Chapter 004: The Autobot Haven

Mikaela sat in the living room and looked around. The house appeared lived in, but there were no pictures up on the walls. It seemed strange to her as used as she was to houses filled with the evidence of the inhabitants's pasts. She sighed and then looked up at her savior. Barricade was talking quietly to the woman called Thunderblast, and Mikaela took the time to observe her protectors.

Barricade-Companion had quite a flamboyant coloration, or at least it seemed so to Mikaela. His skin was a mocha color, but his hair was outrageously white. Amazingly enough, judging by his eyebrows, that shade of white was his natural color. He wore his hair in a short-but-shaggy style that flattered his classically featured face. His nose was aristocratic and straight, and his feline eyes were a blinding, electric blue. His facial markings were white and black triangular marks that formed a fan-like design around his eyes. When he spoke, Mikaela caught a glimpse of his long canines. She had first seen them when he'd been forced to stop and confront the three Decepticons. She still shivered from the memory of the growl he and his Handler made, and the sight of those wicked looking teeth.

At his side, Thunderblast-Companion was a striking woman. She was approximately Barricade-Companion's height - which was either a mite shy or just over six-feet - and her slim frame made her seem even taller. Her eyes were shaped differently than Barricade-Companion's, but they were still feline enough for Mikaela to be reminded of a replete lioness. Her facial features were delicate, her button nose was small and cute, and her cheekbones were high. Her skin was a chocolate brown, and her hair was a light, reddish-blonde. She looked like she could pass for a supermodel, except for her own tattoos. They were purple diamond shapes that were placed in a spiral pattern on her cheeks, and also as a line across her forehead.

Mikaela wished she knew what the two were discussing, although she suspected it was her and the strange Autobots they'd brought here. Speaking of, she glanced over at the two who were waiting a turn at getting a shower before Thunderblast patched them up. Both were good looking guys who would appear to most humans as being in their early twenties. Thinking of it, Mikaela would have pegged Barricade-Companion at around thirty and Thunderblast-Companion at about twenty-five.

The young man to her left had short cropped green hair, and she thought his name might be Grindcore. He had the same blue eyes as Barricade and Thunderblast, but rather than having light skin, his skin tone was a deep brown that was nearly a real black. This combination of dark skin and light eyes made his gaze appear especially piercing. His face resembled Barricade-Companion's a great deal, except Grindcore had a small scar across one cheek. It bisected his swirling, green facial markings and gave him a rough appearance.

The other one - she hadn't caught his name - was a tiny bit shorter than Grindcore. His skin was a dark mocha, and Mikaela realized that so far, only the woman who had come with them and one of the Decepticons had fair skin. The rest of this motley assortment of people and the few Decepticons that she had seen had skin tones that ranged from creamy browns to near black. The other man had a mop of black hair that curled around his face, and his markings were red chevrons that ran up and down each cheek. His face was unscarred, but its features resembled Thunderblast's more than Barricade's.

Mikaela began to wonder if the resemblances between Barricade and Grindcore-Companions and Thunderblast-Companion and this man possibly meant that the Autobots had ethnicities of some sort. The similarities between each pair of Companions weren't enough to denote a possible blood relation, but seemed indicative of a comparatively small gene pool. The thought then registered that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to assume so much based on her interactions with a small number of the aliens. For all she knew the resemblances were nothing more than sheer coincidence. Stranger things had been known to happen, for example, her situation.

Barricade looked up the stairway he was standing in front of and then stuck his head into the room. "Warpath, Signal Flare is done in the upstairs bathroom."

"Alright, Grindcore, you can have the shower," came a second voice.

Mikaela glanced up at the woman who entered the room. This was Elita-One. She'd heard that name loud and clear. Elita-One was the palest of them all, even paler than Mikaela's own olive complexion. Her skin made her eyes seem less strange, but it was still her eyes that Mikaela paid attention to. They held the expression of a woman accustomed to taking on the worst life could throw at her, but they were not unkind in the least. Her facial markings consisted of a chevron pattern on each cheek, stripes angled from her eyebrows to her temples, and a pale yellow rectangle in the middle of her forehead. Her face was round rather than long and combined with her auburn hair made her look faintly Celtic.

Warpath rose from his seat and ascended to the house's second floor. Grindcore rose as well and walked into the room Elita had just vacated. He nodded to her on his way in, and Elita took a seat across from Mikaela on an ottoman. It was then that Mikaela realized that Elita-Companion was covered only by a towel. The female alien smiled at the human girl. "I have not had the pleasure of your name. I am Elita-One."

Mikaela gulped. "Um, hi. I'm Mikaela Banes."

"Mih-kay-lah?" she sounded out softly. "That is a melodious name."

"Thank you," the girl replied. "Um, Elita . . . Has a ring to it." Well, no one could fault Mikaela for trying to be polite.

Elita-One laughed. "Thank you." The amusement faded from her face as the implications of the human girl's presence settled in her mind. "Mikaela, how did you become involved with Barricade?"

The girl was taken aback for a moment. "Well, I don't really know. I mean, I think they're after a pair of glasses that my friend gave me, but other than that . . . I just don't know."

Elita looked up as Thunderblast entered the room. "Alright then," the femme said, "Let's see you. Where do you have the most pain?"

"My back," Elita replied.

Thunderblast set down a metal case beside Elita-One and then gestured to her. Elita dropped the towel, causing Mikaela to squeak and turn her head. From the doorway came a masculine chuckle, and Frenzy's voice. "Humans are weird. They get all bent outta shape about seeing some skin! What's so wrong about admiring the body each of us is gifted with?"

"Remember Frenzy that we have to respect the human culture." Barricade explained patiently.

"It's still weird mechynae."

The female Autobots shared a look, Elita's confused and Thunderblast's indulgent. "Why did she react like that? And what are Frenzy and Barricade discussing?" Elita asked in a whisper.

"Humans are strange creatures. Depending on how they were raised, nudity either doesn't bother them or it embarrasses them greatly," Thunderblast answered. "From the looks of it, Mikaela falls into the latter category. Well, let's take a look . . . Oh dear."

Elita's gaze went from Mikaela to Thunderblast. "What is it?"

"Your back," she answered gently. "What caused your injury again?"

"My comrades and I were chained to an Allspark replica and someone tried to activate it."

"That would explain it perfectly," Thunderblast replied with no hint of irony. "Your back looks like a great deal of electrical energy was run through it. I'm amazed that you could stand to take a shower."

Elita sighed. "I had to stand facing the spray, and I kept the water chilly."

"Brave femme," Thunderblast whispered. "Here, lie on your stomach on the sofa. Mikaela, if it won't be too uncomfortable for you, may I ask you to help me?"

Mikaela turned her head and realized that all she could see of Elita-Companion was her buttocks. Mikaela could deal with that. "Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"Gently spread this ointment on her burns. I'm going to look at the others," Thunderblast said.

"Alright," Mikaela answered. She got up, took the ointment from Thunderblast's hands and sat down on the edge of the sofa beside Elita-Companion. Thunderblast left the room as Mikaela opened up the container. The ointment smelled like some exotic blend of mint and cinnamon. Carefully the girl spread it on Elita-Companion's burns. "I can see why Thunderblast was concerned," Mikaela murmured.

"You do?"

"Yeah, these burns are nasty." Mikaela examined the woman's back with a twinge of sympathy. The red-brown burns ran down Elita-Companion's back in a pattern that resembled the branching of a leaf-bare tree.

"I can't say I'm surprised. It hurt like the fires of the Pit when it happened. I'm actually amazed that a burned back is the only damage to my Companion, especially when I'll probably need most of the sensory nets in my Handler's back replaced," Elita explained quietly. The ointment was sucking away the pain and soothing the savage burns. "Thank you for helping."

"No problem. I'm glad to be useful."

Elita stayed on her stomach as Mikaela carefully closed the container of ointment. Thunderblast-Companion bustled back in and reached for the container. "I'll be needing this. Here, can you help bandage up her back? All you have to do is spread some of this stuff on her back and it will harden into a bandage. Just wash your hands in hot water afterward, okay?"

Thunderblast bustled back out before Mikaela could reply. "I guess so," she muttered.

Elita-Companion laughed. "Don't worry; I think I know what that is. Just pour it on and then smooth it over my entire back. But be quick, the formula dries fast."

Mikaela did as instructed and watched in amazement as it instantly began to harden. The bandage wasn't white, but instead a transparent brown. She remembered what Thunderblast had said and got up to wash off her hands. She could feel the bandage crackling on her right palm. "Um, Barricade? Where's a sink?"

He pointed. "In there is the kitchen. Feel free to grab something if you're hungry."

She nodded and walked into the cozy kitchen. She washed her hands and then glanced around. "Nice," she murmured.

Her cell phone vibrated, scaring the bejeezus out of her. She flipped it open. :Hi! I'm Ravage! I'm waving at u!:

Mikaela stared down at her cell with a mixture of incredulity and curiosity when movement registered in her peripheral vision. She glanced up to see a white cat creature waving awkwardly with one of his front paws. "Oh, hello," she said. "I remember you from earlier."

Her cell vibrated again. :Kewl!:

She glanced down at her phone and then back up at him. "Is this how you talk? Through texts?"

The phone vibrated again. :Yes. least to hooman ppl. autobot ppl can hear meh in their handler heads.:

"I see," she said, even though she only vaguely did. She turned back and timidly began to search for something to snack on.

The phone vibrated. :What cha lookin 4?:

"A small snack."

:Look in the thingie beside the micro. It has bread in it.:

"Thanks. Where's the peanut butter and jelly?"

:Dunno. I think Frenzy's allergic to pnuts.:

"Really?"

:Yeah. We tried pnut buttr and he got all blotchy and TB had to pump his Companion's belly.:

Mikaela winced. "That could not have been pleasant."

:Nope. So I don think we have any pnut buttr.:

"Okay," she said as she examined a pot on the stove. It smelled delicious, but she wasn't sure if it was done or not. "I guess I'll have to make a turkey sandwich then."

:ummm turky. Meh likeys turky. Tastes liek lazurbeak.:

Mikaela couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, I'll share."

Barricade walked in and smiled. "Thunderblast says that you can have some of the stew if you like. She says it's done."

"Thanks." Mikaela walked over and lifted the lid off the pot. The scent of the stew made her mouth water, and she became more acutely aware of how long it had been since she'd eaten. Not to mention that she'd expended a lot of energy running for her life. "Would you like a bowl?"

"Yes please."

She smiled. Well, at least the alien cop had manners. "Barricade, I have a question."

"Yes?"

She turned and handed him his bowl of steaming stew. "Why were those guys after me? What do I have that they want?"

Barricade walked over and opened a drawer on the kitchen island. He got out two spoons and handed one to her. "Your friend gave you something very important to both of our factions."

"The glasses," she said. "The blond and the black man kept mentioning the glasses."

"Yes. Those glasses contain a map to a very powerful relic," Barricade explained. "And possibly to the mech who had hidden the relic in the first place. Megatron."

Mikaela felt an odd shiver go up her spine. It wasn't a shiver of fear, but she still felt uneasy. "That sounds like an ominous name."

"Well, there are rumors that he was known by a different name before the First War," a voice said from the doorway.

Mikaela turned and stared into the electric blue eyes of the newcomer. He was taller than Barricade, with short, sandy blond hair and copper skin. He had patrician features that could have been stamped on the side of a Roman coin and his facial markings were patterns that gave the appearance of a strange helmet. He was lithe rather than stocky, and he was dressed in a pilot's flight suit. "According to some of our intel, Megatron might not be his birth name. There are whispers that his name was originally Ultra Magnus."

"Good to see you back Commander," Barricade said jovially.

"Good to be back Cade," the man answered. "So, you are the human Mikaela?"

She nodded. "Yes. Who are you?"

He smiled at her, revealing his own set of fangs. "I am Starscream, leader of the Autobots."


Arcee looked over the data that Killerbee-Handler had collected with his sensitive instrumentation. During his time as a member of the Elite Guard Killerbee had been one of the best recon soldiers available. "What do these readings indicate?"

Killerbee cleared his throat and whirred. "We will have to wait until Ratchet returns to be sure, but I do believe these readings indicate a transwarp gate."

"Transwarp? Are you sure it isn't a space bridge?" she asked.

"I'm sure," Killerbee replied. "Space bridges produce a tell-tale glow when they're activated, and nothing in that junkyard could have been used as a receiver. Transwarping produces the kind of flash of light that we saw, not to mention the energy signatures I recorded."

Jazz entered the room with another Decepticon in tow. "Lady Arcee, Ratchet has returned."

Ratchet looked from Arcee to Killerbee. "I have been briefed on the events of this afternoon."

"Good," Arcee said brusquely. "I want you to look at the readings Killerbee recorded. He says that they were caused by a transwarp gate."

Ratchet nodded and looked to the younger male to receive the readings through the digital link that all Cybertronians could use. Ratchet-Companion's face was passive as he examined the results intently, much to the dismay of his impatient leader. "Killerbee is right, these were caused by an unusually large transwarp gate."

"Could a Transformer have caused it? There are still Seekers left from the time of the Primes." Arcee hissed the last word. No Decepticon would ever remember the Primes with any sort of respect.

"I do not think so," Ratchet answered. "The gate is simply too big for any one Transformer to have caused. A group? Possibly. An individual? No."

"So, you think that the femme who called herself Elita might be a plant?" Jazz asked.

Arcee shook her head. "I cannot be sure. Her acting was superb if she is an imposter, but at the same time I cannot help but entertain doubts. Something is . . . Off."

Ratchet nodded. "What's more, according to Killerbee's readings, there may be more to it than just some convoluted plot."

"Why do you say that?" Jazz asked.

"There are traces of energy that conform to some old data in the Archives," Ratchet explained, a strange excitement lighting his features. "The energy spikes conform to readings taken from not only the Allspark, but the Matrix of Leadership as well."

"Holy shit," Killerbee breathed.

"The humans are pathetic insects," Ratchet drawled, "But I do find that particular idiom fitting and particularly ironic right now."


"So what's the deal this time Captain?" Epps asked. "We're rollin' pretty light for an alien related mission."

Captain smiled. "We're not exterminating this time. We're only acting as an escort."

"Armed?" Graham asked.

"Yes. These guys are supposed to be friendly, but according to Boss there are unfriendlies running around too," Captain explained. "Our missions is to get this Starscream guy's team to HQ and to ensure the safety of Mikaela Banes. No cowboy stuff."

"What about the other team?" Graham asked.

"Yeah, I saw that Beta team is running an op as well," Fig added.

"They're a decoy," Captain answered. "Making sure that the unfriendlies don't get near us. We're to be the last line of defense."

"Gotcha," Epps said. "So how long 'til we get there?"

"Maybe another hour," Captain answered. "We're heading to the outskirts of a little city called Tranquility."

"Ironic," Graham murmured.

"Ain't it though?" Captain replied with a smile.