Chapter 2
"Well, well, and what do we have here?"
Miko blinked groggily as the unfamiliar voice woke her from a very pleasant dream. She briefly clung to an image of Jack smiling at her appreciatively before it slipped away into the fog of sleep as her mind tried to rise towards wakefulness. With an angry grunt the girl rolled back over and buried her face in her bag, trying to recapture the dream.
"Go way, sleeping!" she growled up at the still unseen voice.
"Oh my, you are a spunky one aren't you? Such pretty coloring too, unlike the usual run of humans," the smooth voice went on. There was something about the timber of it that triggered a warning bell in Miko's sleep fogged mind.
With a snarl the girl whipped around to snap at whoever was disturbing her bliss. Pure unmitigated terror froze her solid. Above her loomed a monstrous spider with obsidian black skin, gold markings, and the face of a beautiful woman. Her brain nearly shut down trying to bring what she was now seeing in focus with reality. Spiders didn't get that big. It was impossible. This had to be some sort of trick.
"What's the matter human? Can't think of anything flattering enough to say?"
"A Decepticon!" Miko finally managed to gasp out. For a brief moment her heart was flooded with relief as she realized that the leggy apparition was not in fact a poisonous spider.
A slim brow ridge rose at the grin that briefly spread across the human's face. However this odd reaction was quickly replaced by a blank look. The femme could have sworn she heard the gears humming in the organic's processor as reality sunk in.
"Oh scrap, a Decepticon," Miko muttered eyes wide.
"Since you know what I am," the spider-bot murmured, leaning closer and putting her hands down on either side of the stunned girl, "or rather what I was, then I can assume you are with those pesky Autobots?" The femme's voice grew hard and dangerous at the end of the question.
Without thinking Miko threw her canvas beach bag straight at the Ex-Decepticon's smirking face plates. The femme blinked in surprise and amusement. This one was spunky indeed. She let the little one run for a few yards before crouching down and springing on the fleeing figure, capturing the girl in a cage made of the spider-bot's long limbs.
"Let me go you sneaky freak!" Miko shouted in fury, kicking at the black bars of her cage.
"Oh, I don't think so," purred the silky voice. "You have just been promoted from useless organic to bait." The femme reached through her encircling legs and gently caressed the smooth cheek of the young human. Miko shivered and pressed back against the far side of the cage, only to be met by another probing servo. "Although I might have a little fun with you before I exchange you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Why you dear child, didn't my Jack tell you all about the fun we had in the forests up north?"
"What? He is so not your Jack!" the girl snarled.
A surprised and pleased smile flitted across the femme's faceplates. She hadn't even been trying but that little jab had struck true, revealing a possible chink in the human's mental armor. The Ex-Decepticon filed it away for later use.
"Hey, you must be that freaky Con that chased him and Arcee; Airachnid!"
"So I see you do have a processor child; maybe not one as good as my Jack but it does work."
"He is not, oof!" Miko's defiant cry was suddenly cut off as two small limbs unfolded from the Ex-Decepticon and wrapped around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides and lifting her up as the femme stood.
Faster than the child could follow; wires, plates, and cables rearranged themselves until she found herself staring up at the clear blue sky. All she could see of the spider-bot were the highest joints in her segmented legs. Powerful bands held the girl immobile with her knees drawn up to her chin and her arms clamped at her sides. As she watched horrified, the two smaller limbs began swiftly weaving fine white threads around her body. Like a spider securing a fly.
"There you go, all nice and cozy," Airachnid called cheerfully. Her black and gold head suddenly loomed over Miko's face. "Do try not to struggle, it only drags this out." The fibers were already halfway up the girl's legs.
"Guck."
"What was that now?" the femme looked down in curiosity at the contorted expression on the human's face.
"Snork," with an explosive blast of air Miko hurled a rather spectacular loogie up at the astonished purple optics.
"Ha! Take that freak!"
Airachnid's face-plates went rigid. Ever so slowly one servo came up and wiped the disgusting organic glob off her mesh. It the sudden silence the girl began to wonder it that had really been such a good idea. But suddenly a low, sultry chuckle emanated from the upturned corners of the spider-bot's lips.
"So my dear," the femme purred. "So you want to play it that way. Very well, I'm always game. You struggle as much as you want, but do remember The Autobots will do anything in the world to get you back alive. They will work just as hard, for let's just speculate here, a one armed human as they would for a two armed one."
The femme smiled in pleasure as she felt a shiver run up the child's spine. This was going to be fun she mused. The loud female might not be as bright as Jack, but she seemed to have a feistier spark.
"Bulkhead will come rescue me," Miko snapped, "and when he does you will wish you were never born!"
"Well, actually I wasn't."
"What?"
"Cybertronians aren't 'born' dearest."
"Who cares? The point is he's gonna knock you from here to Cybertron and back."
"It is truly touching the faith you have in them child. Now if you can just tell me why it looks like your Autobot friends have abandoned you," the Ex-Decepticon said, "Because they bridged out of this place hours ago."