Chapter Five

May 13th, 2010

Jasper, Nevada

Johnson Family Funeral Home

Unlike in the movies, the sun shone over the town of Jasper. People gathered inside of the Johnson Family Funeral Home at the edge of town. It felt as if many of the town's inhabitants have been familiar with the building since they had lost loved ones of their own in the years he had lived in Jasper. This day was only reserved for one person.

June was resting in the finest coffin the funeral home had to offer. Bouquets of flowers arranged in the room varied from water lilies to roses to carnations. Fowler hadn't been pulling on his own leg when he said he would take care of everything. A good thing too, because if Coulson or Fury found out she would have to be either cremated or buried in a potter's field, a lawsuit would have been filed.

It wasn't just that it seemed easy. Whatever leftover money there was Jack had saved from working at K.O., along with the money left in his mom's bank account, would only cover one of the cheaper coffins. The car and a few other possessions were sold to pay off the remaining bills. Some of the belongings were already set in storage. The house would go up into the market tomorrow.

Jack had told Fowler of the plan and everything he could. The agent didn't seem happy that S.H.I.E.L.D. would end up getting to learn of the transformers, but he knew he would have little to say against Fury. Instead, he arranged a meeting to meet the director himself.

This conversation took place after the wake. After having to bear all of the condolences and the stories shared about June. Jack had sat through it all, feeling more hollowed out than ever. He thought for sure he would get some closure from them. Why hadn't the stories have made him feel a little better? They only proved to him just how much of a stranger she'd become to him.

Miko always complained about her being a helicopter mom, but for all her worried phone calls and lectures, they'd never been able to spend much time with each other. There was little of how much he knew of how his parents met. All he did know was that Mom met Dad while she was overseas on an assignment. She only learned that she had been pregnant with him weeks after she returned. Somehow, Dad found out and Jack saw him every chance he got.

Afterwards, when Jack was seven, the pair had been forced to flee to Jasper. Why there, he never knew. June had struggled briefly in the first two months and she had to pull hours to keep up with the payments. He had been more desperate for her attention and finally started to believe that not only did she no longer love him, things would never get any better for them. But he stopped thinking of those things when one night she had come home looking through the mail.

That was when the letter had arrived, containing a note and a few dollar bills that helped them get by. There was no return address, but she looked at the handwriting and she immediately burst into tears. When he tried to ask her who it was from, she just picked him up and hugged him, telling him that things would be okay.

Days had turned to years, and Jack got used to things. June would be gone in the early mornings. He would come home immediately after school, where she would call to make sure he got there safely. Then he'd do his homework and the chores to help out. If he was lucky, she would be home in time for dinner, and spend a couple of hours watching TV before going to bed.

"Hey, kid. How're you doing?"

Jack raised his eyes up. Barton had clapped a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at the casket that was opened up. He had not looked in it yet, even at the wake.

"I don't really know." He looked around. "Nick Fury's not here, is he?"

"Yes," Barton groaned. He looked over at the casket. "You haven't looked in there yet, have you?"

It sounded more like an accusation than a typical question. The tone caused Jack's to shiver. "I, um, no I haven't."

"Still thinking that it's your fault?"

"A little bit."

"Well you might want to stop talking shit like that, kiddo. That spider robot made her choice because she's a sicko." Barton looked around the room. "Those creeps took her and did a number on her. You couldn't have known until they found her. What else were you supposed to do?"

Jack looked over to the coffin. Of course he knew that it wasn't his fault, but he knew a part of him still blamed himself for not saving her in time. The last couple of nights he had nightmares of her death. It was the reason why he hadn't looked at her yet, besides the terrifying fact that she smiled as she fell to her death.

Why was she smiling? Why wasn't she screaming? The fact that she was responding to it so calmly in the end was nerve racking, and he hated that feeling. He wished there was something that could wipe it all away from his memory.

Someone walked up and stood by the pair. Both of them looked behind them to find a girl standing there. She looked embarrassed, twirling a dark red strand of hair around her finger.

"Hi, Kim," Jack greeted her.

"Hey, Jack," she returned the greeting. "Um …"

"I've gotta go check on Coulson," Barton said as he stood up. "He said that Hank and Janet were coming, but I've yet to see that happen." He rolled his eyes in exasperation before he got up.

Kim moved into the seat right next to him. He noticed how upset she looked right now. His mother's untimely death could be the culprit, but he asked, "What's up, Small fry?"

Kim took one of his arms and hugged him. There were unshed tears in her eyes. "June…"

Jack nodded and drew her close. "I know."

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Her grip on him tightened. "I just had to see you alone. Mrs. Darby was a good person, you know? She was like a second mother to me. I can't believe now I had to come to her funeral this soon."

Jack looked around for her brother, but he couldn't see him yet. "Where is Vince?"

"Somewhere with Mom and Pop. He's like a comet outside of its orbit."

"You mean you're hiding from him."

Kim dropped her head. Her dark red auburn hair concealed her face. "I hate having to see him like this. Just empty and hollow inside. I even hate the look he gets when he sees me with you."

"This isn't hurting him. And talking to people will help you, so you're okay. I'll be okay."

She looked back up at him. "I'm sorry. This is your mom that's about to be buried, and here I am acting like a spoiled snob."

"You're not acting like a snob. And you're not a snob. You're watching my mom being buried and a lot of people grieving. That's rough, and you haven't experienced it since you were little."

Kim looked up at him. He smiled down at her, but he knew that she could tell it wasn't reaching his eyes.

"Jack?" Fowler had said as he showed up. "The service is about to start."

Jack took a breath. "Okay," he said. "Okay."

Kim moved to go sit with her family, but she stopped. "Vince said that you have no one now, but I don't think he sounded happy about it."

Jack shook his head. That sounded like him, all right. "Don't listen to him. He says that stuff just to make himself feel better." He was about to scoot over, but Kim hugged his arm.

"But you have us," she said.

"Yeah." He took her hand and squeezed it. "You're right."

Kim smiled at him before she left to go join her family. He barely noticed Sierra approaching him until he looked up and found himself staring into her eyes. Deep breaths. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry."

Jack wanted to hug her back, but he remembered that she had started to date Vince. The quarterback for the football team and known bully. But that was what they all thought. They didn't know Vince like he had the last nine years.

Footsteps forced them apart. Raf was hurrying up to them, tears gathering in his eyes. He threw his arms around the older boy and buried his face into his shirt. Heavy sobs came from him and Jack was quick to comfort him, whispering as he patted the boy's back. Miko approached the two at a slower pace, downcast and her usual bravado gone. Jack looked up from Raf, his eyes just as red as his friends, and held out an arm for her. Miko burst into tears and copied their younger friend as she ran over to quickly embrace Jack as well.

Sierra lowered her head down as all three of them hugged each other out. Even when more people came up to express their apologies, she could barely move from her spot. She lowered her head down, knowing fully well that they needed the space. She would have to give it to them. She just hoped right now that it wouldn't come to something far more sinister.

Outside in the cemetery plot, with a lone claret ash tree as the only living source, Jack resisted the need to punch its trunk. Scraped knuckles and vented anger wouldn't bring his mother back. Its shade was the only thing that shaded him from the sun's glaring heat. He should have known better than to wear all black to the funeral.

The funeral was all said and done now, and a majority of the attendees had left. But Jack wasn't alone, as evident by Coulson being at his side with Queenie in his arms. Romanoff, Barton, Hank, and Janet had also stayed behind. Fury stood far back, watching from afar with a few other agents that wanted to pay their final respects. Even Fowler stood next to where the Autobots were parked at.

"How's he holding up?" Hank asked.

Romanoff looked grim. "Not good. He's being kicked out of his home since he's a minor. The government allowed him to take some things he wants to keep and put into storage that they're paying for it. The idea that he has to live in a S.H.I.E.L.D. fostering home for two years…" She looked over at Coulson. Knowing him, he was probably already working on a plan to give Jack a place to live until he was of age.

"I'd take him in, but with the baby on the way we won't have time for him," said Barton. He reached up and wiped away the strand of sweat along his hairline. "I can't believe this is happening this soon."

"Who can?" said Janet. "I may not have known him well enough, but I feel so bad for him. First to lose his father at a very young age, and now he's lost his mom."

Optimus had heard what the group was saying. "Why are they concerned about Jackson living in a foster home? Will no agent take him in?" he asked Fowler.

The agent raised his eyebrow. "You don't know?"

The Prime's silence was enough of an answer. Fowler sighed and began to explain, "Some kids at Jack's age don't normally get adopted or taken in by other people. Those who are looking to have a kid usually want one at a very young age that they can call their own."

The Autobots turned back to Jack, startled by this news.

Jack barely acknowledged the presence from the others. He was staring blankly at the tombstone, rereading the epitaph on it over and over again. He had done too much crying, and he was as hollow as a conch shell.

"Mom…" He stopped, unsure of what to say. He shifted Queenie into one arm, and ran his left hand through his hair. What was he supposed to say? Everything he wanted to say he already had. "Goodbye, Mom."

Coulson took that as his cue and guided Jack towards the others. "Feeling any better?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know."

"What's troubling you then?"

"The last thing I told her before everything went bad."

"Oh. Well, I don't know much of what will happen, but you can't blame yourself too much for what happened."

"Even if it feels like it?"

"Trust me, that feeling can be a bitch." He added beneath his breath, "So is losing ten bucks to Fury."

Jack laughed, but only the smile remained after it died down. It was great to have him back in his life, even if it would feel temporary.

May 14th, 2010

Jasper, Nevada

Autobot Outpost Omega One

Jack had waited until after school before picking up Sierra and heading off to the base. She was just as nervous yet excited as he had been when he told her of the procedure. Nervous because she was about to come face to face with giants of metal. Excited because, well, for the same reason.

Sierra pressed her cheek into Jack's back as they roared down the road towards the old missile silo. They were silent as they zipped off the roads, heading straight into the wall of stone before a door opened up to the Autobots' base of operation. She didn't look up until they came to a complete stop.

She blinked a few times to adjust her sight to the sudden change of light. She slowly raised her eyes up, and Ratchet was the first one that she saw. She stared in awe at him. "There's more of them?" they heard her mutter.

Ratchet scoffed at her remark. "Please."

"Sierra, meet my science fiction club," Jack opened up introductions. "If any of the others show up."

"Bumblebee and Optimus are on a scouting mission in the Himalayas," Ratchet grumbled. He didn't bother to look at them as he added, "Bulkhead is with Rafael and Miko outside somewhere. We are still waiting on Fowler for news on S.H.I.E.L.D."

Sierra looked like she had truly seen an apparition. Her eyes were fully rounded out as the pair climbed off of Arcee so she could transform. It all seemed too much, yet not enough at the same time.

"I'm going to go grab the cords," Arcee said as she headed for the backroom.

Sierra stuffed her hands into the pockets of the pants she wore. She glanced over at Jack. He suddenly looked shy as he rubbed the back of his neck. "This probably isn't how I wanted you to meet them," he mumbled.

Ratchet paused in his typing. He glanced at the pair from the corner of his optics. Both of them obviously appeared awkward of the situation until Sierra looked up towards the human area.

"What is that?" She started up the stairs.

"Um, Sierra? Wait! I don't think—"

She pulled away the cover of the display and gasped. "Oh, my god."

"Um, I can explain—"

"They're adorable!"

"What?" Ratchet squawked. Even Jack was a little surprised that she could find something considered disgusting as adorable.

Fortunately, Jack had shook himself from his stupor. "Um, yeah, they are." He joined her up in the area. Queenie was also in the area, lounging on the couch. Raf had agreed to take care of the cat until Jack was able to move out of the house. "Those are jumping spiders. My mom bred them. They're supposed to be a more evolved version of them to act like pest control. At least that's what she tells me."

Sierra watched as one of them grabbed the cockroach and nibbled at it. "Kind of big for jumping spiders."

"Yeah, I don't think she'd tell anyone how she did it either. She never even told me."

"Tell you what?" Jack froze up upon recognizing Coulson's voice.

"Phil!" Jack turned around and jumped in front of the display, but it was too late. He watched as Coulson stopped in his tracks upon spotting the spiders. He had the biggest gob-smacked look Jack had ever seen.

"So, how are you enjoying Jasper?" Sierra said, trying to make conversation.

"What the hell is this?" the field agent finally said after a while.

"It's a science fair project," Jack tried to be cute, but he failed at the glare Coulson gave him.

"How long have you had them?"

"I think five years now," Jack said. He wasn't exactly sure how long the spiders were in existence, but he knew they did not come with him and his mom.

"Who else knows about them?" Coulson nearly demanded.

"Just the people in the silo," Jack said. "I'm actually surprised you went this long without knowing they were here."

Coulson barely had time to counteract his statement. For a reason Jack hadn't gotten, he reacted and his fingers were trapped around an object. Sierra gasped and jumped back at the sudden reaction.

He was breathing heavily, unsure of how to react. When he unenveloped his hand, he was shocked at the fly that he had captured in his hand. It only flew out of his reach and disappeared in the room.

"Jack? Was that a fly?" Ratchet asked.

He didn't know how to answer. He just looked down at his hands. They trembled, but he had no idea what caused him to react so quickly. He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep himself calm.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what that was about."

The beeping on the monitors redirected Ratchet's attention to the screen. "Odd. This is an extremely unusual magnetic flux for any planet."

Jack was about to ask what the medic had found, but the revving of Bulkhead's engine roared through the base as the green Autobot pulled in with a sharp turn. He threw the cover back on as quickly as he could as Bulkhead opened his doors to allow Miko and Raf out, who were laughing in glee, so he could transform.

"Did you feel the G's on that last turn?! Bulkhead's an animal!" Miko gushed as she stood like one, freezing when she noticed the presence of the other three. "Remember when this used to be a secret clubhouse?"

"Um, hi, Sierra," Raf greeted softly, and he waved at the pair. "Hi, Mr. Coulson. We were wearing seatbelts."

"Yeah, I'm sure you were," Coulson replied. "So, how was your day today?"

"Why? What did you hear?" Miko asked defensively.

"I've got the cords," Arcee said as she passed them, heading for the exit. "Ready to go, Jack?"

"You bet I am," Jack said with a grin.

"But we just got here," Sierra mumbled to herself.

"You be careful out there," Coulson told them.

"Philip, there's nothing to be careful about," Arcee shrugged.

Coulson had an incredulous look on his face. Jack drew in a breath knowing what that look meant. He was about to intervene, just as Coulson was ready to call her out, when Ratchet budged in.

"Wait a minute Arcee," Ratchet called, making the femme groan lowly. "I need you and Bulkhead to investigate an odd magnetic disturbance."

"I'll go with!" Miko shouted as she started towards the ground bridge, only to stop as Bulkhead's hand blocked her path.

"Stay put, Miko," Bulkhead ordered, sounding surprisingly stern for once.

Miko groaned in response. She turned and stomped back to the others.

"Well, have fun," Jack said. He tried not to show his disappointment, but his posture betrayed him.

Arcee seemed to be studying him before she turned to Ratchet. "It's only recon. The kids will be safe with us," she stated.

Jack looked up hopefully at the Autobots. He could practically feel Miko vibrating at his side in anticipation. Ratchet gave the wheeler an odd look.

"If it gets dangerous, we'll have them bridged back."

He looked over them carefully, his gaze resting on Sierra and Jack the longest, before he relented. Miko pumped her fist and cheered in response. "This is gonna be awesome!"

The ground bridge fired up, and Sierra stumbled backwards in awe. Miko ran after the pair towards the swirling vortex. Jack was about to tag along when he noticed Sierra hadn't moved from her spot.

"You coming with?" he asked, and the girl looked up at Ratchet questioningly. The medical officer appeared engrossed with whatever it was that he was studying, which helped made up the teenager's mind.

"Wait up."

Raf immediately followed as she complied. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Coulson grabbed his bag and rushed after them. Because they were so occupied, none of them noticed a house cat running after them into the vortex.

"Cool!" Miko cheered as soon as they were through the ground bridge. Bulkhead reached down and picked her up, placing her onto his shoulder. "Crank up track seven, Bulk."

"Track seven?" Jack asked at the same time as Arcee.

Their answer was loud heavy metal music blaring from the Wrecker's speakers as Miko aggressively played air guitar. The others had to cover their ears up.

"How do people manage to get anything done with all that racket?" Coulson said.

"Don't you think that's a little loud for recon?" Arcee asked, causing Bulkhead to kill the music and earning a pout from Miko. "A scout should be silent but deadly."

Predictably, both the girl and Autobot snickered at the double-meaning. Jack rolled his eyes while Raf tried hard not to smirk. For once, Coulson grinned stupidly at what she said.

"What?" Arcee demanded.

"Arcee? That has a totally different meaning here on Earth," Sierra clarified with a snort.

"Come on, Bulk. Let's get our recon on!" Miko cheered as he walked past Arcee.

"I always take point," Arcee argued.

"I know, but Miko likes to be up front so she can see," Bulkhead said.

"No matter where I turn, I'm the third wheel," Arcee grumbled.

"Hey. Maybe next time we'll tie her up so she won't follow." Then Coulson asked, "She doesn't always do that, does she?"

He was answered with a mewl. They whipped around to find Queenie strutting up to them, her thick tail wagging side to side.

"What the—?! What are you doing here?" Jack picked her up. "Guess you're coming along with us."

Arcee groaned and rolled her optics. Together, they made their way along the rocky terrain. The terrain was steep, having the older humans to make sure Raf was okay.

That was when something in his back of his head started to act up. Jack slowed down until he stopped walking altogether. It felt as if his ears started to ring in his mind. Millions of flies were swarming in his head. What was going on?

"Looks like Ratchet's magnetic flux is coming from—" Bulkhead began before the sounds of a fight cut him off. The two Autobots quickly and quietly moved to the edge of the cliff.

"Airachnid," Arcee hissed.

Jack froze as flashes of blood, webbing, and sickly green acid slammed into him. But they disappeared as something brushed against his pant leg. He jerked his head and caught Queenie's worried expression. It was then he noticed Sierra with an arm wrapped around Raf's shoulders, who had his face buried in her shirt.

"Looks like they're fighting over that." Bulkhead pointed at the Cybertronian sized object that had been knocked off to the side. "The source of the magnetic disturbance."

"All right. What's the plan?" Miko got down to business.

"Now you go back to base," Arcee replied sternly before contacting base. "Ratchet, I need a bridge now." They watched as she tensed. "Ratchet?"

Frowning, Coulson whipped out his phone and punched in a few buttons. They were rewarded with a curse. "I'm not getting anything here."

"The magnetic disturbance must be interfering," Raf concluded as he pulled away from Sierra a little.

"Scrap," Arcee hissed, barely restraining her frustration. She should have left the children back at the base. If Airachnid spotted Jack or Sierra… "You all wait here and stay hidden, understand?" she told them, glaring especially hard as Miko crossed her arms in defiance.

Bulkhead took his charge and set her down on the ground. "Miko, don't move. I mean it," he added.

Miko whined in protest, but they ignored her. They drew out their weapons and turned to the Cons. They disappeared right over the edge and a shot rang out.

"Arcee," they heard Airachnid say. "And look — you've brought a new partner for me to snuff."

"That would be Bulkhead," followed the voice of Breakdown.

"Who asked you?"

"Launch me," Arcee growled, and the sound of a fight ensued.

"No, she's mine," Airachnid said after some time. Then they heard her purr, "So tell me, Arcee, how is my Jack?"

Coulson made sure the kids were pressed up against the wall before he peeked through a cranny between the boulders. None of them noticed anything else until Raf tugged at Jack's shirt. He looked down just as Raf pointed up.

Miko had scrambled over the boulder to get a better view of the fight. "Whoa, they're really good together," Miko murmured. She sighed and pulled out her phone. "Smackdown for the scrapbook."

Seriously!? Jack scrambled up the rock wall and grabbed Miko's arm.

"Hey, let go!" she protested, pulling to get free and glared at him in annoyance.

"No, you get down!"

Both of them were unaware of how close they were to the ledge. However, Miko had stepped on loose gravel; she tripped, and gravity took over. The pair found themselves falling over the cliffside, with their screams echoing through the plains.

Coulson had looked up just in time to see Jack disappear. "No!" he screamed as he scrambled up the large rock. He got to the top and looked over expecting the worse, but what he saw took him by surprise.

Jack grabbed Miko's hand just as he took hold of the rock. He realized several things all at once: he was hanging off the side of the cliff, Miko was clinging for dear life, someone had screamed, and it sounded like the fighting had stopped. He looked up, expecting someone taking hold of his hand—

He was actually clinging to the rock like a spider would with one hand.

The Cybertronians faltered at the cry that echoed through the terrain. Their reaction to the strange creature varied among them. Airachnid had believed that reinforcements had arrived, but as she looked above, her optics lit up upon spotting a familiar human.

"Jack!" Arcee shouted, relief quickly flooding her as Coulson pulled the pair back to safety with Sierra's help. Airachnid used the distraction to her advantage, lashing out with three of her legs and knocking the two-wheeler to the ground. Arcee was quick to recover though as she sprung up to her pedes, kicking Airachnid through the air and straight into Breakdown. Regrouping with Bulkhead, Arcee chanced another glance at the kids, reassured that they were safe.

Breakdown sat up with a groan. His single optic caught sight of the weapon besides him.

"Thank you," he smirked as he stood up and activated the device.

"You fool! Do you know what it even does? It isn't a toy!" Airachnid hissed at him before taking off. She silently seethed that her opportunity to torment Arcee and Jack was thrown out, but she did not want to be anywhere within range when the device went off.

"Hey!" Miko shouted suddenly as her phone went flying from her hand. The others let out similar shout as their phones went flying as well. Turning back to the battle, they watched as Bulkhead and Arcee were dragged across the ground and towards each other. A low humming noise grew as an orange light surrounded the Autobot duo, lifting them up into the air.

"Wonder what this switch does?" Breakdown mused before pressing down a button. A blast sent the Autobots away from him with a surprising amount of force. They crashed into the base of some large boulders, picking up a cloud of dust. Jack cringed in response.

"Megatron's gonna love this," Breakdown smirked as he drove away.

Quickly, Miko slid down the rocks and raced towards their fallen friends. Coulson made sure the other kids made it down the rocks safely before they joined her.

"Bulkhead!" Miko cried as her guardian sat up. "Hey! My phone!" She went to pull her phone free, but found that she couldn't. "It's stuck!"

"Where's Arcee?" Coulson asked.

Miko let out a groan of frustration before asking, "Why don't you just marry her?!"

The look on his face was priceless. It was one mixed with shock and annoyance.

"Arcee?" Bulkhead said. "Arcee, where are you?"

"I'm right behind you."

"Where?" Bulkhead demanded as he stood up.

"Let's just say she's got your back," was all Miko said with a funny look on her face.

Bulkhead went to turn around, inadvertently revealing Arcee's location to the humans. Jack and Coulson sputtered as Sierra and Raf covered their mouths to suppress their snickers. Turned out that she was stuck to his upper back. Despite using all her strength, Arcee just couldn't separate herself from Bulkhead.

"Scrap," Arcee grumbled.

"I'll call Ratchet and see if he can fix this," Coulson said. He had spotted his phone just by his feet, having been spared from being magnetized somehow. He picked it up and began to dial the number.

"You think we can get a hold of him now?" Sierra asked.

"It's possible if the magnetic pulses have calmed down," Raf answered.

"With that thing gone, we might have a chance," Coulson added as he put it on speaker. "Ratchet, are you there?"

"Loud and clear. Have you managed to locate the source of the magnetic disturbance?" Ratchet's voice replied.

"Yeah, but we ran into trouble, and now I'm magnetized to Bulkhead's back," Arcee reported.

"Magnetized? You mean you—"

"They're inseparable," Miko stated.

"And the device is on its way to Megatron," Bulkhead added.

Ratchet cursed to himself. "The Polarity Gauntlet. A deceptively simple but diabolical creation."

"Just tell me you can unhitch us, Ratchet," Arcee replied in irritation.

"It may simply be a residual magnetic charge providing your current…attraction."

"They're not attracted to each other!" Miko argued.

"You know what he meant," Sierra said. "Is there a chance you can separate them?"

"I'm afraid that retrieving the gauntlet may be our only best shot of reversing the effect," Ratchet decreed. "Once Megatron gets his hands on it…"

"He'll use it for more than attaching notes and family photos to the fridge," Jack realized.

Sierra blinked in confusion. "Like how?"

"Miss, we are forged of metal alloy," Ratchet explained. "If Megatron could repel us with the flick of a switch, we might have another shot at him."

"Instant force field," Raf surmised glumly.

"You mean like in the condition that Bulkhead and Arcee are in?" Coulson questioned.

"Worse yet, he may use it to meld us all into a scrap heap. The good news is that the gauntlet hasn't traveled far. I would strongly advise pursuit," Ratchet recommended.

"We can catch up faster on wheels," Bulkhead suggested as he slammed his fists together.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! And snap me in half?" Arcee pointed out, making the Wrecker slump.

"Right."

"Sweet! I'll take point," Miko cheered.

"Not this time, kid." Arcee told her.

"What? But you said—"

"That was recon. This is war," the femme chided at the girl. "I'm not risking anyone's well-being just so you can hit your daily adrenaline quota." She paused to look at Jack in concern. "Ratchet, the kids need a bridge."

"Coming up."

Miko groaned. "You think Phil is bad? You sound just like him!"

Sierra gasped as Raf covered his mouth. Arcee was just as horrified as they were. Coulson was glaring at the girl, but Jack was the one whose face went red. He whirled around at her, but Sierra had managed to step in between them.

"Jack? Jack, just calm down. Just calm down. Look, she had no right to talk like that, but don't do anything you'll regret later."

Jack hardly looked at her as she talked. He was glaring hard at Miko the entire time. By the time Sierra had finished did he look to the side. He felt all eyes on him even as he stood there with a vacant look in his eyes.

The ground bridge swirled to life a few feet away, and Coulson led the group inside. Jack avoided all eye contact as he followed. Sierra had to keep a tight grip on Miko's arm in case she made a run for it. Stepping into a safe and familiar territory was a relief.

Queenie was at Jack's side quickly and she rubbed her head along his leg. He sighed and picked her up, allowing her to nuzzle her head against his cheek.

"Jack?"

The teenager looked up.

"Are you okay? You looked like you just witnessed …" Coulson stopped, unsure of which words to use.

"Yeah. Just seeing her there again made me scared," Jack admitted.

"Again?" Coulson frowned at him. "What do you mean again?"

Jack didn't look at him as he whispered, "It was her. She's the one who sent Mom to her death."

"Wait. Airachnid was there as well?" Ratchet turned to the kids. "Why didn't you call for a bridge earlier?"

"The fluctuations from the gauntlet…" Raf had started.

"Would have interfered with communications," Ratchet finished with a mumble.

Jack nodded to confirm. Miko's trademark scowl reappeared as she marched up the stairs, flashing Ratchet a withering look. However, his attention was focused on something else entirely.

"Jack, are you alright?"

Jack looked up at him. "What?"

"Given that Airachnid was there, you must have been—" He held up a hand for Ratchet to stop.

"I'm fine, Ratchet. Seeing her again, it just brought up some bad memories, but I've survived worse." Honestly, he didn't know how he felt. It was all just a jumble of a mess tumbling about. He just sat down on the bottom step. Thankfully, Ratchet didn't prod any further, and Jack was relieved.

Sometime later, Arcee had called for a bridge. She and Bulkhead returned, both no longer attached to each other with the Polarity Gauntlet in hand. When Arcee came over to check up on Jack, she shot a cautious look to the area to check on the others. When Optimus and Bumblebee returned, Jack wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying until he heard Optimus addressed to Sierra

"I take that you were with Jackson that night?" Optimus said.

Sierra swallowed and nodded.

"I am Optimus Prime, commander of this team here on Earth," the Autobot leader introduced himself. "We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."

Sierra looked away. "I know. I was given the full background."

Jack grimaced at that. He didn't feel like being the center of attention again. He was about to say something until Miko had piped up.

"You should've seen it, Bulk! We almost fell off of the cliff and Jack was able to stick to the rocks just like that!" Miko snapped her fingers to emphasis her point, and the whole room went silent as all eyes/optics turned to the person of interest.

Jack looked away; his face once again buried in Queenie's fur shyly. Fortunately, the subject was dropped besides telling Arcee and Bulkhead to exhibit more caution next time. A little while later, Raf and Miko had left for home. Sierra stayed behind with Jack as they discussed in private what would be going on next.

"I can't keep your cat in my house any longer. Mom gets nervous around them, and hardly anyone is at home to take care of her."

Jack took a sip of water from the bottle he held. "Not that it would matter anyways. I don't know if I can afford to keep her anymore."

Sierra rolled her bottle in her hands. The sun was in the middle of the western sky, but she was expected home in half an hour. Jack couldn't be in trouble because of her either. Not because of curfew, but how Vince would react if he saw them together.

"I've had her since we moved out here. She was one of few things that we actually brought from New York."

She looked at him. "Do you miss anything before? I mean, before a particular time?"

"Somedays I wish I could go back to the days where it was me, Mom, and…" He trailed off, unsure of what he wanted to say. Things were complicated since the past came to the present. His memories of the life he left behind were starting to confuse him.

Sierra leaned back, using her palms to keep herself up. "I told you that I started dating Vince, right?"

"Is something going on between you two now?"

"What about you and Miko?" she asked, and that threw him off completely.

"Whoa, what? There's nothing going on between us. We're just friends," Jack said.

Sierra looked away. She seemed relieved, and Jack could see something was up. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"I'm starting to ask myself if it was right."

"What do you mean?"

"You two used to be friends." That part made him tense. "Don't you find it a little odd or care why?"

He looked at her. "Why did you two even started dating? I don't see you two hanging out that much together inside and outside of school, you guys fight more than I can count, and I don't think I've ever seen you two kiss."

She said nothing right away. He figured that she needed to find some time to think. But he wouldn't push for answers. He would wait.

Several minutes past, and the atmosphere felt warmer. He was staring out on Jasper's foundation before she whispered, "I can't answer without making it worse for us both."

He looked at her, an eyebrow raised up. "Want to try me?"

Sierra pulled her legs up from the edge. "I don't really know how it happened. It just did. I thought it was because he did have an interest in me, but I wasn't sure. And you were so busy with your friends that I thought you didn't find much interest in me."

She pushed away stray hair from her eyes as she continued, "He was actually the first boyfriend I ever had, but he kept annoying me…and disappointing me. I just got so frustrated with his shenanigans, and I hated how I acted whenever I was with him. I just felt like I had no control over myself. Do you know what it feels like, feeling disgusting and helpless with yourself?"

His breathing thickened. He knew exactly what it felt like.

"Anyways," she rambled on, "I would see how you, Miko, and Raf interact with each other after school outside on the steps. This was before tonight, but I figured you were just good friends because you never really stuck out and looked out for each other. That's how I thought Vince and I should be, but we're not. Now I'm asking myself what was the point?"

Jack looked back out into the horizon. That was what he used to ask himself when he cut off ties with Vince and everyone else that he couldn't associate with.

"What you did for me, respecting our relationship, you're a really good friend."

He clutched his bottle in his hand and it crinkled. "Not that good enough."

"You are enough to save Vince that night at the race."

Jack winced. He had hoped she would forget about that after a while, but her memory was better than he thought.

"Is there something about him that I should know about? I know about how that one kid tried to paint his dad as a corrupt police officer, but that's all I really know about him outside of school. And that car of his as well."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I'm not going to reveal anything specific for personal reasons, but you don't want to know what he's like behind closed doors."

Her eyes widened, but he added quickly, "Not saying he's capable of hurting people physically. He's protective of his sister, and he cares about her a lot."

"But would he if given the chance?"

He didn't know the answer for that. He prayed to God every day that Kim was okay and nothing bad was happening to her. "Trust me when I say that the day he hurts people like that is the day someone messes with him."

"Right."

He swung his legs up from the ledge and stood up. She stood with him. "Who knows? He's a jerk, but he only acts like that because he doesn't want anyone to know how much he cares." He gestured at the elevator. "I can take you home if you want."

Sierra seemed not to mind, but he could see that something worried her. She said it as soon as the doors opened: "Do you think they'd ever like me?"

Jack smile softly. "Trust me, it took a long while for Arcee to warm up to me. I'm sure after a while that the others would come around to like you too."

After dropping Sierra off to her house, Jack decided to take a shower and get ready for bed. Nothing else out of the ordinary had happened for the rest of the evening. At least until he squirted out too much shampoo and conditioner than he needed. He figured that it was from the adrenaline, but that was just the beginning.

The same thing had happened with his tooth paste, which he had to scrap off of the mirror. And then, when he tried to turn on the water, he somehow broke off one of the handles. And the towel bar. And the shower curtain. He managed to grab some towels and throw them on top of the broken handle before opening up the cabinet doors. Which, by the way, he somehow managed to rip off. Then ever so gently he turned off the faucet's water supply before he ever so gently opened the bathroom door and stepped out.

As he tiptoed down the hall, his senses began to grow irrational. Somehow, he managed to pick up something, only to find a fly crawling up the wall. The same thing happened as well, except with the pebble he had kicked. It was becoming too much, and he was starting to panic. Yeah, there was something definitely going on with him.

Absentmindedly, he scratched at his injured hand, pausing when the familiar pang of a sting wasn't present. He raised up his hand and frowned at it. He stared and then suddenly tore away the brace that covered his hand up for inspection. What he saw only left him in more utter confusion.

Much to his surprise, the wound had healed over, not even leaving a scar behind. He carefully held his hand and looked it over. He poked at the area, wiggling his fingers for any sluggish movements. Nothing else had changed in his dexterity, his motor skills were still deficient, and his muscles felt intact.

He blinked at the discovery, feeling stumped when no explanation came up to the quick healing. By all accounts, it should be nothing more than an ugly patch of red grafted to prevent any further damage. He shivered at the possibilities of what would happen if it hadn't been treated in time. He knew he should report this to Ratchet and Coulson over the odd things that happened, but on the other hand, he didn't want to cause a fuss if it wasn't that big of an issue.

Just as he was about to continue, he noticed the small shape stopping in front of him. Glowing gold eyes were piercing back at him in the dim hallways. He reached up and rubbed his eyes together, not wanting to know something that had been bugging him since he met the Autobots.

"I just have to know something," he finally said. "I know I wasn't crazy that night when I was eight, not too long after we came out here. So, tell me the truth: is it true?"

The cat only stiffened at his query, but she didn't retreat. Queenie only stared at him before she sat on her haunches, her head and ears lowered down. A definite yes.

It was one of the memories that seemed fuzzy at first, but it was enough for him to remember. A dark night when someone had broken into their home. He didn't remember why, but the guy only had a flashlight on him. He had been to one to awaken first and witness one of the two men who was thrown down the hall before he saw the figure, a pair of golden eyes staring at him in shock. All he remembered after that was being back in his room under his mother's orders.

Before Jack knew it, the cat was gone and replaced by a five-foot six catlike humanoid. While her face remained white, the short tufts that crowned her head were streaks of gray and black. She was wearing a full black suit that left her hands and neck uncovered, her top half ending down with two flaps that covered her front and rear.

Queenie hesitantly approached him, not tilting her head back as she stared up into his eyes. She gently laid a hand on his arm, causing Jack's arm to grow stiff at the contact. He knew now that he hadn't gone completely insane, that everything he saw wasn't imagined or from shock. Queenie had been the one who had taken out the intruders, not his mom or some angel.

"I'm so sorry, Jack," she whispered. He nearly gasped at how soft yet mature her voice sounded. "I wanted to talk to you, but I had been asked not to reveal myself to you."

Jack frowned. "What? By who?"

"Your father."

"My…what?"

"He asked me personally to go and watch over you two and protect you when you moved out here." Her face fell suddenly. "But I didn't do much of a good job, though, given June's fate took an unexpected turn. I wasn't supposed to let you know who or what I really was. I was just relieved that you and Miko didn't get hurt out there, especially with June's killer out there." She walked past him now. "I'm going to get cleaned up. I can't really show myself like this around the others, but I promise we'll talk about this later when we're alone."

Jack stared at the spot where she had been seconds ago. Had she just left him hanging there like that. Actually, now that he thought about it, he shouldn't be that surprised. Even as a cat she had done things her own way.

As he entered the main room, only Ratchet was in the room. He looked around for Coulson, who was talking quietly to Optimus. All three of them turned to him as he made his presence.

"Um, the faucet sink is broken," Jack said lamely. He froze upon realizing that he hadn't warn her yet. However, the towels would probably be a dead giveaway.

"…How?" Coulson asked.

Jack shrugged. "Beats me."

After sharing a look with Optimus, Coulson didn't dare to push the subject any further. Ratchet just shook his head and looked away, mumbling under his breath. Yawning and feeling too tired from the day's events, Jack decided he would talk to Arcee tomorrow. He reached the second landing and collapsed on the couch. He quickly fell asleep, knowing fully well from personal experience that he would still be tired in the morning from the exhaustion.

Which was why when he woke up the next morning, he was surprised to find himself fully energized.