Chapter 11: A Slow Boiling Plot
"Hellooooo! Cybertron to Earth to Jack! Hey, wake up!" A loud voice from above called out. The voice was accompanied by a few light taps on Jack's shoulder. The tapping and yelling continued for a few more seconds before it really had an effect on the teen.
Jack Darby regained consciousness on the bright blue couch in the guest apartment of Sumdac Tower. It was a disorienting process further exacerbated by the bright yellow presence looming over him. Eventually, Jack had enough brain power to sit up and wipe the drool off his face.
Then his attention was immediately drawn to the Autobot standing in front of him.
"Wh- Bumblebee?! What are you doing here?" Jack croaked as he looked around. "How'd you get in?"
The living room they were in was spacious, an open floor plan with minimum furniture, but the ceiling was only a foot or so taller than Bumblebee. One wrong move and Bee's horns could easily catch on one of the many bulbous ceiling lights. To his credit, Bumblebee made his way around every object with practiced care. He made it look easy.
The Cybertronian began to meander around and explained, "I took the elevator, duh. You disappeared for hours and Sumdac said he dropped you off here. Have you seriously been asleep this entire time?"
"I ate a lot, okay?" Jack groaned and combed his fingers through his hair.
Jack's lunch with Isaac Sumdac had been delicious and only slightly awkward. The cafeteria in the building was just like the rest of the building, futuristic yet also modeled after the 1970s. Most importantly, the food was delicious and readily available. Without his mom's warnings and with Professor Sumdac's insistence that he eat to his heart's content, Jack went in. Hard. The teen hadn't eaten that much food in a very long time.
After Jack had eaten until his stomach nearly burst, the Professor invited Jack to wait for the Autobots in the guest suite levels of the Tower. It was better than sitting on his sad little bench on the roof of the Tower, and Jack readily took the offer. He was only inside the guest suite apartment for a few minutes before succumbing to a food coma and collapsing on the incredibly plush and gaudy couch.
Bumblebee stood in front of the window. The lights of the city painted the yellow bot in an array of colors. With a chuckle, he glanced over his shoulder with a wide grin. "Sari used to recharge after she ate a lot too. It used to freak Ratchet out. Anyway, you ready to go?"
"Mmn, yeah," Jack sighed as he forced himself off of the incredibly plush couch.
As he stood, he grabbed the grey duffel bag laying next to the couch. Sumdac had been generous enough to give Jack a duffel bag filled with hoodies, socks, and other basic necessities. The teen wrangled a grey hoodie and light green beanie out of the bag and quickly put them on. Everything in the duffel bag, including the bag, had a Sumdac Systems cog on it.
He then reached for the remote but paused as he heard three children's voices backed by non-copyrighted Christmas music. Bright colors burst across the TV screen as smiling kids cheered with wide grins.
"I want Sound Wave!" One brunette declared.
"I want Sound Wave too!" A blonde shouted with their fists high above their head.
Then a gaggle of children followed, each of them jumping around and dancing with a blue toy in their hands. "We love Sound Wave!"
Jack furrowed his eyebrows as the commercial continued. 'Sound Wave' was plastered on top of the screen. The logical part of Jack's brain knew that this wasn't the deadly Decepticon that doggedly pursued him and his friends at every opportunity, and it also pointed out that the spelling was different. The intuitive part of his brain, however, didn't really care about either point.
His apprehension increased when an older man in a tan jacket began to list off the features of the product. The older man gave his sales pitch with the sleaziest smile Jack had ever seen. "The interactive Sound Wave toy sings! He dances! He does it all! Get him just in time for Christmas! All these features and more for just $49.99 each!"
"Yo Jack! You coming or what?" Bumblebee called out to him. The yellow Autobot had moved to the door and was holding it ajar with an expectant expression on his face. Jack's shell shocked and confused expression didn't register with the young bot at all.
Jack clicked the TV off just as the commercial ended. He moved to the apartment's exit with quick steps and a preoccupied brain. With a shake of the head, Jack tried to get the commercial out of his head. It wasn't very successful. Thankfully, Bumblebee was able to lead the mentally preoccupied teen to the elevator. Jack entered the elevator next to Bumblebee. It was a predictable tight fit and it was a miracle the two had managed to fit into the elevator at all.
Jack's thoughts prevented him from truly appreciating the sheer strength of the elevator's cables. 'There's no way that's the real Soundwave of this world, right? No, that's too weird! Plus, the spelling is different. Soundwave can't be a toy! That doesn't even make sense…But then again the two construction bots we saw were from Earth. Maybe the same is true for Soundwave? Should I tell them about the toy? Wait, no, that sounds insane. It's just a toy.'
The elevator dinged just as Jack waved his apprehension away. He was ready to leave the building as soon as possible and forget his worries, but Bee had other ideas.
"Oh!" The bot snapped his fingers. "Bossbot and the Professor wanted to get you a security pass for the building. I think Reception Bot might have it." He waved Jack over to the far side of the lobby.
A long, sleek blue desk was positioned in the corner of the wide open space. Seated at the desk was a single automaton. Just like the rest of the building, this creation was designed with a 1970s aesthetic. Her tall head, optics in the shape of horned glasses, curved microphone attachment, and various jewelry-like accessories gave Reception Bot a lot of personality.
"Welcome to Sumdac Systems! How can I help ya, doll face?" Reception Bot greeted him jovially. Jack was briefly taken aback by the pet name and the Long Island accent.
Bumblebee greeted Reception Bot like she was an old friend. "Hey, Reception Bot! Could you trade this guy a temporary day pass for a permanent security pass? Professor Sumdac said there should be one free pass for a Jack Darby."
"You got it." Reception Bot chirped. Her clawed servos moved erratically to simulate typing on a keyboard as she searched for information. With a flash of light from her optics, Reception Bot said, "Found it. One security key card for Jack Darby coming up! All I need is your photo, a phone number, and an address."
"Uh okay. My address is 2111 Windy Drive in Jasper, Nevada." Jack made his way over to the X mark on the floor adjacent to the camera on Reception Bot's desk. He was about to list the rest of his information when Reception Bot tutted.
"Sorry, I can't find that location. Can you spell it out for me?"
Jack obeyed her request, repeating his address slower and louder this time.
Reception Bot spoke again after a few seconds of searching. "I found a 2111 Windy Drive in Longmont, Colorado. Is that correct?"
Jack's brow creased. "No. I live in Jasper, Nevada."
"Jasper, Nevada: not found. Sorry, hun."
"What?" The teen's legs moved on their own, stumbling toward the reception desk.
"You can't find Nevada? That doesn't make sense!" Bumblebee tilted his head. He bent over the desk to get a better look at Reception Bot's computer. " Oh, no, it's Jasper that she can't find…That's still not right."
Jack braced his hand against the desk and leaned toward the computer monitor. It displayed the security card information form, most of it incomplete. The text box holding Jack's address was highlighted in bright red, a distinctive 'ERROR' notification underneath the text box. Jack's stomach flip-flopped and his chest tightened. He double-checked the spelling of the house address, the city, the state, and the order of the zip code numbers. Nothing was incorrect but the red highlights were still present on the screen.
"It doesn't exist?" Bumblebee loudly asked. "Is that possible?"
'Okay, so my house address doesn't exist. That's not…super weird I guess? Different world, different rules, different houses.' Jack tried to reason with himself even as his breathing picked up and a tingling sensation settled at the back of his head and the top of his spine.
He pulled out his phone and sucked his teeth in dismay as he was met with a black screen. He'd forgotten to ask the Professor for a phone charger. "Hey, Reception Bot? Could you look up cities in Churchill County in Nevada?"
Reception Bot dutifully listed the cities. Jasper wasn't one of them. Jack tried again with the nearby counties, all with the same result. Jasper, Nevada was nowhere to be found. Jack then switched up his approach and tried to list Miko's address as his street address. Miko's home was nowhere to be found as well. Raf's house address was also not found. The same results occurred with the Jasper Hospital, K.O. Burger, and his school.
Jack's frustration and confusion must have been more apparent because then Bee stepped in. "RB, is there a BurgerBot in Las Vegas, Nevada?"
"Definitely, doll face!"
"Can you list the address for that BurgerBot as Jack's address and his phone number?" At Jack's questioning eyebrow raise, the Autobot shrugged. "If your town isn't even on the map, your phone number probably isn't going to work either, right?"
Jack sighed at that realization. He should have remembered that. "Oh…yeah. I guess so."
Reception Bot stalled for a few seconds then her optics flashed again. She pivoted her torso, picked up a thin silver security key that slid out of a slot in the desk, and promptly deposited it in Jack's hand. "Here ya go, doll face. Come back soon, okay?"
Not entirely satisfied, but not completely downtrodden, Jack turned to Bee with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Bee. I appreciate it."
The yellow Autobot returned his thanks with a thumbs up. He and Bumblebee bid the kind bot goodbye and turned to head toward the doors leading outside.
"Wow, that's so weird that she couldn't find your town. That means you don't have a home city here. Plus, you don't have a usable phone number, or money, or an email or…or anything really." Bumblebee surmised with a hum. "Well, maybe your city changed its name?"
Jack turned the silver card in his hand as they walked. Everything on the card except his name was incorrect. His mind was again preoccupied with the last ten or so minutes. He didn't have a working phone, a usable phone number, or a home address. Up until a few hours ago, Jack only had the clothes off his back.
"I'm like a ghost." Jack let out a small huff of laughter. It was funny, but not in a fun, lighthearted way.
Bumblebee whistled and shook his head. "Definitely. You basically don't exist here...Wow, I feel sorta bad for you."
"Gee, thanks."
The doors opened and the duo was met with a gust of cold air. Jack was instantly thankful that he had the foresight to put on a hoodie and beanie. Still, three layers of tops and a hat weren't enough to keep the cold away for long. The night air had a bone-deep chill that slowly penetrated his layers one by one. A honking horn drew Jack's attention to the ambulance and motorcycle waiting patiently at the curb. The duo rushed to them, Jack practically diving into the ambulance's open door while Bumblebee transformed.
"Thanks, Ratchet," Jack said as the door slammed shut. He dropped the duffel bag on the seat beside him, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let out a dramatic huff.
The ambulance and two other Autobots began to cautiously merge with the rest of the cars on the road. As he began to pick up speed, Ratchet asked. "Long day?"
Another humorless laugh wormed its way out of Jack's throat. He shook his head. "I don't even want to talk about it right now. "
"I see…Are you sure? It's going to be a bit of a drive and we have all night."
"I…alright." Jack leaned forward in his seat. With a wry smile, he began with a question. "Which do you want to talk about first: the commercial I saw for Soundwave toy or the fact that Jasper doesn't exist?"
Ratchet paused. If he was in bipedal form, Jack was positive Ratchet would have had the funniest look on his face. "...Those are two unexpected options."
"I know. You gotta pick one."
"Hm, start in chronological order and I'll try to make sense of things."
"This better be good!" Blitzwing snarled as he stormed into the laboratory on the derelict Nemesis.
The triple-changer typically avoided all laboratories like they held Cosmic Rust, and this one was no exception. Everything about the room, from the medical slabs lining the walls to the offline medical drones on the floor, caused anxiety to claw through his circuitry. The feeling was enhanced when Blitzwing noticed the many, many protoforms that lines the back wall of the laboratory. Megatron had intended for them to be used for a new army, but without the Allspark or another means to create sparks the protoforms remained lifeless and abandoned.
None of this concerned Starscream. The bot swiveled in his chair, crossed his legs, and gave him an unimpressed stare. "It is if you want to avoid starvation."
The grey bot gestured to the five stacks of energon next to him. They only came up to his chassis, but the energon cubes were bright and well-preserved. Unfortunately, with six bots currently running around the Nemesis, the small amount of energon wouldn't last very long.
Blitzwing, however, was no stranger to dealing with low resources. It's what the Decepticons had been doing since the end of the war. Rather than allow Hothead to make a loud statement, Icy Blitzwing appeared and gave a curt nod. "We will have to make due."
Starscream raised an optic ridge. "That's it? That's all you have to say? I thought you'd be more worried about the prospect of starving."
Irritation rose up in Blitzwing and Icy's monocled face swapped for Hothead's visored face. The red-faced bot threw his hands up and shouted, "Of course I don't want to starve! But there's nothing that can be done about this! What do you want me to do? Cry?"
Starscream tensed and the tips of his wings arched high above his head. "Oh will you stop overreacting? You know that's not what I meant, for spark's sake. Are there any energon caches on Earth?"
"None that I know of…Though there is a chance that there is energon somewhere in Blackarachnia's lab. We never did check that place thoroughly." Blitzwing spoke as his anger suddenly subsided. Icy hummed as he thought over possible areas Blackarachnia could have hidden an energon cache.
Pure displeasure was written all over Starscream's face. "Ugh. That's a task for the others then. What about any Decepticon ships or strongholds near here?"
"The Decepticon Empire's territory is quite far away and any warships are likely still carrying out Megatron's plan to tire out the Autobot forces."
"Do you know if any of them would be willing to come here?"
Blitzwing glanced to his left. The row of thin, slanted windows revealed the vast expanse of stars and darkness outside. Earth was in such a remote pocket of space. It was no exaggeration to say that Earth and Cybertron were on the opposite side of the galaxy. The distance between Earth and the Decepticon Empire was even bigger.
Rather than have Icy reply, Random made an appearance. "Nope! We're aaalllll alone!"
"Well that can't be true! Megatron was here! Surely some bots would be willing to travel to Earth. They can't leave you stranded here."
Icy responded yet again with his matter-of-fact tone. "That would be true if Megatron were indeed here. But he is not. I am the highest-ranking Decepticon here, and I wouldn't expect anyone to waste energon to save me and drain precious resources. We have oil here, there's no reason to cause others to waste energon for one bot."
Starscream jeered in disgust. "I can't believe your fuel tank can process that stuff, much less willingly drink it."
"You were the one who was just complaining about starving."
"I would rather starve than make myself sick with such inferior fuel. I simply have a more refined fuel tank."
"Oh shut up." Blitzwing rolled his optic. He didn't need to revert to Hothead to make the statement either. "You haven't been close enough to dying from starvation. If you gave it a try, you might actually find it serviceable."
"I'll take my chances. You and your legion of Decepticons might be fine with scavenging the galaxy for energon and rolling around in the dirt, but I am not. I don't have to stoop to your level, even if we are allies."
Blitzwing couldn't hold back his pure spite anymore. Hothead hissed and marched up to the bot in the chair. He snarled down at the seeker. "Your legion of Decepticons must be so weak! It's a wonder that the Autobots of your homeworld haven't obliterated your forces yet! Look around you. Do you really think you have the option to be picky right now?"
Starscream rose, returning every ounce of Blitzwing's rage with some of his own. "Why don't you look around, Blitzwing? I'm trying to help you! Do you really think you could have done any of this on your own? I've strengthened our numbers, created a plan to find your Megatron, and helped bring some part of this wretched ship online. All of this I've done in less than a cyber-week! Do you know how to build the transwarp energy tracker? Do you know anything about transwarp energy at all? No! Ugh, it's no wonder that your faction lost the war-"
Starscream didn't get to finish his sentence. Blitzwing could take a few hits to his ego, but he was not about to be disrespected to this extent. The triple changer sought to connect his brass knuckles with Starscream's face. He swung hard and fast. Starscream evaded the punch, and Blitzwing's powerful strike hit the computer screen behind him. Blitzwing's fist was now encased in the monitor and he stumbled forward, his knees hitting Starscream's chair.
"Now look at what you've done!" Starscream shouted as he backed away from Blitzwing.
Blitzwing didn't care. He wrenched his fist from the monitor and grabbed the rather hefty computer screen. With one swift pull, the monitor was ripped from the rest of the console, a shower of sparks erupting as he did. The tan Decepticon turned and tossed the computer monitor at Starscream. It sailed across the room, missing Starscream, and glass sprayed across the floor as it landed. His turrets then lowered. With a scowl, Blitzwing fired at Starscream, aiming his blasts at the floor.
Starscream skirted out of the way. He berated Blitzwing as he sidestepped away from the attack. A menacing smile crossed Starscream's face. "You're useless without your handler, aren't you? Constantly switching between emotions, breaking anything without a second thought, unable to even fly in a straight- gah!"
The grey seeker was so focused on Blitzwing, he'd forgotten about the stacks of energon in his path. The high and mighty Starscream knocked into the stack of energon and the cautiously stacked fuel came toppling down falling directly on top of him. The bot and the stack of energon hit the floor with a thud. A blast of ice suddenly hit Starscream. Then another. A third followed. Starscream and a few energon cubes were encased in ice from the neck down.
"Let me out, you idiot!" The seeker snarled, his entire face contorted from the rage and embarrassment. It was their first meeting all over again, Starscream screaming to be released and Blitzwing having the upper hand. If looks could kill, Starscream's gaze would have ripped Blitzwing to shreds.
Icy smirked down at him before his face disappeared to reveal Random. With a giggle, the bot knelt and knocked his knuckles against the solid ice. Random was having the time of his life watching Starscream hiss and snarl. "Ahaha hahahahaaaa you can't get out without the secret password!"
"Now!"
"D'aaw that's not it! Try again!"
"I don't have time for this! If you don't let me out now, I will rip all three faces off your body and send your corpse down to Earth in a heaping flame!"
His threats went ignored. Blitzwing leaned to the left to grab an unfrozen energon cube. He picked up a cube and briefly contemplated smashing it into Starscream's head. Instead, he sat on the floor, cracked the cube open, and took a long, deliberate drink. Blitzwing lowered the cube when it was half empty and gave Starscream a mocking look.
"This doesn't change anything, you rust-addled mental defective!"
After one more giggle, Random shifted into Icy, and Blitzwing's rationale returned. He looked at Starscream with impassivity. The edges of his face were illuminated in the light of his activated turrets. "No, this doesn't change anything. You still think I'm weak."
"Blast me, and you'll blow up all of this energon along with me!"
"There's a planet below with plenty of fuel. Like it or not, this is the reality that we Decepticons face here. Dealing with our lack of resources is something you're going to have to get used to if you want to return home."
With grit teeth, Starscream relented. "Noted. Now let me out!"
Satisfied with the Starscream's small act of humility, but not stupid enough to retract his turrets, Blitzwing began, "I will…at some point. Now, let's get back to the topic at hand."
"Did you find anything?" Starscream asked as he re-entered the laboratory hours after his discussion with Blitzwing. His ego was still bruised but he had more important things to do than sulk.
Soundwave inclined his head in Starscream's direction before turning his attention back to the monitor. Due to Blitzwing's impulsivity, he now had to work with only one. It was a miracle he didn't damage more of the console. Or maybe the real miracle was Soundwave's ability to find information on this derelict ship. Starscream had left Soundwave to his own devices for an hour and the bot managed to make quick work of the security systems on the device. Then again, considering it was the Nemesis, there was a chance all of their own security measures were the same as on this ship.
Regardless, Soundwave procured what Starscream was looking for.
A voice rang out in the laboratory, deep and stoic. "I will harness its energy into the ultimate weapon and crush the Autobots for good."
"Is that him?" Starscream stood next to Soundwave, watching the wave vectors on the screen waiver as the voice clips played. The sentence itself was very much like Megatron, but everything was foreign. This bot sounded older, determined, and much calmer.
"Fellow Decepticons, Megatron, your leader, speaks. For too long we have suffered under Autobot oppression, banished from our rightful home of Cybertron, forced to live as outcasts on the rim of the galaxy…while Autobot scum bask in luxury. But I swear to you that as long as I still process code I will lead you all…lead you all to a new galactic order, an order that starts with a Decepticon-controlled Cybertron and woe betide any who would seek to undermine my authority."
It was a speech similar to the ones that Megatron would give before the war. It was eloquent, succinct, and had an air of noble pursuit to it. This speech wasn't just directed to his Decepticon army, it was directed to a group of Cybertronians unable to return home. Starscream might have been impressed if he wasn't so familiar with the bloodthirsty and power-hungry gladiator Megatron truly was.
"Fellow Decepticons take heed! Your leader Megatron still lives! Though we remain dispersed throughout the far reaches of the galaxy, exiled from our true home, we are all still Decepticons united by a common purpose! The time has come for us to put aside our differences and act as one under my undisputed leadership-"
"He certainly loves the sound of his own voice," Starscream muttered. This bot clearly loved pompous speeches. They were useful to voice replication, but they didn't contain the pieces of information they were looking for. "Soundwave, try to find shorter ones. Messages that are meant for specific Decepticons."
The seeker waited patiently for the other to finish his search. Eventually, an audio file did pop up.
Megatron spoke in his deep and conspiratorial voice. "Shockwave, my most loyal servant, accomplish what needs to be done. Crumble the Autobot forces from the inside. Find out everything you can, and you will be rewarded."
"Strika, prepare New Kaon for our arrival. We will need to replenish our supplies to full capacity. I will not rest until I find the Allspark."
Starscream's optics flashed. New Kaon was the name Megatron gave to his short-lived fortress on Earth. Obviously, the New Kaon of this world wasn't on Cybertron, but it was most likely still a Decepticon stronghold. Strika, whoever that was, had some authoritative position at the stronghold. They needed to know more, preferably without Blitzwing's knowledge.
"Is there anything else on New Kaon?"
The numerous files and folders containing private and encrypted messages disappeared one by one. Text in Cybertronian flashed across the screen as new files were discovered. Soundwave searched through them too fast for Starscream to read any of it. Copies of maps and charts occasionally popped up, recording the whereabouts of various bases and hideouts stationed across the galaxy. An image sprung up on the screen and Starscrea's optics widened. It was covered in other tile tabs as soon as it appeared.
"No no! Go back to that other image. That was Cybertron!" Starscream's optics frantically searched the screen to find the buried image. His desire to find information on New Kaon was promptly discarded.
The other files parted and the image of Cybertron stood at the center of the screen. Despite the obvious physical differences, it was still very obviously their home planet. It shone brightly against the black expanse around it, a far cry from the planet he'd grown accustomed to. This planet was lively, healed, and ripe for the taking. A strange type of indignation rose up in Starscream the longer he looked at the image.
"Imagine planning for thousands or millions of stellar cycles to take back the place you came from. These bots are weak and slow. Waiting to find Megatron will cost them precious time and resources. If they wait even a stellar cycle longer, they won't have the power or numbers to battle the Autobots." Starscream turned to Soundwave, his gaze locked onto his reflection trapped in the black glass. It was easy to see his own displeasure as he watched his reflection. For a moment, Starscream forgot he was looking at Soundwave's face. He was too concerned with his gleaming optics and deep-set frown.
It was a travesty that these Decepticons were waiting around for Megatron. Starscream was proud to be a Decepticon and proud that his loyalty was never tied to one bot. These Decepticons had been tasked with disrupting the Autobot forces so that Megatron could enact his plan. But with Megatron's disappearance, these attacks were for naught. It wouldn't be long until the Decepticons truly fell to the Autobot rule. And it would all be because of Megatron.
Eventually, Starscream broke out of his trance. He returned his gaze to the monitor. "They're doomed."
From his side, Soundwave gave a small nod of agreement.