Overdrive

A/N: Hello again! :) Once again, thank you to shadow-dog18, Dragonstormgirl, Aspenwolf, sckid, Adria20, kellyviolinthebest, Nyghtflower-Pack, thelostzelda, Mistress Megatron, Anonymous BW FG, and vampireyautja for reviewing! :D

I'm so glad to hear that you guys find Knockout to be in character for this; that's the biggest challenge out of any in writing a story like this. I promise to keep his personality intact, even way into the future. No amount of feelings are going to change this snarky medic into a fluffy pile of goo! Nor will they melt my OC into one either. Av is too much of a hard-headed dork. (Grins)

Disclaimer: Avery is spawned into existence by me; Transformers belongs to Hasbro~!

Mama don't cry, I just wanna stay high

(I) Like playing with danger and fear

Everybody's walking, but nobody's talking

It looks a lot better from here

All my life I've been over the top

I don't know what I'm doing

All I know is I don't wanna stop!

-Ozzy Osbourne, "I Don't Wanna Stop"

Chapter 5: Sugar, You're Going Down

It talked. It…it really talked. Knockout's car was speaking to her, in his voice, as though they were having a perfectly normal chat over a burger and sodas!

This one little window in time took everything logical and familiar in the human's tiny, comfortable world and completely chunked it out the window like last night's leftovers. At this point, Avery had no idea whether to burst into a fit of crazy laughter, hysterical tears, or violent shrieking. For right now, all she could do was stare. This had to be some trick; it had to be! Someone had framed and kidnapped Knockout, and was using him as bait!

"Well, for someone usually so annoying and chatty, you're awfully quiet."

The voice that filtered through the radio snapped the human out of her daze. Instead of cowering in fear or asking where this… contraption was taking her, she immediately seethed, grinding her teeth together in rage and growling, "What have you done with Knockout, you bastard?!"

Static cracked over the radio for a moment, and after a long pause the voice seemed to crack an amused laugh. She could hear the smirk in its tone as it replied, "…excuse me?"

"I don't know if this is some sick joke or what, but whatever business you have with my friend I'm sure can be worked out without kidnapping him or anyone else he knows in some fancy military-issued car-to-robot pile of junk metal!"

This time, laughter really did meet her ears. "You think I'm the one who's been kidnapped? Primus, human, you're slow." Another pause, followed by an angry, scandalized gasp. "…I'm not made of junk metal!"

"Artificial intelligence, then? Whatever! Obviously you're programmed with enough sentience to tell me where-"

"Enough!"

A sudden set of wires shot out from behind the seat, winding and curling their way around the human like aggressive, venomous snakes. No matter how much Avery thrashed or wriggled, the cords continued to tighten around her and constrict the air from her lungs little by little. One in particular forced its way into the girl's mouth, silencing her in mid-sentence. As she tried to spit it out and shout at the blasted monster-vehicle to let her go, the cable only forced its way further down her throat. She gagged.

I dare you to trigger my gag reflex. I'm going to puke all over your perfect interior!

"Listen, you filth-infested worm, I'm only going to say this once, and you're going to listen."

Panic shot through her like lightning. When she twisted and jerked harder to free herself, the wiring around her pulsed with a sudden energy, zapping a low-voltage current through her veins. Black spots dotted her vision, and her blood boiled from within at the dangerous scorching heat the energy generated. The skin nearest the charged cables turned a faint shade of pink in warning. Avery seethed in pain, but immediately stilled, beginning to shake.

"Continue trying my patience and I'll squeeze the air right out of you until your pathetic lungs rot and burst! Or perhaps I'll simply fry you from the inside out and study the effects later…" the voice mused, with a sadistic lilt to it; to the human's horror, it almost sounded cheerful about the thought of dissecting her.

"So," it purred, "What will it be? Cooperation? Or perhaps… asphyxiation?"

She could only nod her head shakily in reply.

"Good~ Now you're getting it, flesh-bag."

Why does it keep calling me that? Dang, the government sure engineered one smart-ass AI interface when they built this thing! Unless…

Within moments, the cable silencing her withdrew, causing her to cough and sputter as she began greedily seizing large amounts of air into her starving lungs. Some of the wires around her middle alleviated pressure off of her crushed internal organs. She wiggled her shoulders experimentally, but their grip remained strong. Avery sighed.

"As much as I'd love to chat, I'll keep this brief. A few weeks ago you chose to chase down and wreck the wrong sports car. It would seem luck isn't really in your favor~. You see, skin-job, I'm more than just an engine and four wheels inside a good-looking chassis. I'm not simply some machine, however. Perhaps you're familiar with the term, 'extraterrestrial'? Unfortunately for you, I'm something far more powerful than a mere sack of flesh…"

Extraterrestrial-…is it talking about aliens?! No, no—that can't be right. It is a machine; someone had to build this thing…

Dread coiled tightly inside of the young racer, much like a spring. Her nerves were taut with tension as she grunted daringly, "Why should I believe anything you say?"

The medic took that opportunity to materialize his human hologram. He watched Blondie's eyes change from resentful slits to wide saucers in less than a split second at the sight. Countless thoughts and emotions flickered across her expression, something he could only read as a mix of bewilderment and disgust, intermingled with an undertone of outright fear—fear of the unknown.

"Have you any further skepticism about my form, I can simply change into my normal bipedal mode again and give you a demonstration of what I really can do."

As he said this, Knockout shifted his doors and other parts of his undercarriage in mid-drive, the plates fanning out and exposing the human to the threat of being tossed onto the concrete beneath them. "NO! I mean—no. I get it. You're not some mindless high-tech military contraption. I believe you!" the human exclaimed. She thrashed to get away on instinct, but a quick look from the Decepticon's hologram caused her to silence herself immediately. Knockout's doors clicked back into place with a soft hiss, securing her once again within the confines of his alt.-mode.

His hologram smirked at her nastily, patting her on the cheek with mock-affection.

"Though, not to worry, I didn't entirely lie to you in the few short weeks we were…acquainted. My designation is still Knockout, and I am, in fact, a doctor of sorts…~ More specifically, a chief medical officer for the Decepticon army."

"Decepticon Army? What, is that the name for your intergalactic boy band or something?" The human arched an eyebrow.

Knockout's hologram narrowed his eyes. He much preferred the skin-job gagged and silenced. Ignorant little glitch… His smirk remained in place, however, spreading into a grin as he continued, "You seem to misunderstand, little femme. The Cybertronian race has been fighting a war for countless millennia. We've been warring with each other for longer than your pathetic organic planet has been in existence."

The girl blinked a few times, struggling to take in all of this information. Her gaze flicked over to the window for a moment, watching the desert speed past as he drove before returning to glare burning holes into his holo-form. Despite her attempt at calm demeanor, the CMO could clearly hear her pulse pounding a mile a minute as the fleshy organ in her chest thundered blood through her veins. No matter how hard the skin-job tried to cover it up, her very biology betrayed her fear. No matter what she said or did, the Decepticon still possessed the upper hand.

"Then what are you doing here on Earth, anyways? Why the disguise and why the street racing? It just doesn't add up! You're a medic. Shouldn't you be repairing soldiers?"

"Fixing wounds isn't all I'm good for," Knockout replied, holo-form's eyes flashing with sadistic delight. He grabbed the girl's jaw, jerking her head toward him with a quick movement as he purred, "You see, princess, in every war there are at least two sides, the so-called 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. The 'goodies' are a group of self-righteous slaggers known as the Autobots. They fight for the freedom of all sentient beings and the preservation of other planets, while my side strives to revive our ravaged, war-torn planet and progress toward the preservation of our race. This ball of filth just so happens to harbor precious metals and energon deposits we could make use of. The Decepticons are highly trained soldiers of various skills and abilities, but each and every one of us is no fool when it comes to combat…"

Knockout's comm link buzzed with activity, messages trying to get through as he spoke. The flesh-bag remained silent, but her glare never faltered in the slightest as the sounds of roaring engines approaching from behind filled his audios. "Well, whatever your goals may be, it looks like your Autobot friends are here to put a stop to it…"

However, her counter fell short as soon as green light exploded ahead of them, the air itself splitting into a bright, swirling vortex. Knockout sped ahead, leaving the Autobots behind him in the dust just as he shot through the ground bridge. Within moments, they were bathed in darkness and the dim purple glow of the Nemesis.

"And as much as it pains me to burst your bubble, I've already arranged for a ground bridge, or portal, back to the warship~ Welcome to my humble abode, skin-job. You should know that you've fallen straight into the servos of the most sadistic medical officer in the entire Decepticon faction."

And then, much to the Aston Martin's discontentment, the human began to scream.

A/N: Well, Avery's on board the Nemesis; Knockout took her in a spur of the moment as a last-ditch effort to save his own aft against the Autobots. However, what will happen when Megatron finds out about his CMO's new little guest? Human hostages certainly weren't part of the plan! Please review and tell me if I should continue! Your feedback is always appreciated! Pretty please?

-KM

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