Chapter 37
-0-Ironhide
He sat on the metal bench out in front of the Autobot HQ watching as Silverbolt left to fly over Australia. His brothers sunning themselves on the tarmac nearby were going to fly over the tip of South America with him when he got back. Flurries of intel needed substantiating.
He sat with a blank page open, the file marked "Ironhide's Diary" beckoning. The idea that Ratchet had a diary was interesting. He, himself was a mech of few words and the idea of leaving them to posterity was a novel concept. He also figured that whatever Ratchet could do, so could he.
Thus, the blank page.
He'd scanned the internet and got the gist. His thoughts and feelings. He snorted.
Right.
He began: "It's hotter than the Pit today which makes it fine with me. Unlike some yellow aft slaggers, I can take a lot. Today, the soldiers are running around like idiots. Even the birds are sitting on trees. The humidity is about ... a very high number. The weather forecast calls for thunderstorms and cooler weather. That should help the joggers. I don't suppose I'll be sitting here tomorrow if it comes."
He reread his entry then closed the page. "There," he said to himself. "One down. Two can play at this game."
He sat with great satisfaction and considered his moves for the evening. He was going to try to seduce Ratchet. He had seen a number of magazines in the N.E.S.T. Striker offices when he had gone there with Prowl over a matter pertaining to training. He had seen them through the window, joked about it with Prowl then forgetting about it.
That is, until Ratchet had doubled down. Then he remembered.
That he didn't know that Prowl had beaten him to the Cosmopolitan website didn't matter to Ironhide. He just needed to shake up his game.
An SUV drove past, a number of the new humans inside honking loudly and hooting out the windows.
Ironhide watched them, his dark expression shadowing his light moment. He pinged Springer.
:Springer:
:Slaggers are driving past the building and it doesn't look like they have a point:
:Thanks, Ironhide. I'm on it:
The big mech rose to walk toward the N.E.S.T. Striker HQ to shoot the slag with Lennox and Epps. Graham was on board Silverbolt and would be going out with the rest of the Aerialbots when the big jet came back. As he did, the SUV came roaring back from around a corner near the Aerialbot's designated hangars. He glanced their way, then turned to face them. They were in the same trajectory at an enormously high speed as his position on the pathway. They even sped up, driving startlingly fast straight at Ironhide.
His sensors were already scanning them, calculations were already made as the SUV sped forward, blasting toward him at an alarming rate. Ironhide braced himself for a collision, leaning forward to mentally prepare for impact. There would be no time to move or get out of the way without landing on a human standing by buildings on both sides of him.
Out of the corner of his optics he could see the green and yellow of Springer as the big mech moved forward, leaping over a row of electrical transformers as he came around the corner of the Autobot HQ. He was heading for Ironhide to tackle him out of the way but he wouldn't reach him in time.
The sound of the roaring engine and the shouts of mechs in the rec hall yelling with surprise as they caught the sight transpiring before the open hangar doors were of no consequence to Ironhide. He was bracing for impact because he'd already calculated that he couldn't get out of the way without a human dying and they had no room in the space provided to stop safely.
This is going to hurt, he thought, as they hit him.
A huge boom reverberated in the space between buildings as Ironhide began to topple. He reached out to brace himself, instinctively falling away from the vehicle and the startled frozen humans all around him and as he did, he felt Springer grab him. It broke the impact of his fall, the concrete coming up faster than he had anticipated.
The screech of brakes, the spin of tires and the unsheathing of weapons all around filled the air along with shouts from the N.E.S.T. Command Center and the soldiers, sailors, civilians, marines, airmen and women who were outside. Everyone froze as the impact slammed into Ironhide's shins and they watched in horror as he began to fall.
The blur of yellow and green, the almost impossible materialization of Springer at the back of Ironhide seemed to prevent a greater catastrophe than it appeared they might have. Springer appeared out of the sky having leaped over a number of things to land with a thud behind Ironhide. He held out his servos and caught Ironhide, breaking his fall.
Ironhide bellowed, flinging his arms out to the side as pain washed through him. He pushed up again, instinctively seeking his attackers as he had in thousands of battles over the eons of his service. Energon covered the SUV, its shattered chassis flying off to one side, spinning nearly fully as it landed and bounced. The doors flung open as the humans inside flew around like rag dolls. Window glass exploded and flew everywhere.
He lay back staring at the blue sky and as he did he saw Springer's face looking down at him as he leaned over him to protect Ironhide from the broken shattered concrete flying over, around and below him. He could hear the emergency vehicles and their loud horns. He could feel them through the pavement, hear them as they came running but he didn't care. He just wanted to rise up to smite his attackers with his fists until they were dust.
He lay on the ground marginally aware of the circle of Autobots that had formed around him with weapons drawn and rage blazing from their optics. He only concentrated on what he could see when he saw Ratchet's face. Ratchet was there like he always was, his servos working as fast as they could to take care of his hurts.
Ratchet was there with his love, his all encompassing love naked on his face. He off lined his optics giving in to the pain and the nearness of Ratchet. He'd be all right. Ratchet was there. He blinked open for a moment, puzzling that he could see Optimus, then he closed them again.
Optimus Prime was in the Ops Center when he heard the boom. Everyone froze as Prowl turned from the security monitor showing the outside in front of the complex with a look of astonishment on his face. He dropped a datapad in his servo as he looked at Prime. "The SUV, it just ran into Ironhide at high speed."
As one they rose together, hurrying out of Ops Center to join the flow of mechs toward the doors as outside the spectacle was continuing. Moving at high speed, his optics filled with disbelief, Optimus saw Ironhide falling, then Springer leaping to reach him to break a small portion of his fall. The SUV was airborne, spinning wildly, then landing with a jarring impact.
There were people on both sides of the open area frozen in horror and as they hurried out, Autobots drew arms ready to fire as they formed a circle around Ironhide and Springer. Part of Optimus' processor was aware that Lennox and Epps were running as fast as they could and that military vehicles were coming with horns and lights blazing.
He reached Ironhide, then knelt down beside Springer and as he did he thought to comm Ratchet. As Prime started to do that, he saw a yellow blur pass him and run around to the other side, kneeling to begin to block the bleeding and other critical needs of Ironhide's damaged legs.
Prime sat on his heels stunned into immobility at the insanity happening before him. Springer rose, then moved to bring down the level of anger everyone felt and to allow the military to come inside the circle to get the humans. Prime looked at the vehicle nearby remembering an SUV slamming into him as well. That vehicle was going at highway speeds so the damage was more decorative than deadly.
This vehicle had to have been going at its top speed to do this much even in such a short space of travel. Given the security enhancements that he could see in the wreckage, all of which were heavy duty and thus weighty, he could see how a high speed impact with that would topple even Ironhide. He watched Ratchet, feeling at this moment the most intense anger he had felt in vorns.
Rising, he looked at the scene, the fact that there were no skid marks on the pavement from the SUV to indicate slowing of any kind and that another black SUV was bearing down on them. It came to a screeching halt as Daniels leaped out hurrying toward the hulking form of Ironhide and the damaged SUV.
Hound moved toward him throwing down his weapon on the bureaucrat, halting him before he could come too far, the barrel of his gun nearly on top of the human's head.
Prime stepping over Ironhide's out flung arm, crossing the space in no time to stand over Daniels like some avenging god. He leaned down as rage poured off him in waves and as he did he felt a servo on his shoulder. Glancing up, he saw Prowl's worried optics and rose slowly to step back reluctantly, his optics never leaving Daniels' face.
Daniels, shaken somewhat at last was not challenged. He knew Prime could kill him but he wasn't moved. "I want to see to my men," he said calling up to Prime who stood quaking silently with rage as Prowl's servo gripping his arm.
"At the hospital or the morgue," Prime said. "This is our territory. You do not have permission to set one foot closer."
Daniels considered him, then walked over to ambulances which were parked nearby and the medics that were coming and going, accessing the SUV because Springer had made it so.
The green and yellow mech stood at the edge of the wreck, his servo resting on the shoulder of Bumblebee, himself distraught. "Don't worry, youngling," he said quietly. "Hide is as tough as they come."
Bee nodded. "This is going to be a bad one isn't it?"
"Probably," Springer said, watching as Prime showed the most anger he'd seen in the stoic even keeled good natured mech in the entirety that he'd known Prime. "Prime will take care of it. We just have to keep the peace. Go and talk to the twins. I'll go the other way. Be calm and we'll be fine, Bumblebee."
Bee looked up at Springer, the confidence on his face infectious, then walked to where Sunny and Sideswipe stood together seething with rage, their weapons drawn as they turned on their peds in tight circles.
Springer walked to Prime, pausing beside Prowl. "Prime, we need to move everyone back before shooting starts."
Prime whose anger was unabated glanced at Springer, then nodded. "Make it so," he said moving back to Ironhide. "Ratchet, we will move him when you are ready."
Ratchet glanced up, his servos covered in energon. "I need a stretcher and volunteers."
Prime rose and began to give orders, the mere movement of constructive action bringing the heat down in his processor.
Mechs jumped, subspacing weapons to run quickly for Med Bay. Just as quickly, they came back bearing a stretcher. Waiting silently, they watched as Ratchet applied temporary pressure bandages to the broken energon lines of Ironhide's legs. Looking up to meet Prime's anguished gaze with his own, he nodded.
Prime directed as they moved Ironhide, helping lift the big mech onto the stretcher. Then they walked toward the hangar and Med Bay beyond as Ratchet ran ahead to be ready. Prime stood by the door seething a moment with a sense of disturbance in his spark that would take a lot of thought to quiet simmering like bubbling lava.
He felt Prowl's servo in his and squeezed it, glancing down at him for a moment. "It will be all right. I want everyone inside. No one is to be out here. I want Wheeljack to process this scene. I want facts at hand. I am going to see about the humans. I think we have a fatality or two, Prowl. I do not know how they could live through that."
Prowl nodded, squeezing Prime's servo hard as he walked away. He gave orders as the mechs moved toward the hangar, some of them walking backwards, firearms still pointed outward while others moved together in groups. In seconds, they were inside.
Prime relaxed slightly as he considered the events that had just transpired, events that hadn't happened before the newcomers.
He stared at the swarm of people working on the SUV, one occupant already pulled out and covered with a sheet as two others were being lifted to be put on stretchers. He felt a senselessness inside that such a stupid stunt should cost so much in lives and suffering. Then he felt the rap on his ped. He looked down to see Lennox and Epps, both men staring up at him, both men with expressions of wretchedness on their faces.
"Optimus, I don't know what to say," Lennox said, shaking his head with emotion. "I don't know what to say."
Optimus at that moment felt the totality of his days, the burdens of his responsibility to his people, his culture, his way of life and his mechs. He felt the emotional impact of Prowl, of his love for him. He felt the pain of Ratchet once again putting Ironhide back together, hardly having a moment of distance between the horror of Denver and this equally senseless moment. He felt the huge regard he had for the two men and their companion, Niall Graham and knew that in a short time he would be refocused and up to the challenges this posed.
But not now.
He looked down at the two of them. "I do not know either, William." Then he walked toward the hangar to disappear inside. Standing in the doorway, watching every movement and every individual was Springer and Kup with the twins standing beside them glaring defiance at the entire world.
Lennox feeling frustration nearly to tears turned toward Epps. "We're family. I'm going to see about Ironhide."
Epps nodded in agreement. The two of them, their hearts pounding with unease, the first unease they'd ever felt around the Autobots walked toward the door of the complex.