Chapter Forty-One
Threat
Back at the Autobot Base, Ratchet and Donatello were watching the images of the Autobots moving on the screen with Splinter watching from the raised platform whilst Pandora and Kemeko sat on the sofa feeling rather bored.
"I'm fed up." Pandora muttered, she was laying on the sofa with her feet up against the back whilst her head hung off the end and Kemeko was sitting cross legged next to her and doing a bit of colouring in.
Pandora had wanted to play a video game, but Ratchet and Donatello said they needed the place to be quiet whilst they watched the convoy to which Splinter suggested they do something quiet.
Kemeko had decided to do her colouring, yet she was starting to tire of it, and Pandora had read a couple of comics but now was just staring at her toes as she wiggled them and stared at the ceiling.
"Man, wish something interesting would happen." The Hybrid thought to herself "I feel I'm gonna go stir crazy." She looked at Splinter from her position where he was upside down which made her giggle a little then looked back at the ceiling watching the lights.
Back on the road, Optimus continued to drive as Ironhide, Bulkhead and Bumblebee drove around him.
Soon Ironhide was leading the way with Bumblebee behind him, and Bulkhead drove at the back behind Optimus.
Fowler leaned on Optimus steering wheel staring at the long road ahead bored, he looked over to Leonardo who was looking out the side window in the passenger seat and he couldn't hear Raphael, Michelangelo and Monalisa apart from some soft snoring so he guessed they had fallen asleep.
He didn't blame them as he felt a bit sleepy himself.
The good thing about being driven in an Autobot's Vehicle mode was that you didn't have to worry about keeping focused on driving since the Autobot could just drive himself.
"You know," Fowler said breaking the silence, "You're saving my bacon here, Prime."
"I am proud to be of service." Optimus answered humbly.
"Course, it's not like I'd need your help if you and the Cons had stuck to tearing up your own corner of the galaxy." Fowler grumbled.
"Are you saying that no evil existed on your world before we arrived?" Optimus questioned.
Leonardo looked over as he heard that, as he remembered telling the Autobots and Fowler about the evils they had encountered in their lives.
"Uh…well…it was a…different evil." Fowler rephrased before quickly changing the subject.
"How about some radio? You seem like a Nashville sounding kind of guy."
Leonardo looked back out the window, yet as he did, he caught sight of a dark and lime green coloured helicopter tracking them.
"I don't like how that helicopter's tracking us." He thought then turned to Fowler.
"William." He said to which the Agent looked over.
"What is it?" he asked, to which he heard the Helicopter that was tracking them getting closer, and he looked in the side mirror on his end and his eyes widened. "That's the one! The Con who shot me down!" Fowler said angrily as he recognized the Helicopter.
"Who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Skyguy?" He rambled off some random names that the Cons might use.
Leonardo frowned and he looked at the helicopter then looked behind the seats to see his two brothers and adopted sister sleeping.
"Guys! Guys!" he said in a loud whisper as well as tapping Raphael's head with his finger to which the red masked turtle woke up and shook his head.
"Whazzup Leo?" he asked sleepily.
"We got company." Leonardo said, "Wake the others."
Raphael instantly shook off the sleep and he gently woke Monalisa and Michelangelo who also sat up with a start and shook off the cobwebs.
"What's going on Leo?" Monalisa asked.
"Not sure, but I think the guys who shot Fowler down are following us."
"Decepticons?" Michelangelo questioned.
"I'm not sure." Leonardo said then looked at Fowler who was still watching the helicopter then Bulkhead's voice came from a walkie talkie Fowler had on the seat between him and Leonardo.
"Watch your rear views!"
"What is it?" Leonardo asked then he looked in his side mirror and saw a group of ten custom muscle cars that were painted mostly light green with dark green highlights was quickly approaching the Autobot convoy and they surrounded Bulkhead on three-sides.
"Uh oh..." he muttered.
"Feel a little constricted here without the use of my fists here, boss." Bulkhead reported as he continued to drive behind Optimus despite the cars surrounding him.
"Remain in vehicular mode unless absolutely necessary." Optimus ordered over the radio frequency.
"What the shells going on?" Raphael asked as he, along with Monalisa and Michelangelo couldn't see what Fowler and Leonardo could.
"A whole team of cons!" Fowler commented.
Back in the base, Ratchet stared at the screen as he heard Fowler's comment.
He along with Donatello could only see the Autobot Signals and no sign of Decepticon signals.
"I'm not picking up anything. They must be utilizing a cloaking technology." He reported.
Donatello meanwhile looked gravely at the medic.
"I don't think they're Decepticons." He theorised.
"What is it Donatello?" Splinter asked.
Hearing their uncle and grandfather talking, Pandora and Kemeko looked over.
In fact, Pandora did a backflip off the sofa, so she was on her feet and ran over to where Splinter was standing, and Kemeko carefully put down her colouring and joined her.
"What's going on?" Kemeko asked.
"Looks like trouble on the road." Donatello said, "But it's not Decepticons."
"Come again?" Pandora asked feeling rather amazed her wish for something to happen had come true so quick.
"I got a feeling it's humans who are interested in the Dingus." Donatello said, "And they were the ones who shot Fowler out of the sky!"
"But who?" Kemeko asked.
"That's what we're gonna find out Lotus." Leonardo's voice came from the monitors.
"Be careful my son!" Splinter warned in a worried voice.
Meanwhile back on the road, two of the ten muscle ahead in front of Bumblebee and Ironhide who tried to pass them, but they didn't give them a chance to whilst another car drove up to the driver side of Optimus.
The sunroof on the car popped open and a masked human holding a high-tech weapon stood up.
"Pull over!" The man ordered as he pointed the gun at Agent Fowler.
"Well, I'll be dipped!" Fowler said in surprise.
"You were right Donnie!" Leonardo cried "They are humans!"
As he looked at the masked man, he couldn't help but feel they looked like the Foot Ninja back in New York, yet these individuals looked more dangerous.
Raphael, Monalisa and Michelangelo also looked over and Michelangelo squeaked in fear whilst Raphael glowered.
"I can confirm Leonardo's claim to your theory Donatello. Our assailants are not Decepticons. They are humans." Optimus reported through the com-link.
"They are?!" Splinter, Kemeko and Pandora said in surprise from back at the Base.
"But humans taking on the Autobots? They must be insane! Our Bot Friends should get rid of them no problem, right?" Pandora asked.
"Don't be too sure Geisha!" Monalisa said narrowing her eyes as she looked out the window "These humans might be more than meets the eye..."
Monalisa had every right to be concerned as up in the helicopter watching the convoy, a muscular man in his early-to-late forties sat next to the pilot who was also masked like the gunman in the car next to Optimus.
He had snow-white hair, the heart-shaped hairline, prominent cheekbones, the red scars on his emotionless face and brown eyes that were stone cold, not allowing himself to reveal any emotion.
He had failed to acquire the Dingus the first time thanks to Fowler's distractions before the jet crashed and he was determined to get what he wanted this time, no matter what cost.
"Gentlemen, stop their engines." He instructed in a deep commanding voice.
On cue, the goon standing in the car prepared to open fire, but Optimus swerved over and hit the car, causing the vehicle's driver to briefly lose control.
That action made Fowler, Leonardo, Monalisa and Michelangelo cry out and get knocked around as they weren't prepared for that, and they soon saw the goon fire the gun and the shot hit the ground next to Optimus and exploded.
"Whoa!" Leonardo cried.
"The Shell!?" Raphael shouted.
"Who are these guys?" Fowler wondered aloud as Optimus rode ahead of the assaulting vehicles.
"Autobots maintain your cover and apply minimal force, disarmament only." Optimus ordered the Autobots.
"Not what I really want to do, but you're the boss Prime!" Ironhide stated as he kept driving ahead.
Meanwhile same car with the gunman went to Optimus's right side and aimed at Optimus but Bumblebee blocked them.
He hit the brakes, knocking the goon off balance but once he regained his balance, the goon took aim again, but Bumblebee hit the enemy car even harder, sending it spinning out of control and into a large rock. The car flipped over and lay there in the road.
"Nice move there Bee!" Leonardo complimented who had been watching the sideview mirror.
Up in the Helicopter, the white-haired commander was astonished at what he had seen and blinked a few times.
"Those are not civilian drivers." He muttered, yet he was still not put off from his mission to make a grab for the Dingus, not when it was right below him.
Meanwhile the convoy came to a part of the road with many swerving turns to it and Optimus weaved a few times which made Agent Fowler and Michelangelo nauseous.
"I could use some air." He gasped.
"Me too!" Michelangelo agreed as he jumped into the front and Optimus rolled down his windows and Fowler stuck his head out, breathing a sigh of relief, Michelangelo did the same as he took a few breaths leaning over Fowler's head, yet his relief vanished when he heard a sound of something clicking.
He turned and looked to see another one of those cars pull up near the connecting bolts that connected the trailer to the main truck. He also saw one of the mercenaries climb on and begin cutting at the connecting bolts.
"Uh guys!" he cried "One of those dudes just jumped on!"
Fowler also looked and his blood ran cold.
"What?" the two turtles and Monalisa cried "Where?"
At once, Raphael took out his sais and Monalisa took out her fans.
"Prime, bare right!" Fowler instructed.
On Fowler's instruction, Optimus bared right trying to shake off the stowaway, to which the guy almost fell off the truck, and the car and driver were sent over the edge of the cliff.
"Bye bye!" Michelangelo waved mockingly as he saw the car go over the cliff.
Monalisa winced as she watched the car crash, and she wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for the driver, but she soon saw him crawl out of the wreckage looking rather dazed.
"He's alive." She muttered.
"What about the stowaway?" Raphael asked, but his question was soon answered when he heard a welding tool, despite the traffic noises, his ninja ears didn't lie.
"He's still on board." Michelangelo said.
"I'll deal with the joker!" Raphael snarled as he pulled a red cowl over his mouth as well as pulled the black hood connected to his ninja suit and went to Fowler's side.
"Be careful hun!" Monalisa said to which Raphael nodded in response then opened the door and climbing out.
Carefully, he scaled the side of the truck cabin and reached the back where Optimus's truck form connected to the trailer, and he soon saw a masked man trying to cut the trailer free.
"Gotcha!" he whispered then he grabbed the guy by the scruff on the collar and pulled him out, causing him to drop his weapon.
He held the guy out in the air and got ready to interrogate him.
"You are gonna tell me everything I wanna know..."
The red masked turtle didn't finish his sentence as a tree knocked the man out of his grip.
"Dammit!" Raphael growled and jumped back into Optimus's truck form disappointed.
"What happened?" Leonardo asked as he saw his brother get back in.
But before Raphael could answer, the walkie talkie picked up a bit of static.
"I do hope you take better care of the Dingus than you do your captives."
The mutants and Fowler glared, and Fowler looked out of the window spotting the helicopter.
"Special Agent Fowler here." Fowler spoke into the Walkie Talkie "Identify yourself!" He demanded.
"I am Silas but, of greater consequence to you, we are MECH." The deep menacing voice spoke.
"Mech?" Michelangelo asked scratching his head "I wonder what that stands for?"
"Shush." Raphael hissed looking at the walkie Talkie.
"Fair warning. We will be helping ourselves to your device, even if it means inflicting causalities." Silas warned.
Fowler frowned at this news, as did the mutants, though Raphael and Monalisa looked furious.
"Dishonour." Leonardo whispered.
"Is that so?" He asked. "Tell me, Si, what's the market price for a Dingus these days?"
"What makes you think we intend to sell it, Agent Fowler?"
Fowler frowned harder and the mutants looked shocked.
"Terrorists." Monalisa hissed "They're gonna use it for their own gain!"
"Well, if they think they're gonna get their hands on the Dingus, they're wrong!" Raphael growled yet the couple were shushed by Leonardo as Silas spoke again via the Walkie Talkie.
"There's a war brewing, between the new world order and the newest. The victor will be the side armed with the most innovative technology."
Everyone could hear the sinister grin in Silas voice.
"The Bastard!" Monalisa hissed.
"He sounds worse than Shredder." Michelangelo mumbled worriedly.
Meanwhile Behind Optimus, another one of the MECH cars pulled up over the line dividing the two lanes.
One of the occupants poked out through the sunroof and fired three shots at Optimus's trailer with his gun.
The three shots landed on one of the bars that kept the trailer door shut and the ramp tucked inside.
With a push of a button on the gun, electricity cackled from the bullets before exploding and soon bars were removed, and the roller door opened willingly.
"Guys!" Michelangelo cried in a panic from inside Optimus's vehicle mode "They're attacking the back!"
"Relax Mike." Leonardo said looking at Fowler who had a wicked glint in his eye before speaking into the walkie talkie.
"So, Si, you think MECH has the most radical tech?" Fowler asked in a taunting voice.
As he said that Arcee shot out of the trailer, with her hologram activated and landed on top of the MECH car causing the guy to cry out in surprise and jump off the car as it flipped a few times on its side, which in turn flipped the car behind it.
Arcee and Bulkhead managed to get clear as the car exploded behind them.
"Hey! Good job there!" Michelangelo cheered as he watched from the side mirror.
"Atta girl Arcee!" Raphael grinned proudly and Monalisa smirked.
"Later, Si." Fowler taunted cockily with a smirk before disconnecting the radio link.
"Agent Fowler, do not take your…Silas lightly." Optimus warned, getting a confused look from Fowler and the three turtles and lizard looked over at Optimus's dashboard.
"Megatron preached the very same ideology before plunging Cybertron into the Great War that destroyed our world."
"He's got a point." Leonardo agreed "We should never take our enemies lightly, after all we've encountered from Shredder, and others like him."
The others murmured in agreement.
"If I'm correct, this Silas won't give up at the first hurdle!" Monalisa theorised.
Up In the Helicopter, both Silas and the pilot watched everything and couldn't believe their eyes.
"Definitely not civilian drivers." The helicopter pilot remarked, agreeing with Silas's earlier comment.
"No." Silas said dangerously "But we're not giving up, keep them in your sights."
"Yes sir." The pilot replied.
Fowler thinks they are out of the woods, but they are not...
Optimus along with Monalisa and Leonardo have a reason to be concerned.