A/N: I sent PMs to all who reviewed chapter 46 to let them now I added additional scenes to it. If you read but didn't review, then you have to go back to avoid confusion. A special thanks to TimeLordBud for the homage made in the story, "Transformers Prime: Miami". I recommend giving it a try.
Chapter 47
Aboard the Vessel where a strange energy signature emanated, ShadowStrike stood across from Baxter Stockman, the Shredder's chief of R & D. He no doubt had created numerous weapons for the Foot and their affiliates, such as MECH. He was probably also responsible for the MECH mutants back in the Arctic. Right now, he was standing in the way of ShadowStrike finding Sunny; and that was a bad idea. However, he had back up in the form of the Apex Armor, the latest Iacon relic.
Since his connection with the Thirteen had been severed, Jack could no longer sense when other artifacts were unearthed. And the Autobots were too busy dealing with MECH and the Shredder to keep an eye out for them. Just another reason for Jack to sink lower into self-loathing, but he couldn't deal with that right now. He had to take care of Stockman and get to work finding Sunny. Before he could do anything, the floor began to lower them.
They now found themselves in a small room, though it was large enough to provide the ninja with places to hide if necessary. Stockman boasted, "With the limited space in this room, you can forget about taking me head on." He charged, throwing a punch, only to miss. He spun around with a back hand but was met with air. ShadowStrike had disappeared, using his Stealth training to his advantage. "You can't hide forever!"
"Ratchet," ShadowStrike radioed from his perch above the room, "I'm need of a history lesson."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Stockman's got his hands on an Iacon relic called the Apex Armor," he explained. "I need to know what it can do and how I can stop it."
"By the AllSpark," he gasped (which meant there was bad news coming). "Jack, the Apex Armor was forged by Solus Prime herself and is said to be made of a metal harder than Cybertanuim."
"Cyber-whadium?"
"Cybertanium, the metal which our armor and weapons are derived from," the medic explained. "The hardest metal on your planet it titanium (correct me if I'm wrong). Cybertanium is a thousand times the density."
"And whatever the Apex Armor is made if of?" he questioned.
"A hundred-thousand times harder than Cybertanium," he said gravely.
"There must be a way to stop it if it was locked in the vaults of Iacon, right?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Ratchet replied. "The Apex Armor is one of Cybertron's oldest relics and much of our history is lost, so I cannot simply look it up. If there is a way to stop the armor, you must figure it out for yourself."
"What about asking the Thirteen?" ShadowStrike suggested. "Couldn't Optimus contact them using the Matrix?" Despite all that had happened between them, Jack knew that the Thirteen could help. At the very least, they owed to him after the mess Liege Maximo caused.
"I'll see what I can do," the medic replied. As the medic ended their conversation, Jack knew that while he consulted with Optimus, he would still have to fight Stockman. He decided that it would be best to disorient the man while he waited for word from Ratchet. As Stockman searched the room, ShadowStrike scanned it with his eyes and started to come up with a plan. As a scientist, Stockman often set his mind to one goal at a time, so as to not overload his mind.
His one track minded personality could be put to good use in bringing about his defeat. ShadowStrike looked over the room for anything that might prove to be useful while also seeing if the armor had any flaws he could exploit. One weakness in any armor was the joints, as they were often separate from the rest of the body so the wearer could bend their arms and legs. If he could take out one of Stockman's legs, it would easy enough to avoid him until he got word from the others. ShadowStrike swiftly moved from one perch to another until he was right above Stockman.
The scientist was turning over everything while looking for the ninja, unaware of the impending attack. Landing quietly behind him, ShadowStrike drew his sword and aimed for the knee joint. If he cut through that, all of Stockman's weight, plus the weight of the armor, would leave him immobile. He slowed inched over to Stockman while the scientist continued to search for him. He was about to strike when Stockman spun around and kicked him across the room.
"Did you honestly think I didn't see you up there?" he laughed. "You were talking to whoever's on the other line long enough for me to spot you. I knew you'd just find another hiding spot if attacked you right then and there, so I pretended like I didn't notice you."
"And who says you're not a genius," ShadowStrike quipped. "I'm giving one last chance to tell me where Sunny is and get out of my way."
"You're in no position to threaten me, especially now that the armor is scanning the heat in your body. You can hide, but the foot prints you leave behind will lead me straight to you."
"Will see about that," the ninja said as he disappeared from sight yet again. Okay, so it seemed Stockman wasn't as foolish as he thought. But he let his trump card slip; because now, ShadowStrike knew just how to keep him off balance. If the man was going to follow his foot prints, then he would give him something to follow. The Apex Armor began scanning for the heat left by ShadowStrike's foot prints.
ShadowStrike began to move in circles so he could confuse the man while keeping out of sight. Stockman followed the prints like an animal following a scent, purposefully ignoring the jumbled prints in favor of the ones going in straight line. Finally, Stockman was right where the ninja wanted him. ShadowStrike threw a shuriken at the generator right next to him. Electricity sprung out and caught onto the armor, electrocuting Stockman.
The man cried out in pain as the suit's metal alloy only worsened the electrical shock. Finally, it ended, only for ShadowStrike to come from behind and impale his right knee joint. With a wail of pain, Stockman collapsed onto his knee as the ninja neared. He tried to stand, but his patella had been cut clean through by the blood. As ShadowStrike stood over the man, Ratchet commed in, "Jack, I have spoken with Optimus. He contacted Solus Prime, who relayed that the armor's chest piece can deactivate if when touched."
"Good to know," he replied, punching the piece, causing the armor to open up and expose Stockman. "Where is Sunny?"
"In the control room," he hissed through the pain. "I'm only telling you because it's too late to stop any of this." ShadowStrike narrowed his eyes at the scientist before heading for the control room.
ShadowStrike Rising
Running down the extremely long hall that lead to the control room, a multitude of thoughts raced through ShadowStrike's mind. Why had the Shredder kidnapped Sunny in the first place and was she safe? Why did he have a fleet on route to New York City and why was said fleet so under protected? Where were the Foot Ninja who should be trying to keep him as far away from the Shredder as possible? These thoughts and more raced through his mind as he got closer and closer to his daughter.
Yes, Jack would admit it now; Sunny had become akin to a daughter in his eyes. He cared for her and protected her without even realizing it. The thought of losing her was enough to drive him over the edge or send him into a deep depression. When Sunny had been taken from him, he felt the latter. The thought of her being gone and him never seeing her again was too much to bear, especially with what was going on with Arcee.
Thanks to Oni-Kage, Jack had been forced to tell the femme about his relationship with Chikara, something he wasn't ready to talk about. He saw the hurt in her eyes and she immediately put up her defenses when he tried to explain. She tried to be her cold self, but she was in too much emotional pain to put up a good performance. Since then, things between them had been uncomfortable. It was during that time when Jack could have used Sunny's innocent presence.
Now, she was in the hands of the Shredder and Lord only knows what he was doing to her. ShadowStrike finally came up to a pair of double doors and forced them opened. Slipping through them, he was met by the sight of the deceased Autobot; Cliffjumper. The ninja's widened as he gazed upon the dead Cybertronian. He'd never met Cliffjumper; in fact, his death is what caused Arcee and Jack to meet in the first place.
He'd only seen images of the Autobot in base and learned about his personality from listening to Arcee's stories. He noticed the faraway look in her optics when she described the mech. It was the same look he no doubt had when he talked about Chikara. It was clear enough to Jack that Arcee must have loved him deeply and the ninja couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she saw this. Knowing her, she would have gone on a rampage and slaughtered anyone unlucky enough to be caught in Foot Ninja attire.
He couldn't help but wonder how the Shredder got his hands on the remains; it was then that Jack truly saw the body. Several parts had been replaced to the point where he was unrecognizable, save for his horn. His red chassis was now covered by silver armor and his face was covered by a faceplate. It would seem like this was Shredder's grand plan; to unleash the robot on New York and tear a path of destruction through the U.S. Jack looked over the body as it lay across the large slab when his eyes landed on the sight of the tank.
It was filled with a glowing blue energy that kept the body inside suspended in the air and unconscious. Further focus on the body revealed it to be none other than Sunny, causing ShadowStrike's eyes to widen even further. Why was Sunny inside of that tank? What was the tank doing just outside of what used to be Cliffjumper's spark chamber?
"Magnificent, is it not?" the voice of the Shredder called from the perch above. ShadowStrike fixed a deadly glare on the ninja as he reached for his sword.
"Let her go!" he demanded.
"I think not," Shredder chuckled darkly. "I have been searching for that girl for many, many years. She had eluded me long enough and I will not stop my plans as they are so close to completion."
"What are talking about?"
"I am sure you met Sunny's father, Bryan, correct? Isn't it odd that an American man was living in Japan all this time?"
"What do you know about Bryan?"
"He worked for the American branch of Stockman's company. He was a brilliant agriculturalist and eager to help us bring humanity into the New World Order, though he didn't realize how big our ambition was. One day, I found him robbing our Medical wing and confronted him. He told me he needed the medicine we had for his daughter."
"What?" Jack asked.
"Yes. Young Sunny was sick once upon a time," the Shredder explained. "He begged me for help and I granted his request, but at a price. I had Stockman whip up a special serum that was added to the medicine. The serum made Young Sunny a technokinetic, one who is able to control technology."
"How did you do that?"
"It was a simple matter of creating cells that empowered the brain's functionality when around technology compatible with the signal they put out is near, such as the case with Sunny and the body of the machine there. When Bryan found out what he had done and what we were planning, he took his wife and child away. For years, they hid from sight and my plans were put on hold. I became Prime Minister of Japan so I could use the resources at my disposal to find them. Imagine my surprise when one of my agents in the U.S. government locates the girl in your care."
"Let her go!"
"I think no!" he said, jumping from his perch and landing across from the young ninja. Drawing his sword, Shredder and ShadowStrike charged at each other.
ShadowStrike Rising
A/N: I wanted to make this longer, but my mind is hitting a bit of a blank. I hope you enjoyed. Next time: ShadowStrike and Shredder battle to decide Sunny's fate.