Hey everyone, I'm back! As you can tell, I finally figured out what I wanted to do for Speed Metal! Hallelujah!

If there are grammar errors in this, I apologize, I was feeling tired when I edited this lol. I just couldn't wait. I hope you like it!

Transformers Prime: The Medic's Assistant

Chapter 16: Speed Metal

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime

(Jasper High School)

Soon after the bell rang, Sierra made her way to her locker, very much glad it was finally the end of the day.

"Hey, Sierra!"

The redhead looked to the side to see Emily and two other girls approach her. "Hey, girls," she greeted.

"We're heading straight to the mall from here," the blonde girl said, "wanna come? There's a huge shoe sale happening today."

Since she already made plans to spend time with Stormracer, Sierra had to decline. "Sorry, I can't today."

Emily folded her arms at her. "You know, we hardly ever see you around anymore. What gives?"

"I just made plans with someone else already," she said, "maybe I can hang out with you girls another time."

"Your loss," the brown haired girl beside Emily said, "we'll see you tomorrow then."

Sierra watched her friends walk off as she let out a sigh, wishing she could tell them about Stormracer and the autobots. Closing her locker door, she swung her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the main door. Soon as she was outside, she looked around to try and find her guardian.

"Sierra!"

Looking over at the parking lot, she saw Jack waving at her as he stood next to Arcee in her motorcycle form. Smiling, she made her way over to them. "Hey, Jack," she said, "hey Arcee."

"Stormracer had to finish her work so she asked me to give you a ride," the two wheeler told her.

"Cool, thanks," she said as Jack handed her a helmet.

Soon as the two humans hopped onto the motorcycle, they backed out of the parking lot just as a teenage boy gained their attention.

"Hey, cherry moped," the redheaded boy insulted as he leaned against his car.

Jack looked at him over his shoulder. "Uh, this moped has dual carbs and can go zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds." With that said, they drove off down the street, leaving the teen with a frown on his face.

Soon as she stopped at a red light, Arcee brought her attention to her human charge. "Jack, a lady's vital stats are her own business."

"You tell him, Arcee," Sierra said with a grin.

Jack let out a sigh. "I apologize," he said, "and not because I'm with two tough women at the moment."

Sierra's grin got bigger as she looked at him. "You think I'm tough?" she asked, slightly teasing him.

Immediately his face turned red as he looked at her. "Well... um..!" he nervously stammered.

"No way!"

Sierra's grin disappeared. "Oh no," she groaned quietly, looking to see her friends standing there with their jaws dropped.

"You're dating the guy with the motorcycle?!" Emily exclaimed in shock, "girl, why didn't you say anything?! No wonder we hardly see you!"

"I'm not dating him," Sierra said, trying to explain.

Emily didn't even listen as she introduced herself. "Hi! I'm Emily, Sierra's friend. but you can call me Em. "

"Uh, yeah," he said, "we're in the same homeroom. I'm Jack."

Just then the same red headed boy pulled up beside them in his flame styled car.

"Well, well," the teen said with a smirk, "small world."

Jack frowned as he looked at him. "What do you want, Vince?"

"Cheer captain and her squad here might be interested in watching you take on four wheels of muscle car," Vince challenged.

Jack gave him a look, "Are you challenging me to a race?"

"You catch on quick," the bully said with a grin, "what do you say?"

Hesitant, Jack looked over his shoulder at Sierra, seeing she was giving him a look of encouragement. But just before he could give an answer, the light turned green, allowing Arcee to drive off as both surprised humans held on for dear life.

"Whoa!" Jack said, looking at his guardian, "You didn't give me a chance to answer."

"Nope!" Arcee said.

"But you two could totally beat him!" Sierra argued.

"Yep."

Jack groaned. "You don't get it."

"I don't make the rules, you two," the motorcycle told them, "Optimus does. And rule number one, in case you missed it, never abuse power for personal gain. That includes horse power."

Soon as they stopped at another intersection, the same flamed muscle car pulled up beside them.

Letting out a sigh, Jack looked at the bully. "Look, Vince, maybe racing isn't such a good idea."

Vince only laughed at him. "Ha! I figured! You ride around like your bike is something special. But it's just a clunky junky trike... and ugly."

Soon as the light turned green, Vince did a quick U turn around them and sped off, leaving them in a cloud of exhaust.

Fuming at the bully's insult, Arcee immediately changed her mind. "That's it!" she said angrily, "the yahoos going down."

She sped around after him as the humans held on tightly again.

"Uh, what happened to rule number one?" Jack asked her.

"Gets bent... just this once."

Vince made his way around and pulled up beside Sierra's friends. "Yo girls! Your friend Darby-" He didn't finish as the motorcycle pulled up beside him.

"Ready when you are, Vinny!" Jack said, accepting the challenge.

Surprised by his sudden reconsideration, the bully smirked at him. "Dirt road by Trucker's Ranch. One hour."

(One hour later)

Sierra and her friends stood on the side of the road as they waited for the race to begin. Soon as it did, she watched as Vince's car sped off with Jack and Arcee speeding after him.

"Come on, Arcee," Sierra cheered quietly as they sped right past them.

After a moment of allowing Vince to think he was winning, Arcee and Jack drove right past him, even doing a wheelie before taking off. Passing the finish point, Jack let out a cheer as Arcee victoriously honked her horn.

Sierra and the girls cheered loudly as Jack and Arcee turned around and drove over to them.

"Your boyfriend is so cool!" Emily told Sierra.

Sierra rolled her eyes at her. "He's just a friend, Em," she said before looking at Jack with a smile. "But yeah. He is pretty cool."

Jack was glad he was wearing his helmet. He didn't want Sierra to see him blushing underneath it.

(Later back at base)

Soon as they arrived at base, Arcee stopped in the corridor close to the main hangar, allowing Jack and Sierra to hop off before she transformed.

"Remember you two," the blue femme said, looking down at them.

"Don't tell anyone," both Jack and Sierra said in unison.

Giving them a smile, the two wheeler walked away. After she left, they were immediately approached by Miko.

"Dude!" the exchange student said to Jack as she pretended she was on a motorcycle. "Vroom, vroom! And the winner iiiis...!"

Both Jack and Sierra looked at her in shock.

"Miko? Who told you?" Jack asked.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked him in disbelief, "it's all over school!"

Sierra groaned as she pinched her brow. "Emily," she guessed, knowing her friend would be the one to spread the word.

Raf walked over to them. "You beat the pants off that bully, Vince," the younger boy said to Jack with a smile.

The older boy immediately made the two huddle in. "You guys have to keep this on the DL," he told them, "especially around Optimus."

Understanding the Prime would disapprove, the two nodded and agreed.

"Well, I'm going to find Stormracer," Sierra told them. She looked at Jack and smirked. "See you later... Hotshot." Giving him a wink, she walked off to find her guardian.

Soon after she was gone, Miko looked at Jack and smirked. "Oooooooo!" she teased.

Jack gave her a look. "Seriously?"

"Dude, ask her out already!" the exchange student said, folding her arms.

"We're just friends, Miko," he told her.

"Riiight," Miko said, giving him a look.

Jack sighed in frustration.

"Come on," Raf said, "we said we would try that new racing game I got us."

Both looking at the younger boy, they nodded and headed for the main area. As they walked, Jack couldn't help but let a small smile spread on his face. He did like the fact Sierra called him a Hotshot, even though she knew Arcee did the driving. Still, it made him feel like a winner.

(The next day - Jasper High School)

Sierra walked out of the school and noticed Jack ahead of her. "Hey, Jack, wait up!" she said, gaining his attention. Making her way over to him, she noticed Arcee and Stormracer hadn't shown up yet.

"Looks like we're going to have to wait a bit," Jack said, looking at the street.

Sierra grinned at him. "So, how do you like being popular?"

He chuckled. "To be honest, weird. I'm just not used to that kind of attention."

"Well, you did beat the toughest guy in school," she said.

Smiling, the boy rubbed the back of his head. "Oh come on. It was no big deal."

"You got that right."

Both looked to see Vince approaching, not looking too happy as he confronted Jack.

"You think you got what it takes to run with the big boys?" the bully asked, jabbing his finger into Jack's chest, "the circuit. Tonight at 11 PM."

Sierra frowned at him as she folded her arms. "You didn't learn your lesson the first time?"

Vince smirked at her. "What's the matter? Scared I might beat your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," she said in frustration.

His smirk turned into a grin. "Is that so," he said, "well, when I beat him, maybe I can take you once around the block."

"In your dreams," Sierra scoffed.

Frowning at her, Vince looked back at Jack. "So, what will it be, Darby?"

Jack was hesitant. He wanted to race him, but he knew Arcee wouldn't do it a second time. "I don't know, Vince. I think one race was enough."

Vince wasn't willing to back down and decided to push him into it. "How about this?" he asked, "race me again, and I won't give that little nerd you hang around with a swirly, everyday for a month."

Jack's eyes widened when he threatened Raf. He looked at Sierra who was giving him an encouraging nod. Releasing a big breath, the dark haired boy frowned at Vince. "Fine. I'll race you again."

The red headed boy smirked. "Remember, 11 PM. You better be there."

Sierra stepped in front of the bully and glared at him. "Oh, he'll be there," she said, "and when he beats you, you're going to regret challenging him."

"We'll see about that," Vince said before walking away.

Soon as Vince was gone, Jack groaned as he held his head. "Great. Just great. How exactly am I going to convince Arcee to race him a second time? She won't do it."

Sierra thought for a moment before coming up with a solution. "Then we'll just have to ask someone else," she said with a grin.

(Later - Autobot Base)

"No way! Nuh uh! Not happening!" Stormracer said, immediately declining Sierra and Jack's request.

"Storm please," Sierra pleaded, "we're only asking you to race just this once. We have to do this."

"No you don't!" the femme argued.

"Stormracer, come on," Jack said, "the guy's a jerk."

"You're asking me to go behind Optimus' back just to race a bully," she said, "I'm sorry, but I won't do it."

Sierra sighed. "You don't get it."

"I'm a nerd," the femme said, "I've dealt with bullies before." She shuddered at the sudden flashbacks. "Those are some memories I don't want to relive." Looking back at the two, she let out a vent and knelt down in front of them. "Look, I understand where you're both coming from, but there is no way you can convince me to do this. Take my advice and just ignore the guy."

Getting back up, she turned around and started walking away.

"He said he would go after Raf if Jack didn't show up," Sierra told her.

Immediately Stormracer froze in place. Rewinding her steps, she knelt back down in front of the two, this time with a frown on her face.

"He said what now?"

(Time skip)

After asking the others, minus Arcee, to cover for them, Stormracer, Jack, and Sierra drove off towards the Circuit. Soon as they arrived, Stormracer made her way towards the starting line.

"There," the boy said, pointing at the flamed muscle car in front of them, "that's Vince's car."

Stormracer pulled up beside Vince, making him look to see Jack and Sierra in a different vehicle.

"Bike's in the shop," Jack told him.

Taking a good look at his opponent's car, Vince smirked. "So you went with a girl car?" he laughed.

Feeling silly, Jack looked over at Sierra. "Maybe we should have asked Bumblebee," he said quietly so the bully couldn't hear.

"He won't be laughing for long," the girl told him with a smirk before looking at the teal car, "right, Storm?"

Stormracer only let out a vent, reminding herself she was doing this for Raf. Soon as the starter said go, she took off down the road with the other vehicles behind. Seeing Vince speeding up beside her, she went faster, getting further ahead of him. As she raced, she noticed another vehicle approaching rather quickly as it hit Vince's car from the side. Immediately she recognized the vehicle.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she said in disbelief as she sped up even more.

"What?" Sierra asked as she and Jack looked behind to see the red Aston Martin chasing after them.

"Wait, I know that car," Jack said worryingly.

Immediately Stormracer sped up on the side ramp, Knock Out doing the same as he caught up.

"Well now, isn't this a small world!" Knock Out shouted from behind, "you know, you never did give me a chance to thank you during our last encounter!"

"What's he talking about?" Jack asked the autobot.

"Later!" she whispered to him.

"Although, you did wreck my paint job!" the medic continued, "and just for that, I'm going to make you wish you allowed me to fall!"

He then activated his weaponry and started firing at Stormracer. She shrieked as she started dodging him before driving up over the ramp. Sierra and Jack fearfully held onto their seats as the femme went mid air for a couple seconds. Landing onto another road, Stormracer sped off with Knock Out still behind her. Immediately she contacted base as more fire blasts whizzed by.

"Bots, you there?!" she asked urgently, "I'm being chased by Knock Out! Come in!"

Arcee immediately responded. "We're here, Storm. We're coming to help you. Right now your priority is to keep Jack and Sierra safe."

"Got it!" the teal femme said before hanging up.

"She knows," Jack groaned, already knowing he's busted, "I'm so dead."

A blast nearly hits them, causing the teal car to swerve as the humans held on.

"We will be dead if we don't lose this guy," Sierra said worryingly.

Trying to figure out a way to lose Knock Out, Stormracer got an idea and released a trail of oil behind her. Her plan worked as the con drove into it and slid across the road, making him growl in annoyance as he spun to a halt.

"Slick!" Jack said with a grin.

Seeing a bridge up ahead, Stormracer drove off road and down the slope. Soon as she was under the bridge, she turned off her engine and remained quiet. The three dared not to make a sound as they heard the red car driving onto the bridge and stopping. After a suspenseful moment, the decepticon finally continued on, allowing the autobot and humans to vent/sigh in relief.

"I think we lost him," Stormracer said, "you two okay?"

"We're good," Sierra told her.

Just then another car drove up and approached them.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Jack groaned as Vince stepped out of his car with his headlights still on.

"Darby!" the bully said, pounding his fist into his hand.

Stormracer stayed quiet as Jack tried to get Vince to leave.

"Vince, you have to get out of here," Jack told him, "you win, okay? Congradulations. Now go!"

The redhead only slammed his hands down on Stormracer's hood. "No, start her back up, Loser. We're finishing this race. Don't want to take it to the finish line? Fine. Then we got something to settle right here, right no- whoa!" Vince exclaimed in surprise as a large metal servo reached down and plucked him from the ground. Scared for the human, Stormracer immediately let Sierra and Jack out as she heard Knock Out transform. Transforming herself, she and the kids rushed up the slope as the decepticon doctor disappearing with his prisoner.

"Scrap!" the autobot said fearfully.

"He's getting away!" Jack exclaimed, "we have to go after him!"

Hearing the sound of honking, everyone looked over to see Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead making their way over to them. Soon they transformed, the blue femme frowned at the humans. "Jack, Sierra, we need to have a little chat," she said sternly before looking at Stormracer, "you too."

"Later, Arcee," Jack said to her, "Vince was snatched by that sleek sportscar con."

"What would Knock Out do with a random human?" his guardian asked.

"He probably mistook him for Stormracer's human friend," the boy said, "Look, it doesn't matter why he took him. Vince is in trouble."

"Oh well," Bulkhead said, "tough break for Vince."

Stormracer shot him an angry look. "Bulkhead!" she scolded.

"What?" he asked, "I heard the guy's a jerk."

"No argument there," Sierra agreed.

"But he's also innocent," Jack said, "Vince doesn't deserve to be crushed by cons."

Arcee, knowing the boy was right, transformed into her vehicle mode. "Hop on," she told him.

Jack did so as Stormracer transformed and allowed Sierra to hop in. Soon as the other bots transformed into their vehicle modes, the group took off to find Knock Out. Once they were in Jasper, they kept their scanners and optics opened as they searched the area. It wasn't long until the red car quickly drove by in front of them, wanting them to follow. Immediately they gave chase as he disappeared around a corner. Soon as the bots turned, they saw him entering a warehouse area up ahead.

"It could be a trap," Stormracer said as she and Arcee stopped at a corner.

"It is," Arcee told her. "Jack, this is where you get off. Stay here with Stormracer."

The two wheeler took off as Sierra got out of Stormracer and stood next to Jack. They waited anxiously until they heard the sound of a fight happening from inside the area. It wasn't long until Knock Out raced out of there with Arcee on top of his vehicle form. With one hard swerve, the decepticon doctor sent the blue femme flying off of him before he took off like a shot with Vince still in his possession.

Seeing Arcee transforming into vehicle mode to chase after him, Stormracer started up her engine. "Sierra, Jack, stay here!" she said before taking off after the two wheeler and con. As they exited Jasper, she saw Knock Out speeding up, leaving Arcee way behind. Putting pedal to the metal, Stormracer sped up and drove right past her.

"Storm!" Arcee shouted.

Stormracer didn't listen as she instantly caught up to the con. Seeing her pursuing him, he let out a chuckle.

"So, do you regret saving my life yet?" he asked tauntingly.

"Look, if you're upset about what happened the last time, then take it out on me!" the teal car said, "but let the boy go!"

"Well, if it's such a big deal to you, maybe I won't."

Stormracer angrily rammed into him. "I said, let him go!"

Knock Out growled and angrily rammed the teal car back even harder. "Don't think I'll cooperate just because you kept me from going offline. Let me guess. You thought by doing so, I would owe you some sort of favor."

"I did it because you needed help!" she said.

"It was because of you I nearly fell off that cliff to begin with!" he angrily pointed out.

"I- okay yeah that was my fault. But I only did that because you were going to ram into me!"

"Oh, you mean like this?"

The next thing Stormracer knew, he rammed into her again, making her spin around uncontrollably as he continued driving.

Knock Out laughed as he drove off with his hostage, thinking he had won.

Honk! Honk!

A red and blue semi truck came into view from the side and rammed into Knock Out, making him swerve off road and into a ditch. He tried backing up, only for his back tires to spin in the air.

Optimus transformed and made his way over to the con.

Stormracer immediately contacted the Prime with her commlink. "Optimus, Knock Out has a hostage."

"Understood," he said before picking up the red car.

Knock Out let out a painful yell as Optimus ripped off his car door. Soon after the Prime freed the unconscious human, the con got out of his grip and transformed, landing on his pedes far away from the Autobot leader. He looked at his arm where his car door was suppose to be.

"Do you know how hard that is to replace?!" he exclaimed angrily. However his anger was replaced with fear when he saw the other autobots arriving. Outnumbered, the con ran the other way before transforming and driving off.

Stormracer, Arcee, and Bulkhead transformed as Bumblebee pulled up with Jack and Sierra inside.

"Optimus, this was my fault," Jack said.

"We must get this boy to safety immediately," Optimus said, still holding onto Vince, "explanations can come later." He then frowned at the group, "from all of you."

Knowing they were in trouble, everyone shamefully looked down.

(Later)

Vince finally woke up, finding himself in Stormracer's back seat with Jack at the wheel and Sierra in the passenger seat.

"Wh-what happened?" the red headed boy asked.

"Some guys jumped you under the bridge and tossed you into their trunk," Jack lied, "must have been some kind of initiation."

"Really?" Vince asked.

"Yeah," Sierra said, going along with it, "we found you knocked out on the side of the road. You okay?"

"Um, yeah, I think so," he said, rubbing his head.

Soon as they pulled up under the same bridge, the bully got out of the teal car and shut the door.

Jack unrolled the window as he looked at Vince. "Look, I gotta be honest," he said, "after what I saw tonight, I'm thinking racing isn't my thing."

"I hear you Darby," Vince said before smirking, "hard to win a race driving a pedal car."

The teal car's engine revved loudly, startling Vince as he backed away. Stormracer then drove off, leaving the bully behind as she let out a deep vent.

"Well, he's definitely not my favorite human," she said, trying not to let the boy's words get to her.

"At least he's safe," Jack said, "we however have to face Optimus soon as we return."

Sierra groaned at that. "I'm looking forward to the lecture," she said sarcastically.

"At least you two will only be dealing with just Optimus," Stormracer said grimly, "I have to face both him and Ratchet."

"Sorry, Storm," Jack apologized, "I got us into this mess."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Sierra told him, "I encouraged you to do it. Sorry I made you feel like you had to."

"No, it was my fault," he said, "it was my choice."

Sierra sighed, still feeling guilty.

The three remained quiet for a while. Remembering what the con said, Jack decided to ask the femme his question. "Hey, Storm, what did Knock Out mean by him not being able to thank you?"

The teal car let out a vent. "You remember when I went driving and I ran into Knock Out? Well, when we were fighting, I made him nearly go over a cliff. I pulled him out of there before he could fall."

"You saved his life?" the boy asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you regret that?" Sierra asked, "I mean, after what happened today?"

"...No," Stormracer said, "even though he's the enemy, I know I did the right thing. Who knows. Maybe one day he might have a change of heart. Maybe even Vince."

The girl chuckled at the thought. "Wouldn't that be something."

Seeing the base in their view, the three nervously gulped as Stormracer drove off road and towards the entrance.

(Later)

After a long lecture from Optimus, plus a long angry rant for Stormracer from Ratchet, Sierra approached Jack just as he was about to go home.

"Hey, Jack, listen," she said, holding her arm, "I still feel really bad for pushing you into racing. You didn't have to prove anything to Vince."

"It's okay Sierra," he assured her, "I'm not going to race him again."

"That's good," the redhead said before chuckling, "I mean, racing is so overrated anyway."

Jack chuckled as well. "I won't lie. I, kinda liked being called a hotshot. It made me feel like a winner."

Sierra smirked. "Well, whether if you had won that race or not, you'll always be a winner."

The boy felt his cheeks heat up before Arcee honked her horn at him, making the two look to see her already in her motorcycle form.

"Better not keep your ride waiting," Sierra told him. She gave him a smile. "See you tomorrow... Hotshot."

Hearing her still calling him a hotshot made him smile back. "See you tomorrow," he said before making his way over to his guardian. Her words repeating in his head, the love struck boy's smile grew bigger once his helmet was on.

Sierra watched as Jack and Arcee drove off out of the hangar, her smile still on her face. She was fully aware of the boy's feelings towards her. And the truth was, she liked him the same way. She liked how caring, smart, and responsible he was and found his bashfulness rather adorable. Over a short period of time, she had grown close to him and always enjoyed his company.

Though despite her feelings, she didn't want to rush into anything. For now, she was happy with where they were and was willing to wait.

And that was Speed Metal. Phew! I did it! lol! Since the next episode is Predatory and focuses more on Arcee and Jack, I decided to skip that one and go straight ahead to Sick Mind. And yes, Stormracer is going to be the one to go inside Megatron's head.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! Until next time! God bless!