Hey guys! Bet you thought I forgot about you all, huh? Well I'll tell ya, things are c-r-a-z-y!! And now on top of this full time work, with my part time work, I've decided to find a happy medium for a week and kick off to Vegas in May (squeals in excitement). Plus I'm planning on being alone there for a couple of days, so everyone pray that I find a penny slot machine that's out in the open and in plain view of the security desk... So I'm really only going to have time to work on my stories on the weekends, and you all know me, if I don't think it's story-worthy, it doesn't make it to post. So, I'm keeping up, but just a little at a time. Life can get sticky sometimes, ya know it? Also, I've realized that one of the changes that came with the updates to the fanfiction website, meant that some of the parts of my story have run together because there aren't anymore separation marks that I've placed in there... So I've found another way to fix it up. Anyway, here's my next post!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, but I DO own Cat.
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Cat was confused. She was standing in, what seemed to be, Mission City on the day that Megatron was defeated, and Cat had fused with Five. There were people running down the streets in terror, but she couldn't hear anything. Not the screams from the helpless humans, not even the rumbles from the battles being played out before her.
"Weird…" Cat said to herself as she just stood in the middle of a street, watching the scene.
"How'd I get back here and…" Cat realized that there was something wrong with the feeling in her feet.
She pulled up a pant leg and saw that her legs were their original, steel form again.
"What the hell is going on here?!" she yelled in anger.
Suddenly her mind saw images that seemed oddly familiar to her.
-Seven..- Cat's eyes widened.
"No way…" she stood up straight and looked around.
-Seven… Come to me Seven…- It was definitely her… It was Five.
Cat didn't care how or why all of this was happening. All she cared about was that she would be reunited with her sister. And for some reason she didn't even need to ask questions. She knew exactly where to go this time.
-I'm coming! Hang on!- Cat thought as she turned and saw the top of the grayish building from a block east of her.
Running as quickly as her mangled legs could carry her, Cat quickly made it to the building, and instead of trying to climb it, like she did the last time, she busted through the glass, front doors. Shards of glass flew everywhere as she landed on the inside of the doors and took off to the elevators. She pressed the "up" button and waited with extreme impatience.
"Come on, Come on! Let's go already!" she shouted, knowing full well that yelling wasn't going to do anything to help her out.
She watched as the electronic sign above the elevator flashed from twenty, to nineteen, to eighteen. It was a gut-wrenching feeling at having to wait.
A strange knocking sound suddenly broke the silence… It sounded as if… as if someone were knocking on a door… Cat looked around, trying to pinpoint the noise as it got louder and louder and-
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Three knocks at the door awoke Cat out of her dream. She sat up on the couch, listening to the knocks, but ignoring them for the moment. She quickly reached down and pulled the leggings of her pajama pants and saw that her legs were, indeed, human. She sighed with great relief.
The knocking at the door became more persistent, and even began to turn into poundings, as if someone were banging their fists against the door. Cat looked over to the entrance and was tempted to not answer it until she heard a familiar voice.
"Cat! Cat, open up! Cat!" Will yelled.
"Lennox?" Cat got up from the couch and rushed over to the door, "All right, all right, hang on! Don't blow a gasket!"
Cat went to the human-sized door and unlocked it, opening it. As soon as she did this a blur version of a human rushed in and suddenly crushed the girl in a tight… Was he hugging her?
"Umm," Cat's feet were barely touching the ground as she was pulled in close, "Something the matter?… Lennox, look… I like you and all but-"
Will stepped back away, but just couldn't bring himself to look into Cat's eyes, "No… It's just… I…"
"What is it?" Cat was more than confused, but her curiosity outweighed it for the moment.
She saw the legs of Optimus and Ratchet cross the path of the door as the garage door opened, allowing them to bow their heads and limbo under the smaller passageway and into the large apartment. Ratchet stood up completely, but poor Optimus was forced to lean a little in order not to destroy the tall ceiling. The living area was large enough for all five of the original Autobot group to be in at once, however any as large as Optimus were still a little cramped.
"What's going on guys?" Cat was beginning to get a bit agitated. Was something wrong? Did someone get hurt? A thousand scenarios went through her mind.
"We weren't sure what to make of what we saw…" Optimus started.
Cat looked from Optimus, to Ratchet, and to Lennox. Yep, there was that "concerned" look again.
"All right, what exactly is going on here?!" Cat crossed her arms, her left foot tapping the ground.
"Well we -uh… We were going through that basement room that you told the guys, here, about. And, I went up to that booth to look for the projector… and found these," he brought a VHS tape from behind his back.
Cat looked at the tape with a raised eyebrow look for a moment, wondering what exactly it was that he was trying to show her. It didn't take long for her mind to switch over from "wha?" mode to "duh" mode.
"Oh… Is that all this is about?" Cat almost cracked a smile as she looked to her three friends.
Will looked from the tape in his hand to the girl with a confused look, "What do you mean "is that all"?! These tapes shows the abuse that those creeps who locked you up did to you!"
Optimus and Ratchet looked to one another, then back to Cat and Will. Why was she not upset by this new information?
"Yeah, but… That was so long ago… Why are you so bothered by it now?" she asked.
Will was shocked, to say the least, "Well I… I saw how you were beaten up as a little kid, and it made me think of my own daughter… And all the disgusting ways I would have tortured and killed anyone who had harmed her in the ways that these people had harmed you…"
Cat took the tape, respectively, from the Captain and looked it over. The three visitors made strange looks on their faces when they noticed an odd smile that overtook Cat's face.
"…I stopped crying over these memories long, long ago…" She said simply.
Cat stopped looking at the tape and looked to the three.
"What is it that you want with the projectors anyway?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"In truth, I'd very much so like to dismantle it-…. Did you just say "projector(s)"? Ratchet realized.
"Well yeah. I thought I told you that there was more than one?" Cat asked, trying to think back on their conversation about the basement facility.
"No, you failed to mention that…" he replied.
"Well, there's four altogether. The others are incased in special compartments in the walls. They only reveal themselves when they're activated," Cat explained, "Here, why don't I show you how everything works down there and-"
"That won't be necessary, "Optimus was the first to cut her off, "Between the technicians here, as well as Ratchet and Wheeljack, I'm sure we can take care of the projectors without your aid. For now, until you're fully healed, you can stay in one of only two places."
"What places?" Cat raised an eyebrow of suspicion.
"Your quarters, or the med bay. Which do you choose?" the old mech snorted with laughter.
Cat shuddered. There was no contest as to where she would be staying.
"I'll stick with my own place, if you don't mind… But why can't I go anywhere? My ribs are practically healed now, you know," Cat crossed her arms.
"It's not so you can heal, it's part of a disciplinary punishment for being neglectful of proper safety precautions on your motorcycle," the leader crossed his arms as well, returning Cat's annoyed gesture.
"Part of a punishment?" Cat was almost afraid to ask.
"You will also be banned from riding that contraption of yours for one week's time," Ratchet smirked.
Cat scoffed, "You've been wanting to say that ever since you've laid eyes on it…"
"Perhaps, but I agree with him when he expresses concern about specific incidents, like this one. You will stay, either here, or in the med bay until Ratchet gives me the clearance to your fully healed ribs," Optimus explained.
"Get some rest, Cat," Ratchet ordered.
Cat scowled, making the two mechs chuckle. They, then, left the apartment through the garage door, heading back towards the way they came.
"I'll meet up with you guys in a minute," Lennox yelled behind out the door, turning back around to meet the gaze of Cat.
"You look like you've got something to say…" Cat griped.
"Well I agree with them, if that's what you're expecting. As a superior ranking officer, it's my job to ensure my group's survival. And if that means punishment for doing something foolhardy, then that's what has to be done," he shrugged.
Cat rolled her eyes, "It's not like I'm an officer…"
"No, you're right. But even so, you're still learning how to really take care of yourself. It's expected that you act like a rebellious teenager so you should, in turn, expect to be punished like one," he smirked.
"I wasn't being neglectful! I know what I'm capable of doing on that bike! How was I supposed to know that I was heading right for a landing zone?!" she whined.
"You, of all people, should know that you're supposed to be aware of your surroundings at all times," Will scolded.
"I… I was focusing on something else…" Cat realized where this was going.
"Yeah, you were focusing on something that you shouldn't have been doing in the first place. When you're so tuned in on something like that, you lose all perspective on what's important. You're lucky you didn't -" Will was cut off.
"Yeah, yeah… I get it Captain… So, is that all you wanted?" she asked.
Will smiled, "No. I wanted to ask you something too."
"What's that?" Cat wondered.
"Optimus tells me that you've been using these projectors as aids to keep up on your self-defense?" he started.
"Yeah? So?" Cat wanted to know what Will was planning.
"Well, instead of beating the shit out of yourself with those harsh training programs, what if I made a recommendation to have some of the special ops training instructors train you more properly?" Will asked.
"…No…" Cat turned away and walked over to one of the windows.
"Why not?" Will was a bit surprised to her answer. He figured that she would be all over the idea of training companions.
"I can't train with average humans…" she turned to look at him, "No offense, of course. But at my lowered level of strength, as the project that I was, I could at least battle with the likes of Barricade… Now I'm only just above the strength of several humans… Don't you see?" she asked.
"That's why you were using the projectors in the first place, wasn't it?" Will realized, "You're above the strength of humans, but you're still not up to being able to battle a Decepticon?"
Cat nodded slowly, "Right… I could probably take on a whole army of humans. But when it really matters… When we're under attack by someone as strong as Starscream, I may be of no use…"
"But you're not just yourself, right? You've got part abilities of your sister, so you should be able to take Starscream's head off just like-"
"My body's not adapted to do that!" Cat growled.
"What do you mean?" Will asked.
Cat sighed and looked back out of the window, taking note of the rocky formations all around the outside, "Ratchet thought that I couldn't walk, after the fusion, because my muscles were so new to my transformation… But I should have regained that strength by now… I'm worried that I'll only be as weak as I am now… That, somehow, this new body wasn't put together by Five's fusion transmutation as it should have been…"
Will wasn't sure what to say or think. It wasn't as if the human race had ever dealt with the power of Alchemy like they had with the technology of medicine. Alchemy was so pure, that it was only taught in silence. It would have been a bad idea to have everyone be experienced with such a dangerous science. And because there was so little experience, there was no way to tell if something was done correctly, or incorrectly until everything was said and done.
Will walked over to Cat and looked outside along with her, "I don't know what to tell you, really… I've never known anyone in your position… But I think the Autobots, as well as Sam and Mikaela, would agree with me when I say that you're in no way weak. You're just going to have to wait it out and see what happens. You've still got a lot of things to live to see, and maybe you'll rediscover yourself in time, with them."
Cat smiled, "I hope you're right…"
Will watched the clouds move slowly across the blue sky for a minute before looking at his watch, "Well, it's getting late."
"Late?" Cat asked, "It's like, two in the afternoon."
"Yeah, but I want to help the guys with those projectors, to do whatever it is that they're wanting to do with them. Then I've got to get on home. Sarah's going to be expecting me back sooner or later."
Cat snickered, "Does she know about all this? The Autobots, and the government stuff?"
"I've tried to explain everything as best I could… But there for a while I think she was worried that I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," he chuckled as he headed for the door, but stopped and turned around, "Let me know if you change your mind about that recommendation."
"Yeah… I'll think about it, "Cat replied and waved, "I'll see you later Lennox."
Cat heard the door close behind Will and sighed. She would have liked, nothing more, than to have a proper sparring program that would fit her specific needs. But she was certain that a human partner wouldn't suffice. It would actually be too dangerous for a human to spar with her. The fact of the matter was that if she were truly to open herself up, she could easily kill even a highly trained officer. So, really, the idea was out of the question.
Cat looked around her apartment with a sort of bored look on her face. The place seemed a bit dull at the moment, as there was no sound coming from anywhere within it. The signal on the satellite dish had turned itself off after there had been a long period of inactivity. Cat looked over to the kitchen area. Nope, not hungry. She looked to the phone, but knew that there was no point in it. At the very least Mikaela would be calling for her later. If not her, then Sam's parents would certainly want some answers. That is if the Autobots had told them what had happened with her the day before… Yeah, she'd definitely be getting a call…
Cat sighed again, crossing her arms and lowering her head in frustration. She had thought that being confined to her apartment would be less daunting than being confined to the med bay, but she was already wondering what to do with herself. She smiled a little, remembering that this is how things started out when she lived with the Witwicky's.
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-Flashback-
"Really, Cat, there's nothing I'd like more than to have someone else do all of the work, but you're not supposed to be up and around so much!" Judy carefully guided the young fighter to the living room where she was hoping that Cat would take the hint and sit down to rest.
At this point Cat had only lived with the family for a few weeks She had already managed, with the aid of Sam and Mikaela as well as the rehab specialist that came out three times a week, to be rid of her walking aids completely. Although it didn't mean that her walking skills were back to one hundred percent. Her legs were still in a weakened state, and she wore down easily. At this point in time, Sam and Mikaela were out with Bumblebee, leaving Cat at home with Sam's parents.
"Are you sure? I mean, I've been sitting around here like a blob for all this time, I'm sure there's something I could do to help you out," Cat asked. Sam had warned her that being too generous would give his parents full reign over what they "needed" help with around the house. But she grew tired of being laid up all the time and being taken care of.
"Nonsense! We're doing this as a favor for you saving Sam! There's no reason for you to feel like you owe us anything!" Judy explained cheerfully.
Cat sat down in the darkening room and gave a gruff sigh, "If you insist…"
"I insist!" The older woman replied as she walked back into the kitchen to finish up cleaning after their dinner.
It was getting pretty dark outside, but of course, that didn't affect Cat. Her specialized lens in her left eye changed into it's night vision mode at her will and she quickly found the remote for the television next to the chair she was sitting in. She grabbed it off of the end table, but before she powered the television on-
"OUCH! Why are all the lights turned off in here?!" Ron stubbed his toe on the edge of the couch, across from where Cat sat.
Ron reached for a nearby lamp, which stood next to the couch. He turned the small knob to fire up the lamp, but nothing happened.
"Judy! I thought you said that you replaced the bulb in this thing?!" he yelled.
"I did! But I don't think that was the problem! I think it's time we just threw out that old thing and-" Judy yelled from the kitchen.
"No, no! Nothing doing! There's no point in throwing something away in this good of shape! I'm sure it can be fixed!" Ron replied, putting his foot down on the matter.
"Ronald, we've had that old thing since Sam was born! Besides, you don't know anything about fixing lamps! Just make it easy on yourself and go buy another one!" the woman scolded.
"You don't even know what the problem is! Maybe you didn't screw the bulb in all the way!," Ron replied with hint of sarcasm.
"….Fine! Spend your entire weekend fixing the thing yourself then! But when you give up on it, make sure it's before eight o'clock in the evening," Judy scoffed.
Ron and Cat both looked to the hallway that led to the kitchen, confused.
"Why eight?" Ron asked.
"Because, dear, that's when the Home Depot closes…" Judy stated.
Cat let out a snort of laughter, and Ron turned in her direction, having not known that she was there to begin with.
"…Sorry…" Cat stopped the laughing as soon as Ron had given her that "look".
"Didn't see you there, Cat…" he looked away for a moment but stopped, looking as if he had an idea. Looking back to Cat and squinting better to see her in the dark room, Ron asked, "Hey you're super smart. You think you can help me fix this lamp?"
Before Cat could answer, Judy's voice boomed through the hallways, "Don't you dare involve that poor girl!"
"Ah, she's fine! Good to go, eh kiddo?" Ron coaxed Cat into joining him into trying to fix the lamp.
Cat was about to speak, once again, before there were several loud "booms" from down the hallway before Judy appeared, a frown on her face.
"You heard the rehab doctor! No physical exertion!" she bellowed.
"Judy, you've had her sitting around the house twenty-three hours of the day. Let the kid get up and around now and then, will you?" Ron argued.
"If we let her roam around too much, she'll exhaust herself, and that other big, scary, yellow thing will be around here more often! I'm surprised the neighbors haven't noticed that our backyard has turned into an interstellar lounge area, yet!"
"So what if the neighbors notice?! Who would believe them? Let them announce it on the six o'clock news, for all we care! They'd lock them up in the psych ward and throw away the key!" Ron rebutted.
At this point, Judy was about to throw a fit. She pointed a finger in her husbands face, but the darkness in the room was suddenly lifted. The lamp had turned on, seemingly by itself. Ron and Judy looked to Cat, who was now standing near the wall, dumbfounded.
"It was uh… It was unplugged," the girl smiled sheepishly.
-End Flashback-
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Cat smiled again. Her first experiences living with a real family was, at first, challenging. However, the more she got to know them better, the more she could allow herself to enjoy her freedom. The Autobots were a big help too. Even when she would show her sister's side, they would be stubborn and stick to their guns, keeping her in line like a well behaved soldier.
Cat sighed. And now they were doing just that, once again. Keeping her in check, and punishing her for her bad behavior. She had a feeling that it wasn't going to be the last time that she would ever face disciplinary actions.
Absentmindedly, Cat looked over to the couch, and the small, black, square tape caught her eye. It seemed that Will had left it behind. The room was deathly quiet. Cat's gaze was fixated on the object. She, finally, got up and walked over to the couch, taking up the VHS tape in her hand. She looked over to her oversized television and saw that there was a DVD/VCR player attached. She looked back to the tape and regarded it for a moment before finally taking it and walking over to her television, Cat slowly inserted the tape into the player.
Going back over to the couch, Cat picked up the remote and turned towards the big screen. Her finger hovered above the "Play" button for a moment. She considered just letting it go, but she let her curiosity get the best of her. She hit "Play".
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"No!" a small, eight year-old version of Cat yelled, as she crossed her arms.
"Come now, Seven. You know better than to disobey a direct order," a voice boomed over a loudspeaker.
It was the basement facility that the Autobots had just visited. The room was bright, all lights shining down on the tot as she pursed her lips and turned her head so that she wasn't looking towards the booth.
"No!" she yelled again.
A sigh came over the loudspeaker, "All right, have it your way. Activating battle simulation."
The light's in the room dimmed, some shut off so that there were only five bright spotlights in the giant room. The little girl twirled around, sniffing out her surroundings for anything that might have been coming at her.
"I don't want to fight anymore!" the child yelled at the top of her lungs.
A shadow figure appeared behind the little girl and kicked her straight in her back, sending her about twenty feet away, sliding across the floor. She shivered in pain but got to her feet quickly, jumping several feet in the air before the figure could come at her once more. As she came down from her high jump, she reeled her legs back in ready for a quick kick, but a second figure came out of nowhere, punching her in the side, sending her into the wall with crushing force. The child's body slumped to the ground, unmoving at first.
"Don't make this any harder than it has to be, Seven," the male voice warned over the loudspeaker.
The first shadowy figure appeared before the little girl as she stood and began sending several punches to her abdomen. Her back was repeatedly hitting the wall with each punch. Any normal man or woman would already have been close to death under these circumstances, however the small child finally broke free of the assault and brought her metal, right arm up, knocking the shadow figure back with hard punch.
The second shadow figure ran up to Cat with the speed and precision of a well-trained ninja. Cat was able turn in time and deflect each and every kick and punch that was sent to her by the figure. Although, she was being backed into a corner, because the figure was still a little more than too much for her to handle on her own. Among the barrage of punches and kicks, the small version of Cat saw a quick opening and took it. She ducked one of the punches and moved in with a kick to the thing's abdominal area, sending it back a few feet. The girl didn't take the chance of having another wave of attacks by the figure, and she followed it as it stumbled backwards.
The little girl clapped her hands and ran her left hand over her right arm, turning it into it's blade form. She neared the figure and swiped her arm from left to right, right through it. The image dissipated as she had "killed" it in the battle mode.
The child stopped her battling to catch her breath and smiled. She had done it! She proudly waved her right arm, still in blade form, through the air.
"Okay, I beat it! Now let me out!" she screamed.
But the smaller version of Cat had forgotten about her first opponent. The shadow creature crept up behind her, unveiling it's own long blade form. The child's eyes went wide as she realized that her training wasn't actually complete. Before she could turn around, the shadow thrust it's blade, and drove it into the child's back, through her left shoulder.
"Ngnn…" Cat whimpered as the figure held her still with it's blade through her body. She shook, her body racked with pain.
The darkness in the room lifted and the shadow figure disappeared, leaving the smaller version of Cat to hit the ground, blood pooling around her.
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Cat shut off the screen and looked away from the television. Yeah, she remembered that day… She had started to shown disobedience and was punished severely. It had taken her days to get over those injuries. She was only lucky that she healed faster than normal humans.
Even though she had just witnessed one of her, not-so-great, moments in life, Cat felt no anger or sadness. She had lived that life for so long that she had come to be less than sensitive to it all. She guessed that it was the reason why the three who had just visited her looked so surprised at her emotionless face.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel anymore…"
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Chapter Teaser!
Cat decides to take a trip to the med bay to check up on something, while the Autobots gather back together. But something isn't right, and Cat's dreams begin to catch up with her. A familiar glow suddenly overtakes the Hoover Dam, and it really shakes things up. But it's not the same as it was before, and the Autobots are put at great risk. What happened to cause this?