Note: Acknowledges to Tyroth Darkstorm for his help in writing this chapter!
Also references to 'Fury Within Her' and '13 Candles' are mentioned here, as well as the character Diablo who appears in mine and Tyroth's fanfics.
Chapter Twelve
Awkward Meeting
"PRIME!" Agent Fowler bellowed as he strode into the Silo and over to the railings on the raised platform.
From their hiding places behind the elevator Splinter, Donatello, Leonardo, April, and Casey watched him.
"Looks like a Federal Agent." Donatello whispered, "A human liaison of some sorts."
"How can you tell?" Leonardo asked.
"Read about it!" Donatello hissed "And saw it in the movies!"
"My sons! Quiet!" Splinter put a finger to his lips.
Optimus looked calmly at the federal agent.
"Agent Fowler." He addressed him.
"Don't you even try to stay hidden?" Fowler shouted from the raised platform, "I have a ton of paperwork to fill out because of your last escapades!"
"Do you even know what happened?" Arcee asked dryly.
"Blowing a crate in the middle of Nebraska! And a forest fire in Massachusetts!" Fowler snapped "What is your bots deal!?"
From their hiding places, the Hamato Clan, April and Casey knew what he was talking about.
"That's near the farmhouse!" Casey exclaimed quietly but April placed her hand over his mouth.
"Shush!" she hissed.
"I knew it!" Donatello muttered "That action in the forest near the farmhouse did draw attention!"
"Quiet!" Leonardo shushed his brother and watched Fowler yelling his head off at the Prime who stood there calm and collected.
"Hey! What happened wasn't our fault!" Ironhide argued pointing a digit at Fowler "You weren't even there to see what happened! So don't blame us!"
"Ironhide!" Optimus placed his servo on the red Autobot's hand to lower it.
"I don't care if Santa was there!" Fowler screamed "You're supposed to handle these Cons and their shenanigans with the lid ON!"
"Confrontations with the Decepticons sometimes escalate Agent Fowler." Optimus said.
"You're darn tootin' they do!" Ironhide agreed "And we do try to keep it quiet!" he added with a snap.
"Well try harder!" Fowler growled.
Pandora looked up from her hiding place to Agent Fowler.
"Jeez!" she whispered, "He really lays on thick!"
"Sure does!" Kemeko said "I thought he was mad enough when we first saw him."
"I'll say!" Michelangelo agreed only to be shushed by Raphael who was a few feet away from them with Monalisa hiding behind a large metal box.
"Shut up! You want to give us away!?" he growled.
Monalisa tapped her mates shell to shush him as well.
Meanwhile Fowler gripped the railings and looked down in anger.
"Well thanks for the extra work I got piled up! I..." he paused as he looked towards the stairs to see something long and green sticking out from behind a metal box!
Optimus noticed and tried to distract him.
"Agent Fowler?" he asked, "Is everything alright?"
At the same time, the other Autobots looked to where Fowler was looking and saw Monalisa's tail was sticking out from her hiding place!
"Scrap!" Bulkhead and Ironhide muttered.
Arcee stiffened.
Bumblebee looked at Ratchet who looked at Optimus who looked slightly worried as Fowler ran down the steps and took out a service handgun.
"Alright! Listen up!" he ordered "I know you're there! Come out with your hands up!"
From her hiding place Monalisa paled and looked behind her to see that her tail wasn't hidden!
"Oh no!" she cried pulling it in, and Raphael looked over to see and he paled.
"Shit!" he muttered.
"I won't tell you again!" Fowler shouted as he got closer to where Monalisa was hiding.
"Come out with your hands up!"
As he approached the metal box, Raphael appeared brandishing his sai and he jumped in front of Fowler growling angrily.
The Agent was so shocked he stumbled back almost falling over.
"Don't you dare threaten my mate!" Raphael snarled.
As that happened, Leonardo face palmed in exasperation and ran out from behind the elevator before anyone could stop him!
"Leo no!" Donatello cried but he ran after his brother as he jumped down the stairs, April, Casey and Splinter following him.
Pandora, Kemeko and Michelangelo also watched in horror.
"Oh no!" Kemeko exclaimed.
"Mum! Dad!" Pandora cried in concern.
"Poor choice Raphael!" Michelangelo groaned.
Raphael crouched ready to pounce as he gripped his sai, all the while Fowler having gotten over his shock stared at Raphael with his gun still up.
"Lower your gun!" Raphael snarled spinning his sais "Or I'll turn you into bloody Swiss cheese!"
Fowler glared as he took ready to fire the gun.
"Sure thing Buddy!" he spat "After you eat my star spangled shorts!" he shouted and was about to fire when a kuni knife knocked it out of his hand and he cried out before looking to the side to see Leonardo with his hand in a throwing position along with Casey, April, Donatello and Splinter.
"What in the name of?!" Fowler cried and looked back at Raphael who had been joined by Monalisa, Kemeko, Michelangelo, and Pandora.
"What in Sam's Beard!?" Fowler stuttered and looked up at Optimus who knelt to the floor try and stop the commotion whilst the other Autobots looked on wondering what was going to happen next.
"Calm down Agent Fowler." Optimus said, "There is no need to be hysterical, these are our friends, and they will not hurt you, so I suggest you follow their example."
Fowler gasped as he looked at the Hamato Clan and April and Casey with suspicious eyes, especially at the mutants.
"What in the name of Paul Revere's Horse are they?!" he asked "Some weird kind of Autobots? Aliens from Regulon 4? Cybertronion Mites?"
"Mites!?" Pandora exclaimed.
"Aliens?" Michelangelo cried.
"Quiet you two!" Raphael snapped and Leonardo glared at the three of them along with Splinter.
Fowler eyed the turtles, lizard, Hybrid, and rat and stepped back as they walked over to him.
"What...what are you... things?" he asked as sweat formed on his forehead.
"Things?" Monalisa gasped offended.
"Who are you calling things?" Raphael growled.
"Wrong words fleshy!" Ironhide muttered.
"Very wrong words!" Arcee agreed.
"He's shell shocked I can see!" Bulkhead pointed out.
"Enough!" Optimus hissed then looked back at Fowler and the mutants.
"Well?" Fowler demanded.
Optimus vented and decided to tell the agent straight.
"Agent Fowler," he said, "Allow me to introduce the Hamato Family."
"The what?" Fowler squawked.
"The Hamato Family." Optimus repeated "And despite their appearance, they are not extra-terrestrial lifeforms."
"Then what in Sam's beard are they?" Fowler demanded.
"They are mutants." Optimus explained.
No sooner did Optimus say that than the agent squeaked and went pale.
"M...M...Mutants?" Fowler stammered.
Optimus nodded.
"Indeed." He said, "Mutated Earth Creatures."
Fowler stared at the turtles, Monalisa, Pandora and Splinter with wide eyes, he gaped, he blinked, and his complexion went pale.
"Sweet...Lady...Liberty..." he muttered then his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he passed out in a dead faint much to the shock of everyone, his feet bouncing off the floor as he went down!
There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at the passed out federal agent on the silo floor in amazement.
"Well, that was unexpected..." Michelangelo commented.
"What in Tarnation?" Ironhide exclaimed.
"Well...he's dead!" Bulkhead shrugged.
"And I thought I took it bad when I first met you guys!" April said as she walked over to Fowler to inspect him.
Ratchet meanwhile scoffed with a hint of a smirk in his voice.
"I think this is the best state he has ever been in!" he said.
Optimus meanwhile stared at Fowler on the floor bewildered.
"This is unexpected." He said, "I believed he would have been able to handle the fact that mutants exist on this world, I guess I was wrong."
Bumblebee bleeped a few times as he walked over and started poking Fowler's body until Arcee stopped him.
"I don't think he'd approve of that Bee." She scolded, yet she gave the yellow scout an amused smirk.
Pandora laughed as she saw that then looked at Michelangelo.
"So, he can handle giant alien robots, but not mutants?" she asked.
"I know weird huh?" her favourite uncle replied.
"Everyone!" Leonardo spoke up "We should make sure he's alright! Help me here!" he knelt to pick Fowler up, but Optimus gently slid his digits under the unconscious Agent and picked up Fowler before placing him on the sofa until he came to.
As he did that, the mutants, April, and Casey ran up the stairs to the higher platform.
"It seems we will have to wait." The Prime said as he observed Fowler on the sofa "Agent Fowler will need to process this at his own pace."
"Agreed Prime." Splinter said as he reached the top of the stairs and walked over to the sofa followed by Monalisa who opened her bladed tessen to fan Fowler.
"We must let him process this carefully."
"Wish I had a bucket of water to throw on him!" Pandora chuckled.
"Me too!" Michelangelo agreed "That'll wake him!"
"I know where there's a bucket!" Bulkhead piped up happily.
"Sweet!" Pandora cried "Where is it?"
"Guys!" Leonardo spoke up "Please don't! We don't want to burn any bridges here! Especially with a government agent!"
"Leonardo is correct!" Splinter agreed "We must handle this situation with care."
Pandora pouted when she heard that making Kemeko giggle.
"Aww man!" she groaned, and Bulkhead vented in disappointment with her.
Just then, a moan was heard, and everyone looked to Fowler stirring.
"He's waking up!" Arcee exclaimed.
"Ugghhh, man!" Fowler rubbed his head as he sat up "What hit me? The Washington Monument?"
Ratchet scoffed and rolled his optics.
"Hardly! You humans are nowhere close to being durable enough to survive that!"
"No shit!" Raphael commented.
"Are you okay?" Monalisa asked gently as she continued to fan Fowler with her tessen.
"I had the darndest dream!" Fowler said as he rubbed his forehead then looked at Monalisa and gasped "And I'm sure it's over yet!" he cried as he sat bolt upright.
"It's no dream Fowler." Arcee said "Our friends here are just as real as the rest of us."
Splinter then walked over and stood before Fowler leaning on his cane.
"I know this might be scary for you." He said calmly "But we will not hurt you."
"Yeah!" Michelangelo piped up making Fowler look over at him "We're friendly mutants!"
Fowler looked at the mutants taking in their appearances from the shells on the turtles' backs to the tails on Monalisa, Pandora and Splinter, and he bit his lip.
"Mutants..." he said, "Friendly mutants?"
"You have my word they speak the truth, Agent Fowler." Optimus said making the agent jump slightly then he looked at the clan and sat up properly.
"Mutants?" he asked then he threw up his hands "Sure eh, why the hell not?" he said, "Next you're gonna tell me that magic is real too!"
Michelangelo opened his mouth to speak about Tyroth and his magical dragon abilities, but Donatello clapped his paw over it muffling his words.
"Don't say anything Mikey!" the purple masked turtle warned "He won't survive that shock."
Kemeko decided to help and walked over to Fowler.
"Calm down Fowler." She said gently "We are friendly! Promise!"
Leonardo walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder ready to pull her back if needed.
Fowler looked at Kemeko and cocked his head.
"You're a mutant too?" he asked "You look human to me! More so than the others!"
Pandora rolled her eyes.
"Duh!" she drawled "She is a human! As are April and Casey!" she pointed at the couple and Fowler looked at them as well before looking back at Kemeko.
Kemeko shushed her cousin, but she nodded.
"She's right!" she said "I am human! As human as you are!"
Fowler was silent for a bit as he looked at everyone.
"I have so many questions..." he said "I... I don't even know where to start!"
"The perhaps." Optimus suggested "They could tell you their story, that might answer most of your questions?"
"Good idea Optimus!" Leonardo said then turned to the others "We all better sit down and get comfortable."
"Same goes for you fancy pants!" Pandora said as she perched on the arm of the sofa.
"Okay..." Fowler said as he leaned into the sofa ready to listen.
"Man." Ironhide said "I wish I had a can of engex right about now, can't have a story without some drinks!"
"Likewise!" Bulkhead agreed and Bumblebee bleeped along with him.
Arcee volunteered to check the energon storeroom whilst Ratchet leaned into Optimus and whispered to him in cybertonian.
"Optimus, with all due respect, don't we have more pressing issues? Like this dark energon problem?"
"You are not wrong, old friend." Optimus replied.
"But, given all the recent events that our new friends, and Fowler, have been through, it benefits no one to bring it up right now. It would only serve to agitate them all during a still tense situation. Rest assured that we will handle this, but not right now.
Ratchet vented and nodded.
"I suppose so... I just... well...I..." he said but he stopped as Optimus gave him a gentle look and placed a servo on his shoulder.
"I understand your concern, and I share it. We will investigate this as soon as we can. But for now, I am afraid that we must pretend that all is fine, or this might escalate, possibly preventing us from taking further actions."
Ratchet nodded at Optimus.
"Very well Optimus." He agreed.
Needless to say, Fowler has met the Hamato Clan and their friends and is about to learn about them, I wonder how he's going to take it all in? Well you'll find out in due course! See you then!