Chapter 27-Assassination Duet
Penelope Pincer was a girl who was driven by ambition. Born to a wealthy family who made a fortune investing into the talos market, Penny made it her life's mission not to end up like those arrogant and spoiled brats she grew up with when she lived in Washington. The noisy and spoiled girls she often found herself confronting were dead set on spending their entire lives living off their parents' money, dependant on other people to live their lives for them, content with doing nothing but pretending to be queen bee.
But Penny was different; she had a brain and she knew how to use it. When other kids spent their weekends watching cartoons and hanging out with friends, she was in her workshop trying to make her own fully automated personal robots. It all started with a pet robot dog she tried to make, and from there she ignited a love for robotics and science in general that carried on well into her preteens. Looking back on how she was before that fateful day she ran into a certain blonde girl at a science expo, Penny realized how selfish and arrogant she was-no different from those kids she always held herself above. Perhaps it was that self-assured faith in her skills and lack of an equal is what made being matched by Gina Harkins, her eternal rival, sting more than it should.
Since they first met at that science expo in Washington, Penny and Gina were always trying to beat each other, either in technology, science, history, whatever caught their fancy. Penny knew she had a better house, better equipment, and generally more money than Gina, but she was envious of the blonde for more mundane reasons that didn't involve being surpassed in the body department; Gina had friends. Gina had two best friends; the cute if not plain Darren and his trigger happy, overly aggressive twin sister Annie. She saw how they looked after each other and often longed for a lasting friendship like that-sure Kevin filled that role just fine, but he was boyfriend material, her crush, he didn't count technically. It'd just be nice to have her own posse, friends she could surround herself with like Gina has.
'Is it because she's more developed than me?' Penny thought. 'Yeah, that has to be it! That dumb blonde isn't even fourteen yet and she's already rocking a bod that's attracting all the boys. Mother Nature would give the hot blonde from the boonies a free pass and look over a sista from D.C.'
These outrageous ideas became more and more outlandish as she sat on a broken fridge near a lake that ran next to a factory. In her hands was her first drone, an upgraded version of her dog robot that she had for nearly ten years. Its first incarnation was little more than a robotic puppy that ran on AAA batteries and moved in a single line. But now that her knowledge in robotics had grown, her D.O.G. drone (she couldn't think of a meaning for the acronym, as she thought naming it that way was just cooler) now looked like a Great Dane with a black visor in place of eyes.
The main reason of her ire for Gina was because she thought the blonde girl had "stole" her only friend in Tranquility-Kevin. Penny had noticed that the fire spewing amalgam had been spending more and more time with the trio instead of with her. Sure he always made time for her, he was like nice like that, not wanting to feel like he was abandoning her, but she felt he was hiding something from her. Penny noticed this had begun after he returned from his camping trip; she thought Gina had worked her little nerdy feminine wiles on her and ensnared him in her web of lies but now she was thinking that it was something bigger-something that involved not just Gina, but Darren and Annie as well.
'I don't know what kind of voodoo that little witch did to snag him, but I'm not going to let this sit!' Penny vowed. 'I swear this on Einstein's grave, or my name isn't-'
"Penny!"
"Wah!" Penny jumped and fell off the broken down car she was sitting on. DOG jumped after its master, barking mechanically before hopping off the hood and running over to Kevin.
"Are you alright?" Kevin asked over DOG's loud barking.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Penny coughed, trying to save face.
"You were staring angrily into nothing for almost five minutes now," Kevin said, smiling at Penny's blush. "I've been trying to call you for a few minutes now."
"Oh." Penny's blush grew. Nice going, Penny, you've made yourself look like a fool in front of the one boy who's not a total spaz. "W-Well, I was just bored. You took too long getting here."
"Sorry, I was just helping a friend find something she lost." He said.
Kevin was helping Razor locate Mugen over in Emmeria with Arcee and Skyfire. The poor femme missed her friend and was probably the only one aside from Sparkplug on the Ark who didn't condemn Mugen as a traitor and marked her for shoot on sight. Mugen was Razor's best friend, and she wanted to know that she was safe and in one piece, out of the clutches of baddies like OZ. After their last excursion, no cybertronian was safe from them on this planet-not Autobot, Decepticon or Minicon.
Obviously, they found no sign of her, and Mugen was very good at covering her tracks to make sure she disappeared without a trace. Arcee had theorized that she even changed her paint color on top of scanning a new form to blend in easier. It hurt seeing the normally cheerful Razor look so sad, but there was little else he could do. And this was before he realized that he was snubbing Penny off more than usual to help Razor, and Penny was not a girl who liked being pushed aside for another girl.
"What kind of friend?" Penny inquired further. "She wouldn't have blonde hair, blue eyes and a body no girl her age should have, hmm?"
"No, Penny, it's not Gina." Kevin sighed. "Please don't start with that."
"No, listen to me! You've been spending more time with my arch nemesis than me for nearly a month now and it's starting to get on my nerves." Penny said and stomped up to him. "What the hell happened to our training sessions together? You barely come to those either, and in case you've forgotten, that's a required class!"
Penny was talking about the private training sessions Kevin would have with her in seclusion, small training regimens to help Kevin better control his powers. They would go to isolated places like a lake or a junkyard to hone his powers, learning how his energy absorption worked, the limits on the amount of energy he can absorb at a given time (they still don't know, but Kevin assumed that being hit by a cybertronian blaster would be enough to keep him going for about a week), and how to apply his powers, which led to him learning how to fire energy blasts and use his energy to enhance his body. It was how he was able to function in society without being afraid of crushing something accidentally or firing an energy beam from his hands like a fireworks display. These were little bonding moments for Penny and she felt a little hurt that he would avoid those as well.
"I know, Penny, and I'm so sorry for that. But I've gotten better, see?" Kevin raised his hands and generated two orange orbs of energy in his hands and made them dance around Penny.
"Wow." Penny momentarily forgot her anger as Kevin made the little orbs dance before snapping his fingers and making them explode into harmless little sparkles in her face. She yelped and jumped back into his chest. "Hey!"
"Sorry." He chuckled.
Penny turned around and blushed when she noticed how close they were. Green eyes met amber for a moment, and the kids felt a spark between them before Penny lightly pushed herself away. Seeing her like this reminded Kevin that Penny wasn't the headstrong and cocky inventor girl everyone saw her as, but as the girl who had little to no friends. He felt worse than he already felt for not telling her all the things he had seen and done.
"Penny, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm ignoring you." Kevin apologized. It was so earnest that the witty remark Penny had planned for him died before it left her lips. "It's just that…they're a lot of things going on and it's making me busier than usual."
"But what's so crazy that you can't even find time for us? You're able to make time for Gina's group lately." She accused him. "You've never given them the time of day before that camping trip. Did something happened over there?" Her voice took on a threatening tone. "Did Gina confess to you?"
"W-What? No, she didn't confess anything, Penny!" Kevin stammered.
"Then it's Annie then. I knew that tomboy floozy was hunting you down!" Penny growled. "I knew those rumors of her being bi were bull. How long has this been going on?"
'Annie's bisexual?' Kevin thought, then shook his head to get the conversation back on track. "Penny, there's nothing going on between myself and the girls. I swear on my father's life that there's no secret relationship or anything."
Penny nodded and calmed down a little. Whenever Kevin swore on his late father, it meant he was serious. His father was a fighter pilot turned airplane performer who died in an accident during an air show-and Kevin saw the whole thing. Kevin idolized his father and strived to be a pilot just like him, powers or not. Even still, she was sore about him keeping secrets.
"Then can you at least tell me what's going on between you and them? What's so special and important that you guys meet up immediately after school?" She asked.
Kevin struggled with her pleas. He knew she was only worried about him; she was worried enough about someone finding out about his esper status and essentially ruining his public life. He knew she was well aware of the possible dangers of his life, but this was not something she was ready for. An intergalactic civil war waged by giant alien robots, the life and death missions, the constant threat of being hunted down by Decepticons or rogue terrorist organizations; Kevin didn't want her involved with any of that. Even Debbie kept the Autobots at a distance these days, and she trusted them with her younger siblings' lives. There was real danger involved, and Penny, being the cocky and self assured girl she was who never back down in the face of danger, was not ready for this.
"I'm sorry, Penny, but there's no secret." He told her. "It's nothing important, really."
"I see." Penny said, her face stony and her tone icy. "Then I guess you must think our friendship isn't important either."
"Penny, that's not it!" Kevin said as she walked away and mounted her bike. She whistled for DOG to follow her and she gave him one last glare before riding away with her drone running behind her. Kevin stood near the riverside, alone, and for the first time since meeting the Autobots, cursed them for his misfortune.
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A small pink and red ATV with a radio dish on its hood sat close by, hidden from view of the two humans. It recorded their conversation, hearing every work spoke between them. This was the Minicon Search, former partner of Lugnut and currently a free agent.
Search didn't like recon duty, even though his alt mode was perfect for the job, but he was willing to go the extra mile to get back at the kid who bumped off Lugnut. Sure, the big guy wasn't all that bright, and was annoying as hell, but Search grew a soft spot for the giant nut. He provided the action that he craved when not stuffed in those claustrophobic rooms on the Nemesis. Those kids caused him a lot of slag for killing Lugnut, he couldn't even get any free time unless he was partnered with a Con as a security measure. His surveillance skills left him stuck with Barricade; no action, only rolling around like a remote control toy. He was going to get those brats back for what they did!
"Search, what's your status?" Barricade asked over the comm.
"I'm at the river right now." Search answered. "And I've got a read on two brats who might be related to the Autobots' human pets."
"Keep an eye on them a little longer." Barricade instructed. "We'll wait until they meet up with the other humans before making our move."
"About damn time we started taking action." Search grumbled. He went back to watching the dark skinned human mope about his angry girlfriend. Despite his feelings on these hairless apes, he still sympathized with the kid-femmes were a handful, no matter what race they were.
XXXXXX
Kevin and Razor fought hard in the Ark's combat room, which was designed for sparring sessions, training routines and physical therapy. They did this more and more following Mugen's defection and it kept Razor occupied with company after her best friend left her. Fighting her kept Kevin in shape and his skills sharp, though Razor noticed that he seemed a bit out of it today.
"Ha!" Kevin shot a fireball at Razor, exploding it into a larger wave to enclose upon her. Razor skillfully warped away from the flames and reappeared close to Kevin, leaping at him with her training staff. Kevin ducked under her strike and lunged at her, but she dodged him and grabbed his arm, flipping him over his head and onto the ground.
Kevin grunted and jumped back to his feet, running at Razor in a low crouch before shooting a jet of flame from her feet to leap into the air and throw a spin-kick at her. She barely dodged his kick and leapt on his back in the air, twisting her body and throwing him back onto the ground just as hard as before. Razor quickly jumped on him and used her staff to hold him down.
"I win!" Razor chirped happily. "That was too easy, Kevin."
"I can see that." He wheezed under her heavy form. "Please get off me!"
"Huh? Oh, right, sorry!" Razor hopped off Kevin, who rolled over with a groan. "Oh, relax, I'm not that heavy."
"You're made of metal, of course you are." He said.
Razor waited for Kevin to regain his breath before she talked to him. "So, what's wrong?"
"Hmm?" He looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
"What's wrong?" She asked again. "You weren't all that focused today, and I know something's bothering you. You can tell me, love."
Kevin looked a bit conflicted, before he gave a resigned sigh and sat up on the floor. "It's Penny. She's a friend of mine, and we've had what I think is our first real fight today."
Razor nodded, she heard about Penny from their previous conversations. "She's your best friend, yes? Why was she angry at you?"
"Because of…all this." Kevin waved his hands at the room around them, indicating not just the ship but everything he been through as well. "She's suspicious about why I'm hanging out with Darren and the others so much and she's starting to ask questions. Questions I can't answer without revealing you guys."
"Does she really think that you're hiding something?" Razor asked. "I mean, she couldn't possibly be that attentive."
"Penny didn't get to where she is now by ignoring glaring facts like that. She knows that I'm involved with something and that it involves the others as well." Kevin ran a hand through his dreads. "I don't know what to do, Razor. Penny is my best friend, my only real friend before meeting Darren. She's the reason I'm even good at controlling my powers, and we've never kept any serious secrets from each other."
Razor noted his distress as he spoke about this. "You really care for what she thinks?"
"Despite Gina's horror stories, Penny isn't a bad person, she's just really dedicated to her work." Kevin said and leaned back on his hands. "We've always been together since childhood. When I discovered my powers during an accident at a fireworks show, I was scared of people finding out what I was. I survived an accident that had seriously injured four people older than me, and I thought I'd be hunted down like some animal. Penny discovered my secret by accident, back when I was practicing them at the park. She could've ratted me out right then and there, but she didn't. Instead, she stayed with me and learned everything I could do. We've always shared things with each other, so having her made at me for keeping secrets is not fun at all for me."
Razor nodded and sat next to Kevin. After a few minutes of silence, and heavy thinking on Razor's part, she snapped her fingers with a bright smile.
"Why don't you tell her?" She suggested. Kevin looked at her confused.
"Tell her?"
"Yeah, tell Penny about the war and us." She said. "I'll be there to help you."
"Whoa there, Razor, I can't just do that. The Autobots and Minicons trust me to keep their existence a secret, as in not blabbing it to the first person I have on my MySpace friend list." Kevin said.
"Whoever said they had to know." Razor said. "You can tell her everything and have her swear not to tell the others, and just keep it as a little secret between the three of us. This way, you can fix your friendship and not anger the Autobots."
Kevin wanted to protest this idea, knowing keeping this secret from the Autobots could only go wrong, but he saw the sense in it. As long as no one knows, feelings won't get hurt…too much. It's just that whenever people are dragged into this secret war between the cybertronians, they never get the chance to be normal again. He had seen subtle changes in Darren, Annie and Gina; the way they always look over their shoulder in a way no one notices, the slight tensing of their shoulders every time a suspicious looking car shows up, that look in their eyes that was more at home on a soldier than a thirteen year old child. Knowing about the Autobots and Decepticons, and the constant danger Terra faces every day was a heavy and dangerous burden to bear, and Kevin didn't want Penny to go through this mess either.
Razor put a hand on Kevin's shoulder to get his attention. "Kevin, I know you're worried for her, but I think she can keep a secret. You trust her, don't you?"
"Definitely."
"Then you should trust her to accept the truth and cooperate with us." She said. "I'll be there with you to prove everything, and maybe we can bring High Wire's group into this when things settle down. But sooner or later, she might find out on her own."
"And it'll be better to bring her in on the secret on our terms, rather than have her jump to conclusions and cause more problems down the line." Kevin finished. He frowned a bit before giving another sigh. "Can I think on this?"
"Sure, love. Go ahead. I'm not forcing you."
"Thanks." Kevin said as he got his stuff and left the room, with more things on his mind than when he got there.
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The next day was a blur for Kevin as he tried to figure out his next course of action. He spent his school day as he normally would, spending time with his basketball team, working on that science test he forgot to study for (it was dumb luck that it was another test on the intensities of colored flames) and hanging out with Darren's circle of friends. He tried to talk to Penny, but she snubbed him, avoiding him at every turn and not looking at him in class. It was harsh but he expected nothing less from a girl who could hold a serious grudge like Penny.
'I can't keep going on like this.' Kevin thought morosely.
He didn't want to lose his friend, but he also didn't want to blurt the truth about the Autobots out. He trusted Penny, but she was a prideful girl who would no doubt brag about being the first to meet aliens after learning the truth. It didn't seem all that bad, but after getting caught up in that government group that Soundwave raided, he wanted to be more cautious.
'But, maybe I'm just not giving her the benefit of a doubt.' He figured. 'Penny may be a handful, but she'll listen to me if I press the issue. We're best friends after all. I just need to make sure that the Autobots don't know about this.'
After planning the scenario out in his head, Kevin waited for his class to be over before running out of the room and down the hall to where Darren and Annie's lockers were. He ran into the twins, nearly bowling Annie over.
"Damn, Kev, what's the rush?" She asked.
"Sorry. I just need to talk to Grindor." Kevin said.
The twins looked at him strangely. "Um, like right now?" Darren asked.
"Yes, please." Kevin replied, pleading with them to trust him on this.
Annie gave him a look before reaching into her locker and pulling out the skateboard-disguised Minicon and handing him to Kevin. "Fine, but don't chat where anyone can hear you. And make it quick."
"I will, don't worry!" Kevin grinned and ran back down the hall. "And thanks!"
Darren watched Kevin go with a frown. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know." Annie shrugged and slammed her locker closed. "You're the one who attracts the weird people."
"I do not!"
"You totally do."
Meanwhile, Kevin ran into a broom closet that was rarely used by anyone at this time of day. Making sure that no one was close by, he shut the door and looked at Grindor.
"Grindor, I need to speak to you." Kevin whispered. "Like, now."
"I can see that," Grindor whispered back. "But couldn't you have waited to do this after school?"
"No, I'm sorry, but this is kinda urgent." He said. "Could you call Tracer for me?"
Grindor was silent for a minute. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Call her. I need to tell her something important." Kevin whispered.
Grindor spun his wheels, forcing Kevin to let go of him. He hit the ground and transformed to his bipedal mode, glaring at the boy with his round, bulb-like eyes that glowed in the dim lighting of the closet.
"Did you just seriously snatch me up in the middle of a nap just to wire you a phone call?" Grindor hissed. "What the hell, dude?"
"Grindor, please, it won't take long, I promise."
"Kevin, we're in the middle of a public school surrounded by people who could walk in on us at any moment. This is not the time for this!"
"The longer we argue, the more likely that's going to happen." Kevin pointed out.
Grindor glared at him before sighing and pressing two fingers to the side of his head, switching on his comm. "Fine. What do you want to tell her?"
Kevin told Grindor his message: for Razor to meet him at the riverside junkyard where he and Penny talked the day before. He added for her to come in vehicle mode, and told Grindor that he said he was going with her plan. Grindor did so, and after a few minutes, he said that Razor was going to be at the junkyard.
"What is this all about anyway? You get into trouble or something?" Grindor asked.
"Nope, I don't think I'm in trouble anymore." Kevin said smiling. "Now let's get you back to Annie before she starts hunting me down for you."
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Penny gave a tired sigh as she made a beeline straight from her last class of the day to her locker pack her stuff away. She felt emotionally exhausted and seeing Kevin almost everywhere she went didn't help her headache either. Once she got her stuff, she went to the doors and headed to the parking lot to get her back, only to be stopped by two boys.
That's a fancy lookin' bike you got there." A snarky, nasally voice said. "Looks expensive. Did daddy get that for you?"
"Don't even start with me, Billy. I'm not in the mood." Penny growled. She turned around to see the two boys who were the typical bullies of the school. A tall, lanky boy standing next to a short, chubby boy who was obviously the underdog of the two.
"Aww, what's the matter? Daddy cut off your allowance again?" Billy, the tall one, taunted and cackled. "Is that why you're taking your bike instead of getting a ride in your limo?"
"Yeah, you think you're better than us because you don't take the bus like normal people?" Fred said. He carried a bag of chips that looked like it was ripped open by a pack of wolves.
"No, I'm already better than you whether I take the bus or not." Penny replied. Her comeback made Billy lose his good attitude.
"You better take good care of that ride of yours." Billy warned. Next to him, Fred was pulling on his shirt, looking behind him.
"Uh, Billy?" Fred whined. Billy ignored him and continued to taunt Penny.
"Not now doofus." He growled. Turning his attention back to Penny he said, "You better watch you ride very closely. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to it, right?"
"Like what, Billy?"
Billy froze and slowly turned around. Behind him was Kevin, looming over him like an intimidating bodyguard, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Next to him, Fred was cowering like a lost child, praying that he wasn't going to get tossed around like last time.
"What were you going to say, Billy? What might happen to her bike?" Kevin asked calmly, though he didn't hide the menacing undertone in his voice.
"Uh…I was just warning her to…chain her bike properly. Yeah! You never know who might snatch up her bike!" Billy laughed nervously. Sweat fell down his face in rivers under Kevin's gaze.
"Yeah, you're right. You never know what might happen these days." Kevin said as he took the bag from Fred's trembling hands. "One minute you're just minding your own business, and the next-wham!"
He tore the bag in two, not taking his eyes off Billy. "Someone comes along and ruins your whole day."
Billy got the message and speed run past Kevin, dragging Fred by the collar into the parking lot. Once they were out of earshot, Billy began tearing into Fred for not warning him that Kevin was standing behind him. Fred replied that he tried but Billy ignored him. They argued furiously until they were well out of sight, leaving Kevin and Penny alone.
Kevin shook his head at the two boys. They never learn, if it wasn't Darren, then it was Gina. And after Annie promptly beat them black and blue, they began to harp on Penny because she was wealthy. He looked back at Penny, who glanced back at him before she huffed and got on her bike. Kevin sprinted forward and grabbed her bike before she could ride off.
"Let go, Kevin." Penny growled.
"Wait, just hear me out." Kevin said but she wasn't having it.
"I have nothing to say to you." She said frowning. "You like keeping secrets, fine, have fun keeping secrets with Gina."
Penny tried to pedal away, but couldn't get her bike out of Kevin's grip. He looked at her with such intensity in his eyes that Penny blushed and averted her gaze.
"Penny, I know that you're mad at me. And I understand why. You think I'm betraying your trust, abandoning you for other people. I get that," He said. "But I'm not doing that. There is a reason why I'm keeping secrets like this. Why I'm hanging out Darren and the others. It's not just because they're my friends, it's also because I'm involved with something dangerous."
That drew her gaze back to him. "W-what? What do you mean dangerous?" She asked. "What did you get yourself into?"
He gave her one of those charming smiles that she fell in love with when she knew what love meant. "Let me show you. Please?"
Penny looked at him cautiously and nodded. Kevin led her out of the parking lot and down two blocks before leading her into an alleyway. When they were far enough from prying eyes near the street, Kevin signaled for Razor to come out of her hiding place. Penny jumped as she saw the riderless motorcycle driven towards them.
"Kevin," Penny said softly. "What's going on?"
"Penny, before I show you this, you have to promise me that you won't freak out and scream, okay?" Kevin pleaded. "Seriously, what you're about to see is really shocking, but please try to hold that scream in until I can explain. Can you do that for me?"
Penny scowled and punched him in the shoulder. "Who do you think I am? I don't scream over little things like Gina!"
"Okay then," He turned to Razor. "You can transform now."
Penny saw the fancy motorcycle begin to reconfigure and change before her eyes. Her mouth fell open as she saw the ordinary vehicle transform into a humanoid, robotic form that stood a little taller than Kevin. She stared at the little robot in shock as it-she-smiled at her and waved.
"Hello, love," Razor greeted as gently as possible. "Name's Tracer. Nice to meet ya."
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Kevin quickly planted his hand over Penny's mouth to cover her scream of excitement that gushed forth from her inner fangirl. He glared at her as she continued to give a muffled scream behind his hand.
"Seriously, after I just told you not to scream?" He hissed. "What was all that about not acting like Gina?"
Penny pulled his hand from her mouth. "Kevin, that motorcycle just transformed into a real, talking robot. How the hell can you expect me not to freak out? Look at it!"
"Razor's not an it, and she's not some robot. She's an alien." Kevin told her. Penny froze and stared up at him with a blank expression.
"Really? An alien?" She asked.
Penny stared long and hard at Razor before turning back to Kevin. "Explain. Now."
"Well, first we'll have to go somewhere where we can have some proper privacy, after that little ear drum shattering shriek you just gave." He grumbled. She punched his arm again.
"I don't shriek." Penny pouted.
"Any ideas on where we should go?" Razor asked.
"I think I have a suggestion!"
The sudden exclamation startled the three and they turned to the entrance of the alley to see a red muscle car driving right at them. The fancy car transformed in motion, splitting apart and reconfiguring into a giant bipedal form, the Decepticon Knockout. Penny screamed in fright as Razor pulled her and Kevin behind her.
"What the hell is that?" Penny shrieked.
"Trouble!" Kevin said. He ran forward and shot a huge energy blast at Knockout, increasing the power in the beam to the point where even the Decepticon couldn't ignore the stinging pain as the attack hit his unprotected face. Razor stood by to usher them to safety. "We need to run, now!"
"I'll call Ratchet!" Razor said, but wasn't able to as a police car suddenly rammed into her, sending her crashing into a dumpster.
Penny screamed as she saw the police car that appeared out of nowhere also transform into a sixteen foot tall robot and reached down to grab her. Kevin fired two beams from his feet to boost himself up into the air, slamming a fist into Barricade's face, almost breaking his hand despite his energized body. Barricade grunted as he felt his cheek sting from the punch and snatched Kevin out of the air, slamming him into the ground.
"Hold still you little bastard!" Barricade growled, hissing as Kevin struggled valiantly in his grip.
"Kevin, Penny!" Razor went to attack the Con, but Knockout reached out and pinned her to the ground.
"Don't even think about it, tiny." Knockout said. He looked into a window and grimaced at the scorch mark on his face, which was still stinging from the beam. "Look at what that brat did to me! You're going to end up on my dissection table you little piece of slag!"
"Don't be so dramatic, Knockout. We need the humans to enact our plan." Barricade scolded. "No harm must come to then…yet."
"What about this little scraplet, then?" Knockout nodded to the Minicon in his grasp. "She's a Minicon. Are we going to take her?"
"Let her be the messenger." Barricade said. "She will tell the Autobots of our terms. The humans are more crucial to the plan." He held up the trapped children in his hands and grinned. "After all, unlike Minicons, they can't be rebuilt if they're broken."
Kevin scowled and struggled to get free, unable to gain enough leverage to use his arms effectively. He looked over at Penny, who looked absolutely terrified but was trying not to panic. All that agonizing over bringing her into the fold and this is the first thing that happens to them. So much for giving Penny her first peaceful contact with an alien race.
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Razor was a mess when she called the Autobots and children and told them what happened. After losing Kevin and Penny, she ran straight to Optimus and told him of the ultimatum that the Cons issued. When she was finished, the reactions she got weren't surprising at all.
"So that's what Kevin needed Grindor for," Annie said. "To have you help him in telling Penny about us?"
"Yes. Things weren't going so well for him, so we both figured that it wouldn't hurt to tell her about everything." Razor said sadly.
"What were you thinking, Razor? We are robots in disguise for a reason, we can't just go telling our existence to the natives because our friends are having relationship problems." Prowl scolded her. "Now we have a hostage situation on our hands."
"Which is why we should be focusing on trying to get them back instead of ripping on Razor, or did you forget that lives are at stake here?" Sparkplug yelled.
"That's enough, Sparkplug, Prowl. We need to focus." Optimus said. He leaned in towards Razor. "What are their terms?"
"They want all of you to come to an abandoned town in Texas, and they mean everyone." Razor said. "They also want you to bring…to bring the Minicons as well, to trade for the children."
"That's out of the question." Prowl said immediately. "If we give you all to the Decepticons, they'll kill us all on the spot. This planet will be lost!"
"I gotta agree with Prowl. This is way too risky." Ironhide said.
"Are you all out of your minds? There are children in danger here!" Arcee exclaimed. "Humans who we have sworn to protect."
"Yeah, we ain't leavin' 'em to the Cons!" Skyfire said, then visibly deflated as she added, "But we can't give them the Minicons either."
"We can't just not do anything, either." Bumblebee said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not risking anyone's lives here. I say we locate where they're keeping the kids and hit the Cons where it hurts."
"If we do that, then we risk Kevin and Penny getting hurt." Bulkhead said. "It's too risky."
"Bulkhead we are at war. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made in order to maintain the status quo." Prowl told him. Bulkhead growled and got in Prowl's face.
"You're really good at spouting all that greater good slag, but only when it's not your ass on the fire! Those kids are a part of this as any Autobot."
"No, they're kids with no place in this war. I don't like doing this, Bulkhead, I'm not going to risk the lives of this team and everyone on this planet just to save two people and grant the Decepticons a considerable advantage over us. There is no choice in the matter, because we have an entire world to protect, and losing two humans to save a few billion is a sacrifice I'm willing to make. We need to be soldiers in this situation! We can't let our Sparks make the hard decisions for us." Prowl said, not backing down from Bulkhead at all. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
Bulkhead looked livid. "You unemotional piece of- "
"Bulkhead, Prowl!" Optimus yelled, silencing them. "Yes, giving the Minicons to the Decepticons is not in our best interests, but I refuse to allow innocent human lives to be lost because of their involvement in our war. We are Autobots, protecting life is our main concern, and fighting Decepticons is a secondary issue in this situation."
"But, Prime," Prowl struggled to reign in his annoyance at the bleeding hearts of his commander and teammates. "We can't just hand the Minicons to Megatron without at least some kind of failsafe. One wrong move and the Cons-"
"STOP IT!" Sparkplug yelled as loud as he could. "JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"
His outburst shocked the bickering Autobots into silence and they all looked down at the yellow Minicon. Sparkplug glared up at all of them, angrier than he ever felt before.
"Don't talk about us like we're fragging weapons of mass destruction! Don't talk about us like we don't have voices of our own." Sparkplug yelled. "This is why we left Cybertron, to escape the loss of identity associated with the Autobots and Decepticons; one side wants to lock us away like we're doomsday weapons and the other wants to enslave us and use us as weapons. This is why we made the Minicon Gestalt program in the first place, to keep people like all of you from using us as bargaining chips in your god forsaken war!"
"Sparkplug," Optimus started. "You know we would never- "
"Shut up, Prime! I'm sick of getting sidelined because I'm not fighting on a side like all of you are!" Sparkplug yelled. "I did what I had to do for my people, who have been treated like slag even before the war. And I didn't risk the lives of my crew so that I could end up being handed over like a trophy case by bots who are supposed to be helping us."
"Sparkplug…" Razor whispered in shock.
"I'm not handing over any of my Minicons, but I'm also not going to let those children, who have helped us so many times in the past, get hurt because of this chaos. No matter what, even if I have to go there myself, I'm going to do my part for the humans who helped. You all can stand here and argue until you rust. I don't care anymore."
Sparkplug about faced and marched out of the command center. The kids looked at the Autobots, who stood there speechless.
"Guys, he's right." Darren said. "We've got to think of something that will save everyone, not just one side."
"And we're going to help, whether you like it or not." Annie said.
"Sorry, guys but it's our fight now. We don't have time to talk." Gina finished for all of them.
The kids went to get their pilot suits and plan a rescue operation, but Optimus stopped them. "Children, wait. You are right, we need to act now or risk not being able to make a difference. The Minicons are people too, and I am ashamed that we keep forgetting that fact. Deciding on how to go about this without their input was nothing short of insulting to them."
"But what can we do?" Skyfire asked. "We don't even know where they are save for what state they're in."
"And we can't make any moves without risking their lives in the process. The Cons still have the upper hand." Arcee pointed out.
"You can leave that to us." Gina said. "I've got that covered."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Ironhide asked skeptically.
Darren smirked and crossed his arms. "Do you guys have a super advanced android that built three super Talos? No? Didn't think so."
"You focus on dealing with the Cons. Let us worry about Kevin and Penny." Annie promised.
Optimus nodded and looked at his team. "Autobots, we head out in the hour to meet with the Decepticons. I will speak with Sparkplug on what to do. In the meantime, remain on standby."
Optimus went to go and find Sparkplug; first he needed to apologize to the Minicon leader for not taking his feelings into account. The life of a Minicon is rough, both before and after the war. Next was formulating a plan to get the children back and keep the Minicons out of Decepticon hands. At this, Optimus was confused at why Megatron chose this moment to use the humans as leverage against them. He never made any effort to use them as hostages until now, so what changed?
Had Optimus remained on that train of thought, he would have realized that the answer was right in front of him. The kidnapping, the ransom, the Minicons, they were all a façade to hide the real reason the Cons kidnapped two insignificant human children. Unfortunately, it would be too late when Prime would realize the Decepticons' intentions.
XXXXXX
Kevin admired Penny for a number of reasons, but his admiration of her grew even more after seeing how calm she was despite being kidnapped by a murderous Decepticon. She sat next to him inside an old warehouse inside an abandoned town in the middle of some desert area. The place reminded him of an old town from those old western movies that his dad used to watch back in the day. An out of the way place, far from any habitation, and with enough space to wage open war without holding back. The only thing that kept him at ease was that there were little to no places where the Cons could hide to stage an ambush, presumably so the Autobots wouldn't try to do the same.
The warehouse they were imprisoned in was guarded by the Mini-Cons led by Leader-1. The Decepticons, for some reason, were all assembled outside the town, which puzzled Kevin because he thought that they would have split their numbers to at least keep a closer eye on them. Megatron was nowhere to be seen and that was a godsend. Kevin had never seen Megatron, but from the horror stories that the others told about the warlord, he was glad that he didn't get the chance.
"So," Kevin said with a whistle. "How's your day?"
Penny stifled a chuckle. "Don't bother trying to make things better than they really are, Kevin. I know we're in deep trouble."
Kevin sighed. "Yeah, we're in deep trouble."
Penny looked outside at the Decepticons assembled not too far from the town. "So those scary looking robots are the evil Decepticons you were warning me about?"
During their incarceration, Kevin had used the quiet moment to properly explain the situation to Penny. He went into detail about the war, the stranded Cybertronians, even OZ and the Brigadoon incident that gave the children their Talos. All in all, it was so much for Penny to understand, but she quickly adapted to the situation like she always does. Seeing the Decepticons first hand helped also.
"Yeah, they're the ones trying to conquer Terra for its resources." Kevin confirmed.
"I can't believe you managed to hide all this from me….and with Gina of all people!" She grunted and crossed her arms. "Damn it, I can't top her making first contact with aliens."
"We're being held hostage, and the first thing you're mad about is that Gina got the jump on you?" Kevin smiled and shook his head. "You're too much, Penny."
"Well, my dad always said that you were the only one crazy enough to brave through the hurricane that is me." Penny chuckled. After a minute of silence, she said, "Kevin, I'm sorry about before. I probably should've realized that you were trying to keep me safe. This is definitely not something for the faint of heart."
"I'm sorry that you felt insulted and left out. I didn't realize I was snubbing you like that." Kevin apologized. "We've been through thick and thin together, long before we met Darren, Annie and Gina. I wasn't going to just leave all that behind."
"I know that now. But you know me, wildfire Penny is a bitch to handle even on a sunny day." She sighed. Penny groaned and leaned her head onto Kevin's shoulder. She lamented her unfavorable situation, but at least she was stuck with Kevin, so it wasn't a total loss. "Do you think we'll get out of this in one piece?"
Of course we will." Kevin reassured her. "The Autobots will not let anyone down like that, especially one of their own. This I can promise you."
"Well then, I'll hold you to that." Penny replied and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long day.
XXXXXX
On the edge of the old abandoned town where they were scheduled to meet, Nightshade waited impatiently for the Autobots to arrive. It had been an hour since they started the operation and she could already feel her patience start to run thin. Scowling, she turned to Knockout, who was grimaced at her imposing gaze.
"Knockout, I thought you said that they would be here within the hour." She said.
"They will, my lady, they're probably still trying to gather their Minicons. I imagine those little freaks don't fancy being sold for two humans, hehe…" Knockout cleared his throat and looked away.
Nightshade scowled and Flamewar tapped her shoulder. "What is it?"
"I can feel Arcee's presence. They're close." Flamewar grinned. "If she's here, then the others are close behind."
"Great!" Knockout exclaimed. "Places everyone, it's almost show time."
A ground bridge appeared in the arid expanse of rocky desert and the Autobots drove out in their vehicle modes. They stopped a few feet from Nightshade's group and changed to their bipedal modes, all in attendance, even Ratchet. The Minicons exited Prime's trailer, where they hid until the chosen meeting time. Nightshade smiled at the little glares they gave her as she walked forward to address the Autobot leader.
"You certainly took your damn time. We don't all have clear schedules like you do, Prime. There is a war going on after all." Nightshade said to Optimus. "Now hand over the Minicons."
"Give us the kids first." Bumblebee demanded.
"That's not how this works, scout. Hand them over before people get hurt." Blackout growled.
"You can try, whiteout." Bulkhead grunted, almost shifting his hands into their weapons.
"Need I remind you all that if any of you think of doublecrossing us, those children will end up as Scalpel's lab experiments?" Nightshade told Optimus. "Have your soldier boys stand down and hand over the Minicons. I think they're overdue for a reunion with their kin, don't you agree?"
Optimus looked at his team, who were all itching to bring out their weapons. Then he looked to Sparkplug, who was sitting on his shoulder looking calm as ever. Sparkplug glanced over at Optimus and nodded to his unspoken question, showing that he was ready. Optimus exhaled sharply and returned his nod, but first he had to make sure of one thing.
"Where is Megatron, Nightshade?" He asked. Optimus would've thought the Decepticon leader himself would've at least been here to gloat of his victory over them.
"He's preoccupied. Contrary to what you might think, he has other things to do than play war with you Prime." Nightshade said harshly.
Optimus didn't buy that. Megatron wouldn't just blow off a victory like this over his enemies, especially pass up a chance to lord over him. This was a hostage situation that played to his favor, there was no way anything else could be more important. Something wasn't right here.
XXXXXX
In the warehouse, Penny whistled as she saw the exchange between the two factions of aliens engaged in a little standoff. "I'm guessing those are the good guys?"
Yeah, that's Optimus Prime and the Autobots." Kevin said. "And it looks like they brought the Minicons along as well. But what for?"
"To get you humans back of course." Leader-1 walked out from his place in the shadows, flanked by Rumble and Frenzy. "Why else would he drag those anti-war rejects out here into this dust bowl?"
"Optimus would never do that! He wouldn't risk the Minicons' lives for two humans!" Kevin growled, steam blowing from his nose.
"He would if your lives were threatened. If there's one weakness that the great Optimus Prime has, it's that he has a bleeding Spark for everything that breathes." Leader-1 replied. "For all the powers you amalgams have, you're no different than regular humans. To think that there's a civil conflict going on because of people like you. It's just pathetic."
Penny glared at the Mini-Con and moved closer to Kevin. "Think you can take him?"
"Maybe Leader-1, but not all of them at once. Rumble would snap me in two and Frenzy's scream sounds like Annie on a bad day."
"Don't even think about it." Leader-1 pointed his blaster at them. "One move and we'll see how much body mass an amalgam can regenerate. You might regrow limbs, but I hear you can still feel pain."
"How about we get Cannonbolt to snap their bones?" Rumble grinned. "Megatron never said we couldn't do that."
"Yeah, I want to smash something!" Cannonbolt yelled and beat his chest with his large fists.
"No, you idiots! If we hurt them now without provocation, then the whole operation will be ruined." Leader-1 snarled, astonished at how these fools worked closely with Soundwave. "Try to show some restraint you morons."
Kevin and Penny couldn't try to escape even if they tried. They were outnumbered and outgunned, with no one privy to their location. Penny wasn't religious, but she hoped that whatever divine force that governed the universe heard her prayers and got them out of this mess.
Her prayers were answered when a green haired girl crashed through the ceiling and landed in front of Leader-1. Sara slugged Leader-1 in the stomach, spinning his head around and kicking him into an old wooden support beam. She turned back to the two children.
"Are you two functional?" Sara asked.
"Y-yes, Sara we're doing fine, thanks." Kevin said. His eyes widened. "Look out!"
Sara dodged a strike from Rumble's pile drivers and crouched low, kicking his knee so hard it shattered the joint. She then slammed her fist into the Con's chin and sent him flying back into the pile of debris behind him. Frenzy flanked her and unleashed his sonic scream at her, but she quickly sprinted out of the path of his scream and ran at him. He cut his scream off and converted his hand into a drill, but she grabbed his arm and buried her steel knuckles into his cheek, making energon gush from his mouth and cracked his optic visor before she axe-kicked him into the ground.
Kevin and Penny ran to join her, but Kevin jumped back as a laser bolt hit the ground near his feet. Leader-1 pulled himself to his feet and glared at them.
"Stop right there!" He growled, pointing his gun at Kevin's head. "I told you what would happen if you brats tried anything, and now you're gonna pay for it. Cannonbolt, kill them all!"
"I'm gonna tear you apart, fleshy!" Cannonbolt grunted and charged at Sara.
Before he could raise a fist, a large black and white talos came crashing through the roof of the warehouse and landed on the ground. The Enyo backhanded Cannonbolt aside with a large hand and sent the Minicon through the wall and into the building next door. The Prometheus and Athena both smashed their way into the warehouse and pointed their weapons at Leader-1.
"Don't try anything, Leader-1. These beam rifles really hurt if they hit you." Annie warned.
"But you're welcome to try anyway. I'm itching for a rematch since Egyptia." Gina growled.
"Gina?" Penny gaped.
"Hey Penny," Gina chirped. In the cockpit, the blonde was grinning like a lunatic at the awestruck expression on her rival's face. "How'd like my new ride?"
Penny stared at the Talos for a minute before glaring at Kevin. "Explain!"
"L-Later, Penny, later." Kevin coughed sheepishly.
"You better." She grumbled.
"As amusing as this comedy routine is," Darren said. "We should get out while we still can. Annie, did you send Optimus the signal?"
As soon as he said that, explosions went off not too far from their position. Annie grinned at her brother through their monitor. "That answer your question?"
"What's going on?" Kevin asked.
"We're rescuing you while the Autobots take care of the Cons with the Minicons." Gina said. "It took us a while, but Sara was able to find you by locating your heat signatures."
Leader-1 began to laugh, drawing the kids' attention. Annie pointed her beam rifle at the Minicon. "What the hell are you laughing about?"
"You think you actually pulled one over on us?" Leader-1 cackled. "Please, we pulled one over on you!"
"Getting fooled must mean something entirely different on Cybertron, because we're the ones with the upper hand here." Darren said. "You didn't get the Minicons, and we got our friends back."
"It was never completely about the Minicons, you stupid boy." Leader-1 spat and looked at Athena. "Did you think we were going to let Lugnut's death go unpunished, girl? Lugnut being killed by a human is a stain on Decepticon honor and Megatron's not going to let that stand. Why do you think we went through all the trouble to bring those brats here? Because we knew you would save them!"
Darren felt a pit form in his stomach at the revelation and turned towards Sara. "Sara, scan the area now!"
"D-Darren?" Annie blinked.
"We need to get out of here right now!" Darren yelled. "We just walked into a trap!"
Sara ran a quick grid scan over the area, focusing on the warehouse interior. When she processed the information at the speed of thought, her eyes widened and she leapt back from Leader-1, grabbing Kevin and Penny. "We must go, at once!"
The pile of junk and scraps exploded as a silver tank rolled out into the open. The children stared in shock as the tank transformed into a towering silver giant with a large fusion cannon on his arm. Megatron stood to his full height above the three talos, his face hard as stone as he glared at the three humans
"Time for my retribution." Megatron sneered.
XXXXXX
The plan was a simple divide and conquer strategy. The Autobots, who were required to go to the meeting point with the Minicons, would focus on stalling the Cons for as long as possible until the kids and Sara located Kevin and Penny. Once the kids sent the signal, the Autobots were to start the battle and maintain it as long as possible until they secured the hostages and fell back from the area.
The first part, locating and rescuing Kevin and Penny, was complete. Now came phase 2-raise some hell.
"Optimus, we've got the signal!"
Optimus wasted no time in initiating their part of the plan. "Autobots, powerlink and attack!"
Sparkplug linked up with Optimus, connecting to his arm to bring out his battle blade. Roadstorm linked with Jazz's arm to convert the limb into his cryo-emitter. Peppercat powerlinked with Arcee, changing the femme's right arm into a semi-gauntlet that generated electricity. Longarm linked with Ratchet and transformed his hand into a more powerful version of his laser scalpel. Prowl linked with Tracer to change his arm into a high powered tazer. Bumblebee linked with Jolt to summon his solar accelerator and Skyfire linked with Comettor for a power boost. Bulkhead, Ironhide and Wheeljack teamed up with the newly merged Centurion while the Air Defense Team combined into the omni-saber.
Nightshade was also quick to retaliate. "Decepticons, route the enemy!"
Autobots and Decepticons charged at each other in a storm of lasers, missiles and bullets. Amidst the battle royal, Arcee and Flamewar clashed with their melee weapons. Flamewar's arm blades slid out and she tried to slit Arcee's throat, but the Autobot leaned back to avoid the blades and punched Flamewar in the chest with her gauntlet, delivering a painful shock to the femme.
"And so you have another partner." Flamewar sneered, wincing at the shock to her abdomen. She definitely felt that one. "What happened, Cee? Got tired of your human boy toy?"
"No, he just got an upgrade. If you ask nicely, he'll give you an up close look!" Arcee leapt at Flamewar and threw a punch at her face. Flamewar jumped back and raised her arm, converting it into a blaster and shot at the Autobot. She scored a few hits off Arcee's shoulder before the pink Autobot charged at her and kicked her in the face.
Starscream saw the two femmes fighting and pointed his null ray at Arcee. He could care less about Flamewar's lover's squabble, she was a thorn in his side and taking her kill would be the ultimate "frag you" to the snarky little glitch.
"No you don't, Starscream!" Jazz jumped to his partner's aid, kicking Starscream's arm aside just as the Seeker fired his null ray. The null beam was diverted off its original target and almost hit Knockout, who was engaged in a difficult battle against Ratchet. Knockout yelped as the beam shot over his head and glared at Starscream.
"What the hell, Starscream?" Knockout yelled.
"Don't look at me, you weren't my target!" Starscream shouted back.
"You better watch where you're shooting that thing or-wah!" Knockout stumbled back to avoid Ratchet's enhanced laser scalpel, which was basically a high powered chemical laser that was more than enough to shave a few inches off him. "Watch the finish!"
"Please, Knockout," Ratchet scoffed. "Any damage I do to you will be an improvement."
Starscream and Jazz fought with their respective melee weapons. As unused to close combat as he was, Starscream was very proficient in his cobalt bayonets, able to match Jazz's fast attacks with his nunchucks. Starscream easily parried most of his attacks, but Jazz kicked one of his arms aside and kicked him in the chin. Another blow to the face sent him spinning to the ground.
"Agh! Seekers, to me!" Starscream shouted.
Thundercracker and Skywarp descended on Jazz, attacking him with melee weapons and long rang laser blasts. Jazz, who only had one arm available, wasn't able to fight them both off, but Skyfire came to his aid and quickly took out Skywarp with a well placed photon blast to the face. Jazz flipped over the femme and fired his cryo blaster at Thundercracker, who retreated to avoid the hazardous ice blasts.
Nightshade scowled at seeing the Cons be so evenly matched with the Autobots. Even Blackout, who was linked with Cannon, was having a difficult time pinning down Wheeljack and Bulkhead, held at bay by the combined firepower of the two Autobots.
"Songbird, link with me." The Minicon did so and as she was empowered by the linkage, Nightshade took out Gandiva and pointed the bow at Wheeljack and Bulkhead. Just as she pulled the string back, she was attacked by Optimus, who nearly took her head off with his red hot sword that left a smoking cut in her cheek.
"Try fighting someone whose back isn't turned, Nightshade." Optimus said.
"You're one to talk." Nightshade spun around and deflected an axe strike from Ironhide with Gandiva and kicked him aside before rolling under an electrical blast from Prowl and slammed her bow into the side of his head. "Three on one is hardly a fair fight!"
Optimus swung his sword, which she dodged, but his follow up punch caught her in the face, knocking her down. Gandiva slid from her grasp, but she pointed her targetmaster Minicon at Prime's face and fired a concentrated electromagnetic blast right into his face. He stumbled back and she jumped to her feet, evading a swipe from Prowl's shock baton and punching him in the chest. Ironhide rammed into her from the side and threw her to the ground. She unloaded another blast into his face, but he maintained a firm hold on her.
"Get off me!" She growled, taking one of her feathers and stabbing him in the shoulder, right between his armor panels. The razor sharp feather dug into his joint, severing circuits and cutting into a power line that actually made Ironhide flinch. Feeling his hold on her waist loosen up, Nightshade fired another blast into his shoulder and blew him off. She jumped up, but took a plasma blast to her right wing from behind, making her curse.
"Don't move, Nightshade." Prowl said, leveling his plasma cannon at her face. "You've lost this round. Call off your troops and fall back."
"Hehe." Nightshade chuckled, making Prowl frown.
"What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry, it's just amusing at how you think you have us beat." She laughed. "Did it ever cross your mind at Megatron's whereabouts? Megatron isn't lounging around on the Nemesis, he's just taking care of unfinished business with those human pets you drag around everywhere."
"No," Optimus muttered.
"Yes." Nightshade smirked. She reached out and Gandiva levitated into her hand like some magic trick. "As we speak, Megatron is tearing those children apart, and there's nothing you can do about it."
XXXXXX
W-where are we going?!" Penny asked, trying to remain upright as Sara carried her and Kevin away from the warehouse like sacks of potatoes. "We have to help them!"
"My orders were to ensure that you two were taken to safety and that is what I intend to do." Sara said. "I will not disobey Ms. Gina."
'Ms. Gina? What the hell has been going on behind my back?' Penny thought.
The warehouse behind them suddenly exploded as the Prometheus was thrown out of the old building and crashed to the ground next to the trio. The red and gold talos was just thrown almost the entire length of the street by Megatron.
"Darren?" Kevin breathed.
Darren groaned and shook his head. Getting thrown almost four feet by a Decepticon was a scary experience and he felt like he would've been thrown from his seat had it not been for his stable pilot seat. He moved his talos to stand upright and charged back into the battle between the girls and Megatron.
The warehouse was completely destroyed as the metal giants did battle. Megatron, stronger than the average Decepticon, was a force of nature as he brutally tossed around the Athena and Enyo. Gina tried to gain some distance to use her sniper rifle, but Megatron slammed a fist into her talos' shoulder and sent it into a tavern. Enyo tried to fire her beam cannons but Megatron grabbed her arm and threw it across the town into what used to be a hotel.
Megatron pointed his fusion cannon at her, but Darren fell on him with his beam saber drawn. He slashed downward, but Megatron sidestepped him and punched Prometheus in the back. Darren hit the ground and quickly threw up a TK barrier around his talos as Megatron shot a fusion blast at him. Megatron ramped up the power in his fusion cannon to overpower the boy, but Athena jumped on his back and shoved its beam pistol into his face, shooting condensed blasts of sol particles into his face.
Megatron roared and grabbed Athena's head, throwing it over his shoulder before tossing it into the house next to him. "Did you humans think I forgotten your transgressions against me? No one kills one of us and gets away with it. Shooting down one of my own troops in front of me will be the last regret you will ever have!"
"My only regret is not shooting you in the face when I had the chance!" Gina said.
Megatron snarled and grabbed the Athena to punch its torso in, but a large beam blast hit him in the shoulder. A large chunk of armor was blasted off his body and he was pushed back by the force of the blast. Hissing at the smoking burnt hole in his shoulder, he glared at Annie, who had her beam cannons aimed at him.
"Get away from my friend!" Annie yelled.
The Decepticon leader accepted her challenge and his body collapsed into his tank mode just as she fired another pair of beams at her. Blowing steam from his exhaust ports, Megatron drove at her at full speed, moving faster than terran made tanks as he fired his fusion cannon at her. Annie tried to stand her ground, but she was forced to glide back as he pursued her relentlessly. This gave Darren and Gina time to regroup.
"Gina, are you alright?" Darren asked.
"I'm okay, but what about Kevin and Penny?" Gina called her android defender up. "Sara?"
"We are fine, Ms. Gina. I have taken the two children away from the battle. Are you in need of assistance?"
"We're fine, Sara. Just call Teletran for a ground bridge and get them out of here!" Darren said.
Megatron and Annie were grappling now, and it was clear that the warlord was the stronger one in this exchange. Annie tried to get her talos to grab and lift him into the air with her, but he broke the deadlock and grabbed her unit's head, punching it to the ground with a solid right hook. Annie was thrown around in her seat and cursed as she made Enyo glide back to avoid getting stomped on. Megatron growled and pointed his fusion cannon directly at her cockpit.
"Annie!" Darren shot forward and deflected Megatron's fusion blast away from his sister with a TK barrier before drawing his beam saber. He pushed Prometheus' thrusters to the max as he rushed at Megatron and stabbed him in the chest with his beam saber.
Megatron's red eyes blazed in pain and anger as the beam saber stabbed right through his chest plate and out his back. Darren missed his Spark core, but the fact he almost dealt the Decepticon leader a critical blow further enraged the warlord. Grabbed Prometheus by the shoulders, Megatron slammed the talos in the ground repeatedly, before kicking it into a stable.
Enyo punched Megatron in the jaw, but he retaliated with a punch that almost tore its head off its shoulders, batting it aside as he focused on Gina, who was rushing at him. She dodged a shot from his fusion cannon and flanked him, grabbing his shoulders and pushing her thrusters to the limit just to lift him high enough.
Gina let him go and prepared to fire her sniper rifle into his chest, but Megatron moved faster than her. He slammed his fist into Athena's chest, rattling the cockpit with tremendous force and sent her shooting across town into what was left of the warehouse, sending debris and wood everywhere. Megatron landed on the ground and walked up to the dazed girl, standing over her motionless and trapped talos.
"Ugh…" Gina was barely conscious from the hard G-forces her talos took head on and hit her head during the crash. She looked through blurry eyes at the monitor and saw Megatron glaring down at her.
"Time to meet your maker, girl." Megatron's blade slid out and he went to stab it straight into the cockpit…when a large energy ball crashed into the back of his head.
Sara jumped down on his head from above and brought her laser sword from one of her arms. She stabbed into the back of his neck repeatedly, avoiding Megatron's large hands as she distracted him. Then Centurion, wielding the omni-saber, attacked Megatron's legs, stabbing his sword into his left leg and emitting strong vibrations from the blade that blew off a chunk of armor from the mech's foreleg. Megatron howled and slammed his fist into the ground, but missed Centurion as he jumped away. Sara flipped over his shoulder and onto his face before stabbing her blade into his right eye.
"RAH!" Megatron howled as she stabbed his eye out. Sara was brutally thorough as she tore out his optic nerve, ripping it right out of its socket. She jumped off him as he fell to his knees, holding a hand to his bleeding eye. "You little bastards! I'll kill you all!"
"Not in this lifetime, Megatron!"
A fist slammed into his face from his blindside and sent him smashing through a ravaged building. Optimus picked Megatron up and punched his chest before kicking him onto his back. He stood protectively in front of Gina as he glared down at Megatron.
"These children are off-limits Megatron," Optimus said. "And as we speak, my Autobots are chasing your Decepticons with their tails between their legs. Your little scheme has failed."
"Keep on protecting them, Prime. Sooner or later, you're going to see how unreliable those humans you trust so much are, just like every god forsaken race in this galaxy!" Megatron hissed before transforming into his tank mode. "And when they do fail you at your darkest hour, I will be there to laugh at your folly!"
"Read that soliloquy to Nightshade, Megatron." Optimus said.
One didn't need to see Megatron's face to know he was fuming at Prime's comment. Thankfully, Megatron turned and drove away, smashing through the remains of the old western town that was completely demolished by the battle. With the threat gone, Optimus turned to Gina.
"Gina, are you okay?" He asked.
Gina exited her cockpit and sat on her talos' knee. "I'm fine. Just…jinkies, that was really intense."
As Darren and Annie went to check up on Gina, Optimus let out a sigh of relief. He made it just in time. Trying to escape Nightshade's powerful arrows was harder than he thought and he had the burns to prove it.
"Prime, the Cons are retreating." Ironhide said over the comm. "Are things alright on your end?"
"Yes, Ironhide, everything's fine here. The children are okay, all of them." Optimus said, feeling a sense of pride at how the children held their own against Megatron. Maybe the Decepticon warlord will think twice about harming the children now.
XXXXXX
After taking a breather from their first major Autobot/Decepticon skirmish, Kevin took Penny around to show her the Ark. He smiled at the awestruck look on Penny's face as she studied every inch of the ship. He introduced her to the Autobots and Minicons, whom she thanked for saving their lives and taking the time to welcome them to Terra, out of courtesy if nothing else.
As for Darren, Annie and Gina, they were resting from their battle against Megatron. Even within the secure cockpits of their talos, being beaten and thrown around by the dark lord himself would give anyone a head splitting migraine. They gave the duty of introducing Penny to the crazy world of the cybertronians to Kevin. He didn't mind; they went through a lot today and deserved some rest.
Once things calmed down, Kevin and Penny had a private moment together in the "Micron" room for humans and Minicons. They sat alone, saying nothing, just taking a minute to calm down from all the excitement the day brought.
"I can see why you'd want to keep this a secret." Penny remarked. "This stuff is way too intense for anyone to know about."
"It's definitely intense and way too dangerous too." Kevin said. "But everything turned out alright in the end. As long as we're more careful, things should go by smoothly for us again."
Penny hummed in agreement and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Kevin raised a brow at her, but let her relax. "I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time. If I knew you were keeping a secret this big, then-"
"It wouldn't be much of a secret. You already apologized, Penny. Right now, let's just enjoy the peace and quiet before someone inevitably walks in and ruins the moment." Kevin said.
"So we're cool?" She asked.
He nodded. "We're cool."
They shared a smile and relax against each other, not even noticing that their hands were intertwined. It was a quiet ending to a noisy day.