Okay here goes. I've been keeping track of the reviews the other chapters have been getting and frankly I'm a little more than flattered. I can't help it, sue me. The biggest thing that got me was the comments on how well the plot flows. Well, here things get a little, "jerky" if you ask me. Maybe its cause of the secrets the characters hint at but only half tell or maybe I'm just not that good at action sequences in general. Here's hoping its not the latter. Of course I regard this as the weakest of all my stories I've posted online so in the end I really don't know what I'm doing here, only that I'm doing something right.
A little tech note: The bike Jack's riding is based on a combination of the Kawasaki J Concept and the Batpod from The Dark Knight.
Miko could only stare as her Uncle stared through Bulkheads rear window, obviously watching for their attacker. Bulkhead's console display showed a tracking radar, and a purple decepticon symbol slowly closing in from behind them.
"Think we lost him?" Rodney asked.
"Not a chance," Bulkhead said, making the man in his driver seat jump nearly out of his skin.
"God I hate it when they do dat," he mumbled to himself, before turning to Miko. "And you! You are in BIG trouble Missy!"
"ME!" Miko skrieked, hurting Bulkheads audios. "You're the one thats been holding out!"
"What in the name of my great aunt Alice are you TALKING ABOUT?!"
"I'm not an idiot Okay! I saw how you reacted to Bulkhead's bot mode!" Miko's eyes narrowed. "You recognized It! That means you've seen Autobots before!"
"Look I get it you're ticked, but right now we got bigger problems dan."
"Bigger Than THIS?!" Miko shouted, holding up her arm as it shifted to blaster mode and her eyes shifted from amber to glowing green. Bulkheads optics shot to the size of his tires while once again Miko noted, Her uncle was less than shocked.
"Ah crud, of all de times," he groaned, looking back to check the road an at the same time avoid the girls eyes. "Look I know you gots a ton of questions, but right now we really DO have BIGGER PROBLEMS!" Miko looked back, only to see the black and purple semi coming up behind them, close enough that Miko could see for certain there was no one behind the wheel. Bulkhead took one look back as the other truck closed in, then scanned the surrounding tree's and took a detour.
"Hey, WHOA!" Rodney yelped when the autobot suddenly swerved right and bolted down a row of power line towers. "What the frak was that for?!"
"Sorry," Bulkhead said even as the road took a turn for the bumpy, sending Miko and her Uncle bouncing in their seats. "Had to put some distance between us and the Big-rig." Miko looked back and could now barely see the black truck turn onto the grassy lane behind them, only to transform into robot mode and start running after them.
"So what are you waiting for Bulk?!" Miko asked, "Call Ratchet for a ground-bridge and get us out of here!"
"I've been trying!" The wrecker barked back, "Somethings jamming all the comm frequencies!" Rodney turned back around in his seat, only to see a dark blue Reaper drone diving straight at them.
"HIT THE DECK!" He grabbed Miko and yanked her down below Bulkheads console just as a sonic pulse shattered the windshield and windows.
"Gah! Scrap," Bulkhead swore, swerving slightly with the blasts force, glaring up as Soundwave passed by overhead. "Well," he said grimly, "That explains that." Rodney shook his head, trying to stop the ringing in his ears as Miko did the same.
"What the heck is Soundwave doing here?!" She asked, looking between Bulkheads console and her uncle. "HOW is he even here?!"
"Who cares?!" Rodney shot back, "I'm more worried about where he's goin!." Miko leaned forward and saw Soundwave banking back around for another attack run even as the pede falls of their pursuer grew louder. Bulkhead swore, instead of loosing the Con all he had done was drive straight into a trap.
"Hang on!" He yelled, increasing their speed even as the road became even rougher. "I'm gonna make a break for the freeway!" Miko could tell her uncle didn't like this idea.
"ARE YOU INSANE!?" He shouted looking back, "we won't stand a chance on the open road!" Miko paused for a split second; she thought it was Nemesis Prime chasing them, but now she was sure her Uncle recognized the new Decepticon. Her pause ended when Soundwave streaked past again, blasters spewing laser bolts at Bulkheads open windows. Again Miko and her uncle ducked as Bulkhead's armor took the punishment.
"You got a better Idea?" The wrecker asked, "Because I would really like to hear it!" His gps pinged a new direction and Bulkhead swore again. "Hold on tight!"
"We're all gonna diiiieeeeeeee!" Rodney screamed as Bulkhead pinned him and Miko in their seat with a hard right drift, darting off the open row of towers and down a narrower path and up a hill, only to be launched up into the air and land right in the middle of an expressway. The rush hour commuters swerved and honked at him, but Bulkhead took no notice, blending into traffic as well as he could and looking for any sign of the Cons. Miko looked out of the autobots shattered windows, scanning the skies and road behind them.
"I think we lost em." But her uncle was less than pleased.
"Oh dis is jus GREAT! We're on a toll road!" But Bulkhead ignored him.
"Miko, any sign of Soundwave?"
"Uh, nope," She said looking around, just as a group of cars to their left had their windows blown in. Miko snapped her head back and muttered her own curse. Soundwave was on their tail and closing fast. It seemed the Cons weren't worried about maintaining cover anymore. But just as she thought things couldn't get any worse.
"Heads up!" Her uncle yelled, pointing to the tree's on the hillside above the freeway. Suddenly the black-purple semi former burst through the tree line, vaulting clear over Bulkhead and transforming in mid air. But not before Miko got a good look at his optics, hollow purple on black optics that only contained burning rage and hatred. The Con crashed into the roadway behind them on all six tires, rubber screaming in fury as the chase resumed. Rodney looked back toward the truck and groaned, not having learned the lesson Miko had just seconds ago.
"Can dis day get any worse?" The moment he said that, a ground-bridge portal opened up right in front of them, and Bulkhead instinctively swerved left to miss it. He passed the portal, just as a motorcycle and its rider raced out of it and into the freeway.
He heard the portal close behind him, but Jack didn't even have time to let his gray helmets HUD scan for energon signatures when he saw a windowless Bulkhead speed by him with two passengers inside. He gunned the throttle to catch up, his bikes grey and silver frame lowering and elongating to let the air slip by easier as the single hollow back wheel and the two front forced the compacted frame faster. It wasn't like riding with Arcee, but was more concerned about helping his friends than how his new ride handled. He was nearly front axles to bumper with Bulkhead, when his HUD blared an attack warning to his right. He braked, laser blasts hitting the pavement where he would have been.
He looked up, glaring at the Decepticon Communications officer as the flier banked away and circled back behind him. Jack throttled up and switching on the bikes weapons systems, doing an about face and turning back into oncoming traffic. The best thing he could do right now was knock Soundwave out of the picture, or at least distract him long and thoroughly enough to open up the comms for a few seconds. He jerked and swerved through the lanes of motorists coming right at him, until the traffic mercifully let up, just in time to see Soundwave flying low back toward Bulkhead. He flicked his bike left and hit the brakes, letting the back tire spin and swing around 180 before Jack gunned the engine, now on Soundwaves tail.
Thumbing the trigger, Jack sent a burst up at Soundwave, more to get his attention than anything. It worked, Soundwave throttled down and dropped back. Right behind Jack.
"Scrap!" He swore, yanking his bike right as Soundwave began pouring laser fire down at him. He hit the gas, and surged forward. A quick glance at his hud confirmed Soundwave was now chasing him. Now came the tricky part; keeping Soundwave's focus on him without getting killed.
Bulkhead meanwhile was dealing with his own problems. He had to dodge left and right constantly to avoid hitting the cars around and in front of him, only for the Decepticon truck-former chasing them to ram or run them off the road without hesitation. Rodney continued looking back through Bulkheads shattered windows, disbelief and terror clear in his features.
"He's getting bigger!" Rodney yelled in panic as Bulkhead swerved around another van.
"You don't think I know that already!?" Bulkhead snapped, only for his passenger to snap back.
"I told you the freeway was suicide!" He yelled, ducking down as the semi rammed a car off the road causing it to explode in a fireball. The explosion set off a massive pileup behind the charging semi, and before anyone knew it the lanes had almost cleared. "We gotta get outta here and loose him!" Rodney said just as the semi's front slammed into Bulkheads tailgate. Miko held onto her seat for dear life as the Semi slammed them again and again, trying for force Bulkhead to loose control. Then the corner of her eye found the gps display, and more importantly, a tunnel up ahead.
"Thats it!" Bulkhead grunted as the semi former bumped him again, "Hold onto something we're going off road!"
"NO don't!" Miko said suddenly, "Keep going!"
"SCRAP!" Jack cursed, hitting the brakes to avoid slamming into the wall of wrecked cars. He could only assume the flaming wall of metal was because of whoever was chasing Miko and Bulk. That made two, so now the pileup had him walled in, and he couldn't help the others. "Ratchet," he called activating his comm link, "Ratchet do you read me?!" But all he got was static, and before Jack could even think his name the static's cause hit the pavement behind him. He twisted around in his seat, looking back as Soundwave loomed over him, flames painting vivid colors and reflections across his visor.
"Hey Soundwave," Jack said in a nervous laugh, "been a while. You're not still mad about the whole shadow zone thing right?" Soundwaves only response was to draw and aim his resonance blaster, replaying the agents previous words.
":still mad:" He blasted the pavement, but Jack somehow vaulted back and out of the blast. Soundwave looked up, only to get a burst of gunfire to his face. He turned his now cracked visor to face the weapon's wielder, and for a nanosecond couldn't believe his optics. There stood Jack, now considerably taller and clad in slightly dull silver and grey armor, now standing with his head even with Soundwave's abdomen. He quickly realized the humans motorcycle had transformed into a primitive combat suit, evidenced by the wheels at his ankles, and the larger rear tire on his back. His narrow shoulders sported winglets like his former guardian, while his forearms brandished a pair of human machine guns, and a hidden melee weapon of some sort he suspected.
"Whats the matter Soundwave?" Jack goaded, "speechless?" Soundwave fired a sonic pulse, one jack barely dodged with a diving roll. The Agent threw himself upright, aiming and firing both his arm guns at the Con comm officer. Soundwave actually had to shield his fractured visor, discovering quickly the rounds were armor piercing and dangerously effective. But he was still the more experienced fighter by eons. Using his arms to shield his head, he used his cables to aim the resonance blaster. Jack didn't have time to react, as a pulse caught him dead center of the chest plates, sending him crashing across the roadway into the guard wall.
"UHH!" he grunted, his back slamming into the concave wall, sliding down into a heap as Soundwave stalked over. He aimed his resonance blaster at Jack's still spinning head, then spotted the badge adorning the humans left chest plate and repeated the only words he'd ever heard the con speak.
"Soundwave Superior, Autobots Inferior." Jack groaned, but just as Soundwave charged his blaster, the human raised his arm and shot it out of his servo. Soundwave watched the relic clatter away, then spun to face the human, certain the fleshing was smirking behind his helmet.
"Soundwave, talks too much." The faceless con snarled silently, cracked visor flashing red. His cables shot out, pinning the agents arms to the wall, as he shifted his right servo to his dagger. He raised the blade to Jack's head, and the agent felt his training kick in. Time seemed to slow, as Soundwave lunged forward, blade tip aimed for the middle of Jack's helmet. He disengaged the locks holding his left gauntlet to the rest of his armor, letting him jerk right. Soundwaves blades missed his eye by centimeters, shattering his visor and cutting a deep gash down the side of his helmet before burying itself in the wall. Jack smirked, not realizing he was now bleeding from his left ear.
"Missed." He engaged his suits speed mode, the wheels on his ankles shifting down onto his feet and started spinning. Unprepared to stop the humans sudden momentum, Soundwave lost his grip, as Jack was thrown up the curved wall right over the Cons head. Landing in a crouch, Jack twirled around to face his enemy, and immediately ducked back down as Soundwave swung his cables like whips. Frankly it was getting annoying. "Again with the tentacles!" Jack gripped, jumping back to dodge another cable whip. "Do you even realize what country we're in?!"
Soundwave said nothing, retracted his cables then transformed his left servo into a blaster and started firing.
"Thats it!" Bulkhead grunted as the semi former bumped him again, "Hold onto something we're going off road!"
"NO don't!" Miko said suddenly, "Keep going!"
Her uncle's reaction was expected.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" He screamed, before another jolt from behind threw him forward in his seat, "He's gonna splatter us like bugz if we don't get off da road!"
"Trust me!" Miko said, curling her legs under her into her seat, "I've got an idea!"
"We're all gonna die," Rodney muttered as Miko crawled into the back seat, pushing her luggage aside and leaning out the back driver side window.
"HEY! Scrap head!" She shouted back at the semi, much to Bulkheads annoyance.
"Miko what are you doing?!"
"Trust me Bulk!" She shouted back. "Yeah you! Is that all you got?! A few cheap back shots, LAAAAME! What are you scared?!" Rodney's eyes were bugging out of his skull now, and he honestly thought Miko had a death wish. His panic only grew when the semi shouted back.
"SCARED?!" It screamed in a voice like a chainsmoker, "you want scared?! I'LL SHOW YOU SCARED!" He pulled left and throttled up, pulling up right along side Bulkhead.
"Well," Rodney said in more of panic than snark, "Good news is he ain't behind us no more. Bad news is." The semi slammed into them broadside, forcing Bulkhead sideways across two lanes before he could stop himself. "DIS IS WORSE!" Bulkhead ground his denta together as the truck former slammed into him again, denting plating and damaging a swath of internals. He turned his mirrors toward Miko, now firmly planted in the backseat.
"Whatever you're gonna do Miko!" He grunted as the semi forced him across another lane, putting them one away from the guard barrier. "You better do it fast!"
"Come on," She mumbled watching the road ahead, until finally the two tunnel portals appeared ahead of them. "YES!" She glanced toward the semi, just as another blow jolted her in her seat. Bulkhead could only guess what Miko had planned, and gunned it as hard as he could. The Con stayed with them of course, running right alongside as they drove into the tunnel.
Miko shifted her arm to blaster mode, silently praying she could make it work a second time. She leaned her torso out the window, hanging from the dented roof, but dove back inside just before the Semi splattered her against her former guardian. Then, as the semi pulled away for another slam, Miko made her move. Sticking her head and arm outside, she aimed for a seam in the tunnel ceiling panels overhead and in front of them, her mind moving so fast she didn't register a set of cross hairs appearing in her vision, targeting the seam. A pause for timing, an instinctive thought, and a pink bolt fired up from her arm.
The shot vaporized the clamps holding the end of the panel in place, dropping the metal plate down onto the road, right in the Semi's path. Bulkhead pushed everything he had left into his wheels, barely pulling ahead as the ramp upended the Semi's left side and sent it tumbling end over end, causing the other panles to fall like dominoes .
"YES!" Miko yelled as the Con vanished in a cloud of dust and twisted metal, her uncle doing the same.
"YEA-HAH! Take DAT!" he whooped in victory, "Who's king of the road now,MOTORBREATH!?" They exited the tunnel, feeling invincible, only for their ride to grind to a halt.
Jack dodged left again, his heel tires boosting his speed while the suit enhanced his reflexes. Even so he was just barely avoiding Soundwaves blaster fire, and it was everything he could do to keep the Con away from the resonance blaster with his guns. But soon he'd run out of ammo and have to fight hand to hand. He dived behind a smoking van, aiming through the charred windows only to hear a click when he fired.
"Scrap!" he swore, just before his legs were ripped out from under him. He struggled to free his ankles of the cable, but before he could, the car he had hid behind was thrown aside like a toy. Soundwave towered over the agent, chest heaving as his vents cycled furiously. Jack felt Soundwaves other cable wrap around his torso and start to squeeze, grinding the suits plating together and into his abdomen. He shut his eyes and ground his teeth, determined not to give Soundwave the satisfaction of a scream. Then he saw a flash of blue green light, but the pain denied him a smirk. Instead he just looked at the faceless Con's cracked visor, sounding every bit the defeated opponent.
"What are you waiting for?" he asked grimly, "Finish it." Jack pictured him wearing a sadistic smile as Soundwave traded his blaster for his dagger and keyed a single word over his fractured visor.
":Gladly:" He raised the blade and aimed for the humans heart, when suddenly he felt two more blades run his shoulder actuators through.
"I'm sorry," Ratchet grunted as he twisted his scalpels further into Soundwaves shoulders. "But this patient is under my care." Jack swung his right gauntlet, the short serrated blade extending as it sliced through the constricting cables, freeing him of Soundwaves grasp. "And I'm afraid," Ratchet huffed raising Soundwave up into the air, "visiting hours are OVER!" With one heave he swung the con around, the force of the spin slinging Soundwave across the ruined freeway.
He tried to lift himself up, but his shoulders were too damaged to hold his weight. He lifted his head, noticing the resonance blaster lying closeby, but also the Autobot medic and his human pet closing in on him. Seeing the tide had turned, Soundwave wrapped his still energon leaking cables around the resonance blaster and transformed into his UAV mode.
"NO!" Ratchet cried, frantically firing as Soundwave jetted past them. He kept firing after the fleeing Con but it was no use, Soundwave was already out of range.
Bulkhead opened his doors, groaning painfully.
"Bulkhead?!" Miko cried jumping out and running around as her Uncle got out as well. "Whats wrong?"
"Yeah," her uncle asked as the wrecker transformed into a kneel. "Why ain't we still running?!" Bulkhead could only pant as his vents labored to cool his overheated vitals. Miko saw why; his tires were shredded, and the metal connecting them to his frame was red hot and smoking.
"Just *pant* give me a *gasp* minute," He wheezed, leaving out the part where his whole body hurt like the pit. But then from behind them.
"What a coincidence." Miko and her uncle turned to face the voice, a black and purple doppelganger of Optimus prime walking out of the dust clouded tunnel portal. "Thats precisely how long you have left to live Autobot," he sneered pounding his fists together as Bulkhead forced himself upright.
"That voice," he groaned, turning to the dust covered Con. "I know that voice." He fixed his optics on the prime look alike, not fooled by the new body. "Motormaster." The Stunticon leader's sneer grew, battle mask retracting to reveal his misshapen vocalizer.
"In the metal Wrecker." Bulkhead activated his cannon and tried to aim it, but Motormaster's Path Blaster was quicker. He shot Bulkhead in the arm, staggering him before a headshot knocked him on his back.
"BULKHEAD!" Miko cried rushing over to her guardian, only for a blast from Motormaster to shatter and liquefy the pavement in front of her.
"Don't even think about it," He growled walking up to the humans, his gun trained on Miko, but his optics were locked on her uncle. "Well well," he said in a dark sing song tone as he loomed over Rodney. "Look what the Rat dragged in." He shifted his free servo to a sword, dropping down to one knee and keeping his pathblaster trained on Miko, the tip of his sword millimeters away from Rodney's face. "There's a good little fleshling. Now, tell me," Motormaster smiled sadistically before suddenly exploding in anger. "WHERE ARE THEY?!"
"Where are who?" Rodney asked causally, resulting in the blade coming even closer to his face.
"Don't play dumb with me fleshy! I know you know where they are! TELL ME!" He roared, only for Rodney to roar back.
"And when I don't?!" The Stunticon growled, aiming both blaster and sword at him.
"Then I'll ask you one last time, BEFORE I SPLATTER YOUR ORGANIC PULP ALL OVER THE ROAD! WHERE!? IS!? DYNAGAAH!" Burning plasma singed his right audio sensor. Motormaster recoiled, sword servo flying to to his helm where the blaster shot had hit his helm and destroyed the antenna on that side. He snarled and whirled around, expecting to see the Wrecker aiming his blaster. Instead he saw the human girl aiming a scatter blaster at him. But it was the shade of glowing green her eyes had turned that made him connect the dots.
"Son of a Glitch," he gasped, just as a ground-bridge portal opened in mid air behind them. Motormaster spun on his heel strut, training both blasters on the portal as a white muscle car with green and red accents drove out, transforming in mid air to land a kick to the truck-formers damaged helm. Motormaster faltered as his attacker rolled over him and landed in a crouch.
"Wheeljack," He laughed, battle mask engaging as he traded his blasters for swords, "And here I thought this solar cycle couldn't get any better." The Wrecker just smirked behind his own mouth guard.
"Well then its you're lucky day decepticreep!" Motormaster was only confused for a nanosecond, before a massive winged shadow passed over him, and a primal roar filled the sky.
Soundwave had only been in the air long enough to climb high enough to avoid radar detection when his sensors picked up a new set of autobot and predacon energy signatures. He bit back a curse and opened a comm link.
Motormaster was still staring down Wheeljack when the text appeared across his vision.
:The situation has changed. We no longer have the numerical or combat advantage. Disengage and retreat.: The stunticon leader ground his vocalizer behind his battle-mask, then shifted his blades to blasters and fired at the ground in front of Wheeljack.
The Wrecker sprinted forward, but by the time he passed through the smoke, Motormaster's taillights were vanishing through a closing ground-bridge. But the disappointment was short lived.
"BULK!" He cried rushing over to his fellow Wrecker and checking his vitals. He was barely online and verging on stasis-lock. "Ratchet, Ratchet!" he called anxiously, hoping Soundwave was no longer jamming the comms. "Ratchet are you there?!" For a moment static, and then...
"I copy Wheeljack," The medic answered, "Whats your status?"
"Bulkhead's down and he's hurt bad! I need a ground-bridge, A-Sap!"
"Roger, send your coordinates to Rafael. I'll prepare sickbay."
"STREAKS!" The sudden voice reminded Wheeljack of the humans nearby, but when he looked, he saw Miko collapse with the other human running toward her. "Miko, MIKO wake up!"
"Better hurry with that Ground-bridge," he said looking at the unconscious wrecker and panicking human, but specifically the girls clearly cybertronian arm. "And prep Sickbay for two."