Chapter Sixty-Two
Reporting Back
Back at the base, Pandora and Kemeko had gotten showered and changed and had told everyone about what had happened on the lake.
The Autobots and the Hamato Clan were shocked at what they heard about the teens on the boat almost discovering them despite the praise Optimus gave the girls about finding the energon in the water.
Splinter and Leonardo did look rather cross, yet Michelangelo, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were excited to learn more about how Pandora and Kemeko had scared the teenagers on the boat.
"I would have loved to have seen that!" Michelangelo quipped "Was it like something out of a horror movie?"
"You betcha!" Pandora replied winking at Michelangelo.
"You go girl!" Michelangelo grinned.
"Mike!" Leonardo snapped at his younger brother to stop encouraging Pandora, and he knew if Raphael and Monalisa were with them, they would say the same.
"What?" Michelangelo shrugged "It worked, didn't it? And those teens won't remember anything if Kem has anything to do with it!"
"True that!" Donatello chimed in.
"And even if they do remember, no-one will believe them." Michelangelo agreed.
"But it was still very dangerous and risky." Splinter said in a serious voice, "Despite the outcome."
Pandora sighed.
"I get it grandpa!" she drawled until Kemeko elbowed her in the chest.
"Ow!"
"He's right!" Kemeko snapped "It worked this time, but what if it didn't?"
Pandora glowered.
"I know! I know!" she said, "It might have blown up, but it didn't, can't you just accept that already?"
"Pandora!"
The hybrid looked over at Optimus who leaned over the raised platform and beckoned to her with a finger to which she stood up and walked over.
"Prime?" she asked looking up at him.
"As much as I agree your plan worked, you must take heed to your cousin and your family's advice." Optimus said leaning down so his face was level with her.
"Next time you do something rash, you must be aware of the consequences should it fail."
Pandora frowned but she nodded.
"I getcha Prime." She said with a grumble "But still, at least it worked? And you got that Energon you were looking for."
"I am inclined to agree." Optimus replied with a nod, "And yes, you and Kemeko lead me to the energon which I praise you for," Pandora was about to smile but Optimus went on talking.
"But like all plans, they might not all work out and you must be ready if it doesn't."
"Alright, alright!" Pandora grunted and pouted as she placed her elbows on the rails and rested her chin on her knuckles.
Optimus gave an amused smile as he saw that and Ironhide chuckled.
"She like this often?" he asked the Hamato clan to which they nodded.
"Very much so." Splinter sighed "That granddaughter of mine."
"Just like her father." Donatello agreed.
"Oh, all the time!" Kemeko said.
"Yep!" Michelangelo agreed "A pouty madam she can be!"
"Pouty Pandora!" Kemeko claimed.
Pandora narrowed her eyes as she heard her cousin but before she could say anything, Ratchet spoke up getting everyone's attention.
"Optimus!" Ratchet said "Arcee just got in contact!"
"She did?" Ironhide cried as he along with the other Autobots walked to the screens and saw Arcee's Icon pop up.
"Raph? Mona?" Leonardo cried in relief "At last!"
"Mum! Dad!" Pandora exclaimed, her mood changing again as she remembered her parents and their welfare.
"My son! My daughter!" Splinter chimed in.
"Ratchet!" Arcee's voice was heard from the screens "Requesting Ground-Bridge!"
"Right away Arcee!" Ratchet replied and pulled the level to activate it.
Before long, the ground-bridge opened, and everyone looked over to see Arcee drive in with Raphael and Monalisa riding on her back, she skidded to a stop and after the turtle and lizard lady jumped off, she transformed into her bipedal form.
No sooner did Pandora see her parents arrive than she ran down the stairs to the ground floor of the silo and Raphael and Monalisa ran to her, and they embraced her tightly almost like they were desperate to cling to her.
"Oh my baby!" Monalisa cried "My Little Geisha! My Tigeress!"
"Mum?" Pandora cried in alarm as her parents hugged her close "Dad? What happened?"
Her parents didn't speak but just held her close.
"Oh my Tigeress." Raphael whispered, "I love you so much!"
"I love you too dad!" Pandora said yet she found it difficult to breath as her parents hugged her.
The hybrid then sniffed then saw they looked rather dirty, and Raphael smelt a little smoky.
"What happened out there?" she asked but again her parents said nothing but kept hugging her.
Leonardo narrowed his eyes.
"Somethings up." He said looking at Splinter who looked concerned.
"Arcee?" Optimus inquired as he saw his female team member looking drained as well dirty and a few dents were in her armour showing she had been in a fight.
Arcee looked at the couple hugging Pandora then turned to her leader whilst Ratchet walked over to inspect her for injuries.
"Prime..." she said gravely.
"What has taken place on your mission Arcee?" Optimus asked, "You look disturbed as well as battered."
Arcee vented and shook her head before looking up at her leader.
"I don't know how to tell you this." She said, "But she's back and she's here!"
Everyone looked over at the femme.
"Who's back Arcee?" Ironhide asked.
"Airachnid!" Arcee blurted out deciding not to hesitate or draw the situation out lightly.
"WHAT!?" the Autobots cried in unison, yet Bumblebee bleeped in shock.
"No..." Ratchet breathed.
"I kid you not guys!" Arcee said "Airachnid is here! On Earth!"
"This is most unsettling." Prime muttered "And concerning, both to us and for the welfare of the humans."
The Hamato Clan looked at each other in confusion then up at Arcee.
"Whose Airachnid?" Donatello asked.
'From what I gather, she doesn't sound too nice." Leonardo said.
"Nice!?" Arcee snapped "You have no idea!"
"Arcee!" Optimus placed a servo on her shoulder.
Ironhide vented.
"I remember her." He said as he looked at Arcee.
"Airachnid?" Donatello asked, "Like the Spider?"
"Indeed Donatello." Optimus said "Airachind is one of the most dangerous Decepticons we have encountered."
"Darn tootin!" Ironhide said "One you don't want to mess with!"
"What exactly happened out there?" Kemeko asked "And who is this Airachind?"
"We'll tell you!" Monalisa's voice was heard as she, Raphael and Pandora walked up the stairs to the raised platform.
Ratchet meanwhile coaxed Arcee to one of the medical berths so he could check her over.
After five minutes passed and Raphael and Monalisa had been given some tea by Splinter and they began to tell the family and the Autobots what happened.
Everyone was silent as they listened, Optimus looked concerned as Airachnid was mentioned.
"... I blew up the ship hoping to blow her up too, but she survived and escaped." Raphael concluded giving the explanation to why he smelt smoky.
"And she's stuck here on Earth." Monalisa said "But as I stated, she doesn't have any vehicle mode, so she won't get very far without having to hide."
"That might be, lass," Ironhide said "But she's still a danger to anyone in the area she's frequenting."
"Indeed Ironhide." Optimus agreed "We will need to inform Agent Fowler about her so as to protect the locals and any other humans in that area of the state."
"It would be wise Prime." Ironhide said "Airachnid is one Decepticon who is worse than Megatron in my opinion given what she's done on Cybertron, even before the Great War."
"How exactly?" Kemeko asked.
Arcee sighed.
"She was a scientist in the Decepticon Capital Kaon on Cybertron before the war, working closely with Shockwave." She said, "And as much as I hate to say it, a rather clever one, but it wasn't enough for her as she was always using her discoveries for her own personal gain than for greater good."
"Sounds like someone else I know close to home." Monalisa said.
"Doctor William Arden." Raphael agreed.
"I remember." Ratchet agreed with Arcee as he tended to the dents on her armour "Though many of the other scientists didn't agree with her methods despite the fact they're Decepticons, and she was cast out."
"In other words fired from her position." Donatello clarified.
"Quite." Ratchet said.
"What did she do in these experiments?" Pandora asked.
"Pandora!" Kemeko asked shocked.
"Hey I'm just curious!" the hybrid defended.
"Hate to admit it, but I am too!" Donatello chimed in.
"I also." Monalisa piped up since she knew what Dr Arden was capable of given his work for the Foot and his nasty experiments which included the creation of the Venomous Five.
Arcee gave another vent.
"You sure you want to know?" she asked, "Some stuff she did was true stuff of nightmares."
"We've seen and heard a lot in our lives, believe me!" Raphael clarified.
"That we have!" Michelangelo agreed.
Arcee bit her lip but she nodded.
"Okay." She said then began to speak.
"She would perform fatal experiments on Cybertronians, mainly dissecting their brain modules in a way of calculating the protentional variables in the mind, didn't matter if they were Autobot, Decepticon or Neutral."
"Yeesh!" Pandora said.
"Fucking Shell..." Raphael breathed.
"And I thought Dr Arden was bad enough." Monalisa whispered.
"Was she successful in any of those experiments?" Donatello asked.
"No." Arcee replied "But despite that, she seemed to take joy in what she did, and there were many bodies left in her wake, all strung up with her webbing with their sparks snuffed, she was a wanted criminal, and the Elite Guard were on her trail before the Great War and she of course sided with the Decepticons when the fighting got worse."
"I can vouch for that." Ironhide said "I was on one off the units searching for her, I remember attending a scene she left where six transformers were offline and strung up in her webs in an underground chamber below Kaon."
The red veteran vented.
"Four femmes and two bots." He said, "It was awful."
"No wonder she enjoys hunting for endangered species." Raphael murmured "After what I saw on the ship before I blew it up."
"She's not one to be relied on either." Arcee said "Despite being on Megatron's side during the War, she often went off on her own or abandoned her comrades if it suited her."
"A sadistic killer Bot and a dishonourable one." Bulkhead said, "She makes Starscream look like a loyal soldier."
Bumblebee bleeped in agreement.
"And she killed my first partner." Arcee said "I've never forgotten, and that's why I hate her so much...torturing me for information was bad enough, but seeing her snuff out the spark of a mech I cared about..."
"Tailgate..." Ironhide said "I remember him, he was a good Mech."
Bumblebee bleeped and whirred.
"He was yeah," Ironhide said "Loyal and fearless."
"We are sorry for your loss Arcee." Splinter said in a comforting tone, "You have been through a lot, and loosing not one but two friends in the same manner in the hands of the Decepticons is something none of us can fathom."
"We've all lost friends, comrades, loved ones." Optimus mused "Whether through being offlined in the War or lost to the stars when our planet went dark, but we still continue to fight in their honour, and one day, we will end the conflict, restore Cybertron, and bring everyone home."
"And its not if, it's when!" Ironhide said with a clenched fist.
"You got that right!" Bulkhead agreed punching his two fists together, and Bumblebee once again bleeped and whirred clapping his servos.
"And hopefully soon, we need it..." Ratchet muttered.
Arcee looked up and nodded as she agreed with her comrades, yet she couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness as well as guilt at the fact that Airachnid was trapped on Earth.
She had been scared for her mutant friends, yet they had surprised her as well as given her a sense of confidence that they were very capable of looking after themselves, but they were her responsibility whilst she was here on Earth with them and she promised herself that whatever happened, she wouldn't let any harm come to them.
Arcee knew she would never forgive herself if the Hamato Clan went through the same pain she had when she lost her two partners.
"One day we'll meet again Airachnid, I know you'll want a rematch, as well as a thirst for revenge after what Raphael did to your ship, and believe me when I say this, I'll be waiting for you..."
The Hamato Clan and the Autobots have learnt of Pandora, Prime and Kemeko's escapade in the Lake, and of course Pandora's been warned of something maybe not working next time, not just by her family but from Optimus too.
Arcee, Raphael and Monalisa have returned to the Base and given the full story of Airachnid.
I used references from the 2005 IDW comic to give her a backstory, and Tyroth Darkstorm had shown me it a few weeks back, again thanks my friend! ;)
Next chapter we move into the 'Sick Mind' Episode. See you then!