Two chapters in two days? Wow, that's a record. Anyway, a present to all you wonderful readers. Reviews are appreciated.
The house was nestled in the trees, a long dirt road leading down to the beach. Like a dream house, Mikaela thought, as she stepped around the shed nestled in the corner. She could step over it, if she wanted, but Mikaela wasn't in the mood to flaunt her new found strength and height. Not in the mood to do anything, really.
If she had been human, the one thing she would have wanted to do was go inside, get warm, sit on the couch bundled up with Sam, watch a movie, kiss, etcetera, etcetera.
Well, that was all over. And now, if she even attempted to set foot in that house, it would collapse. Ratchet had suggested the garage. Like that would happen. Mikaela didn't intend to be holed up in some damp, smelly corner while Sam and the rest of them got to go inside and eat popcorn and watch reruns of Family Guy.
"The rest of them" meaning Trina, to Mikaela's dismay. Sure, Trina was alright. Sure, Trina was the only female she had seen since becoming a Cybertronian, and she sure didn't intend to keep it that way. Plus, she was Mikaela's human keeper.
"Wow…finally able to breath fresh air. Or something like that…" Sam slammed the door shut, watching as Bumblebee transformed. He shot Mikaela a look. Guilt, he was feeling.
Mikaela wasn't all that better. She had refused to look Optimus in the optic ever since she had discovered the secret that she was in the body of his past lover. Talk about awkward.
"Talk about luxury!" Trina hollered, hopping out of Optimus as he transformed, sunglasses perched on the top of her head. "Hey, Mikaela, how far away are we from Beverly Hills?"
Mikaela just shook her head and rolled her eyes, stretching her arms, hearing the familiar sound of metal twisting and bending, screws and bolts adjusting to her position. She had spent half the day riding in the back of a trailer pulled by Optimus Prime himself due to the fact that everyone, including Sam and Trina, had said that driving would come later on.
Clean, fresh air felt nice on her armor. Away from the smoggy cities, up in the forest, by the ocean. No human within miles. She felt oddly at home here.
"How many rooms does this place have?" Trina kept on rambling, hands on her hips. "Three? Four? Oh, by the way, I need my own bathroom and…"
She just kept talking. Mikaela, along with everyone else, lost interest quickly.
"Primus help us…does she ever stop?" Ratchet said, materializing behind Mikaela. Mikaela glanced back at him and shrugged her armored shoulders.
"Alright, so, what's the plan?" Mikaela finally said, once Trina ceased her blathering. "Driving test?"
"Later," Ratchet said, shooting Optimus a look. "Get yourself situated."
"Then teach me how to drive? Either that or teach me some ninja moves? You know, like Sideswipe does all the time?"
"Already eager to assist us?" Ratchet said, scoffing. "Not yet. Right, Optimus?"
He was trying to get a few words out of the Prime. Optimus nodded. A gesture that pretty much said, "yeah, sure, whatever."
Mikaela blew out a puff of air, a noise that sounded surprisingly like a buffalo getting ready to charge, and thudded towards where Sam was unlocking the front door. She knelt down and peered through one of the windows. A nice, modest house. Not at all how Trina was making it out to be. She smiled. She would have liked to live here with Sam, later in life.
"Mikaela will take the - " Optimus began.
"Nope. Bee can have the garage. He's a lot more used to it than I am, you know, since he practically…" Mikaela faltered. "Oh, never mind. Just don't let me sleep in there."
"Why not?" Trina asked, rounding on Mikaela, mouth turned down in a frown.
Because, she wanted to say, I don't want to feel like a car. Like some vehicle. Sleeping outside is the equivalent of camping, in a humans eyes.
"You may recharge outside with us, Mikaela," Optimus told her, not making eye contact. "Tonight's temperature seems reasonable, so there is no need for Ratchet to instruct you on how to activate your internal heating."
Sam stopped, pushing the door open, glancing back at Optimus, something flashing in his dark eyes. He just shrugged and walked inside the house.
Mikaela stared, lip plates turning down in a grimace. She knew she had a whole lot of adjusting ahead of her, and that Sam had just as much.
"It's different for all of us," she said softly. "Buckle up, Sam, buckle up."
Nighttime came quickly. Sam had fallen asleep inside Bumblebee, but no one seemed bent on moving him. Probably because Trina was asleep in the upstairs room, and she had been giving Sam flirtatious looks all during dinner. No one trusted the human not to bust a move. And plus, he looked so cute, sleeping all alone, hand dangling over the edge of the seat. Drooling a bit, though Bumblebee seemed not to care.
Mikaela sat back out in the yard, beside the shed. Leaning against it so it creaked and shuddered, but did not collapse. Her optics were blank, the world engulfed in an eerie darkness. All her other senses were on high alert. Smell enhanced so she could smell the salt from the ocean that churned and frothed a little ways away. Hear something in the distance, helicopters, blaring sirens from towns that were miles away.
How wonderful it was. Like she had been hiding behind some cloak all her life. Shielded from all that was out there, from all that there was.
A snap. The breaking of tree limbs.
Mikaela's optics blared back on, and the forest behind her was engulfed in blue light.
She saw a shape scurry away.
A deer or a squirrel, probably. Or a raccoon. Then, Mikaela paused and thought. No, no, deer didn't stand upright on two legs. Squirrels did, but squirrels weren't the same size as deer.
A human.
Mikaela's optics narrowed. Oh, yeah, a human. Big whoop. Armed, from what she had seen. But she wasn't didn't harm her.
But the human had seen her, and that was the problem.
Mikaela stood. Slowly, so no joints creaked. The rest of the Autobots were recharging, done in. Exhausted from driving. She had told them she was going to recharge beside them so they could watch her, but she had told a small white lie and had walked a few meter away to lie against the shed. It had felt nicer. So much nicer than being cooped in her alt mode. Her Cybertronian body was still recovering from the injuries done to it during the battle of Egypt.
Mikaela darted after the human, stealthy, ducking through the overgrown trees. Her body was thin, her legs long, and she was able to run, only hitting a few branches.
Why am I chasing the human?
She slammed on the breaks. Too late. She tripped and landed hard on her stomach, all gracefulness and stealth abandoned.
Ouch.
She shook her helm, optics blinking. She was in a small patch of clearing. Leaves damp with dew clung to her metal helm, and she made a noise of disgust, peeling them away. She glanced up and froze.
The human was a foot away from her, gun raised and aimed at her forehead.
"Yeah, shoot me. Watch that bullet bounce right back and hit you in the head."
The human was a male, middle aged, all raggedy looking like some street person plucked from the streets of New York. His hands trembled as he held the gun.
"Put it down," Mikaela calmly instructed, her voice coming out in a snarl. Not like her. She didn't snarl.
"Your kind is like a virus," the human snarled, gun raised. "Like a plague that must be wiped out."
"Oh, God, you're one of those Cybertronian haters. Get lost," Mikaela shooed him away. "We're trying to help."
"You used to be human, did you not?" The gun was aimed at her face. Right at her forehead, the target plain as day.
Shoot, she silently pleaded. I dare you.
Wait? He knew? How?
"I don't know what you want, but if I were you, I'd get away," Mikaela took a threatening step forward. "Seriously."
"If I were you, I would get away," the man's finger curled around the trigger. "You, and you're little alien buddies. You're a crime. All of you. You, especially. Human to alien."
"It's not something I'm particularly proud of," Mikaela hissed, kneeling down. "So you made me follow you into the woods just so you could tell me to go away? Like a kindergartener does to someone they don't like? Dude, that's what the internet is for."
"I'm telling you that you and you're kind will be brought to justice for the crimes you have committed."
"What crimes? Oh! Yeah! Decepticons. Those are the bad guys."
"You are all guilty," the man growled. "And the Brotherhood of Man will make the world see what you really are. Monsters."
"How about this," Mikaela acted as if she hadn't heard him. But she had. And she was ignoring him, the one way to piss off an ignorant person. "You go find a Decepticon and tell them what you're feeling. I'm sure they would appreciate what you have to say about-"
Blam!
Two simultaneous blast. One from the man's gun. The bullet bounced off Mikaela's head.
Then the man was no longer there. Just of a pile of disintegrated bones.
Mikaela looked up into two glowing red eyes. Devil eyes.
Decepticon eyes.
Well...crap.
"Roadrunner?" Megatron sneered. "Good to see that you're alive."
Double crap.