Disclaimer: Hasbro owns Transformers and all its characters. I only own Paige, Swiftblade, and Hailguard.
"So, you come to a decision yet?"
Paige rolled her eyes half-heartedly. "Fine. But we're only gonna be there as guests, not racers. And if you get called on a mission or something I'll just say my friend wants his car back."
"You know, you're actually a pretty good teacher." Smokescreen told her as he drove towards base.
She raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the seat. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah! I mean, I passed your road test, didn't I?"
"You can ace a test, but can you utilize what you learned?" She asked with a small smile, making him sigh.
"Come on, Paige. I already passed! What more is there to do?"
"Put it to good use. Do you even know how to use a roundabout?"
"You… yield to the traffic and pedestrians coming from the left… and go when there's an open space?"
"Alright," she relented with an amused shake of her head. "I'll let you off the hook. But if I hear anything about an Indy-500 pulling stunts in town, I'm coming for your tailpipe." She pointed her finger at his rearview mirror mock-threateningly.
He chuckled, "Yes, ma'am!" They pulled into base and stepped out, seeing only Ratchet present. Knockout must have gone with them, she mused and felt a small sense of pride for the bot. Smokescreen transformed and they both walked forward to listen as the CMO called for the team over the main hub with no response.
"Ratchet, what's going on?" Paige asked, frowning in concern.
"Our sensors detected a second Iacon locator beacon," he answered, turning around to address them properly. "But I can't reach Optimus."
"I'll go," Smokescreen volunteered.
"Alone?"
"You have a better option?"
Ratchet thought about it for a moment before sighing. "Fine!" He walked over to the controls and opened the ground bridge before returning to trying to reach the team.
Smokescreen turned to Paige and nudged her lightly with a finger, causing her to turn and raise a questioning eyebrow at him. "He says 'fine', but I don't really think he wants me to go alone."
The mischievous glint in the bot's cyan optics caused her to frown. She glanced between him, Ratchet, the ground bridge, and back again before pinching the bridge of her nose with a groan. "Fine, but only as emergency backup. If we get chewed out-"
"It's on me," he finished, raising his hands in a placating manner.
With a roll of her eyes, she quickly and quietly followed him through the portal. On the other side, she looked around and noticed the sparse trees and rocks around them. She hummed quietly in contemplation.
"Let's go grab a relic!" Smokescreen told her as he punched his fist into his open palm and ran forward to duck behind a large boulder. She sighed and jogged after him, ducking behind the boulder opposite him and peering around their cover to get a look at the situation.
There were a group of Decepticons standing around a very large pile of boulders. There was a drill machine and Megatron stood not too far away barking out orders as he pointed at the large boulder. Something glinted in the light and she narrowed her eyes, identifying it as what looked like a Cybertronian sword sticking out of the rock. "It's a sword," she told her companion.
"Not just any sword. That looks like the Star Saber. A legendary weapon forged by Solus Prime - as lore would have it. It's rumored to wield the power of the Matrix." The look on his face had Paige frowning. "I'm gonna make Optimus proud."
"Nuh-uh, hotshot."
"Huh?" He blinked down at her in confusion, noting her disapproving frown.
"Megatron is down there."
"The Dark Lord himself… He won't know what hit 'im!" He punched his fist into his palm.
"Wait, Smokey." Paige raised her hand as she glanced down at the scene, frowning in contemplation. "You're no match for Megatron. And it's… odd that he's not trying to take the Star Saber for himself."
"Germaphobe?"
She shook her head. "Doubtful. He wouldn't have imbued the power of Dark Energon into his spark if he was. But, that's besides the point." She narrowed her eyes as she watched the Cons move around below. "I wonder… Could this be something like 'The Sword in the Stone'?"
"What's that?" Her companion asked in confusion.
"An old fairytale about a sword called Excalibur that was stuck inside a magic stone. It was said that whoever could pull the sword from the stone would become the next king, but all who tried failed. But then a boy tried it and easily pulled it out, and he became King Arthur. This situation seems similar."
"Okay…?"
"We need to wait for backup."
Smokescreen shook his head. "You heard Ratchet. Backup's not available right now." He then vaulted over his boulder before she could stop him.
"Smokey!" She hissed out and then groaned, pulling out her Energon pistol. She kept her finger over the safety, holding her gun ready as she watched Smokescreen dive into battle. She frowned, seeing that Insecticons were also on the scene. Just great, she inwardly groaned. She watched as a cable lowered from the warship above and latched onto the large boulder holding the sword. The cable went taut and that's when Smokescreen made his presence known. He blasted the Decepticons down that were in his way and ran for the Star Saber. He grabbed hold of its hilt and tugged as hard as he could with grunts of effort, before letting go and stepping back to assess the situation. But he had grown distracted and it cost him. He was shot from behind and the Decepticons surrounded him. All Paige could do was look on in worry.
Get it together, Paige! This is no time to lose focus, she scolded herself. She fished her phone out of her pocket with her left hand, making her hiss in pain as it caused her bruised arm to throb, and quickly dialed Ratchet's number. "Ratchet, listen to me! We need backup and fast! Smokescreen went for the relic called a Star Saber and-" She cut herself off as she heard heavy footsteps and hissing behind her. A large shadow loomed over her and she whipped around, gasping as she saw an Insecticon approaching her.
"Paige? Where are you?"
"Shit! I gotta run, Ratchet, bye!" She ended the call as quickly as she could and stuffed her phone into her pocket. Gotta run and hide! A clawed hand came towards her and she dove out of the way. She rolled and grimaced as it agitated her arm before quickly getting up and darting between the legs of a second Insecticon. She heard their odd screeches as they turned to give chase and she bolted across the ground. Their heavy footfalls made the ground shake and caused her to fight to stay balanced as she ran, stumbling now and then. Her eyes darted around her surroundings for a hiding place and she saw a large cluster of boulders across the way. The hair on the back of her neck prickled and she dove to the side, just barely dodging claws that slammed into the ground where she once stood. Her breathing was ragged and her chest heaved as she pushed herself back to her feet. She ran the last few feet and slipped into the space between the boulders just big enough for her to squeeze into. She didn't stop at the entrance though, and a good thing too. She could hear and feel the Insecticons trying to break their way into her hiding space as she moved as far back as she could. Her hands met the back wall and she turned around, placing her back to it as she fought to regain her breath. She could only watch as the Insecticons tore at the rocks around her hiding place, coughing as dust fell on top of her from the shaking and thuds of their aggressive actions.
Please hurry, Ratchet! I don't know how long I'll be able to survive here!
All she could do was watch as boulders were lifted and moved from her hiding space. Light filtered in until she was fully exposed and an Insecticon stood over her. She scowled and aimed her pistol at its face, flicking the safety off as she fired off a quick shot. Her blast hit its mark, shattering its visor with one shot. The Insecticon screeched in pain, clutching at its leaking face before falling onto its back with a loud thud that shook the ground. She wobbled as she fought to stay balanced and glared at the next Insecticon that just watched its ally fall, aiming her pistol at its face. The Insecticon screeched at her but then it was suddenly stabbed and its arm was completely hacked off.
Swiftblade stood in its place after its body had fallen and he looked down at her, his cyan optics gleaming in the darkness. The other Insecticons were shot at and kept busy by Smokescreen and the others as she lowered her pistol and flicked the safety back on. She holstered it and leaned against the boulder with a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Blade," she said, genuinely relieved that her guardian arrived in the nick of time to save her.
He frowned down at her in concern and knelt down, scooping her up into his free hand. "Are you alright?" He asked as he held her close, glancing around to make sure they weren't being snuck up on.
"Yeah… Thankfully."
"Good. Hold on." Swiftblade waited briefly for her to get situated in his hand with her holding onto his thumb before turning and joining his teammates as they ran out to check on their leader - having dealt with the Insecticons. They stopped and looked up, watching as Optimus sped up the mountainside to reach the Star Saber while avoiding the blaster fire from Megatron and three of his troops. He used the edge of the cliff like a ramp and caught air, only to get hit by a blast that caused him to spin and transform to correct his trajectory. He reached out and managed to catch himself on the sword, holding tightly to the hilt.
The next few moments blew Paige's mind. The Star Saber lit up with the prettiest blue energy and slid out of the rock, sending the Prime plummeting back to the ground. He landed in a cloud of dust, causing a crater to form around him. He then stood up and pulled the sword from the ground, holding it skyward as it continued to glow vibrantly. It really was just like 'The Sword in the Stone', she mused in awe.
"I loosened it for him," Smokescreen said, causing Paige to send him a dry look.
"Sure you did."
He opened his mouth to respond but a loud thud caught their attention. They turned and gasped, watching as the boulder that the warship had been carrying had been dropped and was now rolling down the hill. With Optimus in its path.
"Optimus, retreat!" Arcee called.
"Now!" Bulkhead shouted, but the Prime ignored them.
Instead he brandished his sword and sliced upward as the boulder approached. Paige's jaw dropped as she realized the boulder was cut cleanly in half, causing both pieces to roll past Optimus harmlessly and come to a stop.
"Whoa," Knockout said, impressed.
"Did he just…?" Bulkhead asked, trailing off.
-He did.- Bumblebee beeped with a nod.
"Holy shit," Paige breathed in awe.
All they could do was watch as Optimus ran forward, spun around, and let out a shout as he slashed the air. A blue glowing line traveled through the air and collided with the Nemesis.
"It can do that?" Smokescreen asked, shocked.
"Apparently it can," Swiftblade told him, watching as the warship made a hasty retreat while leaving a smoke trail behind it.
And Smokescreen could not stop talking about how awesome it had been even as they came through the ground bridge back to base. "How epic was that? I saw it with my own optics, but I still don't believe it!" He ran forward and mimicked the move Optimus had done, holding an imaginary sword in his hands.
"You know what I don't believe?" Arcee asked as she came to a stop in front of him, and Paige watched quietly as she was placed carefully on the ground beside her guardian now that she was back within the safety of base. "That after everything you've been told, you still put a human at risk!"
Paige frowned and played with her bangs sheepishly, feeling guilty. "Arcee, it's not entirely his fault… I agreed to go with him and-"
"Don't you even start with me!" Arcee's stern tone caught the brunette off guard and she flinched. "We'll talk tomorrow." She then turned to Ratchet. "Send Paige home."
Paige sighed and glanced at her guardian, patting his ankle lightly. "Thanks again, Blade." When he nodded, she looked at Smokescreen as the ground bridge opened up behind her.
He looked down at her and offered a little smile. "Green for go," he told her.
Despite the situation, she snorted a little. At least he passed his road test, she mused. She glanced at Knockout and exchanged little smiles before turning and heading through the portal without a word. Stepping through on the other side, she was greeted by her garage as the portal closed behind her. She sighed and stretched her arms above her head, immediately wincing as it irritated her left arm. She fished her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the time. 10:12pm. She still had a bit of time. So she went upstairs to take a quick shower and grab something small to eat.
Her outfit of choice for the night was on the simple side but also a bit nicer than usual - since she usually liked to wear clothes she could easily move around in during chase or fight scenarios. She wore black leather pants, a dark gray crop top shirt, and a red sweater that she tied around her waist to conceal her pistols as usual. She applied a bit of eyeliner and lipgloss and called her look complete. She glanced at her phone and hummed quietly in contemplation. She debated calling Miko to join her, since the two of them hadn't hung out in a while outside of 'Sci-Fi Club', but thought better of it. She had to go alone. She was doing this for her friends.
Grabbing a breakfast sandwich that she had heated up while she got dressed, she stuck her usual black boots on, grabbed her keys, and headed downstairs. She walked over to her Corvette and pulled the cover off of it. After opening the garage door, she got in, started the engine, and drove through town. She made a pit stop to fill her gas tank and then headed toward her destination.
The Circuit was happening in the aqueduct just like it had the first time. By the time she got there, it was 10:58pm and there were a lot of people. A lot more than she felt comfortable with. Cars of all kinds were parked along the sides and people of all ages from teenagers to adults were standing around in groups chatting. She even saw a small fist fight in one back corner, and she steered clear of that. She parked her Corvette in an available space next to a turquoise Mustang with black racing stripes and stepped out, eyeing the people around her warily. She didn't recognize most of the people that were there, figuring they were from out of town. But she did recognize a few students from school and even some adults she often saw around town.
"Yo, Bishop!" At the sound of her name, she turned to see Vince approaching her with his arms spread out in greeting and a smile on his face. He was wearing his usual signature outfit. "You made it! I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."
She placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "I'm a girl of my word, Todd."
"That you are." He gestured for her to follow him as he turned. "Come on. Trent is waiting for you."
She rolled her eyes but quietly followed behind him. They wove their way around cars and smaller groups of people until they came upon a much larger group where most of the teenagers from high school were hanging around and chatting. She eyed the group warily, noticing that they were all the more 'popular kids'. There were a few girls who were gossiping and giggling but there were several guys. And sitting on the hood of a sleek black Challenger with red racing stripes was Trent Winters himself. While Vince would be considered a twink, Trent would be the stereotypical jock. He had a rather large build with decently thick muscles - though not as thick as she had seen of army men during her time with Silas - and long legs. His jaw was rather square in shape and he had short brown hair with brown eyes. He wore dark jeans, a white tank top, and a black jacket that he left open. He was laughing about something as she and Vince approached, but he stopped and grinned once he noticed them.
"Trent, I-" Vince started to say something, but Trent cut him off.
"Bishop!" He hopped off his car and pushed past Vince rather rudely, walking over to Paige with open arms before placing a fist on his hip as he stopped in front of her. He was a good two heads taller than her so she had to look up at him to keep eye contact. "So glad you could make it!"
"Winters," she greeted him curtly with a small dip of her head.
"I hear you're a pretty good racer. You plan on racing tonight?" He asked, looking around to see if he could spot her vehicle.
"Nope."
That took him off guard. He blinked in surprise and raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Why not?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't feel like it," she answered simply. She had thought about it on the way there. She could've indeed chosen to participate in racing. There were no Autobots present and she hadn't had a good race in a while. But it wasn't the same. Not without Knockout. She would technically label him as her racing rival, but even then she just didn't feel like racing tonight.
He leaned forward into her personal space with a smirk that had her frowning. "Even if your friends are on the line?"
She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "My friends can take care of themselves," she told him, her voice low and even. She would not stand for his bullshit attitude or his personality.
He snorted as he leaned back to stand up straight. "Then why'd you come?"
"So I can tell you straight to your face that I don't like being blackmailed," she snapped, causing his group of friends to grow quiet as they watched in growing shock and interest.
He had a hard time fighting off a scowl and she could see the anger flit across his face before he hid it behind a sinister smile. "Oh, really?" He stepped forward into her personal space and all her nerves screamed in unease and discomfort at his closeness, but she refused to step back and back down. She met his gaze with a hard glare as he leaned down until she could feel his breath on her face. "You gonna run to mommy?"
"I don't have one," she growled, openly scowling at him now as he blinked in surprise at her reveal.
"Then, your daddy?"
"Don't have one either. Now get out of my face."
He narrowed his eyes, ignoring how her green eyes seemed to burn into him as her temper flared. "What are you gonna do about it, orphan?"
She held his gaze for a few moments, simply taking a deep breath. She then lifted her hand and pressed it against his chest, beginning to push him back slightly. He looked down briefly to watch her movements before meeting her gaze again with a smirk, and that's when she made her move. She shoved him backwards as hard as she could and kicked his legs out from under him as he had stumbled to keep his balance. He landed on the cement with a grunt, blinking up at her in shock as she scowled down at him. "First off, pick your battles. I'm not intimidated by you. Second, you're terrible at guessing someone's family life and using it against them. I was raised by both of my parents. Third, don't be a coward. If you wanna pick a fight with someone, do it right. Don't beat around the bush. Don't use someone else as a messenger. And don't pick on my friends. If you wanna fight with me, fight me. Don't be a little bitch by going after people you think are weak."
Her stern words were met with a brief moment of silence before his friends 'oo'ed. She shot them all a glare that quickly shut them up. "That goes for the rest of you too," she told them, earning nervous gulps at her words. She glanced down at Trent briefly before scoffing and turning away. "This was a waste of my time." She started to walk away before stopping, a thought coming to her. She glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, and Vince?"
He blinked in surprise, not expecting to be addressed. "Y-Yeah?"
"Pick better friends," she told him with a sigh. She pointed her thumb back at Trent, who was beginning to pick himself back up. "He's the type of guy who'll kick your ass to the curb if you don't meet his standards. And judging by his attitude, the people he keeps in his close circle, and the type of events he holds? You don't fit those standards, sorry." And then with those parting words, she walked back through the maze of vehicles and people milling around, leaving everyone to stare after her in shock.
"Bishop!" The angry shout of her name had her pausing and turning back to see Trent stomping after her. "I don't make it a habit to hit girls… but I won't stand for you humiliating me!" He charged toward her, raising a fist to land a punch.
"Paige!" Vince called in warning.
But Paige was prepared. She dodged his punch by leaning to the side at the last second, stuck her foot out, and tripped him. He stumbled but was unable to catch himself due to his momentum, so he ended up landing on his front on the pavement. She scoffed, green eyes like emeralds as she glared down at him. "I only stated facts, Winters. And a word of advice? Superiors don't like people who think they're above everyone else. So knock that nasty ego down a few notches or you won't get far in life." She glanced briefly at Vince, nodded gratefully at him, and turned to continue on her way.
She was done with the event. She was done with Trent. She knew of him and had one class with him - thankfully they sit on opposite sides of the classroom - and anything she heard of him in passing was never good. He was even more of a jerk than Vince was, and that was saying something. But lately… Vince hadn't been all that bad. Maybe he was just hanging around the wrong crowd and that was why he had been a jerk most of the time. Misguided temper, perhaps. Either way, she'd count herself lucky if she never had to deal with Trent Winters ever again.
She reached her Corvette with no issues this time. She slid into the seat, started her engine, revved it to get people to move out of the way - seriously, don't stand where people need to drive - and drove out of the aqueduct. She headed back to her garage and covered her vehicle back up since she probably won't be needing it any time soon.
The following days, the bots had been pretty busy since Optimus had returned to base with the Star Saber. Something to do with 'Omega Keys'. It stumped Paige. With all her increased knowledge of Cybertron due to being zapped by Vector Sigma, she didn't have a clue about what they were except for what Optimus explained to them. Even the voice from her dreams had gone silent, leaving her unable to unveil the mystery surrounding it. But something big was about to happen and Paige could feel it. It made her nerves prickle with both excitement and unease. And sorrow began to set in. From her understanding, the Omega Keys had the ability to restore Cybertron. And from the sounds of things, the bots would be leaving. It didn't sound like they'd be coming back or taking the teens with them - though, Paige understood why. How could humans live on a planet not their own? Cybertron didn't even have the same resources so a human wouldn't survive long on its surface. But Miko didn't seem to focus on that. She just wanted to go with the bots, which Paige could understand.
Something else odd had started happening as well. Vince had started talking to her more, making an effort to… be nice, she supposed. He had thanked her for her 'words of wisdom' the night of Trent's Circuit party. Apparently, the redhead had tried to sever ties with Trent and his clique, and had been given a nasty beating for it. Which made him open his eyes more to the things he had been blind to while trying to hang out with them. So now, on occasion, she found herself walking to two of her shared classes with Vince while talking. Sometimes they were awkward, but she appreciated the fact that he was trying. He even apologized to her friends for his previous bullying antics during lunch one day, which was awkward for everyone. And while he wasn't easily forgiven, they accepted the fact that Paige had made him see the error of his ways and now he was trying to make amends. They didn't have to be his friend, but at least now they could all just be civil schoolmates.
Nothing much happening in this one besides gaining the Star Saber and the whole thing with Trent the jerk. But don't worry... things pick up in the next chapter.