Chapter Fourteen

June 13th, 2010

Somewhere over British Columbia, Canada

The Nemesis

Jack sprinted through the vortex and into the familiar surroundings of the Nemesis. He skidded to a halt not too far from where Breakdown and Knock Out were at in the halls. He held his breath, wondering how he was going to save Raf.

Before he could follow the pair, something shot right past him. He nearly cried out as a blur of red and gold zipped past him and the Decepticons.

"Scrap," Knock Out muttered.

Jack watched as Breakdown tensed suddenly. He quickly scuttled up to the ceiling before the Decepticon turned around.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, but if we don't do something about it, Megatron will skin us," Knock Out said.

"Maybe it'll teach you a lesson about trespassing in places you shouldn't be in," Raf tried to sound brave.

"If you don't keep quiet, I will skin you," Knock Out threatened the boy.

Jack seethed at that. He watched and waited, but not before Raf took notice as the pair started to bicker and warn the entire ship of the trespasser. Jack brought up a finger to quiet the younger boy. Raf nodded before the pair walked off with Jack following from the ceiling.

Down below, Romanoff peeked around the corner and watched as the Decepticons disappeared around the corner. She waited before looking back at the others.

"I'm definitely going to kill him," Rhodes grumbled about Stark.

Barton snickered, "Hey, dude. Don't get mad at him just because the kid's more popular than you. Little hater."

"What do we do now?" Janet asked.

"Well, I think the answer is obvious," Hank said. "We've got two kids and a grownup alone on the ship. The most logical thing to do is to try and save them and find a way to get off of the ship."

"Tough luck for Stark," Romanoff shrugged.

"Nat!" Barton glared at her.

"What? He's an asshole."

"Whether you like the guy or not, we can't just let him get killed," Hank backed up Barton.

"And Pepper will kill you guys if so much as a scratch is noticed on him," Rhodes put in.

"If it means getting Stark murdered, then we'll be doing the whole world a favor," was the pungent reply.

"Natasha," Hank scolded, shocked by her words. He knew that she didn't mean it exactly, but still!

"Um, as an officer of the U.S. military and a member of the Air Force," Rhodes spoke, "that we worry about this while we're looking for the boys. From what I've heard about them, they'll use the other kid as leverage."

"I don't know about you guys," spoke Barton. "But I'm going only because Janet just left."

"You've lost your voice box and your t-cog!" Ratchet yelled at Bumblebee as the other four returned. "Are you trying to add your spark to the list?"

Tiger looked up in time to see Bumblebee serve Ratchet a very bad sign. Sierra called him out for it, but Miko was laughing. Bulkhead was trying hard not to until Ratchet turned his attention to him.

"And you! Are you out of your processor? Taking the children and Bumblebee out on a relic mission when one doesn't have the means of accessing his wheels?! You're lucky we didn't add him to the list of comrades we've lost."

"Ratchet!" Sierra shouted. "The 'Cons took Raf as prisoner." She had seen Ratchet's mood switch, but never had she seen him going from being angry to downright horrified so quickly.

"What?!"

"But the good news is that a few of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents are with them," Bulkhead tried to lighten the mood.

"And that is a good thing how?" Ratchet demanded.

To their surprise, Miko burst out laughing again.

"They are completely slagged!" she declared. "If Jack can stop Doc Knock with his bare hands, what chance do the 'Cons have against him?"

"Jack?" Hearing his name made Miko realize her slip, but Ratchet continued, "What is she talking about?"

Frowning, Bulkhead looked down at Miko. "Yeah, what are you talking about?"

"Um…I…" Miko was saved as Arcee entered the room with Optimus behind her.

"What's going on here?"

"Oh, the classic case of processors not functioning properly," Ratchet growled. He saw Banner right between the pair, but he then spotted the woman next to him. "Who's this?"

Arcee raised an optical ridge. "That's it? No yelling about having more humans in the base?"

Ratchet sighed. "Normally, but it's been exhausting these last few weeks."

Optimus looked around the room and asked, "Where is Rafael?"

Ratchet glared icily suddenly at Bulkhead, causing the Wrecker to wince. He rubbed the back of his helm saying, "Um, he's on the Nemesis right now."

Optimus's optics flickered in shock. "He is what?"

"Yeah…and we think Jack is too."

"What?!" Arcee cried.

"Um, good news is that a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are with them," Miko gave a thumbs up.

"How is that a good thing?" Banner questioned.

"We must find the Nemesis and retrieve the boys," Thor included.

"How?" Tiger asked. "We have no way of tracking the warship nor the technology to patch a link to them."

"Wait. Did you say the Nemesis? As in the infamous Decepticon warship?"

The sudden voice from the woman that had met up with Banner startled them. But her knowledge of knowing the warship and its occupants had surprised them.

"You've heard of it?" Ratchet looked down at her.

Danvers wrinkled her nose. "From a lot of stories during my time in space. They call me arrogant, but then you here about the warlord who poisoned his own world and started a civil war that left millions dead. It sucks more when he can't take too much responsibility for it."

Arcee snorted. "Well, I was wondering if someone was going to call him out on his amour propre."

"I am unfortunate to agree with you. His pride surpasses all of any creature that I have known. Even in such a short time…" Optimus barely finished as he suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Um, Prime?" Bulkhead asked carefully.

Optimus seemed to snap out of it before saying, "But it still stands of what has happened. Tiger is right; we do not have the means of tracking their warship down nor to contact it. In the meantime…" He glared at the two Autobots that were in question.

Bulkhead lowered his head down. Bumblebee, however, just stomped out of the room without glancing back, warbling underneath his vocalizer. Danvers' eyes followed him to the doorway.

Meanwhile, Thor gazed at two of the women that meant much to Jack. Arcee was visibly shaken as Tiger was upset and angry. He unconsciously slapped at the railing, catching their attention.

"You cannot give up so quickly on him or Rafael. They are counting on you, on us, to get them back here safely. And we will not fail them, even if we have to move the heavens and the earth to rescue them."

The room's occupants were shocked at his declaration, but Tiger was quick to regain her resolution. She had long ago made a vow to Jack's father to protect him, and she was not going to break it now.

Banner, however, was frowning. "You said a t-cog is like an organ, right?"

"Yes, we have," Ratchet sighed.

Tiger noticed the look in his eyes. "What are you suggesting?"

"Well, if a t-cog isn't essential functional like a heart and more like an appendix, perhaps we can find a way to probably…I don't really know."

"You're talking about a transplant," Danvers caught on.

"But that would acquire a donor," Sierra pointed out.

Ratchet had a hopeful look in his optics. "Then you need to look no further."

"You?" Arcee was baffled. "But that would leave you as helpless as Bumblebee." She winced when she realized what she said. "Um, no offense."

"None taken," Ratchet told her. "Besides, I don't rely on my t-cog the way the rest of you do. The ability to transform is lost to me."

He gestured around the med bay. "This is where I spend my days now, tending to the wounded and the sick. I only value my hands, not my wheels or weapons. Our team cannot even afford to be one warrior shy on the field."

"You make a compelling case, but know that we will find Bumblebee's—"

"What if we don't?" Bulkhead started to argue. "The 'Cons are nothing but a bunch of sick freaks who are probably working with humans right now and took Bee's t-cog out of a twisted sense of gratification. For all we know, they're probably using it as a lobbing ball right now!"

Ratchet looked down at his hands. "If that is the case, who knows if it'll be repairable."

Optimus's optics shuttered. Ratchet had caught it and scoffed, "Please, do you really think this is simply about my failing of restoring Bumblebee's voice box? I…I just want to do what's right for our scout and for the team."

Optimus seemed unconvinced, but nodded his consent, "If you truly believe that is best."

"I do."

Jack cautiously peeked around the corner to check for Decepticons before rushing down the hall. He had just lost the pair, and now he was in a race to find Raf and get off of the ship before anything could happen.

Shivers traveled through him as he took in his surroundings again. The ship seemed to be darker and gloomier than it was before he had been taken on it. Any longer, and it be like going straight to the darkest cave on Earth.

Eventually his enhanced hearing picked up the familiar sound of heavy footsteps. He tried to turn a corner, but it would be too late. He quickly scrambled and squeezed into a small alcove, and he stayed there until the person passed.

"That was close," he sighed.

"You're telling me."

Jack let out a cry and he turned around, nearly sucker punching the person behind him. He was shocked and unamused at who he saw.

"What the…Stark?! That was you that flew past me?"

"What, you think thought I was one of the Golden Girls?" Stark scoffed. The plate over his face lifted up to reveal his face. "By the way, the spandex does not look good on you."

Jack glared at him. "That's what you're more concerned about right now? My choice of fabric? There's a whole boatload of these guys and you're reprimanding me about that?"

"I…true," Stark said.

"Well, now I know why these guys are always in such a grumpy mood."

Stark and Jack peeked out of their hiding spot at the voice. Far down the hall, they watched as a few familiar faces rounded a corner.

"Suits their personality," Barton continued on. "Makes this feel like an Agatha Christie novel."

"Let's worry about that later," Hank said. "Right now, we've got a more important issue right now. Like the fact that we have to find Stark and the boys."

"Exactly!" Rhodes hissed in exclamation. "Why did they even take the one kid? What could you guys possibly have had that brought them there in the first place? Who are they even?"

Stark noticed the crestfallen look on Jack's face and asked, "You know who they are?"

"Yeah," Jack mumbled. "Decepticons. They're the ones fighting against the 'Bots that you met last night for centuries.

Stark frowned. "I see…"

"Does anyone even know what the hell is happening?" they heard Romanoff hiss. "I almost thought for a second that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were there only to be attacked, and now we've got ourselves a boy that's been taken hostage by these…whoever the hell they are."

Jack looked to the intersection that he had been at previously. He didn't really want to say much more, because he really didn't have much of a plan. They were all on the Decepticon warship, and they had no real backup. Why did he do all of these things so recklessly now? The last thing he needed was to allow anyone to get hurt on his watch. Worst case scenario, if Airachnid had found them, they would surely never get to go home.

Everyone froze when they heard heavy footsteps heading their way, this time from more than one person. Stark hissed and waved his arm, signaling their location. Upon seeing Jack with him, they saw no one look so relieved until that moment. No one hesitated as they sprinted towards them, hiding in time before a pair of Vehicons came around the corner. Jack let out a sigh of relief once they passed by. He was just thankful that they hadn't noticed any of them making a mad dash for the shadows.

"That was close," Janet sighed.

"Yeah, let's not lose our heads just yet," Stark said. "I've got JARVIS hacking and downloading their database."

Jack's mouth dropped open, but all that came out was a squeak.

"Which reminds me…JARVIS, any updates on it yet?"

Rhodes hissed at him to shut up, but a voice came out of nowhere saying, "I have all of the information from the Autobots' computer and the storage bins."

Romanoff gave Stark a suspicious look. "What's he talking about?"

"Oh, after last night, I may have had JARVIS hit the big guys' files so I know who to deal with and who not to deal with."

"You did—" Hank clamped a hand over Romanoff's mouth again.

Stark rolled his eyes. "Oh, lighten up, Scarlett O'Hara. I've heard stories on how you managed to track down anything with some pretty questionable techniques."

Jack frowned. "Yeah, how did you guys find out where I was? Did you like put a tracking device on me?" When none of them said anything, all looking around innocently, he cried out in disbelief, "YOU PUT A TRACKING DEVICE ON MY—" Hank had to use his other hand to clamp Jack's mouth.

"I think you guys just gave him a different reason to hate today," Rhodes mumbled.

"Oomph!" Everyone looked as they watched Janet fall backwards onto the floor. However, instead of the alcove's back, she had tumbled into a room. Hank peeked inside to see if anyone was there before he pulled her to her feet.

"Alright! Now this looks like something from a post-apocalyptic movie," Barton approved, looking around the control room. "Better yet, I feel like I'm in NSA."

"I wouldn't count on it," Jack said before looking across the room. It was then he realized it was the exact same room he, Miko, and Raf had hidden inside when they were first on the Nemesis.

"Hey, you okay?" he heard Rhodes ask.

"Yeah, it's just that I've been in this room before," Jack said. "I think I have. With Miko and Raf." He looked to Stark. "Did you see where they went?"

Stark looked away. "Not really…"

Jack's face fell again.

"Um, but it will be okay. I'm sure it'll all work out—"

"No, it won't!" Jack snapped back. "One of my best friends has been kidnapped by the 'Cons, and none of you should have followed me. They took something of importance from one of the 'Bots, they conned a bunch of guys to work with them for God knows what reason, and they have an inclination to take our planet."

Romanoff stared at him. "What kind of men?"

"It's not going to matter much anyway. Not unless…" Jack paused as he glared at the monitors. "Unless…"

"Unless we take the ship," Janet grinned.

A grin slowly crept over Barton's face.

"Now you're speaking my language. Kid, I this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

A small beep echoed through the room, and they heard a voice with an English accent speak.

"Sir, I have completed the download on the warship's database. I have also found a layout of the ship as well."

Stark's mask snapped back into place, and he said, "Show me."

Hank had climbed up onto the controls before inspecting the consoles. He turned back and pointed up at the screens. "Why is the ship heading towards St. Lawrence Island?"

"Wait. Where are we?" Rhodes asked.

Hank looked back at the screens. "Wood-Tikchik State Park."

"How do we deter the ship?" Romanoff asked.

Janet started to climb up it as Hank inspected the console. "This has got to have a navigation module. Meaning we'll have to pull up the navigation menu."

"But how do we do that without the Decepticons knowing they've been hijacked?" Jack asked.

"Well, start praying to God that they don't," Hank sighed.

"But they're in Egyptian or Hebrew or whatever this is," Janet gestured at the glyphs. "Unless this is a language that is not native to our planet."

"It's not," Jack said. "They've got their own language."

"Well, shit," Hank said to himself.

Stark's mask popped back up. "Found out where they took him."

"Let's go then," Romanoff said as she headed for the door.

"Wait a minute." Rhodes snapped a mask over his own face (Jack never noticed he was wearing a suit similar to Stark's until that moment) and he flew up onto the console. He crouched down and studied the controls. "This does look almost like Hebrew writing."

"How do you know that?" Janet asked.

"I've done a lot of tours in the Middle East. I've seen this a lot over in Israel, and I've seen it a lot to recognize the similarities."

Romanoff pinched the bridge of her nose as she formulated a plan. "New plan: half of us will stay here while the rest goes off to find Raf and save him."

"How are we going to do that without getting caught?" Barton questioned.

Jack looked around for a way to get out. Then he noticed a shaft up above them. "That could come in handy."

Hank glanced at him, then to the vent, and back to Rhodes. "Any chance you can figure out what this all is?"

"Not exactly sure. But if I'm right and just to make sure of it…"

Optimus left them as Ratchet explained about the operation. He then put Arcee and Bulkhead side to side. "Obviously, since I am the other patient, I will be unable to perform the surgery. Therefore, one of you must serve as my proxy."

He paced in front of Bulkhead and Arcee. He looked at the green Autobot and shook his head, causing the bigger mech to sigh in relief. In the end, he selected Arcee as his replacement.

"Optimus has steadier hands," she argued.

"That may be true, but his hands are much too big to be rooting beneath my hood," Ratchet said.

Arcee slouched forward with an exasperated sigh.

"Come on. I bet you'll rock at this," Sierra encouraged her. "You're as steely as they come."

"On a battlefield. Not at an operating table," Arcee retorted.

"It's the same thing. As long as you're behind the knife, not underneath it."

"And I've seen my fair share of operations. If you need any help, we'll be here to assist," Banner told her.

"Does this mean Bumblebee afterwards will be all cranky?" Miko asked. "Because that would be weird."

Danvers stared at her before looking at Tiger. "Is she for real?"

Tiger nodded. "Oh, yeah."

Minutes later, Ratchet and Bumblebee were lying on separate operating slabs. Wires were connected to them, all leading back to a single machine. Bulkhead stood close to the catwalk where the humans watched, while Optimus was at the monitors.

Banner did volunteer to act as nurse. He jumped to the machine and pressed down a button. "Inducing stasis," he announced.

Bumblebee buzzed at Ratchet happily. The medic waved his arm.

"No, no. You can…thank me when…it's over."

Banner checked Ratchet's vitals to be sure he was in a safe level for stasis. He looked at Arcee and gave her a thumbs up.

"You're next," Arcee told Bumblebee. But then the monitors went off.

"What's happening?" Sierra asked.

"Ratchet's flatlining!" Thor panicked.

"No, he's not," Arcee said.

"I think you guys have been watching too many of those hospital dramas," Tiger stated.

Optimus looked at the computer's radar and was nearly floored at what he saw. "It's the Nemesis's tracking signal."

"Seriously?" Bulkhead came over to see for himself. "Huh, I'll be. Must be their doing."

However, at the same time, another Iacon homing beacon had popped up, leaving them more torn and confused all at once.

"Oh, that is not fair," Thor protested.

"I'll track down the warship," Danvers declared. To their amazement, she began to glow and take off down the hall. Optimus had to quickly open up the doors so she wouldn't break them down.

"Um, is that a really a good idea?" Sierra asked.

"If what she told us is true, I say we let her do all the work for us," Bulkhead said. At the bizarre looks he received, he asked, "What difference does it make who takes down the Nemesis?"

"Besides the fact that Raf and Jack are up there?" Arcee pointed out.

"Oh, right," a deflated Bulkhead remembered.

Tiger eyed the homing beacon. "That's weird, because this is the third one that popped up this week."

Sierra frowned. "Where are they all coming from?"

"And why now?" Banner added.

"The Nemesis will have to wait for now. Prepare to roll out," Optimus ordered.

Arcee smiled, relieved she didn't have to perform the operation. But at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to board the Nemesis and get their allies back. Bumblebee was told to stay back, much to his chagrin. After the stasis lock was put to a halt was when the Autobots left.

"We should be helping them," Thor insisted.

"By doing what?" Banner questioned.

"What? Do I hear a fuzor in need of a voice box?"

All five of them turned around in surprised confusion. They watched as Ratchet sat up, looking drowsy and disoriented.

"I am able! Just ask Bantor. He was all mandrill before I…put a tiger in his tank!" Ratchet said. He went lights out again.

"Well, we can watch him do that until the drugs wear off," Miko suggested.

The teams were decided. Since Jack was close to Raf and knew him the longest, the teenager would be the one leading the rescue team. Romanoff, Barton, and Stark went along while the other three stayed back to mess with the consoles. Stark led them down the shafts since the ship's layout was downloaded into his suit.

Suddenly the intercom came to life, and all four of them stopped. Jack burst out laughing as he heard "Electric Avenue" played.

"Whoever is playing that song is my new favorite person now," Barton grinned.

"This has to be Rhodey's doing, because I personally would have gone for Aerosmith," Stark said.

For some reason Jack couldn't picture Rhodes listening to music like that. Probably because he had just learned the man was in the Air Force. They were over the hallways in time to see Vehicons look around in confusion, wondering why there was music playing all of the sudden. Large, heavy footsteps pounded down the hall, and they watched as the drones froze up.

"What is the meaning of this?" a familiar voice growled. "Where is that awful music coming from?"

"W-we don't know, Lord Megatron," squeaked one of the Vehicons. "We were just—"

"Then don't just stand there. Take care of it!" Megatron roared. The Vehicons scrambled away, going to find the source of the music and Megatron slowly lumbered away.

Stark held up a gauntlet and a holographic screen popped up. "Okay, so Rhodes and the others are still in this room here. And we're right here."

Romanoff walked up and peered at the map. "And I'm assuming the bright dot is where Raf is?"

"The very one," Stark confirmed.

"So if we took this route here," Romanoff pointed out a path, "we'd get to him faster."

"Right, but where are we going to meet up at?" Barton asked.

Stark pointed to a space that was lit up. "Right there."

"Right," Jack said, having replaced his cartridges. "Let's do this."

They rushed down the shaft towards to where they thought Raf would be. They rushed down the tunnel, knowing that their size and the shaft's enormous space made it easy for them to maneuver down it. They were passing by rooms, but when they went by the third…

"It seems that our leader has clearly fallen prey to a greater power."

Jack froze upon recognizing the voice. He looked down next to the vent above the room, catching sight of the ones occupying it. He recognized the ones that took Raf, but the third one he stilled at. His mother's killer was seated on an examining table, with the red mech barely acknowledging her words.

"Offering an alliance to humans is hardly that surprising. Didn't you do the same not so long ago?"

Airachnid remained unconcerned as Breakdown frowned at this. "First and foremost, any little bit of power is enough to get the warlord on your side. And besides, Megatron knows me a little too well. It's the fact that he was taken a fascination by an organic lifeform that I find amusing. Especially one with handsome quality."

"I never took you the type to fancy male organics," Knock Out said.

"Who ever said I didn't?" Airachnid gave a sultry grin. The look on their faces was hilarious! Knock Out's optics widened, blinking slowly before he turned to Breakdown, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. The Chief Medical Officer shook himself of his stupor at a thought that crossed his mind.

"Just what could that human alpha possibly get from out of this?"

Airachnid had an alluring look. "Isn't it quite obvious from the start? By giving Megatron leverage, what would our latest allies want in return?"

Knock Out paused in thought before his optics widened. "You don't mean…?"

"That explains why Megatron looks off," Breakdown said.

Knock Out and Airachnid glared at him.

"I'm just saying. I mean, doesn't he seem a little iffy to you two?"

"That's not new. He's always like that," Airachnid said.

Breakdown suddenly had a worried look. He tapped his fingers together, nervously, glancing at the door as if he expected someone to come in. "What if…what if he's actually off his rocker? What if he's planning to turn us into mindless zombie slaves to conquer the universe?"

"Well, it's been the idea since — wait, what now?" Knock Out asked.

"Yeah, like in those horror movies that we would see. They would take you and tie you up, and the next thing you know, there's nothing you can do as you're being forced to slaughter a bunch of people!"

"I think you two have been watching too many horror movies," Airachnid commented.

Knock Out sighed. "No, he's always like this."

Jack licked his lips. He felt something pull at his arm, forcing him to look up.

"You okay?" Romanoff whispered, keeping her voice low enough as to not be heard from the three Decepticons down below.

"Yeah," Jack whispered back. "Just seeing her again…"

She nodded, understanding what he was feeling. She still felt slightly guilty for letting June die that night, but she knew that this wasn't the time and place to be stuck in memories. "Let's go. I think Clint and Stark might have disappeared.

Jack nodded, knowing that Raf was more important at the moment. They hurried to catch up with the other two men before heading towards Raf's destination. Jack readied his web-shooters as Barton grasped his bow and Romanoff readied the batons from her belt.

Just when it felt like hours, Jack's hearing picked up the faint sound of sobs. His head snapped towards where the sound was at. He quietly hurried towards the vent to where the sobs were coming from. He cautiously peeked down it and what he saw broke his heart. For down below he found Raf alone in a dark room, huddled in the corner of a cage, sniffling and breathing sporadically.

"There," he hissed, pointing down at Raf.

Meanwhile, in the cell, Raf hugged himself as tears escaped from his eyes. He was absolutely scared and alone for once. He had felt like that many times, but they were never life and death situations. He was exhausted, hungry, and sore from being handled.

He looked up at the sound of banging, startling him. The Decepticons that took him wouldn't be back already, would they? Or could it be…?

The vent above him slammed open, hitting the wall hard enough. He jerked his head up towards it. He had never felt so happy before until he saw Jack appear in the space. "Jack!"

Jack pressed a finger to his lips. He aimed and fired his web-shooters over the cage. Raf watched in amazement as his older friend crawled down it like a spider would. Three more figures appeared above.

"Wow, look at him go," Barton said.

Jack managed to reach the cage in time, carefully rearranging his position so he landed on the table. He barely had time to react as Raf jumped to his feet and ran over to him, throwing his arms around him.

"Jack! I thought they got you when I didn't see you!" he wept.

"It's okay, Raf," Jack smiled, throwing an arm around Raf's shoulders. "I'm here now, and we're getting you out of here."

"Already working on it." Jack and Raf looked up and saw that the other three had just joined them. Barton was inspecting the lock, tapping away at it just as the lock gave an electric snap. He pulled the door open, allowing for the chance of escape. "There, you're good!"

Raf eyed them nervously before looking up at Jack.

"It's okay. They're on our side," Jack assured him. "Can't say the same for the humans that can be on the ship."

Raf, at first, didn't understand what Jack was talking about until last night's conversation was brought back to the forefront of his mind. "What if they're on the ship?"

"We'll worry about that once we get to our meeting point," Romanoff said. "Let's go before we get spotted."

Stark smirked as he turned to the door. "Let's storm this nightmare ship."

Janet was humming the them to Mission Impossible as she, Hank, and Rhodes made their way towards the meeting spot. After playing around with the controls, they were notified of Raf being in their custody, and they quickly left the room while still having music play over the intercom.

Currently they were forced to slip down a narrow passageway on the Nemesis in order to avoid being seen. Hank mouthed the word stealthy as they tiptoed down the hall.

They stopped when they reached the end of the tunnel. They froze up, and Janet shut her mouth, when a large and heavy foot stepped directly in front of them.

"Lord Megatron!"

"Yes, what is it?" the foot's owner groaned.

"And intruder!"

"Autobot?"

"Um, well, no. It's a human."

All three humans looked at each other.

"A human?" Megatron growled.

"Yes. She's doing some damage to the ship."

"What? How can a human do damage to the Nemesis? Or even discover where we are right now?"

The trio waited with their breaths held before they had their answer as he bellowed out, "Who shut off the cloaking device? See to it that this intruder is found and the problems fixed immediately!"

Hank sighed with relief as he watched the Decepticon lord walk away. He had his fair share of scary robots, but none of them were of that size. While he would love to put a dent in one of them…

He felt a small hand envelope in his own, squeezing it lightly. He looked down and caught Janet's eyes staring up into his own.

"So, are we gonna perform a scene from Casablanca, or can we go now?" Rhodes interrupted their moment.

The pair let go of their partner's hand and glared at him before continuing forward. The room with the power core had to be around there somewhere…

Danvers struck the cruiser in a combination of incredible speed and merciless fury. The bottom part of the hull blossomed with explosions as she strafed it with her photon blasts. A swarm of Eradicons had left the landing dock to counterattack her. The former USAF pilot eliminated them all in a dogfight that lasted seconds. She threaded herself through the launch bay's closing door before tearing through the warship. The bridge was rarely occupied, but for Megatron, he was fortunate enough to have Soundwave in his army.

"Find the location of this new intruder and eliminate her," Megatron ordered his communications officer.

Soundwave nodded before leaving the room. Megatron quietly seethed at the sudden intrusions. It was not the Autobots who had the gull to storm his ship, or to almost have them exposed to military units, but to a group of humans. Who would have the audacity to undermine him like that?

Jack didn't want to admit how nervous he felt as they hurried towards the room to where the power core rested in. They stayed inside the shafts to avoid detection, and to avoid Airachnid's attention. He listened as Rhodes relayed of the newest addition to the problem to them, not knowing for sure if they truly were friendly or not.

"So, you now have the entire Decepticon database in your systems?" Raf asked Stark.

"Kid, I may have a lot of storage space, but I don't think I can keep that much on it," Stark said.

Jack frowned. "But one of them is like the network in a living form. Wouldn't you have been detected beforehand?"

"I've programmed JARVIS to learn how to take backdoors. Don't underestimate my handiwork," Tony said, sounding hurt. "I can't believe you don't trust me on this."

"Can you blame him, sir?" the same voice spoke from earlier.

Stark scowled as he said, "JARVIS, I'm gonna ask you to turn the snark down a knotch."

"I'm afraid I cannot, sir. You've programmed me to maintain optimum snark levels."

"Hmm," was the reply.

"However," JARVIS continued, "I would suggest that you hurry. The creatures on the ship are mobilizing at an alarming rate."

"We're toast," Raf remarked.

"Ask JARVIS if there are other humans on the ship besides us," Romanoff requested.

"None that I see," JARVIS answered. "Only you and the one attacking the ship are present on the ship."

Romanoff frowned at this news.

"What other human is there?" Barton wondered.

"Can we worry about that later now?" Jack cut in. "We've got to off the ship before we or the others get caught."

"I'm with Jack on this one," Raf said.

"Then let's go," Barton stated, charging forward.

Not wanting him to have all of the fun, Jack followed, keeping pace with the others. Airachnid had receded to the back of his mind as they went straight for the power core's room. It was a miracle that no one checked the shafts to detect them that it made Jack to question the competence of the crew Megatron kept on the Nemesis. Or was the supposed intruder just more important and the shafts weren't of much importance?

He stopped running as they stopped at the vent that was nailed over the room of their destination. Jack licked his lips again as they moved the grate to gain entry into the room. Down below they watched as the other three rushed inside.

"They should be here," Hank had spoken.

Not wanting to waste another second, Jack webbed the side of the vent's opening before lowering himself down. Hank barely noticed until he turned around and yelped.

"You've got to give me a warning," Hank gasped.

Jack smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Yep. I like the kid," Stark stated.

"Me too," Barton agreed as he slipped down the web with Raf not too far behind him.

Jack glanced around the room, watching as a giant metal arm fed boxed energon into a giant cylinder within the ship. "So, what do we do now?"

"Answer's obvious." Rhodes held up a hand, allowing the buildup of the repulsor to generate itself, and then firing it at the power core, creating a massive explosion that blew them back. The room rocked just before it settled down.

"What are the odds that Megatron's head would explode after this?" Janet jested.

"Let's not stick around to find out," was all Hank could say.

"Run for the exit!" Barton said.

Jack didn't need to be told twice, grabbing Raf's arm and running out of the room just as the ship listed heavily.

Danvers stopped still, noticing that the ship was rocking. "Oh, crap," she mustered up before heading towards the launch bay. She did not want to be inside when it crashed into the ground.

Megatron was definitely not having a good day, despite the fact they now had a relic in their possession. First was the intruder who played that awful sound over the systems, and then the second intruder had attacked the hull and destroyed a squadron of his Eradicons without barely breaking stride. Now his ship was falling out of the sky, the cloaking system compromised. He managed to stumble to the command center, the door hissing open to reveal several drones hastily typing away at control centers.

"Lord Megatron," one of them reported, "our power core has been compromised."

"Prepare for landing," he commanded.

The team knew that the only way off of the ship was simply to jump off of it. No one liked the idea, but they didn't have much options. So, they hurried towards to where they could reach the outside world and, without another thought, they free fell from the ship towards the ground.

Jack held tightly to Raf as they plummeted to the ground. He felt the rush of air before, but not from a height like this. Rhodes had managed to catch Romanoff and Barton, while Stark caught Hank and Janet. Jack squeezed his eyes shut as he waited from him and Raf to be saved as well, but that moment hadn't come yet.

Something had slammed into them, but they had stopped falling. Jack's eyes shot open from behind his mask, which he had put back on before leaving the power core's room, and he glanced up to see the face of a woman holding him and Raf as she followed Rhodes and Stark for the forest down below them as the Nemesis crashed into the ground. Jack saw Raf cringe, and he couldn't help but jerk at the sight as well, but he was glad that he wasn't on it.

They landed on the forest floor far from the eyes of the Decepticon warship. They turned to look at the damages that had been done.

"We could finish them off now," Romanoff said.

"Yeah, except we don't have enough firepower to do the job," Rhodes said.

Raf hadn't been listening to that part of the conversation. Nor Jack, as he turned and watched the younger boy hug the woman, thanking her for saving their lives. She looked confused, like this wasn't a natural thing for her.

Jack was ready to ask who she was before he had an idea. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Miko's number. She picked up after the second ring.

"Dude, what's up? We thought for sure that the 'Cons had gutted you by now!"

"Never mind that. Look, is Optimus there? I have to tell him something."

"Um, no. He, Arcee, and Bulk went somewhere."

"Oh, man. Any chance you can get them to turn around and come back? What I have to say is important."

"Just let us open up a bridge and send Raf through. We've got you back, and it's not a deal—"

"What? No, I need to get a hold of Optimus right now. It's really important!"

"Dude, just chill out. What you've got can wait, right?"

A gloved hand appeared in Jack's vision. He looked up and met Danvers' gaze. He handed her his phone and watched as she spoke into it.

"No, it cannot wait. We have something that your leader needs to know about now."

"Like what?"

Danvers looked back at the downed ship. "The turn of the tides."

Coulson wasn't sure what to expect when he got that call. Since it was early in the evening where he was at, he wasn't expecting anyone until nightfall. But he figured that something came up with Jack, and he answered it before it went straight to voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Phil, you better have a reasonable explanation," Fury's voice replied.

Coulson frowned. "About what?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You damn well know what I'm talking about."

"Not really," Coulson shrugged.

"Really. So, I take it that Mr. Darby is just here for a social visit, right?"