Hey guys! I'm back and with part two of How it All Began! Before we get into it, I just want to say thank you all for your reviews and support for this story, it means a lot.
Someone asked if I could have Stormracer visit the Rescue Bots and believe it or not, I have thought about it for a while. I think it would be really cool if Stormracer got to visit Griffin Rock and meet them. I kind of have a story in mind for it, but I want to rewatch the series first just so I can refresh my memory on it. If I do end up making a Stormracer meets the Rescue Bots story, I'll most likely post it as a short side story.
Also, thank you to those who suggested who should Stormracer's voice actress be and 100% of you picked Tara Strong. I totally see Tara voicing Stormracer and I think she's an awesome voice actress.
One more thing to add, I kinda steered away from the aligned novels and the Covenant of Primus on this one. I've tried to keep it close to both, but I felt like I had to make a different turn. Just wanted to let you know before you call me out on it.
Anyway, here is chapter 41! I hope you like it. Sorry for any grammar errors.
Transformers Prime: The Medic's Assistant
Chapter 41: How it All Began Part 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime
(Present day)
(Autobot Base)
"Whoa, hold up!" Miko interrupted, "you just hopped onto that creep's ship?!"
Stormracer sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Yeeaaaaah, probably wasn't my best plan."
"That was not a plan, and you know it!" Ratchet said, still at the computer.
"Okay, I did it without thinking!" she clarified, "may not have been my smartest moment, but it was definitely my craziest."
"You can say that again," Bumblebee bleeped.
"What happened next?" Raf asked.
Stormracer continued her story. "Well, not long after I snuck onboard, the reality of the situation kicked in. I was stuck on a ship with a murderous bounty hunter who would offline me the moment I was in sight."
"You must have been terrified," Jack said.
"I was," she said, "but despite all that, I think I handled it pretty well."
(Millions of years ago- Cybertron)
Hiding in a corner behind some crates, a terrified Stormracer sat there with her knees pulled to her chest as she hyperventilated. Her spark was beating so loudly she was afraid the bounty hunter would hear it and find her.
"G-get a hold of yourself, Stormracer," she quietly told herself as her voice shook, "it's all good. Y-you just decided to break into a murderous bounty hunter's ship is all. Nothing to worry about."
The ship made a creaking sound, making her fearfully jump. She had never been so terrified before in her life. How she wished it was all just a bad dream. She tried calming herself down as she took slow shaky vents. Finally building up some courage, she checked to make sure the coast was clear.
"Primus, please help me," she prayed. Letting out one last vent, she crawled out of her hiding spot and began searching for Ratchet and Transwarp.
Ratchet groaned as soon as he woke up. He sat up and held his head before wincing in pain. Looking at his arm, his optics widened when he saw his EMP generator gone, revealing an empty sparking compartment. He then looked at his surroundings and soon realized he was in a small cell with a force field barrier keeping him in. Getting up, he looked around for the other two bots.
"Transwarp? Stormracer?" he called.
He heard a groan coming from the other side of the wall. Realizing Transwarp was in the cell right next to him, he went over to the side. "Transwarp? Is that you?"
"Wh... where are we?" Transwarp asked as he forced himself into a sitting position.
But before the medic could answer, the brig door opened. Ratchet frowned as Lockdown entered the room.
"Oh good, you're up," the bounty hunter said as he walked over to them with a smug look on his face. "Did we enjoy our nap?"
"Don't think we'll be intimidated by a decepticon," Ratchet told him.
"Oh, I'm no decepticon. Name's Lockdown. I'm what you call a bounty hunter. I haul in bots and get paid in exchange, whether they be autobot or decepticon. Though I gotta say, decepticons pay much better. Word has it your friend Transwarp here has some valuable information on something big. So big, it caught Megatron's attention. That's where I come in. I was promised not just creds, but some sweet upgrades if I find the bot and bring him in. I caught up to him a while back, but he managed to escape during a decepticon air raid, only to get himself shot in the process. I thought he was a goner before I noticed him driving off towards the city. And now that he's patched up so nicely, I can deliver him to Megatron alive and well. And I can't wait to see the look on Megatron's face when I bring him not just the information, but also Optimus Prime's own medic. I'm sure he'll pay me a nice bonus for you."
"You'll... never make me talk!" Transwarp exclaimed weakly.
Lockdown only chuckled at him. "I'm not the one that will make you talk. That honor belongs to Megatron. I'm just the one bringing you to him on a silver platter."
Ratchet's frown deepened. "This is what you do during a war?" he asked angrily, "hunt down bots to be tortured just for creds and upgrades?!"
"These are hard times, Doc," Lockdown said as he looked back at him, "gotta make a living somehow. Besides, if I didn't, I wouldn't have my collection."
"Collection?" Ratchet asked.
"Hunting trophies. You see, each bot I haul in, I take something of theirs as a keepsake. Mods, weapons, personal belongings. Anything I can get my servos on. For example..."
Ratchet watched as Lockdown opened an arm compartment, revealing the new mod he recently installed. The medic's optics widened when he saw his EMP generator now in Lockdown's possession.
"You like?" the bounty hunter asked with a grin, "I got to try it out on a couple of your guards so far, and I must say, I'm very happy with the results. This will make hunting a whole lot easier."
"That is not a weapon!" Ratchet angrily exclaimed.
Lockdown chuckled. "It is now." Pulling out a thin flat key, he inserted it into a lock, deactivating Transwarp's cell door. He then fired the EMP at the messenger, knocking him out so he wouldn't struggle.
"I'd like to stick around and chat more, Doc, but Transwarp and I have some unfinished business." Lockdown said as he grabbed Transwarp and slung him over his shoulder.
"Listen, I don't know what intel Transwarp is carrying, but one thing I know about Megatron is that he'll use it for destruction," Ratchet warned.
"I missed the part where that's my problem," Lockdown said as he stood in front of Ratchet's cell. "Make yourself comfortable, Doc. Oh, and don't try anything funny. The alarm for these cells is very sensitive. One wrong move, and I'll be back before you can even set one pede out of there." Lockdown then left the room with Transwarp, sealing the door shut behind him.
Ratchet angrily slammed his fist against the barrier. Letting out a vent, he looked around as he tried to think of a plan.
Stormracer quietly made her way down the corridor as she searched. She couldn't help but jump at every sound she heard. It reminded her of a nightmare she had when she was younger. At least in this case she wasn't trapped in a never-ending hallway with a monster chasing after her. At least she hoped.
She came to a door with a window in it. Curious, she peaked inside and nearly gasped in horror. Inside was the cyber-wolf, sleeping right next to a chewed up severed arm. She had almost forgotten about the beast. She remembered learning about cyber-wolves in her biology class on how great trackers they were with their sense of smell. Apex predators her teacher called them. The thought made her shudder.
"Why couldn't he have a kitten?" she whined.
The wolf moved as it adjusted itself, making her immediately duck down. Not wanting to hang around any longer, she quietly snuck away to continue her search.
She continued walking before hearing a door open up ahead, making her immediately back pedal. Needing a place to hide, she frantically looked around.
Lockdown stepped out of the brig as the door shut behind him. He stopped for a second and looked to his left, thinking he had heard something. After a moment, he brushed it off and walked off in the opposite direction.
Stormracer poked her head up from the service duct to see him walking away with Transwarp over his shoulder. Scrap! she thought as she crawled out. She was about to follow until she heard a banging sound coming from the room he came out of. Followed by a familiar voice.
Ratchet?
Needing to know if she heard right, she approached the door and opened it. Relief swept over her when she saw the medic inside.
"Ratchet!" she said as she rushed over to the cell.
Ratchet's optics nearly popped out of his head when he saw the femme running towards him. "What are you doing here?!" he asked, "how did-?!"
"I followed Lockdown from the triage," she said, "I just saw him take Transwarp down the corridor."
"You shouldn't be here!" he scolded her, "If Lockdown sees you, he will kill you! Please tell me you at least brought back-up!"
"… Noo," she said shamefully, "I tried calling for back-up but my commlink's broken. And I was afraid Lockdown would have gotten away if I ran for help."
Ratchet let out a loud groan as he pinched his brow. "Of all the bots...," he grumbled.
"Okay, let's get you out of there," she said. She looked at the lock and paused. "How do I get you out of there?"
"From what I saw, you need a key to unlock it," he said, "Lockdown has it on him."
"Maybe I can pick it open," she said as she went to touch it.
"Don't!" Ratchet exclaimed, making her immediately jump back with her servos up. "The cells are hooked to an alarm. Tampering with the lock will only alert Lockdown."
"... Good to know," Stormracer said as she put her servos down.
Ratchet vented. "Even if you do free me, Lockdown is still an issue. The sooner I can come up with a plan, the sooner we can help Transwarp. Whatever information he has, Megatron wants it."
Stormracer's optics widened in shock. "Megatron?" she asked, "as in the Megatron? As in the leader of the Decepticons Megatron?!"
"Do you know any other?" he asked as he gave her a look. He vented. "When I repaired Transwarp, I didn't see anything on him, so he most likely has the intel memorized. While its fortunate it won't be so simple to take, I fear what Megatron might do to him in order to get it."
Remembering the hologram projector, it had finally dawned on Stormracer what it could be. "Uuuuuh... though if one were to literally carry intel, would they maybe have it in something like say ... a hologram projector?"
The medic looked at her suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"
"I found a projector in the alley after Lockdown's wolf attacked us," she said as she opened her compartment and went to pull it out, "I was going to give it back to Transwarp at the triage, but- Eep!" she squeaked as she fumbled and dropped the projector.
Soon as it hit the floor, it turned on, revealing a holographic image. Stormracer picked up the projector as she and Ratchet looked at it. Though the image was dark, they could still see what was on it. Or in this case... who.
"Is that..." she went to say.
"It can't be," Ratchet said.
Both stared in shock at the sleeping giant in the image.
"Omega Supreme," Ratchet said.
"Is he...," Stormracer went to ask.
"Dead?" Ratchet studied the image. "No. It looks like he's in stasis."
"I remember reading about him," the femme said, "the data pads said he's the last guardian of Cybertron, and that he was last seen during the Quintesson war."
"After the war, he must have gone to rest," Ratchet said, "waiting to be reactivated should the enemy return."
Stormracer looked at the guardian's surroundings. "It looks like he's underground. But where underground?"
"With intel like this, it would be too risky to put his location in a projector." Dread overcame Ratchet. "But I fear Transwarp is the one who knows."
Stormracer looked at Ratchet worryingly. "What will happen if Megatron finds out about this?"
"If he finds out about Omega Supreme and where he is hidden, he'll either try to use Omega Supreme against us... or destroy him."
Stormracer turned off the projector and gripped it. This was worse than she thought, and it scared her even more.
"We have to keep Lockdown from delivering Transwarp to Megatron," Ratchet said.
"How?" Stormracer asked, "Lockdown has the key."
Ratchet tried to think before noticing an energon prod mounted on the wall. Thinking of a plan, he looked at Stormracer. "Listen, I wouldn't ask this if it wasn't urgent, but I need you to trust me."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You have to get the key from Lockdown."
Stormracer went from scared to terrified. "Y-you want me to… but I didn't stand a chance against him at the triage! I-I'm not a warrior!"
"You won't have to fight him," Ratchet told her, "You're the only one who can get the key from him."
The femme was still hesitant. "There has to be another way! Maybe I can find a way to call for back-up!"
"We are running out of time!" the medic snapped at her, "if Megatron gets that intel, we lose not only Transwarp, but Omega Supreme! You have to do this!"
Stormracer shamefully lowered her head and shut her optics. "I can't," she said sadly, "I'm not brave enough. Even if I was, I'm not strong enough. I'm useless."
His expression softening, Ratchet let out a vent. "Listen to me. You are not useless. If you were brave enough to come aboard this ship, then I know you're brave enough to do this. I know you're scared. Believe me, so am I. Which is why I need you to trust me. If not for me, for Transwarp."
Stormracer remained quiet as his words sunk in. Transwarp needed their help and there she was acting like a scared sparkling. Plus, they couldn't allow Megatron to get the intel. She was still scared. But Ratchet was right. She was the only one who could get the key from Lockdown.
After a moment, she released a vent and looked at the medic. "What do you need me to do?"
Transwarp awoke to a pain in his arm, making him look down to see it had been cut open and was leaking energon. He looked at the bounty hunter who was now holding his grappling claw.
"Hmm," Lockdown said as he studied it. Looking at a crate over at the side, he aimed it and fired. The claw shot out and latched itself onto the crate. With one hard yank, Lockdown pulled it back with the crate still attached, sending it flying to the opposite side and smashing it against the wall.
"Not bad," Lockdown said as he reeled the claw back in. "Just need to make a few tweaks and it'll be perfect." He looked at his already full trophy case set up along the wall. "Gotta clear a new spot for this."
Transwarp grimaced at him. "Bounty hunter scum."
Lockdown looked at the bot and grinned. "Ouch. Now that wasn't very nice. But, since you're worth a lot of creds, I'll let it slide. You should feel honored. It's not everyday someone gets to be interrogated by the Decepticon warlord himself."
"He'll never get the intel," he said, "I'll never talk."
Lockdown walked over to him. "One thing I know about the decepticons, they can be very persuasive. I've seen what they do to autobots. Trust me, it isn't pretty." He tapped his finger on Transwarp's forehead. "You better hope whatever intel you got in there will be worth it." He then set the grappling claw on the table beside him before walking over to the ship's controls. "Now that that's out of the way, I think it's time we get going." He was about to start up the ship before an alarm went off on his computer.
"What the..." Seeing the alarm was for the brig, he frowned in annoyance. "What did that old rust bucket do?" he grumbled. Letting out a vent, he walked past Transwarp. "I'll be right back."
Lockdown ran out of the room and made his way down the corridor. Opening the brig door, he stormed in to see Ratchet still in his cell with his scalpels out, using them on the wall as if to try and slice his way free. However, the blades did very little damage as they left scratch marks on the wall instead. The medic stopped what he was doing as soon as he saw the bounty hunter standing there.
"Didn't I tell you not to try anything funny?" Lockdown asked as he walked over to him. "I thought you were smarter than that. How about I just knock you out and let you sleep for the entire trip?" Just then he heard a sound coming from behind. Turning around, he saw Stormracer standing there with his energon prod in hand. Before he could react, she jammed the sparking prod into his neck, making him scream as electricity coursed through him. After a few seconds, he passed out and fell to the floor.
Turning off the prod, a horrified Stormracer stared at the bounty hunter with wide optics. "Oooooooooh I can't believe I just did that!"
"Hurry, get the key!" Ratchet said as he deactivated his scalpels.
Checking to make sure he was really unconscious, Stormracer began searching Lockdown before finding the key. "Got it!" she said. Rushing over to the cell, she fumbled with the key before inserting it into the lock, deactivating Ratchet's cell.
"Good work!" he said as he stepped out.
Both of them grabbed the bounty hunter and dragged him into the cell.
"Scrap he's heavy!" Stormracer said.
Once he was locked up, the two made their way out the door and into the corridor.
"Where did you see him take Transwarp?" Ratchet asked.
"That way," Stormracer said as she pointed to the right.
"Let's move."
Both of them took off down the corridor. It wasn't long before they stumbled upon the bridge. Once there, they saw a wounded Transwarp in the center of the room restrained to a table.
"Transwarp!" Stormracer said as she and Ratchet rushed over to him. Once they were at his side, Stormracer saw that his grappling claw had been removed from his arm. "Why did he take out his grappling claw?" Stormracer asked.
"Lockdown takes pride in collecting trophies from his victims," Ratchet said in disgust as he removed the restraints off of Transwarp. He looked at the messenger's arm to see the damage done to it. "Scrap! Lockdown hit a fuel line. I have to patch this up quick, but I need more than my welder."
"Maybe Lockdown has a first aid kit somewhere," Stormracer said.
"See if you can find it," Ratchet said as he tried to stop the bleeding.
Stormracer placed the prod down and searched the room before laying optics on the kit. "Found it!" Grabbing the kit, she rushed over to them and set it down beside Ratchet.
Ratchet went to grab something out of it, only for his arm to spark again. Wincing in pain, he looked at Stormracer. "Grab me a gauze from the kit," he said.
Stormracer did so and handed it to him. She watched Ratchet work while handing him the supplies he needed. She looked at Transwarp who was wincing. Without Ratchet's EMP, he could feel the pain as he flinched.
"I need you to hold still," Ratchet told him as he tried to keep Transwarp's arm down.
Stormracer got to the other side of Transwarp and held his servo. "I got you," she told him, "Try not to think about it."
Transwarp squeezed her servo as Ratchet continued. The medic glanced at Stormracer as she tried helping Transwarp get his mind off the pain while comforting him. A small smile made its way onto Ratchet's face as he resumed sealing the wound.
Recovering from the shock, Lockdown groaned as he sat up and rubbed his neck. He looked around to see he was in one of his cells. "Huh. I'm almost impressed," he said. Opening a small panel on his arm, he looked at the screen inside and smirked when he saw the three spark signatures still on his ship.
"Heh. They should have escaped when they had the chance," he said. Activating his remote, he pressed a button and grinned. "This should keep them busy."
Further down the corridor, the wolf was still napping before waking up to the sound of the door opening.
"Hey, Bitey," Lockdown said through the intercom, "Dinnertime."
The wolf lifted its head up and sniffed the air. Soon as it smelt Stormracer's scent, it began growling as it got up and ran out the door, following the scent down the corridor and towards the bridge.
And that was part 2! I know, I know, I left it off at a cliffhanger. What was supposed to be a whole chapter became two parts and now three parts. Reason for this is because I still have to type out more of the fight scene and I didn't want you all to wait longer for me to post. I am sorry, please forgive me, and hopefully I will update part 3 soon. And yes, part 3 will be the final part, I promise lol. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Until next time! God bless and have a Happy New Year!