The Diego Diaries: Habitat 3 (686)
-0-Earth
Ratchet stood in the doorway with Springer and Drift shooting the breeze and snarking as Wheeljack and Perceptor went through the data with the humans. It'd be a moment or two before they were back in session so he took the opportunity to gather in some solar energy. The warmth felt wonderful.
-0-Los Angeles, California, USA, Earth
She sat in a taxi heading for LAX where the space bridge would bring her back to Mars. They had an arrangement with the International Airport to allow bridging at their VIP high security terminal so that soldiers and other California types would be able to come home more directly.
She'd flagged a cab, then sat back content with the conversations held about the documentary that would be made around the artists now showing their work here.
She would liaison. They would film.
As she relaxed she noticed the taxi miss her exit. Leaning forward, Leonora Huttle tapped the driver's shoulder. "We missed our exit."
The figure glanced back, then grinned. "No, we didn't." Then he disappeared.
She sat back in shock, then immediately determined the problem. Her taxi wasn't a cab. It was a Decepticon.
-0-Ops Center, Mars, Diego Garcia, Fort Apache, Camp Gliese, Fort Recluse, out there and locally over the emergency broadcast system wide channel
A message hit the security apparatus and was transferred all along the array of those who 'needed to know'. Conversation paused as the 'Autobot in dire need, imminent death probable' message flashed before the security operators.
Jazz who'd paused to check something on the next console over in the Autobot City Ops Center scanned the data, then turned with alarm to Prowl. "We have a situation," he said curtly.
-0-Los Angeles, Earth
Leonora Huttle sat paralyzed a moment, then glanced down at her wrist where she wore the mandatory wrist band that all humans were required to wear while on Mars. It was their emergency alert device, something separate from their environmental gear which allowed a back up should something happen to their first defense.
She touched it pressing the alert switch. Gripping it with the desperation of the soon-to-be-dead, she watched as the highway stretched out heading north. She was trapped. Her only hope was the device.
-0-Earlier that morning
"BUZZ!"
Mackie who was tech operator of The Fortress space bridge turned to Leonora who had stepped on the vortex to go to Earth for a few hours. He grinned. :You have on your emergency device:
Leonora looked at her wrist. The band Wheeljack had made for all of them after that unfortunate fall down a crevasse in the Marineris by some of their more adventurous scientists was still on her wrist. None of the tech that had military applications was allowed off world. :Do you want me to give it to you?:
Mackie shrugged. :No. You're family: He grinned.
So did she and with a great feeling of good will and happiness, she stepped into infinity for LAX and the short drive to Paramount for her meeting.
-0-At the moment
She gripped her wrist band tightly, more than aware that speaking with her captor was a bad idea. She gripped it and hoped that someone was listening.
-0-At the other end
Prowl walked into the bridge room followed by Jazz and Jolt. Both had assimilated another format fed to them by Prowl. With a nod to Mackie the three stepped onto the platform and disappeared for Earth. They would arrive in a neighborhood down the road from the rapidly approaching taxi carrying Leonora Huttle.
It was planned to be so.
-0-Moments before leaving
Prowl jolted, then stood up to walk tensely to the console. He read the data, then balled his fists. "Someone has Leonora. Get Jolt and download my format. We have to move. Send me their coordinates and a grid map of the direction they're headed. We're going. Now!" He headed for the door with Jolt and Jazz following quickly.
-0-There from Mars to Earth through an infinity tunnel
The three stood on an empty street in an under populated industrial area that bordered the interstate highway nearby. They transformed into three police cars, then tore out. One of them hurried to park nearby, the other two farther up the highway. In seconds they were gone.
-0-In the car
She waited with more anguish and terror than she thought a human could endure. She knew they were coming. They were one. We are one, she thought. We all are one.
The car barreled onward heading out of the city and as it did a black and white police car pulled off the side of the road to follow.
-0-Diego Garcia, in a hangar
Ratchet paused to take a message, then turned to Springer and Drift. "We've been recalled." He turned to the humans who were still going over the data. "Perceptor. Wheeljack, the three of us have been recalled."
Perceptor turned to Ratchet. "Are we?"
"No," Ratchet said, then with Drift and Springer in tow, he walked out of the hangar heading for the Embassy nearby.
The humans watched, then turned to Wheeljack and Perceptor. "What's happening?" Brandon Clark asked.
"Something. Nothing," Wheeljack said with a shrug. "Senior officers have a lot of duties. Let's check this out," he said pulling up the schematics of the habitat city's proposed power plant. Everyone turned back to the task at servo.
-0-Prowl
He drove behind the taxi close enough to raise his attention but far enough back to not trigger stupid impulses. He felt sensors sweep him and the jig was up.
"Autobot, frag off." The voice was guttural and masculine, a no nonsense voice of a killer. No one on a Protocol Team was a shrinking violet. "I'll kill her if you don't get lost."
"And I will kill you if you do," Prowl replied. He sped up and threw on his lights and siren.
Cars began to move away on the eight lane highway, pulling back or ahead of the problem in their midst. "Pull over and let the human out. We might let you live."
"Try and make me," he said as he sped up. He was at 100 miles per hour in no time at all. Prowl matched him from behind. As they careened down the highway, another police cruiser parked along the roadway pulled out and sped up matching the taxi on the left side of his lane.
The taxi swerved slamming into Jazz and as he did, Leonora Huttle grabbed her seat belts. She buckled in, then gripped the seat in front of her as the 'Con tried to run Jazz off the road.
Jazz slammed back, then moved over enough to make it difficult for the 'Con to continue. They were approaching 150 miles per hour as overhead a helicopter began to follow to report the chase.
Prowl floored it ramming the bumper of the taxi just enough to make it swerve. As they battled another cruiser pulled off the side of the road and began to give chase on the right side. In seconds, the taxi was boxed in on three sides. As fast as he want, they matched him.
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars
Optimus entered followed by Ironhide and a grim-faced Jetta. They paused by the communications console to stare at the monitor. On every screen that wasn't dedicated to some task, the high speed chase in Los Angeles played out.
Prime was pissed.
At the 'Cons.
-0-There
"We need you to pull over and let the human out," Prowl said. "If you don't we'll take you down."
"You can try. I'll kill the human," the 'Con said with a steely calm to his voice.
"Very well," Prowl replied equally as calm. "Jolt, you are clear."
"Affirmative," the youthful voice of the young mech replied. Jolt sped up, then over until he touched the taxi. A glittering arc of electricity shot out and enveloped the vehicle. A loud cry of agony erupted over their lines, then the 'Con sped up. Jolt swerved, touched the mech, then charged him even more.
A glittering cloud of electricity engulfed the taxi, then Jolt pulled over slightly. The taxi leaped into the air and began to transform into root mode in the mech's agony. As he did a human flew into the air.
Jazz who was pacing the taxi leaped into the air as well grabbing Leonora as gently as he could. Then he curved his body and landed on his back rolling to his peds to fly into the air again. As he did he transformed back settling Leonora into the back seat of his vehicle mode.
The Decepticon hit the ground again, rolled, then leaped once more. He landed on his arms, then rose up to run. He was actually faster in this mode than the other, something about the springiness of his legs that added distance with each step.
Prowl sped up leading the others as Jazz and Jolt followed, their own sirens and lights going off loudly. Other police cars were joining them but they didn't bother to chat. It was on.
The mech finally transformed into a vehicle, one of Cybertronian origin, then put the metal to the pedal. He burst ahead as Prowl powered up, too. They were coming into merging traffic so Prowl decided to put the mech down. Roaring forward, he fired lasers at the fleeing mech. They landed with roaring booms flipping the vehicle into the air.
He landed hard and rolled, careening off the road to crash into a chain link fence that surrounded a shopping mall. He broke through it and rolled down an embankment to thud against a pair of old trucks that had been abandoned.
Prowl slowed, then drove into the hole in the fence. He reached the stilled mech, then transformed. Noting the 'Con's complete silence, Prowl stood up. Then he looked up.
A helicopter with a camera looked back.
"Oh frag," he said quietly.
-0-Autobot City, Mars,
"Slag," Prime said softly.
-0-Camp Gliese, Gliese 581 g
"This isn't good, Jack. I wonder how poor Leonora is?" Alor fretted.
"Everyone is watching," Blackjack said as he looked at another monitor running commentary from half a dozen different major news outlets on a split screen.
Alor nodded.
-0-Fort Cybertron
They watched the show, the entire leadership of The Fortress with concern. More humans. More anger. More problems. It was almost inevitable.
-0-Fort Apache
Flint watched the scene unfold as the helicopter hovered over Prowl. That mechanism looked sick. "This won't end well," he said to no one in particular.
-0-TBC April 17, 2014 edited 5-12-14 7-25-19
NOTE: Prowl notes I found:
James Roberts has said that pre-war Prowl and Chromedome had a, ah, "stronger bond" that just being partners. This would put their tension in the present day as more personal than we thought (and Rewind's constant insults against Prowl as being the new boyfriend having a go at the crappy ex).
According to IDW story editor Andy Schmidt, Spotlight Prowl was originally going to be told in the ongoing series. But when fans reacted badly to Prowl's characterization in the first issue of that series (they made him nice.), IDW decided to jump the gun and publish the story early as a Spotlight. It is intended to reconcile his new, rashly self-sacrificial portrayal (trying to save a little girl from a falling building) with the methodical, vehemently anti-hotheaded-maverick personality he had exhibited previously. But that reconciliation doesn't actually address the core concern of many of those upset fans who wanted not just explanation, but reversion to the subversive schemer that Prowl had recently developed into.
Prowl 's design in the first portion of Robots In Disguise is based on a concept drawing of War for Cybertron Bluestreak that never saw its way in to the game.