about everything, running it through their processors and turning it around in every possible direction. The answer was in what Blurr already knew, he just didn't realise.
"At least you're not a wobbly pile of uncertainty anymore," Flash Bang said after a while, shrugging as if bored.
"It's beginning to get dark," Sari said, looking at the sky. "We ought to get back."
Bulkhead, being the responsible one out of all those present, agreed, and went to turn to vehicle mode. Bumblebee followed suit, as did Flash Bang, but the sound of footsteps on a bridge above them diverted Blurr's attention.
"Mum, I'm fine," a feminine voice said. "I got to Detroit this morning, well, morning here."
Blurr looked up at the bridge, his optics falling on a tawny-haired human woman. She was walking along the bridge with a confidant strut that seemed dampened by the fact that she had no idea where she was going. She was holding her mobile phone to her ear, having a loud conversation with whoever was on the other end of the line. She seemed a little irritated at the person she was speaking to, but forced a positive tone into her voice.
"I'll be fine, Mum," she said. "I've come here to study, not have a good time... I'm on my way to the apartment I'm renting now, and my stuff's being taken there by some guys from the airport... He wasn't a taxi driver, that's why I didn't get a lift… I was here last year, too, Mum, I know the city… Okay, I don't know this bit, but I didn't have a reason to come this way last year, I was staying on campus."
Blurr couldn't help but be curious, as the voice seemed familiar. He began to walk towards the bridge – the opposite way to where the others were going.
"Blurr, where are you going?" Flash Bang asked, driving in front of him.
"I just want to check something out," he explained as he climbed up the bridge supports. He looked over the top and saw the woman coming towards him. Seeing a giant robot pop up out of nowhere, however, tends to shock unsuspecting humans.
"Whoa!" the woman shrieked, dropping her phone, which smashed to pieces against the hard concrete. Blurr was equally surprised by her reaction and let go of the bridge, falling back to the road below. Blurr's impact against the road sent cracks tearing through it and an agonising pain through his chassis.
"That hurt," he moaned as he was pulled back up by Bulkhead. After getting back to his feet, he looked up at the bridge. The woman was looking over the railing at the four bots below, completely gob smacked. She'd seen the Autobots when she was in Detroit the year before, but she hadn't been on here own around them.
"Um… are you okay?" she called down to Blurr. Blurr leant backwards, trying to stretch out his backbone infrastructure.
"It's not the worst I've been through recently," he replied. He looked at the woman, pondering the reason behind his own curiosity. Then it hit him.
Blurr had managed to stay undercover successfully so far, but he knew he could easily loose his cover if he didn't remain vigilant. As he drove along a bridge one night, something flying overhead caught his attention. He transformed to robot mode to get a better look at it, but he saw it was only a human plane. He stood where he was for a moment, looking up at the stars. Earth really was a very beautiful planet.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He spun round to see, and saw the lengthening shadow of a human coming round the corner. Quick as a flash, as was his style, he dove over the bridge, grabbing the supports beneath and flipping over, clinging onto the underside of the bridge. The human walked passed, and he began to climb back up.
Unfortunately, he slipped slightly, and the support cracked a little beneath his weight. The human turned to see what the noise was and, in a panic, he let go of the bridge completely to avoid being seen. He got a good look at the woman, however. She was somewhat curvaceous, with long tawny hair and glasses, nothing particularly standout-ish for a human.
Blurr fell to the street below, flipping in midair in order to land on his feet. He stood up and shot a quick glance around. The area was empty, but not for long. He looked down the road suddenly as he heard the sound of approaching cars. Surprised, he quickly transformed to vehicle mode and took off in the same direction as the oncoming cars. He looked back and saw the human drivers jeering at each other as they passed them, and he realised he'd dropped into a race.
Competitive side reborn, Blurr waited for the human-driven cars to catch up with him. Once they had, he sped up, zooming away down the road in an impressive burst of speed. As he drove, Blurr was immersed in memories of his days as a pro racer, and the reason why came back to him – the sheer thrill.
Meanwhile, the host of the race was sat in his cabin, watching the blue racer with interest. He'd never seen a car go so fast! But where had it come from? He watched intently for a while, engrossed in the car's speed, but then something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Master Disaster turned to look at it.
Outside, on the pavement by the road, something lay glowing brightly. He stepped out of the cabin and walked over to it. He picked it up and examined it. It felt like ice, but left no water on his gloved hands when he touched it. Whatever it was, it was very bright. He shrugged and pocketed it, turning to re-enter his cabin.
Master Disaster closed the door behind him and shot a glance at the monitors. The blue racer was still in the lead, and it didn't look like that was going to change. The glowing object began to shine even brighter than before as he sat down, blinding him and enveloping the cabin in its glow. The light subsided after a while, after which it seemed to have completely gone. He looked about for it, but didn't see it. Eventually, his eyes fell upon the controller to an RC car he'd had as a boy, and kept his entire life as a keepsake. The battery hatch was glowing faintly, so he opened it to see why. The glowing shard was inside, sat in the place where the batteries should have been.
He spun the wheel round, not expecting anything to happen, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blue racer jerk suddenly in the direction he'd turned the remote, barging another racer off the track. Master Disaster spun the wheel again and the car veered off in the same direction once more. A wicked grin spread across his lips. He'd made a very good discovery here. He pressed down on the accelerator button, and the car zoomed forwards, a blue trail left in its place.
Master Disaster was going to enjoy his new toy very much.
"You were the one who startled me when I was captured by Master Disaster!" Blurr said.
"The underground race host?" the woman replied. "I wouldn't be seen dead near him!" Bumblebee twiddled his digits as she said this.
"You weren't at the race, you were walking across one of the bridges and startled me, making me fall onto the track," Blurr clarified.
"I see," the woman said, raising an eyebrow. She was about to turn away and say goodnight when Flash Bang groaned loudly and shot off into the approaching night.
"Flash Bang?" Blurr called to her as she fled. "Flash, what's wrong? Where are you going?"
"Go away!" she shrieked back. After a moment, Blurr realised that she hadn't got over her issue with everyone but her restoring his memories.
"Come back!" he yelled to her, trying to act in command, but she just carried on going. Blurr's shoulders sagged. "Flash…?"
"So, you got another memory back?" Optimus Prime asked, trying to clarify.
"Yes, and it upset Flash, so she ran away," Blurr replied. He was completely downtrodden and nothing he did seemed to have the same high-octane pace as usual.
"We'll find her," Optimus promised.
"So, you lost your memory?" the woman asked. She had insisted on coming back to the Autobot base as soon as she'd noticed Sari, but was told she couldn't. Instead, the other Autobots came to the race track. The woman had even taken the time to introduce herself as Isabelle Thwaites, a British student who had come to Detroit to study robotics in the hopes that through doing so she would eventually meet Isaac Sumdac. Not that she outwardly mentioned this when Sari was around.
"Yes, but I have a lot of it back now," Blurr replied. "But I'm not really interested in any offers of help for that right now." Isabelle seemed a little dejected at that.
"I'm a robotics student," she said proudly, puffing up her chest. "If I can't help you then I don't know who can."
"If two of Cybertron's best scientists couldn't help, then I doubt you can either," Blurr retorted. Isabelle just folded her arms and began to talk to Sari in a far-too-polite manner. To Blurr it was obvious she was trying to sweet-talk the girl into something, but all he picked up was the occasional reference to robotics. After a while, Blurr had an idea, knowing he needed to get rid of the woman as she seemed to be getting on everybody's nerves.
"If you really want to help, Isabelle," he began, "you could help me find Flash Bang." Isabelle had been excited at the prospect of helping, having assumed he would continue to say something along the lines of "you could take a look at my processor", but when he finished with finding Flash Bang she became somewhat annoyed.
"Fine," she hissed. "If you really think such a task is worthy of a prodigy such as myself." But she went on to insist on doing it the next day, as she had plenty of things to sort out that evening.
The next day.
Bleep, bleep, bleep was the only noise Isabelle heard as she scanned the area around her with her very own custom built robot detector. It was a little more complicated than just that, but that was the most simplistic name for it.
Bleep, bleep, bleep, it continued. She followed it senselessly, not realising it was leading her to Lake Erie. Not even the water sparkling in the sunlight caught her attention.
Bleep, bleep, bleep. She followed it over a pedestrian bridge, far too bored to think about where she was. She didn't stop to think until she felt grass under her shoes.
"What?" she said, dumbfounded. She looked around her, realising she was on some form of island. She shrugged and continued on her way, following that mind numbingly consistent bleep, bleep, bleep.
But her thoughts wandered to another noise. It sounded like crying, but at the same time like electrical circuits fizzing. She looked up and saw before her what she'd been sent to find. Flash Bang sat upon a large boulder, elbows resting on her knees and servos holding her faceplates. After studying the femme for a moment, Isabelle noticed oil dripping from Flash Bang's faceplates and digits, and she assumed this was the Cybertronian equivalent to tears.
"Um, Flash Bang?" the woman asked, unsure how to approach a sobbing robot. The femme stiffened and looked over at the human.
"Oh," she said. "It's you."
"Do you have a problem with me?" Isabelle retorted, instantly on the defensive.
"No," Flash Bang spat. "Just the fact that everyone but me seems to be effortlessly restoring Blurr's memories."
"Is that what this is all about?" Isabelle asked. "Why are you so caught up in it all?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because I want you to go back to the Autobot base so I can go to college and get on with my life," the human spat.
"How nice of you," Flash Bang hissed back. Isabelle sighed.
"Sorry," she said. "I'm a bit stressed about my robotics lessons, not that that's any excuse to be an idiot." Flash Bang looked down at Isabelle, giving her an odd look. "Blurr's worried about you."
"Blurr?" Flash Bang asked. "Honestly?"
"Yes," Isabelle pushed. Flash Bang just sat and looked off into the distance.
"I wanted to help Blurr because… because I wanted to have an adventure," Flash Bang said. "I've lived my life in a tiny apartment over a delivery shop. After my mech creator died, I had to do without all the luxuries in life, but I never once complained, and do you know why? Because I knew my femme creator couldn't afford it, and I knew that everything she did, she did for me. Who could ask for more?"
Isabelle was stunned. She hadn't realised the Autobots had emotions as deep as humans did. For a moment, she didn't say anything, but then she moved to be in front of Flash Bang and sat down on a rock, looking up at her.
"From what I've been told," she began, "you're the only reason why Blurr survived to get his memories back and, even though I've only just met you all, I can tell he's beyond grateful."
Flash Bang didn't move for a moment as she took in what Isabelle had said. The human was right and Flash Bang wasn't going to deny that, but was Blurr really that thankful?
"What makes you say that?" Flash Bang asked. Isabelle shrugged.
"Mostly the way he was speed-talking everyone to death about how worried he was," she explained. "It seems he really misses you when he doesn't know where you are."
"Well, I wouldn't want him to worry," Flash Bang said, a little of her usual cheer coming back as she bean to stand up.
Suddenly, the two were surprised out of their skin/shell when they heard a tremendous roar. Isabelle screamed and hid behind Flash Bang's legs as something very large charged towards them. Flash Bang scooped Isabelle up and dodged out of the way of the oncoming thing. As it passed, they saw it was a large, silver-grey robotic t-rex. Flash Bang gasped as she saw the Autobot insignia cast on its chest.
"Me Grimlock destroy!" it shouted as it rampaged through the trees, knocking many of them over as it charged. Flash Bang and Isabelle watched it go, mouths agape, their attention only derived from the beast when they heard a jet engine roar overhead. A quick glance at each other was all it took for them to decide to follow the dinosaur.
Night had fallen whilst Isabelle had been searching for Flash Bang, making it very hard to see for the little human. Flash Bang, however, turned on her headlights, which shone out of her shoulders and lit up the trees around them. The two followed the wreck of trees, some of which smouldered, having been torched down. After a while, they came to a clearing, and a huge rock face stood before them. An entryway was cut out of the rock, next to which a pile of boulders had fallen on top of another dinosaur robot. Flash Bang looked at the site with curiosity.
"What happened here, I wonder?" Flash Bang mused as she looked around.
"Flash Bang?" someone called. The femme looked over her shoulder to see Optimus Prime and Bumblebee approaching.
"Oh, hey," she greeted them, slightly surprised. "What are you two doing here?"
"Following Sentinel and the Jet Twins," Optimus explained. "They headed this way when Wasp was grabbed by a Dinobot."
"A what?" Isabelle asked.
"One of those," Bumblebee explained, pointing at the bot semi-buried by the entryway.
"We have to get inside, you two go back to the base and stay there," Optimus demanded.
"Rodger, that," Flash Bang replied. "Come on, Isabelle."
"You don't want to see what's going on?" Isabelle asked incredulously.
"I need to talk to Blurr," Flash Bang explained. "Though I would love to see what's going on in there, to be honest."
"Fair enough, but I need to go to my flat, if you'll drive me there?"
Flash Bang drove Isabelle to her flat, saying goodbye and good luck with her studies. She then continued on to the base, contemplating Isabelle's words as she went. Was Blurr really so worried about her? She'd find out soon enough. She walked into the plant quietly, trying to be inconspicuous. She really didn't want to make a spectacle of the situation. She'd nearly made it to Blurr's room to check if he was there when she saw spotted.
"Flash Bang!" Blurr called, zooming over to her. Suddenly, his slender arms were wrapped around her chassis and she was pulled into a tight hug.
"Hey, Blurr," she replied, stunned by the hug.
"I was so worried about you!" he gasped into her shoulder. "Don't scare me like that!"
"I'm sorry, Blurr," she said, "and… not just for running off." Blurr looked at her, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sorry for being so stubborn," she explained. "I just wanted to have an adventure all of my own, and everyone else is living it for me." Blurr just hugged her tighter and chuckled softly.
"No need to worry," he told her. "I came to the same conclusion a few days ago." He pulled away from her and gave her a steady look. "You're important to me, you know? I owe you my life, and it's only because of you that I'm here on Earth and getting my memories back, anyway. Flash, you are doing what you set out to achieve."
It all suddenly hit Flash Bang like a slap in the faceplate. She'd been such a malfunction! She'd taken Blurr to Earth – Earth was where all his memories were being restored. She bristled with glee for a moment and hugged Blurr tightly, taking him by surprise somewhat, but before long he returned the hug.
The two pulled away from each other after a while and just stood grinning at one another. After a while, something outside the window caught Flash Bang's optic. She moved around Blurr and looked out the window. A fine white powder was cascading down from the sky, faintly lit by the gaudy orange glow of the street lamps. Flash Bang was awed by it, as was Blurr when he saw it. They simply stood watching it for a while, but then Sari came up behind them and said, "Never seen snow before, huh?"
Isabelle really is a bit of a filler character, buuut she may make another appearance later on, we'll see. Anyway, more cuteness between Flash Bang and Blurr. They're good friends, really, I swear! Aaaand, if the mention of "snow" doesn't give you a clue as to what's coming up then I don't know what will!