Disclaimer: Hasbro owns Transformers and all its characters. I only own Paige, Swiftblade, and Hailguard.
The last few days have been stressful. Bulkhead thankfully is on the road to recovery, although slow. He's at least up and somewhat moving around, but he's having to undergo lots of physical therapy that Miko had taken upon herself to coach - with Ratchet's watchful eye, of course. Swiftblade was also nearly fully recovered from his encounter with Hardshell and the Insecticons. While her guardian may not have been as exposed to the Tox-En - she was told Bulkhead refused to allow the younger bot to carry it even to lighten the load when the former Wrecker had been first injured by Hardshell - he had done his best to defend his teammate against the Insecticon squadron while Bulkhead was otherwise occupied. He even got in a few revenge shots on the vermin when Hardshell had sent Bulkhead flying through the ground bridge before escaping. It was the reason why he had been so injured as well.
Following that, a new Autobot had come to Earth in a long distance Decepticon space pod. Everyone was still very skeptical of him - with good reason, considering the last time they tried to let someone into base and they turned out to be a Decepticon spy. But Optimus trusted him due to some information he had been told by Alpha Trion back at Iacon, one of the original Thirteen Primes. He had also at least proven himself when he came to the team's rescue against Starscream and even captured a relic, the Apex Armor. And thus, the rookie had been accepted onto Team Prime. The bot was definitely young and inexperienced, and he showed it quite a lot.
Not long after that, Silas had reappeared in Breakdown's body. How? She didn't even want to know, but she had an idea. And it made her taste bile every time she thought about it. He had stolen a satellite he had invented called Project Damocles from a Colorado military vault and took it to Megatron to gain his favor. She couldn't even begin to fathom why. Maybe he just hated the Autobots so much that he thought working with the Decepticons was a better option than doing things on his own.
But that left an interesting question. Where was MECH? There was no mention of their involvement during the whole ordeal - only Silas.
Thankfully, they managed to stop the Decepticons and destroy the satellite with Raf's help - although he had been grounded at the time due to some failing grades in school. So after bidding everyone a goodnight, with Swiftblade still needing to stay at base for another day or so until Ratchet fully clears him for active duty, Paige had gone home and immediately took her motorcycle out to let out some steam. She was sure that if she stayed at the garage she would've broken something and made a mess of her place - again. So she chose to take a drive instead.
She wasn't sure what else to feel other than angry and disgusted. And she had been on the verge of blowing up on the next person that tried to talk to her, so she chose to take a speedy hour drive into the desert where there was nobody around to disturb her. Where no one was around to feel her wrath. And she screamed into the open desert. She wouldn't be surprised if any poor soul that happened to be in the vicinity thought they heard a banshee.
She had stopped near a boulder where she parked her motorcycle and had thrown her helmet as far as she could when she screamed. Which wasn't very far due to her temper. It had simply bounced on the ground before getting caught in a bush several feet away.
She wasn't expecting to hear the roar of an approaching engine. Her breaths were ragged from her yell and she clenched her fists tightly as she turned to face her visitor. A pair of headlights bore down on her as it approached quickly, before slowing down. With the bright headlights glaring in her eyesight, she couldn't tell what or who it was, until they slowed down and transformed.
It was Knockout.
"I've finally found you," he sighed in relief. "What are you doing all the way out here and-" He paused and frowned in concern. "Paige?"
She blinked away her shock, having simply been staring at him. She then turned her back to him, trying to fight off the nasty emotions still bubbling inside her. "Hey, K.O… What are you doing out here?"
"I… came to take you up on that offer."
His words and nervous tone had her temper and mind stuttering to an immediate halt. She turned back to him with raised eyebrows. "R-Really?" Her ugly emotions were quickly shoved to the back of her mind and forgotten. Knockout was accepting her offer.
"Yes." He played with his clawed fingers, tapping them together as he fidgeted. "You made me realize the things I was ignoring and I've started to notice things a lot more now that you've brought it to my attention. And… I can't stay there." His little shoulder spikes seemed to sag as he looked down at the ground with a frown. "Not knowing that I could eventually be the cause of harm to you…"
She stared up at him for a moment, marveling at the level of vulnerability he was exposing. To her. For her. It made her heart swell with warmth and she walked closer to him. He knelt down to meet her at a lower level and she placed her hand against his, smiling softly. "I'm proud of you," she told him sincerely, causing him to blink in surprise. "I know you're nervous and scared, but you're doing it anyway. And I'm proud of you for that." She hugged his hand with a happy hum.
Knockout smiled softly down at her, moving his other hand to carefully scoop her up and bring her closer to his face. She let go of his hand and sat down on his palm, blushing when he brushed some of her hair carefully behind her ear with a clawed finger. "There you go again, being kind to me," he chuckled lightly. "Thank you, sweetspark."
She smiled bashfully and lifted a hand to play with her hair. "You deserve it, Knockout. Don't ever think that you don't."
He couldn't help it. He purred at her words and kissed the top of her head, causing her to blush a darker shade of red that had his spark humming in joy. What did he ever do to deserve her?
A thought suddenly struck her and she gasped quietly, causing him to look at her in confusion as she met his gaze. "Oh gosh, I just realized something. How did you get away?"
"Well, I technically snuck out like I usually do," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "I turned my comms. off so they won't be able to contact me."
"But they might still be able to find you…" She frowned in contemplation before patting his hand as she fished out her phone. He lowered his hand and she slid off his palm as she began to pace, speed dialing the base's main hub.
The answer was immediate. "Paige? What's wrong?"
"Ratchet, is Optimus there?"
"I'm here," came the Prime's answer.
"Good. Remember that conversation we had that one time?" She didn't even wait for him to answer as she turned to stare up at Knockout - who was silently watching her pace as he nervously fidgeted with his fingers. "Well, I'm gonna need a ground bridge to my current location. I have a friend here with me and he needs to hide before they realize he's given them the slip. He's taking up my offer."
"Understood. We're locking onto your coordinates now."
The call ended and she shoved her phone back into her pocket before jogging over to retrieve her helmet from the bush. She brushed off a twig and then jogged over to grab her motorcycle. She turned to give her companion a reassuring smile as the portal appeared in front of them. "Don't worry, K.O. I'm right here with you," she assured him.
Comforted by her words and smile, he nodded and stood up before bowing. "After you, my dear."
She giggled quietly and glanced around their area to make sure they were still alone before pushing her motorcycle into the ground bridge. Stepping through on the other side, she quickly pushed her motorcycle off to the side where she placed her helmet on the seat before turning to watch the scene.
Ratchet stood at the bridge controls, watching the portal with an unreadable expression. Arcee, Bumblebee, Swiftblade, and Smokescreen stood around and stared warily at the portal as they waited for the newcomer. Optimus stood at the front of the group, awaiting the new arrival. It took a moment - probably due to him working up the courage to follow her through - but Knockout finally stepped out of the ground bridge and looked between the members of Team Prime nervously. The portal closed behind him and the reaction was immediate.
"You let a Con into base?!" Arcee asked in disbelief, pointing her blasters at him. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen were quick to do the same, but Swiftblade was the only one who didn't. He glanced from Knockout to Paige with a questioning frown before looking to his leader for an answer.
Knockout stood stiff and straight, glancing nervously down at Paige as she ran to place herself in front of him. "You didn't tell them?"
"There hasn't been a good time," she told him with a sigh. "Everyone's been busy relic-hunting lately."
"Autobots, stand down," Optimus spoke up, holding out his hand to his team. They looked at him in shock before reluctantly putting away their blasters after a moment.
Arcee crossed her arms and stared at Paige with a disapproving frown. "So, when were you gonna tell us?"
"I was planning to eventually, but I could never find the right time," she sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. "And then I ran out of time, now here we are."
Optimus stepped forward and stopped in front of Knockout. "Paige believes Knockout can be trusted. And I trust Paige." Knockout gave a small grateful smile in response to his words before they both looked down at the brunette. "Perhaps it is best if you told them your story now."
Paige nodded, exchanging a glance with the red bot. And then, she dived into the explanation of her friendship with Knockout. She told them of how she and Miko met him, of their little secret meetings, and of how she found out he was actually a Decepticon. She even told them of the bracelet he had given her and how it worked, with Knockout chiming in that it was in fact not a tracking device. She told them of her conversation with Optimus and how she presented the offer to Knockout, to which he now accepted. "And that's pretty much it," she said with a shrug.
"So, who else knew about your friendship before now?" Arcee asked with a raised optic ridge.
"Miko, Ratchet, Raf, and Optimus."
All optics turned to the Autobot medic, to which he scoffed. "Yes, I knew about it. And you still chose to meet with him without telling me," he spoke sternly as he pointed at Paige with narrowed optics. She grinned sheepishly in response.
Optimus turned to Paige then. "It is late," he told her, causing her to frown and check her phone for the time. 12:27am. "Perhaps it is best if you return home for the night. We will handle everything from here."
She nodded and tucked her phone away. "Okay." She turned to smile reassuringly at Knockout. "I'll be back in the morning." He returned the smile and she walked back over to her motorcycle. "May I have a-" The ground bridge opening cut her off and she blinked before snorting. "Thanks." Ratchet works fast. "Good night, everyone!" And without looking back, she pushed her motorcycle through the portal and out into her garage.
Once the portal had closed, she stared at the spot it had once occupied. I hope K.O. will be okay. He'll be okay, she assured herself with a shake of her head. Yawning, she headed upstairs to get ready for bed.
The following day, things still seemed a little tense around base with Knockout now staying there. They managed to make a room for him overnight but the base was very limited on extra space now, especially with having to store the relics they found so far. Paige had returned early to see how things were going, and she had given him a tour of the base.
After that, Smokescreen and Bumblebee were sent on a scouting mission to check out an Energon signal. Paige offered to tag along, bringing up the point that the rookie still had much to learn about Earth. And that's how she found herself seated behind Smokescreen's wheel, relaxing as she kept her hands and feet to herself and allowing the bot to drive on his own.
"So, I've been hearing different things about you."
Paige glanced at the radio with a raised brow. "Like what?"
"Well, obviously you're the only one to make friends with a Decepticon-"
"Two, actually," she corrected him quietly.
-Two?- Bumblebee beeped in confusion. -You only mentioned Knockout.-
"And by extension, I became friends with Breakdown too. Though, only for a short time before…" She paused with a frown, looking out the window. "He went offline." There was a short moment of silence that she broke by switching to the previous topics. "What else did you hear?"
"That you have some pretty good instincts," Smokescreen responded. "You knew there was a spy in base?"
"Oh, that. Yeah, I sorta did." She nodded and leaned back against the seat. "I just had this bad feeling about him, and it turned out to be a fake Wheeljack. I've always been more observant of my surroundings, especially when something doesn't sit right with me."
-That's pretty handy!- Bumblebee chirped, causing her to smile.
"I also heard that you like to race and that the Cons gave you a name. The Optic Shooter!"
She rolled her eyes lightheartedly at his enthusiasm. "It was only three Decepticons. Hardly enough to really give myself a title for it."
Before anyone could say more, Smokescreen's radio beeped, catching their attention. "Energon signal's getting stronger," he announced, speeding down the road with Bumblebee bringing up the rear. "About five kliks due north."
-Maybe you should slow down a bit. You're going fifteen over the speed limit already.- Bumblebee beeped over the radio, causing Paige to glance at the glowing speedometer.
"What do you mean 'speed limit'?" Smokescreen asked, sounding offended. Paige sat up as she had a bad feeling about what was going to happen. "I have a gauge in here that goes to one-fifty! If the humans who designed my vehicle form didn't want it to go that fast, they shouldn't have given me the option!"
"Smokescreen," Paige warned as she watched his speed increase. "Your vehicle form is a race car. It's meant for legal races only. On a monitored race track. Not the open road."
"Oh, relax. Have some fun! I thought you liked racing?"
She glared at the radio. "I do but I really think you should slow dow-" A loud honk caught her attention and her gaze flicked up to the road, catching a glimpse of an oncoming vehicle. "Shit!" She moved without thinking. She grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and slammed her foot on the brake pedal. The sound of screeching tires filled her ears as they spun out and came to a stop.
"Whoa!" Smokescreen shifted into park and genuinely sounded concerned as he addressed his passenger. "Are you alright?"
"Besides the near heart attack you just gave me?" Paige huffed and leaned back against the seat with a sigh. "I'm fine."
Before either of them could say more, a new voice caught their attention. "Hey, Indy-500! When I'm through with you, yer gonna need more than a pit crew to put ya back together!"
"Oh, great…" Paige scrubbed her face tiredly with a heavy sigh.
"Who does this guy think he is?" Smokescreen asked with an underlying tone of anger.
"Smokescreen, do not transform. No matter what happens. Do you understand me?"
Her stern, serious tone and glare had him nervously shutting off his engine. And if he had the need to gulp, he would've done so. "Y-yes, ma'am."
Satisfied with his answer, she opened the door and stepped out to address the approaching man. She frowned as she spotted the crowbar in his hand and she shut the door, already stepping forward as she put on an apologetic look. "I am so sorry, sir! I was testing out the torque on my friend's car and I looked down for only a second!"
The man sneered as he waved his crowbar threateningly in the air. "Well, maybe next time ya should watch where yer driving!"
The sound of Bumblebee's engine approaching barely registered in Paige's mind and she saw him pull off to the side of the road near them. "I'm really sorry. Is there anything I can do to make up for the trouble I caused? I can send you the address and phone number to a good mechanic I know-"
She was cut off by the man stepping into her personal space and grabbing her chin with his free hand. She could smell alcohol as he breathed in her face, making her nose wrinkle in disgust. "You look like yer eighteen… How about ya pay with yer body, hm? And I'll forget this ever happened."
This disgusting asshole! Her temper flared and her green eyes were ablaze as she scowled and swiftly kicked his legs out from under him. He landed on his ass with a grunt, blinking up at her in shock as she glared down at him. "No thanks, asshole. You reek of alcohol so go home and get sober." With a small huff, she turned and started walking back to Smokescreen - who thankfully had obeyed and stayed in his altmode.
"Who do ya think you are, girly?! You need to get taught a lesson!"
His words were her only warning to his approach. She turned and only had enough time to raise her left arm to block his incoming strike. "Urgh!" She grunted in pain as the crowbar slammed into her arm, but her defense luckily held strong. Clenching her jaw against the pain now pulsing through her arm, she grabbed the bar in her right hand and kicked against the man's stomach. He let go of his weapon and stumbled back as he doubled over, coughing. Now holding the man's weapon, she brandished it like a sword and got into a stance, pointing it at him as she let her left arm hang at her side. Pain continued to pulse up and down her arm and she knew there would be some bruising. She just hoped it wasn't broken or fractured. "Wanna try that again?" She asked, taunting him.
He looked up at her and seemed to weigh his options. He stood up straight and scowled at her. "Who are you?"
"I'm just a girl you shouldn't have messed with."
"Oh yeah?" He raised his fists, getting into a sloppy fighting stance. "Well, maybe I'm the one ya shouldn't mess with."
She eyed him up and down, not even caring that she wasn't being subtle about it. "Uh-huh," she hummed disbelievingly. She twirled the crowbar in her hand and tossed it to the side, letting it fly to the opposite side of the road and land somewhere in the sand and rocks.
He watched her toss the weapon aside and growled, glaring at her. "Yer gonna wish ya kept a weapon when I'm done with ya!" He charged forward, but she was prepared this time.
She sidestepped and let him stumble to a halt, grunting in frustration as he turned to face her once more. He took a swing at her and she quickly leaned out of the way. His temper flaring, he growled and tried to throw a few more punches. But he was slow and sloppy, most likely due to both bad form and being drunk. She dodged each punch he tried to throw at her before catching his fist in her right hand. He gasped and before he could react, she kicked his legs out from under him again and flipped him onto his back. He landed on the hard concrete with a grunt and she released his fist.
"Now," she said as she fished her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts nonchalantly. "I think it's about time I call Special Agent Fowler and tell him I'm having problems with a drunk road rage driver." She glanced down at him and watched with satisfaction as his face grew pale at her words. "You better hope you don't have anything on your record, because that'll make it much worse for you once the authorities catch you."
With a pitiful whimper, the man quickly rolled to his feet, stumbled, and ran to his vehicle. She snapped a quick picture of his license plate before watching as he peeled off and sped down the road, leaving a dust cloud behind him. Ignoring the pain still pulsing in her arm, she turned and walked back towards Smokescreen, who opened his driver door for her now that there was no one around.
-Are you okay, Paige?- Bumblebee beeped in concern as she slid into the seat and made no move to reach for the door or the seat belt. So Smokescreen did both for her, being mindful of her left arm.
"I'm fine," she assured him, nose deep in her phone. She felt bad about lying, but she didn't want to worry them and it was her own fault for letting her guard down anyway. She should've known he was going to get up and play dirty. He had a crowbar, you idiot! She scolded herself as she sent the picture she took and a brief explanation to Agent Fowler. He could do whatever he wanted with the information now that he had it. She didn't care.
"Paige… Are you sure? It looked like-"
"I'm fine." She cut Smokescreen off firmly, leaving no room for them to debate about her well-being. "Let's just go. And please abide by the speed limit this time?"
"Y-yes, ma'am."
When they got back to base and Paige stepped out of Smokescreen's cab, the team did not expect Knockout to step forward and be the first to notice a problem, or to call it out.
"Paige! What happened?" The red bot knelt down in front of her and quickly scanned her before she could answer, causing her to shudder at the odd feeling and for everyone in the room to watch in shock. He frowned at whatever readings he found.
Paige tried to take the attention off of her by waving her right hand dismissively. "It was nothing I couldn't handle, K.O. I'm fine," she assured him with a small huff.
He narrowed his optics at her before transforming and surprising everyone as his holoform materialized in front of her with a flash of blue pixels. He stepped closer to her, catching her off guard, and poked her left arm.
She immediately hissed in pain and held her offended arm close to her chest with her right hand, staring at him for his audacity to poke her injured arm. "Ow! Hey!"
He placed his hands on his hips and towered over her with a disapproving frown. "Whatever happened, you're lucky you only got a bruise out of it. Any more and you would have damaged a bone!"
"Ugh… I know that." With an indignant huff, she turned and headed up the stairs where Jack was watching them from the railing. She could hear his footsteps following her and she fought off a sigh. She knew she shouldn't be mad at him, he was only worried about her. And he was doing his job. He's a medic after all. But damn did that poke hurt! "I have some ointment in my bag," she said as she glanced over her shoulder at the red-haired holoform following her to the top of the catwalk. "You want to help me put it on?"
"Of course," he answered without hesitation. A small smirk appeared on his lips and she narrowed her eyes at the teasing glint in his. "I have to make sure you do it right, don't I?"
Paige snorted and followed Jack over to the couch, where the three of them sat down. She fished the small container of ointment from her shoulder bag and passed it off to Knockout, who opened it and began following Jack's instructions. The teen himself seemed a little weary of the medic's presence, but otherwise seemed fine with him since Paige was acting so normal around him. It made her heart swell with warmth knowing that Knockout wasn't being fully rejected by everyone. They just needed to get used to him.
As they fussed over the brunette's arm, they idly listened to the report Bumblebee and Smokescreen were giving to Optimus about the event. Needless to say, the team was not happy to learn about what had transpired.
"Is this what you learned while serving Alpha Trion?!" Ratchet asked, appalled by what he had overheard and watched as Jack instructed Knockout on how to wrap Paige's arm. "I highly doubt that he would have condoned such irresponsible behavior!"
"Nearly having your cover blown and risking the safety of humans is not okay," Arcee scolded.
"Sorry, guys… I know I really messed up," Smokescreen told them, sounding sincere.
"I'll say," Knockout scoffed as he finished wrapping her arm. She frowned and lightly elbowed him for the comment with her good arm, causing him to grunt a bit.
Swiftblade crossed his arms with a displeased frown. "You should apologize to Paige."
The bot turned to the brunette in question, who was now standing and leaning against the railing beside Jack. No longer needed, Knockout had dismissed his holoform and transformed to stand near the catwalk. "I'm sorry, Paige… I didn't mean for that to happen."
She sighed and offered a small smile. "I forgive you. Just… don't do it again."
Optimus stepped forward to address the situation. "While Ratchet and Arcee are correct, I believe that we are all equally responsible for this incident."
"Us?" Arcee asked, shocked.
"How?" Ratchet asked, indignant.
"We weren't even there!" Bulkhead said while Swiftblade nodded in agreement. "Well, Bee was." That rewarded him with an elbow to the gut and an angry beep.
Paige played with her hair sheepishly. "I did kinda let my temper get away from me," she admitted, feeling guilty. But damn did that jerk deserve it after what he had tried to pull on her! She felt Jack place a comforting hand on her shoulder, to which she sent him a small smile that he returned.
"Are you kidding me? That jerk deserved it after what he tried to pull," Smokescreen told her. Paige glared at him for the comment but the attention was already on her once again.
"What did he do?" Knockout asked with narrowed optics, his arms crossed.
Paige groaned and hid her face in her right hand. "The guy came out with a crowbar and I tried to play nice and apologize for the situation, but he was drunk and had a temper so he attacked me."
"After you kicked his butt to the floor for trying to make a move on you," Smokescreen cut in with a smug smirk, enjoying the memory.
Paige sent him another glare and sighed. "Yes, and that's when he came at me with the crowbar and caught my arm. And then I chased him off with a threat and now we're here."
"What kind of threat?" Jack asked curiously.
"Oh, just that he'd have issues with the authorities if he were to get caught. I even sent his license plate number to Agent Fowler to deal with." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Regardless, the issue was handled and your cover wasn't blown."
"That's hardly the issue here," Knockout grumbled, making her sigh again.
"Nonetheless, our recent efforts have been so intensely focused on averting crises that we have overlooked simple matters," Optimus cut in, gaining the team's attention. "Such as teaching Smokescreen how to best function on this planet. It is an oversight that must be corrected."
"Optimus, I'm honored to train under you and will do whatever it takes to make things right," Smokescreen said sincerely. "To make you proud."
"Perhaps the best way for you to learn about the human world is from a human."
"Smokescreen gets his own partner?" Arcee asked with a raised optic ridge.
"Puh-lease… Isn't having four humans here enough?" Ratchet asked, causing the room to go silent as all eyes and optics turned to stare at him in shock.
"That was a little unnecessary, Ratchet," Paige told him quietly, using her fingers to add the image of how 'little'. This, along with the stares, made the CMO scoff and turn back to the terminal to make himself busy.
"I was referring to one already among us," Optimus clarified, turning to the two teens present. "Paige. Are you feeling well enough for this task?"
She stood up straight and gave a firm nod. "Of course," she answered with a smile. "I've put up with study sessions with Miko, so I think I can handle Smokescreen." She smirked, placing her right hand on her hip. Jack snorted at her comment.
Knockout, however, wasn't pleased and he bristled. "You can't be serious," he said, gaining their attention. "After the stunt he just pulled with her?"
Paige shot him a look and he forced himself to relax and look away, albeit with a bit of grumbling. "I'm fine, Knockout. You even said it's only a bruise. I can handle myself against other humans." His shoulder plates visibly sagged as he sighed at her words, but said nothing in response. She frowned a bit, knowing he still didn't seem happy about the arrangement.
"We've all been on curbside duty," Bulkhead told Smokescreen as he patted his shoulder. "It's part of the gig."
"Well," Smokescreen turned to the brunette. "Let's go for another drive, teach."
"Sure." Paige nudged Jack playfully with her elbow as she walked over to the stairs. She hopped on the railing and slid down before jogging over to Smokescreen as he transformed. His door opened for her and she slid into the driver seat, allowing the door to close and the seat belt to slide over her before he peeled out of base. "Okay," she said as she placed her right hand on the steering wheel. She kept her grip loose to allow the bot to keep steering on his own - she was simply creating the illusion that she was driving. "First off, get rid of the lead foot."
"Lead foot?"
"It means take your foot off the gas pedal." She rolled her eyes half-heartedly. "Another thing you should learn is that we humans like to use metaphors. A lot."
"Aw, come on, Paige… I'm only going ten over the speed limit this time!"
"You might want to try going the speed limit. There's cops out here that will pull you over for going even one over the limit. Trust me, it's not worth it. Especially in Jasper." She lightly waved her left hand dismissively, being careful not to jostle her arm too much since it was still throbbing. "There's a bunch of guys from our school with loud cars that like to show off for their friends so the cops like to be extra watchful around here."
"Huh. Noted." He obediently slowed down to exactly the limit as they neared Jasper.
"Now, let us officially begin your lesson, Smokey." She then gasped as she realized what she did and cringed, worried she had potentially offended him. "I'm sorry. That just slipped out!"
"No worries," he told her, causing her to relax. He chuckled. "You can call me that if you want." She smiled and nodded, glancing at the road.
They drove around town for all of twenty minutes going over the rules and laws of the road. Smokescreen still had a little trouble with speeding and liked to drift around corners, but he was learning pretty quickly. In fact, she'd have to say that teaching him was easier than getting Miko to do her homework.
"Alright, there's an intersection coming up so let's review. Green light?"
"Green for go."
She gave his dashboard a few pats in reward, making the vehicle flinch and shudder in surprise at her touch. "And yellow?" She asked, noticing the light change colors as they approached.
"Go faster!" He sped up and she grunted a little as she was forced back into the seat.
"Smokey!" Her heart leaped into her throat as he suddenly slammed on the brakes when the light turned red. She glared at the radio as he laughed.
"I'm just messing around," he chuckled.
She kicked the underside of his dashboard for the stunt, causing him to grunt at the impact. "Don't tell me you're a prankster," she huffed, leaning her elbow on the armrest of the door.
"Maybe. So what if I am?"
She rolled her eyes again but couldn't stop herself from smiling a little. "That's five points deducted from your score for that stunt you just pulled."
"Aw! Come on!" His whine caused her to giggle.
The sound of tires squealing caught her attention and she glanced in the side mirror. She almost immediately groaned as she spotted a familiar black-and-flame colored muscle car driving towards their light. "Oh, great…"
"What is it? Cons?" Smokescreen asked, perhaps a little eagerly.
"No," she sighed heavily and watched as the muscle car pulled up next to them. "Just someone from school who can be a pain in the ass."
The passenger window rolled down and Vince raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Yo, Bishop. What's with the new ride?"
"Todd," she greeted him calmly, leaning her elbow out the window as she glanced at him. "A family friend needed some work done on his car so I'm just taking it out for a spin to test it out now that it's fixed." She patted the door lightly, being mindful of her injury. She felt the metal shudder ever so slightly.
Vince got that smirk on his face like he just thought of a plan and she frowned at him.
"No, Vince. We are not racing."
"I didn't even say anything!" He squawked indignantly.
"But I know that look on your face," she replied, pointing at him with a disapproving frown. She glanced at the light as it changed to green. "Good day, Vince." She leaned back and allowed Smokescreen to drive off, leaving the muscle car behind.
Or so she thought.
"Hey! Bishop!"
She groaned and glanced over briefly to see him pull up to keep pace beside them. "What, Todd?"
"Sheesh! I just want to talk to you."
"Ugh, fine. Let's go to K.O. Burger." To punctuate her finality, she rolled up the window to close herself off from further speech for the time being.
"Do we have to?" Smokescreen asked, noting how she seemed like she'd rather do anything else.
She sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. "Let's just see what he has to say. If it's stupid, we can just leave. Everyone in town knows he's a jerk and he's always trying to challenge me to races and sometimes make passes at me. It's nothing new."
"Make 'passes'?"
"He tries and fails to flirt with me."
"Ohh."
"Yeah. And even if I were interested - which I'm not - he's one of the school's bullies. He was especially targeting Raf and Jack for a while, so that's a definite no in my book."
"Gotcha. Vince is a total jerk."
She smirked and patted his dashboard. "Good job. Two points added back to your score. Oh, and turn here."
He obediently turned into the parking lot she pointed out and pulled into an empty space. "Seriously? Only two?" He asked as he shut off his engine.
"Don't make me take a point for whining," she teased with a grin, causing him to chuckle and apologize.
"Okay, sorry."
"Quick, let's review. You're in the middle of human population where they can easily see you. What do you do?" She asked as the muscle car pulled into the lot and parked two spaces away.
"Stay in vehicle form until it's an emergency."
"Two more points~" She sang and patted his dash as she opened the door and slid out of the seat before Smokescreen could respond. She closed the door and leaned back against the vehicle as she crossed her arms loosely, resting her left arm over the top of her right arm. "Alright, Vince," she said as he got out of his car and walked over to her. "What did you want to talk about?"
The teen shuffled his feet awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I was actually going to wait until I saw you at school tomorrow, but now that I saw you I think it's as good a time as any to ask."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Let me guess. You lost another bet."
"Actually… the guys dared me."
She rolled her eyes and fought back a sigh. "To do what?"
"To invite you to a party tomorrow-"
"No."
He blinked in surprise. "You didn't even let me finish!"
She pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "Vince…"
"You might want to reconsider your answer."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?"
A gleam of something Paige didn't like entered his green eyes and he smirked, crossing his arms as if he had already won his bet. "There will be repercussions if you refuse. So I'd go if I were you."
She frowned and pushed off the vehicle, stepping forward and grabbing the front of his jacket to pull him close enough for him to see the wrinkle in her brows as she glared at him. "I don't appreciate being blackmailed, Todd. Now tell me what the hell you and your boys are planning right now or I'll send your mom evidence of everything you've done since freshman year."
Her no-nonsense tone and close proximity had the teen gulping nervously and lifting his hands in a sign of surrender. "T-Trent's having a Circuit party tomorrow at 11pm. He wants you there as a racer but all you really gotta do is show up. If you don't, they're going to do something to Darby and your friends."
She scowled, causing him to wince in preparation for a hit. "Trent?"
"Winters. B-big guy… Senior at school. Usually has a bunch of other guys with him?"
"Oh, him…" She clicked her tongue in contempt and shoved him back towards his car, releasing his jacket. He stumbled a bit but caught his footing. "Fine. Tell him I'll be there."
Vince fixed his clothes and smirked. "Cool. See ya then!" He turned and headed back around to his driver side. He got in, started the engine, and peeled off back down the road.
She allowed herself to groan and rub her face tiredly. Just great. Now she had to go attend another large street race just to keep the bullies off her friends' backs. Can't they just leave them alone? She turned and walked back over to Smokescreen, opening the door and sliding into the seat. She allowed him to close the door and secure her seat belt before starting his engine.
"So, where's this Circuit being held at?"
She eyed his radio skeptically. "I am not taking you with me."
"Why not?" He whined, offended. "He even said you don't have to race! What if you need backup?"
She frowned and sighed heavily, scrubbing her face. "Okay, I'll think about it. I'll give you my answer tomorrow. Deal?"
"Deal. Now let's finish that road test, shall we?"
Knockout is finally part of the Team! Sort of.
This chapter was a difficult one for me to write originally. It was going to go two different ways before I went the route of KO showing up. At first, I had Smokescreen sneak out to get away from the team and he and Paige were just talking and getting to know one another. I scrapped that. Then I went a totally DIFFERENT route and was gonna have Knockout call Paige to tell her that he has custody over Silas and that maybe they could talk over a truce with Megatron for her to come aboard the warship to talk with Silas. But I couldn't make that work so I scrapped that too and just went this route.
Anyway, things will be very fast paced from here on out... Because it was in the episodes. And it's intentional because it's a race against time to be the first to find the relics. And the humans were mostly kept out of it anyway.